Eastern Line Shipping has stepped in and offered Need for Feed Australia the charter of their vessel, the King Islander – at cost – to shift all 700 tonnes of hay and cattle pellets from the mainland to King Island in one sailing.
“Warren Dick very generously and at great expense, is bringing the boat empty to Port Welshpool so that we have the best chance of getting all of our precious cargo to King Island in a timely manner,” NFFA said.
“Not only that, we have a loading and sailing date for Saturday, May 18 locked in with both Gippsland Ports at Port Welshpool and TasPorts at Grassy on King Island. They will be arriving at King Island on Sunday just before dawn and then it will be up to our local team to go into full swing to get it all unloaded and off to our recipients.”
This comes after Colac Otway Shire pulled the pin on the use of the port of Apollo Bay last week with NFFA needing to secure a ship capable of handling Bass Strait with access to Port Welshpool and find suitable sailing dates.
The result was that the shipping of the urgently needed feed for King Island livestock was postponed. The 500 tonnes or 770 bales of oaten hay sourced from across the country, and 200 tonnes of cattle pellets in 1-tonne bulk bags are now, according to NFFA, all going on one boat in one trip and not multiple sailings.
THE 110th Anzac Day commemoration of the landing at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915 began at dawn at the Cenotaph in Currie.
Each year the Australian Defence Force are represented and those attending have links to King Island.
Last year, Ryan Cooke represented the Army and in July last year, the Air Force participated in the Remembrance ceremony for the 1943 bomber crash on the island and the flight officers buried here.
This year, a RAN contingent from HMAS Cerberus in Victoria was led by Warrant Officer David George, a King Islander. It was noted during the service that these veterans individually met their costs to attend the King Island commemorations.
King Islander Bernard George, a veteran who served with the Army in Afghanistan and Iraq, was the first guest speaker. Helen Conley, the second speaker, reflected on a World War II King Island soldier and detailed his battles. Blue – the larrikin, the Wild Colonel Boy – was killed in action and reburied in the Lae War cemetery.
Ms Conley pointed to service notations and misdemeanours but reminded those present that “this man gave his life for his country and never feigned from his duty as an infantry soldier and that the names of the Cenotaph are more than names in service notations and records”.
RSL Sub-Branch presdient Gary Barker and KIDHS SRC president Rhys Esguerra.
Retired RAN chaplain Reverend John Cox led the prayer. RSL Sub-Branch president Gary Barker recognised the 25th anniversary of the Australian-led deployment of the International Force for East Timor involving 5000 personnel to the 22-nation force.
Mr Barker acknowledged the work of past RSL sub-branch president Thomas Shaw. Tom and Mel’s work which revitalised the RSL sub-branch was further recognised at the RSL Club rooms after the dawn service when a ‘warm drink’ was served.
The Sailors Bar or ‘Tom’s Bar’ was officially opened by the Navy. This year the Anzac Day march commenced in Meech Street and followed the drummers, Tim Leo and Daniel Baer, to the Cenotaph. The change was well received and – as with the Dawn Service, despite the chill – the main service at 10.30am was well attended.
Rather than diminishing, the numbers attending the memorial services continue to increase attracting island visitors as well as multigeneration support. The King Island District High School students carried the Service, allied Services and Honour flags and were assisted by the RAN personnel.
This year more than 30 wreaths were laid at the Cenotaph. The president of the King Island District High School students representative council, Rhys Esguerra, was the Master of Ceremony and following tradition, the hymn Abide with Me was prerecorded by Kelly Lancaster as she was off the island.
Janet Hamilton read her father Private Reg Groom’s comfort parcel letter he wrote to Jack Marshall while waiting in Darwin to be deployed to war. He was captured in Timor on February 22, 1942, and spent the rest of the conflict as a prisoner of war, before being repatriated to Japan in September 19, 1945 and discharged in December.
Janet shared what it was like growing up in a Veteran’s family on the island. While her father didn’t discuss life as a POW, he attended every POW reunion, and religiously supported the RSL.
Janet has now read her father’s service records and understands more about his experiences. The RAN members enjoyed their time on King Island, have now joined the sub-branch and are eager to return with their mates.
The King Island District High School students carrying the Honour flags led by Daniel Baer (left) and Tim Leo on drums marching Meech Street to the Centoaph.
The last day of Agfest did not disappoint with 24,128 people through the gate adding to figures of 17,362 on the Friday and 12,165 on the Thursday, an impressive total of 53,655 on three of the best weather days in memory.
The streets were packed, and exhibitors were happy, reporting strong sales and future leads according to Agfest Chair Dylan Bellchambers.
“My first Agfest as Chair has been an amazing experience. We have had three days of wonderful weather and great crowds. I couldn’t be happier,” he said.
“Rural Youth Tasmania and the Agfest Committee are incredibly proud of the contribution our event makes to the community and economy.
“Fundamentally we are a training organisation providing opportunities for our members to gain new skills or build on existing ones as they organise and deliver Agfest.
“The average age of this year’s committee was 21.”
“This year we would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Tasmanian Ploughing Association, Tasmanian Mounted Search & Rescue, St Patrick’s College and Island Drill Dance Group.”
The Sorell municipality will have to find a new mayor after Liberal candidate Kerry Vincent almost certainly elected to the Upper House of Prosser on Saturday.
The popular mayor secured 38.71 per cent of the vote ahead of Labor candidate Bryan Green with 28.46 per cent of first preference votes.
On Saturday night, Mr Vincent said while there was still more counting he was “feeling good”.
“Thank you to everyone who supported me. In particular I’d like to thank Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Jane Howlett MP for their unwavering support,” he said.
In the seat of Hobart, it looks like former Greens Leader Cassy O’Connor will win the first ever Green seat in the Legislative Council.
Glenorchy mayor Bec Thomas, independent, is ahead in a tight race against Labor’s candidate Tessa McLaughlin.
Rechecking of polling place first preferences will commence on Monday, together with the counting of provisional and out-of-division votes. Further counts are expected later in the week and will include outstanding postal, interstate pre-poll, Antarctic and telephone votes.
Feed has been secured for King Island farmers with the first shipment of hay expected to depart the mainland next week.
The operators of the Port Welshpool, Gippsland Ports have been secured to help bring hundreds of hay bales across the strait.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said they have been trying to find a solution for King Island farmers after the Colac Otway Shire Council pulled out of talks earlier this week.
“Unfortunately, the decision of the Colac council has added additional time and cost to what should have been a simple task, but a commitment to helping our farmers from both Tasmania and the mainland has seen us come to a good solution,” Mr Rockliff said.
Victorian volunteers working with Need for Feed will now deliver the feed from northern Victoria to Port Welshpool for shipping to the island.
TasFarmers have welcomed the news and commended Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Minister for Primary Industry and Water, Jane Howlett for resolving the stand-off with the Colac Otway Shire Council.
TasFarmers President, Ian Sauer said the news will give some confidence to King Island farmers and the Lions Club charity Need for Feed, who have been advocating for much-needed fodder from Apollo Bay.
“If the shire truly cared for our country and its farmers, and acted as responsible corporate citizens, we wouldn’t be in this situation. They should feel ashamed, and the nation should be appalled by this injustice,” Mr Sauer said.
“We now have a viable solution, and the government’s responsiveness offers King Island farmers some breathing space.”
He praised the exemplary support from Victorian farmers, highlighting the strong camaraderie between Tasmania’s King Island and Victoria.
“The Premier’s dedication to this issue is evident, and Tasmanians can take pride in the government’s swift action.”
Grants for drought affected farmers is open until June 30.
Details on the support available for producers on King and Flinders Islands can be found on the NRE Tas website.
THE hours ticked down last week when Kelly and Phil Lancaster’s daughters Kara and Gracie were both due to give birth in the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie.
The two little bundles of joy arrived within two days of each other. The sisters Kara and Gracie were able to be in hospital together, with their babies born two days and two minutes apart.
Kara and Damon Pyke had a baby boy, born at 3:54am on April 24 – Thomas Colin Henry Pyke (8lbs 12 ounces). Gracie and Austinn Bake had a girl, Wren Thea, born at 3:56am on April 26 (8lbs 7 ounces).
Proud dads – Damon Pyke, left, with Thomas and Austinn Bake with Wren
“Phil and I are very proud to announce the new arrivals to our family, how blessed are we to have two little bundles of joy in two days,” Kelly said after the birth.
“Thomas is a little Damon and Wren is a little Austinn,” Kelly said.
Proud grandmother “Mimi” Kelly Lancaster with her bundles of joy Thomas and Wren.
In a time where grandma, granny, and grandmother are not as favoured as in past generations, Kelly hopes to be called Mimi.
“I don’t know what Phil will be known as,” Kelly laughed. “I’ll leave that up to the girls.”
Kelly hopes to stay in Tasmania a bit longer to spend time with Kara and Gracie and her new grandbubs.
“I am hoping to stay another three weeks, who knows, it’s tough farming on the island at the moment and also calving, so I’m not really sure, I don’t ever want to leave them,” she said.
Tasmania’s peak farming body has accused Victoria’s Colac Otway Shire of engaging in economic and social vandalism after its refusal to allow much needed fodder to be transported to King Island.
Hundreds of tonnes of donated fodder organised by charity group Need For Feed is currently stranded in Victoria, after the Colac Ottoway Shire refused to allow the fodder to be shipped out though its port at Apollo Bay.
TasFarmers says that bloody-mindedness is preventing the fodder from leaving Apollo Bay in Victoria, which is the closest port to King Island. President, Ian Sauer, said the blocking of shipping to move the much-needed feed displayed a total lack of understanding of the dire situation in which King Island farmers find themselves and it was even more ridiculous because it is without any explanation.
Tasmanian Premier JeremyRockliff said that while it is disappointing that Colac Otway Shire Council has now walked away from supporting Tasmanian farmers on King Island, the Government will continue to work around the clock to secure shipping for the much needed feed.
“Everyone had been working hard to get the arrangements in place to ship the hundreds of bales of hay secured from the mainland to drought-affected areas in Tasmania,” he said.
“It is extremely disappointing that the council has made the decision to walk away, despite senior Tasmanian officials dedicating significant time and resources to work with the council to address any concerns they had and to find a way to open the port in these exceptional circumstances.
“While the Council did not notify our Government, or farmers of their intention to pull the pin before issuing a public statement, I have requested our officials to continue discussions with the Council while we search for alternative options as a matter of urgency.”
In a statement Colac Otway Shire Council chief executive officer Anne Howard said the shire is actively supporting efforts to transport crucial fodder from Victoria to King Island.
She said the council had received a request to ship the freight via the Port of Apollo Bay, which it deemed unsuitable due to risks posed to the port’s infrastructure and operations.
“Colac Otway Shire Council, as the port manager, and the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, as the port owner, have determined that until those risks are resolved it is not appropriate to approve the movement of this freight at this time, especially while viable options are available,” Ms Howard said.
Mr Sauer said after the Black Summer Fire in Victoria, the King Island Community sent 700 bales of hay and silage to farmers in New South Wales and Victoria, and those farmers now hope to return their generosity and kindness by sending feed to desperate farmers on the Island.
“The feed bound for the Island is ready to go, but a decision not to allow the feed and fodder to leave from Apollo Bay is a disaster, a selfish un-Australian decision,” Mr Sauer said.
Mr Sauer said it is a six-hour boat trip which in some cases will save a lifetime of work.
“Apollo Bay is the closest mainland commercial port to King Island,” he said.
“Other ports don’t provide the best access for the immediate purposes of shipping critical supplies of fodder to address animal welfare concerns and drought relief on King Island. We have every part of this supply chain being donated, or done at cost, NRE doing seed sampling, donated fodder through the Lions Club charity need for feed, land transport, sea transport, the only ones not playing ball is the port of Apollo Bay.”
Mr Sauer said this is an emergency, and the control of the port at Apollo Bay should be taken over by either the State or Federal governments to resolve the impasse.
“All of the correct protocols are being taken with biosecurity tests for weed contamination being expedited,” he said.
Rex has threatened to end services to King Island as a war of words between the airline and Mayor Marcus Blackie escalates.
Mr Blackie this week said he shared islanders’ frustration at recent high airfares.
“When we are ripped off we take it personally,” Mr Blackie said.
However, Rex said in a statement they believed the remarks were irresponsible and reprehensible and were purely political grandstanding at Rex’s expense.
“We call on the council to censure the Mayor for his flippant remarks that could result in severe economic damage to the local economy.
“Should official action not be forthcoming, we will no longer welcome Cr Blackie on our services, as we too take his baseless and self-serving remarks personally.
“In addition, we will review our ties with King Island.
“Rex understands there could be unsophisticated travellers who may have been shocked by the high fares especially if they did not pay attention to the routing of the travel.
“However, Rex is deeply disturbed by Mayor Blackie’s remarks.”
Mr Blackie yesterday said he was astouned at Rex’s personal attack and he stood by his comments.
“I am simply doing my job which is to represent ratepayers,” he said.
“Aviation passenger movement is our Highway 1, so it is critical that sufficient seat capacity, connection-friendly times and reasonable fare options are provided by all airlines servicing King Island,” he said.
“I remain confident of some significant breakthroughs in 2024,” he said.
Rex’s statement to the Courier said: “Rex’s record on its service to King Island is unblemished, having served the island faithfully and continuously for over 20 years and even right through Covid.
“Our average fare over the last 12 months for King Island to Burnie is a very low $185 excluding airport tax and GST.
The load factor on this route is a marginal 62 per cent.
“The high fare quoted for King Island to Burnie is not a surprise since Rex does not fly directly from King Island to Burnie on the date cited, which is a weekend. At weekends Rex only offers a non-stop service to Melbourne. When the passenger goes on the web to get a price to fly between King Island and Burnie on a weekend, the system finds the best possible connection which is King Island – Melbourne – Burnie, paying the full fare for each of the sectors.”
Angry King Islanders say a $1,200 to $1,500 airfare will currently get you one way from any Australian capital city to London, Rome or Hawaii and it’s less than half that to go nonstop to Japan, Fiji, Hong Kong and a third of the King Island Burnie REX fare cost if New Zealand is of interest.
Social media posters accuse Rex of increasing fares to coincide with return-to-school dates.
Only Sharp Airlines and Rex Airlines RPTs (Regular Passenger Transport) fly to mainland Tasmania from King Island and it has been observed that fares can randomly jump from $200 to $400 to $700- plus return for a fully flexible return fare.
Rex fares of $1000-plus appear on certain days, however, it should be noted that these fare oddities have a stopover listed which indicates the route is via Melbourne and the fare appears to be treated as two sectors, often with multiple hours of waiting to connect to King Island, or risk of an overnight stay.
Sharp Airlines CEO Alistair Dorward told the Courier they operate a simple airfare structure.
“Our published airfares remain fixed for the fare period and do not get increased based on demand.
“Our airfares are reviewed on a quarterly basis to consider items such as fuel costs and CPI,” he said.
“There have been a number of instances where we have elected not to pass on increased costs in order to keep our air fares as economical as possible for the communities that we serve. Our fully flexible one-way airfare from BWT to KNS is $270, our competitor’s equivalent fully flexible airfare is well in excess of this.
“Our holiday packages contribute a significant amount to local accommodation, transport, and tourism operators annually.
“We actively support many King Island community events and businesses through in-kind support. We are very fortunate to be able to serve the Bass Strait Islands and are proud of the service that we provide.
“We enjoy a strong relationship with the King Island Council and local businesses and remain fully committed to the KNS community in providing safe reliable air services at economical fares along with the substantial marketing, advertising, and selling of holiday packages to the island. Our winter schedule comes into effect from this week.”
The Tasmanian Government has announced $550,000 for the construction of the new home which will house two local community volunteer organisations.
Community Services Minister Roger Jaensch said Men’s Sheds across Tasmania had been a success story in Tasmania, providing a place where men can connect, learn and share, all while working on projects that make an important contribution to our community.
Mr Jaensch said the investment recognised the significant contributions the Sorell Men’s Shed and the Lions Club of Sorell make to the local community.
“The Sorell Men’s Shed is a place for men to make mates and where they can get support to improve their health and wellbeing,” he said.
Liberal candidate for Prosser Kerry Vincent said the work that volunteers from the Sorell Men’s Shed and the Lions Club of Sorell did in the community was invaluable.
Prosser Liberal candidate Kerry Vincent and Lyons MP Jane Howlett at the Sorell Mens Shed.
“The Shed is a place where men can feel useful and meet face to face in a world where contact with others is increasingly done remotely,” Mr Vincent said.
“They can go there to learn new skills, or share their knowledge of skills with those seeking to learn, while making new friends.
“The Lions Club will also have improved facilities for their annual book sale and other fundraising events.”
Surrounded by family and friends, the book “Last of the Cavalrymen: Memoirs of Major-General Robert Harley Wordsworth, compiled with the help of her daughter Charlotte over the past 10 years, was officially launched by Bridget Archer MP.
There was also a launch at the Anglesea Barracks in Hobart on Tuesday night.
The book paints a picture of a loyal subject of his time, a man of service and courage, someone who grasped opportunities when they came his way and who, by his own admission, had a very lucky life.
It’s a fascinating account of one of the most unusual military careers of any Australian, all thanks to a tape recorder Ana handed her dad 40 years ago to capture his oral history.
“My father was an active sportsman, even in his senior years, and he loved fly fishing,” Ana said.
“The time came when we were scared he’d fall and drown in his waders, but without that outlet he just got crotchety sitting in his study.
“One day I gave him a tape recorder and asked him to recount his life. What I found on the tapes, after he died in 1984, was a lot of intriguing, but jumbled up memories.”
“Wordy” as he was known, had recorded many hours on the audio tapes between 1979 and 1983 from his home in Longford.
“At the time I was a young mother and working and the tapes just sat there and sat there. But I’d promised my brother David, who is 16 years older than me and now 93 and getting frail, that I’d do it eventually.
“Suddenly I realised I’ve got to get this done before it’s too late for both of us.”
Ana said that her father’s recollections were so hard to believe that she really wanted to do the research just to see if they were true – and it turns out they were!
But she wasn’t sure how to go about telling the stories, eventually deciding she wanted to hear it told in her father’s voice, complemented by short breakout stories found during the research process.
The memoirs detail a military career that spanned both World Wars, with General Wordsworth beginning as a junior officer in the 1st Light Horse at Gallipoli and later transferring to a cavalry regiment of the Indian Army where he spent 25 years in the rarefied world of the British Raj, playing polo and big game hunting with maharajas and other royalty.
One side story involves the famous Australian aviator Sir Ross Smith, who along with his Brother Sir Keith Smith, became the first pilots to fly from England to Australia, in 1919.
“Ross took my father up for his first flight over present-day Gazza in Palestine, my father actually signed his papers so he could join the air force when his superior officer wouldn’t – on the promise of being taken up for a flight,” Ana said.
“They went up in a plane that was under repair, without guns, with German planes flying around, and my father asked ‘what will you do if the enemy attacks?’ He replied ‘I’ll fly straight at him and he’ll chicken out’.”
General Wordsworth was an original Anzac, sent off to Gallipoli with the 1st Light Horse Regiment when he was just 20 years of age.
As a teenager in Cowra, Western NSW, he had been part of the school cadets, and as the only Light Horse member with any “military experience” he was put in charge of 30 men, all older.
“When they arrived in Gallipoli, they were forced to leave their horses and join the soldiers in the trenches where he remained for the next seven months,” Ana said.
“He lost a lot of good mates – one battle at Dead Man’s Ridge saw 75 percent of the regiment killed or wounded.”
During the Battle of Rafa, Mr Wordsworth was recognised for his bravery.
In 1917, as the war drew to a close and after a falling out with one of his superiors, he decided to transfer to a cavalry regiment in the Indian Army.
Despite being looked down upon by the British as a “colonial”, General Wordsworth nevertheless rose quickly through the ranks based on his ability to play polo.
He became captain of the regimental polo team and played nationally and internationally, even returning to Australia for games.
He met his wife, a Tasmanian, while in India. She was Margaret Ross-Reynolds and her uncle was also a colonel of a regiment there and a fellow polo player.
They were married in Hobart during one of the scheduled polo tournaments in Australia.
While there strategically to protect the British in India, most of his time was spent fighting wild tribesman from Afghanistan.
Despite being treated like a god in India, General Wordsworth trained and sold polo ponies to have enough money to mix with the rich.
They lived the same life of privilege as the British Raj – their clothes were laid out, their baths were drawn, and they never had to cook or clean.
The couple spent all their leave in the wilds of Cashmere fly fishing.
During WWII General Wordsworth was in command of an armoured division tasked with protecting the oil wells off Iraq and eventually the occupation of Persia/Iran.
First and foremost a horseman, General Wordsworth took three horses to war.
His favourite had won the Cowra picnic races, and stayed with him throughout WWI, even after taking a bullet in the neck.
His favourite polo pony was Alfonse who he bought cheaply as an Indian army castoff.
In his tape recordings he said the horse knew the game better than he did, and he could have ridden him without stirrups such was his mount’s ability to pre-empt every move of the ball.
Of course all the horses were left behind when the war ended, gifted to worthy acquaintances with much sadness, and General Wordsworth returned to Australia to spend the next few years adjusting to driving armoured vehicles instead.
After WWII ended Mr Wordsworth and his wife retired to Tasmania, taking up land at “The Bend” at Westbury.
Having never worked on a farm, General Wordsworth decided he would be better suited to public service life, and accepted a dare to stand for the Senate, a position he held for the next 10 years through the 1950s.
During this time, the Wordsworths purchased Hagley House which is where Ana spent her teenage years while her brother went off to agriculture college in New Zealand.
General Wordsworth’s final role was as administrator on Norfolk Island, where he led the turnaround in governance, transport and the tourism industry.
Upon retirement in 1984 the couple moved to Longford to be close to the fishing hot spots.
Ana went to Broadland College and later worked for Civil Aviation minister senator Denholm Henty.
Like her father she found herself following a career that took her far and wide, first to Canberra working in foreign affairs and then overseas to Africa, Yugoslavia and then Western Australia where David was living during the nickel boom.
“I decided to go to Perugia to study Italian for six months and met my husband-to-be, Chris, on the boat on the way over – he was the ship’s doctor,” Ana said wryly. “We eventually came back to Sydney and got married and had two children.”
Ana studied for a business degree and became a consultant for workplace change, specialising in industrial relations right when unions were finding their feet.
Little wonder her father’s transcripts were put on the back burner.
With the first hard copy now in her hands (the book is in paperback for the general public), Ana said she is euphoric to have it finished.
“All I wanted to know was what David thought – and this is a man who is an avid reader and has more than 2000 books in his library,” she said.
“He said he was amazed, and he cried for days.”
The book has a RRP of $49.95 (FortySouth Publishing) and can be ordered at lucinda.sharp@fortysouth.com.au and is available at Petrach’s and Fullers Bookshops.
