ANZAC Day 2020

Tomorrow is ANZAC Day. Every year people gather in huge numbers, in major cities, in country towns, in ex-pat communities around the world, to commemorate the Diggers from Australia and New Zealand. Not this year, though. This year will be different.

We will still commemorate, but it will be more private. Residents of a street standing in their driveways. Members of a household standing for a minutes silence. There will be no grand pageantry. But I think that's somehow just as fitting.

For me, ANZAC Day has always been about the moments of solitude, remembering those who fought, who maybe didn't come home, or came home completely changed by the experience. Many returning soldiers, especially from World War II, don't like to speak about what happened to them. My grandfather never talked about it. All I have are his service records to show something of what he did. They don't want to burden their loved ones with the horrors of war.

While I don't think it is healthy for anyone to keep completely silent about the traumas they have endured, regardless of the type of trauma, I do think it's important for us, the civilian population, to cherish those moments of silence, to reflect, and to consider the impact of those events on the people, on our communities and our countries as a whole.

With our World War I ANZACs all gone, and our World War II vets low in number, it is up to us to remember, to commemorate and to carry the baton forward. We must use our moments of solemnity to bring to mind the reasons for their sacrifice, the lessons learned from these tragedies and the promise we must make not only to ourselves but to our family, our friends and our future generations to not repeat the mistakes of history, to not surrender an entire generation to the futility of war, and to not ever be at peace with the loss of so many for the sake of greed and selfishness.

Lest we forget.

A Month in Isolation

I wasn't going to do a post about the pandemic but, well, here we are. Yes, this is the biggest thing that's happened to the world in the last 100 years. Yes, global economies are stagnating or failing. Yes, thousands of people are dying. How could I not talk about it?

There are, however, a lot of people far smarter than I who can talk about those things. Historians. Economists. Doctors. I am not any of those things. The closest I come is having majored in history at University, but the 1918 pandemic didn't feature highly in my studies.

What this post is going to deal with is the real world impacts on every day people. People like me, and probably you, who have no immediate political, economic or medical influence on the course of events. We will look at the day to day impacts of a global pandemic on predominantly the working and lower classes.

On Monday 23rd March my workplace officially shut down due to the pandemic. We knew it was coming. Personally, I was quite happy for it to happen. Others weren't. There was a mix of feelings due to the fact that no-one quite knew how long it was going to last, what it meant for our wages, and how our Government run welfare system would cope.

I'm not going to lie. I am in the fortunate situation that a shutdown was not going to affect me financially. I would have qualified for government benefits, I had enough leave I could take to carry me for a short period, and my workplace was able to apply for Job Keeper payments set up by the government as a wage reimbursement for permanent staff (yes, I have oversimplified this package but it's long and boring and as long as I'm getting paid, I'm happy) so financial concerns were not an issue for me.

For other people, financial concerns have hit very hard. Renters who were laid off (rather than stood down) can't pay rent. Landlords relying on rent because they have no other income can't pay bills or mortgages. Businesses have closed, at least for the duration of the shutdown, but many for good. Stocks have crashed. Relying on investments for income has always been a bit risky but, right now, it's probably the worst possible income stream, especially if those stocks are in oil.

So, as far as economics are concerned, pandemics are not good. Those who are rich, and by rich I mean really, super rich billionaire types, won't really notice. They are beyond money. Economics really only affects people who, if they lost a years salary, would be significantly worse off than before. That is, the 1% wont notice the stress of an prolonged economic downturn on a personal level but the 99% will.

Moving away from the economic impact, historically, this pandemic is unprecedented. Even though there have been other major pandemics in history, the most recent being a little over a century ago, the movement of people and things has never been more prevalent. The travel industry in the 21st century is massive. Countries import and export goods on a daily basis. This increases the ways in which virus' can be transported from one area to another. The method for disease control hasn't changed however. The best way we have limit the spread of any disease is prevention.

The prevention of disease transmission as a society comes about in several ways. Vaccination is a medical way of preventing transmission, however, it only works on a individual level unless enough of the population is vaccinated and then we develop what's commonly referred to as herd immunity. Vaccination is an imperfect science, though. No vaccine is 100% effective. They also take a long time to develop so, when faced with a novel virus as we are now, we cannot rely on vaccination being the first line of defence. It is going to be a year at the very minimum before we have a working vaccine suitable for humans. While it isn't going to be part of the first wave of stopping the spread of Covid-19, it will become important for subsequent waves of this virus by protecting individuals and providing herd immunity.

Not wanting to get inundated by anti-vaccination types: yes, you can get herd immunity through natural immunity. How this works is exactly the same as vaccination induced herd immunity except that it requires the vast majority of the people in a given population to contract a virus, develop antibodies and survive. This is perfectly reasonable for diseases that are fairly mild. It's not such a great thing for diseases with highly unfavourable outcomes. This leads into the discussion of death rates and contagiousness of Covid-19 and as this is getting too far to into the medical side of this pandemic, I will leave that aspect to the virologists and other medical experts.

The other way to halt transmission is through contact denial. Washing your hands and keeping physically distant from people is how this works on an individual level. Shutdowns and quarantines are how this works on a societal level. Where I live, we are in what we are calling Stage 3 restrictions. The basics of this level of societal distancing means that people are not allowed to congregate in groups of more than 2 outdoors unless in a family group. Restaurants and cafes are restricted to take away menus only. Schools are not closed but students are advised to stay home unless their parents are essential workers. No sports are running except horseracing. Beaches and public spaces are either closed or limited in the number of people allowed to be in the area.

What does this mean for me? I'm not working as I work in sport and rec, which came under Stage 1 restrictions. I also live with a person considered to be in the vulnerable category - my mum. She's 82. She's pretty healthy for her age but she is a much greater risk of unfavourable outcomes. This means that my son and I have to be extremely careful with bringing the virus back into our house. I pulled my son out of school as soon as I could. We have been self isolating now for a month. My son has been going out and walking to do exercise, I have been exercising at home. This means that, except to do grocery shopping, I have not left the house in a month.

This extreme physical isolation has profound psychological ramifications. I suffer from anxiety and depression, though I am not currently medicated for either, I am also an introvert. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I was quite happy for my work to be shut down early. For the first week, I was doing extraordinarily well. My anxiety was low because I wasn't being potentially exposed to the virus. Our family was safe. But here's the thing: as any introvert will tell you, it's not that we only want to be in our own company, it's that we reach our social exhaustion level a lot quicker than other people.

For me, I missed the kids I worked with. They exhaust me completely. I complain about work a lot. But I do miss it when I'm not there, especially for extended periods of time. So while my anxiety was low, my depression was growing. It was not a suicidal depression. It was just an overwhelming emotional fugue. During the next two weeks, I had three migraines, I would cry at the drop of a hat, and I was irrationally irritable. My motivation for anything productive vanished completely. I would think about things to do because I fundamentally knew I had to do something to get me out of this funk but I constantly procrastinated, doing anything to not do something.

I eventually had to do something. I had to go grocery shopping. I had to get dressed and leave the house. And I did it. I like grocery shopping. It's not something I find stressful (except when everyone has been hoarding and I can't actually get half the stuff on my list) because its a very structured experience. That's when I started to realise it wasn't just the kids I was missing from work. It was the structure. It didn't come as an epiphany. It sort of burbled around in my brain for a few days trying to come to some sort of conclusion.

What finally got my brain to click was a post of Facebook by one of my friends of an isolation well-being checklist which contained things like "do one thing to get your heart rate up" and "be mindfully present to something you see." Most of the things on that particular checklist were of no interest to me at all but the concept it represented grabbed hold of me. Here was the structure I needed.

How did I put this into practice? I made myself a schedule. It seems really obvious but this is what happens with depression and anxiety. Your brain just doesn't make connections like it should. My schedule wasn't just a list on a piece of paper, though. It is on my phone, as a list of reminders, with alarms to tell me to do the next thing on the list. I've broken the day between 9am and 9pm into hour long increments. There's meal breaks scheduled. It's full of things I like to do. Obviously, some things can be done at the same time. Some things take longer than others. But that's ok. It's not the actual time it takes that's important, it's the sense of achievement in ticking something off once it's completed.

This blog (as well as my poetry one) are on my schedule. This post has taken me several hours to write, others mostly won't be this long. Probably. It is one of the last things on my schedule precisely for this reason. If it takes longer than its supposed to, it's fine.

So what has this previous 4 weeks in self imposed isolation taught me? I do need social contact and social media just doesn't cut it all the time. I need strict structure. It's why I'm bad at online learning. I don't have the self discipline. I need an external schedule to follow, even if it's one I've created. Anxiety and depression don't go away when your circumstances change, they just change their manifestations.

And what does the future look like? Immediately, much the same as it does right now. For the next 10 to 12 weeks, I probably won't be working. My son won't go back to school until we are out of restrictions and will continue to do home schooling. I'm hoping that the grocery shopping will return to some sort of normal soon because this hoarding is completely ridiculous. I'm also hoping that people manage to stick with the social distancing guidelines and the government don't rush the reopen purely for the sake of the economy.

Lastly, maybe we can carry some of the lessons we've learned into the future. The ability to work and school from home more easily, especially for those with disabilities, is hugely important. The respect and love for our emergency services personnel needs to move into our future interactions as well. And we need to look out for each other. In the last 4 weeks, I've seen more people ask their fellow humans how they are, and actually mean it. Let's not stop doing that when this pandemic ends.

To take or not to take: the Australian refugee crisis

Recent events have once again brought to light the racism, bigotry and prejudice that pervades our society. It isn't a nice topic to talk about. Often people are confronted by their own shortcomings and react defensively instead of proactively. What do I mean by that? Well, instead of looking at themselves and wondering how they can improve their situation or their outlook, they become hostile to that which is other. We've all heard the adage that the best form of defence is attack. That's what happens. We see it over and over again, in the media and in social media.

In Australia, the recent attacks have been against Muslims, and the Islamic community generally, as they are seen as an easy scapegoat for the anger and fear people feel in reaction to the various worldwide incidents. Since 9/11 there has been an undercurrent of anti-Islamic posturing by a small minority of the population. This has grown and grown. In fact, it has grown to such an outrageous level that people aren't even ashamed of their discrimatory language. Posts, such as the one below, have become more commonplace. Some are so offensive, I could not bring myself to use them in this piece.

The problem with images such as this is that they allow people to justify their intolerance. If we look into what this image tells us, it is quite disturbing.

Firstly, "not taking in Syrian refugees and closing our borders is not being mean or heartless." Yes, it is. You are admitting that they are refugees, fleeing from their homeland with barely a possession amongst them, in need of assistance from foreign lands because they are in fear of rape, torture and even death if they stay in their country. Turning away people such as this is incredibly mean and heartless.

Secondly, "I lock my doors every night, not because I hate the people outside, but because I love the people inside." No, you lock your doors to keep robbers and murderers out. You lock your doors because you fear what would happen if you left them unlocked. Yes, you do that because you love your family but don't pretend that fear isn't a predominant factor.

This whole argument falls down when we look at a simple comparison: the child in danger on your doorstep. If a broken and bloody child arrived on your doorstep asking for help, what would you do? If we go by the logic of the above image, you should not unlock your door. They are not your family. They do no "belong" in your home. You have no responsibility towards the child. How many of you would actually say no to that child? So why do you feel that as a country it's ok for us to say no to the refugees when they are no different to that child on your doorstep?

People like guarantees. It's like when you buy a product from a shop, you want to know that it works, and if it doesn't you want to know that you can exchange it for a similar product or get your money back. Unfortunately, people don't come with guarantees. That frightens people. This is part of the reason why we have locks on our doors. Common sense tells us that 99% of the people outside our door aren't after our valuables or out to murder us as we sleep. We have locks to protect us from the 1%.

Given this, you might think that image we discussed was pretty accurate. Well, let's back it up. A lock can be unlocked to let some people in. We've already established that we'd probably let in the bleeding and bloody child. There's no guarantee that the child won't steal your wallet while they're in your house. You let them in because it's the right thing to do.

So now we are faced with potentially 12,000 Syrian refugees. Border control is the holder of the key to lock on our national door. They can let in those they deem to be an acceptable risk, just as we do with the child on our doorstep. They also keep out those they deem an unacceptable risk but here's the thing: there's no guarantee.

I wrote the above passage on my personal Facebook page. The people on my friends list who are very against taking refugees did not comment. I don't blame them. It can be hard to reevaluate your position. It can be confronting. It can be embarrassing. I don't think any of my Facebook friends are bad people. I don't think they are particularly racist or intolerant. I simply think they have been sucked in by the fearmongering done by the media and government.

The cynical side of me thinks the government has played this very well. They have been seen to be doing the right thing by saying they will take the refugees. They have also done little to quell the growing hysteria around the potential danger of the Islamic religion. This gives them an automatic out. Taking in refugees requires a lot of money from the government - from processing them to the benefits they receive until they are self sufficient - which could, in theory, be spent on other (much neglected) areas that would garner more support from the general public. Of course, governments being what they are, the spend would be nowhere near what the public think it should be and only a fraction of what they would have spent on bringing in refugees.

The media are in it for the story, not the truth. The story is what sells, whether it is based on fact or not. They will play one side of against the other and both sides off against the middle, all in the name of raising their own revenue. What sells the most copy? What will headline TV news? What will get shared on social media? Fear! Lots and lots of fear! The occasional good news story about a Muslim can't counter the vast reams of stories about terrorism at the hands of hard-line extremists who use religion to excuse their own bigotry.

 

The article on the left illustrates perfectly the habit the general population have of tarring all with the same brush. It's common throughout history. Different groups, different eras. Same result. Apparently the message of "not all Muslims are terrorists" just isn't getting through. There are millions of Muslims around the world who absolutely detest what is happening in the name of their religion. Blaming every Muslim for ISIS/ISIL/Daesh is just like blaming every Christian for Westboro Baptist Church or the Crusades. It just doesn't make sense.

The article on the right illustrates that it is not just the Western Countries who come under attack from extremists. The Western-centric media was full of the awful attacks on Paris, as you would expect. Hardly a whisper was heard about the attacks in Beirut. An Islamic area being attacked by Islamic extremists doesn't rate in Western countries. Even though the attacks were carried out, or attributed to, the same base organisation, the attacks in Beirut were deemed, media-wise, as less relevant.

People need to see that the extremists are not the same as the moderates, just as they are in every other religion or ideology. By saturating the airwaves and newspapers with one event and not the other, we allow the misconception that this is a Christian versus Islamic battle when it is, in reality, an extremist versus the rest of the world battle.

In the end, we all must stand as one. Regardless of religion. Regardless of colour. Regardless of creed. We must put aside our reservations and unlock the door. We must trust our Border Control to weed out as many of the extremists hiding amongst the refugees as they can. We must trust our fellow citizens to not stand by and allow our children to be radicalised. We must trust our police and our justice system to deal with those who break our laws in an appropriate manner. But most of all, we must trust the refugees who do make it to our shores because, after all they have been through, don't they deserve that which we have enjoyed our entire lives?

From Goodes to Great

There are great players in very team. There are great leaders at every club. There are great supporters and great journalists and great triumphs of spirit. Sport, in and of itself, can be the greatest thing in the world - both to play and to watch. Regardless of your level, there is greatness to be found.

Sometimes the greatest players find themselves facing a barrage of unwarranted abuse. This year saw the culmination of an ongoing torrent of abuse levelled at one of the greatest AFL players of all time. People often think that bullying only happens in the school yard, or in corporate settings. This simply isn't true, and it affects people in very different ways.

This campaign of abuse began in 2013 with prominent Sydney Swans player, Adam Goodes, being abused by an opposition supporter. Many believed that his reaction was an overreaction. I do not. Many said that because she was 13, the opposition supporter didn't understand that it was racism to call an aboriginal an ape. Many said that he should not have pointed her out as he did. Many said he was arrogant, attention seeking and racist himself.

From this point on, Goodes was boo'd. At first, it was a minority of the opposition. By mid-season 2015, it was every team, every game, every time he touched the ball. While every excuse under the sun was raised as to why it was ok to boo a star of the game, the simple fact remained that at its root was racism, and that by continuing to boo for whatever other reason they were giving the racist somewhere to hide.

If we look at Goodes' achievements, they tell of a player who is not only good at what he does but greatly admired as well:

2003 and 2006 Brownlow Medalist (AFLs Best and Fairest), has also polled well in 5 other years, and polled votes every year bar one from 2001 through to 2015. This statistic seems to fly in the face of him being a dirty player who staged for free kicks, as many of us detractors would have you believe.

2005 and 2012 Premiership Player, as well as playing in every finals campaign with his team. This contradicts those people who claim he was having difficulty finding form.

2014 Australian of the Year. This award, one of the highest in the country, was awarded to him for his work in fighting racism and for the work he had done within the indigenous community to promote health and education for those in remote areas, or at a socio-economic disadvantage.

During Goodes' time as Australian of the Year he came under fire from the racist quarter who were confronted by their own intolerance. He called them out over the atrocious behaviour suffered by the indigenous population since the white settlement. He called them out over the ongoing abuse and discrimination faced by modern aboriginal people. He called them out over their bigotry. And so did the fans, especially after he chose to perform a dance he had been taught during the round specifically to celebrate indigenous culture.

It is this sort of misplaced vitriol that so many indigenous people must put up with. The "I'm not racist but ..." crowd all get their nickers in a twist because someone is proud AND outspoken about their heritage. It is the "uppity black man" who should pipe down and let the people who know nothing about aboriginal culture sort out the problems. It is the "loud and proud" indigenous people who should stop making such a fuss because white people don't carry on when they are called names. It is these same people who say, "Well, I don't boo Lewis Jetta so how can it be racist?"

Well, let me lay it out for you, very clearly:

- if you boo an black player for staging, but not any other player, it's probably racist.

- if you use the colour of someone's skin as an insult, it's definitely racist.

- if you object to black players bring proud of their heritage, it sounds like you're racist.

- if you continue to boo a player despite being told it's racist, my guess is you're racist.

This whole series of incidents surrounding Adam Goodes has shown just how far we, as a nation, have yet to go when it comes to indigenous affairs and racism generally. What it has also shown is that Adam is not just a great player, but a man of great integrity, great courage, great character and great humility.

Can we afford to be so ignorant that we would allow the racist minority to hold the cards? Can we not make out country as great as this one man, who has consistently shown a wisdom beyond his years and a maturity some never achieve? Can we instead teach our children, like the ones who were part of the wonderful painting below, that race is irrelevant in determining the worth of a person? Can we be proud Australians all together, regardless of colour or creed?

Australian Pride

Today is Australia Day. It's a day which is all-encompassing and dividing. It is a day of mateship and of racial tension. The duality of this day is a microcosm of Australia as a nation. On the surface, there is a welcome that speaks of friendly locals, fun things to do, cute animals and stunning landscapes. Underneath, however, there is a decidedly nasty current of casual racism.

But I am not going to write about that. I am not sweeping it under the rug, it is simply not something that I could do justice to in a single piece, in a single sitting. What I am going to write about is that which makes me proud to be an Australian and for which all Australians should be proud, regardless of their roots.

I am proud of my democratic right to voice an opinion. It may not be the same opinion as yours. It may not be the same as my neighbours, or your neighbours, or the local shop keepers, or the farmer in the bush, or the yuppie in the beachside café. My opinion is just as valid as anyone elses and I have the right to voice my opinion, excepting slanderous, defamatory or libellous utterances.

I am proud of the police service which enable me to live in relative safety. I can walk down the street without fear. I trust in the emergency services should I find myself in difficulties. I am proud of their efforts in keeping me safe, in their efforts as part of peace keeping forces around the world, and in their efforts to maintain law and order.

I am proud of our education system in which I could, if I wanted it badly enough and worked hard enough, be anything that took my fancy. Our public and private school provide an education which would be the envy of many nations around the world, our universities are held in high esteem. No matter what profession you might choose to pursue, there are opportunities to do so.

I am proud of the immigrants that mean I can eat food from every nation in the world without having to leave the city that I love. I can thank those who left their homelands to make new homes in my homeland for the variety of cuisines in the local shops, from Chinese to Mexican, Italian to Thai, African to Greek. There is no sense of losing my identity because of their arrival, in fact, it enriches my life.

I am proud of my sporting achievements and the achievements of my fellow countrymen. Whether it is in their suburban club team or representing their country, there is much to be proud of in Australian sport. Their is a perception of Australia as a nation obsessed with sport and this is true to a certain extent. It brings us together like little else in the world. The love of a particular sport can bring together those of different backgrounds and cultures. For the majority of Australians, the friendly rivalry of sport is something which forges bonds rather than creating divides.

I am proud of our acceptance, in literary, musical and artistic terms, of difference and multiculturalism and the lack of censorship in what can be a highly contentious and controversial industry. It doesn't matter if I like a piece, or if I am offended by a piece, the fact that I live in Australia means that I have every right to not like it, or be offended by it, and that it has every right to exist.

I am proud of my country, with its sweeping coasts, its intricate coral reefs, its vast deserts and its dense rainforests. This land which I call home brings me such joy, it inspires me to share it with the world and it envelops me every day. There is nothing in this world quite like home. I may travel around the world, to places on natural beauty, to remote lands, to man made wonders, but I will always come home, to my little place in the sun; and if I go nowhere else in the world, the wonders of the world are in my own backyard for all the world to visit.

But mostly I am proud of my people. Some trace themselves back to the very beginning of this nation, coming here in canoes, living off the land, and telling stories from the dream time. Some trace themselves to the first white settlers in fleets of tall ships, whether convicts, soldiers or free settlers, they built a modern nation in the shadow of their motherland. Some came in leaky boats, fleeing war ravaged nations with little more than the clothes on their backs. And some simply flew, wanting a better life for themselves and their future generations. These are all my people. They are my family, my friends and my neighbours. They are my community and my nation. They are my people and I am proud.

Loss and Mourning – a universal constant

I am not a grief counsellor. I am not an expert in loss. I have little first hand knowledge of mourning anyone. Why, you might ask, am I writing this piece about loss and mourning? Well, it seems that the whole world has been gripped by the unthinkable. Sudden, untold grief has poured over us as we hear story after story of innocent lives, many of them children, who have had their lives ripped away from them by one or many people who feel they have the right to terrorise and to victimise.

This piece began on December 15^th when an armed man held 17 people hostage in a café in Sydney. This is my city and I love my city, but this is not how I want the world to see my city. Unfortunately, this is now part of the fabric of my city, part of the tragic underbelly of the city I love. In the end, 2 innocent lives were lost. Two beautiful, innocent people are now mourned by an entire city.

Photo courtesy of abc.net.au

A floral tribute has sprawled across Martin Place near to where the siege took place. It is the visual expression of a city stuck by grief. For many it is the only way they can display their sense of loss and dismay. The flowers will eventually give way to a more permanent memorial but the spontaneous, beautiful, peaceful tribute that spreads across the ground is somehow the perfect way for my city to define its overwhelming sense of loss and mourning this Christmas.

Just when we, as a city, were beginning to get our collective heads around what had happened in the heart of our financial district, news began to filter through of a far worse loss. In Nigeria, a militant group known as Boko Haram stormed a village, taking over 200 residents hostage and killing over 30.

This was the same group that kidnapped 200 schoolgirls earlier in the year who are yet to be found and presumed dead. The utter confusion surround events such as this is highlighted by the fluctuating numbers surrounding not only how many are being held, but how many have lost their lives as well. How do you mourn an indeterminate number of people?

Photo courtesy of bbc.com

As the number increases over the days, then subsides, then rises again, what do we do with our grief? Does it turn to frustration? Should we be ashamed of our shifting view of the unfolding tragedy? How do we temper our grief with the need to carry on with our own lives? Is our grief limited by distance or sheer size of the group?

Sometime I feel we mourn the one more so that we mourn the many. It can be hard to know how to grieve for a large group and when we were faced with another massacre, this time in Pakistan, it felt like the underling feeling, while still a terrible sense of loss, was “not again”. It was a tragedy that would grip the hearts and minds of every parent, every educator, every citizen with an ounce of compassion, but maybe due to the distance or the overwhelming magnitude of the loss, the mourning took on a surreal tinge.

A normal school day for military families ended in bloodshed when Taliban fighters entered the school and held over 500 people, the majority being children, hostage. Students and teachers lost their lives in the brutal attack that can only be described as a massacre. Reports came through of children witnessing their classmates being executed, of playing dead to avoid the fate they had seen befall so many others and of families devastated.

Photo courtesy of bbc.com

One wonders how a town recovers from a tragedy such as this. Are they united in their grief or does it tear them apart? I cannot begin to imagine how I would feel if over 100 people from my community were taken from me in such horrific circumstances. Even as I write this, thousands of kilometres away, I am fighting back the tears. I did not know any of those who lost their lives, I have never experienced anything remotely as heartbreaking as that which they are going through right now, yet I feel the burden of their grief and I mourn with them as only I can, by sharing their story.

And now, as I sit here writing, the Australian community is trying to understand yet another senseless tragedy. The loss of 8 children in Cairns, possibly at the hand of the mother of some them, is unfathomable. We not only feel the loss as a country, but we grieve on behalf of the brother that found them. We grieve on behalf on the relatives that must someone come to terms with that fact that not only have they lost 8 young members of the family, but that a member of the family may be responsible.

Photo courtesy of abc.net.au

Coupled with the grief are a sense of helplessness and overwhelming anger. In all cases, we are unsure as to how best to help, how best to show our support for those who are left, how best to grieve. We sometimes feel uneasy in our grief, as if we don’t have a right to grieve. We did not know these people, we did know anyone connected to these people, what right do we have to grieve for these people?

Of course, we have every right. It is an expression of our compassion or sympathy or empathy, or all of the above. It is a stand against the crimes that have been committed, a public outpouring of the grief and anger which demonstrates, in the most raw of manners, that we will not let the tragedy be for nought. Their deaths mean something, not just to those who knew them, but to a city, a country, maybe even the entire planet. They will not only serve the living as a reminder of what terrible atrocities have happened, but of what courage humanity is capable of, what generosity of spirit, what selflessness and what this season means regardless of colour, creed, culture or religion.

If you are grieving, mourning the loss of a loved one, then allow it to happen. There is no end point to grief. It is something that we carry with us always and use always as we traverse this path we call life. The pain may lesson, the day-to-day mundane activities may once again take the foremost place in our mind, but our grief allows us to remember, to show compassion towards those that are suffering, to sympathise with anothers loss and to empathise with those whose loss may be so much greater than our own.

Tonight, I will hug my son a little tighter, give him an extra kiss goodnight, and be thankful that I am not faced with the loss of someone close to me in such tragic circumstances as those we have seen this week. My heart goes out to those affected by recent events and, though my grief pales into insignificance beside theirs, I feel their pain and hope they can find peace in their heart in time.

Not fighting the tears ... ANZAC Day 2013

 

ANZAC Day. For any Australian it conjures up images of mud-stained diggers, slouch hats and Gallipoli, but it is so much more than those fragmented images. I'm not sure that there are any words or images which can truly do justice to what this day means not only to our country as a whole but to every single individual citizen who stands shoulder to shoulder with their fellow man to remember the times of hardship that gave us the freedoms we now enjoy.

 

 

ANZAC Day is celebrated on April 25th, the anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli in 1915.

 

Nearly 9,000 Australians and nearly 3,000 New Zealanders lost their lives in the campaign that lasted until 9th January, 1916.

 

A further 24,000 combined ANZAC troops were injured.

 

In population of approximately only 6,000,000 people in both Australia and New Zealand, 36,000 casualties of war is a significant number in a campaign that lasted less than a year.

 

In total over 60,000 Australian troops lost their lives during World War I.

Nearly 40,000 were lost in World War II.

Since then a further 2,000 troops have given their lives.

 

ANZAC Day commemorates not only those who died during that fateful campaign in Gallipoli. It commemorates all casualties of war. It commemorates all who have served; it commemorates all who currently serve; and it commemorates all who will serve.

 

 

"This is not a day of celebration but of national memory. It is a day when we learn, and learn again, of the horror of purposeless war. It is a day for looking after your mates, cherishing your home, your neighbourhood and family ... It's a day for realising how rare this wonderful country of ours is and how precious it is." Bob Carr, Minister for Foreign Affairs (2012 - date)

 

Australia has, time and time again, stood taller than statistics say it should have been able to. It has sacrificed more than it should ever have to. More families have lost sons and daughters than should need to. More brave soldiers have returned broken by things they should never have to see or experience.

 

The liberties we enjoy, the freedoms we all too often take for granted, are gifted us by the monumental sacrifices of those who have gone before us. Troops far outnumbered, holding the line. Fighter pilots reaching their targets against tremendous odds. Naval commanders outmanoeuvring far superior fleets. Today we thank those mates and neighbours who braved the elements, those family and strangers who were courageous under fire; those leaders who made those impossible decisions that none of us should ever have to make.

 

 

"The ANZAC spirit runs through todays Australians. We see it, of course, in our forces. But we also see it, every day, in our rural, remote and urban communities. Australians are coming together to mark ANZAC Day, to honour the loss of precious life, to ponder the gift of service." Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of Australia (2008 - date)

 

The ANZAC spirit is an oft talked about feature of what it means to be Australian. it encompasses the battle-worthy qualities of endurance and courage as well as those qualities needed in order to survive not just physically but mentally, including ingenuity, good humour, larrikinism, and mateship. These qualities are not reserved for that minority who take up arms in order that the majority need not. These qualities are within every single Australian.

 

Every day, Australians band together to help those who are less fortunate, those who have experienced hardship, those who are struggling for whatever reason. Every day, we see those efforts and rarely are they rewarded but none are done for reward, or even recognition. Those efforts are made because it is what is right. It is what should be done. It is what needs to be done.

 

 

As I have written this piece, I have struggled with what words to use, what images to conjure. There are many traditional images I have used throughout this post - the rising sun, red poppies, the war memorial, the Australian flag, the grave of the unknown soldier - but perhaps the most powerful image I could ever leave you with is not something I can see. It is that which your own mind brings forward. It is that which is in your heart and in your soul. It is that which is stronger than any picture on any screen, and more relevant and more personal than any blog entry I could write.

 

I have shed more than a few tears as the words have flown but more tears will fall as I write the closing lines. It is the Ode of Remembrance, taken from Laurence Binyon's poem, "For the Fallen".

 

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Lest we forget.

Thanksgiving Australian Style

Ok, so we don’t actually do Thanksgiving in Australia, nor would I want to start another tradition for the commercial sector to ruin, though I do like the idea of occasionally sitting back and thinking (and I mean really thinking) about what you are thankful for.

There’s lots to be thankful for in this life: there’s the big things (like family, friends, a home, a job) and there’s the little things (like the weather being co-operative, a flower blooming or a much wanted item going on sale just when you were about to give up on getting it). What I want to do is take a look at some of the things I am thankful for and why I am thankful for them.

1. I am thankful to be alive.

So many times, especially when I was younger, I thought about not being alive and how I would go about making that happen. I am thankful I never went through with it. I am thankful that I saw the worth in myself that others didn’t see. I am thankful that I survived.

2. I am thankful for my son.

Infuriating though he can sometimes be I am forever thankful that I have him, that he is happy and healthy, and that he is so full of life. I am thankful that I decided to keep him when I could have either terminated or given him up for adoption. I am thankful that, no matter what, I will always be his mother and he will always be my baby, no matter how old he gets,

3. I am thankful for my job.

I may complain bitterly about it at times, may rage at the unfathomable decisions made by the higher ups, may get in trouble for expressing that rage, but, in the end, I do love my job. I am thankful for the people it allows me to meet. I am thankful for the opportunities it presents to me. I am thankful for the colleagues I have. I am thankful for the understanding it provides me when I call in sick or have to take time off to be a mum. I am also thankful for the pay it gives me, that buys my food and lets me take holidays.

4. I am thankful for my friends.

They may live far and wide and get consumed by their own lives at times but they are always a call, a text, an email or a FB message away when I need them. I am thankful that they tell me when I’m being an idiot (even if I don’t always listen) and I am thankful for their support. I am thankful for the diversity they exhibit in their humour, their jobs, their lifestyles, their sexuality and their beliefs.

5. I am thankful for my mother.

Not just because she’s my mother. She’s also my financial planner, my babysitter and my housekeeper. I’m not sure what I will do without her when she eventual steps off this mortal coil, but in the meantime I’m thankful everything she does.

6. I am thankful for the Australian education system.

It may not be the best in the world but I think it’s pretty good. It doesn’t matter how old you are or what your background is, if you want an education you can get one. It has provided me with not only 13 years of extremely inexpensive public education; it has provided me with 6 years of higher education, which I only pay back once my earnings reach a certain level. From these years of education, I have learned not only specific information, such as the equation for the circumference, but general knowledge, such a critical thinking. Without my education I would not be able to write this blog (I’ll leave it to you to decide whether that’s a good thing or not).

7. I am thankful for the freedoms I enjoy.

I live in a society that is relatively free from persecution. There will be closed-minded people, religious zealots, ignorant fools and all manner of other types of people who try to force others into their way of thinking. I am thankful that the State does not, on a whole, sanction their idiocy. I am free to think what I want, to believe what I want, to love who I want, to travel where I want. I am also thankful that those freedoms are being afforded to more and more of my fellow citizens as we move toward a truly equal society based on merit not on misconceptions.

8. I am thankful for today’s technology,

Without having to miss a beat, I can search for anything and everything online, from the mass-produced to the obscure and rare. I can connect with friends and family on the other side of the world instantly. I can store food for days, weeks, months without it going off. I can cook a meal (well, not me personally, other people can) without slaving over the stove all day, unless you really want to.

9. I am thankful for nature.

I am thankful for the birds that sing, the fish that swim, the clouds that float by, the waves that crash, the flowers that bloom, the wind that sighs, the cats that purr, the children that laugh, the rain that falls and the sun that shines. I am thankful for life on earth and my ability to experience it in all its wonders. That life gives me life. Its existence allows for my existence. I am thankful for nature in all its majesty.

10. I am thankful for my readers.

Few though you may be, without you I’d be talking to myself. I have always said I don’t write for anyone for myself and that is true, but it is always nice to know someone is casting a discerning eye over these random meanderings of mine and perhaps taking something from them that is more than a simple understanding of what has been written.

Happy Thanksgiving, America ... and everyone else as well

Be afraid, be very … cautious, repectful and diligent? The truth about Australia’s “deadly” wildlife.

I can just hear the announcement in some stereotypical American accent aboard the incoming flight. “Welcome to Australia. On disembarking from the plane, please be aware of the deadly creatures which inhabit this beautiful country. Protective bubbles are available from staff at the front of the plane. Should you choose not to purchase one of these lifesaving devices, the airline bears no repsonsibility for any spider or snake bite, stings by any marine creatures, shark or crocodile attacks or any other malady which may afflict you in your travels. Should you return alive we hope you’ll fly with us, PanicStriken Airways.”

It’s a wonder any tourists visit Australia at all with all the horrow stories they hear of death and serious injury suffered by the locals and visitors alike. Of course, the stories are usually hugely exaggerated, misrepresented or just plain baloney. You’re more likely to get hit by a car, struck by lightening or fall from a great height than die as a result of any of the creatures listed below.

The following is not meant to scare anyone. It is not filled with horror stories. It is a series of lists, containing creatures which should be avoided. It also provides some useful tips for helping you do just that. Let’s start off with the biggies:

Crocodiles

Crocodiles are something you’re most likely to see either in a zoo or a preserve in most of Australia. It’s only in the nothern states and, even then, the further south in those states you get (and the further inland) the fewer crocodiles you tend to find. There are two types of crocodile: saltwater and freshwater.

 

Freshwater Crocodile

In Australia we have Johnson’s Crocodile which lives predominantly in freshwater but can ventrue into saltwater. According to the Queensland Parks and Widlife Service “…there is no record of an unprovoked attack on any person by a freshwater crocodile.”

Saltwater Crocodile

We also have the Estuarine Crocodile which is of the salterwater variety and can grow up to 7m long. These can take down horses and cattle when fully grown and even though a human is the same size as the prey for crocodiles 3m and larger most attack occur because the victim did not follow rules and regulations surrounding entering known crocodile habitats.

The following advice, summarized from the Queensland State Government’s “croc-wise” guidelines (courtesy of www.divethereef.com), should be taken regardless of whether you are dealing with freshwater or saltwater crocodiles:

• Don’t swim where crocodiles live.
• Fish a few meters back from the edge of the water. Don’t stand on logs or branches over deep water. Crocodiles are ambush hunters, and able to lunge out of the water.
• Avoid activities near the water’s edge or on sloping banks. Do your dishes, clean fish, and do other activities away from the bank and off of boat ramps.
• When boating for fishing from a boat, don’t dangle arms and legs over the boat or into the water. If you fall out of a boat, get back in as soon as possible.
• Stay back from slide marks. Slide marks are bare smooth spots on banks of rivers, lagoons and wetlands: they are the spots where crocodiles habitually haul themselves on shore.
• Don’t provoke or interfere with crocodiles. This includes small hatchlings. While cute by reptilian standards, the little squeaky noise they make can often attract a very large mother, who is very capable of defending her offspring.
• Don’t feed crocodiles, either directly, or by leaving fish and food scraps on boat ramps or campsites. Habituating crocodiles to feeding near areas of human activities is a dangerous thing to do.
• Camp 2m above the high water mark and 50m from water's edge in crocodile country.
• Avoid livestock and wildlife drinking spots. Crocodiles are patient and learned hunters, they know these spots are likely places to find a meal.
• Be especially careful during the September to April breeding season, crocodiles are often more aggressive, territorial, and hungry during this time of the year.
• If camping at a site for a long time don’t form a pattern with your near-the-water activities. If you fish or take water from the river, don’t always do it at the same place at the same time. A crocodile can learn your pattern and arrange to “meet you” after figuring out where and when to next find you near the water’s edge.

Unless you’re a trained professional it’s best to stay well clear of any crocodile infested areas.

Sharks

Tiger Shark

Sharks have a pretty poor reputation. Especially following the movies “Jaws”, “Open Water” and “Deep Blue Sea” to name a few. They are seen as man eaters who actively prey on humans, especially if you happen to be a surfer. This is not the case. Yes, there are shark attacks in Australian waters. Yes, people do die as a result of their injuries. No, the locals are not afraid to go into the water because they know what to expect. In fact, many survivors are very much against the hunting down and killing of the shark that attacked them for one reason: they were in the shark’s environment and the shark behaved as it naturally would, there was no malice-afore-thought.



Great White Shark

There are some easy and commonsense precautions to take that can help reduce the risk of a shark attack. This risk minimisation advice is reproduced from the Australian Shark Attack File:

·         Do not swim, dive or surf where dangerous sharks are known to congregate.

·         Always swim, dive or surf with other people.

·         Do not swim in dirty or turbid water.

·         Avoid swimming well offshore, near deep channels, at river mouths or along drop-offs to deeper water.

·         If schooling fish start to behave erratically or congregate in large numbers, leave the water.

·         Do not swim with pets and domestic animals.

·         Look carefully before jumping into the water from a boat or wharf.

·         If possible do not swim a dusk or at night.

·         Do not swim near people fishing or spear fishing.

·         If a shark is sighted in the area leave the water as quickly and calmly as possible.



Bull Shark

The following is a list of the most common sharks found in Australian waters. There are, however, over 300 species of shark of which over 150 visit Australian waters throughout the year. The ones in bold are considered dangerous to humans and/or have a history of attacks on humans. As you can see, considering the numbers of shark species, the ones that do occassionally attack humans are few.

• Great White (found in water between 12 and 24 degrees, esp. NSW and SA; can grow up to 6m in length)
• Tiger Shark (found in most Australian waters, except those of SA, VIC and TAS; can grow up to 5.5m in length)
• Bull Shark (found in most Australian waters, except those of SA, VIC and TAS; can grown up to 3.5m in length)
• Oceanic Whitetip (found in most Australian waters, except those of SA, VIC and TAS; can grow up to 4m in length)
• Shortfin Mako; Longfin Mako
• Thresher; Pelagic Thresher; Bigeye Thresher
• Lemon Shark
• Blacktip Shark
• Silky Shark
• Gray Reef Shark
• Great Hammerhead; Scallopped Hammerhead; Smooth Hammerhead
• Broadnose Sevengill; Sharpnose Sevengill
• Bluntnose Sixgill; Bigeye Sixgill
• Grey Nurse
• Sand Tiger Shark
• Banded Wobbegong; Ornate Wobbegong; Spotted Wobbegong
• Draughtboard Shark
• Saddled Swellshark; Whitefin Swellshark
• Port Jackson Shark
• Crested Hornshark
• Southern Sawshark; Common Sawshark
• Spinner Shark
• Bronze Whaler; Dusky Whaler
• Leopard Shark
• Whale Shark
• Sandbar Shark
• Bignose Shark
• Blue Shark
• Sliteye Shark
• Weasel Shark
• Gummy Shark
• Pencil Shark
• School Shark
• Porbeagle Shark
• Eastern Angleshark; Australian Angleshark

Oceanic Whitetip Shark

Sharks should be given the respect they deserve but should not be hunted like common criminals. There are safe methods for controlling shark behaviour near popular swimming beaches and most patrolled beaches where shark sightings have occurred will have some sort of alarm system to warn everyone to get out of the water until the danger has passed. If a lifeguard tells you to get out of the water, listen to them, they know what they’re talking about … and you’ll have a cool story to tell your mates when you get home about how you were “swimming with sharks”. The truth is that Australia has very few fatal shark attacks annually (1 or 2 per year on average) and perhaps a dozen non-fatal attacks per annum.

Other Sea Critters

The waters around Australia do contain some of the most venomous creatures in the world. They are regarded as very dangerous but if you are aware of what you are looking for, where you can find it and the precautions you can take to avoid it, then the Australian beach lifestyle is one of the best to be found anywhere.

There are many species of Box Jellfish but it is the species Chironex fleckeri that is the most dangerous (and also the largest) and the one that everyone fears. They can grow up to 30cm in diameter at the bell and their tentacles can reach lengths of up to 3m. They can also move up to 2m per second (3-4 knots). There have been 63 known deaths in Australia due to this species of Box Jellyfish but this is over the space of approximately 130 years, making the annual rate 1 or 2 deaths. The sting has a cardiotoxic, neurotoxic and dermtonecrotic effect. This means it affects the heart, nerves and skin. Victims can die from shock, cardiac arrest or secondary infections due to the necrotic effects. If stung, victims should seek immediate and urgent medical attention, usually the lifeguard on duty will be your first port of call, they will have a stings first aid kit and will call the ambulance if necessary, which will bring the antivenom. Box Jellyfish can be found in the waters of Northern Austalia from Gladstone, QLD to Broome, WA (except on the Great Barrier Reef).



Box Jellyfish

There is another species of Box Jellyfish. It is about the size of your thumbnail but packs one hell of a punch. It is known as the Irukandji. The pain from this little critter is said to be excutiating and a quarter of all those stung require hospitalization. Symptoms may include lower back pain, muscle cramps, sweating, nausea, vomiting, restlessness, anxiety and palpitations. In the most severe cases people developed pulmonary oedema (water in the lungs), hypertension and toxic heart failure. There are two known deaths from this creature. They are found in the same waters as their larger cousin but deeper, making it less likely that snorkellers will come into contact but more likely that divers will.



Irukandji

I know there are Blue Ring Octopus living in the rocks and rock pools at my local beach. I’ve seen a couple. They are the smaller of the two varieties, a couple of inches fully outstretched, and nestled into the rock so you’d hardly know they were there. They are extremely venemous with enough poison within them to kill easily. Their beak can piece through a wet suit and though the bite iself may be relatively painless the resulting envenomation can be deadly. It does however give you warning of it’s danger. The bright, electric-blue rings are only displayed when the octopus feels threatened and most attack only when picked up, stood on or otherwise provoked. If stung, seek immediate and urgent medical attention from trained professionals. The venom will kill in minutes and there is no known antidote. Blue Ring Octopus are widely distributed being found in all Australian waters.



Blue Ring Octopus

Stone Fish are arguably the most venomous fish in the world and are reported to have killed many people, usually divers and swimmers who have accidently trodden on their spines, which inject a toxin into the victim. While they are popular aquarium fish they should be handled with extreme care as anyone of it’s thriteen spines can deliver enough toxin to kill an average human within two hours unless medical treatment is sought and the pain is said to be such that victims have asked that their limb be amputated rather than put up with the pain. The good news is that there is an antivenom. Stone fish can be found on coral reefs, around dull coloured plants, near and about rocks, or can be found dormant in the mud or sand, and are extremely adept at camoflage. It is advised that when walking on coral or submerged rocks to wear joggers as this may restict the spines entry into the foot. They are found in all northern Australian waters.



Stonefish

Although Cone Shellfish only grow, on average, to 10cm (with the largest recorded being 20cm) they pack one hell of a punch. They have been labelled one of the most dangerous creatures in Australian waters. Inside their mouth they have 20-30 hollow darts, each filled with a poison that attacks the central nervous system, in turn causing paralysis, nausea, dizziness, weakness of voluntary and involuntary muscle movement and eventually death if left untreated. These darts, in the larger species, are capable of piercing not only human skin but wetsuits and gloves. There is no antivenom and, though the creature is beautiful, please look but do not touch. If stung, seek immediate and urgent medical treatment. Cone Shellfish can be found in all northern Australian waters.



Cone Shellfish

Snakes



Beaked Sea Snake

Australia has the dubious distinction of being home to many of the most venomous snakes in the world. Depending on which report you read this ranges from 6 to 9 of the top 10. Whichever way you look at it, we have some deadly snakes slithering about the place.

Tiger Snake

The most dangerous snake I have ever encountered is the red-bellied black (it doesn’t even rate a mention in the top ten of Australia’s most venomous snakes) and that was while bushwalking. Mostly, that’s where you’ll find the snakes: either in the bush or in the suburbs closest to the bush. The best thing to do if you see a snake is to avoid it.

Coastal Taipan

Regardless of whether you think you can identify it, any snake bite is going to be painful, even without envenomation. Below is a list of snakes found in Australia which are commonly regarded as the top 10 most dangerous to humans due to envenomation. The number in brackets is their LD50 rating. This is the amount of venom that a snake would need to cause death. The lower the rating the less venom the snake needs to kill, ie. the more deadly it is.



Black Tiger Snake

• Gwardir/Western Brown Snake (0.473) – found in WA, NT, SA, most of QLD, predominantly western NSW
• Death Adder (0.400) – found along most of the eastern and southern coastal areas.


Gwardir

• Spotted Brown Snake (0.360) – found in central QLD and central NT
• Black Tiger Snake, Chappel Island ssp (0.194-0.338) – found on Chappel Island

Brown Spotted Snake

• Beaked Sea Snake (0.164) – found along the WA, NT, QLD, NSW coastline
• Black Tiger Snake (0.131) – found in TAS, southern WA and isolated patches of SA

Eastern Brown Snake

• Tiger Snake (0.118) – found in VIC, southern and eastern NSW, south-east QLD

  Inland Taipan

• Eastern Brown Snake (0.053) – found in QLD, NSW, VIC, southern SA and isolated patches of NT


• Inland Taipan (0.025) – found in central Australia (predominantly SA and QLD)


• Coastal Taipan (0.099) – found in eastern QLD, northern NT and northern WA

Death Adder

Spiders



Black House Spider

While Australian spiders have a reputation for being highly venemous and extremely dangerous, there are few cases of bites causing death. For those spiders which can inflict potentially life threatening envenomation, if treatment is sought promptly then the victim is left with a painful wound but otherwise unharmed. Generally the deaths caused by spider bites in Australia are due to lack of treatment or allergic reaction to the venom, rather than the venom itself. The spiders listed below should be avoided as they are the most likely to cause severe bites, however, being vigilant when in their natural habitat should ensure that you and the spiders can co-exist.



Funnel Web Spider

• Red-Back Spider – distribution is Australia-wide
• Funnel Web Spider – distribution is limited mainly to east coast to mid-QLD

White Tail Spider

• Mouse Spider – distribution is limited to mainland Australia
• White-Tailed Spider – distribution is Australia-wide

Wolf Spider

• Black House Spider – distribution is Australia-wide
• Wolf Spider – distribution is Australia-wide

Mouse Spider

For a more deatiled pictorial overview of the whole range of Australian spiders (of which there are many!) please visit the following site:

http://ednieuw.home.xs4all.nl/australian/Spidaus.html

Redback Spider

Other Less Obvious Creatures

While the Platypus might look harmless as it swims around the river bed looking for food, don’t be tempted to pick it up and give it a cuddle. The males of this shy species posses ankles spurs which can pierce the skin. This in itself should be deterent enough but if you should be misfortunate enough to pick one up you may well be delivered a dose of venom that, while not lethal to humans, is painful enough as to incapacitate. The distribution of this unique animal is limited to the east coast of the mainland and Tasmania.



Platypus

There are 3 species of Wombat: the common wombat which is found predominantly down the east coast of southern Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, as well as tasmania and a small section of South Australia; the southern hairy-nosed wombat which is found along the coast of the Great Australian Bite; and the norther hairy-nosed wombat which is only found in one small section of central Queensland. None of these species is vicious. They don’t have poisoned claws or venemous saliva. They are just big lumps of relatively slow-moving meat. The reason they are dangerous to humans is that when you hit one in your car, your car may come off second best, though this is so rare it almost comes under the urban myth umbrella. There have been recorded cases of common wombats (the largest of the 3 on average) being 130cm long and weighing 45kg. At this size it is likely that they will do serious damage to your car, though the wombat will probably also be injured. You should take care when driving in known wombat areas, especially at night, so as to avoid an accident, either through impact with one or by swerving to avoid one.

Common Wombat

Likewise, the Kangaroo is liable to do a lot of damage to your car if you hit one. Different species of Kangaroo (and their cousins the Wallaby, Wallaroo, Pademelon, Tree Kangaroo, Forest Wallaby, Rat Kangaroo, Potoroo and Bettong) can be found in almost every corner of Australia, though different species prefer different habitats. The one that is going to do the most damage to your car is the Red Kangaroo, which lives in the interior of Australia. Growing up to a massive 2m tall and weighing up to 90kg, they can reach speeds of 60kph (40mph). If that hits your little hatchback, say goodbye to your hatchback because it’s going to be a write off. Even impact with an Eastern Grey Kangaroo (180cm, 60kg, 50kph/30mph) will do some serious damage.

Grey Kangaroo

You may well have also heard of the boxing kangaroo. It has been adopted as an unofficial mascot for international sporting teams from Australia. While this image, of the kangaroo wearing boxing gloves is humorous, real kangaroos “box” with their front and hind legs. While the front legs are relatively harmless, there being more danger of a scratch from their claws, the hind legs can break ribs and disembowel an opponent, whether that be another kangaroo, a predator, or a human who has ventured to near.



Boxing Kangaroo Flag

My suggestion when dealing with wild kangaroos is this: stay at a safe distance, preferably in your car. Remember, if a kangaroo feels threatened in can put on a great amount of speed and can leap fences up to 3m tall, as well as covering a distance of up to 8-9m along the ground in a single bound. If you want an up close and personal experience with a Kangaroo, visit a wildlife sanctuary or zoo which offers interactive enclosures and feeding opportunities. The Kangaroos housed there are usually either rescued as joeys or born in captivity and have been aclimbatized to having humans in close proximity.



Red Kangaroo

The Dingo is the last of the creatures I am going to write about. It is fairly safe to say that since the Azaria Chamberlain case 1980 (incidentally the year I was born) Dingos have had a fairly bad rap overseas. Locally, most people thought her mother had done it and just blamed the dingo. Linda (the mother) was convicted of the crime and spent four years in jail. It wasn’t until the baby’s jacket was found in a dingo den that Linda was found not guilty. There is still doubt over this case but there is no doubt over two other attacks which both happened in 2001 and both involved children, one of which was fatal.

Dingo

It has to be remembered that dingoes are wild animals. They may look like domesticated dogs but they are not domesticated and are, in fact, their own subspecies (Canis lupis dingo) separate from domestic dogs (Canis lupis familiaris). Some dingoes have been domesticated by aboriginal people and some farmers, but generally, dingoes are still relatively wild, with the encroachment of humans into their territory only familarising them with humans not domesticating them. Dingoes are distributed widely across northern, northwest, and central Australia. They are rare in the south and northeast of Australia and possibly extinct in the southeast and southwest (occassional sightings are made, though these may be staying in from other parts of the country). There are plenty of signs in areas where dingoes are known to be present, advising people to keep close to their children (as they are the ones more likely to be attacked), and asking people not to feed the wild populations of dingoes and to keep their food and rubbish locked up as it encourages dingoes to come into camp sites to forage if it is left out. It is thought that many attacks are due to the dingoes regarding people as competition for “their” food.

Like bears and wolves in other countries, Dingoes should be treated with respect and not antagonised as they are an apex predator. They might look like your dog at home and you might want to go up and pat one but this is actively discouraged. If you want to pat a dingo there are plenty of wildlife sanctuaries and zoos around the country with this facility.

In Conclusion …

Don’t let the fear of being killed by one of our animals deter you from visiting our beautiful country. Other countries have many of their own “deadly” creatures. If you worried about what might get you all the time, you’d never leave your house. Remember, statistically, you’re more likely to be struck by lightening than die from any of the creatures listed above. And the most dangerous creature on the planet is also the one you’re going to meet wherever you go in the world … homo sapiens.