• Robin wrote in about his great grandfather’s farm diaries that he was currently typing up, starting in 1906 running until 1948. His great grandfather’s name was Alfred Mitchell and the day’s entries reflect what he did on the farm, which was in Samford in Western Victoria. He said eventually he would find the right place to pass these historical records.
  
  
• Jack wrote in about his camping equipment store in Beenleigh (North of the Gold Coast, Macca!) who got a huge lift in customers just before Cyclone Alfred.
  
  
• Peter from Christchurch called in, having moved there from Melbourne four weeks ago. His wife was a Christchurch lady. It was the 5th anniversary of the terrible mosque shooting, the earthquake now in the rear view mirror, having happened in 2011.

• Ted rang in about the Dandenong Glass Factory closing down, he reminisced about his connection with the factory. He was a skydiver and was offered a job of putting the roof on the factory, which he did to raise money for his skydiving. Back then in the 1970s, Dandenong was believed to be the only self-sufficient town in Australia. He also recalled the first pilot that worked on the Pakenham Skydiving club. He was a chap by the name of Sess Long and he went onto be the very first pilot of Reg Ansett’s airline. He also told the story of why he was moving to Condinon in WA, he had been looking to move somewhere with a good community spirit and he heard that in Condinon, a few months ago, the town swimming pool’s roof caught fire, the local residents took the roof down, repaired it and put it back on so the locals could swim in the afternoon of the same day.

More about Ansett’s history:

• Libby from Mount Dandenong in Melbourne rang in to say the area is very dry, fires are occurring and there is very little rain falling.
  
  
• Peter from Manly in Brisbane rang in to talk about the passing of Peter O’Reilly AM, who ran Green Mountains, O’Reilly’s Guesthouse and Lamington. Recognised for his work in tourism and conservation. Peter met him in around 1975. In 1977 he launched the first O’Reilly’s bird week, it is still going 48 years later. The caller had established a rainforest in his half acre, 142 different species of trees planted to attract a range of birds, though he feels birds are disappearing even from his rainforest.

• Phil wrote in to point out that the word “posh” originated from wealthy english people coming back from their travels to India and speaking with a different accent on their return, Port Out Starboard Home produced the acronym.
  
  
• Macca talked about Heard Island, and a film called The Great White Whale. The Island is very isolated. Michael Dillon, the film producer came into the studio for a chat. Big Ben on Heard Island was Australia’s highest mountain and was bequeathed to Australia in 1947. It’s very hard to get to, hence people don’t know about it or climb it. He said going back 120 years, a young 13-year-old boy got inspired by the view from climbing the Knobelist Hill in Orange. His name was George Finch and he became the World’s Best Mountaineer. His son Peter Finch became a well known actor. He was chosen to be amongst the team of the first attempt to climb Mount Everest in 1922, as a research scientist. He got higher than any other member of the expedition and would probably have reached the summit if the rest of his team hadn’t suffered so badly from exhaustion. He held the height record for many years but also pioneered an oxygen system that would be the same system used decades later when Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing climbed Everest. He also told the story that, in 1984, a group of five Aussies climbed Everest without Oxygen, a new record. Tim McCartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer were the two that reached the top. In 1990 Michael filmed Tim McCartney-Snape starting the Everest climb at sea level in the Bay of Bengal Surf, crossing India and swimming across the Ganges, and climbing to the summit, making a documentary about it. Michael told stories about Sir Edmund Hillary, who he got to know very well. He told a story of Chris Dewhurst who used a hot air balloon to go above Everest for the first time. Michael’s documentary-making career had been inspired by Albie Mangels and the Leyland Brothers who would hire town halls and other venues to showcase their movies. He runs a similar model including a Q and A. He funded this movie himself. He’s running the movie at a range of venues.

More about Heard Island:

More about The Great White Whale Movie:

The 1984 expedition without Oxygen:

• Claire wrote in about a group of dads at Somerset College who have a Whatsapp group that keeps in touch about issues in their community. After Cyclone Alfred, they rallied together to clear trees, provide food and water, generators and hired an excavator so a family could get out of their driveway and allow access for Energex. This help extended beyond the Somerset Community. A homeowner on Strawberry Road in Mudgereeba had two trees fall on the property. The Somerset dads cleared the trees.
  
  
• Macca replayed a 97-year-old gentleman talking about the great danger that the saddlery trade was encountering here in Australia with cheap Indian imports taking over the market. He was a life member of the Saddlemakers Association of Australia and he said there were no apprentices coming into the industry so they were applying for a grant to train apprentices.
  
  
• Pam Cupper (wrote a book 40 years ago with Phil Taylor called “Gallipoli-A Battlefield Guide) called in from Canakkale, the city closest to the Gallipoli battlefields. She related Turkey is largely first world rather than the third world she recalls 40 years ago. She recalls when Australians and New Zealanders would be seen wandering around regularly in the area but no longer. She also demonstrated the strength of customer service over there compared to here. There were some fires last year that burnt areas around the Commonwealth War Graves, not the graves themselves though. She got to know two generations of gardeners employed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. She noted that erosion at the edge of Anzac Cove and Brighton Beach had required retaining walls to be built, rising seas have also damaged V Beach at Cape Helles. About a third of the cemetery had been flooded after the ocean washed over the retaining walls. She thinks erosion will cause the cemetary to disappear within this century. Beach Cemetery, where Simpson is buried, has suffered a lot of erosion already. The 1915 piers are no longer visible. The erosion she put down to rising sea levels, and the development of the road and parking, which cut into the hill. Cape Helles has become an eyesore with erosion and rubbish laying around. Visitor numbers have declined a lot since 2015, when they used to get 20,000 visitors, now it’s a only a dribble of people throughout the year. A local tour operator used to take battlefield tours everyday of the year and six or more a day in April, but now very rarely gets any interest. The local tourist office in 1980 was focused on Gallipoli but now has no profile of it. She was a massive fan of the local tomatoes. The locals say they are the best in the world.

• Mark Campbell rang in from Manly the NSW Lifesaving Titles were happening, North Steyne and Queenscliff were two of the other venues. A shark was sighted and they shooed him off. Mark referenced that he knows where Keiran Kelly swims and he said, “You wouldn’t get me in there without a stainless steel cage”. Mark’s brother has been trying to invent a commercial anti shark wax. Macca related a story of Keiran Kelly doing a Palm Beach to Manly swim and being accompanied by a guy in a canoe with an electrical device designed to keep sharks away. Matt talked about how the number of girls participating in the surf boat racing had increased from virtually none in the 1980s to 50% of the current competitors.

• Steve in Cairns called in having bought “The White Whale” documentary for his father in law, they loved it.

• Sally from Culburra Beach on the south cost of Sydney, called in about Jack Jefferies who was a hooker for Wests and St George, passed away on Friday. Sally’s sister was his boyfriend. He was the guy that slapped Tommy Raudonikis in the face.

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• Simon rang in about having brought some buildings over from Alice Springs to the Sultan of Brunei. His daughter had recently spent 2 years teaching on Palm Island off Townsville. Her experience was great, she taught grades 1 and 2. He said there were around 17 aboriginal tribes on the Island, after they were all moved there in 1918 after a cyclone. He was also in the process of reinstating a roadhouse at Cullamulla.

• Danielle in Griffith talked about attending the National Donkey Championships in Young the previous week. She related many different breeds and sizes, the large Mammoth Donkeys were used in the war, she related that they are perceived to be very intelligent. The Young Pony Club hosted the event, the volunteers were exceptional and the event was great. Macca related there are a huge number of feral donkeys in the deserts of Australia, perhaps 100,000. They would have been used regularly in the past and then escaped and bred.

Listen to the podcast episode here.

• Aaron from Dandenong was at the Oceania Glass Factory (old Pilkington Glass Factory), in the process of closing the factory for architectural glass manufacturing, typically 3mm to 12mm window glass for construction. The issues driving the closure were cheap imports (Indonesia, Vietnam, China), the furnace needing to be repaired, and the rise of energy and gas prices. The factory employed 250 people. Since announcing the closure, Chinese glass has gone up in price. The end of 169 years of glass making in Australia, as they were the last manufacturers of glass over here. Aaron had spent 20+ years cutting up glass and will now have to look for a new job in a new industry. Listen to the closure being discussed here.

Drone flyover of the huge factory here:

• Ross Smith from the Australian Light Horse rang in from the Chauvel Light Horse Trail Ride from Shepparton to Tallangatta. Six weeks and 750km. It’s an anniversary ride, commemorating 80 years since Harry Chauvel died, doing educational talks along the way. Find out more here.

An insight into the important history of the Australian Light Horse here:

• Tony from Singleton rang in to talk about the King Island Racing Carnival he had ridden at, riding seven winners. The horses were taken over on a barge, shipping on and off the island was difficult. He talked about King Island Dairy being sold to an Australian with the help of the Tasmanian government, saving the famous cheese brand.

This video talks about the King Island Racing Club Struggle:

• Jalal rang in from KC in ACT to talk about Ramadan, which started on March 1 to 30 pr 31 (depends on lunar cycle). He was originally from Bangladesh. All muslims celebrating will have breakfast before sunrise and dinner after sunset.
  

• Marion from Benalla rang in having sold her cherry farm, after 35 years. The children didn’t want to inherit it. She was organising a Women on Farms event, which is the 35th annual event, focusing on letting women know what’s happening in farming. The event is over 3 days from March 14-16, find out more here.
  

• Bob Crowther’s book “The Wonders of the Weather” the tropical cyclone season in Northern Australia is normally from December to April. The earliest season recorded cyclone was Cyclone Innes in 1973 and the latest was Cyclone Herbie in Western Australia in May 1988. The average number of cyclones per year is 10 of which six cross the Australian coast. The highest number in one year was 16 in 1963. Cyclones cross the coast most frequently between Onslow and Cape Leveque in WA and between Mossman and Maryborough, Qld. Tropical Cyclones do less damage in Australia (compared to other countries) because coastlines are often sparsely populated.
  
  
• John wrote about Cyclone Trixie which happened in February 1975. He was living in Dampier, he was working for Hammersley. Construction in the town had been to Cyclone standards, partially due to the managing engineer of Hammersley visiting Darwin to inspect what had happened after Cyclone Tracey where the city was smashed. The maximum recoded wind speed was 246km/hour, yet very little damage was done. He and his family hid in the bathroom in the centre of their house.

• Rocks in Rockhampton rang in to talk about stem cell donation. Every 28 minutes in Australia someone gets diagnosed with Blood Cancer. Many of these people require a Bone Marrow Transplant. The Red Cross Blood operations used to be the only places to be able to register. Now cheek swabs are being used to register, making it more accessible to join the register.

StemCellDonors.org.au is where people can register, if you are 18-35.

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• Bob from Flaxley, who talked about not having had rain in South Australia for 12 months. They are desparate for hay and so are getting it delivered from Gippsland, Victoria to the Adelaide Hills, Rotary are donating them, costing three trucks of 32 bales at $110 per bale. They are calling out for donations to Rotary Australia World Community Service, Project 42/2024/25. Donate here.

• Wayne rang from Belladonia Road House heading to Shepparton for the 20th GT Falcon Nationals. He was in a group of eight cars from Perth, in a 1972 XA, yellow fire colour.

Listen to the podcast episode here.

• Suzanne from Canterbury, Melbourne was just back from her 6th cruise on the Queen Elizabeth, which no longer boards in Melbourne due to increased docking fees. The ship has been taken over by Carnival from Cunard.

• Andrew from Maroubra was on his way to Freshwater, representing South Maroubra SLSC for the first time at the age of 50. An Irishman who loves the surf movement, his club has 1,300 nippers, the largest cohort in the world. He was heading to the Surf Life Saving Championships. He grew up in County Sligo in Ireland, in 13-14 degrees sea temperature, migrated to Australia with work and met his wife at the Coogee Bay Hotel. He was competing in team of six in the Champion Patrol, the first time South Maroubra had a team in the event for 25 years. He waxed lyrical about the Sunday Social at South Maroubra SLSC.

• Daniel, Brose and Yatesy from Bogengay were working on the railway with his workmates, moving the tracks to “avoid people spilling their VB on the Indian Pacific”. In the big yellow machines repositioning the track, they’ll end up in Barinua near Forbes.

• Ben from Echuca was about to take part in a fun run for Headspace: 380km – nine marathons in four days, four hours, 44 minutes. He had been training for 18 months, having lost a brother to suicide after his other brother lost his life in a ski-racing accident. He’s raised $270,000 so far for it, aiming for $440,000. Starting at Mildura Bay Hospital and finishing in Ecucha on Friday 7 March. It will be 33 degrees, 36 degrees, and 37 degrees over the three days. He will run at night as well. There will be a live track on an Instagram page.

• Barry at Newry in Gippsland rang in to talk about his group Gippsland Wild Dogs Advisory Group. His group is rescuing sheep being attacked and killed regularly. In the last give months about 45 sheep have been killed by the wild dogs, as well as some calves and alpacas. The government decided all wild dogs are now dingos, he said, which means these wild dogs are protected. When it snows in the mountains the dogs move down into the farms and they are taking up residence on some properties.

• Tony in Port Vila, Vanuatu pointed out that Radio Australia no longer covers the South Pacific so NRL games and “Australia All Over” as well as a range of Australian radio is no longer available over there. “We had a pretty big earthquake in December”. Tony operates an aircraft service with Britain Nortern Islanders and a Chieftain and an Aero Commander 690B Turbo Prop (bought from Kenya), having been in Vanuatu since April 1971. “My mum was a mechanic by trade so my fascination was with making things work.” Macca explained that Radio Australia was setup to showcase Australia to the outside world like the South Pacific but it was ended, which Macca didn’t agree with. The Vanuatu region had had a lot of cyclones lately which caused planes to be grounded.

• Leo drives a road train to the Port Adelaide Wharves, carrying 140 tonnes of HMC from the Murray Durkin Mines. This gets shipped to China. The Chinese have just bought a farm of around 200,000 acres for $17-18 million just outside Murray Bridge. The heavy metal content gets refined through water filtration process, then the product is picked up and taken to China. There is zinc and titanium and many other minerals in it. Seventy tyres on his truck and three trailers.

• Anthony travelling on the Great Ocean Road to Kennett River for a surf. Surf has a two-foot swell with the odd larger wave. He rides an old single fin. He lives in Torquay and surfs most weekends. He’s been going to Kennett River since he was two years old. Kennet River was a logging township, the remnants of the sawmill are still there. Water temperature was around 19-20 degrees.

• Andrew wrote in about the decline of country towns. He says that in the last few years, he has spent time in other countries, where they have focused on boosting R&D into design and manufacturing, as well as aiming to retain the populations in their rural areas. The Nordic Countries, particularly Finland (his benchmark), has the productive area of Victoria with a smaller population; yet he says it outperforms Australia in Manufacturing, R&D, Education, Defence, and National Energy Security. He had only found three Australian brands in Finland which were Jacobs Creek wine, Yellowtail wine and an inflatable lifeboat whereas he listed over 10 big Finnish brands sold in Australia. The railway network in Finland, he says, is key to enabling a decentralised population. The Finnish has a highly trained defence force and has national service, producing 30,000 in the forces and 900,000 well trained that can be accessed. They also use their forests in the regional areas for bio mass and a range of timber products. Bio-energy and bio-economy, as well as regulated forest, are not things pursued by Australia.

• Anne wrote in about William Lane who was the leader of a group of Aussies in Paraguay called Utopia.

• Kevin wrote in about the best tasting tomato: “brandy wine” tomato, sensational fried on toast. He had been given the seeds.

• Trevor talked about a TV advert where a boy and girl recited “I love a sunburnt country,” which massively reduced rubbish being dumped on roadsides.

• Adam, a pro tennis player, has been on the ATP World Tour for 12 years. He reached 195 in the world in doubles, initially with his brother, for 10 years. He grew up in Port Macquarie. His dad coached him and his brother. Nowadays, he takes young players on the tour to improve their ranking. Julia was invited to visit her friend in New Caledonia. She sat in the wrong seat in the wrong row of the plane. Adam did as well, and they met and they are now together. Adam and Julia travel together, often competing with jet lag and managing loneliness. Julia built the first AI Charity game in the world and consults to tech companies.

• Judy from Rye was about to go on tour with her Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir (two guys involved).

• Michael from Acheron rang in to talk about feeding the cattle in his long paddock. He said Victoria is running out of water. He confirmed the dog problem mentioned by Barry at Newry, as he had lost 15 calves taken by wild dogs through winter-time. He said they are cross-bred domestic dogs and dingoes. As government assistance is decreasing, the problem is increasing. They are being culled one mile into the bush, but there are so many of them that the problem is out of control.

• John calling from Eucla to talk about what he sees on the Nullabor. It’s so green. There are no kangaroos seen on the roadside where there used to be and the road toll is very low as they have plenty to eat away from the road. He said there’s an old telegraph station on the beach.

Listen to the podcast episode here.