November - December 2018

Australian Geographic

The journal of the Australian Geographic Society

Australian Geographic2 min read
ANTARCTICA & SOUTH AMERICA
Awe-inspiring and remote, Antarctica is home to the most unique wildlife and untouched landscapes on Earth. Reawaken your inner adventurer on a luxurious Antarctica expedition cruise with APT, skimming past icebergs to meet curious wildlife. Enjoy go
Australian Geographic2 min read
Royal Recognition
AS WE GO TO press with this issue we are also in full organisational swing for the AG awards. It’s always a busy time for us, but this year our excitement is through the roof as we prepare to welcome Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Sus
Australian Geographic3 min read
Notes From The Field
“AS LONG AS I can remember, I’ve known that my mother’s uncle Gerard (‘Ger’ as he was known) had been a prisoner in Germany during World War I,” says historian and long-time AG contributor Alasdair McGregor, who wrote our Centenary of Armistice featu
Australian Geographic2 min read
Featured Letter
I could hardly believe my eyes, when reading AG 146 on our return from two months wandering this great country of ours. We are fortunate to be able to reach out-of-the-way places in our 4WD motorhome and meet wonderful people. One was the barmaid at
Australian Geographic4 min read
Your Say
Thank you so much for your article On the Great East Trail Ride (AG 144), which was really funny, exciting and may even save my life. I was just remembering my own riding tours here in the Eifel [a low mountain range in western Germany] when the auth
Australian Geographic5 min read
From The Lowest To The Highest
THE 2018 AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY GALA AWARDS I WAS PART of a five-person team, each with a heap of disabilities, attempting to be the first to cycle between Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre and Mt Kosciuszko, on the Lowest to Highest expedition. The team
Australian Geographic2 min readAstronomy & Space Sciences
The ‘truth’ about Santa
COME CHRISTMAS EVE, how does Santa deliver presents to millions of children around the world? About 2 billion kids are under the age of 18. But only about one-quarter are Christian so, officially, Santa has to visit only 500 million kids. Santa, howe
Australian Geographic2 min read
Ask An Expert
Q Why do bees die after stinging you? And how is a onetime-only defence mechanism evolutionarily beneficial? A The only bees known to die when they sting are species in the genus Apis – the ‘true honeybees’. The species you are most likely to encount
Australian Geographic1 min read
Motion Picture Camera
THIS PIECE OF EARLY 20th-century cinematography technology was used by great Australian photographer and filmmaker Frank Hurley for a large part of his career. It’s a Debrie Parvo model L 35mm hand-crank movie camera. Sydney-born Hurley was official
Australian Geographic3 min read
Channel Of Hope
IT’S 6AM ON A DECEMBER morning in 1969 on the Murray River, Victoria. Mark Thornthwaite, 21, slips into a kayak and pushes off from a boat ramp at Picnic Point at the edge of the Barmah Forest, 40km north-east of Echuca. It’s Day 3 of the first-ever
Australian Geographic2 min readAstronomy & Space Sciences
Silence, Please!
TODAY’S ASTRONOMERS make use of every messenger variety bringing information from distant celestial objects. Subatomic particles and gravitational ripples in space-time are recent additions to the list of emissaries. But most of what we know of the U
Australian Geographic2 min read
Drones: Your Questions Answered
DRONES HAVE TAKEN off in the past few years, not just as toys but also as business tools. Named after stingless male bees, they can be flown individually or in a ‘swarm’, such as during combat or in a search-and-rescue mission. The first commercial d
Australian Geographic2 min read
Watching Nature
DRONES ARE NOW being used to collect data on endangered species, helping to create more effective recovery strategies “They’ve got a bad reputation,” says Lee Stewart, Head of Sustainability at multinational IT company Fujitsu. “You see them flying a
Australian Geographic3 min read
The List
Visit 8 November–31 December, Wyndham Art Gallery, Werribee, VIC THANKS TO HABITAT loss, our migratory shorebirds are under pressure. In an effort to redress this, the Overwintering Project: Mapping Sanctuary has collected prints, videos and sound in
Australian Geographic3 min read
Your Society
THIS YEAR’S AWARD winners are a truly amazing collection of individuals. We have three courageous adventurers who refused to be beaten by injury and illness and soldiered on to achieve goals that would challenge even the fittest of the fit among the
Australian Geographic2 min read
National Velvets
For a creature that’s active mostly after dark, this little lizard – the ocellated velvet gecko – is surprisingly colourful. Found in eastern Queensland and northern NSW, it’s one of just 14 species of velvet gecko, a group found only in Australia. T
Australian Geographic3 min readMedical
Defining Moments In Australian History
1918 – 2018 CENTENARY OF ARMISTICE 1919: Influenza pandemic reaches Australia “AUSTRALIA MUST now face the fact that the scourge which has taken so heavy a toll from the rest of the world has invaded her own frontiers,” reported The Sydney Morning He
Australian Geographic3 min readEarth Sciences
Sparkling Seas Explained
IT’S A phenomenon that’s become so popular to see and photograph it has its own Facebook group – Bioluminescence Australia – with about 9000 members. This forum allows users to alert others to sightings of bioluminescent plankton blooms, and swap spe
Australian Geographic5 min readEarth Sciences
A Profound Life Of Icy Wonder
THE 2018 AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY GALA AWARDS FOR MUCH OF HIS CAREER, toppling off the edge of the known world into vast, uncharted landscapes was all in a day’s work for Antarctic surveyor Sydney ‘Syd’ Kirkby. Recipient of the 2018 AGS Lifetime
Australian Geographic7 min read
Against The Odds
IT’S A NIGHT LIKE any other in the bayside suburb of St Kilda. A frosty wind is blowing and the lights of the city dance on the water, tinted pink and purple by the retiring sun. As grand as this scene is, it’s not what’s drawn me to the rocky breakw
Australian Geographic12 min readMedical
Help From Above
“I GOT FLOWN OUT by the Flying Doctors once,” says Kerrizita Jimbidie, a resident of the Yakanarra Aboriginal community, 31 hours drive north-west of Perth in the Kimberley, Western Australia. “We were coming back from night hunting and I got bit by
Australian Geographic2 min readMedical
A Modern Mantle Of Safety
THE RFDS SERVES the same purpose as it has for the past 90 years – to keep the people of the bush safe. But the 21st-century service looks very different from when that first de Havilland DH.50 took off from Cloncurry in May 1928. Each King Air B200
Australian Geographic1 min readMedical
The Sugar Bird Lady
Robin Miller fit a lot into her short life. A flight nurse and pioneering aviator, she combined her passion for caring for the children of the bush with her love of flight. A daughter of revered writer Mary Durack and Captain Horrie Miller, the found
Australian Geographic12 min readEarth Sciences
The Life of Leeuwin
SCIENTIFIC NAMES, PREVIOUS PAGE: Neophoca cinerea: THIS PAGE: Enoplosus armatus THE OCEAN BENEATH Busselton Jetty, a 220km drive south of Perth, ripples with life. Vibrantly coloured nudibranchs, sponges, bryozoans, ascidians and other invertebrates
Australian Geographic2 min readEarth Sciences
Leeuwin Current
SCIENTIFIC NAMES: 1. Carcharias taurus 2. Panulirus cygnus 3. Aracana aurita 4. Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae; Dasyatis brevicaudata CURRENTS THAT FOLLOW a coastline are known as boundary currents, and, at 5500km, the Leeuwin Current is the world’s
Australian Geographic5 min read
Under The Canopy
AN ELDERLY LADY and gentleman take a stroll through a leafy park on one of those perfect English summer days still rare enough to dominate the conversation of a nation that needs little encouragement to talk about the weather. The smartly dressed pai
Australian Geographic11 min read
Aftermath Of War
WHEN THE ARMISTICE was finally signed to end the Great War between the Allied Powers and Germany, its timing was set deliberately to come into force at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. But after the roar of guns had died away,
Australian Geographic1 min readSocial Science
The Commonwealth
THE MODERN COMMONWEALTH rose from the ashes of the British Empire in the aftermath of World War II. It was formed on 28 April 1949 when the leaders of the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) adopte
Australian Geographic6 min read
Our Most Brave
IT’S A SIMPLE crimson ribbon attached to a small bronze medal bearing just two words: “For Valour”. But the significance of the Victoria Cross is truly immense. Awarded for wartime acts of heroism, courage and sacrifice, it’s the highest award for br
Australian Geographic7 min read
Green Gully Track
Here, in wild north-eastern New South Wales, gently undulating agricultural highland scenery transforms rapidly into a rugged landscape of sheer cliffs, rocky outcrops and fern-lined gullies. From lookouts, it appears as if acid has been poured onto
Australian Geographic2 min read
Hitting the Green Gully Track
Before heading off on Day 1, stash some treats in the fridge at Cedar Creek Lodge to enjoy on your last night. The Green Gully Track (GGT) is classed as Grade 5, meaning it’s difficult and only for experienced bushwalkers. It has very steep descents
Australian Geographic8 min read
Top End beginnings
It’s not that Territorians don’t have to deal with the same issues that engender insecurity in us all: Darwin property prices are just as overinflated as in any other major city; secure employment is as tenuous; and the cost of living spirals along t
Australian Geographic1 min read
A Few Top End Must-dos
Ubirr Rock Art Site in Kakadu NP is one of two most significant sites within the park, along with Nourlangie Rock. There is an entry fee to Kakadu NP. parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/do/rock-art/ Croc-jumping cruises operate along the Adelaide River. Be
Australian Geographic4 min readEarth Sciences
Ag Society Hosted Experiences
AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC READERS RECEIVE 10% OFF DATES: 4–15 October 2019 This small-ship expedition on the Coral Discoverer to Australia’s remote northern coastline will immerse you in the songlines and stories of this ancient country through the artis
Australian Geographic2 min read
Cape York Peninsula
HOW MANY TIMES have you looked at a map of Oz and wondered about the croc-infested wilderness that is Cape York Peninsula? For me, it was more often than not, so when a friend asked me to join him on a four-week four-wheel-drive trip to Queensland’s

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