Australia - The Land Down Under

[KGIII]

Most unusual.

In my head, I'm now picturing a bad city-raised magpie that was so bad they were forced out of their city living and took up residence in Cann River. They were getting into too much trouble in the city, and their parents sent them away -- or maybe they're a fugitive of justice.

Hmm... That thought has now expanded into it being turned into a cartoon with some adult themes.

It's sort of like an avian cartoon version of The Prince of Bel-Air.

 

[Condobloke]

Yaraka publican shares why she's selling the town's only pub

A year after her husband died in a car crash, Gerry Gimblett says it is time to sell the pub they ran for more than a decade.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Condobloke]

So, you want peace and solitude, beautiful sunsets, ....rad at the link....it'll tell you more than I can....

Yaraka | On The Outer Barcoo

This is not the path to a million bucks....It's a lifestyle thing.

...That Red dot with a 1 in it.....thats Yaraka. 1,100 KM from Brisbane (capital of Queensland)

The pub is for sale: Population?, not many, just a few.

Welcome to this unique part of Outback Queensland​

​

Boomerang waterhole 40 kilometres west of Yaraka
The small township of Yaraka is nestled between Mesa Hills with the backdrop being the Yang Yang Ranges that offer unique and spectacular picture post card scenery a photographer’s delight. The gem that Yaraka can offer to visitors is the nearby Mt Slowcombe with a tar sealed road winding its way to the top making it easily accessible even for cars. The 360 degree views from the top of this mesa hill leave every visitor shaking their heads in disbelief that so few people have discovered this spectacular outback gem which has been compared to being Queensland’s equivalent of the Northern Territory’s Kakadu. Not only does Mt Slowcombe offer awesome views it also has an electric BBQ and covered seating and toilet facilities to enhance the experience

 

[Condobloke]

The inside story behind Gout's breakthrough on American TV

Aussie teenager follows Nadal, Williams sisters and Ohtani

www.nine.com.au

 

[Condobloke]

In 1958...! Yes! 68 years ago,

Today in History - May 13: Australian adventurer circumnavigates the globe in a modified Ford

www.9news.com.au

 

[KGIII]

Huh... I learned a new word...

I'd never seen, nor heard, the word 'titivation' until today.

Which is amusing. I use Grammarly to check my writing. They send me a weekly report (which strokes my ego). I typically use more unique words than 90% (or higher) of the rest of their users. That checks out and passes the sniff test.

So, it's not often that I learn a new word. I'm going to try to work 'titivation' into my lexicon.

 

[Condobloke]

My Mum used to say to me, that my brother was titivating himself before going out. (usually to the local theatre etc) In other words he was attending to his grooming, ensuring his hair was combed just so etc....attending to detail.
That word was used (by those who knew of its existence) in the early 1950's to my knowledge. My mum was born in 1910, she would have learned the word from her mum or dad (presumably) who in turn would have learned it sometime in the 1800's

 

[KGIII]

FWIW, M-W says the word is fairly old.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/titivate

The first use that they know of was almost exactly 200 years ago. It does make sense, with the root word being 'tidy'. I just never thought of putting that combination together. So now I am a wee bit wiser.

 

[Condobloke]

Rain is coming !!!!

First north-west cloudband of 2026 to soak all states

The most widespread May rain in a decade is about to sweep across Australia as the first north-west cloudband of 2026 becomes a reality.

www.abc.net.au

Dorothea MacKellar wrote : My Country in 1904
She was not kidding when she described Australia as sunburnt. She absolutely nailed it.
This year to date, it has been particularly so.

https://bpb-ap-se2.wpmucdn.com/lear.../2012/09/My-Country-by-Dorothea-MacKellar.pdf

 

[Condobloke]

Frustration over approach to dealing with Indian myna driving grassroots action​

Wildlife carer puts $5 bounty on Indian mynas, the 'cane toads of the sky'

In one Queensland town, a wildlife carer is so concerned about the Indian myna's threat to native species, she has self-funded a bounty program that offers $5 for every bird humanely caught.

www.abc.net.au

 

[KGIII]

Those birds are small enough to be killed by a modern air rifle or a low-powered .410 shotgun. There are also a number of light rounds that will do the trick, such as .22LR.

Heck, those are things a responsible teen could do (though, maybe not so much in your local society).

I don't see a purpose in humanely trapping them. It's not like they'll stockpile them in a giant aviary. They're not going to store them up to move them back to where they're not an invasive species.

 

[theLegionWithin]

Rain is coming !!!!

First north-west cloudband of 2026 to soak all states

The most widespread May rain in a decade is about to sweep across Australia as the first north-west cloudband of 2026 becomes a reality.

www.abc.net.au

View attachment 31888

wow this thread is getting close to 100 pages!

https://www.ventusky.com/ now shows wildfires (enable in settings). does the down under have any govt resources like https://inciweb.wildfire.gov or https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/maps? I searched through a few pages but didnt find any maps.

our forest fire season is just starting up here - it's usually a summer only thing... but I seem to remember that it's a tinderbox down that way.

 

[Condobloke]

https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fires-near-me

No Cookies | Sky News Australia

SkyNews.com.au — Australian News Headlines & World News Online from the best award winning journalists

www.skynews.com.au

(^^^2025^^^)



from 'My Country', Dorothea Mckellar
Absorb the words....they tell you a great deal about Australia.
I love a sunburnt country, (depending where in the country you are, you can cook eggs on the footpath)
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges, ....(all of which will burn)
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!

We are just entering our winter here....June, July, August. Then comes Spring. Summer, Autumn....the winter again etc. Each season is of 3 months duration.

Depending where in the country you are, the variations are dramatic. Currently, where I live in the north east of NSW, up 3300 feet, it is cold..(approx 5C mornings followed by warm days. That will get colder as the winter progresses, down as low as -9, the days are still relatively warm.
In the south of NSW, thredbo and the rest of the snowy mountains are will spend more time below -3 than above it. -17 and beyond is quite common. Cold enough to freeze the balls on a billiard table....

20 homes now confirmed lost in NSW bushfires

Natural disasters are declared in six areas across NSW, as the number of homes destroyed rises to at least 20, with the majority concentrated on the Central Coast.

www.abc.net.au

Australia gets a hand from the air service in New Zealand, and the US occasionally sends a flying water bomber out here as well.

Fire season here is not for the faint hearted. It is for those who spare more than a split second to think before they act.

This map below, shows:: 'My FireWatch shows the location and time of satellite detected hotspots, which are mostly fires, in Australia. The map updates every 2 to 4 hours and the colour of the icon does not indicate the severity of a fire.

The site is well worth perusing.

MyFireWatch - Bushfire map information Australia

MyFireWatch provides bushfire location information in a quickly accessible form, designed for general public use around Australia.

myfirewatch.landgate.wa.gov.au

As you can easily tell, the state of NSW has more hot spots than the other states.

Those hot spot location also follow populated areas....

 

[theLegionWithin]

neat! thanks for the links

 

[Condobloke]

Big tech makes AI power move in abandoned Aussie town

An outback town with no residents is about to get a whole lot busier after a major tech firm signed a big deal to build an enormous facility. The town of Bundey, about two hours …

www.realcommercial.com.au

 

[Condobloke]

Cyber security incident shuts down north Queensland sugar mills

Cane farmers in the Mackay region were notified early on Wednesday to stop harvesting, after a cyber incident brought sugar milling at two north Queensland mills to a halt.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Condobloke]

And you would like to hear the typical Aussie accent...?.....Yes?

Then listen in:

 

[Condobloke]

In second post above, a cyber security incident was found to be responsible for ths shuting down of a North Queensland sugar mill.
read below:

Queensland sugar miller aims to reopen next week following cyber attack

Mackay Sugar tells growers it is aiming to restart cane processing early next week, after a cyber attack forced it to stop on Wednesday.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Condobloke]

I am beginning to question the info re wolf spiders contained in this article

Please also read this fact sheet, which is supplied by the "Fieldd of Mars Environmental Education Centre' which is a NSW state government institution of long standing.

Wolf spider fact sheet

Wolf spiders are ground-hunting arachnids. Learn about their habitat, diet, life cycle, adaptations and role in Australian ecosystems. Field of Mars EEC student fact sheet.

fieldofmar-e.schools.nsw.gov.au

https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1u7bsjn/after_the_australian_floods_millions_of_wolf

 

[KGIII]

Hmm... There are a variety of spiders in that taxonomy, but I thought they weren't generally web-spinning spiders?

They hide in/on the ground, mostly coming out at night. They are hunters, thus the name 'wolf'.

I'm not a spider expert. I'm not an Australian spider expert.