194601
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Australia is scarcely a land of tall mountains and jungle forests. Right at our back door the rolling plains run out towards the Darling. Very soon the tall gums give way to stunted mallee, or deep grey-green of cypress pine, the scraggy, bushy " | Australia is scarcely a land of tall mountains and jungle forests. Right at our back door the rolling plains run out towards the Darling. Very soon the tall gums give way to stunted mallee, or deep grey-green of cypress pine, the scraggy, bushy " | ||
- | It was dark, very dark when the Silver City Comet coughed into Broken Hill's disreputable railway station. When morning came, after a brief rest snatched in the famous Sturt Park, a new world was before us. This is a trtly remarkable city for such absolute isolation. | + | It was dark, very dark when the Silver City Comet coughed into Broken Hill's disreputable railway station. When morning came, after a brief rest snatched in the famous Sturt Park, a new world was before us. This is a truly remarkable city for such absolute isolation. |
- | Imagine our oomplete | + | Imagine our complete |
- | Do you realise the height of the Barrier Ranges? Broken Hill itself is 1,000 feet above sea level. Along the coast that would mean gurgling creeks, perhaps rain forests at a cliif edge but I guess it was long before the days when the amoeba crawled amongst the " | + | Do you realise the height of the Barrier Ranges? Broken Hill itself is 1,000 feet above sea level. Along the coast that would mean gurgling creeks, perhaps rain forests at a cliff edge but I guess it was long before the days when the amoeba crawled amongst the " |
If one goes far enough West from "the Hill", one literally drops off the edge of the range onto the Mundi Mundi Plains. Imagine our feeling of amazement when, following a road through rolling hills clothed scantily in hungry mulga and " | If one goes far enough West from "the Hill", one literally drops off the edge of the range onto the Mundi Mundi Plains. Imagine our feeling of amazement when, following a road through rolling hills clothed scantily in hungry mulga and " | ||
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In Silverton there is only one centre of activity, the General Store and Post Office, boasting as its headquarters a worn-out wood shed and a semi-collapsible weatherboard shack. Yet this is a town which once had a town clerk and a mayor but that was before Mr. Rash cracked the crown of Broken Hill less than eighteen miles away. | In Silverton there is only one centre of activity, the General Store and Post Office, boasting as its headquarters a worn-out wood shed and a semi-collapsible weatherboard shack. Yet this is a town which once had a town clerk and a mayor but that was before Mr. Rash cracked the crown of Broken Hill less than eighteen miles away. | ||
- | A narrow-guage tramway runs through Silverton from Broken Hill to Cockburn on the South Atistralian | + | A narrow-guage tramway runs through Silverton from Broken Hill to Cockburn on the South Australian |
To sit in one of the dog-box carriages whilst the locomotive sped up the incline of 200 in one at 10 miles per hour was worth the excessive charge for these same rails had carried fabulous wealth from the bowels of the earth to the teeming millions - the most extraordinary deposit of silver-lead-zinc in the world saw the light through the enterprise of the Silverton Tramway Company, incorporated in South Australia in nineteen hundred and something. | To sit in one of the dog-box carriages whilst the locomotive sped up the incline of 200 in one at 10 miles per hour was worth the excessive charge for these same rails had carried fabulous wealth from the bowels of the earth to the teeming millions - the most extraordinary deposit of silver-lead-zinc in the world saw the light through the enterprise of the Silverton Tramway Company, incorporated in South Australia in nineteen hundred and something. | ||
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We made the best of our stay in bordertown - what a desolate [illegible]. By zig-zagging down the fence line (the fence had long since disappeared) we are now able to say that we have been in and out of South Australia eighteen times. | We made the best of our stay in bordertown - what a desolate [illegible]. By zig-zagging down the fence line (the fence had long since disappeared) we are now able to say that we have been in and out of South Australia eighteen times. | ||
- | The last few days we spent on the Darling River at Menindee. It's a sleepy town, Menindee! When Burke told Wills to book up the team at the local drinking house, it was little different from what it is today - indeed the grandson of the original owner now owns that hotel in Menindie. True, when the railway came through on its way to "the Hill" the town tended to shift from around the original punt crossing of the river to the new railway-cum-road bridge; but the old shacks are still there, chewed by the white ants and gnawed by the slowly passing years. If some one does not wake up soon, the sand dunes will finish off the job and smother the whole town in its final shroud. | + | The last few days we spent on the Darling River at Menindee. It's a sleepy town, Menindee! When Burke told Wills to book up the team at the local drinking house, it was little different from what it is today - indeed the grandson of the original owner now owns that hotel in Menindee. True, when the railway came through on its way to "the Hill" the town tended to shift from around the original punt crossing of the river to the new railway-cum-road bridge; but the old shacks are still there, chewed by the white ants and gnawed by the slowly passing years. If some one does not wake up soon, the sand dunes will finish off the job and smother the whole town in its final shroud. |
The few days under the Murray River Gums beside the swollen river ended too soon. These camps are ever so different from the usual walkers' | The few days under the Murray River Gums beside the swollen river ended too soon. These camps are ever so different from the usual walkers' | ||
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Pops was young and enthusiastic - " | Pops was young and enthusiastic - " | ||
- | One December Saturday afternoon last year we met at Hornsby with full packs and our bikes. We get out in a shower of rain but had scarcely gone three miles before we were sweltering in the sun, which continued to smile on us up and down all those hills before the Hawkesbury. It did not take long for us to spread out - Sally, of course, well in the lead, Betty and Peg not far behind. But our energy availed us nothing. On a rise outside Cowan a car shot past with two bikes on the ruunig | + | One December Saturday afternoon last year we met at Hornsby with full packs and our bikes. We get out in a shower of rain but had scarcely gone three miles before we were sweltering in the sun, which continued to smile on us up and down all those hills before the Hawkesbury. It did not take long for us to spread out - Sally, of course, well in the lead, Betty and Peg not far behind. But our energy availed us nothing. On a rise outside Cowan a car shot past with two bikes on the running |
Well,that was nice and the trip across on the ferry was very pleasant, but what a hill on the other side! Did Pops say cycling was better than walking? Cycling __is__ walking - mostly. | Well,that was nice and the trip across on the ferry was very pleasant, but what a hill on the other side! Did Pops say cycling was better than walking? Cycling __is__ walking - mostly. | ||
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"For good old-fashioned convention, give me Era", said the wise bird near the door. "To see Joan Savage slaving back and forwards with the water while Harry reclined on the grass, fair made me nostalgic for the cave-man days. But we did reward our women with an occasional bone or two but Harry sooled a tick onto his " | "For good old-fashioned convention, give me Era", said the wise bird near the door. "To see Joan Savage slaving back and forwards with the water while Harry reclined on the grass, fair made me nostalgic for the cave-man days. But we did reward our women with an occasional bone or two but Harry sooled a tick onto his " | ||
- | A little wren volunteered the information that Alan Hardy is out of the Army and back at work. When I asked the wren what it was tittering about, it said, "I was thinking of a funny story I heard about your " | + | A little wren volunteered the information that Alan Hardy is out of the Army and back at work. When I asked the wren what it was tittering about, it said, "I was thinking of a funny story I heard about your " |
I asked a coy but pretty bird why she was looking so disgusted. "Why wouldn' | I asked a coy but pretty bird why she was looking so disgusted. "Why wouldn' | ||
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What is wrong with our Walking Club? Nothing as far as I can see but this article would be silly if such an assumption were made. So here are my suggestions for renewing that interest in walking which some people think is the purpose for which the club was formed. Any originality is humbly disclaimed as a step in the right direction was made years ago at Kanangra and the surf club at Era has also shown the way. | What is wrong with our Walking Club? Nothing as far as I can see but this article would be silly if such an assumption were made. So here are my suggestions for renewing that interest in walking which some people think is the purpose for which the club was formed. Any originality is humbly disclaimed as a step in the right direction was made years ago at Kanangra and the surf club at Era has also shown the way. | ||
- | The suggestion is that a series of dancing floors be [illegible] the countryside. No further incentive to both young and old members would be required if it were known, for example, that the dancing floor at Kanangra Walls was in good condition so that the party doing the Gargerangs could indulge in a spot of dancing upon arriving there the first night. Think how hard it would be to restrain the members as they raced over the High and Mighty, Rip, Roar and Rumble, if they knew that a dancing floor existed on top of Cloudmaker. (Though, actually, that would be a silly locaton | + | The suggestion is that a series of dancing floors be [illegible] the countryside. No further incentive to both young and old members would be required if it were known, for example, that the dancing floor at Kanangra Walls was in good condition so that the party doing the Gargerangs could indulge in a spot of dancing upon arriving there the first night. Think how hard it would be to restrain the members as they raced over the High and Mighty, Rip, Roar and Rumble, if they knew that a dancing floor existed on top of Cloudmaker. (Though, actually, that would be a silly location |
For the scoffer who cynically asks "Where will you get the money for all this?" the answer is simple. Let the club erect, from the money subscribed to buy the Era land, a dancing floor at North North Era. By charging an entrance fee of a " | For the scoffer who cynically asks "Where will you get the money for all this?" the answer is simple. Let the club erect, from the money subscribed to buy the Era land, a dancing floor at North North Era. By charging an entrance fee of a " | ||
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(I have omitted the Kosciusko area pending negotiations with the Ski Council on a two-use floor - for dancing in Summer and skating in the Winter.) | (I have omitted the Kosciusko area pending negotiations with the Ski Council on a two-use floor - for dancing in Summer and skating in the Winter.) | ||
+ | =====Notes From The Federation Report For the Months Of November and December.===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Note the following dates and determine to be present: | ||
+ | |||
+ | - Bouddi Working Bee in May on the weekend nearest to the full moon (see Marie Byles for actual dates). | ||
+ | - Federation Reunion in October, | ||
+ | | ||
+ | After working these dates out members should be able to calculate Easter 1979 on two fingers. Nevertheless, | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Latest on Era.=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Included in the correspondence were letters to the Minister for Lands and to Mr. Sweeney M.L.A. stressing the urgency of the matter of resumption of the Byrnes Estate and pointing out that the lease of Gray's property on the Garie Road expires next June. Latest advice, received on the 4th. of December, is that the estimates have again been slashed and there is no money for the Era resumption. The Surveyor-General suggests that the bushwalkers should apply for resumption of Lot 7 for £250. At the special meeting on the 4th. December the Federation decided to apply for that resumption and also to apply to the owners for an option to purchase when the restrictions are lifted. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Associate members of the Federation.=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | A few months ago publicity was given to the fact that individuals can become associate members of the Federation and 150 copies of an application form were issued. Only three forms, however, were returned. The Federation was pleased to admit them as Associate Members but was disappointed with the result of the drive for new members. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===" | ||
+ | |||
+ | After much argumentation, | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Transport from Mittagong.=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | A letter was received from the Shire Clerk, Mittagong, pointing out the walking possibilities of the district and offering to arrange transport at Xmas. This should be a useful lead for transport at any future date. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | Under date 9th. October 1945, the Convenor of the Topographical Section of the River Canoe Club of N.S.W. advises that a further map, No [illegible] has been prepared. This map covers the Richmond River (Central Arm) from The Risk to Coraki. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====The Pharlap Of The Bushwalkers.===== | ||
- | NOTES FROM THE FLRAIOi REPORT FOR THE MONTHsOF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER | ||
- | Note the following dates and determine to be present | ||
- | Bauddi Working Bee in May on the weekend nearest to the full moon (see Manes Byles for actual dates) | ||
- | 2, Federation Reunion in OCTOBER, | ||
- | After working these dates out members should be able to calculate Easter 1979 on two fingers: Nevertheless, | ||
- | Latest on Era, Incladed in the correspondence were letters to the Minis-re-F-73r Lanas and to Mr,Sweeney M.L.A.. stressing the urgency of the matter of resumption of the Byrnes Estate and pointing out that the leas of Grayls property on the Garie" | ||
- | Associate members of the Federation, A few months ago publicit7 was given o the fact t at indivl uals can become associate members of t Federation and 150 copies of an application form were issued. Only thJ:e formshoweverowere returned. The Federation was pleased to admit them | ||
- | , as Associate Members but was disappointed with the result of the drive for. new members. | ||
- | " | ||
- | and should appear in October. Photos and articles etc. are still needed and these may be handed to Jean.Golding Or Ray Kirkby both of - whom are on the committee.. | ||
- | Trans ort' | ||
- | Clerk, ittagong, | ||
- | and offering to arrange transport at Xmas. This should be a useful leaC for transport at any future date, | ||
- | Oft ***** IosiosSees, | ||
- | Under date 9th0October 1945,the Convenor of the Topographical Section of the River Canoe Club of N.S.W. advises that a further map,Noi | ||
- | been pre%pared. This map covers the Richmond River (Central-Arm) frc The, Risk to Coraki. | ||
- | 0a a o . | ||
- | The following article was written many years ago and is noreprIn' | ||
- | THE PHARLAP OF THE BUSHWALKERS. | ||
An Interview with Gordon Smith | An Interview with Gordon Smith | ||
+ | |||
by Judex. | by Judex. | ||
+ | |||
+ | (The following article was written many years ago and is now reprinted in its entirety.) | ||
+ | |||
"How old were you when you took up walking?" | "How old were you when you took up walking?" | ||
- | "About 12 months,I expect", | ||
- | Gordon was not born and bred to the bush;indeed had it not been for the S.B.W. he might never have found out the charm of bushwalking. His early walking activities were entirely in the racing direction. SOMOnle from. the N.S.W.Walking Club picked him out from a number of his schoc7 mates as sONt,hing out of the ordinary and suggested he should join Club. He dso in 1921 and in 1922 he proved the discernment of nominator b7j-kifinning the 20 miles championship. Since then he has WOi about 20 championships both Club and State, At present he holds the Scat 32 to 50 miles track-walking and the Australian record for 24 hours. also held for somewhile the Australian 50 miles championship but a Victorian subsequently made better time on the same test. | ||
- | During the last 4 years he has averaged 4500 miles a year,or about 88 miles a week iEl' | ||
- | Large mileages are Gordon' | ||
- | His now great love of bushwaiking through the rough as well as along tracks is all the more interesting because racing walk are alwayS along roads or at best good tracks.Long distance races,in which Gordon holds the recordpare always along roads because it is only possible by this means to get the mileage calculated. The shorter walks are sometil along tracks but none of them are remotely like bushwalking. | ||
- | " | ||
- | Thirlmerlaimragorang, | ||
- | so apparently the germ of bushwalking came into existence unawares. And which. do you prefer now,racing or bushwalking? | ||
- | -"Both are pleasu_Lal p, Racing is hard work Aad has a certain fascination but it canft go on for ever. Each year I decide to knock of and then someone comes along and I go in for it for one year more At | ||
- | ---' | ||
- | Scenery being one of the main attrabtions of bushwalking it - seem strange to some that Gordon has taken only two important walks afieldsone to Barrington Tops and one to Tumut and Kosciusko. Th e | ||
- | 0pation i.O.:that what he has seen of other parts clilymakeshim-lov.3.-ti soutOprn Blue Mountains more. However, | ||
- | and a taste of mountaineeringsand it will be Interestirg to hear | ||
- | this type of scenery attracts him as muAl as his beloved Cox and Icov rrinili | ||
- | 1.0 year yeffr-15ushwalkers have _taken-part_in race- | ||
- | , | ||
- | walking Wadlas we all know,they topped th,e-Ii-Sts coming secondSthird ant | ||
- | fourth after: Gordon in each event. I was very interestedstherefore, | ||
- | . "Tha long race nine-tenths of the N.S.W.Walking Club fail becaliA. | ||
- | they lack the necessary stamina. This is where the bushwalkers score. | ||
- | They have carried heavy packs up steep hills and the whole of the | ||
- | bush-walking actOities builds up that requisite Stamina. Those who wen; in for the walkin' | ||
- | thensthe younger especially should be very successful. I hope they Will take it up; | ||
- | * The N.S.W.WAlking Clubsof which Gordon is such a distinguished | ||
- | --memberssnumberS about 60. But-members are, not all very active..It is | ||
- | interesting to learn that some years ago they had it in mind to establi a club like the S.D.W. but the latter established itself!. while they | ||
- | were cogitating over the-idea. Gordon thought this a pity since th c | ||
- | method would have put theA.S.W.Walking Club on a sounder basis fir' | ||
- | Howe-vans-perhaps-it was a wise fate which kept the bushwalking- separa | ||
- | from the racing14nd its separation. does not Prevent the_N.S.W.WaIkinL, | ||
- | I I | ||
- | Club from drawing: | ||
- | ( | ||
- | _ | ||
- | The-followtng-lter was-recetved by the Secretary-froM JORY-H- | ||
- | -.' | ||
- | Ison the other-handlthink that this is a good appraisement Tasmania and trust that:sin publishing itoI do not .ause him to be *1:. | ||
- | " | ||
- | 'heavy f'ro,s ts and frOzen puddles on the roads all. day,and (usually) an absence of' | ||
- | 'bush round KU- 1; | ||
- | sunshine so much. as I-he done since I came to Hobart. 3i years ago. | ||
- | There are occasional hot days in Summer, | ||
- | | ||
- | Summer you tell the season mainly by seetni whether there are leaves n. | ||
- | the English trees or not;it snows any old time. The Summer-before last | ||
- | I and the two boys spent three days in Windermere hut in Lake St...Clair- | ||
- | . -M-t-Cradle Reserve while the blizzard raged without. Even with a roar=-7 fire inside the hut, | ||
- | Innide4tally surfirg is unknown in Tasmania. Every 1Dach:_c3 | ||
- | as " | ||
- | surf never so good as In New South Wales. Also the water is bitterl cold always. A few people bathe in enclosed waters - a few days in Hor. | ||
- | (at Sandy Bay) there is 'even a crowd on the beadh-ana watts_edge---Joul: | ||
- | The Tasmanian bush is iaxtx-6ko rd' | ||
- | on the Hartz Mountain (after struggle along a track up to my_knes almost - in mud most of the previous day ) to two men who died of exposure-the in November,. On Mt.Wellington there is a monument to a doctor who died.-G...e exposure in January. Underfoot it is usually wet and camping as we know it in N.S.W. it almost unknown here. Hilts are erect& in most places walkers get to and,no matter how determinedly peu-peck | ||
- | ' your tent with the intention of using t,one alwars---finishes up in the hut along with the rest - and mightly glad to be there as a rule. But I still can't- gt-out. of the habit of carrying the extra weight-of-a-t& | ||
- | On the eastern_.(dry) side of Tasnianiaoscenery and conditionsf, | ||
- | the weatherphoweversis just as cold. | ||
- | Hobart has its own special type of Southerly called the ca brs eze, If the day shows the slightest inclination to, | ||
- | Of course there are manreempensations in Tasmania; | ||
- | , | ||
- | ' | ||
- | weather. But Tasmanians who have lived in Sydney have quite other vieY.:' | ||
- | ridges, | ||
- | was 71acl 31-1.t me a walks programme so that at least I had | ||
- | the thrill of see-1,(2- the names of places;many of the names of leaders, however,are new to me I also see that on Oct.19th you are to have a lecture '' | ||
- | we "iiu as off at" even In "The Bushwalker" | ||
- | to think the ether LIO to be presented cp is it just a " | ||
- | Tasman:Lai, not wear shortsypartly1I think, | ||
- | 9 | ||
- | climate, | ||
- | It simply " | ||
- | The Hobart Walking Club is partly a ski-ing club; in Winter a7: walks are off as long as there is snow on the mountain. I persevered with trying to ski until I had to walk 9 miles with full pack and het, skis from National Park on a severly sprained ankle. After that I thou | ||
- | better stick to walking and forget the ski-ing, But I admit that skiing would be great fun once you got the hang of it.. | ||
- | Incidentally walkers who are thinking of doing the 70 mile trip through Lake St.Clair- Cradle Mountain Reserve some time should de as early as conditions permit for a motor road is planned through the northern end aDd a riding track at the southern. At present, | ||
- | hut to hut,walkers have the place entirely to themselves, | ||
- | It is a five day trip if no' huts are missed and it can be extended for long as food holds out. There is a charming by-track now opened up to Pine Valley with further4valks round the hut there, | ||
- | rinth( a labyrinth of lakes and tarns with pines and snowy mountains | ||
- | round about). The snow apparently holds out all through Summer;they ca get completely clothed with snow during bad Summer weather.- Incidental January is not a good time for the trip as,last aammer,even with war restrictions on travellthe huts were very much overcrowded. Even with | ||
- | only a few people ta. a hut,cooking on the one fire becomes a problem, | ||
- | at least It is to walkers used to open-air fires as in N.S.W. and I | ||
- | to think of the crush when 20 or tore get into a hut with room for 12. A non-holiday monthltherefore, | ||
- | I expect this is all you'll want lo read about Tasmania. 04r w.: | ||
- | 1,7 ,Jush (,hernit | ||
- | Ruminating on the ignorance of the prospective who has be told that he will not want to walk in all those sweatersoset my mind running along the lines of the title and I thought what a lot can be learnt about heat and cold. For instanceldid you know that the therma conductivity of the eider-down in your sleeping bag is 0.00001 calories-per-second-per cubic centimeter-per degree centigrade while the same property of a woollen blanket is 0,0002 dittoes- or twenty tiMes as much | ||
- | Even Durilb Dora can see that you keep much warmer in a down sleeping bag. | ||
- | Howeverpwe have to remember that eiderdown loses much of its insulating effect if it is flattened by the weight of the sleeper, Hence the OOMMOr | ||
- | practice of putting extra material underneath2vhere the down must of necessity be compresed-and 1666 its " | ||
- | Most people know of the chilling effect2produced by evaporation, | ||
- | when wind blows on a wet water-bucket of japara or canvas. It should b- | ||
- | obviousothen2that waxing your bucket to slow its leakage rate also re,-. c | ||
- | this evaporation and makes it a much less satisfactory spot to stoe | ||
- | butter when in camp. By the same token2walkers may discount the cd71. | ||
- | to wrap the butter jar in a wet towel and stow it in the centre of pack. A wet towel is not a scrap colder than a dry one unless it has wind blowing on it to cause evaporation. Few of U8 have rucksacks as fur of holes as that! | ||
- | 6 a 0 600 I 9 fig 00 we. | ||
- | Changing now to consideration of cold waether2I recall' | ||
- | | ||
- | The same phenomenon is responsible for the oft-heard cry : My groundsheet is not waterproof / Wearing a groundsheet while walking in t rain2we frequently seem to get the sheet just as wet inside as outside. Why is this? Simply because the graundsheet2wet with rain2forms a cold,' | ||
- | . condensing Sui4face to trap the moisture from the warm air which surround' | ||
- | 96.0000049011096.994, | ||
- | Next month we shall delve into the marvels of the human body's -temperature-regulating mechanism which has2particular1y in the case of walkers2to be able to adjust itself to as many variations of temperature as a Sydney-sider dependent on coal. | ||
+ | "About 12 months, I expect", | ||
+ | |||
+ | Gordon was not born and bred to the bush; indeed had it not been for the S.B.W. he might never have found out the charm of bushwalking. His early walking activities were entirely in the racing direction. Someone from the N.S.W. Walking Club picked him out from a number of his school mates as something out of the ordinary and suggested he should join a Club. He did so in 1921 and in 1922 he proved the discernment of his nominator by winning the 20 miles championship. Since then he has won about 20 championships both Club and State. At present he holds the State 32 to 50 miles track-walking and the Australian record for 24 hours. He also held for somewhile the Australian 50 miles championship but a Victorian subsequently made better time on the same test. | ||
+ | |||
+ | During the last 12 years he has averaged 4500 miles a year, or about 88 miles a week - it makes one gasp - 88 miles in a long weekend perhaps but 88 miles every week! | ||
+ | |||
+ | Large mileages are Gordon' | ||
+ | |||
+ | His now great love of bushwalking through the rough as well as along tracks is all the more interesting because racing walks are always along roads or at best good tracks. Long distance races, in which Gordon holds the record, are always along roads because it is only possible by this means to get the mileage calculated. The shorter walks are sometimes along tracks but none of them are remotely like bushwalking. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And which do you prefer now, racing or bushwalking?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Both are pleasurable. Racing is hard work and has a certain fascination but it can't go on for ever. Each year I decide to knock off and then someone comes along and I go in for it for one year more. At best I can hardly do it for another 10 years. But bushwalking will go on for ever, I hope. It is the combination of walking and scenery that gives charm to bushwalking, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Scenery being one of the main attractions of bushwalking it may seem strange to some that Gordon has taken only two important walks further afield, one to Barrington Tops and one to Tumut and Kosciusko. The explanation is that what he has seen of other parts only makes him love the southern Blue Mountains more. However, this year he is off to New Zealand and a taste of mountaineering, | ||
+ | |||
+ | This year is the first year bushwalkers have taken part in race-walking and, as we all know, they topped the lists coming second, third and fourth after Gordon in each event. I was very interested, therefore, to hear Gordon' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In a long race nine-tenths of the N.S.W. Walking Club fail because they lack the necessary stamina. This is where the bushwalkers score. They have carried heavy packs up steep hills and the whole of the bush-walking activities builds up that requisite stamina. Those who went in for the walking races this year had none of the racing technique of style, and yet they succeeded. If they would acquire these things, then, the younger especially should be very successful. I hope they will take it up; | ||
+ | |||
+ | The N.S.W. Walking Club, of which Gordon is such a distinguished member, numbers about 60. But members are not all very active. It is interesting to learn that some years ago they had it in mind to establish a club like the S.B.W. but the latter established itself while they were cogitating over the idea. Gordon thought this a pity since their method would have put the N.S.W. Walking Club on a sounder basis financially and better able to send teams to other States and such like. However, perhaps it was a wise fate which kept the bushwalking separate from the racing, and its separation does not prevent the N.S.W. Walking Club from drawing recruits from our ranks. | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Letter From John Harvey.===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | The following letter was received by the Secretary from John Harvey, a club member now resident in Hobart. In response to a request for publication John was a little doubtful saying, "I may have been a little more critical of Tasmania than was justified in an article to be read publicly." | ||
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+ | "Your letter with notes about SBW progress was very welcome, especially from the point of view of a poor benighted SBW " | ||
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+ | There are occasional hot days in Summer, perhaps two or three altogether, a direct heat which burns everyone like lobsters. I don't escape, even though I never got sunburnt in the NSW bush. But most days in Summer you tell the season mainly by seeing whether there are leaves on the English trees or not; it snows any old time. The Summer before last I and the two boys spent three days in Windermere hut in Lake St.Clair-Mt.Cradle Reserve while the blizzard raged without. Even with a roaring fire inside the hut, one could see one's breath in the air. It was hard to imagine people surfing and sunbathing on Sydney beaches. Snow has fallen on Mt.Wellington every month of the year since we've been here. | ||
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+ | Incidentally surfing is unknown in Tasmania. Every beach is described as " | ||
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+ | The Tasmanian bush is extraordinarily rough and rugged, very mountainous and conditions and climate hard. Recently I saw a monument on the Hartz Mountain (after struggle along a track up to my knees - almost - in mud most of the previous day) to two men who died of exposure there in __November__. On Mt.Wellington there is a monument to a doctor who died of exposure in January. Underfoot it is usually wet and camping as we know it in N.S.W. it almost unknown here. Huts are erected in most places walkers get to and, no matter how determinedly you pack your tent with the intention of using it,one always finishes up in the hut along with the rest - and mightily glad to be there as a rule. But I still can't get out of the habit of carrying the extra weight of a tent. | ||
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+ | On the eastern (dry) side of Tasmania, scenery and conditions are similar to western N.S.W. or, say, half-way between Bathurst country and Riverina with a few small areas of Sydney type of bush thrown in (as round Coles Bay). Water is obtainable only by calling at a farm house; the weather, however, is just as cold. | ||
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+ | Hobart has its own special type of Southerly called "the sea breeze" | ||
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+ | Of course there are many compensations in Tasmania; the scenery is vast and grand. I think that if it were only warmer I should be [illegible] preferable as a holiday place to a place of permanent residence, for people used to [illegible] weather. But Tasmanians who have lived in Sydney have quite other vies; it is too hot, too sticky, they long for the sight of a " | ||
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+ | I was glad you sent me a walks programme so that at least I had the thrill of seeing the names of places; many of the names of leaders, however, are new to me. I also see that on Oct. 19th you are to have a lecture " | ||
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+ | Tasmanian walkers do not wear shorts, partly, I think, because of the climate, partly because of the roughness of the bush and partly because it simply " | ||
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+ | The Hobart Walking Club is partly a ski-ing club; in Winter all walks are off as long as there is snow on the mountain. I persevered with trying to ski until I had to walk 9 miles with full pack and heavy skis from National Park on a severely sprained ankle. After that I thought I'd better stick to walking and forget the ski-ing, But I admit that ski-ing would be great fun once you got the hang of it. | ||
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+ | Incidentally walkers who are thinking of doing the 70 mile trip through Lake St.Clair - Cradle Mountain Reserve some time should do so as early as conditions permit for a motor road is planned through the northern end and a riding track at the southern. At present, going-from hut to hut, walkers have the place entirely to themselves, but once a road goes through it won't be so pleasant with cars and buses whizzing by. It is a five day trip if no huts are missed and it can be extended for long as food holds out. There is a charming by-track now opened up to Pine Valley with further walks round the hut there, including the Labyrinth(a labyrinth of lakes and tarns with pines and snowy mountains round about). The snow apparently holds out all through Summer; they can get completely clothed with snow during bad Summer weather. Incidentally, | ||
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+ | I expect this is all you'll want to read about Tasmania..... | ||
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+ | Kind regards from Dora and myself." | ||
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+ | =====Thermostats For Walkers.===== | ||
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+ | by "Bush Chemist" | ||
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+ | Ruminating on the ignorance of the prospective who has to be told that he will not want to walk in all those sweaters, set my mind running along the lines of the title and I thought what a lot can be learnt about heat and cold. For instance, did you know that the thermal conductivity of the eider-down in your sleeping bag is 0.00001 calories-per-second-per cubic centimeter-per degree centigrade, while the same property of a woollen blanket is 0.0002 dittoes- or twenty tiMes as much. Even Dumb Dora can see that you keep much warmer in a down sleeping bag. However, we have to remember that eiderdown loses much of its insulating effect if it is flattened by the weight of the sleeper. Hence the common practice of putting extra material underneath, where the down must of necessity be compressed and lose its " | ||
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+ | Most people know of the chilling effect, produced by evaporation, | ||
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+ | Changing now to consideration of cold weather, I recall a night one May when, camping in Kangaroo Valley, we experienced bitter cold, damp and fog. Morning found the interior of our A tent dripping steadily with water. This, of course, was caused by warm, moisture-laden breath striking the cold tent and depositing water. This water had no tendency to evaporate as it would do, for example, in the equally cold, yet dry conditions one might experience at Corral Swamp. | ||
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+ | The same phenomenon is responsible for the oft-heard cry: My groundsheet is not waterproof! Wearing a groundsheet while walking in the rain, we frequently seem to get the sheet just as wet inside as outside. Why is this? Simply because the groundsheet, | ||
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+ | Next month we shall delve into the marvels of the human body's temperature-regulating mechanism which has, particularly in the case of walkers, to be able to adjust itself to as many variations of temperature as a Sydney-sider dependent on coal. |
194601.1461199092.txt.gz · Last modified: 2016/04/21 10:38 by tyreless