THE BYRON SHIRE ECHO Advertising & news enquiries: Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au Available early Tuesday at: http://www.echo.net.au VOLUME 22 #12 TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2007 22,300 copies every week
"MM BCPVU GBUIFST C I T I Z E N S
I N T E L L I G E N C E
A G E N C Y
Surprise glider ight for war pilot’s 90th birthday
Story & photo Lou Beaumont
Dick Filmer, an ex-WWII ďŹ ghter pilot and civil aviator, relived his aerial days when his family organised a surprise glider ight for his 90th birthday. Although he didn’t know it at the time, Mr Filmer was due to y with the Byron Gliding Club the day he celebrated his 90th year (Tuesday August 21), but due to foul weather his ight was rescheduled for last Sunday – and what a day it was to y – the ďŹ rst perfectly clear day in a week. Filmer’s daughter and son-in-law, Denele and Patrick Grier, were responsible for leading Dick down the garden path. Denele said, ‘Poor Dad thought he was going for breakfast but when we pulled into the Tyagarah Airstrip he got wind of our plan! He was a little speechless at ďŹ rst and then he said, “It’d better have an engine or else I won’t be going up in it!â€?’ The war pilot was full of wit and good grace as he stepped into the cockpit alongside instructor Brian Marshall. Joking with his chaperon and his family he pointed and asked what the little red button was for. But of course, Dick
Filmer was more at home in the cockpit than most. He even tried his hand at ying the glider during the hour long ight, ďŹ nding himself somewhat heavy-handed as the controls were far more responsive than what he was used to. Ninety year old Dick would put many of his younger peers to shame with his active mind and body. He is known by his family to be willing and eager to face any challenge thrown at him. He enjoyed his ight over the lighthouse and the
Shire immensely, especially the part where Brian took him over his family’s property in Knockrow where he was to have lunch later that day. Family members ew in from Brisbane and Sydney to make up a 20 strong group that had gathered to celebrate his landmark birthday. Gliding Adventure Flights or gift vouchers can be booked through the friendly folk at Byron Gliding Club on 6684 7627, 0400 553 642 or visit www.byrongliding.com.
New home for Mullum nursing service The Mullumbimby Child & Family Nursing Service will begin operating at the Mullumbimby Community Health Centre, Azalea Street, from Friday September 7. The service operated from the Mullumbimby CWA facility for many years and expresses its gratitude for the CWA’s support in caring for the mothers, babies and families of the local community. The move to the newly refurbished room at the Community Health Centre offers coordinated referrals to a range of comprehensive Child Health Services located at the centre,
including speech therapy, occupation therapy, audiometry, physiotherapy and counselling. The free service runs every Friday and provides a range of support for infant care and parenting, checks for infants’ physical and growth development, information on immunisation, breastfeeding, behaviour, sleep and settling and post-natal depression. The service now offers individual daily appointments between 9.30am and 4pm. Please call reception on 6684 1677 to arrange an appointment.
! d e v i r r A t s u j r e New Contain
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Horse u outbreak cancels local events Detection of equine inuenza (EI) in eleven horses at Sydney’s Centennial Park last Friday and subsequent detections in NSW, has affected local events in the Northern Rivers. In an unprecedented move, the NSW Department of Primary Industries has invoked a statewide ban on all events involving equine animals in order to control the outbreak. The horse performance show and fun gymkhana planned by the Northern Horse Action Group (NHAG) for Saturday September 8 has had to be cancelled due to the ban. The Cabarita Pony Club Jamboree scheduled for September 15 and the dressage component of the Lismore Masters Games to be held the weekend of September 22 are both in doubt at this stage. The ďŹ rst case of horse u in Australia was detected on Thursday August 23 at the Eastern Creek quarantine centre in a horse which had travelled from the northern hemisphere. On Friday 24, eleven horses stabled at Sydney’s Centennial Park were found to be infected. Now almost 100% of those horses are infected. EI is easily spread. It is not a killer disease, however it could have a serious impact on Australia’s equine breeding and racing industries. The moving and gathering of all horses, mules, donkeys and other equine animals is prohibited, whether for recreation or competition. Restrictions also apply to movement of any equine products within the state. Harsh penalties for breaching movement restrictions are in place with offenders risking a $44,000 ďŹ ne and up to 12 months imprisonment. Horse owners are urged to look out for EI symptoms. Clinical signs are usually a deep dry hacking cough, a watery nasal discharge continued on page 2