Community ………………4 to

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Gadfly 184 By Robert Macklin The recent sale of a pain ng - for $93 million - by Jean-Michel Basquiat of a disgus nglooking skull tled In This Case, is only the latest example of the madness that is the artworld in this third decade of the 21

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 st century. It went at a New York auc on peopled by billionaires and their trophy wives in a flagrant display of the obscene inequality that infects American society today. And not just America – it’s a worldwide trend and we’re by no means immune from its nas er consequences. But I was par cularly struck by the horrible skull – and the even more horrible price – through a close involvement with the work of an ar st whom I grew very close to in the 15 years before his death in 2018. His name is Bob Baker and his work, which covers an extraordinary range of subject, is really quite wonderful. Bob was born in England and aside from a couple of years of mandatory military service, he had always been an ar st. Indeed, he won his first art prize at only 10 years of age. He married his sweetheart Pat and they set out on his motorbike around Scandinavia and Europe, pain ng along the way ll they came to that part of rural France where Vincent Van Gogh spent his most produc ve years. And there Bob fell totally under his spell. ‘In the end I just had to leave,’ he told me. ‘I had to get as far away as possible, otherwise I’d have been there forever.’ Australia filled the bill. He and Pat se led in the Camden area where Bob established and managed an Art Society, taught a small group and painted himself, becoming well known among the Sydney cognoscen , hung in the Wynne and Sulman compe ons and selling his own works in the $4000-$6000 bracket. But then in the late 1980s he suffered a heart a ack because of the pollu on dri ing in from Sydney. A major heart opera on followed and they escaped to Bodalla on the South Coast. I was Arts Editor of the Canberra Times then and from our Tuross bolthole I got to know Bob and Pat. For months he couldn’t stretch his arms wide so turned his hand to miniatures. His small pain ngs of magpies overlooking coastal communi es verged on genius. When he recovered, he discovered a new fascina on – the world of physics – and in me he was able to render such concepts as E= mc2 and Schrodinger’s Cat into the most graceful and charming pain ngs. He became so engrossed that he abandoned the art market almost en rely. And when I organised an exhibi on at the CSIRO’s Discovery Centre he refused all offers to buy individual works. By the me he died the artworld had moved on. When Pat authorised me to sell the remaining works – a treasure trove of almost 100 pain ngs – neither agents nor Galleries, na onal, state and regional – had either the funds, the space, or the interest, to take them. Earlier this month Pat followed Bob to the grave with the studio/garage s ll packed with pain ngs. And last week a small group of us – Pat’s wonderful carer soon to be administrator of the estate, a local gallery owner and a brilliant former curator who has done a stunning job of cataloguing - gathered to try and decide what next. Our ideas ranged from offering to donate a group to the Camden Art Society to spli ng them up somehow…all very tenta ve un l the formali es can be completed. That’s when I decided to make one last effort – via my friendly Gadfly – to see if there was a reader out there who cares to preserve genuine ar s c quality. For I promise, there’s not a single disgus ng skull amongst them. robert@robertmacklin.com

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In a 2014 exhibi on at the CSIRO Discovery Centre viewed by scien sts and astronomers, Bob Baker explored theories, of quantum mechanics, cosmology, and theore cal physics.

“I feel tender about the subject of physics,” he said at the me of this exhibi on, “because it is about func ons as yet being formalised by science… it is for me reaching into the unknown.”

O en mischievously, some mes subtly, his pain ngs and small sculptures commented on Newton’s law of universal gravita on, Einstein’s theory of rela vity, Heisenberg’s quantum mechanics, Schrödinger’s cat, Hawking’s Black Holes, Susskind’s String Theory and the “God” par cle. Baker was, in his youth, the youngest Bri sh ar st ever admi ed to the Bri sh Arts Society and spent many years in France and Spain exploring his ar s c founda ons before migra ng to Australia in 1972.

The Beagle Editor, I'm angry I'm angry because when I went down Broulee Road and looked over, yet again, all I saw was more of our old growth hollow, forest trees bulldozed.. for what? The developers to make their maximum profit? Approval by the Eurobodalla Council by some Councillors, the General Manager and the Staff for a dollar,? Cleared into our community land as well. Only a few weeks ago the Council tried to pull a swi y by trying to sell our community land to the developer as 'opera onal land' but were found out. Instead they have cked off clearfelling 24 metres into this area. No doubt they'll hide behind some pathe c excuse. Oh, let's do go back...all the development in Broulee was approved in 1980s the Council said so we have to give this the ck of approval and let the developer go right ahead...clearfell the forest ...displace our wildlife, (the fact is the majority die as a result), cram as many large houses in on small blocks of land. 'It's all okay. Our hands are ed' the Council inferred . (In other words -there is money involved?) Who cares? What did happen to that approved wildlife corridor that was supposed to go through this par cular housing estate? Developer? Council?... Oh! Renamed as an stormwater easement and the developer bulldozed those trees. Wasn't that the case?

Broulee could have had development that is environmentally and sustainably innova ve, but NO, instead, Broulee has one that profits a few, kills our wildlife and contributes to climate change. Too late now! Isn't what is happening in Broulee the case in all Eurobodalla Council's large development approvals? Nature Coast? What a joke!

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Name and address supplied

To the Editor Many local residents burn with white-hot anger at domes c cats roaming through their proper es at any me of the day or night, pooing and urina ng in their freshly turned vegie patches, flower beds and children’s sandbox; scaring and killing the na ve wildlife in their gardens; spraying their plants and buildings, and even wandering into their houses.

But currently in New South Wales, there is absolutely nothing a person can do about it, because the defini on of a “nuisance cat” puts a virtually impossible burden of proof - documented “repeated” physical damage - on the offended property owner.

The argument that roaming domes c cats are “just doing what cats do” is ridiculous. All animals roam if allowed to, otherwise councils wouldn’t employ rangers to round them up.

We don’t allow dogs or domes c stock to roam freely through the neighbourhood, so why are domes c cats exempt?

It beggars belief. To try and stop this, I have started an online pe on to confine cats to their owner’s property. Confinement is recommended by the RSPCA and is in line with best-prac ce animal welfare. The pe on has received nearly 5600 signatures in two weeks. It can be found by typing in “Confine Domes c Cats in New South Wales.”

If you are as sick and red of domes c cats roaming at will, sign the pe on. You will never get a be er chance to do something about them.

Allen Greer Mudgee, NSW

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To the Editor, Covid19 has us 'all in this together’ un l some like Gerry Harvey despite record profits trousers $20M and some State & Federal poli cians want to squabble and return us to pre-Federa on. Clearly some are more equal than others. Arguing the percep on of equality Council, again exploi ng the loophole of overcharging on water and sewer ( Beagle Weekender June 18 2021 - Steep hikes across the board on Council charges) risks dividing the community into ‘townies’ and ‘rurals’. Those with water and sewer charges (townies) are contribu ng $100 plus each year into the General Fund but there isn’t an equivalent that the ‘rurals’ contribute even though we all receive an equal share from that Fund. It is needless divisions like this that cause fric on between the townies and the rurals in many Councils in the west of the State.

Councillor Pat McGinlay has for some me spoken and voted against this charade when a ‘dividend’ is declared and pped into the General Fund. Not so long ago Water and Sewer Funds were operated as non - profit en es being illegal to do otherwise. The State government cunningly changed the rules to allow the loophole and to overcharge so the ‘animal' fed upon itself. State Government should be held to account for ac vi es which are its responsibility and Council ditch those ac vi es which might be nice to have but are at the expense of 'Roads, Reserves and Rubbish’. Ross Hayward Broulee.

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Above: News has it that even before they begin to build the new Eurobodalla Hospital they have already reduced the bed count and make no reference or commitment to it being a Level 4 facility, instead op ng to rename it as the Eurobodalla Health Service.

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known. From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxica ng, hypno c new novel set in a dreamlike alterna ve reality.

Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the des as he understands the pa ern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house―a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always

For readers of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller’s Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the des and the clouds.

FOOTBALL. – A match has been arranged between teams represen ng Bodalla and Moruya, to be played on the Moruya Park (Saturday). The game will be played under League rules. It is to be regre ed that there has been no club formed locally this season. The game should prove quite a draw for the Poultry Club, which Show takes place on the same day. The following players will represent Moruya: Full back - W. Brierly; threequarters – C. Burke, H. Li le, R. Spinks, H. McDermo ; halves – H. Sebbens and J. Spinks; Forwards – B. Coppin, E. Marsden, French, Keyte, J. Green, F. Coppin. Emergencies: E. Heffernan, Watson, C. Donnelly. OUR DEAD HEROES. – Mrs. A. Hartmann has received from the Australian Graves Service, a photo of the grave, over which a cross is erected, of her son, Pte. Stanley Hartmann, of the 54

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th Ba alion, who was killed while on ac ve service. On the cover are the words – “Interred Croix du Bac, Military Cemetery, Plot 1, Row A. Nearest railway sta on, Armen eres.” DEATH. – On Sunday last another old iden ty in the person of Mrs. Patrick Beashel, passed over to the great majority at the ripe old age of 89 years. The late Mrs. Beashel had been ailing for some me, and during the past twelve months had been tenderly nursed by her daughter, Mrs. H. Ball, at whose residence she died. Deceased leaves one son, Mr. Richard Beashel, of Bergalia, and two daughters, Mesdames H. Ball and P. Ryan, of Mullenderree, and a number of grandchildren. The funeral took place on Monday and was a ended by a large number of sorrowing rela ves and friends. The remains were interred in the R.C. por on of the Moruya cemetery, the Rev. Father McCormack, who also administered the last Sacraments during her illness, officia ng at the graveside. PERSONAL AND OTHERWISE. – At Central Tilba police court last week H. Bridges was fined £5 and 6s for selling a diseased beast. The Rev. Father O’Donnel, of Araluen, was on a visit to Moruya this week, trying his luck among the quail coveys. The killers, famous in story all along the seaboard, and indeed, wherever whales are men oned, are now protected by law just in the same way as na ve birds or animals. Close to Twofold Bay a school of killers have their haunts, and are ac ve in co-opera on with the whale boats during whaling season at Eden. BODALLA SCHOOL CONCERT. – A very successful concert was held in the local hall by the school children to provide funds to erect a garden fence around the new school, which is in the course of erec on……The proceeds amount to about £16, which will more than pay for the children’s garden fence. Pictures for the walls of the new school are to be purchased with the balance.

Vulcan Street Moruya

Extracted from the Moruya Examiner by the Moruya and District Historical Society Inc. h ps://www.mdhs.org.au Bodalla School 1922

Reading—A beer with Baz

‘New shirt, Bazza. You are looking very flash.’

Mick perched himself on his bar stool and took a generous drink of the wai ng amber liquid.

‘Yeah Mick, quite by accident. I went into town to buy a slab of beer and bought this shirt with the change. It would have been the reverse a few years ago. I would have saved up for the shirt and treated myself to a six pack with the change. I don’t know how they can grow the co on, harvest the co on, process it, design a shirt, make the shirt, package it, ship it to Australia and land it in

Batemans Bay for under twenty dollars.’

They both looked into their beers.

‘Bazza, it’s all due to Sco Mo and Joshy delivering on low infla on outcomes going forward. You see the macro economic se ngs have been tuned into the free trade prevailing environment and delivering fiscal adjustments to our everyday costs…. I’m all up to date with a podcast I’ve been listening to.’

Mick let out a deep breath from a puffed chest and Bazza shook his head.

‘You reckon the Prime Minister and the Treasurer are responsible for cheap shirts eh, Mick? You think they’re running a sweat shop out the back of Parliament House? They’ve got more interest in taking the shirt off my back. I reckon it’s got more to do with the fact we don’t give a stuff about the wage rates being paid to people who produce the shirt.’

‘Now Mick, just the other day…’ and Mick’s eyes shot skywards. ‘I popped into Bunnings, with a cut lunch, a thermos and a compass of course, to try and find a screw driver to take the back off the video player I wanted to fix. A er a kilometre of trekking, the woman in the red shirt finally says you have to buy a set of screwdrivers. I didn’t mind too much as they are pre y cheap as well but I had a look around and it’s near impossible to buy a single anything. I was almost going to ask for a set of sausage sandwiches on the way out.’

‘Where are you going with this, Bazza?’ And Mick took a healthy swig. ‘Hang on, Mick. I had no luck trying to fix the video player so I took it to the shop and the bloke has a good laugh and says no one fixes anything anymore and tells me to try STAN for free for a month, or buy a DVD player for thirty dollars. Well, even though Stan is obviously desperate for work, I parted with the money and bought the DVD player. The point is, how can you land a piece of high tech gizmo with a remote control in Batemans Bay for about half the price of a slab of beer? I mean, you have to wonder about the hourly rate of the workers producing this stuff.’ ‘Bazza it’s just not worth fixing anything that is broken these days.’ ‘Agreed Mick. It’s a pity no one has told the Na onal Party that this week.’

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