Program manager Anna Jane Linke invites everyone to explore
Carols in MacCabe Park
Thursday 12 December
7 - 8.30pm Wollongong CBD
Enjoy carols, roving entertainment, festive face painting, a visit from Santa and more! Proudly presented by Wollongong
City Council
Electrify 2515 Pilot Launch
Hear all about how to create our electric future today
After a massive community campaign, the Electrify 2515 team is excited to officially launch their Community Pilot!
Hear more about the plan to create our electric future today and how you can get involved.
Set in beautiful Anita’s Theatre, you will hear from guest speakers from Rewiring Australia, including co-founder Dr Saul Griffith, as well as
pilot partners Brighte and Endeavour Energy and Electrify 2515 team members. Plus, hear how the pilot will work including timing, appliance subsidies, participant eligibility and responsibilities.
Be a crucial part in an inspiring community who are collectively taking positive action!
RSVP for the Electrify 2515 Community Launch
Box kites set to take flight
The Lawrence Hargrave Society is celebrating the aviation pioneer
12 November: On Tuesday 12th at 11am, the Lawrence Hargrave Society will attempt to re-enact the box-kite flight on Stanwell Park Beach using full-sized replicas of the kites that Hargrave used in 1894. Who will be brave enough to take to the air if the wind is strong enough on the day?
12 November: The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society will stage the ‘Lawrence Hargrave-Eric Waite Memorial Flyover’ at Stanwell Park at 11am on the 12th with three historic aircraft flying.
17 November: On Sunday 17th Hargrave’s home ‘Hillcrest’ will be open to the public for a Community Celebration from 11am to 3pm. This will include a tour of Hillcrest where you will learn more about Lawrence Hargrave, his life and achievements, enjoy the stunning views of Stanwell
Park and perhaps set yourself up for a picnic lunch on the lawns, or buy a sausage sandwich while listening to music from the local musos.
Join the Croom BioBlitz
By Emma Rooksby
“Croom Reserve is a precious remnant of the Illawarra’s original vegetation”
– Emma Rooksby ATTEND
ThisFriday and Saturday, local citizen scientists have the chance to explore and document the amazing biodiversity of Croom Reserve in Shellharbour.
Croom Reserve is a precious remnant of the Illawarra’s original vegetation, a beautiful place to take time out from the rat race, and also home to several threatened species and ecological communities.
The BioBlitz, which has been organised by Shellharbour City Council, gives locals the opportunity to learn about and record the animals and plants of the reserve. Volunteers of all ages and abilities are welcome. The records collected will be used to help protect and restore the local environment across the Shellharbour area.
Experts will be on hand to help citizen scientists to learn about and record their finds. Shellharbour Council has brought on board a wide range of ecologists, botanists, and zoologists who will be available on both days of the BioBlitz. So if you’ve got any burning questions about local flora and fauna, there will be someone on hand to help you out.
There are eight drop-in sessions across
the two days of the BioBlitz. If you’re interested in frogs, then the arvo sessions (2.30-4pm on Friday and Saturday) are your best option. For mammals and checking out animal tracks and scats (i.e. poo), there are arvo and evening sessions (from 7.30pm). There are several sessions covering the local birds, and mornings (10-12.30) are dedicated to plants, mosses and lichens.
So much to explore and learn! All details are on the event website.
Croom Reserve is home to critically endangered Illawarra Lowland Grassy Woodlands. So many species call this ecosystem home, particularly many understorey plants, assorted birds, insects and arachnids. Image by Emma Rooksby.
This is the second year of the Croom BioBlitz, organised by Shellharbour City Council, after a session in 2023 that made a total of 528 records. Citizen scientists who come along to the BioBlitz are challenged to beat that record. Who knows what we might find together this Friday and Saturday at Croom? Come along and help make history!
How does your Edible Garden Grow?
Veggie patches are set to open to visitors this weekend
TheFlame’s Spring 2023 cover story featured the team who launched the first Illawarra Edible Garden Trail at schools, bushcare sites and homes from Helensburgh to Woonona.
At the time, the trail’s program manager, horticulturalist Anna Jane ‘AJ’ Linke, told us: “We can’t wait to expand to Wollongong in 2024…”
So it’s mission accomplished!
TICKETS
Buy single entry or weekend passes
This weekend the Edible Garden Trail is back and it will take in all the coastal villages of Wollongong.
“The trail is an opportunity for people thinking about starting about growing some herbs or veg to come check out what people are growing in their neck of the woods, have chats and build connections that we hope will support
them to continue growing,” AJ says.
“The trail is also for well-seasoned growers to have a sticky-beak and get new ideas on what to grow!”
2024’s event has been organised with the help of crop swap groups across the Wollongong LGA, with support from Food Fairness Illawarra and Healthy Cities, and sponsorship by Gilly’s Kitchen Garden in Otford (pictured at right).
“It’s not about showing off pristine gardens, it’s about working gardens of all stages,” AJ says.
“And obviously, the whole point is about building food security across the Illawarra.
“If we can all grow a little bit of produce, and share it with each other we’re going to be a stronger and more
Claudia Walters, Anna Jane Linke and Grant Lubyckij at Gilly’s Kitchen Gard
resilient community in the face of a changing climate.”
Thanks to AJ for taking the time to tell us more.
What’s new this year?
We’re extending the trail from Helensburgh to include the entire Wollongong LGA, that means all the way down to Windang and Dapto. We have over 30 edible gardens on show from school gardens in Fairy Meadow, Coledale, Otford, Wollongong and Port Kembla, community gardens in Balgownie, Thirroul, Woonona and Figtree to private backyard, verge, balcony and edible pot gardens of all shapes and sizes. We even have the Green Connect Farm joining the trail this year!
And most importantly, we’re hoping to set-up a carpooling page so that people can connect, reduce emissions and do the trail together!
How many gardens on the trail?
At this point we’ve got about 35 edible gardens of ALL shapes and sizes. The trail is always different depending on the gardeners who host. Ticket holders can expect to come across chicken coops, worm farms, compost bins, spray-free techniques, no-dig bed displays, b okashi bin systems, Hugelkultur and so much more.
Any lessons from last year?
No medallions for tickets this year, just wristbands! We loved gifting you all
something to say thanks for sharing your time with us, but it took us hours to make, fire and paint them so unfortunately it’s just paper wristbands this year. But they’ll be able to be composted so still no waste!
How will the trail work?
People purchase tickets online and collect their wristbands on the weekend at either Gilly’s Garden in Otford or from Unanderra Community Centre to access the gardens. Ticket holders will have access to a map and description of all the gardens so they can plan their visit, grab some friends, or register on the carpooling app and share a ride to check the gardens.
The ticket will give them access to all gardens across the Saturday and Sunday from 10am-3pm. It’s important to note that NOT all gardens are open both days, so please check the map and description on the website to ensure the garden will be open on the correct day.
Garden profiles are already live on the website. It’s important to find the hosts of the gardens and have a chat with them to get the most knowledge sharing out of the trail!
Fast facts
The Illawarra Edible Garden Trail is back this Saturday & Sunday, November 9 & 10, 10am-3pm. Weekend passes are $25/$15 or you can buy a single garden pass for $5. Free entry for children under-16. Register and buy tickets via Humanitix
“If we can all grow a little bit of produce, and share it with each other we’re going to be a stronger and more resilient community in the face of a changing climate.”
– Anna Jane Linke
Aussie Rock Anthems author to speak at True Story festival
By Melissa Burns
“I
have two more books in the pipeline with Gelding Street –one on famous Australian sporting venues and a second on unusual and quirky stories from the world of Australian rules footy.”
–
Glen Humphries
GlenHumphries is an award-winning senior journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. In a career spanning more than 20 years, Glen has published several books including Aussie Rock Anthems (Gelding Street Press, 2024). He combines storytelling uplift with melody to discuss how lyrics became anthemic at next weekend’s True Story Festival. Glen will be in conversation with Midnight Oil’s Jim Moginie and Tanya Ali on on Saturday, 16 November, from 5-6pm at Coledale Community Hall.
What inspired you to you write the book you’ll be speaking about at True Story Festival?
Aussie Rock Anthems was inspired by another book I wrote. I do a bit of self-publishing through my own imprint, Last Day of School. I had written a book on the phenomenon that is Daryl Braithwaite’s The Horses – how and why it keeps coming back. I showed it to my publisher first but they said “nah, it’s too niche for us” (which is totally understandable). But then they asked me about writing a book telling the stories of 40 songs rather than just one. And so Aussie Rock Anthems was born.
What is your current project?
I have two more books in the pipeline
TICKETS
Book via South Coast Writers Centre
with Gelding Street – one on famous Australian sporting venues and a second on unusual and quirky stories from the world of Australian rules footy. On the self-publishing side, I’m working through the editing for a book detailing various events that happened along Keira Street, between Smith and Burelli streets. It won’t sell very well at all, but I don’t care – I find topics that interest me and I write about them.
What are currently reading?
The Big Time by Michael MacCambridge. It’s about how the 1970s transformed sport in America. I have a bit of a thing for US sports writing, which tends to be a lot better than what we can get here.
Name your all-time favourite non-fiction book.
There are two that I can’t split – maybe that’s because they’re by the same author. We’re talking about Homicide and The Corner, both written by former Baltimore Sun journalist David Simon – best known as the creator of the excellent TV series The Wire Homicide is a fascinating book about a year he spent inside the Baltimore homicide squad – I still have no idea how he convinced the higher-ups in the police force to agree to that.
Curling champ set for Seoul
By Zach Houtenville
“All the competitors are friendly. For instance, when I got a flat tyre on my wheelchair, the Thai team came over and helped me with a patch.”
–
James Powell
Thirroul’s
James Powell is heading to South Korea for the second year in a row for the Asia Wheelchair Curling Championship in Seoul.
Originally from Helensburgh, James moved to Queensland in 2014 for his nursing job. However, an infection related to his diabetes led to the loss of his right leg, requiring a wheelchair. After his discharge, he returned to Thirroul with his dad (Jim Powell, president of the Helensburgh & District Historical Society) and was determined not to let his wheelchair define him.
“When I had the surgery on my knee, I still knew I wanted to do sport,” James said.
Despite options for common wheelchair sports, such as basketball and rugby, James chose the less conventional route of wheelchair curling. Other than his experience playing lawn bowls, he said it was his first time ever picking up a slider. “I was watching the able body curling and I said ‘Oh, I’ll give it a go’ because it was a sport I was interested in,” James said.
In May 2023, James travelled to Queensland to try the sport, as there are still no leagues in NSW. After an impressive performance, he was invited to join his current team for his first Asia Wheelchair Curling Championship.
Last year James arrived at midnight in
Seoul, where he met with teammates from Western Australia and NSW.
By 9am, they had begun their first two-hour training session with their new coach. In comparison, established teams from countries like China, Korea, and Japan had extensive preparation, with the Thai team arriving at least two weeks early. Despite this, James’s team delivered an impressive performance, finishing fourth after a narrow loss to Japan in the bronze medal match.
While states like Queensland, Western Australia, and Victoria have multipleteam leagues, NSW lacks such opportunities, leaving James with limited preparation options.
“I didn’t do any training at all,” James said. “Nothing but lawn bowls.”
James is eager to return to Korea for this year’s Asia Championship, hoping his team can achieve a podium finish.
“It’s really nice to go over there; a lot of people truly love the sport,” James said.
“All the competitors are friendly. For instance, when I got a flat tyre on my wheelchair, the Thai team came over and helped me with a patch.
“We all get along pretty well.”
James is aiming to compete in the 2030 or 2034 Paralympics, however, he must first secure formal classification, which he hopes will attract much-needed funding.
Future fire fighters in training
By Jeremy Lasek
“We are finding schools are receptive and keen to become involved”
–
RFS Illawarra Sutherland
Operational Officer Jacob Trow
READ MORE
Withour Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteer workforce steadily ageing, every effort is being made to attract new blood. Last month teenagers from Wollongong’s northern suburbs were put through their paces in the hope they’ll ultimately join our frontline team.
RFS Illawarra Sutherland Operational Officer Jacob Trow said the cadet training program had run previously at Figtree and Engadine High Schools but those courses were spread out, one hour a week over 10 weeks. Jacob said the more intense, full three-day program for Bulli High students allowed for a more in-depth experience for participants.
“We are finding schools are receptive and keen to become involved,” he said.
Helping deliver the training are RFS volunteers from across the Illawarra.
“They put the students through basic fire-fighting skills, learning theory about fire behaviour and there’s plenty of hands on during the course.
“We find the young people who attend are community minded and it’s an opportunity for them to try something very different. Most of them are leadership oriented and team oriented,” Jacob said.
While completing the course doesn’t provide participants with a qualification, it does set them up to join a brigade.
“They can become members at the age
of 16 but won’t attend any major incidents till they’re 18,” Jacob said.
“This is the next generation of fire fighters,” said the Farmborough Heights brigade captain, David Pond. “It’s great to see the look on their faces that they can do it. For some it’s a career path they may not have considered.”
Jindy Elith, 16, from Corrimal signed up for the course in the hope “it would be useful for me later in my life.” She will consider joining a brigade when she finishes school and hopes it will help her achieve her longer-term goal to become a National Parks ranger.
Jamie Schofield, 16, from Thirroul, has friends who are fire fighters. “I want to be a fire fighter too, and this seems a good first step.”
Ike Stroud, 16, from Bulli, was keen to be a part of the training. “I thought it would be a cool experience. It will be good to know more about fire safety.”
Tom Favelle is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father – who is a member of the Bulli brigade – and his pop, who volunteered in the NSW Central West.
Malcolm Bartrop from the Austinmer brigade said it was important to bring in new, younger volunteers as many in the RFS are ageing. “Like all organisations, it’s getting harder to get people to serve, so it’s important to attract younger ones,” he said.
MODERATE HIGH
Plan and prepare.
Be ready to act.
Most fires can be controlled. Fires can be dangerous.
Stay up to date and be ready to act if there is a fire.
There’s a heightened risk. Be alert for fires in your area.
Decide what you will do if a fire starts.
If a fire starts, your life and property may be at risk. The safest option is to avoid bush fire risk areas.
EXTREME CATASTROPHIC
Take action now to protect your life and property.
Fires will spread quickly and be extremely dangerous.
These are dangerous fire conditions. Check your bush fire plan and that your property is fire ready.
If a fire starts, take immediate action. If you and your property are not prepared to the highest level, go to a safer location well before the fire impacts.
Reconsider travel through bush fire risk areas.
For your survival, leave bush fire risk areas.
If a fire starts and takes hold, lives are likely to be lost.
These are the most dangerous conditions for a fire. Your life may depend on the decisions you make, even before there is a fire.
Stay safe by going to a safer location early in the morning or the night before.
Homes cannot withstand fires in these conditions. You may not be able to leave and help may not be available.
Drawings honour the Matriarchs
By Jeremy Lasek
“Being a matriarch isn’t about power or how much noise you can make. Being a matriarch is about leading by example.”
– Broc Piazza
Anewexhibition, Matriarch, has opened at the University of Wollongong’s Gallery, honouring eight remarkable Aboriginal women from the region. The impressive display of charcoal drawings was the culmination of 18 months of highly detailed sketching by self-taught Murri artist Broc Piazza, from Corrimal.
After a smoking ceremony, Broc welcomed guests to the exhibition opening with a solo didgeridoo performance.
He thanked the special women in his life who supported his Matriarch project, dedicating the exhibition to “all strong black women”.
“Black women are beautiful and strong and always giving,” Broc said
“The black community stands on the shoulders of black women. Without the matriarch, a lot of society just doesn’t work the way that it does of the way that it needs to. Being a matriarch isn’t about power or how much noise you can make. Being a matriarch is about leading by example. Our matriarchs know that there’s leadership in love, be that for family, community, culture or Country.
“Most of us tell stories of being raised by our mum or grandma or our aunties, We share stories about the black women
who created the safe spaces for us to grow and learn, who told us to dream big and encouraged us on our way. A lot of us fellas were taught how to be strong black men by strong black women. Black women change the lives and the worlds they come into contact with, just by doing what they’re doing with whatever space, energy, capacity and opportunity that they have.
“This exhibition is just a little moment in time and space, a celebration of some of the amazing matriarchs who organically came into my life. Black women who were just awesome and treated me so well.
“It’s my act of appreciation for them, and the time and the energy they shared with me. These portraits tell an important story, that there are so many sides to black women and so many ways of being a black woman, and all of them are valid.”
The Matriarch exhibition is at the UOW Gallery (Building 29) until 11 December and is in tandem with Sustainable Snapshots – Putting Country into Focus. The exhibition showcases perspectives from UOW staff and students, emphasising the intrinsic link between caring for Country and environmental sustainability.
Whale season wraps up
By Amanda De George
“My two favourite spots for a spot of whale waiting are Bass Point, Shellharbour and Woonona Pool” – Amanda De George
AhNovember, the month where whale tragics everywhere begin to feel the pull of their obligations, work, family and friends.
As daily whale sightings begin to thin out, the spell lessens then finally breaks, and we rub our eyes as if we have been living in a dream for the last few months, a really great dream, not the type where you can’t find a bathroom or your teeth fall out, and we turn away, finally, from our favourite whale-watching haunt.
It’s estimated that about 40,000 humpback whales have passed the NSW coast on their way from warmer waters north where they head to breed and give birth to their summer feeding grounds in Antarctica. This is one of those good news environmental stories (and boy, do we need them!) where numbers have increased steadily since the closure of Australia’s last whaling station in 1978.
mammals though. This year National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) have reported more whale entanglements than ever. They have a highly specialised team of seven who, along with citizen scientists sending in reports from land and drone pilots assisting in locating and monitoring entangled individuals, successfully freed 11 humpbacks.
If you haven’t been out whale watching during the southern migration, there is still time. The bulk of whales have passed us already so there might be a tad more whale waiting than whale watching but that’s part of the fun.
ORCCA deals with entangled whales, 02 9415 3333
Yes, 1978 and without giving too much away, this means the end of whaling in Australia occurred within my lifetime! What a change a few decades makes. It seems, according to the car parking situation at my favourite spot at least, more people than ever are appreciating the annual migration, which at 5000km is actually one of the longest undertaken by mammals.
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing (or cruising, or breaching) for these marine
The season usually runs to mid November, sometimes a little longer, and it’s the cows and calves who are usually the stragglers, so expect to see a lot of splashing and mimicry as the babies learn how to be a whale and copy the head lunges, fluke (tail) slapping and breaching that their mums do.
My two favourite spots for a spot of whale waiting are Bass Point, Shellharbour and Woonona Pool. At Bass Point they come in very close and you can occasionally hear them trumpet like elephants and the thud of their bodies hit the water. Woonona Pool has also turned out to be an excellent spot with some near and far encounters, loads of dolphins to watch for and, of course, the ocean pool for a quick dip.
Reinventing Wollongong
By Jeremy Lasek
“We had a fantastic new mall which became known worldwide as iconic”
“The results helped stave off a major recession and … the city has not merely survived but thrived.”
– David Winterbottom
Inthe 1980s and 1990s Wollongong was undergoing what was probably the biggest transformation in the city’s history. At the time, eminent town planner David Winterbottom was at the heart of guiding the city through an uncertain future.
Forty years later, and having recently turned 90, David took us back in time during his presentation to September’s NSW Planning Institute of Australia’s NSW Conference, titled ‘When Wollongong Reinvented Itself’.
His story began in the year he arrived in the Illawarra to take on the Director of Planning role at Wollongong City Council, and it was a baptism of fire.
“In about 1981, the Port Kembla
Retired town planner David Winterbottom.
Photo: Jeremy Lasek
Steelworks crashed,” David said.
In the next decade employment at the steelworks and associated industries fell by around 15,000.
“When one takes into effect the multiplier effect, that is people in the retail, health, education and other services, the impact was perhaps twice as big. It was a real kick in the guts,” he said.
“It required a whole of council response, not just a planning response. The first priority was to create an economic development unit to turn things around.”
A Port Kembla Harbour Task Force was created to revitalise the port and create new jobs. Successful projects included the establishment of the grain
terminal and container terminal in a unique situation where unionists worked with farmers for a mutual benefit.
“We did an analysis of where there were other gaps in reviving the city and we got to work.”
Efforts were made to attract major firms to Wollongong to take advantage of the skilled workers who lived here. The Lord Mayor of the day, Frank Arkell, whose catchcry was ‘Wonderful Wollongong’, wined and dined potential businesses in parliament house where he was Wollongong’s state member.
“The city centre at this time was a mess,” David said.
Major retailers David Jones and Grace Brothers were wooed into the heart of the city “but Grace Brothers said they wouldn’t come unless a pedestrian mall was introduced in Crown Street.”
Four design firms were paid to submit plans for the Wollongong city mall and after public exhibition council chose a design with a striking aerial cover for climate control and a gateway component at the western end to protect shoppers from the fierce westerly winds.
“We had a fantastic new mall which became known worldwide as iconic. It was a marketing tool for the city.”
The mall included water features, seating, a stage area for entertainment and a children’s playground. Cafes were encouraged to put seating outdoors and buskers provided regular music to enliven the precinct.
“It also resulted in a 30 per cent increase in retail space at a time when there was no population growth and it stopped escape spending.”
At the same time a cultural precinct was created nearby in Burelli Street.
“Plans were made for a performing arts centre with two theatres, It opened in 1988 on one side of a new civic square opposite the old heritage town hall, which is still used for events while the original council chambers was converted into an art gallery. ”
Having vacated the old town hall building to a new, swish 10-storey headquarters, council persuaded the federal government to build new offices
on a nearby site in Burelli St. When a state office building was built nearby, the area south of the mall was rejuvenated.
David credited the success at the time on a united team effort, led by the Lord Mayor and a very supportive Town Clerk and good staff which included city architect Magdy Youssef, who insisted on quality design.
“We set up a design review committee and introduced annual design awards to help lift the image of the city.”
David said a significant impediment to new investment was the city’s industrial image of the city with the negative impression created by the steelworks, copper refinery, coke works and coal mines.
The various industries were asked to help promote the area as ‘Industry World’, which included tours and helped turn a negative into a positive by using the steelworks as a tourist attraction and educational opportunity.
“It helped change the image from a nasty place to some of the amazing things they do making steel.”
In his presentation, David credited a series of “brilliant” vice chancellors for propelling the university to international heights and helping change the city’s economy in the process.
Looking back at what was achieved, David Winterbottom admits it was a period of great change and great pride for everyone involved.
“Wollongong’s lesson was that planning was not just about making plans and then ensuring developers complied with them. It was planners, with others, going out and making development happen, improving the urban scene and ensuring that the environment was enhanced. The results helped stave off a major recession and, with the rapid growth of the University of Wollongong, the city has not merely survived but thrived.”
This article includes content from David Winterbottom’s interview during the Planning Institute of Australia’s annual conference and his presentation ‘When Wollongong Re-invented Itself’.
Look out for Snow-in-Summer
By Emma Rooksby of Growing Illawarra Natives
“In a
Ifoundit almost impossible to choose a plant to feature this week, as there are so many species looking absolutely spectacular. Wildflowers are still doing wonderfully in areas such as Maddens Plains, Sublime Point, Robertson’s Lookout and Barren Grounds. And around town, many urban trees, shrubs and plants are blooming their heads off.
nonetheless. (Image: Emma Rooksby) This species was much planted as a street tree in the area throughout the ‘native tree’ heyday of the 1970s, and this particular specimen is on the lower foothills of the escarpment.
good year a tree can
appear
to be covered in a blanket of snow (admittedly rather fluffy, perhaps ever so slightly yellowish, and very fragrant snow).”
– Emma Rooksby
But there’s one plant, a small local tree, that puts on an incredible display for a short time each year, and it’s happening right now! Yes, I’m talking about the Snow-in-Summer (Melaleuca linariifolia), which is the smallest of the local paperbark trees (though there are some shrubs that are smaller).
It’s a gnarly, often quite stout small tree, with the classic papery bark layers of paperbark species, and a dense canopy of fine, almost green-grey or even blue-grey foliage. Its crowning glory, though, is its flowers, and in a good year a tree can appear to be covered in a blanket of snow (admittedly rather fluffy, perhaps ever so slightly yellowish, and very fragrant snow).
The beautiful Snow-in-Summer (pictured above) on Cottage Green in Fairy Meadow is flowering well this year. I caught it slightly after its very best and the ‘snowy carpet’ is slightly less than continuous. But it’s pretty stunning
In its natural habitat, Snow-inSummer grows in damp and even waterlogged conditions on the Illawarra coastal plain, and would once have been common before massive changes such as constraining creeks to narrow channels and fill in wetland areas. It can still be seen in areas such as Blackbutt Reserve in Blackbutt, and at Bellambi lagoon,. A look at the flowers reveals that they are like those of bottlebrushes, a compound inflorescence made up of many individual flowers bunched closely together. They are very popular with local birds, bees and other insects. Below is what the flowers of Snow-in-Summer look like close up. They are quite fluffy. On reflection, they look not unlike snowflakes. I wonder if each inflorescence is unique in form? (Image by Leon Fuller.)
If you have a pocket of garden or nearby park that’s looking grey or brown, a Snow-in-Summer might be a way to make positive change. They’re fairly fast-growing when young so will make a different quite quickly.
Looking back on Halloween
By Andy Lawrence
“I have a lovehate (mostly hate) relationship with Halloween, a seasonally inappropriate celebration”
– Andy Lawrence
Iamone of those self-righteous Halloween grinches who has, throughout my adult life, staunchly rejected the celebration of the festival.
Since becoming parents, the tawdry skeletons and environmentally hazardous fake spiderwebs have been foisted upon us with renewed vengeance. My kids are only two and four and have thus far remained blissfully ignorant of the spooky day.
Not this year.
This year, my eldest came home from preschool very excited about Halloween, courtesy of the aforementioned skeletons and fake spiderwebs adorning their play equipment, along with Halloweenthemed craft sessions with their teachers.
Traditional turnip jack-o’-lantern from Ireland. Image: Wikimedia Commons
Although I treasure the coffee filter that has been coloured in, held together with a peg and is supposed to resemble a bat (I don’t see it, but don’t tell my daughter), I’m also quietly resentful of being pulled into celebrating Halloween by the otherwise dependable preschool staff. Why this distaste for Halloween, you ask? Well, allow me a wee rant. Before it was appropriated by the Catholic church, Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic pagan festival of Samhain (pronounced SAH-WIN) that marks the end of the harvest time in the northern hemisphere and the first day of winter. The festival celebrates the point at which the year tips toward the darker, colder months. It is believed that it’s an
auspicious time where the veil between this world and the otherworld is thin, allowing spirits to pass through.
In Ireland, the mother-country of Halloween, large turnips were carved into faces and lit with candles in lieu of pumpkins, which arrived on the scene later in history. Pumpkins are native to North America and became the vegetable of choice for Irish immigrants settling in the New World. These lanterns were used to ward against evil spirits and ghouls, while masks and costumes were worn to confuse their passage through this world. So, a fascinating history and a fun modern take on a seasonal festival. Which would be all well and good if we lived in the Northern Hemisphere. Our geography means that we celebrate a festival for the coming of darkness on a date that actually marks the opposite: 31st October in the southern hemisphere announces the coming of summer. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm for American culture has resulted in us participating in a seasonally inappropriate festival.
I think as a child I went trick-ortreating once and came back with a pitiful bounty. My friend told me a story of the one year her brother went trick-or-treating, only to return with a single lemon. Turns out the neighbours were not prepared. Either that or they were protesting the celebration of a seasonal faux pas.
I actually love celebrating Halloween/ Samhain… on 30 April – eve of the Australian winter. To celebrate it in October feels like mild sacrilege to mother nature, a poignant driving force in my life. There is a seasonally appropriate festival that is celebrated at this time during the peak of spring and the onset of summer. It’s called Beltane. This festival is the other side of the Halloween coin. It celebrates fertility, fullness of light and increased energy. It’s about flowers and fresh produce. Think maypoles, flower crowns and feasting.
Yet, we can’t totally ignore Halloween. The question of the week among my friends, accompanied by a grimace, has been: “Are you doing trick-or-treat with
the kids?” The consensus is clear: none of us want to do it. But the discussion has been, “Should we?”
Let me make one thing clear: any time the word ‘should’ is used alongside any behaviour pertaining to motherhood, my skin gets a little itchy. ‘Shoulds’ are woefully overrated.
I did not go trick-or-treating with my kids this year. The fact that it rained in Wollongong was enough of an affirmation of my ‘selfish’ decision. My rule is that until they ask me, I won’t be shooting myself in the foot by mentioning it to them. I’m an introverted person by nature and the idea of knocking on strangers’ doors in a hastily donned wig does not appeal in any way. Nor do I need my toddlers bouncing from the walls on a lolly high.
Tempering the other side of this argument is the joy that it would bring my kids to dress in spooky costumes and petition our neighbours for sweets. Also, celebration and ritual create joy and connection, those vital ingredients for human life, that allow our kids to create core memories.
So this year, I decided to do a Beltane-Halloween mash-up combining last-minute spooky costume purchases for my kids and a packet of Freddos. They dressed up as a witch and a cat and I had a bowl of Freddos ready for the door-knockers. I strung up a string of skull lights from the window and added a single plastic bat as my decorations. The girls loved it.
Dressed as said witch and cat, we also walked outside and picked flowers, making a garden altar to celebrate spring and the abundance of summer yet to come. We then left a Freddo in the garden for the fairies, which I later removed from the garden lest the dog suddenly decide she identifies as a fairy.
I’m going to toot my own horn and say that I absolutely nailed it. Seasonally appropriate ritual combined with silly costumes, minimal effort and a splash of social conformity for the joy of the kids.
My only gripe is this: no one came knocking on our door. Maybe next year I should buy some lemons.
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