MARTY Smyth joined King Island Council last November and is now the new deputy general manager. He found the role appealing due to the strong community links of the Council.
Marty has a background in emergency services, including aviation medicine. He told King Island Radio that he enjoys the community-oriented atmosphere of King Island and is focused on improving services and infrastructure for the community. Born in New Zealand, Marty spent eight years in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, as a medic and was later involved with aeromedical evacuations in the Pacific Basin and with disaster work in places like Solomon Islands, Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu. He also taught aviation medicine.
In Victoria, Marty oversaw the 000 network and later worked in government in Queensland. He believes that his role on King Island is one of improvement, “Not that there’s anything wrong, but there’s a lot of things that we need to improve,” he said.
“There’s plenty of opportunity to look at different things and improve some of the things. Because of my background in emergency services, I can take an emergency services approach. I’ve been appointed as the municipal emergency management coordinator, so that’s a responsibility under the Tasmanian Emergency Management arrangements, so I can put that in place.
“We can do a risk assessment, for example, and look at what are the risks of our infrastructure on the island. If there was a bushfire, if there was a power outage, if there was a water outage, look at the utilities. If there was a major accident, how do we approach that? How do we manage that? We have limited resources. I’m impressed with what the small team at the council do. They get involved in a wide variety of things, and I guess, for me, that’s the challenge as well.
“Working in a bureaucracy, you’re just sort of writing reports and writing papers, and they go round and round in circles for months on end and people might make a couple of wording, tweaks, and that kind of thing, and, at the end of the day, does it make a difference to the community and the people that live in that community? Probably not. But down here, you’ve got the opportunity to look at things – for example waste management. How can we do that better? How can we fund it without putting rates up?”
“There are challenges in a small community, but it’s also where you can talk directly to people and understand their needs and this, and making a difference, appeals.” Marty has been in his role as deputy general manager of King Island for three months, his role involves emergency management, project management, and community services.
USUALLY lush and green King Island is facing a drought some generational farmers are calling “the worst they have ever seen”.
King Island beef farmers have lobbied both state and federal governments since January expressing concerns and alerting them to the situation being caused by the island’s drought conditions. Other factors that have led to a perfect storm on the island include a dry spring and loss of shipping capacity in winter. The island is now in the traditionally driest months facing uncertain conditions in autumn and winter.
Farmers’ duress is exacerbated by the limited shipping capacity, limited access to mainland markets, potential animal welfare issues and farmer stress, high costs and low cattle prices. Some producers read the anticipated climatic conditions and sold stock early accepting lower prices, while others expected the normal rainfall pattern that ensures adequate pasture growth in the island’s traditionally high rainfall area that allows for high stocking rates.
The northern pastures experience drier conditions as they are sand based, however this year most of the island is brown and dry. Farmers Peter Bowling, Roger Clemons and Rod Graham say they have not seen it like this in their lifetime.
The lack of rain since October has significantly impacted pasture growth and has resulted in reduced hay and silage reserves. It is estimated that fodder reserves are down at least 50 per cent from previous years.
Calls for shipping action
SHIPPING priority for King Island has been on destocking and fodder importation.
Both the government-owned Bass Island Line and Eastern Line Shipping have now increased their sailings per week; however, trailers compete with general cargo and fertiliser.
Shipping continues to have a major impact on the drought situation as there is a lack of capacity, frequency and without a 24-hour safe harbour, their service is weather dependent.
Plea for drought aid
Weaning has occurred four to six weeks earlier than usual, and farmers are only now able to import containers of Tasmanian grain-free pellets with additional excessively high shipping costs and limited space. Local producers have formed a working group to address the current and future issues arising from the drought and are lobbying for assistance.
The group is requesting immediate financial support and is addressing mental health, on-farm grain storage infrastructure and future fertiliser options if the dry continues. In response Rural Alive and Well, NRE, (Ag Finance and Animal husbandry experts) visited the island earlier in February and return visits are planned and farmers are strongly encouraged to engage.
Labor Senator Anne Urquhart and Liberal MP Gavin Pearce are in discussion with the Federal Agricultural Minister Murray Watt to discuss assistance options, including extra shipping services, importation of grain and financial packages. The Working Group, the Beef Group and TasFarmers are seeking a package to include financial freight assistance, especially for fodder imports.
Senator Urquhart noted limitations on federal drought relief as there are parameters around what federal and state can do. “Predominantly, most of the drought funding issues are state government responsibility “There are a number of areas around drought assistance that the federal government has, and I’ve provided that to farmers and the mayor,” she said.
Mr Pearce said that he has spoken to as many players as possible to facilitate solutions and manage the situation into the future. Independent Murchison MLC Ruth Forrest said the departments of State Growth and NRE have been active on the island and this is welcome, however, it is time the underlying as well as immediate challenges are acknowledged and addressed.
“All aspiring politicians should make a stand now and give the people of King Island the support and certainty they need.” TasFarmers has been in consultation with the Working Group and the chair of Tasmanian Women in Agriculture (TWIA) Deb Morice recognises the wider impact the drought has on the community and costs.
“TWIA is very concerned for our agricultural community on King Island in these trying dry conditions.
“The extended period of dry is both physically and mentally challenging for everyone, not to mention financially impacting everyone on the island.
“We are hoping that the freight issues can be sorted, and some migration measures taken in the short term to allow both feed and cattle transfers to happen with a reduction in costs – as that seems the most prohibitive factor at this time.
“The cost of getting feed to our farmers from this state is ridiculous, biosecurity is of utmost of importance, so sourcing from Tasmania is the logical option, but sourcing suitable feed is a challenge due to not having an overabundance available due to our own challenging spring,” Ms Morice said.
TWIA had also been in discussion about other forms of support that the government can provide to producers during this difficult period TasFarmers CEO Nathan Calman said the organisation had been advocating for several weeks the need for action to different levels of government.
“We have been seeking support in the form of increased sailings to support the destocking of the island and the movement of feed to the island,” he said. Labor agriculture spokesperson Anita Dow said:
“Labor is actively exploring options to support King Island Farmers through this difficult time and has been liaising with the Commonwealth to determine any Commonwealth assistance that may be available to farmers on King Island who are impacted by the drought.”
Cressy farmer and Tasmanian Truck Owners & Operators Association president Rob Bayles has been the driving force behind the annual charity Truck Run for a good chunk of its more than 40-year history.
Since it’s move from Myrtle Park to Longford Showground four years ago coinciding with a decision to support Royal Flying Doctor Service Tasmania – it has never been more successful.
The past three Truck Runs have raised more than $70,000 and provided a family fun day renowned for its variety of entertainment, mega raffle supported by hundreds of local businesses with prizes and of course, a spectacular truck show with prizes in various categories.
Rob always cleans up his Kenworth, which is usually laden with hay or grain, and then joins an army of TTOOA and RFDS volunteers to bring together the huge event which includes vintage trucks, fire trucks and trucks of every imaginable make and model.
“We wanted to raise money that helped all Tasmanians, and that’s what the RFDS does,” Rob said.
“Everyone knows someone who has been air-lifted to hospital, everyone knows someone who has had trouble accessing or affording mental health support, dental treatment, or physical rehabilitation – that’s what the RFDS is there for and they don’t charge a cent for any of it.”
Up to 200 trucks are expected to travel from all over the state to take part in the huge convoy from Launceston to Longford on Sunday, March 3, and it’s hard to believe that the big rigs, which are so beautifully presented they look like they’ve lived a life in the showroom, are actually carting food products, logs, livestock, grain, machinery and working hard every other day of the week.
On site at Longford, where entry is just a gold coin donation, there is live music, food vans and refreshments, barbecue lunch, auction, face painting and more.
A separate raffle of a load of logs ready for winter firewood is particularly popular.
The RFDS will have its aeromedical plane simulator, dental van and mobile health clinic bus on site to show people through and free health checks will be available.
“As an organisation that relies upon the generosity of donors and supporters to deliver vital healthcare services to people living in rural and remote communities throughout Tasmania, we are fortunate to have the Tasmanian Truck Owners & Operators fundraising on our behalf,” RFDS Tasmania CEO Nicole Henty said.
“We’ve watched the event grow to become a standout, crowd pleaser raising significant funds for RFDS Tasmania and we are extremely grateful for the generous donations made by the Tasmanian community.”
For anyone wanting to join in or watch the Truck Run convoy, it leaves from Joe Pintarich’s Glebe yard at 9am, turns left into Boland St, right into Dowling, left onto Elphin, Penquite Rd, right into Quarantine, left onto Midland Hwy, sliplane left into Perth, through the Perth main street to roundabout, left onto Midland Hwy, sliplane left towards Longford, at Longford Roundabout left into Tannery Rd, Wellington St, Bulwer St to showground by 10am.
They travelled with their bikes, their dogs, their work, even a bird – close to 300 members of the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA) who took over the Campbell Town Showground for the Tasmanian State Rally last week.
Huge Winnebago campervans, a tiny teardrop caravan and everything in between lined up on the lawn with many expected to extend their stay in the region and beyond in coming weeks.
Thousands of dollars were injected into the local economy as the members wandered around town and visited the shops between an action-packed program of events at the rally site itself such as art classes, disc bowls, chairobics, ukulele strumalong and a quiz night.
There was also a bus trip to Brickendon and a bush dance with music by Drops of Brandy.
Many chose to attend the Northern Tasmanian Light Horse Troop parade for War Animal Remembrance Day held at the Campbell Town War Memorial.
Another highlight was Sunday’s market day in the pavilion and captive audience were delighted with the home-made produce and crafty products on the stalls.
Campbell Town is well known as an RV friendly town, with free overnight camping by the river where visitors can fish for trout, have a picnic, watch the ducks and check out the amazing wood carvings and the beautiful Red Bridge.
Two happy attendees, both widowers, were Ros Edwards, 75 and John Hunt, 73, who found companionship through their mutual love of travelling.
Ros was working in admin for CMCA helping organise a rally when John signed up.
He lost his wife three years ago while travelling in Tasmania, when she took ill and passed away at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
Ros was the person who took John’s rally registration and whether by luck or design he had not filled out all of his paperwork and she was forced to call him up.
They’ve been keeping each other company and continuing their journey together ever since, even though Ros is from Burleigh Heads in Queensland and John is from Casino, NSW.
They are at each other’s place or on the road most of the year.
“I was diagnosed with cancer around 27 years ago and given two years to live – so my wife and I quit our jobs and took off to see Australia while we could,” John said.
“I’m lucky to be still here and just keep travelling – I’ve been to Tasmania 16 times with my campervan and visiting Campbell Town is always a highlight.”
PICTURED: Harper Duffin with her major prizes that she won at the Back To Pedder trout fishing competition
The 2024 “Back To Pedder” trout fishing competition held recently by the Lake Pedder Anglers Club on Lake Pedder was a success even though the weather was horrendous for the majority of the competition.
Forty-nine members had a crack and a massive 491 trout were caught over the four days of fishing.
Here’s the results:
The heaviest trout for the competition was won by Sharon Groves with a fish weighing 0.850kg cleaned, the heaviest trout for a small fry/junior – Lottie Waddell 0.698kg, heaviest trout, junior -Dean Stonehouse 0.652kg, Heaviest Trout, Adul t- Trent Mallinson 0.820 kg, Heaviest Trout, Veteran – Gundars Simpson 0.733kg and the heaviest trout caught by a land-based angler was won by John Freeman with a fish weighing 0.532kg. The biggest bag of five trout was won by Peter Glowacki 3.406kg.
The team “Old Crankas” of Laurie and Mandy Harrison, Martin Exel and Matthew Mallinson caught the most trout tallying 124 over the four days of fishing.
Encouragement Awards: Female – Danielle Duffin, Male – Daniel Smith.
Major Prize winners: 1st Place (fishing kayak & electric trolling motor) went to six-year-old Harper Duffin, 2nd Lottie Waddell, 3rd Claire Harrison, 4th Danielle Duffin.
Mystery Weight Awards: Gary Loh, Troy Stonehouse, James Tassell, Giovanna Stonehouse, Darren Oates.
Bill Groves Memorial Award: Dean Stonehouse. Peter Chew Memorial Award: Lottie Waddell.
It was worth noting that 1st place winner Harper Duffin was the competition’s youngest competitor and 2nd place winner Lottie Waddell was also the 2nd youngest competitor.
Congratulations to all winners and everyone who braved the conditions for the competition.
Well done also to the LPAC and all the sponsors for making the event possible and everyone who went along had a great time even if the conditions weren’t ideal.
The New Norfolk Licensed Anglers Association resumes competition fishing this weekend at Wayatinah Lagoon in the Dave Gasson Memorial Trout Fishing Competition held by the Wayatinah Sports & Social Club.
The event is always popular and it’s open to the public and in the past an Inland Fishing Licence wasn’t required to enter but as of this year all competitors must have a current licence to compete and they must adhere to all IFS rules and regulations.
Fishing starts on Friday, February 16 at 6pm, finishing on Sunday at 12 pm with a final weigh, barbecue and presentation at the Wayatinah Tavern.
Entry fees are adults $10 and juniors 5-17 years of age $5 and to enter you need to register which can be done from 4pm-7pm Friday or 8am-10.30am Saturday.
Again a tagged Atlantic salmon will be released into the lagoon which will win one lucky angler a special prize but it won’t be eligible for the heaviest fish award as it’s a separate category especially for the competition.
As always there will be some great prizes on offer across a broad range of categories and the Wayatinah Social Club always go above and beyond for this event every year.
For more information including other weigh-in times check the Wayatinah Social Club and NNLAA Facebook pages as there are fishing boundaries and specific rules everyone needs to know as well for the event.
The results from round four of the State Fly Fishing championships on the Tyenna River recently were encouraging especially for Tasmanian anglers who filled nine of the top 10 placings.
In total 675 trout were caught and released over four sessions by 21 competitors.
Finishing in first position was Joshua Flowers from Tasmania who had a 3 ranking point buffer over Stewart Dick, also from Tasmania, and finishing in third position was young gun Finn McDowell a further three points behind.
Julien Thiriet and John Hardy rounded out the top five for a Tasmanian clean sweep.
Round five of the Tasmanian State Championships will be held on Lake King William on the weekend of February 24-25.
The 10th Derwent River Flathead Classic was run last Saturday by the Sportsfishing Club Of Tasmania and from reports it was a great day.
The kids had a ball and all of them left with a rod and reel to keep on catching fish.
Justin Stevens caught the biggest flathead in the competitions history landing a big bluespot that was 61 cm in length.
Special mention to all the sponsors for their support and well done to all involved in organising the day and a shout out to Kelly Hunt and the late Adrian”Mozza” Morrisby who was the initial brainchild in regards to starting the competition.
Tip Of The Week: Cable or zip ties can come in handy for lots of things in life and fishing.
Some examples of uses are fixing landing nets, attaching a split ring to a rod for a hook keeper, securing reels to rods, securing and safeguarding trailer/boat wiring and registration plates, fixing and securing skirt lures and baits, depth marking on anchor chains, attaching floats to keys and replacing lost zipper tabs to clothing and bags.
As a senior scientist in cannabis crop production at Extractas Bioscience it stands to reason that when Lizzie Preece turns her agricultural expertise to growing flowers, she gets results.
With husband Travis and children Annie, 8, and Toby, 5, the gardening-mad mum has taken the original farmhouse on Cressy property Little Forest and set up a home business growing and selling flowers.
The 1910 property originally belonged to her great great grandparents James and Georgina Bayles, and by the time her dad had taken over management of the farm her family was living in a more modern home “further up the road”.
“This place was rented out and over the years became dilapidated – the garden, which had been beautiful, became overgrown and unkept,” Lizzie said.
“After I’d finished university in 2007 I moved back here with Travis and we started renovating.”
Lizzie admits she started working on the garden well before they even moved in and the pace only increased during maternity leave when they were expecting their firstborn.
“I remembered how gorgeous it was when my grandmother lived here and after she passed I just wanted to get it back a state that would make her proud,” Lizzie said.
“She used to have a lot of garden parties to raise money for New Horizons because one of my aunties had Downes Syndrome.”
With the same philanthropic tendency Lizzie will once again open up the garden for a good cause – to help the Cressy Holy Trinity Church raise money to restore its stained glass window.
Little Forest, which takes its name from the bordering river, will be one of four farm gardens to open to the public on November 25: Pisa, in Macquarie Rd, Cressy; Forest Vale, on Poatina Rd, Cressy; and Longford Hall in Malcombe St, Longford.
The gardens will be open between 10am and 4pm, cost is $25, which includes a Devonshire tea, sandwiches and beverages in the Cressy Church Hall throughout the day. Payment is taken at any of the four venues.
“Roses were my first love and I had planted heaps at mum’s, so I planted about 100 plus roses straight up, along with Pierre de Ronsard and David Austin roses, ranuculas, tulips, peonies and other spring bulbs,” Lizzie said.
“I was going for that traditional cottage style garden and then I got sucked into the dahlia world – I bought a couple and then it just got out of hand.
“When I started posting on Instagram I was soon approached by florists wanting to sell them, and now I’m at a stage where all my flowers are booked out next year, they’re already spoken for.
Every Monday morning the whole family is out cutting flowers at the crack of dawn before work and school and filling buckets ready to deliver.
As brides-to-be demand mainly white flowers, such as Boundary Snowflake and Café Au Lait, Lizzie has resorted to putting in extra beds of simple white dahlias to add to more than 50 varieties and colours already established such as Powder Puff, Coconut Ice, Samoan Prince and Elma Elizabeth.
The dahlia season is from January to the end of April so they won’t be on show for the open garden, but the Preece’s have plenty of gardening triumphs to show off, such as the grafting of old fruit trees to produce new varieties, a big vegetable patch and the garden apiary where they are sourcing and selling beautiful fresh honey with a highly sought-after soft floral flavour.
“Soil health, irrigation, the right time to pick, dealing with pests and diseases – my ag science knowledge comes in handy and I’m happy to answer questions,” Lizzie said.
“And I will of course have some bunches of flowers for sale to help with the fundraising.”
As schools emerged from the COVID lockdowns, Billy Blackett saw a universal problem – students were struggling with the impacts of the pandemic on their learning.
He turned his entrepreneurial and altruistic spirit to the problem. What was a practical, affordable and effective way to provide meaningful support to students who needed a hand?
At the time Billy was 18 and had just started his Bachelor of Economics at the University of Tasmania.
With a desire to make a positive contribution and support students whatever their stage of learning, Billy founded two businesses – Milestone Mentoring and Affordable Tutoring Tasmania, both of which work alongside not-for-profits to promote positive learning outcomes for young people.
His tutoring platform now has more than 50 tutors, most of them aged between 18 and 25, available to support students both in-person and online at any stage from primary school through to Years 11 and 12.
Billy is Tasmania’s 2024 Rhodes Scholar and next year he will study a Masters in Education at Oxford University, focusing on digital and social change.
“I’ve had a lot of support to help me to get where I am and now I’m really excited about soaking up everything I can from Oxford, shadowing some really good people and then bringing that knowledge back to Tasmania to assist in making a difference to the lives of young people here,” he said.
“We have so many wonderful educators within this state that are dedicated to supporting children and young people.
“While there are many uncertainties surrounding the impact of technology in schooling, I am confident that our state is prepared to harness the great opportunities available in this space.
My hope is to build more knowledge in the area of digital learning at Oxford and to play my part in ensuring that all young people can have the best learning experience.”
The Rhodes Scholarship will provide Billy with two years at Oxford. He plans to complete the Masters in Education in the first year and is considering a Masters in Comparative Social Policy for his second year.
Billy grew up in the Huon Valley, in a home with where the norm was supporting both adults and children wherever they were in their learning journey.
He attended Glen Huon Primary School, St Aloysius College and was awarded a Community Scholarship to The Hutchins School for Years 11 and 12.
Through his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Tasmania he has taken up opportunities for mentorship and corporate experience with internships at various businesses in Tasmania, including Hydro Tasmania, Deloitte Acccess Economics and The Project Lab.
Two other young Tasmanians have been nominated for the Australia-at-large Rhodes Scholarships, which have not yet been awarded.
They are Heath Dimsey (University of Tasmania) and Lilli Ireland (Australian National University).
In the heart of the TransLink industrial estate opposite Launceston Airport at Western Junction, Crisp Bros. & Haywards has built a workforce that can tackle the big stuff when it comes to steel construction projects.
A few months ago company chair John Lord and project manager Shaun Brown proudly watched the final massive steel beams bound for the West Gate Tunnel Project in Melbourne, Victoria, roll out of the massive, custom-built workshop.
The contract was awarded in May 2021, and required a new purpose-built facility that increased overhead lifting capacity from 80T to 160T to enable manoeuvring of the giant lengths of steel.
All together 69 individual steel bridge girder sections were built, making up three bridge assemblies to serve as distribution lanes from the tunnel into the western end of the city.
Tasmanian Heavy Haulage driver Brodie Shearer had the honour of delivering the final massive load to Devonport and roll it onto a Searoad ship to cross Bass Strait.
Of the 69 sections transported, the largest section moved was 110 tonnes, 35m long and 5.5m wide.
According to Mr Brown, who delivered the project to the October 6 deadline, an average of 40 tradesmen and five apprentices were involved in working on the bridge components every week with 145,000 man hours required to get the job done.
“I could not be more relieved, nor more proud, of what we have achieved and it all comes down to the skills of the workers here at Haywards,” he said.
“In total 5000 tonnes of steel was handled in the production, that is approximately 250 trailers of raw material coming into Tasmania and 69 large sections being delivered to the site in Victoria.
“Very few shops in Australia have the capacity to handle this type of work – four to be exact – and only two can build the wind towers that are also a specialty of ours.”
From a mining underpass in the Tanami Desert to roof sections for Amy Park and Southern Cross Station, Haywards has been going from strength to strength and now employs more than 300 people.
Subcontractors included Infrabuild, Fusion NDT, Survey Resources, McElligotts, GJ Engineering, P&D L Engineering, Searoad and Tasmanian Heavy Haulage.
McElligotts, a painting business over the road from the Haywards workshop, grew from nothing just to meet the needs of Haywards and have prospered along with its contractor.
“One of the most satisfying outcomes was seeing all of our 15 apprentices spent some time working alongside our skilled tradesmen, gaining valuable experience working on the project,” Mr Lord said.
“We’re in the value business – you’re only as good as your last job and we’ve got customers coming to us, sitting down and they don’t even haggle over things, because they know that the people here can do what they want and do it well.”
The second world war was drawing to a close when two brothers ventured north from Hobart to purchase their uncle’s concrete business in Launceston.
By June 1948, Gerald and Noel Crisp had expanded the welding and cutting equipment outfit by buying a local spray-painting business. It was not until 1961 that Crisp Bros. Pty Ltd was officially established by Lloyd Scott; a farmer from the property Somerville at Birralee.
He had arranged with Gerald Crisp to swap Somerville for the Wellington St business of Crisp Bros. with the appropriate cash adjustment. Lloyd firmly believed he was a better estimator/steel fabricator than farmer!
The company operated successfully manufacturing a range of products such as shower screens, blinds, fly-wire and security doors, wrought iron products and steel fabrication. Over the years, the business became increasingly involved in major fabrication projects throughout the state.
By the late 1970s, Lloyd recognised retirement was looming, but he didn’t have a succession plan in place. In 1979, he facilitated and financed a management buyout – the template of which is still instrumental today.
It is an ethos where directors and management believe that, apart from operating with excellent people, the ownership strategy is a significant factor in the success of the company and essentially requires all shareholders to be involved full-time in the management and operation of the company.
In 1965 Johns Perry Ltd (then Johns & Waygood Ltd) bought Phoenix Foundry Ltd and its subsidiaries. Johns Perry already had a steel fabrication factory in Hobart, and in 1972 all the Tasmanian operations were renamed Johns Phoenix. Major restructuring and re-naming took place within the Johns Perry group in 1978.
The foundry at Franklin Village was renamed Johns Perry Castings. The machine shop in Frankland Street, Launceston and the Hobart steel fabrication works were closed, and the Launceston steel fabrication was combined with the Hayward crane operation to become Johns Perry Hayward. In 1982 Johns Perry Hayward moved to new premises at Western Junction.
In 1995 the steel fabrication company Boral Johns Perry Hayward placed its Western Junction-based operation on the market. Kings Meadows-based Crisp Bros. signed a contract to buy Boral Johns Perry Hayward’s plant and equipment.
The take-over was fnalised in August, 1995, with the new business, Crisp Bros. & Haywards becoming the state’s biggest steel fabrication and construction group.
Joining forces and expanding meant the bigger jobs started to flow and workshops were built at Wynyard and Margate.
The Margate site was crucial to cater for the building and repairing of aquaculture fish feeding barges and to provide a 600-tonne slip to both launch and dry dock vessels.
Crisp Bros & Haywards built the bridge over the Domain, a ship loader at Burnie, handled some shutdown work for smelters, worked at West Coast mines, completed some work for Tas Ports and also worked on big tanks that bring liquid fuel to the state.
The company name is on the Tahune Airwalk, Mona, Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre, Royal Hobart Hospital and Three Capes Track, just to name a few.
It was charged with constructing half of the roof at Amy Park soccer stadium and also part of the Southern Cross Station roof.
“I realised we were a major player on the national stage when I went to the meeting about Amy Park, and I sat down with the builder to get a feel for what the job involved,” Mr Brown said.
“There was no negotiating, he said I want you to do the job,” before I’d even wrapped my head around it.
“It was the first time I saw how valued our skill base was in the Melbourne market, it was a great moment of clarity.”
Like her Aboriginal ancestors proud Palawa woman Kitana Mansell starts her day foraging for food.
The 22-year-old business development manager of Tasmania’s first Aboriginal-inspired food business, Palawa Kipli, harvests from an ever-expanding garden of native plants at Piyurakitina, Risdon Cove.
There’s usually some native bower spinach, kunzea, kunikung (pigface), and wattle seed on hand – depending on the season – and if she can beat the birds sometimes native cherries to pick.
She then darts around greater Hobart, visiting backyards that have proven to be a great source of pepperberries and other fruits and berries, followed by stops at various businesses for her wallaby meats, mutton bird and abalone.
Palawa Kipli has flourished since Kitanna began managing the business’ operations in 2020, showcasing Tasmanian Aboriginal culture through food, tours and history.
“It’s a very peaceful and satisfying process – knowing my ancestors have been doing this for thousands of years – and that I have the ability to bring that cultural practice back to life and help others reconnect with the land and the food while passing on the knowledge of our elders,” she said.
Having catered for approximately 1000 events over the past three years and after recently launching Kipli Takara Tours, a bush tucker tour branch of the business, Kitana said an increasing number of interstate and international tourists to the state are showing interest in Palawa Kipli’s offerings.
The business is a magnet for school groups, with a cooking class based on traditional Aboriginal food.
There are demonstrations, quizzes, activities and Palawala Kipli bush tucker products as prizes to keep the students engaged.
“Just as importantly I recount our history – that at Pirakitina we’re at the place where the first massacre of Aboriginals took place in Tasmania in 1804 and we talk about that true history and about what happened while leaning about the bush foods.”
By diversifying the business has been able to turn a small profit for the first time since Kitanna took the helm at age 19.
The cultural dining experiences, for up to 30 people, and the statewide catering service, have proved extremely popular, even catering at Dark Mofo for the past two years.
During the day Kitana is assisted by up to five casual Aboriginal staff who learn many skills on the job.
Conservation Tasmania comes on site every few months to help with weeding the little native garden, which she is hoping to expand if she can secure a grant.
Kitana great up in Launceston until she moved to Hobart with her mother at age 15, eventually working at Macquarie Point Development Corporation?? while completing her Certificate III in business.
Since she was about 12 she has been able to travel extensively with her mum, visiting countries all over the world.
“We made a point of experiencing the traditional food wherever we went, but everytime we came home I would notice there was nothing here that showcased our traditional foods – not even one restaurant.”
“That’s where the passion comes from in wanting to build Palawa Kipli.
“I started helping my cousin Tim Sculthorpe, who started the business, and was doing food stalls at Salamanca and Taste,“ she said.
When he moved to Sydney I stayed on board and a whole new chapter opened up, not just learning about tourism, education and catering, but taking part on judging panels, speaking in public and teaching myself more about my heritage.”
The business is now owned and operated by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, ensuring its direction is controlled by the Aboriginal community.
“While I’m in charge it’s about keeping that connection to community and taking their advice – I want to make sure the community is happy with how we deliver Palawa Kipli and never let our cultural values go due to business decisions or simply making money.
“The reason why we’re doing what we do is only to share our stories and create more opportunity for Aboriginal people to grow in confidence and learn about their traditional foods.”
Inviting guests out on Country to experience authentic Aboriginal food is where Ms Mansell’s passion truly lies.
“We’ve just launched our cultural dining experiences that we add to the (Kipli Takara) tours for people to book, if they want to take it to the the next level of Aboriginal food,” Kitana said.
“The (Kipli Takara) tour comes with modern Tasmanian Aboriginal food, which is a platter and some native sodas.
“And the cultural dining experience is a six-course meal, followed by the Kipli tucker tour.”
Kitana has lofty ambitions for Palawa Kipli after recently attending the World Indigenous Tourism Summit in Perth, where she rubbed shoulders with some of the the world’s most successful Indigenous business entrepreneurs including The Sioux Chef Mission founder Sean Sherman.
In May Kitana won recognised for tourism and hospitality excellence at the Tasmanian Young Achiever Awards.
Such is her passion for what she does, she admits it consumes her private time also, other than a game of netball each week.
“Every day I live for the cause of my community, support other aboriginal people through art, festivals – anything to connect with my community.
The final bushtucker tour for 2023 in on December 22 and dates for next year’s tours are about to be released.
Ms Mansell received a prize package valued at more than $2,500, part of which is admission to a leadership and mentoring programme.
She said she plans to use the training to up-skill herself in the tourism and hospitality industry to continue to grow both Palawa Kipli and Kipli Pakana.
“If I didn’t have the passion for it, then it would just be a job. But this is my whole life, Ms Mansell said.
“It’s everything that I put my heart and soul into every single day until I go to sleep.”
The much anticipated Hobart Airport upgrade, valued at $200 million has commenced.
The development will upgrade the terminal allowing more space for passengers and more food and retail outlets.
Hobart Airport CEO Norris Carter said work was underway to double the size of the terminal.
“There will be increased seating capacity and queuing space for both domestic and international flights, two more departure gates for a total of seven, a third security screening lane with improved screening technology, and a third baggage carousel,” Mr Carter said.
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PICTURED: Norris Carter Hobart Airport CEO, Rebecca White Opposition Leader, Amy Hills Tourism Industry Council and Steve Old of THA.
