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Get Ready Weekend September 11 and 12

This year, Get Ready Weekend is on September 11 and 12. Your local NSW RFS Brigade is here to help you get ready. NSW RFS brigades will be reaching out to their local communi es via social media and other online means. How can you get involved in Get Ready Weekend? Check if your local brigade is holding an online event or follow the NSW RFS on Facebook Clean up around your home Make a plan with your family NSW RFS brigades across NSW will be holding Online Mee ngs, and conduc ng campaigns on their social media channels to encourage everyone to Get Ready. Check out your local brigade's social media channels to find out more. Your local RFS brigade will help you be prepared for fire season via: Online Mee ngs Social Media campaigns

Other contactless ac vi es

h p://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/news-and-media/getready

Gadfly 192 By Robert Macklin A delightful email this week from a dear friend in my native Queensland which I’m happy to share. It will at least bring a little smile in these gloomy lockdown days.

‘Judy Rudd,’ she wrote, ‘an amateur genealogy researcher in southeast Queensland, was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that ex-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s great-great uncle, Remus Rudd, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Melbourne in 1889. The only known photograph of Remus [which she helpfully included] shows him standing on the gallows at the Melbourne Jail.

‘On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: “Remus Rudd horse thief, sent to Melbourne Jail 1885, escaped 1887. Robbed the Melbourne-Geelong train six times. Caught by Victoria Police Force, convicted and hanged 1889”.

‘So Judy recently emailed ex-Prime Minister Rudd for information about their great-great uncle, Remus Rudd. Believe it or not, Kevin Rudd’s staff sent back the following for her genealogy research: “Remus Rudd was famous in Victoria during the mid to late 1800s. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Melbourne-Geelong railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally leaving to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887 he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the Victoria Police Force. In 1889 Remus passed away when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.’

Now, since in earlier years I published Kevin Rudd: The Biography (Penguin, 2007) I could have made contact with the family to check out my scoop. If so, I suspect, I might well have discovered it was just a joke – ‘No story here’ - and we’d all have been denied a much-needed chuckle. In fact, ‘Uncle Remus’ is the giveaway; those of us of a certain age remember him as the loveable old story-teller in a Disney movie.

But then I recalled that after researching the book – mostly through multiple interviews with Kevin – I discovered he had “forgotten” to tell me that he’d had a heart operation so serious that they’d had to implant the valve of a human donor (or was it? I can’t remember) when his own was damaged by childhood rheumatic fever.

And that reminded me of the desperate care with which Prime Ministers tend their public images; none more so that the current one with the sudden arrival of hair on a balding dome. Kevin had his faults. He tried to be one of the boys and tangled up his folksy similes about ‘sauce bottles’ but there’s no doubt his heart was in the right place.

Again, the comparison with Scott Morrison is striking – his endless stream of crafted babble pours from a face that brooks no hint of reflection, much less a concession that another viewpoint might have value. If you listen carefully, ‘continuity’ is his watchword. As he would have it, all his actions and opinions are part of some mystical continuum - known only to himself and his ministry - of all that went before.

In his world, Uncle Remus Rudd was always going to be a horse thief. After all, his genes gave the country a Labor prime minister…and a Queenslander to boot.

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100 Years Ago—3rd September 1921 POLICE. – Mounted-Constable Byers, from Nimmitabel Sta on, arrived on Tuesday, and took up du es here vice Constable Fuller, promoted to Rugby. WEDDING. – On Wednesday evening last a quiet wedding was celebrated at St. John’s Church Moruya, when Miss Amy Windley and Mr. Clarrie Chesher were married by Rev. G. A. Sanders. The bride was a ended by Miss Vera Chesher, Mr. E. Hartmann officia ng as best man. UNIVERSITY HONORS. – Miss Vera M. Colefax, (right) second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Colefax, of Gundary, was one of three students only to gain High Dis nc on for Oriental History in Faculty of Arts, as a result of examina ons recently held at Sydney University. Miss Vera who is now spending her vaca on with her parents here, is the recipient of many congratula ons on her meritorious pass. ILLNESS. – On Sunday last Mr. R. N. Carden (whose serious illness we reported in our last issue) accompanied by Mrs. Carden and Mr. Henry, le per special car for Sydney, where he was admi ed into a private ward at St. Vincent’s Hospital. A er an examina on of Mr. Carden’s throat, Sir Alexander McCormick discountenanced an opera on, but decided to place the pa ent under X-Ray treatment for a fortnight. That the eminent surgeon’s experiment may be the means of saving the life of the popular host of the Royal Hotel is the sincere wish of his many friends. THE membership of the King and Empire Alliance Branch at Bodalla numbers about 90. GOLF CLUB. – A mee ng of the Moruya Golf Club took place on Tuesday night last. Present – Dr. Quilter (chair), R. Somerset, Dr. Cutler, A. Fox, P. H. Mills, E. Shepherd, and C. Carter. Bogies were fixed for the respec ve links. Teeing grounds were to be put in proper order. It was decided to try and get a man to keep the links in good order during the season……. EUCHRE TOURNAMENT. – Mr. E. Kea ng, of Mullenderree, having generously presented a bag of corn to the R.C. Ball commi ee, has announced a euchre party will take place at “Glenella,” the residence of Mr. and Mrs. P. Lynch, and the gi will be awarded to the winner of the highest number of games. DEATH. – The death took place at Mogo on Wednesday of Mrs. T. Hawke, at the age of 48 years. About a month ago the deceased had an a ack of influenza, and feeling a li le be er she le her bed and took up her household du es as usual, shortly a er which she had a relapse. Pleurisy and pneumonia supervening, the pa ent passed away as above stated…..Deceased, who was a daughter of the late Mr. G. Barling, leaves a widower and six sons to mourn their irreparable loss.

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

There has been much comment over the last week about the death on 24 August 2021 of Charlie Wa s, the Vol 16 September 15th 2017 Rollings Stones’ drummer. Most of this commentary confirms a popular view that he was a brilliant Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 drummer. He was. Perhaps you, Gentle Reader, have a favourite piece of Charlie Wa s’ drumming. I have two: the fill at the end of each verse in Sa sfac on and the drumming during the verses of Get Off Of My Cloud. Listen to these pieces: what Charlie could do so well was not to get carried away. It is the drummer and the bass player that together hold a rock ’n’ roll band together. They are the pla orm on which everyone else sits. A really good drummer knows that less is more … too much at the wrong me and a song can go pear shaped. Charlie held back: for the Stones that’s what was needed. Another great drummer was Keith Moon of The Who (a member – just, by a few days - of the “29 club”). He was the opposite - if that’s possible - of Charlie Wa s. Charlie’s kit was paired back: a bass a tom, a snare and a couple of cymbals. Keith’s kit included several toms (all, apparently tuned to A). While Charlie played his fills when Jagger wasn’t singing, Keith would be doing a fill underneath Daltry’s vocal. In fact, Moon was some mes the lead instrument: listen to Happy Jack (1966). One of life’s great experiences is playing in a band, although just at present these pesky COVID restric ons prevent any rehearsal, much to the detriment of my mental health. It is a consistent and common theme from all the bands I have played in that the drummer is always late. When everyone’s ready to go it’s the drummer who says, “hang on a minute.” This may be because there’s a whole lot more to se ng up a drum kit than there is to se ng up most other instruments. But the drummer is responsible for keeping me. This is not a straigh orward task. We must all have been to shows - even with wellknown bands - where the tempo changes (usually it speeds up) during a song. It’s really hard if you are playing a lead instrument to slow things down. But according to Jackson Browne (Rosie from 1977’s Running on Empty) “when they walked off stage, the drummer swept that girl away” so maybe drummers have all the luck. I must say the drummer in my current band has impeccable ming and is never late. Well, not usually. Maybe, some mes. But Charlie Wa s is not the only drummer of note to have died this month. On 17 August 2021, Gary "Chicken" Hirsh died. There’s a cultural reference here: we have heard over the last few days comparisons between the US withdrawal from Saigon in 1975 and the US (and its Allies) botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. Well, as I am sure you all know, Gary "Chicken" Hirsh was the drummer between 1966 and 1969 for Country Joe and the Fish. If you are of a certain age, and I am, you will have memories of Woodstock in August 1969, almost exactly 52 years ago. And one of those memories will be Country Jo himself on Day 2 of the fes val, unaccompanied by his band, leading the crowd - according to Joni

Mitchell’s eponymous song (Ladies of the Canyon, 1970) - “half a million strong” - in his legendary "Fish" Cheer before plunging into his an -Vietnam protest song I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag. In the third verse he sings that “there's plenty good money to be made by supplying the Army with the tools of its trade”. Plus ça change. But I am digressing. Stewart Copeland, the Police’s drummer, commented that Charlie’s “death is devasta ng and shocking partly on the account that Rolling Stones are not meant to perish.” I mean, let’s be honest, if you are a child of the 1960s then you cannot imagine that Keith Richard is ever going to die. In his wonderful book about the Rolling Stones, Rich Cohen tells of an interview with Keith. At one point Keith interrupts and asks, “what year were you born?” “Nineteen sixty-eight,” replies Rich. Keith says: “I can't imagine that. For you there's always been the sun the moon and the Rolling Stones.” Charlie’s death is more than just the death of a rock star. It’s like when Lennon was shot or when Bowie died … it’s chipping away at your cultural underpinnings. We knew Charlie was unwell, a er all he wasn’t going on the forthcoming Stones’ tour. But there’s a finality about it all that brings home one’s own mortality - at least if you are a child of the 1960s which is when all the good bands were playing (though I did not see the Stones un l 1974 - in Paris of all places). To be a standout drummer, as Charlie Wa s was, you need to stand out against some pre y serious compe on. The Stones’ direct compe tor in the 1960s were, of course, The Beatles. Like Charlie, Ringo was older than his bandmates. It used to be popular to knock Ringo, yet his drumming was exactly what the Beatles needed. Ringo reckoned his best drumming was on Rain but I s ll think that the drums on I feel fine are masterful, star ng with a fast right hand ride pa ern and then jumping into a straight rock groove with awesome precision. For sheer spectacle, given that Moon is dead, you can’t go past Rush’s Neil Peart - he’s good too: listen to him in 1984 on their Grace Under Pressure tour. Listen to Nigel Olsson on Curtains on Elton John’s Captain Fantas c and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975). Then there’s Russ Kunkel. Like Lee Sklar (see the Beagle) - with whom he has played many mes including in The Sec on (listen to Fork It Over (1977) - he’s a session musician who’s played on albums by Jackson Browne, Herb Alpert, Bob Dylan and, of course, Warren Zevon. These are serious drummers. So, Charlie was up against some serious compe on. Was he “be er” than any of them? Possibly, possibly not. But he was the best drummer that the Stones had and for them he was absolutely right. He shone most when he was playing the jazz that he loved - listen to the Charlie Wa s Quintet and the Charlie Wa s Orchestra. You have to pay

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a en on when you’re in a jazz band - at least I do - it’s much harder to cover up your mistakes.

So, yes, he was a great drummer, and he was one fi h of one of the greatest rock ’n’ roll bands ever. Listen to the opening bars of Li le Red Rooster, close your eyes, and mourn one of rock’s greats.

Reading - Moruya Books Moruya Books: Spring Reading Guide

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 The Spring Reading Guide is OUT NOW to give Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 you some ideas if you're feeling uninspired. Janice from Moruya Books says "We are s ll opera ng behind closed doors so please give us a call or email between 9am-12pm, Monday to Friday, to organise any orders for contactless pickup." Copy and paste this link for the latest Spring Guide: h ps://drive.google.com/file/ d/1Hz8FXWzPLazJEOi-6odWfeUwjZQiZ9t-/view

Something for every Dad! Non Fiction and Fiction piles to tempt you. Give us a call or email and we can have your gift wrapped and ready to go.

Dear Beagle Editor, One of the last, and perhaps most controversial ac ons of the Eurobodalla Shire Council before it goes into caretaker mode, was the adop on of a zoning plan made by a previous council decades ago. This old plan advocated the destruc on of a large area of Dalmeny bushland for housing development. When informa on of such an ill-advised decision leaked out to the present community s ll suffering from the effects of climate change, bushfires, and loss of bio-diversity it was greeted with alarm by many people. Ci zens who wished for the plan to be altered /revised in the light of changed circumstances and community a tudes formed a group called 'Dalmeny Ma ers’. Submissions to have the bull-dozing plan rejected or at least postponed for wider discussion un l a er the next council elec on were defeated 6 votes to 3, to the dismay of its opponents. One of the brochures issued by the group urges ci zens to request council and state planners to allow con nued use of the contested land adjoining the village "for bushwalking, bird watching , bike riding, and general wellbeing.” Yes, we need extra houses for our ever-expanding popula on, but let it be on already cleared land and not wall-to-wall housing in one of the few remaining areas that can truly be called Nature Coast because of its small popula on its and its proximity to natural bushland, rivers and the ocean. Trees are a vital part of our world, and are crucial to our survival. They provide us with the oxygen we need to breathe, shade from he hot sun, shelter for wildlife, and protec on for the soil, but a plan for wall-to-wall housing development will mean large numbers of trees are cut down. Steve Parish, naturalist ,conserva onist, award winning photographer and publisher is an advocate for improving mental health through nature connec on. As an ambassador for Bush Heritage Australia he wrote: “Trees are the planetary icon for nature. They can also become an anchor in our lives, a life-centre for spiritual and physical wellbeing.” Trees are also important for children. Natural areas with trees and not just so called ‘ green spaces’ with a slippery dip in the middle of a large housing estate are needed children if we wish them to grow into happy, healthy adults with a respect for one another and the natural environment . In his book Last Children in the Woods, American author Richard Louv, brought together interna onal research to show that connec on with the natural world is vital for a child’s successful growth. He coined the term “nature deficit disorder", and started an interna onal movement to introduce current genera ons of children to nature. More me in nature and less me on digital devices helps be er prepare children for the challenges they will face in a our rapidly changing world. Finland, with one of the best school academic achievement results in the world a ributes much of its success to its regular outdoor learning programme. An Australian study assessed the posi ve influences on children’s learning and self-confidence when they were given shared me in a natural bushland environment where they were able to play imagina vely and share experiences with one another, as well as to develop an understanding an apprecia on of Australia’s endangered wildlife. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award open to all Australians aged 14-16 is designed to be er equip par cipants for life and work. A key part of the program is an “adventurous journey’ in which young people develop a deeper understanding of the environment and the great outdoors." Educa on writer David Sobel said, “If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, then allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it.” We can’t change the world, but we can perhaps change the Dalmeny zoning plan by vo ng for a future council that cares more for the preserva on of our unique and precious coastal environment than it does for the crea on of another Gold Coast.

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Bazza blinked into the spring sun, closed the gate and nodded to a masked Mick as he approached. ‘I hope we are not breaking any rules going for a walk, Mick.’ Mick nodded a ‘G’day’. ‘All good, Bazza. I’ve registered as your nominated visitor just to be on the safe side. So unless you are two ming me, Gladys should be sweet.’

Bazza stretched his back, gave the odd nod to other masked bandits across the street enjoying a bit of parole and sucked in some morning air. ‘Now Bazza, we’ll head down past the local park. There is a bloody magpie there that has got a set on me and I’m determined to outsmart it. It does not a ack anyone else except me and just about took my head off the other morning. I’ve tried sneaking through there like a Ninja, creeping from tree to tree, but it s ll gets me.’ Bazza ghtened his mouth. ‘I hope this is not going to be a stressful walk, Mick. I’m already a bit anxious.’ ‘No relax, Baz, it only goes a er me. I’ve tried a number of strategies so far. I got dressed up in Lycra on Monday and tried to ride the push bike through. Whoosh! Straight for the helmet and I ended up cleaning up the homeless bloke who sleeps in the park. So come Tuesday, I thought I would try walking differently to trick it. When I got to the spot, I took on a swagger like a tough guy or a boxer. I reckoned the magpie might respect an ape like kind of gait and adhere to the food chain in the jungle. No such luck. Whoosh!’

Bazza shook his head.

‘Wednesday, Bazza, a completely different approach. I put on a crisp white shirt and my trendy black leather jacket. I thought if I at least adopt the colours of the magpie I might kind of fit in. I even smiled politely as I walked, but whoosh again, but this me the bloody magpie also got a few mates to a ack me. They took me down and I ended up on the ground.’ Bazza stopped and eyeballed Mick. ‘Mick when I go for a walk, I try to take in the environment. It’s a chance to get out and appreciate a bit of nature rather than take it on, but anyway I’m curious, what did you do yesterday?’ ‘I put an Akubra hat on and talked the wife into coming for a walk. Now, Bazza she’s a bit like you with some half arsed ideas about climate change and I was se ng her straight on the need for coal fired power sta ons into the future. This bloody magpie circled for a bit, had a bit

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