The first official duty for new Primary Industries and Water Minister Jane Howlett has been meeting drought-affected farmers on King Island.
Jane Howlett arrived on King Island this morning.
Ms Howlett has met with beef farmers on the island today and attended the second drought forum.
She will also visit the King Island Racing Club and the King Island Council.
“The most important thing I can do right now is to get out there and listen to stakeholders.” Ms Howlett said.
“It’s all about listening to people and hearing their concerns.”
Jane Howlett with Jac Shipton, Peter Howling and Deb Grull from Biosecurity Tasmania on Ratheigh Farm on King Island this morning.
Tom Graham and Jane Howlett with almond hull feed.
Last month, the Tasmanian Governement established the King and Flinders Island Primary Producers – Seasonal Conditions Scheme which provides one-off payments to drought affected farmers and businesses of up to $5,000.
Currently, the number of grants to be given under the King and Flinders Island Primary Producers Seasonal Conditions Scheme is unknown but Ms Howlett says she is open to having further discussions surrounding more funding for dought affected farmers.
King Islanders have expressed their ongoing concerns with King Island shipping costs and Ms Howlett says she acknowledges it is a long-standing issue.
“There is no easy answer otherwise it would have already been done,” she said.
“I am looking forward to listening to what the King Island farmers have to say.
“Shipping is primarily a matter for the Infrastructure Minister but I understand the concerns of King Island farmers are heightened by the drought they are experiencing.
“I am pleased to see that the Government was able to secure a number of extra sailings by the TasPorts-owned John Duigan as a result of increased demand.”
Ms Howlett said she expects that all three freight shipping operators servicing King Island will increase sailings as demand increases.
Many easy-to-grow plants are attractive to pop in the garden, however many of them escape and should not be planted as they are detrimental to native plants and can easily take over. Pots of Trad regularly pop up and are available for sale on the island.
Trad, short for Tradescantia fluminensis, is a significant environmental weed in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. Wandering Trad is originally from Brazil and is also known as Wandering Jew, Trad, Creeping Christian, Wandering Tradescantia, Water Spiderwort, Wandering Willie and Wandering Creeper.
It is fast-growing and known to cause allergic reactions in pets and in some people, characterised by red, itchy skin. Some people may experience swelling of lips and wheezing and it is classified as mildly toxic.
Trad is a perennial (long lived), semi-succulent, shiny-green, trailing to erect herb. Stems develop roots at the nodes (the part of a stem where leaves or branches arise.) along its hairless and somewhat succulent stem. The leaves clasp the stem and are alternately arranged, and it has a white 1cm flower arranged in small groups.
Stamens (pollen-bearing stalks, male parts) are free, filaments white, woolly to bearded at the base, and are yellow-tipped. Wandering Trad out-competes native vegetation and smothers the ground by sending out roots at each node (leaf joint). It completely dominates the ground layer, preventing the germination of shrub and tree species. Wandering Trad does not set seed.
All spread of the weed occurs from stem segments that will readily take root when in contact with the soil. Stem fragments easily break off and may be dispersed by water, vehicles, machinery such as lawnmowers and slashers, in dumped garden waste or in contaminated soil through soil movement.
Stem segments can survive for a year without roots or contact with the soil. Several species of Trad have naturalised in some areas, and they differ from Wandering Trad in having leaves that are purplish underneath.
Spraying with selective or non-selective herbicides will work eventually but repeat treatments of regrowth will be needed. Small infestations can be removed by hand or by raking and rolling up the stems.
Very small infestations can be dug out, but every fragment of stem can potentially regrow and therefore needs to be removed and destroyed off-site. If you have Trad, keep it in a pot indoors, do not put it in compost or plant in the garden and ensure that disposal cannot spread the plant.
This year the King Island RSL sub-branch, on behalf of the community, is honoured to welcome seven serving members of the Royal Australian Navy and a retired Naval Chaplain to our Anzac Day Services.
One of the sailors along with his younger brother, who is an Army veteran, are descendants of a King Island Soldier Settler family. Regardless of the weather, both Services will be held at the Cenotaph with some seating available. These Services are for the community and visitors to the island you are most welcome to attend.
Live streaming is being arranged for our senior citizens in the Netherby Home. THE Dawn Service will commence at 6am and we will be honouring the many who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War I, through poetry.
Our first guest speaker will recall a World War II King Island soldier who had a dislike for authority, but always put his mates and country first. The RSL Clubrooms will open at 6.30am for the traditional ‘coffee’. With the generous support of Currie businesses and the King Island Club, the buffet breakfast will be available from 7am until 7.30am. Please note that you can stay in the King Island Club for as long as you want to, and will not be evicted at 7.30am.
The cost is a modest $10 per person but, to help families, the fee for two adults and two children under 10 is $25. Please pay by cash at the PO & Newsagency by Tuesday, April 23 as there will be no door sales at the club. The proceeds will be shared between the RSL and the King Island Hospital Auxiliary – both very good causes.
The major change for 2024 is that the morning parade will commence on Meech Street, alongside the Police Station at 10.20am. The reason for this change is due to dwindling numbers of veterans marching, coupled with a fewer number of members able to assist with the logistics in the set-up for the Anzac Day March.
As we do not have the use of the ex-Army Landrover, we are not able to transport young children. Children are still most welcome to bring their Anzac Bears to the service.
John Bennett, an Army veteran, has volunteered to marshal the parade and will issue our memorial banners to the seven students. Please assemble in the War Memorial Park at the rear of the Library from 10am onwards. We request that all vehicles be parked in Meech Street to keep the access way alongside the Police Station clear for the march.
The Order of March will be the drummers, combined RAN and student team, veterans, Soldier Settler Association members, Emergency Services and the Pony Club.
The parade will step off under the command of Leading Seaman Ryan Attwood, left turn into Meech Street and fall out adjacent to the Cenotaph. THE main service will commence at 10.30am, so please arrive 10 minutes earlier.
Our Master of Ceremonies is King Island District High School’s Student Representative Council president Rhys Esguerra. We will continue with our poetry theme with the story of the KI Guy, written by a King Island soldier in the dark days of 1942.
We will then welcome our guest speaker who will talk about an Islander who spent four years as a prisoner of war, survived and continued to serve his community.
Community organisations and individuals are most welcome to lay wreaths. Please let our Secretary, Margaret Stansfield, know the name of the wreath layer and organisation by April 22, so it can be coordinated.
Margaret can be contacted on 0429 646 211.
The photograph from the mid-1950s shows our veterans, bolstered by soldier settlers, marching up Meech Street. Since 1919 your RSL Sub branch remains resolute in our commitment to Service, Unity and Remembrance. We will always honour and assist those who have served their nation in operations and peace, and the families who supported them.
Light refreshments will be available in the RSL clubrooms after the service, so please come along and welcome the Navy team who have paid their own way to be with us.
If you are a teen interested in joining the Defence Force, this is your chance to talk to a serving member. There will be no glossy recruiting brochures, just real people.
The Anzac Day tradition of legal two-up is set to go in the King Island Club from 1.30pm until the start of the football match at 2.30pm.
Please support our RSL Sub branch stall on Wednesday 24 April, in the Post Office foyer between 10 am and 2 pm. This is the Sub-branch main fundraiser which allows us to do the work we do.
If you would like to donate a plate of food for the Dawn Service or main service, you are most welcome to do so. A CLOSING note. There appears to be some confusion about the location of the RSL Clubrooms and the King Island Club.
The RSL is located alongside the Library in Meech St and the King Island Club is in Netherby Rd, opposite the petrol station.
The new cafe and bar at the King Island Airport is another step closer.
“Once we get the final building permits granted, construction will commence. We cannot wait to welcome you in for a coffee, beverage, or meal,” King Island Distillery Bass Strait said in a statement.
Artist impression of the new cafe and bar at King Island Airport.
“The airport coffee caravan is on site while the new cafe and bar are under construction.”
Van barista Haylee Forbes has been a barista for over three years. Her journey began at a Microroaster in North West Tasmania before she moved on to working in a coffee van.
Haylee is a perfect person for the job, with a passion for serving quality brews and learning about coffee, as well as roasting.
Haylee Forbes serving up a new brew and welcoming coffee lovers to the King Island Distillery Bass Strait new airport coffee van.
The mobile coffee van is open Monday – Friday from 8am to noon and 1pm to 4pm, on Saturday from 1pm to 4pm and closed on Sunday.
The second Round Table drought discussion was held this week and focused on the impact on King Island, the consequential issues, future-proofing and more actions needed.
Government departmental representatives, beef producers, and other supply chain stakeholders attended the meeting, held in the Council chambers, with Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE) secretary Jason Jacobi joining the discussions.
Following the conference, Mr Jacobi said that King Island farmers, NRE and supply chain stakeholders need to plan for the future regarding drought on King Island.
“We’ve got to plan for the coming months so that farmers on this island are best prepared for the conditions,” he said.
“Let’s pray for rain. but also, we must plan, in case there is none.”
Initiatives such as appointing a drought coordinator and launching a grants program have already been implemented to support farmers but issues around shipping and transport, fodder availability and animal welfare were highlighted as key ongoing concerns.
“The Tasmanian government is also working very hard to try and resolve some of the shipping issues to get the biggest number of freights across to this island and back to the mainland (Tasmania)… I think the most important thing is to take the information and the advice that we got from farmers today and to put in place some contingency measures over the next week, that are as flexible and as adaptable as possible” Mr Jacobi said.
He emphasised the importance of protecting the King Island brand and said he doesn’t believe that it has been impacted at all.
“Our efforts are focused on making sure that we protect that brand. Our interest is supporting farmers to ensure that the brand has a long and happy life and that’s where I intend to put most of our effort,” Mr Jacobi said.
Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania Secretary Jason Jacobi attended the second Round Table meeting this week to discuss the needs of King Island Farmers.
He acknowledged the island’s need for long-term strategies to address recurring droughts but said that only rainfall will solve the island’s current situation. King Island Mayor Marcus Blackie also attended the second Round Table and, while positive, he had concerns following the meeting.
“It’s great to see the state of Tasmania pouring in resources to try and assist our current drought situation and that the secretary of the department of NRE personally and his team are across,” Mr Blackie said.
“We’ve made some progress destocking the island, and we’re going to have an 18-month to two-year economic impact on King Island.
“It may well be an 18-month time frame before King Island’s in a position to be able to increase herd sizes and get back to some semblance of where we were before (this season).
“That presupposes that we will get the rainfall we need and then the fertiliser we need.”
Mayor Marcus Blackie and Beef Producers Group president Nick Lyttle.
Mr Blackie said that the council must be mindful of the drought’s economic impact across the whole of King Island’s economy and also on the council’s budget. “The last thing we want to do is put up rates and charges,” he said.
Beef Producers Group president and farmer Nick Lyttle said that the meeting was productive despite a few frustrations in the room.
“I think the departments have heard the message loud and clear and know what to work on. Being the second-round table, I think those messages are getting clearer and hopefully there’s some action,” Mr Lyttle said.
“The main frustration is that we’re hearing time and time again from the community as a whole is the issue with the shipping.
“The second sailing has definitely helped get some cattle off – but the demand for our cattle and the market for our cattle is now to the north, particularly for the next few months.
“Some cattle producers have contracts with Tasmanian abattoirs.
“We’re asking for triangular sailing so we can still service the contracts in Tasmania, but as the winter months come, there’s more agistment or store cattle sale opportunities to the north, a dearer market, and with a triangular service we can send them to the north.”
Mr Lyttle believes there is enough farming business for the shipping companies to have the triangular service.
“It might be for nine months of the year, but they can backload with other freight,” he said.
“The recent small rainfall has helped farmers south of the airport as the grass has shot up, but there needs to be follow-up rain while temperatures are still warm for growth up north [of the island] … the recent rain is more sentiment than anything.”
There are concerns around animal welfare.
“The chief vet is over here to give us guidelines on what’s shippable or not, what to look out for and treatments,” Mr Lyttle said.
The dry has highlighted the issues of overstocking when there’s a history of plenty, and the ability and critical need for quick action to maintain stocking rates, ensure good animal welfare and the consequences of the island’s vulnerability with high shipping risk.
With the election now in the books, the House of Assembly has expanded in size from 25 to 35, and the final seat result was 14 Liberal, 10 Labor, five Greens, three Jacqui Lambie Network and three independents: David O’Byrne, Kristie Johnston and Craig Garland.
King Island is in the Braddon electorate, which proved to be a nail biter and the one that many were watching during preference allocation. Elected Liberal MPs Premier Jeremy Rockliff, Felix Ellis, Roger Jaensch and Labor MPs Shane Broad and Anita Dow were returned.
The new Braddon faces are JLN’s Miriam Beswick, who won the sixth seat, and independent Craig Garland, the seventh seat. The Liberals require the support of four cross benchers to form a minority government.
Newcomer Ms Beswick is unknown to the majority of King Island voters. Living in Devonport, Ms Beswick has been a small business owner, is a carer and is active with her family, community and church. During the election, she championed education and healthcare.
“I am really excited to represent Braddon and am planning a trip over to King Island as soon as possible,” she said.
“King Island punches above its weight in so many ways but know that farmers are struggling with the drought amongst other things.
“There are some really particular challenges in Tasmania’s remote communities, and I am looking forward to a deeper understanding of these issues.”
Craig Garland is better known on King Island. He visited and participated in what became known locally as the “Fish farm debate,” when offshore acreage permits were given by the State Government to explore the establishment of salmon farms off the east coast of the island.
Craig ‘Garbo’ Garland, fisherman, outspoken anti salmon farming, anti native forest logging, elected in the New South Wales. 35th seat of the new parliament. PICTURE: FACEBOOK
The independent has previously stood for parliament and during those elections came to the island to meet and greet with locals. In this election he did not visit the island nor did he directly campaign on the island, however, he gained five per cent of the first preference vote across the Braddon electorate and he did well on the preference flows.
Mr Garland ran on a platform of affordable housing and energy and called for an anti-corruption commission similar to that in Victoria and New South Wales.
In the shadows of the Convict Era, more than 12,000 women were transported to this island colony, each carrying tales of resilience and survival.
Women were typically sentenced to 7 or 14 years, for crimes as petty as pilfering a loaf of bread or a piece of fabric from her employer. For these transgressions, their destinies unfolded in the penal colony of Tasmania, where they became pawns in a complex game of survival.
Upon arrival, the women found themselves in a stratified society, divided into the Punishment Class, the Crime Class, and the Hiring Class. Solitary cells echoed with tales of the Punishment Class, while the Crime Class bore the weight of their misconducts within the prison walls. The Hiring Class enjoyed privileges within the Factory, eventually transitioning to serve as domestic servants to the elite settlers.
Sadly, these Female Factories also housed the babies of convict women in dedicated nursery wards. An enforced early weaning age and unhygienic conditions resulted in very high infant mortality rates within the factories.
Said Charles Mundy of his visit to the Cascades Female Factory in 1851:
‘It is nothing to say that many of these poor brats will never know their own fathers – their mothers, perhaps, know them no better: and many of the wretched little ones, in the hands of the nurses, will never know either parent. The public consoles itself with the dry fact, that they will all come into the labour market. A large ward was allotted to the midday sleep of the poor little babes. There were a score or so of wooden cribs, in each of which lay two, three, or four innocents, stowed away head and tail, like sardines à l’huile; while others were curling about like a litter of kittens in a basket of straw.’
The Ross Female Factory was one of four networked women’s prisons that operated during Tasmania’s convict era. Some 40 women were housed here, awaiting hire. The factory doubled as a laying-in hospital, and a large nursery was a prominent part of the site.
The Ross Female Factory was one of four networked women’s prisons that operated during Tasmania’s convict era. PHOTO: Alastair Bett
Eleanor Casella, from the esteemed Department of Anthropology at UC Berkeley, led ambitious excavations of the Ross Female Factory in 1995 and again in 1997. These archaeological endeavors became portals to the past, revealing artifacts that now stand as poignant snapshots into the starkly different daily lives within the prison’s walls.
Alongside iconic landmarks like Port Arthur and the Cascades Female Factory, the Ross Female Factory is a crucial chapter in our island’s convict narrative.
The Ross Female Factory is open to the public seven days a week, free of charge. Further information on the archaeological findings can be found in the Tasmanian Wool Centre Museum at 48 Church St, Ross.
It’s been another busy snake season for snake catcher Liv Dykstra. The Whitemore mum of three, who works in admin at the Launceston Eye Hospital and is also studying Community Services at TAFE, has had to work more on co-ordinating other snake catchers to meet demand in the north of the state, rather than try to attend all the call-outs herself.
“Last season I would have easily caught and relocated more than 100 snakes, and from what I’ve heard they’ve been around in places they’ve rarely been seen before – so it’s been even busier,” she said.
Liv has been catching and relocating snakes for the past seven years, and while her two daughters think she’s “crazy”, her 14-year-old son Oliver has learned the art and is joining her at most call-outs.
She said when all of her children were at school she started to think about what she was doing that was just for her. “Being a mum doesn’t usually give you an adrenaline kick and I wanted that without jumping out of a plane,” she laughed.
“Both my brother and I were terrified of snakes so we decided to sign up for a snake handling course.
“We grew up on the land, where the attitude was ‘the only good snake is a dead snake’ and ‘if you see a snake, run’.”
Ollie and Astryd Johnston with mum Liv Dykstra. The family has differing views on Liv’s hobby of snake catching.
Having gained some knowledge and a new-found respect for the slithering reptiles, Liv started shadowing other snake catchers and helping with demonstrations of snake handling.
With the aim of starting her own snake catching business, she completed a start-up business course with the Van Diemen Project and then travelled to Melbourne to obtain a formal snake handling qualification and to learn to handle more varieties of snakes.
“We only have the three species here, the copperhead, the tiger snake and the white lipped, and they all have similar characteristics, whereas the eastern brown is a different kettle of fish,” she said.
“Having an education about snakes calms you down, the fear disappears and you realise they’re not actually scary. Mind you if I spot a huntsman I want to burn the house down!”
Liv said that catching snakes for a hobby required more skills than people realise – and it’s not just about handling snakes.
Whitemore snake catcher Liv Dykstra says “having an education about snakes calms you down, the fear disappears and you realise they’re not actually scary”. She’s not so keen on huntsman spiders though! The mum of three says it’s been a busy snake season, with the slithery invaders finding some unlikely hiding places.
“I’ve had to move fridges, pull apart door jambs, move wood stacks, crawl under cars, clean out sheds, it’s quite physical at times,” she said.
“For two days some people had been trying to find a snake that has probably climbed into their car in the Central Highlands and they spotted it when they reached home in Cressy.
“They even went through a car wash hoping that would flush it out.
“I ended up laying under the car for half an hour trying to think like a snake, where would I go, and then dismantled the taillight housing to find it curled up inside.
“Another time some people realised there was one on top of their fuel tank while they were parked in the Mitre10 carpark – it took two people to get that one out.”
Liv said that call-outs in the Northern Midlands and Meander Valley area were nine times out of 10 for a copperhead. She reminded people that Tasmanian snakes aren’t actually dormant in winter, just not quite as active, and that they are happy to hunt at night.
“There’s been copperheads spotted in the snow on Ben Lomond,” she said.
“So it’s best to be mindful that they’re out there all year round.”
Fencing contractor Steven Griffiths didn’t hesitate when he had a chance to shake the hand of joint Australian of the Year Richard Scolyer in Campbell Town last week. And you couldn’t blame him for hanging onto that hand just a little longer than a man normally would.
Just six months ago Mr Griffiths found a small, pea-sized lump on his neck, and shortly after, was diagnosed with terminal melanoma cancer. The cancer had spread widely, and was deemed inoperable. But thanks to the amazing research and treatment developed by Professor Scolyer and his team, Mr Griffiths is now miraculously cancer-free.
Professor Scolyer and his friend, award co-recipient and co-director of the Melanoma Institute Australia, Georgina Long, have been at the forefront of groundbreaking advances in melanoma treatment and have saved thousands of lives with their immunotherapy approach.
With nothing to lose, the radical treatment was offered to Mr Griffiths, who lost his dad aged 47 to the same type of cancer. It was because of the impact of the big ‘C’ on the family, that Mr Griffiths’ brother-in-law and Launceston fireman Heath Bracey decided to ride in the Tasmanian Tour de Cure team.
The team consisted of Mr Bracey, fellow riding buddy and cycling legend Ritchie Porte, Steven Brown, Jim Finlay and Professor Scolyer, who has ironically just completed the same cancer treatment on himself and appears to have beaten a brain tumor.
Professor Richard Scolyer, Epping Forest cancer survivor Steven Griffiths and his in-law Heath Bracey in Campbell Town last week during the Tour de Cure fundraiser.
With the goal of helping to raise $2 million for cancer research, the pack rode 150km each day for three days, from Hobart to Swansea, Swansea to Campbell Town, then to Launceston and Devonport, before travelling on the Spirit of Tasmania and continuing their ride to Adelaide where riders from around the country met at the finish line.
Mr Griffiths and his wife Carol were more than happy to tip in $1000 and friends and family boosted that total to more than $4000. Meeting their hero at Campbell Town was a bonus they didn’t expect.
“It was a really emotional meeting for both of us,” Mr Griffiths admitted.
“We are in awe of the work Professor Scolyer had done, the fact that his research has saved my life and the lives of many others.
“We’ve got two boys, one is studying marine and Antarctic science with UTAS and the other works with me in the fencing business – I can’t express what it means to have more time with my family and life has certainly taken on new meaning to me.”
Mr Griffiths is Hunt Master of the Midlands Heritage Riding Club, dabbles in horse training and racing and runs a few sheep on the 100-acre property Millford at Epping Forest he jokingly calls the “holding paddock”, due to the massive farms that surround it.
He’s also on the Campbell Town Anzac committee, and at one point didn’t think he’d make it to another Anzac Day ceremony.
“It doesn’t matter how much, but anyone who can manage it should donate to the Tour de Cure – the money it raises is vital for better cancer treatments like the one that saved my life,” Mr Griffiths said.
A few days off work means the rods are out and there’s time to throw a line in. Over the past week, snapper have been caught off the Currie Jetty and large King George Whiting off the Naracoopa Jetty.
The boats went out and Dale Micic and his Dad, John, were pleased with their catch of bluefin tuna a couple of kilometres out from Currie Harbour.
They also pulled in enough mackerel to get the freezer stocked. While Bluefin tuna are the prize, Jack mackerel (common, Peruvian, and Yellowtail scad) are an underrated fish that can be prepared in various ways.
Dale Micic back in safe harbour with his bluefin tuna catch.
Available practically year-round, it has a high oil content, firm texture and medium flavour.
The dark flesh becomes lighter when cooked. The fish can be used as fillets, smoked or whole and they are suitable to barbecue, foil, bake, grill, marinate, smoke or souse. They are popular smoked or as roll mops pickled in brine or vinegar.
