Cobham February/March 2017

FEB/MAR 2017

RUM REBELLION Top rum bars across the land A HOUSE OF CARDS? What’s really going on with the great Australian property market ECO-AG WARRIOR Indigenous farmer Josh Gilbert is planning 40,000 years ahead DEAD THIRSTY On-site hydration is about more than just your performance levels

FINDING

BUSSO Geographe Bay’s coral reef at the end of the jetty is a living technicolour wonderland

Mitchell Falls, Kimberley, Western Australia

contents

LIFESTYLE 01 ENTERTAINMENT 02 WHAT'S ON 04 CULTURE CLUB 10 AUTO REVIEW Top five supercars of 2017 14 RUM REBELLION The best rum bars in the land

DESTINATION 18

VALENTINE'S ROAD TRIP Top spots for campfire romance

20 THE ROCKIES BY RAIL Plan your dream luxury train journey across Canada's wilds 24 OUTBACK OASES Uncover hidden jewels of the ancient Kimberley savannah

24 06 02 Welcome 0 6 Finding Busso

Geographe Bay's coral wonderland is the stuff of technicolour animations

BUSINESS 40 BACK TO HIS ROOTS Beef farmer Josh Gilbert has a vision: Aussie farms flourishing for another 40,000 years 45 PERFECT PERMACULTURE Even urbanites can use these principles to grow organic food 53 FARMING TAKES FLIGHT Drones that can monitor crops and crunch data while you sleep 58 A HOUSE OF CARDS? There's still hope for the Great Australian Property Investment 65 BEAT ON-SITE THIRST Managing dehydration in peak heat is a matter of survival 78 EDUCATION SPECIAL Top Australian schools and unis, plus upcoming open days

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Hello and welcome aboard I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and happy festive season and managed some time with family and friends. As we move into 2017 I am looking forward to continuing this valued relationship with you, our Cobham passenger.

By way of providing continuous improvement for our passengers, I am delighted to announce that we recently launched our new reservations system, which will see us transform the experience for our passengers and significantly enhance the way we conduct our operations.

Dean Brennan General Manager, Regional Services

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This exciting development includes the integration of iPads to assist with checking in and boarding at remote locations, especially locations that lack access to computers at their aerodromes. The iPads are now live and the system is currently running at the Perth terminal and some remote sites.

No matter how often you fly with Cobham, we will never stop taking notice of the small things to ensure your safety and comfort every time.

Thank you for flying with Cobham; we love having you aboard.

BARROW ISLAND

MEEKATHARRA KARARA

PERTH

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A U S T R A L I A BRISBANE

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5 x BAe 146 (passenger) I 4 x BAe 146 (freight) 1 x Avro RJ85 I 5 x Avro RJ100 I 1 x Embraer 190

British Aerospace 146 (w) Length: 26.16m–30.99m I Wingspan: 26.21m I Height: 8.59m Cruise speed: 770km/h at 8,534m I Empty weight: 23,779–26,434kg Passenger capacity: 71–99 seats I Freight capacity: 10,300kg

Avro RJ85 Length: 29m I Wingspan: 26m I Height: 8.61m Cruise speed: 801km/h I Empty weight: 23,900kg

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Embraer 190 Length: 36m I Wingspan: 29m I Height: 10.5m Cruise speed: 833km/h I Empty weight: 29,000kg Passenger capacity: 104 I Freight capacity: 3,500kg

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8/28/2012 1:56:28 PM

El Questro Gorge in the Eastern Kimberley region, Western Australia.

Get in ! touch EDITOR Annabelle Warwick annabelle.warwick@edge.agency ART DIRECTOR Guy Pendlebury SUB-EDITOR Merran White PRODUCTION MANAGER Brian Ventour CONTRIBUTORS Danielle Chenery, Ben Smithurst, Merran White, Clare Bond, Darren Baguley, Rowan Crosby, Alex Broklehurst, Michael Benn PRINTER SOS Print & Media ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Scott Hunt scott.hunt@edge.agency NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Peter Anderson peter.anderson@edge.agency WA, SA and NT SALES REP Helen Glasson, Hogan Media Phone: 08 9381 3991 helen@hoganmedia.com.au MANAGING PARTNERS Fergus Stoddart, Richard Parker

Read Outthere online at issuu.com/edgeinflight facebook.com/ OutthereMagazineAustralia @OutthereMagAus

Outthere is published by Edge Level 4, 10–14 Waterloo Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 Phone: +61 2 8962 2600 edgecustom.com.au Outthere is published by Business Essentials (Australasia) Pty Limited (ABN 22 062 493 869), trading as Edge, under license to MGI Publishing Pty Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the Publisher. Information provided was believed to be correct at the time of publication. All reasonable efforts have been made to contact copyright holders. Outthere cannot accept unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If such items are sent to the magazine, they will not be returned. Some images used in Outthere are from Thinkstock and Getty Images.

Editor's letter

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ear high flyer (well right now you’re heading a fair way up into the sky), do we have a bumper issue for you.

Upfront in Cobham – when was the last time you actually visited the underwater observatory at the end of the Busselton jetty?

You'll be amazed by the thriving coral reef and tonnes of tropical fish – as good as any 8-meter dive in Australia or South East Asia.

It’s hot and wet right now up in the Top End but it's the perfect time to plan a bucketlist Kimberley adventure, by road or air, for autumn or winter. I did a recce of El Questro for you with my dad – my pleasure. It’s in Outthere, along with the lowdown on Kununurra’s incredible surrounds, plus Kimberley fishing tips from pro-angler Mark Berg.

If you prefer a cooler vacation there’s no better time to head through Canada’s Rocky mountains on a luxury train adventure.

In our business section we interview eco-ag advocate and farmer Josh Gilbert. We ask the hard questions about the Aussie property investment market, plus look at the future of drones on farms, the basics of permaculture, defying deadly dehydration on the work site and more.

See you Outthere!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LUCKY WINNERS OF OUR RECENT CAMPING COMPETITION THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS AT

PHOENIX LEISURE GROUP 1ST PRIZE, CAMPING GEAR WORTH $3,000 ANT NEWMAN, EAST SYDNEY

1ST

PLACE

2ND PRIZE, CAMPING GEAR WORTH $1,500 JANE MORRISON, YASS 3RD PRIZE, CAMPING GEAR WORTH $500 VICTORIA WOFF, MELBOURNE

Anna Warwick, Editor

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weekender

FINDING

BUSSO On the submerged pylons of the Southern Hemisphere’s longest wooden jetty, fish and corals flourish, brought south by warm tropical currents.

Anna Warwick visits the Busselton Jetty Underwater Observatory to witness this technicolour wonderland. andering down to Busselton’s foreshore as the sun sets over the ocean, carrying a 1980s-huge pile of fish’n’chips from Cod Rocks on the main street, it takes a while for the scope of this panorama to sink in. Norfolk pines chirp with cockatoos; warm light and music waft from a busy restaurant – and then there’s Busselton Jetty, with those classic pastel-blue weatherboard huts I’ve seen in photos.

We marvel at how the jetty disappears all the way out to sea in the dusk. And how far does tranquil Geographe Bay extend? White-sand

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beach stretches out of sight in each direction.

Two hours south of Perth, ‘Busso’ is a modern city on a resort-lined bay, supported by farms and vineyards, mineral-salt mines and fishing. As the northernmost gateway to WA’s South West and Margaret River regions, it’s an easy and beautiful country drive from world class wineries, breweries, eateries, providores, arts, crafts, beaches, forests and caves.

It’s summer so Busselton’s streets are literally bustling – bars and restaurants are packed. We’re staying at friendly Busselton Guest House, and wake up to a home-cooked breakfast in the dining room.

It’s time to get to the bottom (or the end) of that paradoxical jetty. The foreshore is pictureperfect in the morning sunshine. We pass barbeques, playgrounds, a skate park. Families and dogs play on the beach.

We set foot on the wooden jetty. Wide blue Western Australian sky arches overhead, cloudless, inconceivably deep. The glittering bay below, however, is shallow. Only eight

metres deep for up to two kilometres offshore.

Which is why Bussleton jetty is so long – 1,841 metres long, after nine extensions over its 150year lifetime plus a $27-million facelift. Not bad for a structure that was almost destroyed, twice.

Cyclone Alby smashed 700 metres of it over the beach in 1978. Thousands of teary locals gathered next morning, determined to save the remains. The jetty was no longer making money as a port dock: by 1972, ships had got too big to call in at shallow Geographe for local potatoes, dairy products and Jarrah hardwood.

Nevertheless, the jetty was spared and rebuilt as a tourist attraction, with profits going to the Busselton Jetty preservation society to this day.

In the blue information huts we buy $3 entry passes to walk along the jetty. They also sell tickets for the cute open-sided Jetty Train and the Underwater Observatory.

At last we’re wandering out beside the train tracks. Local fishermen are scattered along the way. It was these ever-present anglers who saved the jetty again when a fire raged

weekender

fast f

act Busselt Grace B on is named af u te WA. In 1 ssell a woman r 8 fr 7 om 6 , a s a 16-y she was earin of the S volved in the old, res SG she was eorgette, for w cue hich awarde d the Human e Socie Royal ty’s Silver M edal.

through in 1999 – by hastily sawing off the burning planks.

Looking down, the water verily glows.

‘Jetty-jumping’ is a Busselton institution, and I’m tempted. Kids leap in and float alongside.

We’ve been warned it’s windy the further you get out to sea, but a light jacket is enough in this glorious sunshine. There’s a set of binoculars – I pop in a gold coin and scan the southern headland until a miniature Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse comes into focus.

Approaching the end of the jetty, we pose for pics and then wander into the observatory.

Kate at the desk says today there’s underwater visibility of 15 metres. My partner’s not a diver, so I know this is a rare opportunity for him to see a reef close-up. We buy tickets for the next tour.

As a crowd of tourists and families gather, Mary the guide leads us gradually down a spiral staircase into a dim cave. Natural light streams through submerged windows, allowing the vivid colours of more than 300 species of sponges, coral and a menagerie of marine

creatures outside to be seen with exceptional clarity. This is better than your average dive.

The vertical reef on the pylons formed naturally, Mary explains, but it’s known as an artificial reef as it lives on a man-made structure.

On the first viewing platform, she points out barnacles on the pylons, holding their breath until the metre-high tide covers them in water again this afternoon. It’s this gentle tide and a freak warm current that fostered the colourful ecosystem below. The Leeuwin Current, which flows from Malaysia, brings warm water (24 degrees Celsius in summer), along with tropical fish and corals, all the way to this southerly spot.

Moving down a level, kids crowd close to the windows, pointing out the tentacles of an octopus in a hollow log; divers swimming past. Tropical species – round-faced batfish and little striped damsel fish, Nemo’s cousins – swim right up close. Red bait crabs and blenny dart about on the pylons. Mary points out tiny juvenile sea sweep, exclaiming: “They grow to be 30 centimetres!”

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weekender From the lower platforms, I look up and can see sunlight and bubbles on the surface. The water here is so highly oxygenated, strongswimming WA salmon and buffalo bream are often seen – hence the fisherfolk.

Positioned December 2003, the observatory cost $3.6 million to build and was dragged to Busselton from Fremantle by tugboat. “They have to anchor the building; it still wants to float,” says Mary.

She explains that, although we can’t see it, the entire observatory is now covered in a rainbow of coral. Kate dives down and cleans the windows every Wednesday; otherwise they’d be covered in algae within four weeks.

But fish try to stop her, she says: “They eat my hair – the McCulloch scalyfin are territorial; they love their pylons. They keep coming back when I swat them away.”

Kate says she knows where all the cheeky occies hide. “The octopus are really curious so they come and play with anything. They love my white fins. One stole tools yesterday when Warren was doing the brackets.”

After every tour, Observatory staff record how many of each species they’ve seen.

“Fisheries and scientific bodies refer to us for information,” Mary says. “Every day is different.

We feel so priveleged to work here.”

The observatory has been a sanctuary zone since it opened 13 years ago. “We owe a lot to the fishermen,” says Mary. “But the reef has become a nursery now; the fish know they’re safe down this end.”

See busseltonjetty.com.au for more.

Mick’s tips Busselton Guest House proprietor Mick Jones shares his top Busso recommendations. busseltonguesthouse.com.au

Margaret River Region coastline

From swimming in the family-friendly waters of Geographe Bay and Meelup beaches, to snorkelling at Yallingup Lagoon, surfing Smiths Beach, meeting friendly stingrays at Hamelin Bay and seeing the Southern and Indian oceans crash together at Augusta, our coastline is magnificent.

For explorers, a 30-plus kilometre bike track runs between Geographe and Dunsborough; the Capeto-Cape walking track extends 135km between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin lighthouses.

Dining

Our very own Laundry 43 just won a Gold Plate Award, thanks to locally sourced seasonal produce, cooked to perfection and exquisitely presented.

For a great pub feed you can’t beat Vasse Bar on Queen Street. Expect huge meals and tap beer.

Wineries

Woody Nook: Rustic and unpretentious, with delicious food and awardwinning wines. The taste platter is exceptional value, especially with a bottle of Velvet Rose. If you love a port, try the Nooky Delight.

Hay Shed Hill and Rustico: This vineyard was once a group settlement farm and it retains an old-style feel. The wines are good; the Mediterranean-style 8

fare, superb; the sixcourse tapas degustation to-die-for. Allow a whole afternoon!

Aravina Estate: A more upmarket winery, highly recommended for its picturesque setting, distinctive wines, fresh menu and amazing vintage sports-car gallery.

Providores

Busso’s number-one tourist draw, Vasse Virgin, makes natural, hand-made skincare, beauty products and scrumptious gourmet food from Australian extra-virgin olive oil.

Gabriel Chocolate: a small family-run business specialising in chocolate made from freshly roasted, ground cacao beans – this is chocolate created with love.

Quirky Bush Shack Brewery, for home-style brewed beers, ciders and flavoured wines. My picks: Dirty Dan’s Dark Delight, Mango Madness and Scream’n Cream’n.

Busselton’s events

Events capital of the south, Busselton hosts weekend markets, the January Southbound music festival, the Busselton Jetty Swim in February, the Quit Forest Rally in March, a French-Australian film festival in August, a half Ironman in May, Ironman WA Triathlon in December, the Australian Rally Championship and more!

lifestyle

Entertainment

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The latest and greatest things to hear, see and read...

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My Waste

st picaff k

Busby Marou: Postcards from the Shell House Soak in the chilled summer tunes from Busby Marou, aka Thomas Busby and Jeremy Marou. Out February 17, it’s the musical duo’s third studio album and features the single ‘Getaway Car’. Parts of the album were recorded on Great Keppel Island, infusing it with the pair’s trademark folksy vibe. Check out the acoustic version of ‘Getaway Car’ on YouTube, which tells the story of the island’s significance to the musicians. Busby Marou will be touring throughout Queensland between February 18 and March 11. busbymarou.com

Tegan and Sara: ‘Dying to Know’ From their eighth studio album, Love you to Death, Tegan and Sara’s ‘Dying to Know’ film clip stars Miami Vice-inspired puppets instead of the identical twins, making for compelling watching as you groove along to the poptastic tune. The puppets were custom-built for the clip and spend lots of screen time riding around ‘Miami’ in a white Lamborghini, making stops along the way. Tegan and Sara will be appearing on March 8 at Melbourne Zoo and on March 9 at Taronga Zoo in Mosman, NSW, as well as in Brisbane (March 6) and Adelaide (March 7).

Hidden Figures PG, Drama Hidden Figures tells the extraordinary tale of Katherine Johnson (played

by Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) – three brilliant African-American women working at NASA who served as the brain power that launched astronaut John Glenn into orbit.

It’s the untold story behind one of the greatest space operations in history, and an inspiring tale of women crossing gender and race lines.

Showing in cinemas nationally from February 16.

read

This gorgeous picture book celebrates the artists who’ve put this region firmly on the creativity map. It’s a divine collector’s item: each page an encapsulation of the Margaret River Region Open Studios concept, whereby artists open their studio doors for a few weeks a year so the art-buying public can watch them work. Now read their inspiring stories.

Marshall’s Law Ben Sanders, Allen & Unwin, RRP $29.99

The gritty, explosive new novel from the bestselling author of American Blood is a white-knuckle ride that will have you ducking for cover. Ex-undercover cop Marshall Grade is hiding out in California when he learns that federal agent Lucas Cohen has survived a kidnapping. Cohen was Marshall’s ticket into witness protection, and his captors have a simple question: “Where is Marshall now?”

Day One 2

App Store, $7.99 Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to keep a journal? This app will help you turn that desire into a reality, because it’s so smart that it makes journalling easy. A digital journal might not have the romance of a gorgeous paper-stock one, but the new version of the popular Day One app means your journal entries can be geolocated; you can add photos; you can even see your day’s fitness activity, all in the one spot. It’s mind, body and soul... sorted.

watch

Artists of the Margaret River Region Carmen Jenner and Gabi Mills, M&P Publishing, RRP $40

App Store, free Google Play, free My Waste helps you keep track of your council rubbish collection days by customising a detailed collection calendar to your address. You can set reminders for collections and know which recycling bin is due out that week. It even has a ‘what goes where’ database to help you know where to dispose of those trickier items that don’t belong in landfill.

George Lucas Brian Jay Jones, Hachette Aust, RRP $35 Star Wars geeks, movie buffs, general lovers of the big screen, rejoice! This is the first comprehensive telling of George Lucas’ story and it’s a biography, business manual and film history rolled into one. It comes from Brian Jay Jones, who’s also written the New York Times-bestselling Jim Henson: The Biography (‘masterful’ Kirkus) and Washington Irving: An American Original.

Stocard

App Store, free Google Play, free Sick of your wallet bursting at the seams with all those forgotten store-membership cards? This app stores them all in one place for you, meaning you’ll actually use them to gain all those sweet discounts. The app also has an ‘offers’ tab with catalogues to browse through, so you never miss a bargain.

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What’s On

Our top pick of events coming up around the country...

© RedBullMediaHouse

O T T ED NOMISS BE

FEBRUARY

FEBRUARY

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FEBRUARY

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February 11

February 11–12

South West Craft Beer Festival, Busselton, WA

Noosa Summer Swim, Qld

This one-day festival features the best brewers and performers of WA’s South West, from Mandurah to Denmark.

Enjoy Busso’s autumn sunshine and mouth-watering, refreshing beers from breweries large and small. There will also be an array of ciders, ginger beer, wine and bubbles for those who have to pass on beer. swbeerfest.com.au

else

where

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This year, the carnival expands to a two-day program with the introduction of the five-kilometre Grand Prix event on February 12. This marathon distance swim will attract some of Australia’s leading open-water swimmers.

February 11 will offer short and long courses and the Junior Giants races, designed for kids from 8 to 16 years old. worldseriesswims.com.au

February 28 Mardi Gras New Orleans Louisiana, USA See the festivities and parades full of fun, frolics and comic masquerading. mardigrasneworleans.com

Feb 28–Mar 8 Paris Fashion Week Designer presentations held each spring/summer and autumn/winter attract the who’s who of fashionistas. fashionweekdates.com

February 17–27 75th Anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin, NT

During WW2, Darwin was the target of more than 64 Japanese air raids, causing huge devastation and many civilian casualties. A national day of observance and many additional commemorative services will take place to remember those who lost their lives and served in the defence of the Top End. tourismtopend.com.au

Mar 19–22 Chichen Itza Spring Equinox This is an exciting merger of Mayan history, spectacular architecture and extraordnary geometry. gomexico.about.com

MARCH

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March 3–19 Adelaide Festival, SA

It’s festival time in Adelaide, which means that an outstanding mix of internationally acclaimed theatre productions, world-class musicians, breathtaking dance pieces, renowned writers and striking visual arts displays will be invigorating South Australia’s capital. ‘Mad March’ i s a good time to visit: the arty city will be at its finest. adelaidefestival.com.au

Mar 17 St Patrick’s Day, Ireland Earlier St Patrick’s Day parades were simpler affairs, but today St Pat’s Day has metamorphosed into a huge festival. stpatricksfestival.ie

lifestyle

FEBRUARY

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Australian Open of Surfing, Manly, NSW FEB 25–MAR 5 Sydney’s Manly Beach becomes centre stage for some of the world’s best surfers and skateboarders during this free annual festival. Spectators pack the beachfront promenade to see the World Surf League Men’s and Women’s Pro events as well as the Sydney Grom Challenge event for Juniors.

Get there early and enjoy the beachside buzz of live music, sun, surf and skating.

Australianopenofsurfing.com

MARCH

MARCH

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APRIL

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March 25–26

March 29–April 23

March 31–April 9

April 1–2

Felton Food & Wine Festival, Toowoomba, Qld

Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Vic

The House of Food and Wine, Melbourne, Vic

Adventurethon Magnetic Island, Townsville, Qld

Experience authentic country life at the annual Felton Food Festival.

Slow down, breathe deeply and immerse yourself in the life of Felton Farmers! Special guests include Costa Georgiadis, Alison Alexander, Alastair McLeod, Jerry Coleby-Williams, George the Farmer, and country singer Brendon Walmsley. feltonfoodfestival.org.au

It’s Australia’s national comedy festival and one of the world’s biggest. Best of all, this laugh-fest runs for nearly a month. Fave Aussie performers include Lawrence Mooney, Judith Lucy and Denise Scott, Hannah Gadsby and more.

Tickets sell fast, so don’t miss out. comedyfestival.com.au

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is throwing open its doors and welcoming you to its House during this 10-day festival. Tucked down a laneway in Melbourne’s CBD, The House will host sit-down dinners, wine tastings and block parties, and the bar will be open every arvo so foodies can mingle. melbournefoodandwine.com

Adventurethon is an adrenalinecharged multisport challenge incorporating paddling, mountain biking and off-road (or trail) running, through national parklands and along beaches and hiking trails. Be the first to experience the amazing new Adventurethon Magnetic Island course. adventurethon.com.au

look

ahead

April 29–May 5 Townsville MTB Festival Mountain Bike Australia presents the inaugural Townsville Mountain Bike Festival in this tropical region. townsvillenorthqueensland.com.au

May 19–28 Argyle Diamonds Ord Valley Muster, Kununurra, WA More than 30 events and activities that celebrate this epic region’s vast diversity. ordvalleymuster.com.au

May 20–21 Cable Beach Polo, Broome A sporting spectacular that attracts leading polo players, tourists, media and celebrities from all over the world. cablebeachpolo.com.au

June 2–11 Melbourne Int’l Jazz Festival, Vic Put your dancing shoes on and get ready to groove to the sounds of jazz — at concert halls, jazz clubs and even in the streets. melbournejazz.com

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lifestyle

CULTURE

club

Need some hot tickets for this February and March?

Feed your soul with these cultural gems from around Australia.

LA TRAVIATA, SYDNEY FEBRUARY 3–APRIL 1 Don’t miss the world’s most popular opera, sung in Italian with English subtitles at the iconic Sydney Opera House. This is Italian opera at its finest, with velvet dresses, lavish parties, rousing music and crowded sets, combined with romance and tragic endings. It’s the perfect opportunity for opera first-timers to revel in the colour and atmosphere of a live production. opera.org.au

ADELAIDE FRINGE FESTIVAL FEBRUARY 17–MARCH 19

The Southern Hemisphere’s largest alternative arts festival, the Fringe, infuses Adelaide, the surrounding suburbs and even regional areas of South Australia with creativity for 31 magical days and nights in autumn.

Thousands of artists from all over Adelaide, Australia and the world will perform at venues big and small. It’s an open-access festival so there’s no curator: anyone who wants to be a part of Adelaide Fringe can take to the stage, making it a fresh and innovative experience. adelaidefringe.com.au 4

lifestyle

February 10–March 5 PERTH INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL This year the festival explores themes of migration, reconciliation, accessibility and empathy. It even has its own official scent: the aroma of indigenous lemon myrtle will pervade venues and influence menus across the city over the 24 days and nights of PIAF. Immerse yourself in the world-class program of international acts. perthfestival.com.au

Mardi Gras, Sydney FEBRUARY 17–MARCH 5

The theme for 2017 is ‘Creating Equality’ and the festival aims to highlight areas in which LGBTQI individuals are still fighting to be treated equally. More than 80 events, exhibitions, music and theatre shows make up the program, with the jewel in the crown, the Mardi Gras Parade, taking place on March 4. This year sees the debut of ‘Koori Gras @ 107’, a festival within the festival, about the First People. mardigras.org.au

COME TOGETHER MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL, ELTHAM, VIC

March 25

Celebrate life in spite of adversity at the Come Together Festival. There’s a strong focus on raising awareness about suicide prevention, mental health, general wellbeing and multiculturalism at this festival created by the Hang Together Collective. Enjoy contemporary, fun music in a beautiful outdoor setting at Edendale Farm. cometogether.org.au

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STREAM IT ON YOUR MOBILE, DESKTOP, TABLET OR TV VISIT FISHFLICKS.TV TO FIND OUT MORE

lifestyle

 We who love: The Nolan slates

Heide Museum of Modern Art, Bulleen, Vic. To April 2 2017 marks the centenary of renowned Australian painter Sidney Nolan’s birth. A window into his world of personal upheaval and artistic experimentation, this exhibition of 32 paintings on roofing slates records the end of Nolan’s marriage, new relationships with patrons John and Sunday Reed, and fears over the war in the Pacific. The paintings also show his preference for ‘non-art’ materials, his avant-garde aspirations and his literary interests. heide.com.au

Top Left: Sidney Nolan (Figure in boat) January 1942 enamel on slate 22 x 26.2 cm (irreg.) © Sidney Nolan Trust; Above: Auguste Rodin, France, Andrieu d’Andres, monumental 1886, bronze © William Bowmore AO OBE Collection.

 Versus

 Hill End Table: Food, Art, Landscape

Bathurst Regional Art Gallery. Bathurst, NSW. February 10–March 26 Hill End was the creative hideaway for some of Australia’s most successful artists and, since 1999, it’s been home to the Hill End Artists in Residence Program. This exhibition features paintings, works on paper, ceramics and photographs by Hill End artists including Lino Alvarez, Genevieve Carroll, Tamara Dean, John Firth-Smith, Bill Moseley, John Olsen, Luke Sciberras and Rosemary Valadon. bathurstart.com.au

TIGER ARMY

Tickets and tour dates available online now.

TOUR

GARRY SHEAD, ‘Supper in Hill End 2015’, oil on board.

30x31 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

Rodin: Bodies across Space and Time Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide.

March 4–July 2 19th-century French artist Auguste Rodin, creator of ‘The Thinker’, redefined the idea of the body in sculpture, and his legacy inspires this exhibition. View Rodin’s works juxtaposed with works by leading modern and contemporary artists who have similarly challenged our understanding of the human condition. The gallery is home to the largest collection of Rodin’s bronze sculptures in the Southern Hemisphere and is a must-see for art-lovers. artgallery.sa.gov.au

February 17-19

TEGAN & SARA March 6-9

TWENTY ONE PILOTS March 27–April 8

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At Melbourne Business School, our MBA programs will equip you with the skills required to be successful in a wide range of industries. The ability to transition careers or sectors affords you the opportunity to take on a new challenge, grow professionally and expand your options.

No matter where you end up, the ability to learn, adapt and influence in any economic environment is highly prized and something that an MBA at Melbourne Business School can help you achieve.

• 20% of our Full-time MBA class have resource industry experience • Access to Career Consultants with expertise in career development and transitioning • Applications for 2017 programs now being considered • Scholarships available To speak to an Admissions Consultant call 03 9349 8200 or email study@mbs.edu

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“Also, Melbourne Business School enables you to build both your Australian and foreign networks because you are taught by an internationally acclaimed faculty, while studying with peers from all over the world. The MBA perfectly complements my background in engineering too.”

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lifestyle

PRECIOUS METAL

Penchant for shiny things? Check our five most anticipated supercars of 2017 WORDS: MICHAEL BENN

AUDI R8 SPYDER Convertibles, cabriolets, spyders, roadsters: whatever they’re called, cars with top-down options are glamorous, but are frequently a hit-and-miss affair. This comes down to two main factors: weight (removable roofs, and the gimcrackery that operates them, are heavy) and stiffness (losing all that bracing makes the chassis less rigid). Well, throw all that out the window – or just out through the open roof – because Audi is about to release the best stiff open-top car that (a hell of a lot of) money can buy. Packing 397kW and 540Nm, the Audi R8 V10 Spyder can (allegedly) do the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.6 seconds – and 0-200km/h in just 11.8 – for a top speed of 316km/h. But… whatever. Just drop the top and drive through tunnels, all the better to hear that naturally aspirated engine note, which wails away like Zeus gargling mountains. And there’ll be a V10-plus version to follow! Ooh. Exciting.

PRICE: JUST UNDER $390K RELEASED: MID-2017 10

lifestyle

MERCEDES-AMG GT R What’s in a name? Just like BMW’s sainted M, Audi’s RennSport (now, boringly, ‘Audi Sport’) or Nissan’s Nismo – Merc’s AMG skunkworks/ lunatic racing division was once (and, in places, remains) an adjunct to model names, such as on, say, the A45 AMG. In replacing the gullwing-ed SLS AMG, however, with the 911-rivalling Mercedes-AMG GT, they got full nameabove-the-title rights. So Hollywood! But it makes sense, because the MercedesAMG GT is a mental, rear-wheel-drive, front-engined, twin-turbo track demon; just the sort of thing AMG should make.

Now, finally, comes the model’s halo version: the GT R (and a GT Roadster version, besides). The dry-sumped 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 now has 430kW and 700Nm for a 3.6 second 0-100km/h sprint, and a blitzkrieg engine wail that’d be great if it wasn’t drowned out by your own high-pitched screaming.

PRICE: TBC RELEASED: JULY 2017

MCLAREN 570S COUPE In the ludicrous pocketbook aerobics of the super-rich, this mouth-watering McLaren is considered, believe it or not, ‘entry-level’ affordable. It’s just under $380K – not much more wedge than would buy you a Porsche 911 Turbo – and weighs just 1,313 kilograms dry. But it’s no watered-down knock-off. The 570S has been described by one local, early reviewer as making the “911 Turbo and [Audi] R8 seem tame”. Considering how liveable the Audi is, and how undemanding the Porsche, that’s no big call. But take the performance figures of those rivals into account and the 570S, also pitched as an everyday supercar, makes sense. The McLaren returns a quicksilver 3.2-second 0-100km/h and features just-about-Alcantara-everything inside, while the outside is a warped sculpture of carbon fibre and metal, all big hooter and gummy, gurning grin. Charisma by the bucketload, basically – even before you notice that enviable badge.

PRICE: $379K RELEASED: SECOND QUARTER OF 2017 FF STA K PI C

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ESCAPE

Time is precious and if you don’t want to waste it, the Turbo Tent is the way to go.

Quick as lightning and easy to pitch, there’s a range of styles and sizes perfect for all occasions, from a few friends to a big family.

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NISSAN GT-R NISMO Giving Nissan’s legendary GT-R the Nismo treatment is a bit like injecting the Hulk with rage virus and then insulting his mum, just to see what happens. The GT-R is already a car with literally frightening amounts of power and throttle response; the updated GT-R will see a jump of 15kW (to 419kW) and 9Nm (to, ahem, 637Nm) – producing a frankly unnecessary 0-100km/h time of around 2.7 seconds (consider that, in his F1 day job, Daniel Ricciardo takes about 2.6 seconds). On track, in the right hands, it’s a Godzilla, capable of miraculous savagery. Everywhere else (and on track) it remains a trap for young players: one overzealous ankle-twitch away from launching you into the shrubbery. Nissan doesn’t like to make huge styling leaps forward; each incremental tweak seems to mirror the incremental increase in the GT-R’s numbers. This doesn’t matter: few models have such a cult following.

PRICE: $299K RELEASED: FEBRUARY 2017

HONDA NSX Shelling out more than $400,000 for a Honda with middling interior styling that looks, top down, like an Uber car on Google Maps, seems a big ask. Because at that point its rivals are pointedly exotic – and occasionally, red and Italian. But while the new NSX has some history (its cult predecessor, debuting in 1990 with input from Ayrton Senna, was the world’s first mass-produced car with an all-aluminium body), it’s no Ferrari 250 GTO. And yet, the new NSX is an intriguing proposition: a hybrid sports car powered by a 3.5L twin-turbo V6, plus three (three!) electric motors, with an all-wheel drive 3.0 second 0-100km/h sprint and the body of a supermodel – even if its face is very slightly (ugh) Honda Civic.

PRICE: $420K RELEASED: JANUARY 2017 13

HELLO WEEKEND!

GO YOUR OWN WAY WITH THE ADVENTUROUS ISUZU MU-X Isuzu MU-X drivers put up with a lot from Monday to Friday. So when the weekend comes, there’s nothing better than finding the perfect spot to leave it all behind. With a powerful and efficient 3.0L turbo diesel engine, Terrain Command 4WD system, reversing camera and a comfortable and spacious cabin, the 7-seat MU-X has everything you need to go your own way.

Discover the Isuzu MU-X for yourself – visit your Isuzu UTE Dealer or isuzuute.com.au

5-star ANCAP safety rating applies to all MU-X models. +3.0 tonne braked towing capacity on all MU-X models when fitted with an optional genuine Isuzu UTE tow bar kit.

lifestyle

RE WHE T TO EIANK & DR

FIVE OF THE BEST

RUM REBELLION

Tiki trappings, pirate themes and Caribbean kitsch are alarmingly common, but rum is having a renaissance – and we’re all for it.

Ben Smithurst walks the plank into Australia’s best rum bars.

THE LOBO PLANTATION SYDNEY, NSW

Julio Lobo was once Cuba’s richest man, a rollicking, white-suited sugar baron worth around US$200-odd million – until tenure was cut short. That was in October 1960, with the arrival of a couple of likely lads called Ché and Fidel. Lobo died in 1983, after two exiled decades living in a Madrid apartment much, much smaller than Clarence Street’s (literally) underground Lobo Plantation.

This opulent, glamorous and baroque old-world bar harks merrily back to poor old Lobo’s pre-revolution lifestyle. Dip down the spiral stairs, settle in, pick up the 100-plus-page book of tasting notes (the Lobo Rum Journal) and soak up the hipness. The Lobo team is also behind the painfully cool, WWII Liberation of Paris-inspired Kittyhawk, a CBD cocktail joint nearby. But why no Sydney rum bar called ‘Rum Rebellion’? thelobo.com.au

Queensland is undoubtedly the nation’s rummiest state, home to Bundaberg Rum, countless cane cutters and – refreshingly – a wide variety of rum bars. The iconic Breakfast Creek Hotel’s Substation no. 41, offering 400-500 varieties and an 11.9-metre bar, is huge, and great… but if you fancy something more subdued, the Walrus Club is for you. Modelled on a Prohibition-era speak-easy, the Walrus is a dimly lit bunker bolstered with exposed beams, ornate leather couches, sturdy wooden stools and a floor that cries out for a scattering of sawdust. Sneak downstairs from the Regatta Hotel and embrace the atmosphere. thewalrusclub.com.au

THE WALRUS CLUB TOOWONG, QLD

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THE RUM DIARY BAR FITZROY, VIC

“What kind of music do you usually have here?” asked Elwood at the honky tonk bar in The Blues Brothers.

“Oh, we got both kinds,” said the barmaid.“We got country and western.” Well, Hains has what it would consider to be both kinds of liquor: gin and rum. Leave the ‘mother’s ruin’ for another time and pile into the cane spirit, because these guys are experts.

Disregard the nautical theme (and, if you can, the 1,250-kilogram anchor), drop in between 4pm and late any day, and begin with a Sweet Drop (dark rum, maraschino and sweet vermouth). Styled as an ironical dive bar, Hains & Co is actually a lushly decorated, proper person’s bar in a beautifully fitted-out building.

With a model sailboat. Obviously. hainsco.com.au

When well-heeled Americans fled the (legally) teetotaller USA in the 1920s for their boozy Cuban holidays, they flew to Havana on what was colloquially called the ‘Highball Express’ – swigging rum cocktails all along the way. A finalist in the 2016 Bartender Magazine Australian Bar Awards, this Canberra bar of the same name evokes the sense of fun, if not the twin-propeller drone, of that wonderfully oppressed era. With whitewashed floors and barrel-aged rums, Highball fits with odd comfort into the Melbourne Building in Civic, offering a 12-metre-long bar, sunset views over Black Mountain and a distinctly non-ACT tropical feel, even in the depths of winter. highballexpress.com.au

Named for Hunter S. Thompson’s 1961 novel, Brunswick Street’s Rum Diary Bar has 200 or more rums on board, from the quality standards (five kinds of Mount Gay), via the outlandish, and outlandishly priced (Venezuelan 43 per cent ABV Diplomatico Single Vintage 1997, $46 a pop) to, er, child’s rum (Sailor Jerry Spiced). But you needn’t be on a Hunter S.-esque binge to enjoy to the Rum Diary Bar’s charms. House jaffles are available all day; all the staff know more about rum than you know about your girlfriend, boyfriend, dog and mum; and the pirate kitsch is kept to a suave minimum. Begin with a Dark & Stormy, then navigate toward your new favourite. rumdiarybar.com.au

HAINS & CO

ADELAIDE, SA

THE HIGHBALL EXPRESS CANBERRA CITY, ACT

AUSTRALIA’S RUM REBELLION The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the fledgling convict colony of Australia’s first and, so far, only successful armed uprising and takeover of government. On January 26, a mob from the New South Wales Corps marched up Sydney’s Bridge Street to Government House and arrested and deposed the then-governor, Captain William Bligh. In his defence, Bligh tried to pass this off as an attempt to keep the illegal spirits trade alive and kicking, since officers of the NSW Corps and businessmen such as John Macarthur profited so handsomely from rum bootlegging. But in truth this was a fight over the quintessential Aussie ‘fair go’. The early governors wanted to keep NSW a large-scale open prison, with enforced ex-convict labour. Private entrepreneurs were looking for a different economic model. After the rebellion, the military ruled the colony until British Major-General Lachlan Macquarie was made Governor in 1810.

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A Valentine’s ROAD TRIP ove is in the air, and these caravanning road trips tick all the boxes for romance, with glorious scenic routes and gorgeous skylines to make your heart skip a beat, plus food and wine trails galore.

SCOTSDALE TOURIST DRIVE, WA If you’re after a lover’s oasis, the 34-kilometre drive from Denmark to McLeod Road, connecting with William Bay National Park, is simply breathtaking. Along the way you’ll discover wineries, art galleries, lush forests and walking trails. At the end of the drive, be sure to relax on the pristine white sand of famed Greens Pool, within the national park.

If time permits, take a long walk hand in hand around to Elephant Rocks and Madfish Bay. You won’t be disappointed. If you wish to linger in the region, consider a Denmark wine-lover’s tour.

The New Age Caravans crew shares its list of Australia’s top 5 most lovey-dovey camping getaways

WILLIAMSTOWN, VIC If you’re looking for something a little closer to the city, make your way down to the water’s edge at Williamstown, where you’ll be delighted with an awesome view of the Melbourne skyline from across the bay.

There’s a diverse range of arts, crafts and other specialty stores to check out around historic Nelson Place. If weather permits, stroll along serene Williamstown beach.

EPICUREAN WAY, SA What better way to impress your loved one than with delicious wines and cheeses? The culinary drive from the Barossa Valley to the beachside wine region of McLaren Vale is the master of romantic drives. This four-daylong ultimate scenic trip will no doubt excite your tastebuds, too, as you try out local produce from the award winning Adelaide Hills, Barossa and Clare Valley regions.

GREAT OCEAN ROAD, VIC

THE WATERFALL WAY, NSW

The Great Ocean Road is one of Australia’s most famous touring routes and, if you’ve ever been along the iconic stretch that extends from Lorne to Warrnambool, you can understand why. The drive is truly mesmerising and makes for a great day trip from Melbourne with that special someone.

Along the way, be sure to check out the 12 Apostles, Cape Otway, the gorgeous Otway hinterlands and the charming wineries in and around Queenscliff.

This 191-kilometre route from Coffs Harbour takes you inland through the subtropical rainforest of Dorrigo National Park to see spectacular Crystal Shower Falls, Ebor Falls, Mihi Falls and Dangar Falls, then on through the Oxley Wild Rivers, New England and Cathedral Rock national parks. Along the way, indulge in local produce from roadside stalls, see the first autumn leaves in historical Armidale and share delicious local wines. The Waterfall Way will set the tone.

TIPS FOR CARAVANNING COUPLES

Bryan Crow, from the New Age Caravans Owners Club, offers his essential tips for trips for two.

• Sunsets are non-negotiable!

As cheesy as it can be, a setting sun is the most romantic little addition to your trip. Plan your end location with this in mind, and position your camper van in a prime spot for drinking in this always-inspiring natural sight.

• Pack for any weather.

You can’t always guarantee it will be sunny with blue skies, so be sure to pack some fun games in your camper van in case the weather does turn.

Doing puzzles or playing a game of Uno together is a fun and intimate way to pass the time.

• Make sure the drive’s worthwhile.

Read reviews, check out images and others’ videos online, and talk to local dealers and seasoned campervanners to ensure you choose the most scenic route to your destination.

• Pick up local produce along the way.

You’ve got great amenities in your caravan – kitchen, barbeque et cetera – so utilise them! Purchase local fare en route and cook up a candle-lit gourmet storm. The Gecko Pop Top model GP11S comes complete with a fridge and cooktop, so you can make the most of your culinary finds.

• Save money where you stay.

A number of terrific caravan holiday parks across Australia have great off-season deals. Be sure to do your research before hitting the road so you can get the best deals possible.

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Rocky Mountain

MAJESTY Experience Western Canada’s awe-inspiring landscapes from the reclining seat of a luxurious Rocky Mountaineer train.

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hen was the last time you were so transfixed by beauty you didn’t dare blink? The jaw-droppingly gorgeous Canadian Rockies are a bucket list must-do for travellers worldwide. Throughout 2017, Canada is celebrating its 150th anniversary, making this the perfect year to visit the second-largest country in the world and experience its vast, untouched wilderness and humble, happy people.

Don’t just drop in on Canada; you must see it properly and in style. A rail journey aboard Rocky Mountaineer’s legendary luxury trains offers you a front-row seat to some of the world’s most glorious scenery: tranquil river valleys, quaint mountain towns and spectacular snow-capped mountains.

As you travel, you’ll hear stories rich in historical detail, dine on world-class cuisine, and get a first-hand look at those storybook green forests and turquoise,

glacier-fed lakes – all from the comfort of a plush reclining seat, with your feet up!

These timeless daylight adventures of romance and history remind travellers that it’s every bit as much about the journey as it is about the destination.

Imagine yourself at the station in Vancouver or Seattle, approaching a beautifully fitted-out train. Bagpipes welcome you over the red carpet as you step into the bi-level GoldLeaf Service car with glass-domed windows to the sky; or the SilverLeaf service car, with oversized picture windows through which to gaze.

As the train pulls out of the station, scones are served straight from the oven with jam and cream, and the onboard hosts raise a toast, welcoming you to this two- or three-day adventure through the Rocky Mountains regions. You’re surrounded by warmth and friendliness – this is Canada, hey? Along with enthralling scenery in all directions, this extraordinary

journey offers you the chance to connect with new people from all over – and to reconnect with yourself.

Throughout the Rocky Mountaineer journey, natural wonders unfold before your eyes, whether you’re lounging in the luxurious domed car with a sauvignon blanc or Canadian beer in hand, or inhaling mountain air on the vestibule.

Award-winning service and regionally inspired cuisine are recognised journey highlights. The Michelin-trained chefs are inspired by local ingedients such as Pacific salmon and prime Alberta beef to create seasonal dishes such as Okanagan apple pie and Albacore tuna Niçoise salad.

In GoldLeaf Service, you’ll enjoy fresh breakfasts and three-course meals in the elegant dining room. In SilverLeaf Service, dishes and wine are brought to your seat. You’ll never be hungry, with food served five times a day, including an afternoon wine-and-cheese service.

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QUIZ Which Rocky Mountaineer Journey is for Me? Each of Rocky Mountaineer’s four routes has one feature in common: it is utterly unique.

Take our quiz to find out which is for you...

1. a. b. c. d. e.

Which destination do I want to visit?

The charming rustic mountain town of Jasper.

The world-renowned resort town of Whistler.

The ethereal waters of Banff and Lake Louise.

The cosmopolitan city of Seattle.

I can’t choose – I want to visit them all.

2. Which of the following describes me best? a. Nature-lover. b. Wilderness explorer. c. Country boy/gal. d. City slicker. e. I’m a bit of everything.

3. a. b. c. d. e.

What do I want to see the most?

Rushing waterfalls and rugged mountain peaks.

Bears, eagles and deer – oh my!

Pivotal places rich in history.

Sparkling coastlines and sandy beaches.

All of the above and more!

4. a. b. c. d. e.

What is number one on my to-do list?

Feeling the mist of Pyramid Falls’ crashing waters.

Seeing the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.

Twisting through the legendary Spiral Tunnels.

Seeing glaciers and polar bears on an Alaskan cruise.

My list is never-ending.

5. What movies do I like to watch? a. Anything with rolling hills and beautiful music, such as The Sound of Music. b. Action-adventure films like the Marilyn Monroe classic, River of No Return. c. A good old-fashioned western like Unforgiven. d. A heartfelt romance such as Sleepless in Seattle. e. All of the above: I’m a movie buff.

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Mostly As – Dream-seeker

The definitive daydreamer, you long for the road less travelled. Being humbled by Canada’s most breathtaking and diverse landscapes is your dream come true.

Your route: Journey to the Clouds

Vancouver–Kamloops–Jasper

This route more than lives up to its romantic name. As the train weaves alongside the Fraser River and through craggy mountains, you’ll view the vast white expanse of the Albreda Glacier, the rushing waters of Pyramid Falls and towering Mount Robson.

The journey begins amid the lush green Fraser River valley and forests of enormous green pines. You’ll be glued to the window as the train traverses a desert-like expanse and glides along the shores of Kamloops Lake.

After stopping overnight at Kamloops, you’ll continue north-east to the province of Alberta. The Monashee and Cariboo Mountains create an awe-inspiring backdrop as you climb towards the Continental Divide.

Mount Robson, highest peak in the Rockies, and the Pyramid Falls set a staggering scene as you near the town of Jasper.

The train slows whenever there’s a wildlife sighting along the way. Keep your eyes peeled while approaching Moose

VANCOUVER: All routes stop at this world-class city, the gem in Canada’s crown. It’s everything you’d expect and then some: think mountain trails and inviting beaches along with a fantastic foodie scene.

Lake: it’s likely you’ll spot one of Canada’s favourite large animals on the shore.

Mostly Bs –Adventure-bound

A true adventurer, you’d put Indiana Jones to shame. Prepare for non-stop excitement.

Your route: Rainforest to Gold Rush Vancouver–Whistler–Quesnel–Jasper

Travel into the wild and rugged terrain of Western Canada and be awestruck as the landscape changes dramatically before your eyes. Recapture the romance of the Gold Rush era as you ascend through the rugged mountain terrain of Whistler.

Position yourself near the back of the train and have your camera at the ready – keep an eye out for eagles, osprey and osprey nests, even a black bear or two in the forest.

This journey is off the beaten track, yet offers onboard luxury. Immerse yourself in cinematic panoramas from your seat as the train glides towards Cariboo Wagon Road and historic Quesnel, ‘the Gold Pan City’.

In the pristine waters of Porteau Cove or jade-hued Green Lake, the odd smiling swimmer can be seen, despite glacial temperatures. You, too, may be tempted...

After carving through rugged Fraser Canyon and the vast ranchlands of the

SEATTLE: The Pacific Northwest city of Seattle combines access to water, mountains and evergreen forests with an ingrained culture of music and tech, making this a city with something for everyone.

KAMLOOPS: An overnight stop on Rocky Mountaineer routes, this riverside city boasts fantastic restaurants, local pubs and serene parks to walk through as you reflect on the experiences of your first day on board.

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Cariboo Plateau, you’ll arrive at the quaint little town of Jasper, nestled between white-topped peaks. Rocky Mountaineer’s hosts will fill you in on all the facts and legends of this magical journey.

Mostly Cs – History Buff

You swear you were meant for another era – here’s your chance to retrace the steps of Canada’s early explorers.

Your route: First Passage to the West Vancouver – Kamloops – Lake Louise/Banff

Formerly known as Kicking Horse Route, this is, arguably, the most scenic and historically significant Rocky Mountaineer journey, following the nation’s first transcontinental train line: the Canadian Pacific Railway. Watch the Wild West unfold from the comfort of your meticulously appointed time machine as you journey from the desert to Kicking Horse River and across the Continental Divide to Banff.

The train winds through lush pine forests with snow-capped mountains on either side before stopping at the gorgeous log cabin station at Lake Louise.

Crossing the Continental Divide, you’ll pass alongside awe-inspiring Castle Mountain, 2,766 metres high

BANFF: The best-known town in the Rocky Mountains, upscale Banff connects nature-loving visitors with the area’s surrounding wilderness of towering peaks, gorgeous lakes and coursing rivers.

and named for its castle-like shape.

Along with dwarfingly high peaks and dramatic canyons, you’ll likely spot airborne birds of prey and the occasional black or grizzly bear from wherever you’re lounging (safely) on board.

Your journey threads through the Spiral Tunnels – a Swiss-engineered marvel that took 1,000 men to build – before you arrive in the charming resort town of Banff.

Mostly Ds – Seaside Romantic

To you, the world is a whimsical place – from glittering coastal landscapes to soul-stirring mountain peaks. Cuddle up and let the scenery carry you away.

Your route: Coastal Passage

Seattle–Vancouver–Canadian Rockies

On this international route, you’ll enjoy the hustle and bustle of Seattle before travelling to the heart of the iconic Canadian Rockies. While you’re at it, why not add an Alaskan cruise?

This unique rail experience connects the cosmopolitan cities of Seattle and Vancouver to the ever-changing landscapes of British Columbia and Alberta, serving up the finest western Canada has to offer –

LAKE LOUISE: Apple of the Canadian Rockies’ eye and a must-see stop, this is one of the most pristine — and most photographed — lakes in the world, with its own quaint train station and neighbouring mountains.

JASPER: This quiet and peaceful resort town high in the Rockies is home to restaurants, wildlife and adventure, making it the best location from which to explore the icy wilderness before or after your journey.

with a little American exploration on top.

The train pulls slowly out of Seattle and, skirting the coast, passes through Golden Gardens and Carkeek Park. Before long, you’ll find your’re leaving the USA and crossing the Canadian border, travelling past charming coastal communities on lovely bays dotted with yachts.

Watch the sun set over the water and the moon rise over the mountains as you travel through the town of White Rock and head inland to Vancouver for the night.

Next day takes you into the iconic Rocky Mountains, where you’ll be surrounded by glaciers and snow-capped peaks.

Mostly Es – The Total Package Your route: Circle Journey

From ethereal blue-green waters to epic ice-fields and wildlife-packed plateaus, you want it all. Combine your top iconic Rocky Mountaineer routes on a ‘Circle Journey’ and experience the best of the best in one extravagant round-trip vacation.

An 8-day/7-night journey starts from $3,559 per person.

Visit infinityholidays.com.au/railholidays for more information.

WHISTLER: Home of the 2010 Winter Olympics, this premier ski resort offers as much excitement in summer as it does in winter, with outdoor activities, art galleries, top-rated restaurants and fab spas.

QUESNEL: This cute northern British-Columbia town was originally a mining settlement and still offers all the old-world charm a guest could want. Don’t miss the world’s largest gold pan on your overnight stop.

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Oasis EL QUESTRO Words: Anna Warwick

For my father’s 70th birthday, I had the once-in-alifetime chance to offer him a change of scenery: a breathtaking outback adventure in the Kimberley and a stay at luxurious El Questro Homestead.

e catch the 20-seater plane from Broome with real live cowboys. My dad thinks they’re dressed up. He taps the fellow in front on the shoulder and asks. The passenger confirms he is indeed a drover. Dad, thrilled, points out the red dust in their hats.

It’s remote, the East Kimberley. We’re flying so high I can see the earth’s curvature.

Stark blue sky above; below, thirsty black rivers flash from deep grooves carved into golden plains. Looks like an Aboriginal painting, I think.

After 40 minutes in the air, there’s only one lone road in sight. A haze of peachy-pink dust 24

fuzzies the horizon. Suddenly, Lake Argyle appears as a shimmering mirage above the savannah, reflecting the sky. Descending further, we see farms laid out like chequered picnic blankets before furrowed ranges, with orchards fed by dams and the olive-green Ord River.

This is the Outback At tiny Kununurra airport, Paul, a ranger from El Questro Wilderness Park, picks us up in an air-conditioned 4WD. We head west on the Great Northern Highway for half an hour before turning onto the famed Gibb River Road, which links Broome and the Kimberley. One of the great

Australian 4WD adventures, it bisects some of the most rugged terrain on Earth.

We’re on a comfortably sealed stretch.

Around us are staggering outcrops and escarpments of sedimentary sandstone, the residue of a prehistoric inland sea; 1.8 billion years ago, these rocks were as big as the Andes, says Paul. The only fossils are from single-celled organisms –pre-dating ‘life’.

Nothing much has shifted around here since then. The vanishing mountain ranges are a sandy geometric matrix; the ground is littered with white boulders.

Gnarly silver boabs like bloated bottles, their leafless branches taking root in the sky,

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stand solo or in couples here and there.

It’s an alien landscape.

This is August – months into the dry season. Out here, plants must be survivors, says Paul. Long, grassy spinifex glistens gold in the sun with protective resin. Short, scrubby black gums offer measly shade.

The woodland savannah is eerily beautiful, but what draws people here are those tiny splinters in the landscape – the carved-out gorges, canyons, rivers and swimming holes, waterfalls, pockets of rainforest – sheltered and well fed by the monsoon rains.

We drive through a pebbly, spring-fed stream, careful not to overturn any stones.

With many roads and attractions flooded, the park is closed to guests during the wet.

Paul says the heat and humidity of the Kimberley wet season is intense but the sheer drama of it is amazing: there are terrific thunderstorms and lightning; waterfalls gush from the mountaintops and the boabs are in luminous green leaf.

There are actually more than two seasons, the climate here changes dynamically every six to eight weeks, he says. Trees flower, attracting ephemeral lorikeets, honeyeaters following the blossom trail, water birds after the rain.

More than 150 bird species have been spotted on the El Questro property, from

Blue-winged Kookaburras to flocks of Redtailed Black Cockatoos.

Plenty of these birds are endemic to the Kimberley – and many are startlingly cute, even for a non-bird person. We narrowly miss hitting a Gouldian finch; Paul is distraught.

Soon afterwards, we turn off the highway and onto the 16-kilometre-long gravel driveway that leads to the privately owned wilderness park. There’s no need for fences on El Questro; the property sits at the centre of almost a million acres [400,000-odd hectares] of wilderness. That’s 1.7 times the size of the UK and almost 10 times the size of Switzerland – much of it too rugged for 25

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ordinary vehicles.

We’re travelling through the glorious Cockburn Range, an escarpment rising more than 600 metres above the surrounding plains. Curtains of vertical sandstone – fiery red with iron ore – top green slopes. The hills, spotted with sparse shrubs and yellow Kapok-tree flowers, glow golden in the late-afternoon sun.

A Black Kite swoops over boab trees silhouetted in misty dust kicked up by drivers keen to get to camp before sundown.

It’s an event to see a cloud in the sky during the dry, says Paul. Campers can sleep under a blanket of stars in the crisp, clean air.

Happy Campers There are three kinds of accommodation on the El Questro property: cabins and camping at the Station Township, glamping at Emma Gorge Wilderness Resort, and all-stops-out

The rare Gouldian Finch

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luxury at the Homestead.

El Questro was once a working cattle station, and Station Township is where the cattle farmhouse used to be. The property is still owned under a pastoral lease, so 4.5k head of cattle roam freely about the place. By now, they’re inbred, and some of the ladies have horns. Awkward.

Otherwise free of cows, the Station bustles with the 4WD enthusiasts, wilderness lovers, families and silver nomads who’ve packed up and hit the road to form this happy pop-up community.

There’s a secluded swimming hole and shaded lawns. Guests mingle in the Steakhouse Restaurant and at the Swinging Arm Bar. There are also private bush camps further down the Pentecost River.

Best of all, the week-long Wilderness Park Permit allows visitors access to all the on-site treasures: gorges, 4WD tracks,

clifftop lookouts and thermal springs.

Station guests can even join the tours.

El Questro Homestead The whole park is other-worldly but the resort is exceptional – so elegant, yet unobtrusive. It’s all about the landscape.

As soon as we roll into the shady, circular drive, we’re handed cool wet flannels – on arrival and whenever we return from exploring.

The homestead itself is low and open, consisting mostly of enormous verandahs – beautifully furnished and inviting.

A comfy lounge sits opposite an open fireplace and there’s a library stocked with great reads, and good wi-fi.

We’re welcomed with French champagne and told it’s an open bar – any time of day. There’s sparkling water on tap and dozens of options for rehydration.

We’re shown through to the front

The exclusive Homestead retreat, situated atop awe-inspiring Chamberlain Gorge.

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of the property: lush green gardens with a pool, flowering trees and palms, petering off at the edge of a cliff overlooking Chamberlain Gorge. The Pentecost River flows below, clean and full of fish.

There are only nine rooms at the Homestead so even at capacity (as it is now – with 18 guests) the resort feels private and serene, with an unhurried sense of attention to detail.

Some guests stay in luxurious cabins overlooking the gorge, with balconies and outdoor showers. Our rooms are spacious and airy, opening out on one side to lawns and bush and river. I’m glad of a high-pressure shower to wash away the red dust.

But despite our decidedly civilised accommodation, we’re literally in the middle of nowhere. And soon, I figure out why pretty much everyone in the Kimberley wears a big, friendly smile.

It’s because we’ve all crossed Heaven and Earth to be here – we are the lucky ones.

At El Questro, the vibe is upbeat and inclusive: it’s an instant community.

yet his culinary ideas remain fresh and fascinating. Our meals are hearty, the portions generous, and each dish is paired with a lovely wine.

Come morning, we’re back on the open verandah with our new acquaintances, having amazing coffee, fresh fruit and free-range eggs (cooked any way). Gina Rinehart’s youngest daughter and her beau come to breakfast in cossies, with wet hair.

For Dad’s 70th-birthday dinner, Chef Groom’s wife, El Questro manager Lori Litwack, who has also been at the property for 11 years – across several owners – organises a memorable dining experience

beside the gorge. We wander down a rock staircase to an immaculately laid-out table under a sea of stars. The river is black and shining; the cliffs floodlit gold. Lori joins us for entrées and listens kindly as Dad and I talk about my beloved and newly deceased Grandmother, for whom Dad was full-time carer.

But we’re quickly cheered as staff trot up and down with wine, piping-hot bread rolls, delicious mains and desserts. All too soon we are deeply satisfied. Dad’s new mate Alf shouts out from above to keep a lookout for crocs; then pops down to join us for a wine and a yarn. I can’t keep up

Going with the Flow El Questro’s staff members are fantastic company, kicking the evening off with pre-dinner cocktails and canapés on the verandah lounge, and entertaining stories to go with them.

Guests of El Q, unsurprisingly, are fancy types. Dad connects with a group of seven retirees who’ve chartered a small plane and are touring the luxury lodges of Australia, complete with a stint aboard True North.

At dinnertime, everyone sits around the long communal table for an ‘outback fine-dining’ experience. The food is truly spectacular. Alan ‘Al’ Groom has been executive chef at El Questro for 11 seasons, 29

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with the old blokes so head to bed, dozing off as a dingo howls from across the river.

Adventure Time All day, red-dust-covered Land Rovers, choppers and quiet electric boats roam the property, ushering guests to and from Emma Gorge, Chamberlain Gorge, El Questro Gorge and Explosion Gorge, canyons, clifftops and rivers.

From a sunset soak in the thermal waters of Zebedee Springs, to a tour focused on the region’s bush culture and history, to venturing out in a Helispirit chopper over the Bungle Bungles – you couldn’t do it all if you stayed for a year, especially since they discover new, previously hidden waterfalls and undisturbed caves around here every week.

El Questro’s guides are as passionate as they are professional – some are park rangers; others pro tour guides with an obsession for nature and remote locations.

Here for a too-short two-night stay, we’re lucky enough to be the only guests on each of our tours.

“Dad and I drift down Chamberlain Gorge in the cool of the evening with glasses of champagne in hand.”

Sunset Cruise Dad and I drift down Chamberlain Gorge in the cool of the evening with glasses of champagne in hand. I’m transfixed by the sight of the gorge’s cliffs mirrored perfectly in the still, silver water. Liv, our fascinating guide, points out shy little wallabies among the rocks.

Crocs? None are seen but we keep all limbs on board, as the Johnston Crocodile most certainly does thrive in these waters.

We pause to take a photo of the homestead in the reddish light before heading back down the hill.

Gorge Walk The park boasts more than 200 kilometres of tracks and trails, and a highlight is definitely our morning hike to El Questro Gorge with Lewis ‘Lewi’ the ranger.

Lewi meets us on the Homestead verandah; we jump into the open back of the Land Rover and drive out into the scrub.

As we pass Station Township, people wave; Lewi explains that this is where he and the rest of the El Questro staff stay. In a neighbouring paddock Lewi points out

Chamberlain Gorge. each of several hefty-looking stock horses by name. They take guests on tours in return for a bale of hay.

I ask Lewi what the staff does for fun; he says they hang out at the Swinging Arm, where there’s live music every night.

Whenever there’s a rodeo in Kununurra, everybody heads out together to watch.

Despite the perks of the job, Lewi says they have a tipping board for the end of the dry, which can be scorching, with days topping 42 degrees Celsius.

But this is another mild, blue-sky day. We head towards El Questro Gorge, crossing a watercourse, then pausing while a family of lounging cows moves off the shady path. At the gorge entrance, we park

among several 4WDs and campervans.

Along the path that leads to the gorge, the trees are greener and taller than out on the plains. Lewis points out the brightgreen endemic black palm Livistonia Kimberleyana, or Kimberley Fan Palm; and a taller palm with a spiralling black trunk that seems to grow off to one side: Pandanus Spirilas, or Screw Pine, which, Lewi explains, “spirals to the left if male and to the right if female, because females are always right”.

Dad and I have wondered about the distinctly recent, Australian-sounding names for things around here, and why some mountains have no names. Lewi explains that some Indigenous sites on 31

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the property contain fascinating, highly sensitive tribal information – so ancient the tribes can’t claim them.

For a few years, Lori Litwack has been working on an agreement with the two local Native Title groups, but until the appropriate Indigenous guides have been chosen to impart agreed-upon knowledge, El Questro won’t conduct tours to local sites or use ‘true’ place names, lest things be taken out of context.

We wander out of the sunlight into the shady gorge and follow the path through pristine rainforest, alongside a stream so crystal-clear you can’t even see the water unless a breeze ripples through.

Overhead, the sun glints down through palm fronds and a blue ribbon of sky runs between looming golden cliffs.

This is an enchanted place.

We climb over a few stones and boulders and reach a deep waterole under ferncovered cliffs, with a spring-fed waterfall.

Afterwards, Lewi drives us to see the Durack Tree, an enormous family of boabs Lewi and dad under the Durack Tree.

beside the Pentecost River. It’s a pretty drive through salmon gums, paperbarks and pink turkey-bush; the distant flattopped ranges, too, are pastel with the dust. Rocks, rocks, rocks are everywhere, rolled down from the dissolving cliffs.

In a clearing, we come upon the boabs: a grown-up and her offshoots, wound together like the mother of all trees.

I climb into the centre like a bug.

Allegedly, the tribes of the Kimberley region regard these trees as cherished individuals with unique personalities.

Lewi explains that as well as being a source of hydration, with its spongy bark, the boab’s young leaves and pithy seeds are high in vitamin C and calcium, and the bark, containing a quinine-like compound, can be used to treat fever.

Lewi takes a seed and peels it open to reveal stark white flesh. I take a bite: it’s chalky, with a mild, citrusy taste.

Fascinating as the bush tucker is, we head back to homestead for a swim and one more delicious lunch.

INFO GUIDE WHEN TO GO El Questro Wilderness Park is open from April 1 until the last Saturday in October.

DRIVING TIPS • Taking it at a lick through rivers is a way to kill your engine and shift boulders.

Watch the driver before you, and go slowly.

• Don’t drive at more than 100 km/hour on unsealed roads – even if they are corrugated. Speeding in a 4WD helps create corrugation.

CAMPING TIPS • Reservations for camping sites can be made from February 1, 2017.

• Ranger Di Hudd suggests you water around your caravan to keep the dust down. You’ll miss baths – so camp beside a creek.

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MORE INFO elquestro.com.au

Tennis Star Alicia Molik

93 Konkerberry Drive PO Box 20 Kununurra, Western Australia, 6743 Phone: +61 (08) 9169 1133 Fax: +61 (08) 9168 1188 Freecall: 1800 852 144 (within Australia) Email: info@kimberleyfinediamonds.com.au www. kimberleyfinediamonds.com.au

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The Bungle Bungles

It’s the heart of outback North Western Australia and the gateway to one of the world’s last great wilderness areas:

KUNUNURRA oonoonoorrang (or Gananoorrang), meaning ‘river’, is the Miriuwung word for the 320-kilometre-long Ord River, from whence Kununurra got its name.

This river flowed in the wet, irrigating surrounding lands, but couldn’t provide enough water to support crops in the dry.

The ambitious Ord River Irrigation agricultural project sparked the settlement of Kununurra in 1960. Over three stages and several decades, the project has successfully transformed the Lower Ord into fertile wetlands and farmland.

On the banks of Lake Kununurra and the great Ord, picturesque Kununurra is now the heart of a thriving year-round agricultural centre, but still only a small green patch on a massive red landscape.

The entire Kimberley covers an area of 423,517 square kilometres. Of its 40,000 people, at least half are of Aboriginal descent.

This outback wilderness is the ‘gold standard’ in adventure – an immense and ancient landform, it encompasses rugged ranges and spectacular gorges, cascading waterfalls, mighty rivers and complex cave systems. Visitors can’t help but be enthralled by the striking beauty of rock formations as old as the Earth, calmed by the lakes and uplifted by the sounds of birds singing in the wetlands.

Kununurra is the perfect base for your outback adventure, and including a visit to

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award-winning El Questro Wilderness Park, there are a few East Kimberley must-dos.

Explore the Great Ord River Flowing east from Mount Wells around the edge of Purnululu National Park, the Ord River heads north through Lake Argyle, passes west of Kununurra and meets the Timor Sea in the Gulf of Cambridge. It’s one of the most stunning river systems in Australia.

You can experience an awe-inspiring scenic cruise with Triple J Tours, up the 55-kilometre stretch of river from Kununurra to the Ord Top Dam at Lake Argyle. The number-one Kununurra tour on TripAdvisor, this high-speed day trip is both beautiful and exhilarating. As you wind upriver, you’ll see an abundance of native flora and wildlife that might include crocodiles, sea eagles, kingfishers, bats and more. triplejtours.com.au

Cruise Lake Argyle Just 70 kilometres south of Kununurra, Lake Argyle is the magnificent result of some of the greatest engineering ever undertaken in Australia. With a surface area of about 1,000 square kilometres, this massive expanse of fresh water is the largest in Australia, equivalent in area to around 19 Sydney Harbours.

A unique ecosystem, Lake Argyle is home to an estimated 30,000 freshwater crocodiles, 26 species of native fish and a

third of Australia’s bird species, plus all kinds of marsupials, which live on the lake’s islets. The best way to see it all is on a boat cruise, which takes you past the spillway and the dam.

Fly over the Bungle Bungles This iconic bumblebee-striped mountain range in the World Heritage-listed Purnululu National Park is one of the most fascinating geological landscapes on the planet. Though it lies 300 kilometres south of Kununurra, Purnululu is a mustvisit, by road or by air.

On the ground, you can join a guided walk and learn about Aboriginal art, the many uses of spinifex, the intricacy of the region’s huge termite colonies and more. Landmarks not to miss: the natural amphitheatre at Cathedral Gorge, and Piccaninny Creek, surrounded by domes weathered over millennia into amazing shapes.

From the air, the Bungle Bungles are an imposing sight. The only airconditioned fleet in Kununurra, Aviair offers a two-hour scenic flight that swoops low over the mountains and striped domes of Purnululu as well as Lake Argyle, the Argyle Diamond Mine and the Ord River Irrigation Area. aviair.com.au

Enjoy Indigenous art Known as the ‘World’s Largest Outdoor

Kununurra town

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Sorting rough diamonds

Gallery’, the Kimberley is home to tens of thousands of Aboriginal rock paintings.

From Kununurra, you can visit several of the great rock-art galleries of the region, featuring elegant Wandjina and Gyorn Gyorn paintings. Accompanied by an Indigenous guide whose cultural knowledge has been passed on by his or her forebears over thousands of years, you can learn about hunting, food-gathering, bush survival and bush medicine, even ‘hidden tracks’. waitoc.com If you’re in the market for artworks, Kununurra is the place to find unique pieces. The harshly beautiful Kimberley landscape has inspired countless artists, and their work is shown in galleries around town. Indigenous-owned art centre Waringarri supports more than 100 Miriwoong artists as painters, printmakers, wood carvers, boab engravers, sculptors and textile artists.

Cultural tours and performances complement the immersive visitor experience. waringarriarts.com.au

Diamond mining Where there are very old rocks, there are diamonds. Is it any wonder the Kimberley Outback is home to one of the largest open-cut diamond mines on the planet?

Currently, according to Rio Tinto, its Argyle Diamond Mine produces around 20 million carats of diamonds a year, about 15 per cent of the world’s

estimated annual production. The mine is also the world’s largest producer of rare pink diamonds and one of the most technologically advanced on Earth.

Book a guided tour to the restricted site via visitkununurra.com and learn how the diamonds are produced and about the mine’s win-win relationship with traditional land owners.

In town, there are several exquisite Argyle diamond stores. At Kimberley Fine Diamonds, you can select your own diamond – with expert guidance – and create a handcrafted setting with a master jeweller. kimberleydiamonds.com.au

Tour the Gibb River Road One of the last true outback adventures, a tour of this epic route takes in some of the Kimberley’s most remote station stays as well as breathtaking waterfalls and gorges.

See magnificent Mitchell Falls At 523 kilometres from Kununurra via the Gibb River Road, it takes effort to reach this atonishing part of the East Kimberley, but it’s well worth it: Mitchell Falls and Mitchell Plateau must be seen to be believed. If you don’t have a week to explore this wilderness area by 4WD, get an overview on a scenic flight with Helispirit Tours. helispirit.com.au

Catch a big barra

most prized catches on the planet: barramundi. In Kununurra, Ivanhoe Crossing is a popular fishing spot. For an epic fishing adventure, hook up with a local charter company or try heli-fishing. Helispirit run four-night tours out of Kununurra to diverse locations ranging from saline coastal flats to floodplain and barrage systems, billabongs and spectacular gorges.

Visit a working rum distillery In your down time, stop for a drink at The Hoochery, home of the only international award-winning rum that’s made, distilled and bottled in WA – in fact, right here in Kununurra. hoochery.com.au

WHERE

TO STAY Freshwater East Kimberley Apartments offers modern selfcontained accomodation only 2.5km from Kununurra Airport and two minutes from the town centre by car. freshwaterapartments.net.au The comfortable Kununurra Country Club Resort has a lovely pool and a great restaurant, and on its doorstep sit iconic natural wonders.

Kununurracountryclub.com.au

Spend a day chasing one of the 35

KUNUNURRA - ADVENTURE KIMBERLEY

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Guru fi tips on sho Mark Ber the Kimsport fishing g’s in berley r egion

Castaway he Kimberley is one of the best fishing destinations in Australia.

The beauty of the region is you have diversity. So if the barra aren’t firing, you can go out to the blue water, and if the open water fish aren’t biting, you can go inland and chase barramundi in the creeks.

Chasing barra – that’s a favourite pastime, particularly if there’s been a lot of good run-off after the wet from January to March, when the fishing is outstanding.

But if you go just off shore, you’ll find pelagic species: tuna, king mackerel, golden snapper; all surface for feeding. And the further out to sea you go, the more reef species you’ll get – including giant trevally (GT), coral trout and red emperor.

For the pelagic species I have a light-tomedium spin rod with about a 4,500-size reel, with about 50-pound braid for species like queenfish, tuna and mackerel.

For reef species I have a heavier outfit with maybe a 6,500 reel and a 1,000-pound braid for GTs, which can get up to 80-plus kilograms on the outer reefs.

Generally, the average size fish we catch in the Kimberley is between 20 and 40 kilos.

99 per cent of the fish we catch, we release, but I certainly love taking a good fresh fish home to feed myself and the crew.

The Big Barra

We fly into Broome and then go on a fishingcharter mothership – Karma IV – all the way up along the Kimberley coastline. We do some of our fishing on the big boat and then use the tender boats, or dories, to go up the creek and chase barra. West of Wyndham, we’ve definitely caught a lot of barramundi.

You can catch barramundi all year round but generally, the best times to be targeting barra are in March and April after a strong wet season, or during the build-up to the wet in October and November.

In the Kimberley, barramundi are pretty much everywhere – in plague proportions, sometimes. But you have to remember: fishing is not catching. They’re not just going to jump in the boat; sometimes you’ve got to work hard for them.

The Right Tackle

Mark’s Secret Technique

Getting There

Barra: Generally, chasing barra, you use a bait caster. I use all Daiwa gear and the advantage is their travel rods split down into three or four pieces, so they’re portable.

with the lure, making sure I keep that lure in the strike zone as long as I can. If you don’t get your lure right in among that snag, you won’t catch anything. You have to risk hanging it up on a tree to catch a barramundi.

No. 1 Kimberley Travel Necessity

There’s one thing people don’t realise when they come from the east coast: it’s hot in the Kimberley. It’s really, really hot, and on the water you get sunburnt so quick and so bad.

There’s one thing I always wear and it’s called a ‘buff’. It’s like a scarf that goes around your neck but it covers your nose, ears – you put your sunnies over the top, and it covers the back of your neck. It keeps you cool and stops you getting fried. I would suggest most fishos give that a go. markbergfishing.com

I like to use floating or suspending hard-body lures and I look for snags in the water: fallen trees or logs. I work those snags very, very slowly, using plenty of twitches and pauses 37

Feel the excitement of life through the world of fishing Barra gear for a Barra adventure: daiwafishing.com.au/barra

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NEWS&VIEWS Coal Demand Stalls – IEA Forecast

In its latest Medium-Term Coal Market Report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted that growth in global coal demand is set to stall as demand for the fuel wanes in response to competition from other energy sources, such as gas and renewables.

The EIA report predicts that coal’s global share of power generation will drop five per cent – from 41 per cent in 2014 to 36 per cent in 2021. The main drivers of this trend are reduced demand from China and the United States, and growth in renewable energy investment and increasing energy efficiency.

Nevertheless, coal is still the major fuel for global energy needs, and that demand is shifting away from the United States and Western Europe to Asia.

“Coal demand is moving to Asia, where emerging economies with growing populations are seeking affordable and secure energy sources to power their economies,” said Keisuke Sadamori, the director of the IEA’s energy markets and security directorate, in a statement.

“Because of the implications for air quality and carbon emissions, coal has come under fire in recent years,” Sadamori noted, “but it is too early to say that this is the end for coal.”

The report also noted that despite a rebound in coal prices as China cut production to curb oversupply, the coal industry is yet to invest in carbon capture and storage technology.

CSIRO Innovation Fund to boost commercialisation

After Malcolm Turnbull has dropped the word innovation on a daily basis

for the past year, the government is putting some money where its mouth is with the announcement of the $200 million CSIRO Innovation Fund.

The joint government-private sector fund is aimed at helping the CSIRO, universities and other publicly funded research bodies commercialise early-stage discoveries.

The government is kicking in $70 million over 10 years, while the CSIRO is set to pony up $30 million of the revenue it derives from its WLAN Programme (under which wi-fi, a development that changed the world forever, was invented). The remaining $100 million will be sourced from the private sector.

The fund will invest in new ventures, some of which may be generated by Australia’s national innovation accelerator, CSIRO’s ON. Early-stage innovations supported

by ON include: TranspiratiONal, a biodegradable polymer membrane that improves agricultural water use; FutureFeed, an additive derived from seaweed that reduces livestock methane emissions while increasing animal productivity; and Kebari, an ultra-low gluten barley that can be used to make food and (most importantly) a gluten-free beer.

Free-range eggs edge out cage eggs Free-range egg sales have trumped those of caged eggs in a clear sign that the humane alternative is becoming increasingly popular with consumers.

According to the Australian Egg Corporation Limited (AECL) 2016 Annual Report, caged eggs now represent 49.5 per cent of the $724.4 million Australian egg market, with free-range, barn-laid and specialty

eggs accounting for 50.5 per cent of the market.

By contrast, in 2009 caged egg sales were the norm, representing 70 per cent of the market.

Even more tellingly, non-caged eggs represent 61.8 per cent of the market’s farm-gate value. This reflects the average $5.40 per dozen versus $3.24 per dozen premium consumers are prepared to pay for non-cage eggs.

On average, Australians now consume 226 eggs per year, up from 221 a year ago. Visit choice.com.au for a list of verified free-range egg brands.

It’s official: 2013-16 Queensland drought the worst on record

A review of the Queensland Government’s Drought Relief Assistance Scheme (DRAS) has proven what many rural Queenslanders already knew: the 2013-16 drought was one of the worst the state had ever seen.

A review conducted by the parliamentary agriculture and environment committee found that the DRAS scheme had approved subsidies of $85 million over the three-year period. By contrast, the total bill for assistance to farm businesses in the 20 years from 1995 to 2016 was $154 million.

The DRAS scheme assisted primary producers with subsidies for water and livestock transport as well as emergency water infrastructure rebates.

While the committee found that overall, the scheme was effective, it stressed that future schemes should seek to encourage farmers and graziers to build up their properties’ resilience in the face of climate variability.

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Eco-ag advocate Josh Gilbert safeguards the future by going

BACK TO HIS ROOTS WORDS: MERRAN WHITE

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Winner of the 2016 Australian Geographic Young Environmentalist of the Year Award Josh Gilbert is drawing wisdom from his Worimi roots, on the land he still farms today, to help forge a more sustainable future for Australia and its primary producers – one he hopes “will last another 40,000 years”.

t only 25 years of age and just a few years out of uni, this beef cattle farmer has done enough for Indigenous, agricultural, social and environmental causes – sometimes, all four at once – to have netted himself international media attention, multiple awards, a spot at the COP21 climate talks in Paris and the ear of everyone from the followers of his popular ag podcast Tractor Talks to Stan Grant, Barnaby Joyce, David Suzuki and Al Gore.

In 2015, Josh was named by Pro Bono Australia’s ‘Impact 25’ as one of the nation’s Top 25 Most Influential People for his work in climate change and agriculture. In 2016, he became Australian Geographic’s Young Conservationist of the Year.

Josh has been using all this attention “to get the message out” about his causes – causes that range from lobbying for on-farm renewables and recognition of climate change to developing a nationwide ‘native food’ industry.

And he's just getting started.

40,000 years on the land…

Raised on a Braford-breeding property near Boorowa, on NSW’s Mid North Coast, Josh’s connection to the land was hardwired, instilled by generations of farmers and infused into his blood

by his Worimi forebears.

“Both sides of my family have been involved in agriculture for a long time. And being Indigenous, that’s our traditional land, so that dates back 40,000 years,” he says.

But at 18, Josh left his life roaming paddocks and feeding poddy calves to study law and accounting in Newcastle and join the Australian Broadcasting Commission as an Indigenous Finance Cadet.

“Farming had always been more about helping dad than truly enjoying it,” he recalls. “And then, about four years ago, I had this revelation: ag was what I wanted to do. So I joined NSW Young Farmers and became Chair the year after.”

Change in motion…

With NSW Young Farmers, Josh led a lobbying effort that, in July 2015, got the grown-up NSW Farmers Association to change its previously conservative position on climate change – and change it unanimously.

“In 2015 we sent a letter to the Liberal Party. The country faction was looking at changing their environment policy. I signed on because I thought, obviously good climate-change policy was something we needed in Australia.

“Then I started talking to NSW Farmers and realised that their climate-change policy was quite outdated – even though it wasn’t

that old! It was a good opportunity for us to do something very proactive, to say that farmers really do understand climate change because it impacts on agriculture.

Josh says it wasn't just a generational change: "Young Farmers led the policy change but a lot of parts of the motion were supported by the wider Association.”

Since the change, and with Josh's help, unprecedented new relationships between diverse factions have formed to benefit environmental causes and agriculture. “We got over half a million dollars’ funding for the NSW Farmers Association from a green group. And I worked with 15,000 Christians who came together with farmers and Indigenous people to show their commitment to preserving the fertile Liverpool Plains from overdevelopment,” he says.

Taking it global…

NSW Farmers Association’s official pivot on climate change also drew the attention of global environmental advocate and 45th US Vice President Al Gore.

“Getting the motion through was really good timing cos it coincided with Al Gore’s visit to Australia – and given all the media attention, he actually contacted us and I got to meet him,” recalls Josh.

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“With the Paris [COP21] climate talks coming up, Al Gore decided he’d shoot a heap of videos around the world to showcase climate change and its impact. One story he wanted to focus on was agriculture.

I was fortunate to be a part of that process, to be able to help showcase climate leadership in Australia.”

Josh’s Climate Reality Project video, Australia’s Young Green Farmers, has been viewed online by more than 100 million people in 75-plus countries.

Greener pastures…

Now recognised as an effective eco-ag advocate, Josh is branching out. At the moment, for instance, he's working with newly-established national group Australian Farmers for Climate Action. “[the NSW Farmers] motion showed there’s a lot of general support for climate action in the agricultural space. The work I’m doing now with AFCA reinforces that,” Josh says. “We’re working with different farming organisations and the National Farmers Federation on good climate policy. We’re hopeful we’ll have a national climate policy in agriculture coming up.”

Part of that policy will involve encouraging farmers to ‘switch on to’ renewable energy sources – as producers and consumers.

“Renewables in agriculture really makes sense to me,” Josh says. “I work quite closely with the Wind Alliance, for instance.

“A good friend of mine found out he could make $100,000 a year by putting wind turbines on his sheep farm. In agriculture, trying to make $100,000 profit a year is very difficult, especially with the stresses of climate change, so having that static income gives him security long-term."

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Back to the future…

But it’s not all about new systems and technologies; Josh takes a multi-pronged approach. “My focus is Indigenous culture, agriculture and the environment, and how those three come together,” he says.

Two years ago, along with his other roles, Josh took a job with PwC Indigenous Consulting, working on projects that aim to revitalise remote communities through agriculture. He believes that the Indigenous food industry has huge potential.

“Opening up native foods as commercial businesses allows for diversity on traditional agricultural farms,” Josh explains. “There’s a heap of different native products – over 4,500 of them across Australia.

Growing or processing native foods provides a good supplementary income, for traditional farmers and for Indigenous people in remote communities, where jobs are scarce.

“It’s a supply-limited market – low-volume but high-value – especially for Kakadu plums. In the past six years, they’ve increased in value by over $150 a kilo,” he says.

“I was in the NT recently looking at the Kakadu plum industry, and we got to go out picking with some of the ladies. A lot of [Indigenous] knowledge is very much alive today – and it’s a great opportunity for us to work with that knowledge in the wider landscape; to recognise what we have and build something that will sustain us for the future.

“They’re now looking at growing [Kakadu plums] in Broome, Arnhem Land and across [Australia’s] inland. PwC had their first harvest of cultivated Kakadu plums in Broome this year. And a heap of other Indigenous foods can be cultivated: finger limes, lemon myrtle. It’s starting to take off.

“These native foods are highly sought-after in Europe – and in Asia, where they’re really interested in unique foods and ingredients, like our finger limes, that you can’t get anywhere else.

“It’s an area integral to cultural reconciliation: reconciling through food. We’ve seen that a lot in Australia but not, unfortunately, with Indigenous foods. Hopefully now that will change.”

“There’s always been this romanticisation of Australian agriculture, and I think we’re starting to see that some of those old, sustainable ways of farming are really important.”

Australian Geographic Society Awards The nation’s longest-running awards for adventure and conservation, the AGS Awards recognise “exceptional people who serve as inspirational role models to all Australians”.

For more information or to nominate someone you know for an AGS Award, visit australiangeographic.com. au/society/awards

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PERMACULTURE:

TRUE-BLUE

SUSTAINABILITY Concerned about the unintended consequences of industrial agriculture, University of Tasmania academics David Holmgren and the late Bill Mollison developed the concept of permaculture: permanent agriculture.

WORDS: DARREN BAGULEY

45

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The late Bill Mollison (pictured in 2008) and one of his students, David Holmgren, together evolved the framework for a sustainable agricultural system they dubbed ‘permaculture’.

ynthetic fertilisers such as superphosphate (phosphorus) and urea (nitrogen) were developed in the 19th century and commercialised globally in the decades between World Wars I and II. At the time they were hailed as great inventions that would free the world from fear of famine but within a few decades of their widespread uptake, questions were being raised as to how much of an advance they really were.

While there is no doubt that synthetic fertilisers significantly boost yields, they are an external input that depends almost entirely upon nonrenewable resources, and their use is addictive – that is, over the years, more needs to be applied to achieve the same result.

Over years of use, synthetic fertilisers can lead to acidification of the soil, the destruction of soil biology and a reduction in biodiversity, while polluting waterways as nitrogen-rich runoff that can create ‘dead zones’ of oxygen-depleted water.

In the early 1970s, a lecturer at the University of Tasmania, Bill Mollison, and one of his students, David Holmgren, together evolved the framework for a sustainable agricultural system they dubbed ‘permaculture’. Drawing on the ideas of farmers, gardeners, philosophers and inventors such as Joseph Russell Smith, Masanobu Fukuoka, Stewart Brand, P.A. Yeomans, Ruth Stout and Esther Deans, permaculture entered the public domain with the launch of the duo’s

book, Permaculture One, in 1978.

In a later book, Permaculture Two, Mollison wrote, “Perhaps Fukuoka, in his book The One-Straw Revolution, has best stated the basic philosophy of permaculture. In brief, it is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labour; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system.”

In practical terms, the three core elements of permaculture are: care for the earth; care for the people; and return of surplus. The first two tenets are self-explanatory, while return of surplus includes the returning of ‘waste’ back into the system so that it may 47

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© reefrogpermaculture.com.au

“... it is a philosophy of working with rather than against nature ...”

An Insect Hotel

serve a useful purpose.

Permaculture design draws on ecology systems science and on examples of sustainable pre-industrial agriculture. A permaculture designer decides where to place the elements of the system by considering how to maximise benefit to the local environment and conserve energy because above all, permaculture is a low-energy system.

As a result, permaculture farms, whether they’re in suburban backyards or across hundreds of hectares in the country, are pleasant places to be. The layering of vegetables, fruit trees, nut trees and shade trees creates a productive patch of ground in a self-sustaining system: “…the house and fence form an essential trellis for the garden, so that it is no longer 48

clear where orchard, field, house and garden have their boundaries, where annuals and perennials belong, or indeed where cultivation gives way to naturally-evolved systems.” [Mollison, Permaculture Two, Tagari Press] One of the techniques is the use of ‘zones’: a way of organising design elements in a human environment in relation to how often each is used, or according to the needs of the plant or animal. Frequently-used elements, such as the chicken run or the kitchen garden, are located close to the house in Zone 1, while less frequently-used orchards, livestock production areas and woodlots are located farther away, in Zones 2, 3 and 4 – all the way to unmanaged wilderness in Zone 5.

Structures within the zones are placed per the rules of energy

conservation: that is, “No placement without the element (plant, animal or structure) serving at least two or more functions” and “Every function (water collection, fire protection) served in two or more ways”.

For example, a poultry shed would be placed so that it borders Zone 1 (it’s visited many times during the year) and would border the garden so that manure can be collected from the shed and placed straight onto the garden.

Other design considerations may include using the poultry shed as part of a windbreak or to heat a greenhouse.

While the zones are often represented as a concentric model, there are exceptions: an unmanaged forest (Zone 5) may be immediately adjacent to the house and to adjacent gardens (Zone 1), for example.

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The key concept of permaculture is that by placing the components of the system so as to maximise useful connections among them greatly increases the synergies of the final design. Indeed, permaculture is never focused on the separate elements but instead centres on the relationships created among elements by the way they are placed together; it is forever seeking to ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Permaculture design seeks to minimise or eliminate waste through the process of ‘stacking’: using the ‘waste’ products of one element as an input for another element. While such systems may require more human labour to design and build, they require less labour to maintain and operate.

Indeed, permaculture teacher, designer and consultant Geoff Lawton

makes the point that there is no waste in nature.

“Everything is recycled through the system so when we work in alignment with nature, work with nature’s design patterns; we increase their efficiency,” he contends.

Lawton, who worked directly with Mollison to establish Tagari and Zaytuna Farms on the New South Wales North Coast, describes his approach to permaculture as “an ethical design science that provides all the needs for humanity in a way that benefits all the world’s ecosystems and environment”.

While it may seem that permaculture is best suited to rural areas, Mollison always envisaged it being as applicable to suburban blocks as it is to small farms. Indeed, he cautioned that if we take on more land than we can manage and control

“[It’s] an ethical design science that provides all the needs for humanity in a way that benefits all the world’s ecosystems and environment.”

Geoff Lawton

we endanger our ability to be selfsufficient, let alone produce a surplus.

According to Lawton, “Small areas are where we work at our best. Our gardens are the most productive per square metre of any land on the planet.

More than 70 per cent of food [globally] is produced by peasant farmers on small plots, often less than a hectare.

“If we are going to feed humanity, we’re going to need micro-urban, urban and peri-urban agriculture. As we go larger and larger, we become less productive per hectare. As we get smaller we become the future.”

“In Permaculture Two, Bill Mollison poses the question, ‘If people ask “Where do I start?” then the answer is always “At your doorstep”.’

“Anybody, farmer or suburbanite, who has not planted a garden at the back doorstep hasn’t started permaculture.”

Twelve Permaculture Design Principles 1. Observe and interact (with nature).

2. Catch and store energy.

3. Obtain a yield.

4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback.

5. Use and value renewable resources and services.

6. Produce no waste.

7. Design from patterns to details.

8. Integrate rather than segregate.

9. Use small and slow solutions.

10. Use and value diversity.

11. Use edges and value the marginal.

12. Creatively use and respond to change.

Adapted from Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability, by David Holmgren.

51

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HOW DRONES & DATA CRUNCHING WILL CHANGE AUSSIE FARMING Outthere looks at how automated drone technology, combined with big data, super-satellites and integrated software, is set to transform farming in Australia as an integral part of on-farm precision agriculture systems.

WORDS: CLAIRE BOND/MERRAN WHITE

ith experts predicting that the world’s population will top 9.5 billion by 2050, farmers worldwide are engaged in a collective mission to boost food production by a staggering 70 to 100 per cent over the next 33 years.

One of the major advancements assisting agri-producers is drone technology – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Already handy for rounding up stock and spreading seed, the latest ag drones can be equipped with high-tech cameras, sensing equipment and software to collect precise information in real time about terrain, vegetation, crops, weather, soil moisture, livestock and more.

The data collected by drones flying over paddocks is downloaded, ‘crunched’ and analysed using specialised cloud-based software, then sent to the farmer’s smartphone, tablet or PC in an easy-to-interpret form.

The farmer can then use that data to make timely, well-informed management decisions that improve the efficiency and productivity of his or her agri-business.

Solving take-up teething problems Most agree the technology is terrific; adopting it may not be quite as simple.

Several barriers have hampered widespread take-up of drones across Australia’s agricultural regions, particularly by small-scale farmers.

Cost has been one barrier; strict CASA regulations on heavier UAVs carrying camera and sensor equipment, another. Short battery life has required drones to fly ‘back to base’ frequently

to recharge. Unreliable mobile phone and internet service in many rural areas is an issue and, till recently, so was the lack of useful data-crunching software.

Many of these barriers are being broken down: drone and data software costs are dropping, drone-carrying capacity has increased and, as of 29 September 2016, CASA regulations regarding the operation of drones onfarm have been relaxed.

Battery life’s still a problem, and while solar powered drones are

53

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a reality, solar technology that can effectively power heavy-equipmentcarrying drones, especially for those hooking up to satellites, is still a way off.

But the software available to farmers to make sense of the data ag drones collect is now more powerful and better tailored to their needs. And interpreting the analysis requires barely more computer knowhow than you’d need to surf the ’net.

PrecisionHawk: packaged drone and data solutions One company keen to supply ‘nextgen’ drone and software services to Aussie farmers is US-based firm PrecisionHawk, which develops ‘endto-end solutions’ for UAVs, from data collection hardware to cloud-based software for data processing, analysis and management.

The company, named one of the world’s 30 Most Promising Technology Pioneers by the World Economic Forum, operates in the USA, Canada, South America and the UK, and launched operations in Australia in October last year.

PrecisionHawk VP of Marketing and Communication Lia Reich stresses that anyone can fly a drone and take pictures over their fields:

the value lies in quality data, turned quickly into practical information.

“PrecisionHawk helps farmers achieve [more] with less inputs, fewer emissions, heightened productivity and increased return on investment (ROI),” explains Reich.

“This is achieved through an endto-end data collection-to-analysis process that is near real-time, solution-based and cost-efficient – a streamlined process to receive actionable data as opposed to a set of pretty pictures.”

PrecisionHawk’s software platform makes it possible for farmers to collect all manner of useful data – stats on plant height and number; images that detect weeds and plant diseases; info on canopy cover and volumetrics – and to perform sophisticated analyses of that data.

Working with academic and research partners, the company is assembling the most widely used algorithms for automated analysis as it expands its software platform.

“We’re excited to now be in Australia,” says Reich. “The early adopters here have demonstrated [that] there is a great appetite for technology and analytics in agriculture.”

PrecisionHawk technology is distributed exclusively by Ruralco. precisionhawk.com

Solving connectivity issues via satellite: QZSS Though many farmers in remote areas still face service challenges, innovations such as the Japaneseinitiated precise satellite positioning technology QZSS promise to help.

The Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), developed with the help of several Australian universities and research bodies, and recently trialled – with great success – on rice farms in southern NSW, can be used to guide autonomous farm-bots and drones via satellite in regions lacking mobilephone coverage and internet access.

Derrick Thompson, Senior Manager, Key Accounts & Business Development at Hitachi Australia, one of the partners helping trial QZSS in Australia, says it’s about “delivering innovation” to Australia’s agricultural industry.

“QZSS is a very important part of that – using satellite technology to directly control farm tractors and other devices so that you don’t need onground base stations,” Thompson says.

“We’re also looking at … employing digital know-how to transform

“... software available to farmers to make sense of the data ag drones collect is now more powerful and better tailored to their needs.”

54

KNOW THE RULES – FLY SAFE You must only fly during the day and keep your RPA within visual line-of sight.

You must not fly your RPA higher than 120 metres (400ft) AGL. You must not fly over populous areas where—if your drone was to fail—it could hit someone.

This could include beaches, parks, or sport ovals where there is a game in progress.

You must keep your RPA at least 5.5km away from controlled aerodromes.

You must keep your RPA at least 30 metres away from other people.

You must not fly your RPA near emergency efforts such as firefighting, search and rescue and police operations.

c a s a . g o v. a u / r p a

You can only fly one RPA at a time.

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systems on-farm and in the agricultural supply chain, enabling farmers to work in a much more strategic way – freeing them up to do other things.”

Combined with drone technology, digital data can compensate for harvest-time labour shortages and allow farmers to grow more crops per hectare, per annum, says Thompson.

“You can have drones mapping at night, looking for weeds, or which parts of the land need to be fertilised – then the farmer can do [those tasks] during the day. It’s making their day more efficient and, ultimately, allows for more productivity.”

The Japanese satellite system enabling QZSS’s super-accurate PPP positioning technology won’t be fully operational till 2023, but it promises to make data collection

for precision agriculture – and even fully ‘autonomous’ farming – a more affordable reality.

Farm-friendly software Making the most of drone-gathered data is now far simpler, as software platforms become more precisely geared to agricultural uses.

The skill requirements, for anyone with basic computer literacy, are “very straightforward”, assures Thompson; Hitachi already has software packages to go with it its data-collection tools that ‘self-learn’ and can be accessed from PCs and mobile devices. This means farmers can get information when they’re off-site. “[Users] aren’t tied to the farm; they can get alerts sent to them,” Thompson explains. “It’s a much more efficient way of doing things.”

PrecisionHawk’s Reich says that once farmers grasp the scope of the technology, they quickly recognise its potential to streamline farm production and improve their bottom lines.

“As the farming industry moves into the age of smart agriculture, even traditional farmers are excited to adopt new technologies than can empower their processes,” Reich says.

“Once they understand how the technology can function synergistically within their current management practices, they become eager to learn more about it and ultimately, adopt it.

“For family farms, we have seen an especially increased level of interest as this ‘precision agriculture’ movement is encouraging younger family members to stay on the farm to utilise these new technological tools.”

CASA’s new drone regulations Good news: you no longer need a UAV operator’s certificate and licence from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to operate lightweight commercial drones (max. take-off weight >2kg), saving you a cool $1,400 in regulatory fees. Certain conditions apply: drones may be flown only by day, in line of sight at below 120m, more than 30 metres from people, and not within 5.5 kilometres of a controlled airport, over populous areas or near emergency operations.

Land and lease holders can now operate drones weighing up to 25kg over their own properties without UAV operators’ certificates, provided that they’re not remunerated for the service and have notified CASA beforehand.

Still, 25 kilos allows you to put a lot of useful equipment on board. “A 25-kilogram drone … can take a pretty good payload, could carry a fair bit of chemical around for crop spraying, could easily carry cameras and other gear to do visual inspections,” notes CASA spokesperson Peter Gibson. casa.gov.au/drone

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business

A HOUSE

OF CARDS?

Is property still the great Australian investment? asks investment expert Rowan Crosby.

aying Australians have a longstanding love affair with property may be a cliché, but it’s an accurate one.

For decades, residential property has been an incredibly strong performer for home owners and investors alike. A longterm investment report released by the ASX in May 2016 showed that over the past 20 years, residential property has been the top performer among all major asset classes, producing an annual return before tax of 9.8 per cent.

But in recent years, between GFCs, mining booms, Chinese property investors, SMSFs, negative gearing and rabid speculation, the residential property market has not been all smooth sailing for Australian investors.

In the early 2000s, the west coast of Australia was in the grip of a property and investment boom. Led predominantly by the mining sector and strong commodity prices, property price tags got their 58

moment in the sun. Then, as all booms do, this one eventually bust.

Since their peak in 2007, large areas of the mining states have failed to regain their highs, and things don’t appear to be turning around just yet.

On the country’s east coast it’s been a contrasting story. While the west was booming a decade ago, it was the east that was lagging.

In recent years, however, we’ve seen an influx of residential property investors, led by negatively-geared local speculators and cashed-up Chinese nationals looking to move their money out of the PRC and into perceived ‘safe haven’ markets such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The real takeaway from this property seesaw is that we are again at an inflection point for Australian property investors.

The mining states and many regional areas are continuing to show either weak or negative growth, while east-coast hot spots, notably inner-city Sydney and Melbourne,

have priced out all but the most ambitious (and leveraged) investors.

Signs of a slowdown?

On the back of the second property boom in a decade, there are a few warning signs investors might want to heed.

1. The coming apartment glut

Melbourne and Sydney have been the poster kids for housing-price growth over the past few years; however, with the recent demand increase, supply is starting to come online.

To put it into context: in Melbourne alone there have been around 14,000 houses built in the CBD over the past 15 years.

Now consider that, as of November last year, there were 20,000 new apartments under construction, with another 19,000 already approved for construction.

2. Rising interest rates

The past few years have seen interest rates at their lowest levels in history. That goes for the

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rest of the world as well, not just Australia.

As recently as December 2016, however, we’ve seen the Federal Reserve in the US begin to raise rates as that nation’s economy slowly begins to turn around on the back of improving employment figures. And we have to assume that Australia is looking to go down the same path, with many of the big banks and mortgage lenders, including Westpac and NAB, raising rates out of sync with the RBA, specifically to target investors.

While it’s all well and good to have low rates now, investors on 30-year loan terms need to factor in interest rates not just increasing, but being significantly higher than they are now.

3. Poor rental yields

In Sydney and Melbourne, housing prices have increased so much that annual rental yields have been pushed down into the three per cent range.

While investors are cheering their capital gains, residential property prices won’t keep

going up forever, and when they eventually taper off and we see more and more supply, investors are going to be largely unimpressed with the rental shortfall.

4. Mining states still in decline

There’s still no respite for the mining states.

Regardless of how many reports come out telling us how Perth and Darwin have reached the ‘bottom’ of the property cycle, analysis suggests that people and jobs are leaving these cities at a rapid rate.

WA’s jobless rate increased from 6.5 per cent to 6.9 per cent in November 2016, reaching its highest level since 2002.

Population growth has also slowed, reducing the demand for housing in Perth.

At its peak, in 2012, the state’s population growth was 3.7 per cent; three years later, it had fallen to 1.3 per cent.

5. The dangers of negative gearing

For decades, property spruikers have talked up the benefits of using a growth strategy

that is offset with negative gearing. There’s a big problem with this strategy, however: it relies on there being growth in the first place.

The combination of poor yields, rising rates and no growth is a dangerous recipe.

If highly leveraged investors stop seeing capital gains and are unable to service their loans, they are going to start looking for an exit strategy.

5. Farewell to international investors

A large part of the short-term price increases in cities such as Sydney has come from international investors.

Increasingly, we’ve seen banks refusing to give out loans to international investors for fear of outright fraud and doubts over some foreign clients’ ability to service the loans they’ve taken out.

Add this to tightening macroprudential policies all around and some of the key drivers of growth are quickly being eliminated, making it a case of investors not wanting to be the ones left ‘holding the bag’.

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The good news…

It’s not all bad news for investors, however.

Property Investment Adviser Michael Yardney, a Director of Metropole Property Strategists, says that while we’ve seen significant gains in the Sydney and Melbourne property markets in recent years, many drivers of growth are still well and truly present in these cities.

“It is likely that Melbourne and Sydney

house price values will again rise substantially in 2017, driven by affluent owner-occupiers upgrading their homes and investors chasing capital growth,” Yardney says.

“But the level of house price growth will depend upon what the RBA does to interest rates. And it now seems that we could be at the bottom of the interest-rate cycle, and they could start to move upwards in 2017.

“Future property price growth will also

depend upon local economic growth and local market factors.”

Yardney feels that prices have already turned in some markets.

“The boom has already busted in the inner-city high-rise, off-the-plan and newapartment markets in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, where the significant oversupply of apartments will stifle capital growth and rental growth for up to a decade.”

DARWIN

The Darwin property market is in the slump phase of its cycle, with prices likely to fall further over the year with few growth drivers on the horizon.

BRISBANE

NATIONAL PROPERTY OUTLOOK FOR 2017 Michael Yardney predicts Australian property performance for this year…

PERTH

Perth remains in the slump phase of its property cycle, with high unemployment, an oversupply of properties on the market, high vacancy rates and a poorly performing local economy.

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ADELAIDE

The Adelaide property market is likely to underperform again this year, with few growth drivers and high unemployment.

CANBERRA

Canberra’s property markets have always been affected by the federal government’s expenditure policies, but 2017 should be another good year for ACT property, especially in the inner-ring locations.

MELBOURNE

2017 will again see the Melbourne property market outperform most other capital cities due to its strong population growth, driven by sound employment growth.

However, the markets will remain fragmented, with the current oversupply of new apartments creating a glut that will limit capital and rental growth in this segment of the market for a number of years.

Brisbane is suffering from an oversupply of properties, with around 9,000 new apartments completed last year, up 200 per cent from 2015. Most of these are in the CBD, city fringe and inner suburbs, and even though completions are forecast to decrease over the next few years, current oversupply will limit capital growth and rental growth for a number of years.

SYDNEY

Sydney’s housing market is likely to again perform strongly in 2017, underpinned by major infrastructure spending, strong economic growth and employment growth, leading to population growth. Once again, it is likely that Sydney’s inner-ring suburbs will outperform the rest of the city.

HOBART

Hobart property prices look cheap; however, I would be wary about buying property here. The price differential between Hobart and the mainland capitals has always been significant, and even though economic growth and tourism has picked up recently, with minimal population growth there are few long-term growth drivers in this isolated property market.

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New start to finish RPAS survey solution POSITION PARTNERS AND PROPELLER AERO PARTNER TO OFFER SEAMLESS END-TO-END REMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (RPAS) BUNDLES THAT DELIVER SURVEY-GRADE RESULTS. osition Partner’s new RPAS bundles offer centimetrelevel accuracy and a seamless, user-friendly workflow, and they’re now available from Position Partners. The bundles are designed specifically for surveying purposes, and combine aircraft from leading global manufacturer DJI with Propeller Aero’s cloud-based data platform, and new, revolutionary AeroPoints ground control system.

“We are delighted to offer these comprehensive and unique RPAS bundles, which make getting survey grade accuracy with aerial mapping technology a simple and reliable process, from as little as $18,000,” said Gavin Docherty, Position Partners National RPAS Manager.

Customers can choose from either the popular, sub-two kilogram

Phantom 4 aircraft or new M100 high performance quadcopter, which offers longer flight times, advanced collision avoidance and enhanced in-flight stability.

What makes the bundles surveygrade, Mr Docherty said, is the new AeroPoint active ground control system. “AeroPoints are the only ground control points in the world that deliver absolute MGA (Map Grid of Australia) coordinates, with builtin GNSS, PPK, WiFi and solar panel technology,” he said.

“Previous ground control systems worked off a ‘near-enough, goodenough’ basis, which simply doesn’t cut it for survey applications,” Mr Docherty added. “With AeroPoints there are no more spray paint marked points and no need to use a survey rover. You simply set

them down, press a button, and fly the aircraft. You can then process, analyse and share incredibly accurate 3D surveys through Propeller’s online platform.”

Rory San Miguel, Propeller Aero’s Co-Founder and Co-CEO also commented on the new partnership. “It is great to bring our advanced cloud software and new AeroPoints system to market via a collaboration with a leading RPAS solutions provider such as Position Partners,” he said. “We’re excited to make survey-grade accuracy both affordable and accessible through this bundle.”

For more information about the start to finish RPAS survey solutions from Position Partners, call 1300 867 266 or visit www.positionpartners.com.au

About Propeller Aero

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For more information contact PR@propelleraero.com.au or visit propelleraero.com

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business

HEAT STRESS

DEHYDRATION

and

WORDS: DARREN BAGULEY

February and March are often the hottest times of the year, with high humidity in some Australian regions – prime conditions for heat stress and dehydration. Here’s how to stay one step ahead.

65

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business

ustralia is a hot country.

Some people seem to relish that heat, but those who don’t must simply put up with it and get the job done, right? Miners, farmers, construction workers – so many Australians who work outdoors in all conditions fail to realise that heat stress and dehydration are actually dangerous, and can lead to injury or even death.

The cause of dehydration is simple: it occurs when the amount of body fluids – mostly water – leaving your cells is greater than the amount of water you’re taking in. When we lose too much water, we also lose body salts containing various minerals vital to health and wellbeing, and these two factors combined can lead to severe dehydration if left untreated.

We lose water every day, through the exhalation of water vapour as we breathe, through perspiration and via the excretion of bodily waste.

The other factors that lead to heat stress and dehydration can be less obvious, however.

Factors such as how fit you are, whether you’ve already undertaken intense physical activity before starting your shift, and how healthy your daily diet is, all contribute to how well you’re likely to handle heat stress on any given day, and your consequent risk of dehydration.

And when it comes to the weather, it’s not simply how hot it is – humidity and wind speed also play a part.

“Environmental factors are the starting point,” says Freo Group HSE manager Warwick Roe. “High temperature, high humidity, low wind – when those conditions are in evidence, good hydration is important right from the get-go.

From the moment people get up, they need to drink plenty of water and maintain that level of water input.”

Death, the most extreme consequence of heat stress and dehydration, occurs rarely in the modern work environment.

Rather, these issues are a focus for companies and for workplace health and safety (WHS) practitioners because poor hydration can lead to significant reductions in performance.

In the second edition of their book Sport Nutrition, authors Asker Jeukendrup and Michael Gleeson cite studies showing that “performance is impaired when an individual is dehydrated by as little as 2% of body weight. Losses in excess of 5% of body weight can decrease the capacity for work by about 30%”.

According to Roe, “dehydration affects workers’ cognitive ability.

A two per cent dehydration is the equivalent of a 0.05 per cent

HOW MUCH H20 DOES YOUR BODY CONTAIN?

WATER IS CRUCIAL FOR YOUR BODY TO OPERATE AT OPTIMUM LEVELS

“...when it comes to the weather, it’s not simply how hot it is – humidity and wind speed also play a part”

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blood-alcohol [level] and will often be characterised by slight giddiness and headache. In a setting such as a construction environment in North Western Australia [say, a mine site or a farm], you need your people to work [so as to achieve] maximum performance and productivity. There is also a duty of care to your workforce – that they’re being looked after.”

Because every person’s metabolism works differently, some people need more, or less, water than others to remain hydrated. Once people know where they fall along this spectrum, they are better able to manage their hydration levels. And managing your hydration levels is vital, not just to stave off dehydration but because drinking too much water can be just as dangerous as drinking too little of it.

Without realising it, people working in conditions of extreme heat and humidity may drink excessive amounts of water in a bid to quench their thirst, leading to the potentially deadly condition of hyponatremia.

This condition stems from the overconsumption of water, which dilutes blood sodium levels.

68

HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD YOU DRINK EACH DAY?

KG

0.03L

While it is rare, the Freo Group had an incident on its Wheatstone project in Northern Western Australia in 2015.

Roe says the affected worker had been working in extremely hot conditions and had drunk around 10 litres of water throughout the day.

“No matter how much he was drinking, he didn’t feel it was quenching his thirst. He had a bit of a headache, dismissed it and got back to camp, where he had a shower. He still felt off so he went to bed but got cold sweats and, eventually, he called the medical centre.

“He was able to get help there but they had to use intravenous electrolytes to get his body back into balance. It was quite serious. If someone was a long way from

L

assistance, they could go into a coma and die from hyponatremia.”

A simple way to prevent hyponatremia is to drink non-sugary electrolyte drinks, such as THORZT or Hydralyte, during the day as well as drinking water.

Roe notes that, along with effective hydration during the work day, workers must learn to continue these good habits when they’re off the clock.

“When workers have finished their swing and they’re home on their break, things tend to be different,” Roe contends. “They don’t have five-litre water bottles with them all the time and they’re in a different routine, so they’re often not as focused on staying hydrated.

We need to convince people that while at home they still need to stay hydrated – basically, they need to make safety a value they hold rather than a required condition of work.”

To establish a baseline on returning to work, many companies, including the Freo Group, have put in place hydration testing for workers at the start of each swing. Those with well-maintained levels of hydration can be counted on for peak safety and performance on the job.

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OUR NEW RTP NUTRUNNER Welcome to the revolution in heavy duty bolting.

Atlas Copco has released the RTP pneumatic nutrunner for the Oil and Gas, Mining and Energy markets.

The RTP is a reliable, durable and fast solution for all bolting applications including flange related applications, wheel work and maintenance.

For information, hire or to arrange a demonstration please contact our Bolting partner National Tools.

08 9456 2104 sales@ntah.com.au Or visit us at stand N12 at AOG in Perth, 22-24 February 2017.

YOUR UNDERGROUND PRODUCTION PARTNER

EQUIPMENT HIRE MINING SERVICES MAINTENANCE SERVICES PARTS info@pitnportal.com.au

HEAD OFFICE

08 9493 8100

www.pitnportal.com.au

business

SPECIAL FEATURE

PIT N PORTAL FOUNDED in 2002, the Pit N Portal Group

is a leading service provider to the Australian resource sector, specialising in underground hard-rock mining.

We’ve evolved from a machinery-based background, and now boast a complete range of services to assist our clients with all facets of underground mining. Pit N Portal operates Australia-wide, with our head office and state-of-the-art workshop located in Perth and machinery bases in all major mining centres around the country.

Pit N Portal provides a comprehensive range of services, from start-up and complete mine planning, to equipment hire and repair, to labour hire and mine management.

Flexible rental rates, accompanied by an

extensive and diverse fleet, allow us to tailor a solution to meet every client’s needs, from front line production machines to back-up or casual requirements. Our rental fleet covers all the major OEMs and models of underground mining equipment used in the Australian market including trucks, drills, loaders, graders, charge-up machines, tool-carriers, light vehicles and more.

Maintenance services include mechanical, boiler-making, machining, low and high voltage electrical, and the supply and service of remotecontrol equipment. Our machine rebuild service comes with flexible funding and rental solutions along with warranty provisions exceeding the OEM warranty terms and conditions.

Pit N Portal’s Parts Department has supply

contracts with many major mining companies across the country. As well as a wide range of rebuilt Service Exchange components and spare parts, both new and used, we also manufacture and supply certified work platforms and teleremote stations.

Pit N Portal’s dedicated mining division consists of an experienced technical team of experts, including mine managers, engineers, geologists and surveyors, who make use of our machinery and maintenance capabilities to deliver complete mining solutions. The ability to model the entire project and offer pioneering capital start-up solutions makes Pit N Portal Mining Services an attractive option for both junior and mid-tier mining companies as a one-stop mining partner.

Pit N Portal’s dedicated mining division consist of an experienced technical team of experts, including mine managers, engineers, geologists and surveyors, who make use of our machinery and maintenance capabilities to deliver a complete mining solution.

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THE BROADEST RANGE OF

MINING SOLUTIONS

SURFACE. UNDERGROUND. SUPPORT.

Hastings Deering works closely with our mining customers to understand their needs and provide tailored solutions that focus on improving productivity, lowering costs and achieving safer work-places. Hastings Deering also offers something others cannot: the strength and intelligence of Caterpillar and world-class technology enabled solutions through one single, integrated and trusted source.

VISIT US AT HASTINGSDEERING.COM.AU / EDGE

business

SPECIAL FEATURE

REBUILT RIGHT...

A GAME CHANGER AMONG the many challenges faced

by today’s mining industry, improving productivity, lowering costs and delivering No Harm, sustainable workplaces rank among the highest. To assist our customers in meeting these challenges, the Hastings Deering Group offers the Cat® Certified Rebuild Program (CCR), a solution that maximises fleet productivity and optimises costs through extended machine life, while delivering the confidence of knowing the rebuild was done by the people who best know the product – because we’re the ones who built it.

The CCR program is not new for Hastings Deering. The program started in 1985, initially focusing on large mining equipment. However, as the industry has evolved, so too has our capability. The program now covers the demands of both surface mining equipment and underground machinery.

Hastings Deering has established a CCR Centre of Excellence at its Mount Isa Business Centre, with a special focus on underground mobile equipment. The centre is staffed by an experienced team of electrical, mechanical, structural and project management experts.

Creating this critical mass of expertise so close to our customers’ operations delivers superior results, as we are better able to understand customers’ operating conditions, and what it takes to deliver rebuild outcomes to fit.

Eric McDonald, Hastings Deering’s Mount Isa Business Centre Manager, says the program

is providing customers with a significantly lower operational expense versus an otherwise much higher capital cost. With their Hastings Deering Cat products rebuilt, customers also receive the commensurate benefits of improved productivity and reliability.

McDonald says, “The in-built quality of the Cat machine’s engineering, enables us to extend the life of these machines by returning them to ‘as-new’ condition. Our rebuild scope means we have the technology to rebuild the complete machine down to the engine, torque converter and transmission.”

“In addition, all machines that undergo CCR come with a standard warranty of 12 months from date of delivery, covering the entire machine. The rebuild is so significant, each machine is given a new serial number.

This identifies that the standard of the rebuild is equivalent to [that of] the last machine that rolled off the assembly line for that model run.

That’s as-new performance, economy and safety of operation,” he said.

“Unequivocally, the final product from the CCR program is ‘as good’ or better than the last machine ever produced,” McDonald says.

In today’s market, companies are running leaner operations than ever before, and having the ability to control costs and minimise risks has become a critical factor in operating machinery. The fact that extended life is built into our Cat machinery means by following recommended service intervals

and equipment operating guidelines, our customers can expect multiple lives from single components and frames. “That’s sustainability at work, right there,” says McDonald, “and that’s important to all of us, striving to be good corporate citizens.”

The CCR program is proving to be a game changer for Hastings Deering customers.

Rebuilds have proven cost-effective across the whole process, from repairing, replacing or reconditioning parts to sequencing the rebuilds to optimising production, to the speed with which Cat operators adapt to the familiar, yet as-new machine.

Hastings Deering offers the CCR program for both above- and below-ground equipment, through more than 20 locations in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea, providing the highest level of back-up support and service.

Established in 1932, the Hastings Deering Group is one of the top five Cat dealers worldwide. The company is the exclusive distributor for the sale of Cat equipment, technology solutions, parts and service support in our territories. Headquartered in Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia, the Hastings Deering Group has approximately 3,000 employees, across 23 business service centres throughout Queensland, Northern Territory, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia.

Hastings Deering Certified Rebuild benefits: Longer equipment life • Improved productivity & reliability • Improved machine efficiency • Reduced cost of ownership • Increased resale value

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A passion for life long learning t. 02 6457 1022 w. www.smgs.nsw.edu.au/explore e. info@smgs.nsw.edu.au

education Insights into some of the best education institutions in the country.

specialfeature

Feeding the world is

big business Make it your business, writes Professor Alex McBratney, Dean of Agriculture and Environment, at The University of Sydney.

well-known Wall Street broker and commodities trader recently purported, if he were to start his career all over again, he would go into agriculture rather than trading because the very future of the world depends upon farming.

Like many people in the world these days, he realised that for the future of humanity to survive on the planet we need to produce enough food to feed everyone. This means we need to increase our current output by about 70 per cent over the next 35 years.

Similarly, the quality of that food needs to improve. It must have the right nutritional and safety characteristics. So there is a big challenge in meeting that need while using our finite resources of soil, water and nutrients.

It is a challenge that’s exciting and will take a generation to achieve, so we’re looking for a new generation of people to work in the emerging ‘new agriculture’ industry, which will deliver high-quality food to everyone on the planet.

It’s a challenge that’s a noble one. By doing this we will help humanity. It will be a profitable challenge – people will make money in the new agriculture.

Those who work in this field will not only have good incomes but will also enjoy good lifestyles.

To meet the challenges of the new agriculture, solutions will be created using the best science, economics and sociology.

All of the technologies the biological revolution has brought us will be utilised.

We are going to breed new cultivars to deal with drought and salinity; we will recognise the huge biodiversity of plants, and bring many new plants with new characteristics into cultivation.

We will also harness the power of new information technologies to optimise everything we do on the farm. In doing so, we will grow things with the least possible use of fertilisers and chemicals to get the highest possible yields, the best quality product and we will recognise that quality varies across the landscape.

We will be employed to deliver to consumers the exact commodities they want using the best ideas of economics and business. Identifying products by location, and with particular quality characteristics, grown in the best way, we will deliver that information to the consumer along with the product.

We’re going to use the best ideas

of sociology to ensure that producers and consumers better understand the processes of agriculture, and the products created are those consumers want.

By combining and connecting these elements, we’ll create the new agriculture – a post-industrial agriculture that is much more akin to the pre-industrial society. An agriculture that is totally interconnected.

This concept is driving the new curriculum in agriculture at the University of Sydney, where we are developing these ideas into new units of study and courses so that we can train the agriculturists of the future. Come and join us.

Learn more at sydney.edu.au

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THE

EDGE

TO YOUR

ADVANCEMENT

WANT MORE FROM YOUR CAREER?

EXPECT MORE FROM A UNIVERSITY If you’re looking to advance in your career, make a profession change, or even specialise in your current area, CQUniversity Australia’s wide range of postgraduate options offers the opportunity to your ambition. Benefit from a high-quality, accessible education from a socially innovative, engaged university ranked in the top 2% of unis worldwide*, whether you choose to study on campus at one of our 20+ national locations or via our leading distance education offering.

Choose from a range of study options in business management, engineering, maintenance management, project management, safety science and more, and gain the edge to your advancement with theoretical knowledge that can support, enhance or change your career path.

Start your graduate certificate, graduate diploma, master’s or doctoral degree with Australia’s largest regional university in 2017, and be what you want to be.

cqu.edu.au/postgrad2017 *

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specialfeature

More than your average Joe QUniversity Australia engineering graduate Joe Sammut is currently working 14 storeys below the streets of New York on a US$10.2 billion project.

This project, designed to bring the Long Island Rail Road into a new East Side station that will be incorporated into Grand Central Terminal, is on track to begin services in December 2022.

Employed as a superintendent for Tutor Perini Corporation on East Side Access, the 33-year-old is responsible for completing the new underground train station platforms and the installation of all tracks – a US$660 million contract.

Sammat says “Initially I worked as a senior engineer overseeing the installation of [US]$300 million worth of structural concrete and associated mechanical, electrical and plumbing items for the newly-bored tunnels and underground caverns.

“This involved providing engineering, project management, procurement and commercial support to the superintendents and crews on site.”

Now, as one of the superintendents,

Sammat is responsible for around 20–40 of the tradespeople and subcontractors involved in his areas of responsibility.

He describes working 14 storeys below some of the busiest real estate in the world on this multi-billion dollar project as “incredibly fulfilling”.

“Working in this type of environment is more than just a job,” he says.

“I enjoy bringing the cutting-edge knowledge and experiences I gained in Australia – starting at CQUniversity – to the other side of the world.”

It’s roles like Joe’s that CQUniversity graduates can look forward to in the future. In fact, according to CQUniversity’s Project Management Discipline Leader Richard Egelstaff, there is a “massive transition” away from jobs at traditional, asset-owning companies and departments and a rapid trend towards roles opening at nimble project services firms.

“The move to project-driven firms is a massive global phenomenon – about half the world economy is involved – but especially relevant in tropical Australia where we are opening up infrastructure,”

Egelstaff says.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) estimates that one-fifth of the world’s gross domestic product is spent on projects and a huge demand exists globally for skilled project managers.

Addressing this global industry need, CQUniversity has invested in courses that are gearing up already skilled workers for career advancements in a variety of industries, such as graduate certificates through to masters’ courses in project management, engineering and asset and maintenance management.

The latest Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) data suggests CQUniversity postgraduate graduates are reaping some great rewards.

In fact, the University is above the national average for students gaining fulltime employment and is well above the national average for graduate salaries with a median salary of A$96 000 per annum.

For more information regarding postgraduate study opportunities at CQUniversity visit cqu.edu.au/ postgrad2017.

“I enjoy bringing the cutting-edge knowledge and experiences I gained in Australia – starting at CQUniversity – to the other side of the world.”

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specialfeature

Iconic Queensland school empowering girls and young women ehind a stately picket fence in the tree-lined streets of Toowoomba, Queensland, stand a collection of elegant buildings forming The Glennie School, a leading regional school for girls providing the foundations to adapt and achieve in this ever-changing world.

Walking around the manicured grounds inspires a curiosity to explore and learn, evoking the feelings of positivity, possibility, inclusion and respect that this prestigious boarding and day school, first established in 1908, is famous for.

A well-rounded education is provided for girls from Kindergarten to Year 12, taking a collaborative approach where girls are inspired and supported by one another, staff, parents and the community on their learning journey.

The curriculum is shaped around key learning areas, with all programs based upon the Australian Curriculum while teaching girls to analyse and evaluate information, enabling them to make informed decisions.

All The Glennie School students have the advantage of access to first class facilities and activities in the areas of the Arts, Sport, IT and Science.

The Glennie School embraces the Anglican ethos and a philosophy of giving every girl quality education in a learning environment that is happy, stimulating and challenging, empowering each student to be ‘All She Can Be’ (our school motto).

Values of perseverance, resilience, integrity, honesty and humility are reinforced to help girls succeed in the real world and develop self-knowledge, relationships and interpersonal skills.

The Glennie Community Kindergarten

is a popular entry point to The Glennie School, laying foundations for learning by inspiring curiosity, developing creativity and encouraging exploration.

The Glennie Junior Years from Prep to Year 6 build on these foundations by continuing to encourage exploration while developing essential skills and fostering a love of learning.

Girls are equipped with strong literacy, numeracy and thinking skills for future development and growth both academically and socially, with opportunities for extension and assistance programs available.

The Glennie Middle Years from Years 7 to 9 focus on supporting girls through this transitional period by strengthening character, forging meaningful relationships and challenging thinking.

Programs are specifically designed for students to learn and grow in ways that acknowledge and respect this unique and special time of adolescence, helping girls to develop healthy relationships with themselves and others.

The Glennie Senior Years from Years 10 to 12 provide pathways for girls to become critical thinkers, global citizens and independent young women.

Seniors are assisted to make suitable study choices for their post-school pathway, resulting in the majority of Glennie girls continuing to tertiary education and successful careers.

If you want your daughter to realise her true potential and become All She Can Be, contact our Registrar Annie Muller on (07) 4688 8807 to book your personal tour of the school or to find out more.

All of The Glennie School students have the advantage of access to first class facilities and activities in the areas of the Arts, Sport, IT and Science

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specialfeature

She will belong he Stuartholme Boarding mission is to make every girl feel at home, loved as she is, comfortable and secure. When young women feel like this, they can do anything. They are ready to be challenged and extended to become the very best person they can be.

Deputy Principal Boarding, Andree Rice and her team of dedicated boarding professionals believe in the capability of every young woman in their care.

“The staff inspire every girl to do their personal best, to aim for excellence academically and/or vocationally, to aim for high level inter-personal skills and to be compassionate and inclusive,” Rice says.

Unlike most boarding models, the staff in the Stuartholme Boarding House are dedicated boarding professionals.

“We don’t employ only teachers in our Boarding House; we hire staff who are passionate about providing the right care and attention to our Boarding students.

“Our staff undertake high quality professional development and take part in regular and collaborative team meetings and professional conversations.”

With wellbeing at the forefront of the boarding vision for Stuartholme, Andree has developed a wellbeing program to address the specific needs of Boarders. This program is based on best practice psychology for adolescent girls and is age specific: “Our wellbeing program is designed to develop a set of wellbeing skills and a strengths-based approach so that girls believe in their own potential, know that making mistakes and failing is part of life and also know that they can change their mindset and behaviour when needed.

This skill set is a conscious way to build self-esteem and resilience, which research shows is the best way to counter anxiety and depression.”

The Boarding House staff also provide the girls with carefully supervised study sessions in which they have a choice of how to study; they can work on their own, collaboratively or with the support of one of our teacher-librarians.

“We run study sessions focussed on the Boarders’ needs, invite teachers and Leaders of Departments upstairs

during study times and we have started a Homework Help Club.”

On our Toowong campus, the Stuartholme Boarding House recognises the vital role clear communication and strong relationships with the parent community plays in the overall wellbeing of students.

“We have embraced social media by creating a closed Boarding Facebook page that updates parents each week on what’s happening. The benefit of the Facebook page is that it is timely. Photos and updates can be uploaded as they happen, giving parents the chance to share special moments. The parents also receive a weekly online newsletter, News From the Nest which covers all the news and events from the last week.”

The Stuartholme Boarding staff are very proud of every girl who comes into the Boarding House, the culture of inclusion and kindness ensures everyone is cared for and feels welcome.

“When you come to the Stuartholme Boarding House you will belong,” says Deputy Principle Rice.

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specialfeature

Frensham Boarding for Girls or Frensham’s annual Sample Boarding programme, we host overnight up to 40 Year 5 girls whose parents are considering Year 7 entry for their daughters as boarders... and girls come from ‘everywhere’ for the experience...

The programme includes an information evening to update parents on our priorities, programmes and current goals.

It is important to note the current demographic of Frensham boarders: • 50% of our current boarders are from families with no direct family experience of boarding • 30% of our current boarders are girls whose parents boarded • 20% of our boarders have grandparents or other close relatives who boarded Increasingly, parents are seeing the benefits of boarding as a whole extra element of education focused on developing emotional and intellectual maturity, self-discipline and self-management, and inspiring a deep sense of personal connection that develops when teenagers engage in positive, challenging experience.

Futurists say what the world needs most is high functioning young people who are emotionally intelligent, with strong self-management skills.

Likewise, tertiary educators note that that the world of work needs young people with empathy - talented people who can value other’s points of view.

From their first year at Frensham, students are ancouraged to develop these much-needed qualities. They are asked to share in organising and managing important aspects of School life, with the imperative to care about their impact.

The acronym STE(A)Mm ~ STEM has been embedded in the Frensham curriculum for several years, and we have added to it. The new ‘A’ refers to

artistic expression, creativity and design thinking. With science (S) and technology (T) interpreted through engineering (E) and arts (A), all based in elements of mathematics (M), embedded in music (m); cross-faculty collaboration on the development of new projects that add quality to the rigour of the existing academic programme, is driving change.

From Term 1 2017, we have added capacity to accommodate an additional 32 senior boarders.

Below: Linden Turner House – new expansion for senior boarders.

Frensham is an outward-looking, forward-thinking boarding school which provides a rigorous, personalised academic programme. On a spectacular 140 hectare campus, in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Frensham is unique in Australia with more than seventy per cent of the total school enrolment of 340 girls in residence.

Boarding at Frensham is not about distance from School – it is about a adding whole extra element of education, focused on developing emotional and intellectual maturity, self-discipline and self-management, and a deep sense of personal connection. When boarders from Berlin, Barraba, Bellevue Hill and Bowral learn to live, study, have fun and flourish together at Frensham – it is not by chance!

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SHANGHAI SINGAPORE

Roadshow 2017 HONG KONG

WE D –TH U

29–30 Mar F R IDAY

31 Mar F R I –SAT

5–6 May F R I –SAT

19–20 May SATU R DAY

20 May SU N DAY

21 May M O N DAY

22 May TU E S DAY

23 May WE D N E S DAY

24 May TH U RS DAY

25 May F R IDAY

26 May F R IDAY

2 Jun

3

F R I –SAT

GOONDAWINDI

14–15 Jul 11

1

COFFS HARBOUR

BOURKE

14 13

2 NYNGAN

5 GUNNEDAH 4

F R I –SAT

TAMWORTH

7 FORBES

9

COOLAC

15

MUDGEE

8 ORANGE ★

COWRA YOUNG 10

SAT

29 Jul

12 6

15 Jul 28–29 Jul

WARREN

DUBBO

SATU R DAY

NEWCASTLE

SYDNEY

TU E–TH U

22–24 Aug SATU R DAY

26 Aug

1

ICPA Bourke

2

Riverview in Nyngan information session and Dinner

3

Goondiwindi Boarding Expo

4

Dubbo Boarding Expo

4

Riverview in Dubbo Dinner

5

Riverview in Warren Lunch

6

Orange information session

7

Forbes information session

8

Cowra information session

9

Young information session

10

Riverview in Tumut information session and Collac Dinner

11

Coffs Harbour Pop Up Expo

12

Mudgee Field Day

12

Riverview in Mudgee Dinner

13

Tamworth Boarding Expo

13

Riverview in Tamworth Dinner

14

Aq-Quip Gunnedah

15

Riverview in Newcastle information session and Dinner

30 Oct – 9 Nov TBA

Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai 16

Riverview in Melbourne

16 MELBOURNE

For more information please go to www.riverview.nsw.edu.au/news-events/#news-and-events

specialfeature

Learning independence, understanding priorities ndependence is one of the greatest gifts that parents can give to their children. Today, when many parents feel pressured to be involved in every aspect of their child’s life, boarding can be the perfect antidote.

Young men and women are required to navigate through adolescence, building resilience and accountability.

Parents aren’t always there to shield them from natural causes and effects.

Boarding schools are good places to fail and succeed—which makes them great places to learn. It’s a controlled freedom.

Students don’t just have to manage their own affairs, they learn how to live and deal with others on an ongoing basis. They are challenged to develop their interpersonal skills because there is no hiding at boarding school.

A child who is dropped off in the morning and picked up at three o’clock

by Mum or Dad might not be challenged to develop the same peer skills as a boy who lives with other students on campus. Boarding is a transformative experience in learning to communicate with others, something many people don’t get until later in life.

The sense of community and personal growth

What many students say they love about boarding at Saint Ignatius’ College, Riverview is the community atmosphere created within the school dynamic.

“The best thing about boarding is that you’re living with up to 80 of your best friends.” Callum Ryan (OR2012; College Captain and Dux) Academics are important but when students get together after they’ve graduated it’s not the great history class they remember, but their time on Lane Cove River or in the dormitory. It’s a bond that binds men of different ages and cultures.

Strong academic opportunities

Riverview boarding students take part in daily after-school supervised study.

Regular supervised study time improves student-learning outcomes.

“It was through the set study times I found my results started to improve.

Boarding was the turning point for me academically.” Max Mills (OR2016; ATAR 99.9) The outlook of teachers who support

the boarding community isn’t that of a job, but a vocation, where they become an important role model in each of their students’ lives. Teachers work with students, share meals and often live on campus, making it a unique environment based upon a strong sense of community.

Preparation for life after school

While the educational experience in boarding is important to personal and educational growth and development, it’s also a pre-cursor to life after school. Our boarding students are well prepared to enter higher education or the workforce.

“The opportunity of leadership has challenged me a lot. I’ve done things that I never thought I would be able to do.” Lochie Flagg (OR2016) Riverview boarders don’t just get into university: they arrive prepared to succeed, with the ability to manage their own lives. They become strong, confident individuals capable of leadership and self-initiative.

Boarding at Saint Ignatius’ College, Riverview provides an environment for these important qualities to be nurtured.

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Her dreams for tomorrow are our focus today.

Consider Clayfield College Boarding and let her light shine.

Open Morning Thursday 16 March 2017 8:45am to 10:30am

www.clayfield.qld.edu.au A School of the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association.

07 3262 0262

enrol@clayfield.qld.edu.au

23 Gregory Street Clayfield QLD 4011

specialfeature

The Clayfield College Way layfield College is a place where all individuals are valued for their unique qualities and talents.

Our academic, pastoral and co-curricular programs, supported by our exceptional teaching staff, are essential in providing opportunities for our students to grow and develop in mind, heart, body and spirit.

Clayfield College is one of Queensland’s leading schools, providing a tradition of quality education. Founded in 1931, the College has a proud history of offering a Christian learning environment in which students are encouraged, nurtured and inspired to achieve personal excellence.

The College is located in the beautiful inner-northern Brisbane suburb of Clayfield, only six and a half kilometres from the central business district and served well by public transport. The Citytrain network is situated close by and the College is centrally located to Brisbane City Council and private bus lines. The College is only five kilometres from the Domestic and International airports as well as the Gateway arterial road that links the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

Clayfield College welcomes students from all over Australia and the world, catering for girls from Pre-Prep to Year 12 and boys from Pre-Prep to Year 6. The College is also a Boarding School for girls, caring for students from Years 5 - 12, on a daily, casual, weekly or term basis.

Clayfield College has developed a proud tradition of boarding for more than 75 years, enriching the lives of generations of young girls and affording them the opportunity to develop lifelong friendships.

The Carolyn Hauff Boarding House is a stand-alone and fully self-contained facility.

Our girls enjoy safe, secure and comfortable surroundings where they can learn, grow and become independent young women.

The Boarding House offers a variety of accommodation options. There are also numerous recreational rooms, quiet spaces, a library and music room, as well as a new spacious dining room that features an outdoor verandah for our girls to utilise.

Clayfield College is justifiably proud of

our academic record and achievements.

The College is recognised within the wider community as a school that inspires students to strive for academic success. We offer a stimulating and engaging curriculum, that incorporates innovative learning experiences, and is personalised to challenge the learning needs of every student.

We encourage our students to be flexible and critical in their thinking, to apply their knowledge, and utilise an array of research methodologies and technology to confidently respond to learning tasks. Our aim is to build the confidence of each student by recognising effort and achievement, whilst celebrating personal excellence.

As a dynamic teaching and learning community, the College is committed to continuous improvement. To support the diversity of our learners, we strengthen the learning of our educators through ongoing professional development, to ensure they are equipped with the most contemporary teaching styles and educational practices.

Our comprehensive academic programs provide our students with solid foundations in literacy and numeracy in the early years, culminating in learning experiences that challenge and extend our students in Year 12.

Clayfield College believes in providing learning opportunities for our students that promote the development and expression of their unique abilities and talents. Our aim is to ensure our students become independent and engaged learners, with a passion for learning that lasts a lifetime.

Our students are encouraged to broaden their interests by extending themselves in the arts, languages, sport and community service through our extensive co-curricular program.

Through our comprehensive Creative and Performing Arts program, we offer our students a variety of opportunities to pursue and enjoy the wonderful world of Music, Visual Art, Drama and Dance.

Our wonderful languages program offers Chinese and Spanish from Prep to Year 3, and Chinese, Japanese and Spanish from Year 4.

We also believe that maintaining a healthy body is pivotal for our students’ development. Participation in sporting activities is encouraged for all students from Pre-Prep to Year 12. Clayfield College offers excellent sporting facilities, including a multi-purpose Physical Education Centre and gymnasium, a heated swimming pool complex, playing fields, tennis and netball courts, and access to external sporting fields. Our sporting program encourages all students to achieve their full potential and to contribute to the success of their teams.

Our Service program offers opportunities for our students to participate in local and global community service groups and projects to develop their sense of individual responsibility – not only to College life and the community within which they live, but to society as a whole.

Our Pastoral Care Program focuses on a holistic approach which encourages our students to develop commitment, self-discipline, self-motivation and a sense of social responsibility. We encourage our students to be happy, laugh often, work hard and give back to the community.

Ultimately, what Clayfield College offers is an opportunity for your son or daughter to explore their full potential. Our highly experienced staff have the passion, drive and ability to inspire and guide, him or her, to be the very best they can be.

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D w to ire av To ct a o fl m ila wo igh aj bl o t or e m s ci fro ba tie m s. m os t

We Understand... the emotional and financial commitment of being away from family and friends is a difficult one...

St Ursula’s College is a Day and Boarding School for girls in Years 7 to 12 with a Catholic ethos.

Rich in tradition and strong in leadership, we understand the challenges facing boarder families and we are here to help wherever we can, and our smaller boarding community means your daughter is just as special to us as she is to you.

Contact us today to see how we can enrich your daughter’s schooling experience.

- Bursaries now available 38 Taylor Street - TOOWOOMBA QLD 4350 Phone: 07 4632 7611 Fax: 07 4638 5634 Email: enrolments@st-ursula.qld.edu.au

www.st-ursula.qld.edu.au

specialfeature

Help her achieve to the best of her abilities at St Ursula’s magine a boarding school where your daughter is just as special to us as she to you and where STEM and academic result are just as important as fun and friendship. We invite you to imagine no longer, and take some time to visit us at St Ursula’s College Toowoomba, where we not only provide an environment for your daughter which contributes to academic results, but a space where she can grow into a young woman prepared for a wondrous future.

Rich in leadership and strong in our Ursuline traditions, the College provides subjects and learning experiences in specialist facilities equipped with the latest technology, catering for the individual needs and interests of all girls. Offering state-of- the- art media, creative and dramatic arts facilities (including professional dance areas), high tech science laboratories, a vast

range of sport choices as well as VET and hospitality options, you can be assured that your daughter will be encouraged to achieve in all areas of her education. Learning enrichment support and teacher tutoring is also on-hand should your daughter be in need of some extra assistance.

At St Ursula’s College, we understand the emotional and financial commitment of being away from family and friends is a difficult one and as such, we provide a safe, close-knit boarding community staffed by a team of committed, experienced boarding house supervisors, who impart the love and support your daughter needs, especially if this is her first time away from home. We can assure you though, that being an ‘Ursie Boarder’ is not all hard work, because we take the time to get to know your daughter’s interests outside of school,

engaging her in fun activities including regular supervised shopping trips as well as expeditions to the beach and theme parks during our boarder weekends.

There is no need to worry about her nutritional wellbeing either, as along with her academic and emotional wellbeing, our team of in-house chefs will provide healthy, delicious homestyle meals to keep her nutritionally sustained. You can be assured she is in good hands at St Ursula’s.

We invite you to contact our Registrar on 07 4632 7611 or via email at enrolments@st-ursula.qld.edu.au to find out how St Ursula’s College can enrich your daughter’s schooling experience.

Additional information regarding our curriculum, fee structure and Macbook Air computer program is available on our website www.st-ursula.qld.edu.au.

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