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February, 2020
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OUR WAR BRIDES Their story and one lady who is looking for fellow travellers.
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REG RICHARDSON, AUSTRALIAN PHILANTHROPIST
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NORFOLK ISLAND CROQUET
CHRISTMAS IN JULY NORFOLK ISLAND
NORFOLK ISLAND A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY ESCORTED EX BRISBANE
SENSATIONAL SINGAPORE WITH SINGAPORE GARDEN FESTIvAL ESCORTED EX BRISBANE
BELLA ITALIA HOSTED BY FORTUNATO ISGRO
MAGICAL COOK ISLANDS HOSTED BY GRAEME AND LYNNE HUGO
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20 - 27 JUNE 2020
Call our friendly, experienced team to book your next cruise or touring holiday or to join one of Go See Touring’s special group departures.
Go See Touring invites players & spectators to join us on Norfolk Island in June 2020 for the 6th Convict’s Cup Social Croquet event. This is a social golf croquet doubles event and it doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or an expert - it’s all about having fun. You’ll play on the oldest sporting pitch in the Southern hemisphere that is still in use. With stunning Norfolk Island as the backdrop to this week of friendly competition, there will be sightseeing, lots of fun and laughter! We hope you can join us!
$2,095*
$2,995*
$4,745*
$10,950*
$3,995*
per person Twin Share Ex BNE Single supplement From $495
per person Twin Share Ex BNE Single supplement $340
per person Twin Share Ex BNE Single supplement $1,380
Per person Twin Share ex BNE Single supplement $995
Per person Twin Share ex BNE Single Supplement $980
11 - 18 JULY 2020
18 - 25 JULY 2020
20 - 27 JULY 2020
15 SEPTEMBER - 06 OCTOBER 2020
30 OCTOBER - 07 NOvEMBER 2020
Want to enjoy the festive season twice this year? Spend a week on Norfolk Island with its stunning scenery, sandy beaches and jagged cliffs. There is so much to see and do – and all at your own pace. We’ve included some great accommodation options, a hire car so you can explore, some fabulous tours that you won’t want to miss, plus plenty more to do on the Island. Enjoy a festive delicious Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings, fun trivia and Carols at Paradise Hotel & Resort. Chase away those winter blues and have some fun. Call us now to secure your accommodation.
Join Fortunato Isgro or Lindsay (Waddo) Waddington for a fantastic week on Norfolk Island of Songs and laughter! A Little Bit Country on Norfolk Island 2020 sees a great line-up of performers taking to the stage. Graeme Hugo, Fortunato Isgro, Wayne Horsburgh and Lindsay (Waddo) Waddington will all perform at 3 big shows during the week. Plus plenty of time for you to enjoy beautiful Norfolk Island with its colourful history, lush greenery, stunning scenery and friendly locals. Enjoy delicious cuisine, tours, time to shop and explore and plenty of laughs along the way. Call us for more information!
Join us when we visit the bi-annual world premier tropical garden and ower show - the 2020 Singapore Garden Festival. The festival showcases colourful and exciting garden designs with exquisite oral displays from over 50 designers and 19 countries. During the tour you’ll also visit the Botanic Gardens, National Orchid Gardens, have breakfast at the zoo, high tea at the iconic Rafes Hotel, visit the National Museum plus experience the exciting sights and sounds of Sentosa Island. Leisure time to explore further aďŹ eld, shop ‘til you drop or lay by the pool. We’d love to have you with us when we travel to this beautiful multi-cultural city and its fabulous gardens. Space is limited.
You are invited to join entertainer Fortunato on his muchanticipated ‘Bella Italia’ tour, where you will experience 22 days of incredible history, culture, food and scenic landscapes within central and southern Italy all whilst enjoying wonderful entertainment from your renowned host. Fortunato is particularly excited to also take you to Sicily and the Aeolian Islands where his family originates, to bring you an authentic experience that you will never forget. You don’t want to miss out on this stress-free holiday with Fortunato and his family. Contact us for more fabulous details.
You are invited to join entertainer Graeme and Lynne Hugo, for a trip of a lifetime to the beautiful Cook Islands. Experience the authentic colourful local culture, swim in crystal clear tropical waters, enjoy delicious local cuisine, informative and scenic tours. Located just 6 hours from Australia, we hope you can join us on this trip to paradise. Please call us to secure your place or for more details.
TERMS & CONDITIONS *Price is per person Twin Share. Single Supplement applies. Credit card surcharges apply. Deposit of AUD $500-$800 per person is required to secure tour. Tour requires a minimum number of passengers to depart. Prices may uctuate if surcharges, fee, taxes or currency change. Prices current as at 16th January 2020. Go See Touring in conjunction with Norfolk Select Marketing ABN: 93 367 366 822 ATAS Accreditation A10619 7093241be V1 - SEWE01Z01MA
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WELCOME
FEBRUARY, 2020//
INDEX 4 6 9 10-11 13 19 24 27
Cover Story – Reg Richardson Community Notes What’s On Feature — War Brides Wanderlust Wellbeing Finance Puzzles
22 Qld Ballet looks forward to 2020 classes for seniors.
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Ready for a new ride? Gail Forrer Seniors Group Editor Greetings friends. If you are looking for some good news this month, then look no further, you have found it. Seniors News journalists Tracey Johnstone has gone to town to locate and write some uplifting and interesting stories. For instance, our cover personality Reg Richardson. This is not a name that usually makes the headlines, but here he is sharing the fruits of his own success with those in need and successfully encouraging his friends to do the same. He has certainly made big things happen and Australia is a better place for it. This month our doublepage spread features war brides. Tracey Johnstone spoke to 96-year-old Jackie McLaughlin, who was one of the 70,000 women who left Britain in the 1940s bound for Canada or Australia.
Today, Jackie is looking for any of the women left or their families, to chat about their life journey. We also give you a heads-up with a story on the changing nature of public transport. A new company is stepping into Australia with a transport system that intends to offer a flexible and practical alternative to our traditional type of transport, such as the big council buses that run only at certain times and certain places, regardless of passenger numbers. After the introduction of Uber, Lime scooters and electric bikes, we’re getting used to additional forms of transport, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this latest enterprise works for us. Enjoy the read.
SENIORS
CONTACT US General Manager Geoff Crockett – 07 5430 1006 geoff.crockett@news.com.au Editor Gail Forrer – 07 5435 3203 gail.forrer@seniorsnewspaper.com.au Media Sales Executive Melissa Wilkie – 07 3011 9237 and melissa.wilkie@seniorsnewspaper.com.au Online Get your news online at www.seniorsnews.com.au Advertising, editorial and distribution enquiries Phone: 1300 880 265 or (07) 5435 3200 Email: advertising@seniorsnewspaper.com.au or editor@seniorsnewspaper.com.au Location: 2 Newspaper Place, Maroochydore 4558 Website: www.seniorsnews.com.au Subscriptions Only $39.90 for one year (12 editions) including GST and postage anywhere in Australia. Please call our circulations services on 1300 361604 and quote “Brisbane Seniors Newspaper”. The Seniors Newspaper is published monthly and distributed free in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales. The Seniors newspaper stable includes Toowoomba, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Northern NSW, Coffs and Clarence and Central Coast publications. Published by News Corp Australia. Printed by News Corp Australia, Yandina. Opinions expressed by contributors to Seniors Newspapers are not necessarily those of the editor or the owner/publisher and publication of advertisements implies no endorsement by the owner/ publisher.
Why grandsitting can be so fulfilling.
Funding for groups to join spirit of special event made and continue to make in our communities. Whether as volunteers or in the workforce, community leaders or carers, grandparents or advocates, seniors have a huge impact on society in general. Seniors Month provides opportunities to promote positive community attitudes towards older people and ageing, facilitate community participation, and enhance community
connections, aligning with the Queensland Government’s and COTA Queensland’s vision of building an age-friendly Queensland. COTA Queensland coordinates Queensland Seniors Month on behalf of the Queensland Government and receives funding to collaboratively plan, run and subsidise Seniors Month events and activities. Until Sunday, March 15,
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SINCE first introduced in 1960 by the Council on the Ageing (COTA) Queensland, Queensland Seniors Week has grown substantially. So much so that we are celebrating Queensland seniors all month long this August. During the state’s premier event for older Queenslanders, people of all ages and backgrounds will come together in celebration of the achievements and contributions seniors have
community groups, local councils and libraries can apply for up to $1000, sharing in $100,000 of Queensland Government funding to support events and activities being held during the specially planned month. All applications and acquittals are accessed and submitted through SmartyGrants, an online grant management system. For more information about Seniors Month and to
download the subsidy guidelines, visit www.qld seniorsmonth.org.au. For more information about programs and services for older Queenslanders, visit www.qld.gov.au/ seniors. Stay up to date with news and information about Queensland Seniors Month by following it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Contact COTA Queensland at seniorsmonth @cotaqld.org.au or phone
(07) 3316 2908. COTA Queensland is a statewide not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advancing the rights, interests and futures of people as they age. Its programs support older Queenslanders to influence decision making and create positive social change. It advocates to government on issues that affect us all as we age and it promotes older people’s rights.
POOLING RESOURCES: Community groups, councils and libraries can apply for up to $1000 of state funding to support Seniors Month activities in August. Picture: Contributed SEWE01Z01MA - V1
SENIORS
NEWS
\\FEBRUARY, 2020
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Medical marvel honoured Leader in obstetrics named as Senior Australian of the Year for work in curbing pre-term births MINISTER for Aged Care and Senior Australians Richard Colbeck has paid tribute to the 2020 Senior Australian of the Year. Professor John Newnham (AM), of Western Australia, was honoured by Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a ceremony at the National Arboretum in Canberra. The award is presented to an Australian over 65 years of age who continues to achieve and contribute to the community. Prof Newnham is recognised as a world authority in preventing preterm birth. He has been described as “an intellectual leader of modern obstetrics who has changed the practice of medicine and the lives of women and infants”. “Prof Newnham’s ongoing achievements serve as an
example to all Australians,” Mr Colbeck said. “Senior Australians have an incredible amount to offer the rest of the community – their intellect, their capacity for hard work and their experience. “I would like to pay tribute to Prof Newnham and to the thousands of senior Australians who play crucial roles across the nation in professional, volunteer and community roles. “This award is a reflection of our national appreciation, admiration and thanks for your efforts.” The Australian Government has been a proud sponsor of the Senior Australian of the Year Award for more than 10 years. Mr Colbeck also congratulated each of the state and territory finalists for their endeavours across a
range of sectors in our community. “Celebrating the accomplishments of our seniors is important not only to thank them for their work but to remind all Australians that age is just a number, not an indicator of ability,” he said. Other Senior Australian of the Year finalists this year included: • New South Wales – founder of OzGREEN, Sue Lennox from NSW, teaches people to become “citizen scientists’’ and to take action to improve the health of the waterways. • South Australia – 90year-old Sylvia McMillan has been an unstoppable community volunteer for more than 50 years after becoming treasurer of her local Legacy club in the late 1960s. • Queensland – Peter
RECOGNITION: Prime Minister Scott Morrison with 2020 Senior Australian of the Year, Professor John Newnham. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Dornan (AM) helps men with prostate cancer share experiences and seek support. He designed a program to treat
incontinence after prostate cancer treatment. • Victoria – Dr Raymond Sheuy (APM), a former Victorian police officer and
assistant commissioner for traffic and operations, is a consultant on road safety and operational safety in Australia and worldwide.
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COVER STORY
FEBRUARY, 2020//
SENIORS
Pockets are as deep as Reg Richardson’s big heart TRACEY JOHNSTONE
WHEN it comes to choosing a philanthropic project, Reg Richardson (AM) looks to his “emotional quotient” to gauge what is the right one to support. It’s that instinct for what will and what won’t work that has led the 80-year-old to drive the establishment of outstanding organisations across a wide spectrum from indigenous health and melanoma research to the arts. Putting his hand in his pocket is his inclination. It’s been an approach he’s taken since his early business days. He was reared in what he describes as modest circumstances, growing up in Sydney’s Darlinghurst with his grandmother. “I have seen social issues as a pretty personal thing,” he said. “If you are competent enough to do something about it, I believe you should, and do in my case.” His business background was centred on service industries where “you deliver a service, whatever it happens to be, efficiently, on time and at the lowest cost possible”. Since retiring, Reg has turned his hand to finding financial answers to vexing projects, coaxing millions of dollars from rich Australians. “I am good at asking people for money, particularly if they are wealthy,” he said. “As you go through life you do happen to know people who surprisingly have made a fair bit of money and unsurprisingly are quite willing to give some away.” Take, for example, Greg and Kay Poche. All right, there is the exception here: Greg is Reg’s oldest and closest friend. Greg sold Star Track Express for $750 million. “I asked him what he was going to do with all that,” Reg said. “He said he was going to give a lot of it away. He also replied, ‘I have seen what you have done over the years, so I am going to get you to do it’.” With Greg suffering several stokes that inhibited his walking and talking, the task of finding suitable projects was handed over to Reg. A casual introduction by a mate to melanoma surgeon Associate Professor John Stretch, who was eagerly seeking funding
for melanoma research, led Reg to ask Greg for $10 million. “He just said ‘Yep’ like that, so I thought, ‘I can get more out of him’,” Reg said. Three months later he went back to Greg with a proposal for $30 million to build a centre for melanoma specialists. “Greg provided the dough, I provided the energy to get it all going because that’s who I am, and John provided the medical advice,” Reg said. The result: 10 years down the track and $40 million later, Reg has retired as board chairman for Melanoma Institute of Australia and the Mater Hospital owns the asset, used for critical worldrecognised melanoma research and treatment. “It’s there forever and one day there will be a cure for melanoma,” he said. Not one to rest on his laurels, Reg went back to Greg and suggested they have a “crack at indigenous health”. “I said (to Greg), ‘If we were Aboriginal, we’d be dead’.” Greg agreed that was a compelling reason. Through Reg, five major universities each received $10 million, which led to the establishment of the Poche Indigenous Health Network. Its focus is on closing the gap in life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders through healthy teeth, hearts and children. “I told each university the money had to be invested at a rate of 9 per cent (the rates were 15 per cent at the time) in perpetuity and the capital to remain untouched for them to invest wisely so that they increased the $10 million to a higher figure. “In most cases it’s sitting at around 12 and they live on the $900,000 (interest) annually, then go out to get more dough.” His passion runs deep Reg’s attachment to the arts started when he was 28. An artist friend, who ultimately became an art critic for a Sydney newspaper, opened Reg’s eyes to this world. Reg attended many art openings and read all his friend had to write. “I then started to buy my own works, including eight of my friend’s,” Reg said. From there his collection grew and hasn’t stopped growing. “One was Tracey Moffatt, an Aboriginal photographer. I have
Reg Richardson at his home in Mosman. Picture: Attila Szilvasi
the most of any person in the world, I am told.” By the time Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art opened, Reg was recognised as an art collector and was asked to be the president of its fundraising foundation. “I don’t do the openings now,” he said. “I see every show but go privately.” Healthy mind and body Keeping up with his philanthropic responsibilities means also keeping fit. The trim Reg walks every day as fast he can,
but on the flat. The hills around his Mosman home are just too hard. He says playing golf is definitely out, but spending his free time advising the local Mosman Art Gallery is in. “I would like to do smaller things that make a bigger impact,” he said. The rewards for Reg are difficult to articulate. The straight-talking, switched-on man with a raucous laugh draws breath when asked what continues to drive him. Like Greg, the big-hearted man
is quietly modest about his contributions. Red and green forever Reg might not have sporting talent, but that hasn’t stopped him from following the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Red-and-green glasses, rabbits on the side table, a red-and-green miniature scarf around the neck of a favourite sculpture. He wears his passion on his sleeve. “I am passionate about whatever I do,” Reg said.
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NEWS
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SENIORS
Community notes
COUNCIL OFFERS FREE BUS SERVICE GYMPIE Regional Council is offering a free bus service for local residents from Goomeri Pool to Kilkivan Pool. The service was established to provide residents with access to a public swimming pool after the Goomeri facility was closed to rectify an issue with the backwash and filtration system. The free service will be offered twice a day, except Tuesdays, and will depart from the Goomeri Pool. The morning bus will depart at 11am and leave from Kilkivan Pool at 1.30pm. The afternoon bus will depart at 2pm and leave from Kilkivan Pool at 5. Goomeri Pool season passes will be accepted and no bookings are required. The service will continue until the end of school holidays and then every weekend until the end of the swimming season.
VIEW CLUBS Hervey Bay GOODBYE 2019 – Welcome 2020 - we held our final committee meeting for the year and we were able to recount a very successful year where our numbers grew and we took on a fourth Learning for Life student. We sincerely thank our hard-working committee and the many members who are only too willing to help out when and where needed. Our very successful monthly trading table continues to add to our coffers, as does our can/ bottle-recycling efforts.
FESTIVE SPIRIT: Enjoying Hervey Bay VIEW Club’s last meeting for 2019 are (from left) Lyn Smith, Mary Pape, Celie Peach, Heather Ramm, Heather Mittelheuser, Glenda Reinke and Bev Cornwell (front). Picture: Contributed
Social outings and guest speakers made for a great 2019 year. Our focus is now on 2020 with another dedicated and hard-working committee poised to continue the achievements set last year and planning already well under way for our 25th anniversary celebrations in May. Our club has grown considerably in the past year as we welcomed new and interesting ladies who will enrich our club with their personalities and life experiences.
HERVEY BAY U3A University of the Third Age is a volunteer not-for-profit organisation involved in the sharing of knowledge, skills and interests. It promotes the many benefits of lifelong learning. Hervey Bay U3A was established in 1990 and we offer courses and activities covering interests such as creative writing, ethics, Asian studies, Spanish language, art and many more. Become a tutor: We value our tutors – they are what makes us possible.
What is your hobby or passion? Why not share it with others? If you would like to present a course, please have a chat to our course co-ordinator. Phone 0437 140 061. Contact details: phone 0431 366 264 or email HerveyBay U3A@ yahoo.com.au.
HERVEY BAY AND DISTRICT SENIOR CITIZENS CLUB INC Hervey Bay Seniors is where popular activities are run for the over 50s in Hervey Bay and the surrounding district.
We host a whole range of social activities and groups. Whether you are interested in finding new friends or taking part in one or more of our many games, hobbies and fitness programs, you are most welcome to join us. Our club is one of the fastest-growing groups within the community and there are more of us than ever before. We have bus trips for members once a month, usually the last Tuesday of the month, so check Club
Chatters, our monthly newsletter, which comes out on the third Monday of the month. Or check our Facebook page, Hervey Bay Senior Citizens Club (from your Facebook page @hbseniors). We’re at 28 Totness Street, Torquay. Phone 07 4128 4837 or email: hbseniors@big pond.com for more info. We welcome your community news and photographs. Please send them to editor@seniors newspaper.com.au
Applications now open for Regional Arts Development Fund grants APPLICATIONS are invited for the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF)’s second round, open from March 2-30. The RADF grants program is open to eligible community organisations, businesses and individuals to support arts and cultural projects in the Gympie region.
The three grant categories for this round are Creative/Concept Development to assist in the development of new ideas and projects; Creative Community Projects for arts projects that have a broader reach within the community; and Individual Skills Development, which offers support to local
arts practitioners to undertake professional development opportunities. A special category for Small Halls is also available in this round to support cultural events or performances in community halls throughout the Gympie region. An RADF info session will be held from 6pm on
Monday, February 24, at the Gympie Regional Gallery, 39 Nash Street, Gympie, for anyone interested in applying to the program. The session will explain grant eligibility, as well as provide tips on how to navigate the application process. To RSVP for the session, phone 07 5481 0774 or
email radf@gymie.qld .gov.au. For those interested in applying or unable to attend the information session, a one-on-one grants clinic is offered to applicants. Contact the council’s RADF liaison officer on 1300 307 800 to book your session and discuss your project
and application in detail. The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) is a partnership between Gympie Regional Council and the Queensland Government to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland. To find out more about the RADF, go to gymie.qld .gov.au/radf. SEWE01Z01MA - V1
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HORSE SENSE: Horseman and entertainer Guy McLean with one of his four horses, Dreaming of Abbey. His January show has been rescheduled for April. Picture: Cody Fox
GATAKERS ARTSPACE Seafront Oval. Renowned EXHIBITION Australian horseman and MEET the artists and discover the inspiration behind their artworks. Enjoy a drink from the licensed bar and nibbles as you wander through the gallery’s latest works. Free entry. Dates are: Friday, February 14; March 6; April 3; May 1; and June 5. At the Gatakers Artspace, 311 Kent Street, Maryborough. Email gatakersartspace@ frasercoast.qld.gov.au, phone 07 4190 5818 or go to ourfrasercoast.com.au/ Gatakers.
THE SAPPHIRES THE Sapphires is one of Australia’s best-loved stories. This multiple award – winning musical play that inspired the film is coming to the Brolga Theatre stage for the first time. Four young Aboriginal women from regional Australia, who like singing country music, suddenly get the chance to change their tune and their lives. Wearing sequins and armed only with microphones, they find themselves trying to spread joy in the hell that is the Vietnam War. It’s on March 17 at the Brolga Theatre and Convention Centre, 5 Walker Street, Maryborough, from 7.30-9.50pm. Email brolga@frasercoast.qld.gov .au, phone 07 4122 6060 or go to ourfrasercoast.com .au/Events/EventId/3179/e/ the-sapphires. Tickets are $25 to $50.
GUY MCLEAN SPECTACULAR THE rescheduled Guy McLean Spectacular show will take place on April 18 from 4-8.30pm at the V1 - SEWE01Z01MA
entertainer Guy McLean is a rare combination of “young horse educator’’ and “finished horse master’’ Seafront Oval will be the main arena for the Guy McLean Spectacular, a family-friendly event. Guy is a proud Queenslander who has taken Australia to the world through his horsemanship, bush poetry and double-handed stock whip mastery to show what his country is about with his four Australian-bred horses. Bring your own chair and enjoy the spectacular, which is known for being inspiring, educational and, above all, entertaining for both young and old and for both the horse enthusiast and the uninitiated alike. All tickets purchased for the original January show will be honoured. For more information please email events@fcte.com.au. Tickets: adult $20, child $10, concession $15, family $50.
RELISH FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL MARYBOROUGH’S heritage streetscapes and riverside parks are the setting for the Relish Food and Wine Festival, a delicious feast of culture and cuisine serving up celebrity chefs, gourmet tastings, cooking workshops, music and art. Join Queensland’s premier wineries for a delightful tasting experience and sample the finest seasonal produce grown in the Fraser Coast’s idyllic natural environment. Indulge in food and beverage-matching sessions, listen to leading foodies as they share the fruits of their work, and learn
from talented chefs who provide the unmistakable stamp of the region in every dish. Highlights include a ride on a historic steam engine through heritagelisted Queens Park. Portside, Wharf Street, Maryborough, on June 6 from 10am to 5pm. Email events@fcte.com.au, go to relishfrasercoast.com.au or phone 1800 214 789. Tickets: $10 to $15.
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MARKETS GUIDE Peruse fresh produce, local arts and crafts, plants, home-made delights and clothing at these venues: Bauple Markets: Fourth Saturday 7am-12pm, Band Hall, Bauple. Burrum Heads Markets: Second Saturday, Burrum Heads Community Hall, Burrum Heads. Howard Country Markets: First Saturday 7am–12pm, Steley Street, Howard. Koala Markets: Second, fourth and fifth Sunday 6am–12pm, Kruger Court, Hervey Bay. Marina Twilight Markets: Every Friday 2.30–7.30pm, Boat Harbour, Urangan, Hervey Bay. Nikenbah Markets: First and third Sunday 6am–2pm, Nikenbah-Dundowran Road, Hervey Bay. Poona Markets: Second Saturday 7am–2pm, Poona Community Hall, Poona. Tiaro Markets: Second Saturday 7am–12pm, Community Hall, Tiaro. Maryborough Heritage City Market: Thursdays 8am1.30pm, Adelaide and Ellena Streets. Torquay Beachside Markets: Second and fourth Saturday 8am–2pm, Aquavue, Esplanade, Hervey Bay.
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FEATURE
FEBRUARY, 2020//
War bride reaches out to others
SENIORS
LOOKING BACK: Jackie McLaughlin was a war bride who came to Australia from England in 1946. Picture: Tracey Johnstone
TRACEY JOHNSTONE JACKIE McLaughlin wonders if there are still women like her who came to Australia by ship at the end of World War II. They were the war brides. About 70,000 of these women left Britain in the 1940s bound for Canada or America. Some of them came to Australia. “I never kept in contact with any of them,” Jackie says sadly. But now, at age 96, and as she peruses the regular Veteran Affairs magazine, Jackie has started to wonder if there are any of those women left, or their family members, who she can chat with about their life journey. The spritely Englishwoman lives in the forest just west of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. She’s buried her husband of 64 years and her only child, but Jackie still has the company of her second husband, 80-yearold Colin. The memories of her time during World War II and how she came to live in Australia are still vivid and heart-wrenching. It was a sheet wiped clean, Jackie declares, when she landed in Australia with no idea nor worry of what the future held. Christened Daphne, she ran away from her country home in Surrey and travelled solo to London to sign up for the air force at age 17 and a half. The war had started two years before. She had listened to her brother talk about his “exciting” time in the air force as the bored young lady reflected on her future. “It was either go into one of the forces or the land army or be called up for a munitions factory, and I wasn’t an indoor girl. “That’s the sole reason I signed up and I am so glad I did.” Her mother threw he hands up in horror, but her father said, ‘You really want to do this, don’t you?’. I said, ‘Yes I do’,” Jackie says. “He then said, ‘This will be the making you, my girl’. “I didn’t live up to the ladylike name of Daphne at all.” After the first week in training camp, her fellow trainees decided they needed to find a
Jackie McLaughlin when she entered the air force at age 18. Picture: Contributed
less ladylike name for the tomboy. “They came up with Jackie, and it stuck.” Unfortunately, Jackie says, she spent most of the war working in an office. It took five months from first setting eyes on each other after an “inane” meeting outside the local pub at Bridlington in Yorkshire in 1944 to walking down the aisle for Jackie with her first husband, Doug, an Australian air force navigator and bomb-aimer. She was 20 and he was 21. Soon after the war ended, Doug returned to Australia while Jackie stayed in England until May 1946. She then joined 360 English women and children on board the former hospital ship Atlantis.
Some of the women had been visiting England when the war broke out, others had married Australian personnel. “One or two of them were going for the trip only and they weren’t going to stay here, even though they were married to an Australian,” Jackie recalls. The ship first stopped in Fremantle before docking in Melbourne on June 29. From there she travelled by train to Sydney and on to Brisbane, where Doug was waiting to start their life together in the city. Jackie remembers on the voyage meeting Una and her two-year-old son. Una hadn’t heard from her husband for quite some time. When they got to Sydney, Jackie accompanied Una to the
army office where she was informed the address the husband had provided to the army was a vacant block. Una and her son, left with nothing to live on in Sydney, soon stowed away in a lifeboat on a ship heading for England. They were discovered after only a few days and after she shared her story, the passengers gathered enough money to pay their fare. Jackie’s other poignant memory of the voyage to Australia is of a very young boy who became sick and died during the voyage. “We were two or three days out from Fremantle and the funeral came,” Jackie says. “They stopped the boat and we all stood on the deck.”
As the swaddled body was lowered over the side, his mother was in shock. “She was torn to pieces and said as soon as she hit land she would go straight back to Australia as her husband will say she had killed her little boy. “They got in touch with her husband (in Sydney) and they flew him to Perth and he was on the dock at Fremantle. “He came on board. She was shell-shocked, not knowing what to say or do. He just walked up and put his arms around her.” She looks back now with some sadness, but also a lot of joy of the life she came to live in Australia. Before she left England, Jackie bumped into an old
school friend who was to marry an Australian from Goondiwindi. The fare was being paid for by the Australian government as long as she was married within three months. Both were excited they would be living near each other. “Just imagine, in England you walk from this place to that,” Jackie says. The two girls looked at a map of Queensland and got the tape measure out to work out the distance between Brisbane and Goondiwindi. “We thought, ‘That’s not that far away, we can have afternoon tea together’,” Jackie adds with peals of laughter. Jackie’s not been back to England: “It’s too cold,” she says. SEWE01Z01MA - V1
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Jackie McLaughlin with Cathy Meyer from Caloundra Family History Group and (above) an image of the ship Atlantis on which Jackie travelled to Australia. Picture: Tracey Johnstone
Logistical woes kept tide of women at bay after free passage rule IN 1941 the Australian government gave free passage to wives, widows and children of Australian servicemen to come to Australia during World War II. However, according to the Australian War Memorial, the risks involved in travelling during the war meant most women waited until 1944 or later to leave their homeland. The desire for passage to Australia at the end of the war resulted in logistical problems and it was sometimes years before a berth on a ship became available. Converted troopships, V1 - SEWE01Z01MA
ordinary passenger ships and even cargo ships were used to transport women and children to Australia. Fiancees were disadvantaged as priority for travel was given to married women. Before 1946, transport via ship was not available from Western Australia to the eastern states for war brides. Mothers, babies and children had to travel via the train that crossed between Perth and Melbourne, earning the train the nickname “the Perth Perambulator”. Representatives of the
Australian Red Cross travelled on the train to support the mothers. At various stops along the way, local residents provided mothers and babies with meals and refreshments, sometimes in their own homes. World War I Marriages More than 13,000 Australian soldiers married while serving overseas during World War I. After the war, 5626 members of the Australian Imperial Force returned to Australia with English brides. Many of these couples met
while the soldiers were hospitalised in England. Australians also had opportunities to meet British, French and Belgian women in France while in billets or medical facilities, during leave, or even in the camps. Australian soldiers were popular with British girls, although not everyone approved of liaisons. Reports of bigamy led to pressure for Australian headquarters to provide potential marriage candidates with certificates stating that men were not already married. Weddings usually had to be
planned around leave and were often rushed and lacked the usual lengthy engagement. This haste was compounded in 1919 when the Australian government made an offer of free passage to wives of Australian soldiers whose marriages occurred before September 1, 1919. Rationing of food, clothing and petrol in the United Kingdom were additional constraints. Planning a traditional wedding required considerable resourcefulness. During the early part of the war, a serviceman could only take his bride home to
Australia if he paid for the journey. The large number of passengers resulting from the offer of free passage in 1919 caused enormous logistical problems and resulted in “bride ships” sailing to Australia in 1919 and 1920. Soldiers usually accompanied their wives and children, although men and women were housed separately on the ships. As there had been a dearth of “marriageable’’ men in Australia during the war years, overseas war brides were not always welcomed on arrival.
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WINDING BACK: Australian music icon John Williamson is set for his last big road tour.
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Picture: Contributed
True-blue icon flags changes Alison Houston IT IS hard even for the man behind some of Australia’s most iconic songs to write something happy or uplifting in the face of Australia’s bushfire disaster. Instead, as John Williamson prepares for his Winding Back tour, he has penned a letter to the Prime Minister calling for a national day of mourning. “I’m devastated for the people who have lost everything, but I’m even more devastated that we have lost about 30 per cent of our koalas and other wildlife … I think that’s worthy of a day of mourning,” the long-time conservationist said. “What would Africa be without its elephants, its lions and giraffes? Our wildlife is what makes Australia Australia.” More than a billion creatures are believed to have been killed in the bushfires and scientists have warned entire species may be lost. As part of the big Australia Day Live concert
with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House forecourt, John planned to dedicate True Blue to the firefighters and people who have lost lives, loved ones and property, and Old Man Emu to the wildlife lost. Following on from the Tamworth Country Music Festival, it’s a big start to a year of touring that will take him from one end of the country to the other. Touring Turning 75 and celebrating 50 years since Old Man Emu brought him to prominence, John said he was not retiring but his Winding Back tour would be a final big year on the road. “I’m not ready to retire … I’ll do that if I start forgetting the words on stage … but right now I think I’m performing better than I ever have,” he said. He still plans to play festivals but is ready to take a step back from the constant touring that has seen him visit venues like Tweed Heads’ Twin Towns almost annually for decades. With more than 500 songs to his name, a two-
hour playlist isn’t easy to choose but John said there were some songs, like Cootamundra Wattle, that audiences wouldn’t let him leave the stage without singing. “I will be polishing up some of the old songs, and there will be some surprises,” he said. While the creator of some of the country’s unofficial anthems is still writing, for example about the spectre of a bushfire approaching and the Christchurch massacre, he said more sadness was not what audiences needed. That’s not to say he doesn’t have people crying to True Blue and Three Sons, but he said it was a case of balancing the tears and laughter, both of which were an expression of relief for people. “Music is always good because it’s such a positive, uplifting thing,” he said. Despite admitting it was hard to write a happy song at the moment, John said there were positive signs in global recognition at last of climate change as a reality and some of the world’s
biggest companies turning away from using fossil fuels. But he said this was one situation where the old Aussie adage of “she’ll be right” simply wasn’t enough. Themes that Endure John said writing about the ordinary and “telling it like it is” was what connected with audiences and made his music so enduring. “When you’re writing about the bush, a lot of those things don’t change that much – with farming there’s always battlers, there’s always highs and lows – the enduring character of Australia is the battler,” John said. “And it’s pretty obvious I don’t back off from being honest about Australian life.” The words of Rip Rip Woodchip are as relevant today as they were when the song was released in 1989: “What am I gonna do – what about the future? Gotta draw the line without delay Why shouldn’t I get emotional – the bush is sacred Ancient life will fade away.’’
John’s attitudes have not mellowed with age. In 2017, he wrote Pigs on the River to voice his concerns about the toll of illegal irrigation in the Murray-Darling, while Love is the Word dealt with the same-sex marriage debate and the rise of nationalism. “It just seems the world has gone a bit crazy, and the only thing that’s going to make a difference is caring for one another,” he said at the time. True Blue While using Sydney as a base, John said he constantly dreamt of getting back to his Queensland hinterland home at Springbrook, where he ultimately wants his ashes to be scattered. “I sit and watch the sun go down there every night I’m there and I pinch myself … I’m in paradise,” he said. He is looking forward to spending more time there, eating the plants he grows before the birds and bats get to them, making his chilli oil (which is “to die for”), perhaps some art, and planting as many koalafriendly trees as he can.
His interest in koalas, which saw him quietly donate $2000 to the Koala Hospital Port Macquarie when the bushfire crisis began in November, is nothing new. In 1986 he donated $300,000 in royalties from Goodbye Blinky Bill and audience collections to the hospital, which opened a John Williamson wing and made him a patron. It’s just one of his “True Blue Causes”, which also include Variety – the Children’s Charity, Life Education, Bush Heritage Australia, Wildlife Warriors, WIRES, Protect Our Coral Sea, Save the Bilby, and Landcare, while last December’s Hay Mate fundraiser with John Farnham raised $4.3 million for farmers. It is arguably because John Williamson is himself “true blue” that his songs have so accurately captured Australia and its people. The Winding Back tour includes Toowoomba on October 17 and Caloundra on October 25. The full list of concerts is at https://john williamson.com.au/tour/. SEWE01Z01MA - V1
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Copenhagen’s cultural riches a fascinating step back in time
Beguiled by great Dane PAGES 28 AND 29
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Refuge high in the Pyrenees A place to rest on the trail.
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Life’s real or imagined problems simply fade away...
HIGH LIFE IN THE PYRENEES: The temptation is to just stand and stare in silent awe at the magnificence of the stunning mountains.
Pictures: Graeme Wilson
An ideal picnic spot beside one of the many waterfalls.
Graeme Wilson AS I stood and gazed in awe at the legendary Pyrenees soaring into the sky directly ahead, the soulful words of Marvin Gaye began playing in my mind. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. A year ago I tentatively dipped my toe into the water with my first overnight hike (NZ’s spectacular Kepler Track) and from there my partner and I decided there was only one way to go – onwards and upwards. So fast-forward to central Spain’s World Heritagelisted Ordesa National Park and the latest challenge – a picturesque five-hour hike along the Ordesa Valley and up the Pyrenees to a height of 2195m and our evening accommodation at the 80bunk Refugio Goriz. For many the refuge serves as base camp for the more challenging climb to the 3355m summit of Spain’s third-highest peak, Monte Perdido, but for us it was the perfect challenge in itself. It’s hard to describe the
Terraced waterfalls tumble serenely down to the floor of the Ordesa Valley.
scale of the Pyrenees. You actually have to be standing there yourself, looking up at the towering wall of rock, to fully appreciate their enormity. Hopefully the accompanying photographs give at least some idea of their ability to make mere mortals feel somewhat insignificant. The walk to Goriz gives ample opportunity to stand and stare in amazement and we found ourselves stopping
regularly and doing just that. Breathtaking. The route is dotted with waterfalls and we timed our departure to ensure there was no great rush to reach the night’s lodgings. There’s too much beauty on offer to be in a hurry. The refuge is comfortable, but its facilities aren’t quite Hilton or Hyatt, so much of the relaxation instead comes via nature’s own serene beauty. Life’s real or imagined
problems simply fade away as you sit in silence, looking and listening to the water tumbling over well-worn rocks to the valley below. Yes, I could definitely get used to this hiking life. Next stop, the French Pyrenees. Getting there: The beautiful village of Torla is a 9km drive from the carpark at the Goriz walk’s departure point in the national park. Torla is a four-hour drive northwest of Barcelona.
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Clifford's Honey Farm goodies. Picture: Contributed
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Food on KI is artisan, seasonal and boutique, bringing joy to food lovers.
SENSUAL FEAST: Savour a sunset dining experience that only Kangaroo Island can serve up.
Picture: Contributed
Watching Seal Bay residents frolic is a highlight.
Join island’s wave of support Kerry Heaney IN JANUARY fires ravaged the picturesque western wilderness of Kangaroo Island, covering our television screens with heart-wrenching images of destruction. More than 30 per cent of the 4416 square kilometre island was affected, but there is still much to see and do on what is Australia’s third-largest island (and that includes Tasmania). While there is a long road ahead for the island’s recovery, getting visitors back onto KI, as the locals call Kangaroo Island, will help rebuild the economy as tourism and agriculture are the primary industries. Kingscote local Craig Wickham, who operates Exceptional Kangaroo Island’s wildlife and food tours, says he is optimistic about the island’s ability to recover from the bushfires, particularly if there is good rain. “Nature is resilient, and the animals have learned how to bounce back from fires over millions of years. Once we get some rain, things will start to green up pretty quickly,” Craig said. Where can you visit, and V1 - SEWE01Z01MA
Excite your taste buds at Kangaroo Island Spirits.
what can you see? Work is under way to restore access for visitors to fire-affected areas of the island, including Flinders Chase National Park, home to the iconic Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch, where the Visitor Information Centre and cafe were sadly destroyed. Iconic attractions such as Seal Bay Conservation Park, where a colony of endangered sea lions frolics on the beach, the interactive birds of prey experiences at Raptor Domain and the KI Wildlife Park, where more than 150 species of native animals live, are all open as usual. Cape Willoughby lighthouse on the eastern point of Kangaroo Island was
Picture: Contributed
built in 1852. There are daily tours and self-guided walking trails that give insights into life as a lighthouse keeper. Food on KI is artisan, seasonal and boutique, all words that bring joy to a food lover’s heart. The island’s first hatted restaurant, Sunset Food and Wine, focuses on South Australia’s seasonal best. Cactus Kangaroo Island is a newish cafe at Kingscote where you’ll stop for a coffee hit and find it hard to resist the freshly baked sweets. Visit wineries in Kingscote, Cygnet River and on the Dudley Peninsula, where the clifftop Dudley Cellar Door sells awardwinning locally grown and produced wines.
Emu Bay Lavender is not only a stop for lavender products, lavender scones and ice cream, it’s also close to a favourite swimming spot for locals. At American River, The Oyster Farm Shop farmgate sells marron, abalone, King George whiting and freshly plucked Pacific and Angasi oysters. Drop into Kangaroo Island Spirits and taste its premium gin and vodka. Mark Norek walks around KI guiding visitors on Life’s An Adventure walking tours. “It does not take long for fire-affected areas to regenerate, sometimes only three to six months, and it is amazing to walk through,” Mark says. One of KI’s significant losses in the fires was Southern Ocean Lodge. Owners James and Hayley Baillie had an architect on the site within days and are committed to rebuilding their vision echoing the resilience of the Kangaroo Island community that has recovered from severe bushfires in the past. Locals say a helping hand is always welcome and it’s a bonus when all you have to do is visit. How do you get to
A visit to the Oyster Farm Shop is a must.
Kangaroo Island? Take your car to Kangaroo Island via a ferry with Sealink or KI Connect, or fly with QantasLink or Rex direct from Melbourne or Adelaide into Kingscote.
Picture: Contributed
Donate to help the recovery. You can also help recovery efforts by donating to the KI Mayoral Relief and Recovery Bushfire Fund, SA Country Fire Service or KI Wildlife Network.
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Discover the wonders of Copenhagen
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PRETTY AS A PICTURE: The Marble Church and fountain in Amalienborg Palace and Gardens. Pictures: Shirley Sinclair
More to this beautiful city than glimpsed tree Shirley Sinclair THE Hop On, Hop Off Boat guide tells us we are coming up to the most photographed tree in Denmark. Tree? OK. There are so many highlights on a canal tour around Copenhagen, this must be an impressive tree if it’s important enough to point out. Along with the other passengers, we ready our smartphones and cameras for the big moment. Then the penny drops. As the canal boats come out of the tunnel under the bridge, Our Saviour Church’s distinctive “corkscrew” tower comes into view. We only have about 30 seconds before the boat moves on. But many people miss the momentary shot, capturing the tree just above the canal instead. It’s so commonplace that the tree has its own Facebook page: Missedthegoldenchurch. Look it up. We all laughed and laughed. The good news is that you can get off the boat at the Christianshavn stop and
have a much closer look at this elegant baroque church with a black and gold helix (corkscrew) spire that reaches 90m and the external anticlockwise winding staircase that can be climbed to the top for 360degree views over central Copenhagen. You will also marvel at the melodies played by the bells of its carillon – the largest in northern Europe – which plays hourly from 8am to midnight. Nearby at the same boat stop is Christiania: a quirky “Freetown” that boasts colourful houses and sculptures, creative artists and an alternative hippy society – the equivalent of our Nimbin but on a smaller scale. In 1971, a group of hippy squatters broke down the barricades to the abandoned military base and Christiania was born. Hundreds of curious visitors daily now pass through the defined entrances to this antiestablishment commune that houses up to 1000 people on 7.7 hectares. While the community governs itself with its own rules that are independent
of the Danish government, it has still had its run-ins with police, mostly due to its reputation as an area for cannabis trade, especially in the so-called Green Light District’s Pusher Street. Many residents are actively campaigning to rid Christiania of drugs but on the day we visited last July, stalls were still in operation and we abided by a sign warning visitors that no photos are allowed inside Christiania, due to the possible sale of drugs and paraphernalia that might be captured. But there is much more to this bohemian area than meets any disapproving eye. Christiania hosts regular concerts on stage and in various venues that attract jazz, blues and contemporary music lovers from far and wide as well as those wanting to join in impromptu jam sessions. Skaters from around the world make a beeline for the ALIS Wonderland skate park with its wooden bowl that also hosts contests and demonstrations, as well as graffitied half-pipes and other equipment to test skills. Plenty of cafe seats are
An intricate 20th-century artwork in the Tapestry Room.
available for a quick caffeine hit, and visitors have an array of breakfast/brunch/ lunch takeaway choices including tasty organic vegan and vegetarian offerings, hamburgers, Thaiinspired dishes as well as Sunshine Bakery pastries. Or simply get away from the crowds and relax by the canal, surrounded by trees and good vibes. To learn more about this fascinating place, Christiania guided tours are held at 1 and 3pm daily. But there’s certainly plenty more to explore in this city, which is home to Australia’s homegrown Princess Mary and her husband Frederik, the Crown Prince of Denmark. We found even a 48-hour Hop on Hop Off Boat ticket wasn’t enough time to quench our curiosity for this enticing capital but the routes do help visitors explore the well-defined
Colourful Christiania, a “Freetown’’ founded by squatters..
neighbourhoods and their distinct vibes. One of our favourite spots for a drink overwater on the canal happened to be at this same stop, at Christianshavns Badudlejning and Cafe. Apparently the watering hole has been welcoming guests since 1898 and it’s also right opposite our favourite bakery and cafe:
Lagkagehuset, where we couldn’t resist a coffee and cinnamon roll (kanel snegle) daily. Another boat tour guide tells us that while thousands of visitors to Copenhagen all want to see the Little Mermaid at Stop D, the relatively small sculpture also regularly makes Europe’s Most Disappointing Attractions List, alongside
Colourful Nyhavn of tourist brochure fame.
Rosenborg Castle and the King's Garden. SEWE01Z01MA - V1
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It’s so commonplace that the tree has its own Facebook page: Missedthegoldenchurch. other statues such as Brussels’ Mannikin Pis. It’s still fun to tick it off the bucket list but try to pick your time (early morning or late afternoon) or you’ll be jostling for a picture with busloads of other tourists. While here, stroll along the top of the ramparts of one of the best-preserved forts in Europe at the Citadel (Kastellet), which forms the shape of a star or pentagon with bastions at its corners. The historic site, built in the 17th century to guard the approach to the harbour, these days is mostly a public park that attracts joggers and walkers around its large parade ground, barracks and various other buildings including the Citadel Church and a windmill. Christiansborg Palace (Departure Point A at Ved Stranden) is where we spent the better part of two hours, wandering the opulent, V1 - SEWE01Z01MA
800-year-old seat of power. While visitors can choose to inspect The Royal Stables, The Royal Kitchen, Christiansborg Palace Chapel and the ruins under the palace, we devoted our time to The Royal Reception Rooms and The Great Hall with its 1100 years of Danish history laid out in tapestries. Queen Margrethe II carries out her official duties in these rooms: receiving guests, signing acts of Parliament into law, hosting banquets and gala dinners for state visits and other occasions. It’s an insight into a whole new world – one of parquetry floors, crystal chandeliers, and black-andgold colour schemes, magnificent antique sideboards and priceless ceramics and paintings. Among the friezes is one 35m long by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, done in
1812, of Alexandra the Great entering Babylon after his conquest of Persia. The Plate Room highlights the Flora Danica setting featuring lifesize plants in the botanical artwork (being porcelain, the plates are only used to serve dessert despite being a complete dinner set, because other courses are usually served on silver plates). The royal dining hall, where royal banquets were once a daily ritual for the court, is dominated by the massive oval mahogany table, able to seat 52 guests, but which is now seldom used. The eye-catching Tapestry Room is a pleasant surprise of history through colourful embroidery, with faces of The Beatles and Donald Duck, the Second World War and Berlin Wall among some of the 20thcentury inclusions. The Throne Room is another must-see for its gold and embossed burgundy thrones, Greek marble pilasters, with a ceiling painting by Danish artist Kraesten Iversen and walls clad in silk hangings of Danish coat of arms with three lions and nine hearts from Lyon in France. The king’s throne features two golden lions and the queen’s throne has two gilded mythical creatures called griffons. The thrones – historic relics from the time of absolute monarchy (1660 to 1848) – were nearly lost when the palace burned to the ground in 1884, but are not used by the Queen, who ascended to the throne the day after her father died in 1972. Take along an audio guide to explore on your own or join a guided tour of the palace. The Ofelia Plads Departure Point (or if we just turned left and walked from our Wakeup Copenhagen Borgergade hotel) is closest for Amalienborg Palace and Gardens and the spectacular Marble Church (Frederik’s Church) or further on to the beautiful Rosenborg Castle and The King’s Garden (which is home to the statue of Little Mermaid author and revered Dane Hans Christian Andersen). But Copenhagen’s bestknown attraction is Nyhavn (Departure Point B) – with its colourful 17th-century waterfront buildings that have been reimagined as restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels and specialty shops.
As a tourist mecca, Nyhavn is simply a fun place to be at any time of year. We happened to visit during the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, which offers free and ticketed events throughout the cities at various venues including the little park surrounding Memorial Anchor at Nyhavn, where we spent a couple of hours listening to a hardworking trio play popular music hits from artists including our own Crowded House. Pull up a chair and gaze out over the passing parade of people and boats (including historic wooden ships) while downing a Carlsberg or two. But be warned: Copenhagen isn’t cheap by Aussie standards and an extended time here will cost you. We lapped up the twilight on our first night, paying just under $200 (915 Danish kroner) for a three-course meal for two. Our choices from a set menu led us to half-lobster entrees, main meals of eyefillet steak wrapped in bacon with hollandaise sauce and potatoes, and grilled salmon pasta with tomato, mushroom and basil, with crème brulees for dessert. With drinks (half-bottle of white Chilean wine and two schooners of Jacobson brown ale), the bill was worth it just once for the happy atmosphere and waterside panoramas begging to be photographed. For something a little more reasonable, cross the Inderhavnsbroen – a bridge that opened in 2016 connecting Nyhavn on the west side of the river to Christianshavn on the east – for a choice of bars and street food vendors including Gasoline Grill, Pasta Station, Sweet Treat and Fish & Chips in the Broens Skotebane food court, where it’s easy to strike up conversations with visitors from all over the globe at the picnic table seating. Other major attractions you will want to linger longer at on the boat tours are Tivoli Gardens (for its flowers, restaurants, rollercoasters and concerts), the Opera House, and the impressive waterfront Black Diamond extension to the Royal Danish Library (so nicknamed because of the polished black-granite cladding and irregular angles of the building).
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Copenhagen viewed from the water gives another perspective of the city’s charms.
The eye-catching Our Saviour's Church has a distinctive “corkscrew” tower.
Four full days weren’t enough to conquer one of Europe’s oldest cities, established as a 10thcentury Viking fishing settlement. If you can avoid that tree near Our Saviour Church and any pricey tourist traps, you’ll find the city really can be like the song from my childhood: Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen Friendly old girl of a town ‘Neath her tavern light On this merry night Let us clink and drink one down To wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen Salty old queen of the sea Once I sailed away But I’m home today Singing Copenhagen, wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen for me.
DISCOVER IT COPENHAGEN Canal Tours Copenhagen, which operates open and covered boats, has been plying the Copenhagen harbour and canals since 1904. The Hop On Hop Off routes allow travellers to see old and new architecture and historic points of interest, with commentary by experienced guides. If you buy the Best Offer ticket, you can use the bus and the boat for different perspectives and sights on land and water. CONTACT Go to stromma.com/ copenhagen. ACCOMMODATION Wakeup Copenhagen Borgergade, 9 Borgergade, Copenhagen. Call (45) 44 800 000.
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FAMILY TIES: Ken and Lorraine Martin with grandchildren Hamish and Phillipa at Cairns Aquarium.
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Picture: Contributed
Getaways grand for bonding THE post-Christmas and New Year period is often marked by parents returning to work while their kids join holiday care, but for many Australian families this time of year brings “skip a generation” holidays – and the benefits go far beyond free childcare. While not a new concept, families are finding grandparent-grandchild holidays are increasingly beneficial to modern family life, with research suggesting these kinds of experiences shape healthy, resilient and wellrounded kids. For the past nine years, grandparents Lorraine and Ken Martin have “hit the road’’ in their caravan, making the annual journey from Sydney to Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut, where they meet their eldest grandchildren for some holiday fun and quality one-on-one time. Keen ‘’gramper’’ Lorraine
said the opportunity to go caravanning and camping with her grandchildren – Hamish, 14 and Phillipa, 11 – allowed them to share experiences, build relationships and create memories for life. “Holidaying together gives us an opportunity to have that extra bonding experience with the children – it’s a very special time, and we’ve got to know them even better,” Ms Martin said. “We think as they get older, they’ll have special childhood memories of coming up here and spending time with us.” Ms Martin said the annual trip to Cairns gave the kids the opportunity to have new adventures, meet new people and get outside their comfort zone, but it also gave their parents the chance to reconnect – a luxury for many busy working families.
“It’s a really nice break for their parents, too – when our daughter and her husband celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary last year, they thought it was pretty amazing that the kids were up here enjoying themselves and having a wonderful time while they were able to go out and celebrate together,” she said. The Martins know that with teen and tween grandchildren these kinds of holidays won’t last forever, but for now they’re enjoying every moment. “We’re lucky to have such close relationships with our grandchildren, even as they’re getting older,” Ms Martin said. “And they still love the holidays just as much as we do – the first thing they said to their parents when they got back to Sydney last time was, ‘Can we go again next year?’, so we’re gearing up for the next adventure.” SEWE01Z01MA - V1
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Gene test for glaucoma risk Wellbeing AUSTRALIAN researchers have identified 107 genes that increase a person’s risk of developing the eye disease glaucoma, and developed a genetic test to detect those at risk of going blind from it. The research, led by QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and Flinders University, has just been published in the journal Nature Genetics. The researchers now want 20,000 people to sign up to their Genetics of Glaucoma Study so they can find more genes involved in the disease. Glaucoma is a group of diseases that are characterised by progressive damage and degeneration of the optic nerve, causing gradual loss of vision. It is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and is predicted to affect 76 million people by 2020.
Although there is no cure for glaucoma, treatment can reliably slow or halt the rate of disease progression in most cases. Up to 50 per cent of people with the disease do not know they have it. Lead researcher and the head of QIMR Berghofer’s Statistical Genetics Group, Associate Professor Stuart MacGregor, said identifying the new genes had allowed the researchers to develop a glaucoma polygenic risk score (PRS) that can predict who is likely to get the eye disease. “Glaucoma is a genetic disease and the best way to prevent the loss of sight from glaucoma is through early detection and treatment,” Associate Professor MacGregor said. “Our study found that by analysing DNA collected from saliva or blood, we could determine how likely a person was to develop the disease and who should be offered early treatment and/
SEE HERE: Prevent glaucoma through early detection.
or monitoring. “Importantly, unlike existing eye health checks that are based on eye pressure or optic nerve damage, the genetic test can be done before damage begins so regular screening
can be put in place. “Having a high risk score doesn’t mean you will definitely get glaucoma, but knowing you could be at future risk allows people to take the necessary precautions.”
Picture: Contributed
Clinical lead researcher and chair and academic head of the Department of Ophthalmology at Flinders University, Professor Jamie Craig, said the study results provided hope that mass screening for glaucoma
could be offered in the future. “There are Australians who, if they’d had appropriate treatment a few years earlier, wouldn’t have gone blind,” said Professor Craig, who is also a consultant ophthalmologist. “One in 30 Australians has glaucoma, but most people only find out they have it when they go to the optometrist because they are losing vision, or for a general eye check.’’ The researchers are now hoping to recruit 20,000 people with a personal or family history of the disease to join their Genetics of Glaucoma Study so that they can identify more genes that play a role in the condition. People interested in taking part in the research can visit the Genetics of Glaucoma study website www.qimrberghofer.edu.au /genetics-of-glaucoma, phone (07) 3845 3981 or email Glaucoma_Genetics @qimrberghofer.edu.au.
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Benefits of grandsitting Grandparents talk about why connections to grandchildren Tracey Johnstone FIVE days a week Margot Bain happily has her hands full, looking after her four very young grandchildren, taking them to the park, beach or just sitting reading to them. After missing out on spending a lot of time in her younger years in the company of her busy mother, Margot is determined to ensure she gives the best of her time and love to her grandchildren as she did to her four daughters. Actively engaging with the children gives Margot a great sense of connection to them and to her daughters. A recent German observation research project, published in BMJ Open, found Margot’s type of interaction with her grandchildren helps to reduce social isolation and loneliness in seniors. The researchers observed 3949 grandparents. Those who didn’t have an active caring role had higher average loneliness scores and were in regular contact with fewer people important to them. In Australia, about 40 per cent of children under the age of three are cared for by grandparents on a weekly basis, the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIF) reports. “It’s enhancing my social network,” Margot says. The researchers found caring for grandchildren could also expand the social circle of grandparents, allowing them opportunities to establish relationships with other parents or grandparents. Margot says she chats to old friends through Facebook, sharing among them grandchildren photos and stories, and she plans meet-ups at the local park with other grandparents. When her daughters were growing up, Margot met a lot of new friends through her local playgroup. Once her grandchildren
GRAND CARING: Margot Bain (Nonna Gogo) with daughters and grandkids Annie, Henry, Matteo, Holly and Toto.
IN AUSTRALIA, ABOUT 40 PER CENT OF CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF THREE ARE CARED FOR BY GRANDPARENTS ON A WEEKLY BASIS. THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF FAMILY STUDIES
are old enough, she looks forward to repeating this experience through the playgroup and then school near her northern Sydney home. Margot knows while the children are young, she needs to be available almost full time. But, after six hours each day, “It’s enough for me as I get so tired after that”, Margot, 60, admits. She promises herself Sunday off and fits in singing with the Big Sing choir and creating stunning painted ceramics. Grandparent caring often doesn’t stop once a
grandchild starts school. The AIFS reports the most common type of nonparental care for children under 13 years is grandparents (18.6 per cent) followed by before - and after-school care (14.8 per cent). As far as Ivanka Boyd, who is still working full time, is concerned, it will go on until her two grandsons have finished their schooling. Since the boys were born, Ivanka has religiously been looking after them every second weekend. “I cook them healthy food,” Ivanka said. “I am not a lolly and soft-drink grandma. I am the health food and culture grandma. “I have given them what is lacking at home – lots of special love and attention, good food and culture. “I take them out, whether they like it or not, to museums and art galleries
and teach them general knowledge.” Now the boys are in their mid-teens she is enjoying their company over restaurant meals. Ivanka also attends some of their sporting matches where she actively talks to other grandparents and
parents. “I have the personality where I will interact with a telegraph pole, if necessary,” she admits. The researchers suggest that by providing grandchild care, grandparents may boost their self-esteem and may develop positive
Bryce and Phoenix with their grandmother, Ivanka Boyd.
relationships with their children and grandchildren. They also suggest that this positive impact might wear off if grandparents are called on too often to step in and care for a grandchild, especially if this interferes with other aspects of their lives.
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Ton of pride as Ann reflects SHE has just turned 100 but Ann Damen’s remarkable life could have ended seven decades ago. Living with her husband and children in their homeland the Netherlands during World War II, when Holland was occupied by the German army, Ann’s house was destroyed by bombs. “Mum, Dad and my siblings were living in a house which had two bombs dropped on it during an English air strike,” Ann’s daughter Sarina said. “The house was totalled but by a miracle or twist of fate, they all survived,” Ann, who lives at the Carinity Clifford House aged care community in Brisbane, was born in The Hague on December 18, 1919. Her mother died from tuberculosis before Ann had turned two. Ann attended the first Montessori school in the Netherlands before leaving school at 16 to attend business college, where she studied bookkeeping and typing. After selling records in a department store, she worked as a bookkeeper at a post office until she married
I MISSED HOLLAND A BIT AT CHRISTMAS TIME BECAUSE YOU HAD ALL THE SNOW THERE. BUT THE WEATHER IN AUSTRALIA WAS NICE AND WARM.
husband, Pieter, in 1939 when she was aged 20. The couple met when Ann was a teenager when she had her bicycle repaired at the business owned by her future beau’s parents, before war broke out. “I remember, but not fondly, we went through the war. With all our kids we didn’t have much to eat. It was very hard, but we made it,” Ann said. The Damens and the first six of their nine children migrated to Australia in 1950, sailing on the boat Volendam. “Because we had nine kids, and especially with six boys, I was thinking, ‘Holland is lovely and beautiful but it’s very small so maybe it’s better if we go somewhere else’, so we decided to go to Australia,”
A CENTURY: Carinity Clifford House resident Ann Damen has turned 100.
Ann said. “Moving to Australia was great but it was a bit backward. My husband and I
were used to walking at night in Holland but everything here was very dark and it looked
Picture: Contributed
liked everyone had gone to bed. I missed Holland a bit at Christmas time because you
had all the snow there. But the weather in Australia was nice and warm.” Sarina said her mother’s national allegiance swung between the country of her birth and her adopted home. “When Mum watches the Olympics, tennis or swimming on the TV she always barracks for Australia, but if there are no Australians in the race she then barracks for the Netherlands,” Sarina said. Ann lived independently in the top floor of a unit block at Newmarket until the age of 99, when she moved to Carinity Clifford House. She enjoys listening to music, doing find-a-word puzzles, playing Scrabble, gardening, singing, movies, drawing and reading, particularly books by Rosamunde Pilcher and Cathy Kelly. A vegetarian of 33 years, Ann also loves wildlife and animals such as her two rescue cats, Billy and Mia, who she enjoys catch-ups with when she visits her daughter. Ann has 23 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. “I’ve had a good life,” she said.
Top Aussies’ poignant display
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being ordinary possessions. Curator Dr Laina Hall said: “What I love about this exhibition is how it so neatly captures the power of material culture. These objects have been kept for a reason and now, in being shared, enable us to connect with the recipients in a personal way.” The 2020 Queensland Australian of the Year Rachel Downie: After one of her students died by suicide, educator and social entrepreneur Rachel Downie developed Stymie, an online resource for students to anonymously report harm. A small ceramic bird her student made is a deeply personal reminder of him and how his death was the catalyst for the work she does now. NSW Australian of the Year Professor Munjed Al Muderis: Orthopaedic surgeon and human rights advocate Munjed Al Muderis fled Iraq in 1999. The book Last’s Anatomy by RMH McMinn was one of the few items he brought from Iraq. It is a reminder of his life as a junior doctor and was a treasured companion during his time in detention. NT Australian of the Year Dr Geoffrey Thompson: Sports physician
This small ceramic bird is a deeply personal reminder of Rachel Dowie's student and how his death was the catalyst for the work she does now. Picture: Contributed
and ex-RAAF flying doctor Dr Geoffrey Thompson chose his first stethoscope and his pilot’s logbook. They capture his long career in medicine and in the air. Victorian Australian of the Year Archie Roach (AM): Throughout his distinguished career, singer and storyteller Archie Roach has drawn on his own experiences to highlight issues affecting many indigenous Australians. He has provided a book that presents the lyrics of his acclaimed song Took the Children Away, with illustrations by his late wife Ruby Hunter. The exhibition is on display at the National Museum until February 16 before touring nationally.
Do you feel your rights are being respected? Are your family members supportive, or do they create stress in your life? Are any of the following scenarios happening to you?
CHANGING LIVES: Queensland's 2020 Australian of the Year Rachel Downie, an educator and social entrepreneur.Picture: Contributed
• Being told that you can’t make any decisions for yourself because you have had a diagnosis of dementia. • Being pressured into entering a nursing home when you’re not ready. • Being frightened to voice your needs/concerns. • Carers or family members borrowing money and not paying you back. • Adult children moving in with you and refusing to pay rent.
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A PAIR of boots, an anatomy book and a Hawaiian statue are among the objects chosen by this year’s 2020 Australian of the Year state and territory recipients for a national exhibition. The recipients include an indigenous music legend, a refugee orthopaedic surgeon, and a women’s rugby league pioneer. The National Museum of Australia and the National Australia Day Council (NADC) launched an exhibition of significant objects chosen by the eight extraordinary 2020 Australian of the Year recipients to tell us something about their lives, aspirations and experiences. National Museum director Dr Mathew Trinca said the recipients had chosen diverse and deeply personal objects reflecting their life’s journey. “We are honoured to feature these fascinating objects selected by eight exceptional individuals. We hope many Australians will see this exhibition and reflect on the issues raised by the objects on display – and the endeavours of the Australians who selected them,” Dr Trinca said. National Australia Day Council CEO Karlie Brand said the objects had moved beyond
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Ballet’s benefits strike chord KERRY HEANEY KEEPING ageing bodies strong, minds challenged and communities connected through Queensland Ballet’s seniors program will soon be available to regional Queenslanders. The Ballet for Seniors Regional Teacher Training program is set to start midyear and will allow QB to extend the program’s reach. The classes focus on improving core strength, poise, mobility and memory and address some of the challenges facing ageing populations, particularly social isolation and limited physical activity. Delivered by highly skilled QB teaching artists, the program was enabled by the John T. Reid Charitable Trusts to provide professional development training to ballet teachers in Cairns, Mackay, Hervey Bay and the Gold Coast. After a two-day training workshop, the regional dance teachers will be granted a licence to deliver seniors’ classes in their communities.
Over the past 18 months, QB’s Ballet for Seniors classes at its Brisbane studios have grown from one session a week to seven. There has been increased demand for regional classes following Seniors Week and a regional tour. The program’s success stems from the way the classes make participants feel, Queensland Ballet artistic director Li Cunxin AO says. “From our research with QUT, we found our Ballet for Seniors participants experienced higher energy levels, greater flexibility, improved posture and an enhanced sense of achievement,” he said. “They also felt happier and experienced a sense of community and friendship. “We truly believe that ballet is for everyone and are committed to sharing our beautiful art form with communities across the state. “To go from having only four participants attend our first class to now having seven classes a week with waitlists is just amazing.’’ Following an inner passion for the art form she never had the chance to pursue as a
Living
ELEGANT EXERCISE: Queensland Ballet’s popular seniors’ classes are set to spread to regional areas of the state.
child, Vicki Lennox has been attending intermediate Ballet for Seniors classes since August 2017. “My posture has improved, my technique has improved and I have met so many like-
minded friends,” she said. “It makes me feel elegant and fulfilled. I do this for me, it’s for no one else.’’ In Brisbane, Queensland Ballet also offers Jazz for Seniors, a class that draws
from the world’s popular jazz musicals. Suitable for beginner older adults, it involves no turns, floor work or jumps. QB’s popular classes for people living with Parkinson’s disease are also open to
Picture: Contributed
partners, carers and family members. Find out more at www. queenslandballet.com.au. Information on the regional teacher training workshops will be available in March.
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ON BOARD WITH CHANGE: On-demand bus collection points can be transport hubs or personal locations.
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On-demand bus hailed as next level of service TRACEY JOHNSTONE IN the US’s Arlington, where there is a population of 400,000, their fixed bus service has been fully replaced by an on-demand system. And now Australia is preparing for similar changes in regulated public transport as on-demand transport technology provider Via moves into Australia. Via, an international company, has its product in 20 countries. In Australia it’s already being used in Coffs Harbour, Newcastle, Adelaide and northern and northwest Sydney. Rigid transport routes will disappear and dynamic routes that improve the efficiency of a public bus system are the future. V1 - SEWE01Z01MA
Via’s Andy Ambrosius said many of Australia’s elderly were serviced by community transport. “They don’t really use any form of technology,” Mr Ambrosius said. “There is very little flexibility. Via has engaged with dozens of community transport providers who are keen to organise their operation and provide new service offerings.” Will there be fewer scheduled bus services in some areas? Via spokesman Zack Wasserman said: “I think it’s already an established pattern. “In places where fixedschedule bus services are inefficient because there isn’t a lot of passenger uptake, we are seeing agencies choosing to retire those routes and replace them with on-demand service that is more efficient in terms
PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO REQUEST A RIDE EXACTLY WHEN THEY WANT ONE RATHER THAN SCHEDULING THAT RIDE IN ADVANCE. of vehicle utilisation and provides a better quality of service for the people who demand that service.” Currently being used are small buses or vans, but the Via technology is “vehicle agnostic”, Mr Wasserman says. “People are able to request a ride exactly when they want one rather than scheduling that ride in advance,” Mr Wasserman said. “What that means is you take out your smartphone, download the app, then you
say where you are and where you want to go. The vehicle is dispatched and picks you up. “It takes you to your destination and makes short stops along the way to pick up and drop off other people.” It sounds a bit like a mashup of Uber and the regular bus service. The difference is its on-demand, with a much greater saving to users. Collection points can be transport hubs or personal locations. It really is the next generation of public transport. Take Cooee Busways in Sydney. They are a Via partner contracted by Transport NSW to transport locals within the service area to Rouse Hill and Tallawong metro stations and for those wanting to connect with trains travelling to Bella Vista, Norwest, and the Hills Showground metro stations.
It’s a “first/last mile’’ service – instead of driving their car to a transport hub, school or nonemergency medical location, travellers hail the on-demand service to travel directly to that destination. Because the service is ondemand, it replaces the fixedrun public bus, which may be moving through the suburbs when there is no demand at that time for that service. The Via app is able to be configured to suit the needs of the transport partner. For example, it can have the option of taking ride requests from people who don’t use smartphones. Instead, they can phone a call centre to make a booking. Disability and mobility equipment requirements can be noted in a user’s profile so that each time they make a booking, that physical
requirement is built into the booking. On Sydney’s northern beaches, Keolis Downer has been trialling the technology using multi-person vehicles. It was introduced when BLine was launched and operates between Palm Beach and North Narrabeen, connecting customers directly from their homes to Pittwater’s three B-Line hubs, at Mona Vale, Warriewood and Narrabeen. Coffs Harbour’s Woopi Connect trial on-demand service works across two zones, Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm. It picks travellers up at or near their home sand takes them to any destination within the zone or into the second zone. The Concession cost is between $2.10 and $3.30.
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MONEYSMART.GOV.AU NO ONE wants to think about death, but it’s important to decide what will happen to your assets when you die. Find out how you can give instructions to your family about your legal and medical preferences should you fall ill or lose the capacity to make those decisions yourself. The issues to consider are: estate plans; wills; testamentary trusts; powers of attorney; your legal and financial housekeeping; and estate plans. Estate plans: An estate plan includes your will as well as any other directions on how you want your assets distributed after your death. It includes documents that govern how you will be cared for, medically and financially, if you become unable to make your own decisions in the future. You must be over 18 and mentally competent when you
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Estate planning ensures your wishes carried out draw up the legal agreements that form your estate plan. Key documents might include: a will, superannuation death nominations; testamentary trust; powers of attorney, power of guardianship, and anticipatory direction. If you have made a binding nomination in your super or insurance policies, the beneficiaries named in those policies will override anyone mentioned in your will. If you have a family trust, the trust continues and its assets will also be distributed according to the trust deed, no matter what is written in your will. Wills: A will takes effect when you die. It can cover things like how your assets will be shared, who will look after your children if they are still young, what trusts you want established, how much money you’d like donated to charities and even instructions about
your funeral. Your will can be written and updated by private trustees and solicitors, who usually charge a fee. Some Public Trustees will not charge to prepare or update your will if you nominate them to be the executor of your will. Other Public Trustees may only exempt you from charges if you are a pensioner or aged over 60. If you die intestate or your will is invalid, an administrator appointed by the court pays your bills and taxes from your assets, then distributes the remainder, based on a predetermined formula, which may not be how you intended your assets to be distributed. If you die intestate and don’t have any living relatives, your estate is paid to the state government. Testamentary trusts: A testamentary trust is a trust set out in your will that
only takes effect when you die. Testamentary trusts are usually set up to protect assets. Here are some reasons why you would create one: A. The beneficiaries are minors (under 18-21 years old). B. The beneficiaries have diminished mental capacity. C. You do not trust the beneficiaries to use their inheritance wisely. D. You do not want family assets split as part of a divorce settlement. E. You do not want family assets to become part of bankruptcy proceedings. A trust will be administered by a trustee who is usually appointed in the will. A trustee must look after the assets for the benefit of the beneficiaries until the trust expires. Powers of attorney: Appointing someone as your power of attorney gives them the legal authority to look after your affairs on your
behalf. Powers of attorney depend on which state or territory you are in: they can refer to just financial powers, or they might include broader guardianship powers. You will need to check with your local Public Trustee. The different types of power of attorney are: A. General power of attorney is where you appoint someone to make financial and legal decisions for you, usually for a specified period of time, for example if you’re overseas and unable to manage your legal affairs at home. This person’s appointment becomes invalid if you lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself. B. Enduring power of attorney is where you appoint a person to make financial and legal decisions for you if you lose the capacity to make your own decisions. C. Medical power of
attorney can make only medical decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so yourself. You can prepare a few other documents to help your legal appointees and family as you grow older, including an enduring power of guardianship that gives a person the right to choose where you live and make decisions about your medical care and other lifestyle choices, if you lose the capacity to make your own decisions. Anticipatory direction records your wishes about medical treatment in the future, in case you become unable to express those wishes yourself. An advance healthcare directive (or living will) documents note how you would like your body to be dealt with if you lose the capacity to make those decisions yourself.
Diversify to add security Spread your investments to minimise risk and make your income stream last as long as you do OUTSIDE super, there is a bewildering number of investments on offer. You need to find a mix of investments that will fit your needs. Security should be at the top of your mind. You will have greater security if you diversify your investments. You might need your money to last for 20 years or more so it’s good to have investments that will at least keep pace with inflation. You may also need a reliable, long-term income stream. Consider: 1. Diversifying your retirement investments. 2. Capital growth investments. 3. Interest-bearing accounts and term deposits. 4. Managed funds. Diversifying your retirement investments. A key rule to investing in retirement is to diversify. This is even more important
for retirees - if you lose money it will be hard to replace. Some retirees have been devastated because they put all their money in one investment. They lost their life savings when that company went bankrupt, had a run of bad luck or the promoter turned out to be a crook. See diversification for more details. Capital growth investments Capital growth investments, such as property and shares, are good if you want to invest your money for the long term (more than seven years). These investments will generally increase in value over time. Of course, they can also fall in value from time to time, as the global financial crisis showed. Growth investments will hopefully also pay dividends. You can
use these as income, or reinvest them for further growth. Shares and property may be purchased directly. An easier way is to invest in managed funds that own shares or property. Shares A strong portfolio of blue chip shares can deliver good returns. They are more flexible investments than property as they can be bought and sold in small parcels. Owning shares also has tax benefits. However, share markets are volatile. The value of a share can drop dramatically in a few hours and companies can go broke overnight. This can be daunting for new or nervous investors. The Australian Securities Exchange and the Australian Investors Association offer investing courses. Seek financial advice before
investing. Investment properties Many people invest in residential property to boost their wealth. You can take advantage of capital gains and there are tax benefits arising from negative gearing and depreciation allowances, especially if you are in the higher tax brackets. However, people in retirement generally will not buy an investment property as their main investment. It is poor diversification. You could lose seriously if property prices fall in that area, if the property is vacant or if tenants don’t pay their rent. If you need money you can’t sell part of a property, and you can’t sell it quickly at a top price. See property for more information. Interest-bearing accounts and term deposits
These accounts are a good way to earn money for daily living expenses and emergencies. There are no entry and exit fees and your cash is easily accessible. You are sure of getting your money back, plus any interest. However, you will have to pay fees if you want to get out of a term deposit early. However, there are no capital gains or tax benefits and the interest you earn may not be enough to keep up with inflation. Interest-bearing savings accounts and term deposits will generally earn you less money in the long term than property or shares. You should spend some time researching online savings, transaction and term deposit accounts to compare different products. Managed funds If you are interested in a diversified mix of
investments but aren’t sure where to start, or would rather leave the hard work to experienced people, you may want to consider investing in managed funds. There are many types of funds, fee structures and investment managers. Do your research before you dive in. Retirees need to be careful about mortgage funds and property funds. Although these have been successful in the past, many people have recently burnt their fingers. See managed funds for more information. Think carefully about your investment strategy as it will affect the income you receive in retirement. Reduce risk by spreading your money in different types of investments. Consider getting financial advice before you start investing. SEWE01Z01MA - V1
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Indigenous heroes’ stories celebrated THERE are few Aboriginal icons in White Australia history. From the explorer to the pioneer, the swagman to the drover’s wife, with a few bushrangers for good measure, Europeans play all the leading roles. A rare exception is the redoubtable tracker. With skills passed down over millennia, trackers could trace the movements of people across vast swathes of country. Celebrated as saviours of lost children and disoriented adults, and finders of missing livestock, they were also cursed by robbers on the run. Trackers live in the collective memory as one of the few examples of Aboriginal people’s skills being sought after in colonial society. In NSW alone, more than a thousand Aboriginal men and a smaller number of women toiled for authorities across the state after 1862. This book tells the often unlikely stories of trackers including Billy Bogan, Jimmy Governor, Tommy Gordon, Frank Williams and Alec Riley. Through his work on native title claims, historian Michael Bennett realised that the role of trackers – and how they moved between two worlds – has been largely unacknowledged. His important book reveals that their work grew out of traditional society and was sustained by the vast family networks that endure
Austen is moving with times
Doggone insightful look at life
to this day. Pathfinders brings the skilled and diverse work of trackers not only to the forefront of law enforcement history but to the general shared histories of black and white Australia. Professor John Maynard said the book charted an important though largely
overlooked area of the country’s history. “Aboriginal trackers hold a mythical yet obscure presence in the history of the continent. Bennett weaves back into the nation’s historical narrative these Aboriginal heroes and heroines,’’ he said.
Professor Maynard is a Worimi Aboriginal man from the Port Stephens region of NSW. He is a director at the Wollotuka Institute of Aboriginal Studies at the University of Newcastle and chair of indigenous history. RRP $34.99.
SENIORS
ALREADY an international bestseller, Hans-Olav Thyvold’s Good Dogs Don’t Make it to the South Pole has now been translated into English. It’s been touted as the wisest, funniest and most inspiring book on ageing and friendship written by a dog you’ll ever read. The best thing you can aspire to in this world is company. Whether it’s for pleasure or pain, a crowning or an execution: everything is better with company. The major, a World War II veteran, breathes his last. Watching over him are his wife and his faithful companion, Tassen, the story’s narrator, who is, by his own admission, a couch potato and a one-man dog. “You might say it all went to hell with Mrs Thorkildsen, but you know what? It could have been worse, because Mrs Thorkildsen had me to keep her company. “And I had her. That’s what we had in common, her and me, what bound us together. We were company.’’
TIME Traveller’s Wife meets Persuasion in this charming story of love, friendship and passion – Jane Austen timetravels to the modern day and learns that the search for true love is never simple. Jane in Love is the debut novel from screenwriter and filmmaker Rachel Givney. After reading Emma as a teenager, Givney became fascinated by Jane Austen. She was shocked to find that the woman who had written such beautiful love stories had never found love herself and that this seemed to be the case for many other female writers. This later became the inspiration for Jane in Love. When 28-year-old Jane Austen enlists the help of a matchmaker, she gets a lot more than she bargained for. Jane accidentally timetravels to modern-day England and finds herself on the set of an adaptation of Northanger Abbey. Jane is thrilled to learn she has become a famous author and is determined to return to her own time to fulfil her destiny, until she meets siblings Sofia and Fred Wentworth. RRP $32.99
Published by Allen & Unwin. RRP $29.99.
Books bind women in journey of discovery MEET Ros from Sydney, Adele from Adelaide, Judy from Mandurah and Simone from Hobart, who are connected by books and as they discover, also by life. A Month of Sundays brings together these four very different women who for 10 years are now the remaining members of an online book club. All of them are in their 60s. They are meeting for the first time in person. Their time together helps them to peel back by layers
the weaknesses and strengths of each of them. As they spend a month in a house in the Southern Highlands of NSW relaxing, talking and discovering each other through a selection of books, relationships break and heal, are discovered and cemented. There’s no time to settle into complacency as the reader joins the women for their “holiday’’. Byrski cleverly builds up and breaks down the reader’s perception of each
character. It’s easy to connect with each of the women. Ros is angular and gutsy, Adele is simply complicated, Judy has a future she needs help to find and gentle Simone is a surprise. A Month of Sundays is the type of novel you have to force yourself to put down, at least for a night. It’s an enjoyable and relatable read. It’s Australian author Liz Byrski’s 10th novel. She is a writer and broadcaster with more than 40 years’
experience in the British and Australian media. In the ’90s Byrski was a broadcaster and executive producer with ABC Radio in Perth and later an adviser to a West Australian Government minister. She now lectures in professional and creative writing at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, and has a PhD in writing with a focus on feminist popular fiction. Published by Pan Macmillan. RRP $32.99 SEWE01Z01MA - V1
PUZZLES
\\FEBRUARY, 2020
JIGGERED
3/8
The challenge is to rearrange a crossword which has been broken into 25 sections. One letter has been given to get you started. Work out which 3x3 square fits in with that letter and write in the letters. You can also shade the black squares if you find it helpful. After completing the first 3x3 area, work out which square joins on to it, and continue until you have made a complete crossword.
A N O N I N G
B R E L A E R
A U G K S K I
P E R A D E D
R U L M
T O O A P I T
G I A S C I
P
I C U M M A N G A M P W O N
D E S O E N O D
A A R F
T R O P X
R O E D D E
N P E C E
W R I K E M H
F T E D T C
T E D E E R I N
M E N E R T
T W W I N A N E N F S E
A D O E C R
M B A N T
I E N D
R M G S
Across 1. Seem (6) 5. Fixate on something (6) 9. Piled (6) 10. Occur unexpectedly (4,2) 11. Naked (4) 12. Slaughter (8) 14. Logic (6) 16. Unsullied (6) 19. Abyss (8) 21. Ran away (4) 22. Innate (6) 23. Physician (6) 24. Break away (6) 25. Stop doing something (6)
1
Down 2. Introduction (7) 3. Put into words (7) 4. Basics (9) 6. Hurtful remarks (5) 7. Assumes (7) 8. Highest (7) 13. Triumphed (9) 14. Rebounds (7) 15. Harsh, biting (7) 17. Has an influence on (7) 18. Shakes (7) 20. Rectify (5)
2
3
4
5
9
starts with J, the six-letter solution starts with K, and so on.
10
11
12
14
13
15
19
16
20
22
23
Can you complete these four words, using the same three-letter sequence in each?
24
25
SUDOKU
Fill the grid so every column, every row and 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.
F U S S E D Q C A T A R A C T
A N N U H G N I R I M O V O D
T Z E S T Y Z S C O O T E R D
E I P H O J G F E K E K H G A
S P R I G O O W D M B A S I C
O D E W E E S K H L A Q Y H R
R I F L E B H A V E B E I M E
E M I N H K E G I B P Q J N T
A Z N E R I O T A Y A M U S E
L M E B U W O D L L R T N P N
M I D P O I N T R C A N C A N
T N V T V S E J P O K Y T A Y
R A D I A N C E S K E N U R E
V N O W L V K Y A L E O R L P
C E N T X E S C O R T T E N D
BLACKOUT
Work out which squares need to be deleted to reveal a completed crossword. Solution opposite
All puzzles ©
The Puzzle Company
D P
PRAMS, QUOTeR, ReGALIA, SMOULDeR, TOLeRANCe.
ALPHAGRAMS JIGGERED
I M P U G N
F S U N Z I P S E R S U S H I E T G D Y G O C S A R C E D T O A M O E B R T A A E S C O R G I T C
TRIO: keL
Across: 1. Appear 5. Obsess 9. Heaped 10. Crop up 11. Bare 12. Massacre 14. Reason 16. Chaste 19. Crevasse 21. Fled 22. Inbred 23. Doctor 24. Secede 25. Desist. Down: 2. Preface 3. express 4. Rudiments 6. Barbs 7. expects 8. Supreme 13. Succeeded 14. Recoils 15. Acerbic 17. Affects 18. Tremors 20. Amend.
QUICK CROSSWORD
E
TODAY: Good 16 Very Good 22 Excellent 27
T W A N E F S F T E D T C A N O N I N G E E R S T R O E D
R
18
21
I D E R E A I E F I N L E E K I S H O A T V I A E A P A M J U S R E T E
L M R C I N A N E E D D N P I T O V A L W I N E N E C K S T E C L O C R R A K E E T N N N C T U R E A R N N E D
How many words of four letters or more can you make? Each letter must be used only
17
TRIO
SUDOKU
A N
8
ReARRANGe reran
RAMPS TORQUE Solve the anagrams. Each solution is a one-word anagram ALGERIA of the letters beside it, and the five solutions are sequential. For OLD SERUM example, if the five-letter solution NO TREACLE
WORD GO ROUND
7
T O O T N A P R O I T X N G I I A S C E N I R A D O P A E M D C R A M I A C I A R A N F W O N T E D R E E M R I N G S
I
ALPHAGRAMS
V1 - SEWE01Z01MA
6
E E R S T
U
SOLUTIONS BLACKOUT
I I
QUICK CROSSWORD
27
W R M I K E B A H T M B R E W I L A N E R E D E S P E E O N O D D E N R P E C U L M E A U G M E E K S K I R T
SENIORS
FER0940 02/20
DECLARE 2020 THE YEAR OF DOING Group exercise and social transport for over 65s.
PLACES ARE LIMITED
CALL 1300 763 583 TODAY
LOOKING TO GET FIT?
LOOKING TO GET OUT AND ABOUT?
Feros Care has a suite of group exercise programs which will have you feeling healthier, more active and better connected.
From joining in morning melodies, visiting museums to celebrating special events like St Patrick’s Day; our social calendar has something for everyone!
Programs are run by our experienced physiotherapists and exercise physiologists over several weeks. Classes cost $5 and are safe and suitable for people of all levels of mobility and fitness.
Join our social outings, including door-to-door pick up and drop off for just $15.
JOIN A FEROS CARE GROUP EXERCISE PROGRAM OR SOCIAL TRANSPORT TRIP TODAY! STEP 1 Call 1300 763 583 to register.
STEPS TO GET STARTED
STEP 2 Our team will put you in touch with My Aged Care so you can register for our
Government subsidised group exercise classes and social transport trips.
STEP 3 We will call you back to discuss when the classes and trips will be running in
your area once we receive your referral from My Aged Care.
1300 763 583 feroscare.com.au
Aged Care • Disability Support • Technology
DISCLAIMER: Although funding for this program has been provided by the Australian Government, the material contained herein does not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Australian Government.
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