Stallholders at the Produce of King Island (POKI) Market never quite know what the market will bring, whether it’s sun or rain and wind or if tourists will flock in or be out and about across the island.

Last weekend’s market was no different. There were some new stallholders and the regulars took up their positions and displayed their wares. It was steady but not overly crowded when compared to last month’s market when it was difficult to move in the Town Hall.

As the winter chill sets in, woollen hats and beanies sat beside delicately handknitted and croqueted baby jumpers, booties and bonnets.

The big sellers once again were plants and home produce. Trish Doherty who sells her preserves each Friday at the CWA in Edward Street said that sales were okay and that most stalls seem to have made sales.

It was relaxed and a chance for people to casually catch up. When asked if the Courier could print her Nan’s 1939 relish recipe she said, “No way. It’s a secret. Not even Donna (her daughter) has this recipe…yet”.

 So if you missed buying at Saturday’s POKI, pop into the CWA on Friday morning.

Mandy Potter, a POKI coordinator said that everyone seems to be pleased, even if the day was quieter. She agreed with other stallholders that while there were some visitors, most were locals.

“The busy time is between 10am and 11am when families with young children come to POKI. I think that fits with their shopping, children’s morning sport and maybe buying a doughnut, hot dog or other quick-grab food,” said Deb Richardson.

The results of the POKI market raffle are Roger Frerk who won the crayfish, Jan Sharman won the $50 butcher shop voucher, Michelle Mathers won the $50 FoodWorks voucher, Jim Mc Fadzean won the $50 bakery voucher and Wendy Constable won the metal decorative art.

The next POKI market date will be posted on the Facebook King Island Noticeboard page, and most likely will be in August.

THE tradition of the King’s Birthday weekend King Island Wild Pheasant shoot continues.

While Australia’s only wild hunt no longer attracts the numbers of visitors or local licence registrations that it did in the past a few groups took to the wild and hoped to bag at least one bird.

The Hamer contingent used the weekend as a bit of fun, family and friend catchups and once again, donned their caps, pulled on their breeches, waxed the moustache and cried out “To the hunt”.

 “Conditions were challenging at times with a few showers, plenty of wind and the birds ducking for cover,” group member Dale Reed said.

“We relied on the keen noses of our dogs to flush the birds as they were holding tight.

“The birds were in abundance, as usual, both hens and cocks.

“The weekend was a great time for catching up with fellow hunters eating, laughing and sharing stories of the success or even about the one that got away.”

In the past up to 100 licences were granted by NRE, but the number steadily decreases. The decline is most likely due to the traditional hunters have now aged; values have changed; farms are getting bigger and property access is harder.

The birds are native to Asia but were introduced by the English and used all around the world for hunting. The brightly coloured males are normally bred in captivity and released for the hunt, but on King Island, they live wild and are feral.

The birds were introduced to the island around 1910 when the Bird and Game Protection Society was formed.

By 1912, the initial release of a dozen birds imported by Dr Cunningham had multiplied, but not to the extent that anyone could shoot them.

But the King Island News reported, that “they were to be found across the island.”.

The island’s early settlers were interested in “developing the island as an attractive resort for sportsmen” and in 1912 pheasants from Victoria were imported. and the settlers, as with today’s farmers, found the pheasants to be efficient insectivores, particularly with corby grubs and grasshoppers.

Around 1917, the society called for their protection and lobbied the government for a pheasant season as they were regarded as ‘useful birds’ .

The local fine for shooting a pheasant illegally was £10 for every bird killed by them or found in their possession and a reward of £5 was offered to anyone supplying information (anonymity was accepted) leading to a conviction.

The birds are very wily, hardy, and incredibly athletic and a challenge to hunt and whether for or against the weekend shoot, visitors are amazed when they see the colourful plumage and pheasants scurrying across the road.

Personally, as Chaplain of the Unit, I flew over to King Island on Monday last and remained there until after the funeral which took place on Tuesday afternoon having been postponed in order that any relatives who could make the journey should have the opportunity of being present. Actually, the father of P/O [Pilot Officer] Kildea was the only relative to be present…. He was very much impressed by the kindly sympathy of the local people and also by the care and respect shown by the Service in making the necessary arrangements. Apart from the Air Force party which was flown over from the mainland for the occasion the [island] Military and V.D.C. [Volunteer Defence Corps] were represented and a large number of King Islanders were present.’

So wrote Flight Lieutenant Victor Deakin on 19 July 1943 to Geoffrey Edwards, younger brother of Neville (Bill), who was one of the four airmen who died in the Beaufort Bomber crash on King Island on 11 July 1943.

 Victor was the chaplain at the Air Force base at East Sale in Victoria where the men’s unit – 1 Operational Training Unit was located. From there, three Beaufort Bombers departed as part of a formation flying training exercise over King Island. Tragically, one never returned and their graves are in the King Island cemetery.

This Australian-manufactured plane was based on the British Bristol Beaufort, a twin-engined machine with a crew of four that could carry either a torpedo or bombs. The Beauforts were used to patrol Australia’s coastline and could also attack enemy naval fleets. Seven hundred bombers were constructed between 1941 and September 1944.

In the lead up to Anzac Day, it was mentioned that your RSL Sub branch is leading a special commemoration on Tuesday 11 July, commencing at 11 am in the King Island Cemetery to honour Pilot Officers Harold Snell, John Kildea, Clarence Leesue and Neville Edwards.

In addition, we will also be remembering islanders who served in the RAAF and lost their lives during World War 2. So far, we have identified William (Buff) Cheese, John Lancaster and Nancy Morrison, who have relations still living on King Island. The commemoration will be live streamed by King Island TV.

Descendants of the seven personnel and those from the mainland will be attending.

The families have shared rare documents, including Chaplain Deakin’s letter. We now know that one of the plane crew had a child. Clarence Leesue’s wife had just conceived when he died, and neither would have known. Gwen Leesue gave birth to their daughter, Merrilyn, in March 1944. A faded and damaged photograph sits at the base of her husband’s headstone, which will be replaced as a formal part of the ceremony.

When the Defence Force was notified of the ceremony, the RAAF Commander Tasmania, Wing Commander Andrew Johnson, his senior Warrant Officer and a chaplain from East Sale RAAF Base, confirmed they will attend and participate. Andrew will be mentioning Bomber Formation flying and the risks involved, noting that the crash was just a few months after the Dambusters Raid in Germany.

Despite our ceremonies occurring during school holidays, King Island District High School students will lay flowers at the graves, as they did every year from 1943 until the early 1970s.

At 7.30 pm on 11 July, in the Town Hall, there will be a community presentation on the King Island World War 2 Comfort Fund. This was a stand-alone approved fund that Jack and Alice Marshall led with an active team, which was well supported by the island community.

Comfort parcels were sent to service personnel around the world, including many non-islanders, and over 130 people sent around 500 thank you letters. Mr Marshall’s case, which included the collection of letters, was donated to the Sub-branch by Jack and Alice’s daughter, Sylvia Ransley.

Since 2013 a team of local women have been transcribing them. A truly remarkable achievement and more information will appear in next week’s Courier.

KING Island beef producer Robert Williams and his partner Elvira Bolotova, a former journalist in Russia, were overwhelmed when named in JBS Australia’s Great Southern 2023 Beef Producer of the Year top 10 list at a gala event at Melbourne Showgrounds.

They were as one of three King Islanders named in the top 10.

Ex-rock lobster fisherman, Peter Watson, who took over his parent’s two properties in the north of the island, was named runner-up. He buys and sells beef cattle.

Duncan Clemons, from Manuka, who buys/sells and breeds cattle was named in the top 10.

“It was a huge day and it was totally unexpected and overwhelming,” Robert said.

“I was taken completely taken by surprise, it’s an amazing outcome for King Island and Tasmania’s beef industry. There is a lot happening in the industry.”

 JBS Australia is the largest meat processing company in the country and exports to more than 80 countries worldwide.

The company ensures they purchase the best livestock in Australia with a key focus on food safety, animal welfare, product quality and customer service.

 Robert said he is not a big supplier, but puts an emphasis on quality over quantity.

 Over two properties Yambacoona Estate and Cracks, Robert and Elvira run at their peak about 280 black baldies and Herefords.

 “It was a gobsmacking dinner,” Robert said.

“The whole day was unbelievable,” Robert said.

 JBS hosted 500 for the dinner and ran beef information sessions during the day.

 “The seminar during the day was tremendous.

“They had chefs showing how meat is cut and the different cuts and they also showed how meat is graded.”

 Robert’s partner Elvira, who loves living on King Island and working the farms with Robert, is originally from the city of Irkutsk in Siberia. She worked as a journalist for over 20 years, in various newspapers, radio, and later in a news agency.

 “When I was starting out as a journalist 35 years ago, it was very interesting work,” Elvira said.

  “This was the era of Glasnost heralded by then-leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

“Journalism in Russia experienced an unprecedented rise.

“However, as democratic reforms rolled back, and the cost of printing services grew, journalism increasingly turned into a service of information and marketing services.

  “Now, with the outbreak of the war with Ukraine, journalism in Russia has finally died. It is sad.”

  Elvira’s home city Irkutsk has a population of about 600,000 and is the capital of a large Siberian region.

  “I was born and raised in a small provincial town. And life on the island is a bit like a carefree childhood.

  “But of course the standard of living in provincial Russian cities is much lower than in Australia.

“Most of the population still use stove heating and do not have basic amenities in the house, for example water supply, a bathroom and toilet.”

 Elvira said in Russian provinces there is practically no infrastructure for sports or creativity.

 “On King Island we have golf, equestrian sports, shooting, a yacht club and diving.

“I recently started playing golf and I am grateful to my friends and mentors,” Elvira said.

 “Most importantly, King Islanders and Tasmanians are friendly and open people.

 “I’m very lucky that I met Robert and ended up on this beautiful island.”

Canada has experienced weeks of wildfires that have devasted millions of hectares and more than 100,000 residents have been evacuated and displaced.

King Island’s Senior Ranger, Shelley Graham left a few weeks ago as part of the Tasmanian contingent to join a 200-strong Australasian deployment and hundreds of firefighters from across the world to support the effort to fight the country’s wildfires.

Last week choking smoke labelled a “smoke storm” blew into the United States with New York and Detroit being named the most polluted cities in the world topping Dhaka in Bangladesh and New Delhi in India, according to the IQAir World Air Quality Index.

Reports are that air quality has improved as the fires are producing less smoke. The Canadian press and scientists are using the word “unprecedented” as records are shattered and there is a nationwide crisis.

Fire crews are exhausted.

“I have been deployed to the Lake Chipewyan Fire,” Ms Graham said.

“The fire has now been classified as “contained” and the Big Stone indigenous community have just been allowed to move back into their homes after being evacuated for three weeks, which is very satisfying.

“However, there is some severe fire weather coming, so that may change.

“The situation across Canada is still dire, there are over 400 active fires and most of those are classified as out of control. More than 4,000,000 hectares of land have been burnt. We are having new startups most days and there are still about 20,000 people displaced from their homes.

“Tasmania and Canada use very similar remote area firefighting techniques, so the work is very familiar to me, aerial insertion and extraction to very remote areas, water bucketing using helicopters and the use of pumps and hose lines.

 “The work has been hard and dirty, working over 12 hours per day and 14-day shifts. Initially, the risks were that we were unfamiliar with the local factors that influence wildfire behaviour, and the terrain and wildlife, however, that is becoming familiar now that we are a couple of weeks in.

“We see bears most days as well as many squirrels, beavers and moose. Working with people from across the world has been interesting, we are working with crews from Canada, from all over America, Australia and New Zealand.

“I’m currently on two days off and then I’ll be back on the fireline for another 14 days before heading home. I’m looking forward to seeing my family and getting a decent cup of coffee.”

Canadian officials warn it could be a marathon fire season and welcomed the help of firefighters arriving from other countries.