Below is a blog I wrote for ABC's Whatdoyaknow web page http://open.abc.net.au/posts/regions/nsw/hunter

How to make gourmet hay
Have you got a large mob to feed? This is how to prepare a nutritious vegetarian meal made from finest home grown, sun dried ingredients which can be stored for a long time & are ideal for outdoor dining.
During the curing process the slightest of breezes on a warm summer night will carry a sweet, earthy & slightly herby aroma that will have your bovine neighbours salivating; this aroma rivals that of any bakery!
There is a huge array of ingredients for you can grow but my personal favourite is Ryegrass, White Clover with just the hint of red clover! If you really want to impress you may want to grow Lucerne. This is the “free range” version of Alfalfa sprouts where the plants roots are allowed to roam free in the soil & not be confined to a plastic cage.
Wait for crop to reach the correct stage for cutting this allows your crop to obtain optimum maximum sugar & protein levels. This comes from experience but you could do a “master class” through you local Department of Ag.
Make Hay while the sun shines. You will need around 3 warm sunny days to dry your crop. Listen to the weather on radio 1233 Newcastle!
Make sure all children, Rabbits & Kangaroos are at a safe distance then mow your crop mid morning this will be when energy levels are at their highest.
Rake you crop on the 3rd day just after the morning dew has dried & before the clover leaves become too dry & brittle. Using a hay rake gently roll hay in to rows that are neat, tight & straight.
Bale your crop in the evening just as the leaves are starting to “comeback”. This is when the night air returns some moisture to the leaves this will prevent leaf shatter.
It is essential that crop is baled with a moisture content of less than 15% more than 25% may cause your hay to develop a strong Smokey flavour before spontaneously bursting into flames! Should this happen seek help from local RFS.
Personally I prefer to make large round bales. The perfect bale should be tight, perfectly cylindrical, olive green in colour & be easy on the nose. These bales look like large Sushi rolls made for bovines.
Now you have made your hay invite a few bovine mates over for an alfresco buffet dinner. I recommend that cool water as the ideal accompaniment to this meal. I personally use Barrington water that has tumbled down from springs in the Barrington Tops.
If you think your hay is really good you can enter it in the NSW Grasslands Societies Hay & Silage competition.

Allan Cunningham

Visitors to the Sydney Botanic Gardens may be familiar with the restaurant & pond in the gardens but what many visitors may only give a passing glimpse to is an obelisk dated 1844 that sits in the middle of the pond. A marble slab bears the following inscription in leaden lettering:—" The remains of Allan Cunningham were interred in the Devonshire Street Cemetery in July, 1839, from which they were reverently removed on the 25th May, 1901, and placed within this obelisk." In 1844 this obelisk marked the high tide mark where Botanical Creek met the harbour.

Who was Allan Cunningham?
Allan Cunningham was born in England in 1791 at the age of 19 he was being tutored by Sir Joseph Banks at Kew & it was from here that Allan Cunningham was to become one of Australia's foremost botanist & explorers.

After 2 years collecting botanical samples in South America Cunningham arrived in Australia on December 20th 1817 with a letter of introduction to Governor Macquarie. The following year he was a member of Oxley’s party to explore the Lachlan Valley. Between 1817 &1831 Cunningham explored or visited a vast area of Australia collecting plants. One the great achievements he is remembered for is the expedition party he lead in 1827 In which he travelled from the Hunter Valley up the inland side of The Great Dividing Range & in doing so was the 1st European to discover the Darling Downs. It was on this trip he discovered a route over the Dividing Range known as Spicer’s Gap. This allowed settlers to travel inland from the Morton bay settlement. Later in 1828 he returned to Morton Bay to further explore the area & it was on this trip that he discover another gap in range This is now know as Cunningham’s gap. Whilst on a trip to Morton bay he observed the Macadamia tree.

In 1831 Cunningham left Sydney to return to England to work at Kew gardens cataloguing his collection of over 3000 botanical specimens.

In 1832 Allan Cunningham is offered the job of superintendent of the Sydney Botanical Gardens. He declined the offer in favour of his younger brother Richard. Unfortunately in 1835 whilst on an expedition in the Bogan region, Richard, whilst collecting plant samples, became lost & disorientated. He was taken in by some Aboriginals but he became delirious & the Aboriginal fearing he was possessed by an evil spirit club him to death.

In 1837 Allan returned to Australia to take up his brother’s post at the gardens. He resigns after 2 months in disgust objecting to superintending 'the Government Cabbage Garden' where among other things he was expected to grow vegetables for the governor's table, and resigned, to resume the 'more legitimate occupation' of collecting

On the 27th June 1939 - Allan Cunningham died in Sydney of Tuberculosis, aged of 47.

At the time of his death Cunningham had collected over 3000 plant specimens & the high esteem that the Cunningham brothers were held is reflected in the number of plants named in their honour(listed below) along with Cunningham Hwy, Cunningham electorate, Cunningham Point

She Oak Casuarina Cunninghamiana, Bangalow Palm Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, Cliff Mallee-ash, Eucalyptus cunninghamii, Myrtle Beech Nothofagus cunninghamii ,Hoop Pine Araucaria cunninghamii ,Parrot Pea Crotalaria cunninghamii ,Albany daisy Actinodium cunninghamii ,Hairpin banksia Banksia cunninghamii,Green bird flower Crotalaria cunninghamii , Nertera cunninghamii , Gastrodia cunninghamii , Plantago cunninghamii ,Trochocarpo Cunninghamii ,Native jute Corchorus cunninghamii ,Brisbane lily Proiphys cunninghamii ,Gully tree fern or Slender Tree Fern Cyathea cunninghamii, Montane totara Podocarpus cunninghamii ,Astelia cunninghamii, Black maire Olea cunninghamii ,Melothria cunninghamii (Zehneria Cuninghamii) Bush Minuria Minuria cunninghamii ,Lignum Muehlenbeckia Cunninghamii, Bushy Groundsel Senecio Cunninghamii ,Sneezeweed Centipeda cunninghamii ,Corokia Cotoneaster Carmichaelia cunninghamii ,Yellow berry bush Maytenus cunninghamii, Liverwort Acromastigum cunninghamii & the Genus Aliania

Maitland Memories 1960's part3

This is the 3rd in series of blogs that I have written on my memory of Maitland NSW in the late1960’s

(Corner Of High & Eligin St by OZin OH)
This blog starts us on a journey down High street which was the heart of the Maitland shopping district in the 1960’s. As these are the memories of a small boy some facts may be a little blurred but I believe them to be reasonably factual. I don’t remember them all & there are some gaps
Starting at the “Long” bridge at the top end of High St on the left Side just after the bridge was the Little Red Apple restaurant of which I know very little. A little further down High St was Young & Green Holden dealer, now the site of the Mineral Council offices; it was here in 1969 that we purchased our first Kingswood car. Not far from here was located the police station which was next to the court house. Across from the road from the Mineral offices was the Alma Hotel (now a coffee shop) one of about 10 hotels that lined High St.
A major intersection on High St is Belmore road. From here to Church St shops that were located left were the following Fosseys , O’Brien supermarket which was basically an oversized corner store, Jakemen’s chemist shop & S&W Miller electrical. Also located of this side of the road was Galtons department store, Maitland’s answer to David Jones, which took up 3 buildings each being 2 stories. On the Right hand at the Belmore intersection was a service station which I think was called Advanx. Also along the right hand side is the Presbyterian glebe that houses a number of shops. Just on from here was one of my favourite stores being Barden & Ribey Saddlery these were real saddlers who made saddles & harness. This was a wonderfully disorganised place with 100 years of scrap leather mixed with jobs at various stages of completion & topped off with that wonderful aroma that only new leather can omit. It all had a wonderful painted window that can still be viewed today.Wilkes Tobacconist, sports & gun shop was also located in this block
Next was the section from Church to Elgin St. On the right was Woolworths that occupied two buildings. There was no supermarket section & must have been the forerunner to Big W. One of these stores was blown up by a bomber in the late 70’s. On the right was the CBC bank (now Dicksmith). Near here was located the now political incorrect “Black Boy “, a statue of a n African American boy who was a hitching post in bygone days

(A photo by L Bridge Flickr)
McElwein’s sports store was located in this section. I also think there was a branch of the CBA bank. Wilk’s were Maitland’s leading retailer of electrical goods in this part of town. Located in the rear of their store was a workshop dedicated to the repair of valve TV’s. Wilks were also where young teenagers collected their weekly 2NX top forty hits chart. Next door was located Capper’s Hardware selling general hardware. Cappers were once the giants of hardware in Maitland but there influence declined after a fire destroyed their shop that located opposite the Maitland Mercury building. Alongside Cappers was the Dutch cake shop with their window full of sweet delights & a yearly highlight was their display of handmade chocolate Easter Eggs.
In the next blog we will travel from Elgin Street down what is now the mall but in 60’s it was the main road through the town.

A Starlight Story

A Starlight Story
Recently Carol Duncan ran a story on how the Starlight Foundation granted a young girl a wish to publish a book.
Late in 2003 our family was touched by Starlight & I would like to relate what Starlight did for our son.
In April 2003 our son, Alex, was diagnosed with Leukaemia. He underwent intensive chemo that resulted in a hospital stay of almost 3 months. Most of that time spent unable to leave his hospital room which overlooked the hospital car park & was 60Km from his classmates back at Dungog High School! After the 3 month stay it was back to the hospital every few weeks for more chemo to keep the Leukaemia in remission.
When the doctors were sure Alex’s Leukaemia was in remission they sent us to Westmead Hospital to see a specialist about a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately none of our family was a match & at Westmead we were given the news that no matching donors could be found on the world data base. The doctor did his best to break it to us gently that what had been Alex best chance of long term survival had evaporated.
A lovely lady called Karyn ,the hospital social worker, spoke to us basically to see how we were coping. It all seemed a blur but I do remember her saying that Alex should put in for a Starlight wish & handing us a form to fill in. My wife carefully folded the paper work & filed it in her handbag. The long silent drive back from Westmead meant that Starlight was soon forgotten. After a few days at home we received a phone call asking had we considered the Starlight wish. We thought about it for a few days & decided that we shouldn’t deny Alex an opportunity that he may never receive.
Alex filled in the form on which he was ask to list several wishes his number1 wish was a laptop computer & his 2nd wish was a drive in a V8 super car with a day at the car races.
A few days later Delores from Starlight came to speak to Alex. Delores came with small gifts for the whole family which was a special treat especially for our youngest son who was 3 years old at the time. Delores is one of those special people whom you think is a slightly crazy & whimsical character but has a loving heart made of gold. For younger gift recipients Delores is Fairy Del whose role is to grant the wishes to those in her care but she spreads her magic to other members of the family by showing you that someone cares & is prepared to give up their life to bring joy to others.
Alex wish of a computer was granted & Dolores arranged a day to drop off his wish. We organised a small party with family & friends. Alex wish was a basic laptop computer & as long as it had a modem he was happy. Dolores arrived with a top of the range HP laptop computer, Microsoft software, printer, scanner & 12mth internet with AOL. These companies had donated all these products.
As Alex lovingly toyed with keys of his computer tears streamed down his mothers face at the generosity of people & the joy that Alex was receiving.
Now you may ask why a computer? Well Alex chemo at that time was planned to go for another 18 months with regular stays in hospital. That computer was to become his link to the outside world via Hotmail & Yahoo messenger. When feeling like crap from the cocktail of chemo drugs he was able to retreat to his room & listen to his favourite songs loaded on the computer. It was to become his DVD player during the mind numbing boredom of blood transfusions. Alex returned to high school part time & he used the computer for homework & writing assignments.
Alex was onto his last chemo session when his Leukaemia returned. Another heavy round of chemo & he was back in remission. This time the only option was a cord blood transplant that was an imperfect match. So back to Westmead for a 60 day stay in isolation & another 40 days recovering in a flat near the hospital. That computer that was all that stop Alex going stir crazy.
In October 2006 Alex relapsed & this time the chemo failed to get him back in remission. In early November we were given the news that Alex had about 4 weeks to live & on the 17Dec Alex died at home in his room with his beloved computer playing his favourite Robbie Williams album.
On that computer Alex had organised his funeral & it was from that computer that I downloaded songs for his funeral. It also it contained the phone numbers of all his friends.
Alex had been saving to go to Uni & so after his death we donated $5000 to the Starlight Foundation which was the average cost of wish then. I think that a young boy with cancer got his wish of special cubby house. Alex himself was so thankful for his computer that he spoke at charity golf day that was raising money for the Captain Starlight room at the John Hunter Hospital.
The End
P.S Dolores did get Alex 2 hot laps in a V8 supercar with Mark Skaife on a day they were testing the car.

My Son Alex

I have often thought about how good it would be to write a blog about my son Alex but how can a person fit 20 years of memories into a few line of words. I think I would need another lifetime to express what Alex has fitted into his short life. This is the Eulogy I gave at his funeral. He organised his own funeral & ask if I would speak, one of the hardest things I have ever done!
Alex was born 31st January 1986 & it was not long before we realised that Alex was going to be an independent person who did things on his terms. Not long after he was born he would stay awake until 10 o’clock. A 5min snooze at 6 meant no sleep until 12. Yet put him in a car & within 200metres he was sound asleep, a nightmare if we were coming home in the afternoon. Alex decided that crawling was not for him & went from sitting up to walking. For those of you who think Alex was a skinny guy well as a baby he had more in common with Budda.
Alex went to preschool & soon we were playing musical chairs at home to show him that you can’t win at musical chairs all the time. Alex then went to Vacy school. On his first day Heather drove him to school & told her to stay in car, out he hopped & ran into school. The following Saturday he cried & cried because school was closed & up until his last relapse he just loved to study.
Alex did the usual things that kid do & played soccer, joined cubs & scouts (which he loved) & later on he played rugby league, He enjoyed showing cattle. As he got older he decided that he liked motor bikes ,well he fell off that many times that his handle bars were bent that bad that they almost touched the fuel tank. It was after this that he developed his love of pushbike riding & it was nothing for him to ride 30-40 kilometres. In his teens he joined the Vacy RFS
Alex went to Dungog High where he studied hard but his favourite subject was Ag he loved to help show the schools cattle & once represented the Hunter in the Beef judging competition at the royal Easter show. Although he was having chemo Alex went on to do his HSC .It took him 2 years to finish year 12 & he managed to get a UAI of 87 & came equal first in the state in Agriculture a moment that made us so proud It was at Dungog here that he developed some life long friends & there are to many to thank by name but I just want say thank you being such good friends to Alex.
I not sure if many of his friends knew of his ability to be a miser when it came to money. When he was about 11 he was given money to buy presents well he purchased his present then bragged how he looked for things that were on special & still had money left over. At the first market stall that he & Heather went to sell roses he rang me in panic to say” they had sold all the roses & mum was spending the profit”. At any future markets he guarded the moneybox.
In April 2003 he was first diagnosed with Leukaemia Alex underwent intensive chemo & was in & out of Hospital over the next 3 ½ years I never heard Alex really complain & if he did it was only about hospital food. Alex always loved a joke & when he had to carry around with him an intravenous pump with an antibiotic bottle attached he pulled a label off a Bundy Rum bottle, stuck it to his antibiotic bottle & then went of to a party with what looked like intervenous Bundy. One time Kiralee one of the wonderful nurses at the Mater had to circle an injection site with a pen to check for an allergic reaction. Well quick as flash Alex said if you are going to draw on me then at least leave your phone number the reaction was a beetroot face nurse. We can’t thank the staff & doctors from the Mater enough for over the years they have been just wonderful.
I have to also have to thank Delores Lord or Fairy Del as she is known from the starlight foundation .The first time she came to visit I think Alex thought she was a bit unusual but underneath the persona of Fairy Del is a person who works so hard for the starlight foundation & their wish-granting program. Fairy Del granted Alex his wish of a laptop computer, which was a godsend in hospital as he was able to chat to friends via the Internet. Fairy Del also pulled some strings & got Alex a ride with Mark Skaife in a V8 super car at eastern creek. When Alex relapsed a second time she came to Hospital dress as a fairy & it made his day
We must thank the leukaemia foundation that provided accommodation for us at Westmead for 3 months.
We must thank Big W for keeping Alex on during his illness
Palliative care must get a big rap with their help we were able to keep Alex a home until the end
Thanks to all the people for their kind words & support
I think the thing that sustained Alex the most was canteen. Canteen is an organisation for teens with cancer or for those with parents or sibling with cancer. Alex got so much enjoyment out of the activities they ran. He also got a network of new friends with whom he had a unique bond. Alex grew so much out of his involvement he was able to see through people’s disabilities & see not sick person but someone to be a new friend. I think what other kids had been through gave him strength & I think that often that he thought he was the lucky one.
Alex left this world much as he had started very independent who would crawl rather then be helped. Although only here for a short time & not able to make his mark on the world Alex has touched many people & many people touched him.

Maitland an incomplete history as seen through the eyes of a small boy Pt3

Maitland an incomplete history as seen through the eyes of a small boy Pt3
The Maitland Farmers Market know to the locals as the Union
I though I may not have been able to write this blog until next week as I had to check that my memory was correct. I am happy to report that my memories were correct although what I am about to write is a scant history of what must have been a fascinating place.
In recent time there has been an explosion of farmer markets start up. This has been viewed as an exciting new development. However the concept is not new & in Maitland a form of farmer markets existed for almost 100years.
The markets locally referred to as “The Union “began as a place for farmer to market their produce directly to the public to avoid taxes that had to be paid to middle men. The Farmers Union market began in the late 1800’s & was located in Steam Street Maitland. This Street runs from Elgin St to Church St & is near Maitland Railway station
I believe the Farmers Union got into financial difficulty & was purchased by the Swan, Murray & Haines Auctioneers later on a Mr Kennedy also sold from the site up until its closure in the late 1970’s.
As a small boy I remember going to the “Union” which was housed in a collection of dilapidated old weatherboard building where a vast array of locally grown seasonal produce would be out on display. On long concrete verandas In summer there would be long green melons, Queensland blue pumpkins, tomatoes, locally grown stone fruit or Black Muscat grapes in a paper lined wooden crates. In winter wooden crates of Oranges & the famous Paterson River Mandarins would be sold. This produce would be auctioned of to Greengrocers, housewives & the general public.
All the produce was sourced from the Hunter Valley much of it coming from the fertile river flats around Maitland. It was a common site to see sacks of potato looking like little soldier all standing to attention in the fertile fields. All these 50kg sacks filled by hand then loaded onto a truck all back breaking work. It was an amazing sight to see a man lift a huge bulging bag of potatoes onto his shoulder.
These vegetable farms are long gone the rows of corn & potatoes now replaced by turf for city lawns or by Lucerne to feed horses.
Also at the Union was the bag shed where Mr Wilton sold used potato sacks. Before it was banned Mr Wilton would purchase empty potato sack & then on sell them to potato farmers & produce merchants. In the days before bulk grain dairy farmer s purchased feed in bags. I remember Mr Wilton in his Red Commer truck calling at regular intervals to purchase our empty feed bags.
The “Union” also sold poultry with cage open cage filled with chickens, geese & turkeys. As a boy I remember going to the “union” with my grandfather to purchase a turkey for Christmas dinner .I was so small I always think of that turkey being the size of an Emu. Chicken in the 1960’swas a luxury that was only eaten on special occasions. You could grow & kill your own or purchase one from the markets, the ultimate in fresh food.
So what is old is new again

Maitland an incomplete history as seen through the eyes of a small boy Pt2

Maitland an incomplete history as seen through the eyes of a small boy Pt2
This blog is about Elgin Street.
Today when you travel down High Street Maitland your progress is blocked by the Mall & all traffic travels down what is known as Elgin Street. This street that runs from High St to the railway line has undergone much change in the last 40 years. Many of the businesses & the premises I remember as a child are now long gone.
On the corner of High & Elgin street was the ANZ bank. Travelling on down the street on the left was Pont’s foundry. All I can remember of Pont’s foundry is a large untidy corrugated fence with Pont’s Foundry in big black letters. This site was later to become a plaza of shops. Across the road in what was once the Savoy picture theatre was Cameron’s Honda motorcycle dealership. Here motorcycles were displayed in the foyer, the old lolly counter was the parts counter & the theatre was a ramshackle work shop. This building facade is still there today & houses an insurance company. Just on from here was All-Ag which was housed in a rather modern brick building. The Thompson family ran this business supply farmers with all their chemical needs. This building was demolished to make way for the car park. A little further down was Penders Bros Joinery, housed in a collection of building that stretched down to the site now occupied by the Woolworths. I used to love going to Penders with my father where they had a Hardware section. The highlight of a trip to Penders was if you required something from another section was that you had to travel past an array of wood working machinery all driven by huge flat belts attached to pulleys that were in turn attached to a shaft running the length of the building. It was here that timber windows with their sash cords & counter weights were manufactured for Maitland homes. The air was always rich with the aroma of milled timber. Penders were also famous for beekeeping equipment & at one time were the largest beekeeping equipment manufactures in the Southern Hemisphere. When Penders closed the buildings were demolished to make way for Pender Place shopping centre. Crossing over the street & further down was R F Heads Soft drink factory & the highlight of the year was to purchase several cases of soft drink. Each wooden crate containing a dozen 32 fluid ounce bottles of mixed soft drink. Maitland also had Watson soft drinks factory, neither factory could compete with the multinational brands. R F heads building is gone now replaced by a storage centre. Also near here was a tractor dealership selling Fiat tractors.
Nowadays Elgin Street is just a thoroughfare through town with no reminders of its rich history in developing Maitland!
At the end of the Street you turned into a street that was home to what was known as the Union a market place for local produce & this will continue with part 3 next week