I N S I D E � Disaster beckons � The countless horde � Jewel in the Desert � DCQ News

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the voice of desert channels queensland

BULLETthe basin

Editor

C O N T E N T S E D I T O R I A LA S I S E E I T

For more on the work of Desert Channels Queensland, visit www.dcq.org.au, email info@dcq.org.au or call 4658 0600.

Whenever things were not going to plan, my grandmother was fond of saying: ‘every cloud has a silver lining’.

The Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has certainly not gone according to plan. The blowout explosion, loss of life and the sinking of the drilling rig were disaster enough, but the subsequent gushing of oil and gas from the seabed has been, and will continue to be, in the headlines for some time to come – expert opinion ranges from August to Christmas before full control is exerted over the hole drilled 3000 metres into the 1500 metre deep seafloor. Such is our addiction to hydrocarbons that we should get used to these types of disasters as we continue to push the boundaries to tap ever less accessible reserves.

If we can’t wean ourselves, we will increasingly see drilling in deeper water, on the Barrier Reef, in the Arctic, the Amazon and the Antarctic; it won’t stop until the oil does.

Deepwater Horizon will definitely go down in history, but it is unlikely to be the worst, unless we seize the opportunity that it highlights. It is within our grasp to consign Deepwater Horizon to history as the catalyst that ignited a renewable energy planet. If the billions spent on ferreting out the last drops of oil and gas in the planets bedrock were directed to clean energy, where might we be in 10 years?

Those economies that have the mettle to address the ‘great moral issue of our time’, and embrace the opportunities, are going to be in the vanguard of a huge and inevitable global boom in clean energy technologies.

What an opportunity!

Wild about our rivers... 3

The spill we didn’t have to have

Flight of fancy... 5

The countless horde

Desert rat-catchers... 7

What they do and why

Hold that thought... 9

Money rules

DCQ News... 11

What’s happening around the region

Exploring our Basin Part III... 12

The Prussian, the Irish and the Pom

The Nosebag - Easy Peasy... 13

No fuss pea and ham soup

There and gone 14

A sombre reflection

Figure 26 – Perch at Lower Inca Creek

The Barcoo River is an intimate part of my life. I drive through its braided channels as I come and go from my property. I have learned to respect and understand this river in all its moods, colours and changes, its long dries and its beautiful and powerful but infrequent flood events.

I pass over an old concrete crossing at the 5-Mile. This crossing has been a special place for my family. Under the old gum tree that shades the crossing, Gordon, my father-in-law, proposed to Marie. A few years later Gordon and his brother Pat tossed a coin here to see which brother would be the first to leave the property and go to fight in World War II. The ashes of Gordon and his son Duncan, good men, were scattered at this crossing. In our time, the tree and crossing have seen many parties and have been captured in painting and writing.

The Barcoo continues from this crossing and winds west around two sides of our property. At the 15-Mile there is a special waterhole with scarred trees and a nearby artefact scatter site. On a mound, above flood level, are the remnants of the Barcoo Barracks, a native mounted police station. All these elements mutely mark an earlier, harsher history. All these people would have had to learn respect for the erratic nature of this river which flows towards the inland.

In early 2009 the Queensland Government made an election promise to declare the Western Rivers – the Cooper Creek system, the Georgina and Diamantina – as Wild Rivers under the Wild Rivers Act 2005. Although I was aware of the fierce debate on Wild Rivers Declarations in the Cape, I blithely assumed that as the Barcoo River had been regulated under the Water Resource (Cooper Creek) Plan 2000 for ten years, it seemed improbable that there would be any justification for a Wild Rivers declaration.

For a while there was very little information and then only a slow trickle. An initial series of meetings held by officers of the Wild Rivers mapping team from the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) in mid 2009 provided an outline of the complexity of the legislation, its potential impact on our businesses and the way we manage land, and the depth and breadth of interest of the proponents.

Those of us living in the Upper Barcoo quickly understood that the whole of catchment, zone based, regulatory and limiting nature of the

legislation meant that our ability to manage our businesses would be compromised, especially in a High Preservation Area (HPA). The legislation did not ‘fit’ either the upper parts of the river systems where people had lived and developed the land intensively for over 140 years, or the lower reaches of the rivers, also long settled ,where extensive floodplains are inundated after large rainfall events. Significantly, in the upper parts of the Barcoo and Thompson, small property sizes linked with excellent production capacity meant that some landowners will have nearly all of their properties mapped as an HPA.

Efforts to obtain the Wild Rivers mapping to be used in determining the zones and buffers have been futile. Privately commissioned mapping shows that the braided nature of the drainage lines and channels over an extensive, flat landscape could lead to large tracts of land being covered by an HPA. The issues caused by the inaccuracies of vegetation management mapping have not been forgotten.

The necessity for ground-truthing the wild river mapping before the legislative process commences has been raised in discussion with DERM. Also, an early request for an impact statement assessing the economic, social and environmental consequences of Wild River declarations was rejected.

A community Cabinet meeting held in Barcaldine in early November 2009 opened the way for clarification, under this Act, of the legitimacy of Property Maps of Assessable Vegetation (PMAVs) which map areas of vegetation regrowth that are allowed to be managed and treated. The sanction of PMAVs as

W i l d a b o u t t h e r i v e rChristine Campbell lives with her husband, Simon, on their Blackall district, family property, Norwood; she is passionate about her stewardship of her land and her river. Christine’s passion and concern sees her actively involved in many aspects of her community and industry. Here she shares her thoughts on Wild Rivers in the west …

For a while there was very little information and then only a slow trickle.

offers a welcome flexibility in the process, the submissions are being prepared without any release of indicative Wild Rivers mapping and without any knowledge of the contents of the new Water Resource (Cooper Creek) Plan.

Placing a Wild Rivers declaration over these western rivers invokes much greater risks for the future. The two kilometre width of the HPA has been explained as a risk management tool rather than a science based zone. The risk as yet has not been defined. There is no guarantee that the legislation will not be altered at any time to introduce greater restrictions such as fencing of riparian areas. Precedence for change of this magnitude has happened under the Vegetation Management Act where regrowth can now be re-categorised as High Value Regrowth.

The proponents of Wild Rivers declarations laud the absence of a review clause in the legislation as it is believed that it will provide immutable protection for the rivers. It also provides a basis for stifling and discouraging new and innovative ways of managing this landscape. The much vaunted protection from mining is contradicted by the fact that development applications for mining in wild River areas have been approved by the Department. Inexplicably the Wild Rivers Act does not address the build up of invasive vegetation and feral animals in the riparian areas.

Introduction of this heavy handed, top-down driven, blunt planning instrument highlights the lack of recognition and understanding of the good work that is being done by land managers who live along these resilient river systems. There is a deep sense that the daily work that is done is neither respected nor valued.

In July, Simon and I will go down to the concrete crossing to have a drink and celebrate and remember the life of his brother on the anniversary of his death. As the light falls our talk will drift to the Wild Rivers declaration. From where we sit we will see invasive whipstick gidyea on the channel banks and, for the first time, hear the chilling call of cane toads. And we will ask ourselves whether the Wild Rivers legislation will do anything to stop these threats, and will it do a better job of protecting the values of our beloved river.

existing authorisations (as Wild Rivers declarations are not retrospective) has occurred verbally, but this has yet to be endorsed by the Minister and drafted into the Wild Rivers legislation.

Discussions of the many issues that have emerged in relation to Wild Rivers Declarations have continued over the last twelve months. Local governments have articulated impediments to their ability to provide sound and timely management on issues such as expansion to town weirs and new sand and gravel operations (both currently restricted under the Wild Rivers Act). DERM provided a consultation paper in response to an initial submission from Agforce and Remote Area Planning and Development Board. There has recently been a second submission forwarded to the Department in response to their paper. Although this exchange of views

Continued...

B A L I N G N AT U R A L G O O D N E S SMak ing hay whi le the sun shines could ver y wel l have been coined speci f ica l ly for entrepreneur ia l young graziers , James and Manny Walker. The recent bumper season has provided the rare oppor tunit y to make the most of the profuse growth of chemical - f ree and weed-free pasture, and to divers i fy their business. Natasha Odgers recent ly discovered how the Walkers are shar ing their home - grown bount y f rom Mother Nature …The grass is look ing thicker and healthier than ever on James and Manny Walker ’s graz ing proper t y “Camden Park ”, near Longreach, s ince divers i fy ing their business with pasture hay bal ing. When James and Manny looked at what was in store at the star t of the year, they decided business as usual wasn’t going to cut i t for their back pockets or the land. “Catt le and sheep were over-pr iced, and the paddocks weren’t par t icular ly wel l -watered,” James sa id.

I n l ight of a great wet season, the Walkers chose to divers i fy with pasture hay bal ing to gain greater returns on their natural assets, and as an addit ional land management technique. “ We decided to bale hay at a low

The Camden Park hay cut has produced 17 round bales to the hectare with mainly Mitchell

and Flinders grasses.cost , with a low margin but a h igh turnover,” James sa id. “ We rested 730 hec tares of graz ing countr y in preparat ion for bal ing, and lef t dra inage l ines uncut to create a buffer of 20-30 metres to hold the creek banks together.”

Har vest ing contrac tor, Er rol Entr iken, has been bal ing for years, and bel ieves there is a lot to be gained f rom i t . “ We cut the grass four inches or h igher, so the roots don’t break and the tussocks can create thicker ground cover with the fol lowing ra in ,” he sa id. “By producing

pasture bales in the wet years,

we’re able to maximise the natural assets by replenishing the soi l and producing storage supply for the dr y years, rather than exposing the soi l and lett ing the grass blow away or burn.”

The Walkers have found i t competit ive to supply round hay bales to much of the West – as far as Qui lpie, Boul ia and Jer icho – par t icular ly s ince they don’t use chemicals or have problems with weeds such as Par thenium. I n just a few months they have produced around 9000 high qual i t y bales. “Al lowing the grass to thicken resulted in a 30% bale weight increase compared with standard bales,” James sa id. “By tak ing the natural path we have a lso been able to produce and sel l d i rec t for approximately hal f the standard cost .”

From a graz ier ’s perspec t ive, James can see great value in ut i l i s ing more of the proper t y on a rotat ional bas is . “Af ter bal ing this year, we wi l l spel l for the nex t t wo to three years, then put l ivestock on the fol lowing year, and keep the c ycle going with bal ing again . The combinat ion of bal ing, the rest component , and other graz ing techniques a l lows us to evenly graze over the paddocks to ut i l i se more feed and enhance the land,” James sa id.

The Walkers bel ieve that their pasture hay bal ing gives back the natural goodness to the soi l , benef i t ing the stock , landscape and the back pocket . They have a l ready seen the grass thicken dramatical ly st ra ight af ter ra in , and over the last few months have seen the land respond with r icher soi l , legume regrowth and a healthier creek .

A large specimen collected in Longreach weighed 1.57kg! Males grow 89- 124 mm; females 88-230 mm. This exceeds any known native species. Cane toads are also active year round; they don’t hibernate or seek refuge like our native frogs.

Distinguished from all other species, by its leathery, dry, dull brown warty skin, and distinctive erect upright posture, very large prominent parotoid glands behind the head, varies from sandy yellow to brown with variable brown patches. Inhabits a variety of habitats, prefers tracks and roadways with low grassland, dense vegetation tends to be natural barrier. Its call is a long trill, rather like an outboard motor.

Thrives near human habitation, feeds on insects

attracted to lights and will breed in urban fish ponds. Eggs are produced in long “necklace” like strings. Tadpoles are black, grow to 24 mm and often form dense schools. All stages of development are poisonous – egg, tadpole and adult. Females are known to lay in excess of 35,000 eggs in a season. Native predators are few, with toad incursions into new areas usually decimating wildlife populations before slowly recovering.

Our native frogs don’t grow anywhere near as large; our largest species such as the New Holland Frog Cyclorana novaehollandiae grow to a maximum of 100 mm. Our native frogs typically are ‘moist’ in appearance and prefer more natural habitats than the Cane Toad. The Cane toad is now an unfortunate component of our regional wildlife, take a second look next time you see one, it could be a local!

The Cane Toad Bufo marinus; is a native of Central and South America, was brought to Australia via Hawaii in 1935 to control two beetle pests of sugar cane. Today the species has spread well south into NSW, north to the suburbs of Darwin and west as far as Windorah along the Cooper system in the Western Queensland’s Channel Country, and adjacent to Kununurra in Western Australia.

T o b a c c o d e b a t e :‘These are tough and ruthless multinational corporations, promoting and selling a product that kills one in two of its regular users. They have known for sixty years that their product is

lethal. … There is massive evidence from once-confidential industry documents now available following litigation in the US that for decades, tobacco companies have acted more cynically than even tobacco campaigners might have thought - summarised by a quote from an industry executive – “We don’t smoke this shit, we just sell it. We reserve the right to smoke for the young, the poor, the black and the stupid.”.’ (http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2894780.htm)

C l i m a t e c h a n g e d e b a t e :

Billion dollar Kansas-based oil and manufacturing company, Koch Industries, spent $50 million between 1997 and 2008 funding lobbyists and groups that deny climate change and oppose environmental regulation and clean energy.

It’s enough to make you think twice about what you hear and read. And, if that’s what Koch Industries’ ‘investment’ has done, it may be worthwhile. After all, we should always question what we hear and read; it’s only by questioning that we stand a chance of finding the truth.

Hold that thought!Cane Toads versus Native Frogs – telling them apart

Handle the Cane Toad with care, as the milky fluid from its neck glands is toxic. You should wash your hands after handling any frog or toad, but this is especially important after handling Cane Toads.

‘PROTECTING OUR FUTURE’ 2010

The latest round of Protecting our Future devolved grants has now closed with $603,000 worth of applications for only $410,000 of available funding. These will be assessed by our independent Technical Assessment Network against an assessment matrix that includes strategic value, alignment to investment objectives, technical feasibility and value for money. Our streamlining and efficiency drive saw this round done fully online; even the assessment process is electronic.

GROUNDCOVER

Almost 40 land managers came away from our two recent field days with more knowledge on increasing ground cover and improving the condition of the land. They saw, first-hand, the results of successful land management changes on the ground, backed up by speakers who got down to the roots of the practices adopted and benefits to the properties. In addition, they now have a broader network of people to share knowledge and ideas as they take the next steps on boosting the sustainability of their properties.

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TOWN COMMON MANAGEMENT

The draft plans for the Blackall and Tambo town commons are currently before the council and community and open for feedback. There has been great community involvement and commitment to good management of the assets with a wide range of issues being discussed. These plans are scheduled for finalisation in June.

NATURALLY RESOURCEFUL WOMEN

Twenty women enjoyed the latest Naturally Resourceful women’s workshop held in Tambo on 28th and 29th April. The highly cohesive and interactive group of motivated participants not only learnt how to write a grant application, they came away with an action plan to do just that. The Naturally Resourceful women’s workshops are provided by our Landholder Support Services project which is funded the Department of Communities.

PARKY DIEBACK

Interest generated by the very successful Parkinsonia dieback workshops has been enormous. (Armraynald, Burketown and Donors Hill, Normanton have been postponed due to wet weather.) Spin-off workshops in other regions have already been held and there is talk of developing training material to augment the rollout of the dieback agent should the trials live up to expectations.

SUSTAINABLE GRAZING

Well worth repeating from our previous issue is the Sustainable Grazing forum being held in Jundah on 26th and 27th May to look at local successful grazing management projects, best practice and issues. Sustainable grazing: doing the best for your land so it can do the best for you.

PROTECTING OUR ASSETS

The first of our input opportunities for the updating of our natural resource management plan has given a glimpse of the changing face of the region. In the face of mining development, new issues being raised are pressure on natural resources, infrastructure and labour. Everyone is welcome to participate so check http://www.dcq.org.au/calendar to find the venue nearest you. If you can’t make it along, log onto http://www.dcq.org.au and take a few minutes to complete our online survey by the end of May.

DC SOLUTIONS UPDATE

A major current project is the updating of the Lake Eyre Basin map on behalf of the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum. This involves refreshing the design, replacing outdated data layers and adding new images. The first week in June will see the opening of a new front in our commercial services with the laying of our first synthetic turf. We are laying a small area at three residences as part of low water use, low maintenance gardens that we designed; we are also setting off a community hall with green surrounds that the grasshoppers won’t eat and the drought won’t kill. Digital productions, signs, training and planning are also keeping the team busy.

N e v e r a d u l l m o m e n t a t t h e c o a l f a c e

Image - Angus Emmott

Natureboy makes tracksThe very best words are those from the heart; Jeff Poole shows how it’s done …We all have moments in life where we choke up a little, and really don’t feel too embarrassed to squeeze out a tear. It could be Lassie Come Home or Little Boy Lost, or … saying goodbye to our very own Steve Wilson.

Most of you would have had the pleasure of meeting Steve since he began with DCQ in March 2003. Our very first employee, he was the one in the truck, out there meeting the landholders, finding the issues and getting the lay of the land. Working with Mike Chuk, he developed our original regional natural resource management plan, Protecting our Assets.

He’s the expert on everything that moves or grows, our very own Steve Irwin and Dr Harry rolled into one, but in a quiet, unassuming package. His passion for nature soon earned him the tag, ‘Natureboy’, and all who know him understand why. Steve can’t read the newspaper without his glasses but he can spot a small pebble dragon on the side of the road as we drive past at 110km/hr. A quick u-turn, a dive or throw of the old worn hat and he would have the critter. His uncanny ability to find animals is astounding. Even

more amazing was the way they would then pose for him while he took some shots.

An avid shutter bug, Steve was always ready to take a ‘happy snap’ as he calls them, but they often turned out to be works of art. Our calendars are full of his shots. ‘The camera does the work’ was all he would say, ‘I just point and shoot’.

As our Regional Coordinator, Steve managed our on-ground team and did what it took to make it

happen. He was the prime mover in over 300 on-ground projects. Steve has

represented DCQ all around the country, from high Government forums to Landcare events, pest management symposiums, biodiversity meetings from Barcaldine to Brisbane, Camooweal to Canberra, or Aramac to Adelaide. He could stomach anything but flying, and was happiest ‘in the

truck’ and out ‘saving the world’.

When not out and about, he could often be seen two-finger tapping at his computer, churning out a successful grant application, a winning awards nomination, a book or two, or helping out with a referral letter. Steve successfully nominated DCQ for many awards, won grants but, most of all, won hearts.

We will miss the tinkle of his coins each day as he fed his gold coin box, feeling cold watching him walk around in shorts when there is ice on the ground, feeling a little scared as he grappled a poisonous snake with such ease, or listening to an incredible adventure better than anything Indiana Jones could muster. We will miss the gentle tap on the shoulder with a ‘Come on, it’s time for a cuppa’, but most of all, we will just miss Steve. He is so much a part of DCQ that he will take it wherever he goes. He is a great ambassador that we will farewell with much sadness, but also with much pride, and we wish him well in all his endeavours.

To Steve, Tracey, Cohen, Daly and Alira, may your journey be full of good stories, may smiles be often, laughter always heard, and the camera nearby to capture it.

And by the way, the key is under the mat and milk is in the fridge.

The artwork is believed to depict Ludwig Leichhardt as he travelled through Arnhem Land in 1845.

The young Prussian had been in Australia only six years, and had already earned high regard as an explorer and a passionate and dedicated natural scientist. The journals of his first expeditions between Port Stephens and Moreton Bay (1843/44) included observations on social attitudes, Aboriginal customs, wages, design of yards and shearing sheds, breeding of work dogs, as well as copious records of topography and natural science. His thirst for knowledge was enormous. His greatest achievement was the 1844/45 journey from Moreton Bay to Port Essendon, a sixteen month journey of almost 5,000 kilometres.

It is quite possible that Leichhardt disappeared somewhere in the Lake Eyre Basin. He was familiar with Mitchell’s journey and with Kennedy’s discovery that the Victoria named by

Mitchell was actually the Barcoo which flowed south and was probably part of the Cooper. However, it was his disappearance that was the stimulation for much of the next chapter in the European exploration of the Basin in a decade when development of the colonies was dominated by the discovery of gold and the speculation and investment that grew from that.

In 1851, Hovenden Hely was appointed leader of the first official search party. Hely had been a member of Leichhardt’s first attempt at an east-west crossing in 1846/7. This attempt failed largely due to wet weather, illness, stock losses and according to Hely and J.F.Mann, Leichhardt’s incompetence. Leichhardt’s references to Hely are similarly uncomplimentary, accusing him of disloyalty

and dereliction of duty. Mann’s publication of an account of the journey in 1888 did much to discredit Leichhardt, probably unfairly. Hely’s search expedition left from Surat, travelled via the site of Muckadilla to the upper Maranoa, and west as far as the Warrego. It covered little country, achieved nothing and was almost a non-event.

Meanwhile, at the southern end of the Basin, the South Australian Government was sponsoring expeditions in search of gold and pasture, and attempting to clarify Eyre’s reports of a horse shoe of salt lakes blocking access north.

EXPLORING OUR BASIN by Helen Avery

Part 3 of a series looking at the history of the Basin

The 1850s

Frederich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt was 35 years old when he disappeared with six companions somewhere in Central Australia in 1848. He was on a journey from the Darling Downs, across the continent, skirting the northern edge of the central deserts, until he reached the west coast, then south to the Swan River settlement. No conclusive evidence has ever been found to explain where, how or why he disappeared, but mythology, theory and suggestions abound.

In 1858, Gregory was asked by the New South Government to lead another search for Leichhardt. This time he set out from Moreton Bay, headed west to the Warrego and the Barcoo. Near the present day site of Blackall he found an ‘L’ carved in a tree. Instead of continuing west, dry conditions forced him to stick to the water channels. He followed the Barcoo south to its junction with the Thomson, followed the Thomson north to near Arrilalah. Unable to continue west, he turned south again following the Cooper and Strezlecki Creek on to Lake Blanche and eventually Adelaide, thus breaking through the salt lake barrier that Babbage, Goyder and Warburton had been trying to breach.

This was Gregory’s last major expedition. He went on to become Surveyor General and Commissioner for Crown Lands for Queensland in a time of massive land speculation. His decisions were often controversial and unpopular and he was probably a much happier explorer than administrator. His journey across the Lake Eyre Basin undoubtedly had great impact on European understanding of the interior of Australia, and he is rightly ranked as one of the most outstanding explorers of the continent.

Frederich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt

Benjamin Babbage and G.W.Goyder were major participants in this process. In the years between 1855 and 1858, they surveyed north to Lake Blanche, Mt Serle, the eastern shore of Lake Torrens, and eventually the western shore. The unpredictable nature of the country became apparent with variation in reports from vast

productive areas of salt bush, grass, herbage and fresh water, to dry lake beds and mirage. Babbage, a thorough and meticulous engineer and mathematician (and incidentally, son of the man who invented the forerunner of the computer), later became the scapegoat for an impatient government and was replaced by Peter Warburton following the unexpected arrival in Adelaide of Augustus Gregory from the north.

Augustus Charles Gregory was an amazing man. As a ten year old he came with his family to the settlement at Swan River. He became a cadet surveyor and quickly won respect for his intelligence and resourcefulness, and was given command of his first expedition in 1846 aged 27. The next ten years saw him earn increasing commendation for the work he did out from Perth. He was a superb bushman, an excellent manager of men, stock and equipment, and an acute observer of the world around him. He was also modest and unassuming.

In 1855 he was chosen to lead the Northern Australian Expedition, a scientific expedition sponsored by the British Government. It included instructions to search for the missing Leichhardt. This was one of the most successful yet unremarked expeditions of the European exploration of Australia, involving a sixteen month journey from the Victoria River in the far north to Moreton Bay on the east coast.

Continued...

The Nose Bag -a hole in one...or all CINNAMON DOUGHNUTS

:2 cups flour¼ cup sugar 1 cup milk (warm)1 egg4 tsp yeast½ tsp salt2 tbs oil½ cup mashed potato

Scrub a couple of potatoes and cook in the microwave for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add the yeast and sugar to the warm milk and set aside. Measure out the flour into a mixing bowl. Scoop out the potato from the skins and mash the required amount. Add all the ingredients to the flour and mix to form a soft dough. Spread onto a floured surface and, with a medium cutter, cut the doughnut. With a small cutter cut out the centre (the doughnut holes can be kneaded back together or cooked as a bite-size doughnut). The uncooked doughnuts should be starting to rise. Drop them into a deep fryer with clean oil cooking until golden brown on each side. Toss in a castor sugar and cinnamon mix and eat while hot.

Nothing beats a steaming hot doughnut and a cup of coffee

on a cold winter’s morning.

Give this recipe a crack. They’re easy

to make and don’t take long to cook ... or to eat for that

matter.

Mmmmmmm....D E S I G N A N D L A Y O U T B Y D C S O L U T I O N S

Desert Channels Queensland is funded by QueenslandGovernment

Grey, bent and bleary, and weary from toil,Ten thousand times he trod this same soil,Now he’s bushed as can be, unsure of his name,Each way he turns looks exactly the same.

Then a shape through the mist of a memory’s hazeComes ghosting, uncertain, of earlier days:A young man on horseback, bold, proud and strong,Dreaming big plans as he ambled along.

A big mob of bullocks, of life on the road,Casting a shadow wherever he strode;A wife and a son, a station out back – Footprints of size on a once-travelled track.

With pride he recalled how his son followed on,But the memory failed, and the vision was gone.Then the fog settled thick; through confusion he stared;He’d find his way home … if he knew, … or he cared.

There and GoneM ark K le inschmidt recal ls . . . A mate, whose father developed Alzheimers Disease,

said to me one day: ‘We lost Dad two years ago … now we’re just waiting for him to die.’ …

D E S I G N A N D L A Y O U T B Y D C S O L U T I O N S