This post is not really related to our trip but it's something I have to get off my chest.
Sadly I'm filled with despair this weekend. Àlbany, along with the whole nation, appears to be enveloped in Anzackary and I can't bring myself to be enthusiastic. The word celebration is being emphatically eschewed in favour of commemoration but it feels like celebration to me. People tell me it's not about glorifying war but that's not what I'm hearing. Certainly there's a lot of war is hell but it's being drawn as a glorious hell; a path to heroism, and for young people, that is very seductive. I'm not hearing war is an evil that has no place in a civilized world which is what I want to hear.
Patti Smith once sang Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine. Well the Anzacs may have sacrificed for someone, but not me! Unless by sacrifice you mean pointless slaughter to pacify some imaginary being...and even then, it still wasn't for me.
I'm sorry they died, just as I'm sorry for the Turks who died (and at least they were defending their country) and I'm sorry that modern young fools are dying for ISIS but we need to tell young people very loudly that they didn't need to die. If only there had been strong voices saying you don't need to listen to murderous militarists; saying no is a honourable path. The bravest thing a person can do is stand against the crowd! We need those voices just as much today.
Just remember that the military are not the ones who fought for the best things about modern Australia. Our fair industrial conditions, our tolerance of difference, our gender equality and our spirit of equity. These things were gained by the Eureka protesters, the labour movement and determined members of oppressed sections of our society. In all these things the military were at best silent and at worst shooting at fellow Australians. (Maybe Eureka should be our great national celebration?) To be fair, some Anzacs did take part in these movements but only once they were discharged and realised how badly they had been misused by their political masters.
I heard a Vietnam veteran on the radio this morning saying that people need to understand that they were just doing a job, that as soldiers, they had to follow orders. Sorry. That didn't wash at Nuremberg and it doesn't wash for me.
The only positive for me is to discover what courteous, accommodating people the modern Turks are. To accept the descendants of a failed, unjustified invasion of your country arriving en-mass to commemorate that event is admirably magnanimous. Imagine if modern Japan decided for some perverse reason that they wanted to come to Darwin to hold a major national commemoration? Could we be so accommodating?
Until we can be a country that is great enough to recognise all these things I guess I will just stay home on Anzac Day. Thank you for listening.
Saturday, 25 April 2015
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Almost There!
Almost there! It's been a year now since I started planning this trip and blog. We have our little caravan, everything is pretty well organized for home - mail all converted to email (isn't technology wonderful - sometimes?), car serviced. All systems go.
This is the first time we've travelled without the timeframe of an end date so the plan is that that means we can travel like true nomads. Go at our own pace. Stop when we want. Stay as long as we want. Trish is telling people we'll be home in 3 to 6 months but I'm saying I'll be back when I'm good and damn ready! Who knows?
Suffering a little anxiety. What if we have a breakdown? What if something goes wrong at home? Just have to put that aside though.
Off next week and hopefully our first camp will be with canoeing friends on the Pallinup Estuary. A nice way to start. I'm excited!
This is the first time we've travelled without the timeframe of an end date so the plan is that that means we can travel like true nomads. Go at our own pace. Stop when we want. Stay as long as we want. Trish is telling people we'll be home in 3 to 6 months but I'm saying I'll be back when I'm good and damn ready! Who knows?
Suffering a little anxiety. What if we have a breakdown? What if something goes wrong at home? Just have to put that aside though.
Off next week and hopefully our first camp will be with canoeing friends on the Pallinup Estuary. A nice way to start. I'm excited!
Friday, 19 September 2014
See Australia from the Saddle of a Bike
It's been a little while since I've been here. I won't be able to commence my trip until about May next year because I'm committed to being in Albany for the summer tourist season. I do wine tasting & cellar sales for Wignalls Wines over summer so hopefully I can get going once the cellar closes. As a result I haven't had much to add to the trip but never-the-less it is still a constant theme for my day dreams.
However, I have just finished a five day trip back from Perth by bicycle and I'm inspired. Travelling by bike is the ideal speed. Walking is a bit too slow for me. I get bored with the time it takes for the scene to change. Plus walking makes my feet and back sore over long distances.
In a car everything just whizzes by and you are insulated from the sounds and smell of what you pass. A bike though covers ground at a reasonable rate, without insulating you. I now know what canola smells like! I'm used to the delightful sight of rolling paddocks of canola but have never smelt it before. It's not an especially fragrant scent. Kind of reminiscent of fresh tar but at least I know.
On the bike you see the wildlife too. Travelling relatively silently I surprised emus, roos, a fox (should've seen the look on his face), a couple of snakes and myriad bobtails & birds. I was serenaded most of the way by 28's (western rosellas that go 28, 28, 28), black cockys & the occasional galah. Being spring I did get swooped by about a dozen magpies but you feel reasonably secure under your helmet and the quality of their warble makes it easy to forgive them.
I only did about 60 to 80 kilometres a day which was enough to get the blood flowing without being too debilitating apart from a bit of a sore bum by the end of day. Trish my lovely wife came as support crew in the car. She makes dolls so was happy to while away her spare hours doing that and wandering round op shops in the towns we passed through. That was nice because she could collect me and transport me over the bits I didn't want to do.
We stayed in country pubs & caravan parks and enjoyed aspects of country life you miss when you fly through by car. Went to a quiz night in Darkan and watched the Dockers loose the finals (sob) at the Kojonup pub.
So now I'm inspired to do the Grafton to Newcastle section of Edward's trip by bicycle. I have ridden horses a bit in the past but from that I know that riding is something that you need to be in practice to do. Plus accessing and managing horses for a trip like that would be quite a task. I was just going to do it by car but now I figure that a bike will allow me to experience the country in a manner closer to Edward's experience. Can't wait.
However, I have just finished a five day trip back from Perth by bicycle and I'm inspired. Travelling by bike is the ideal speed. Walking is a bit too slow for me. I get bored with the time it takes for the scene to change. Plus walking makes my feet and back sore over long distances.
In a car everything just whizzes by and you are insulated from the sounds and smell of what you pass. A bike though covers ground at a reasonable rate, without insulating you. I now know what canola smells like! I'm used to the delightful sight of rolling paddocks of canola but have never smelt it before. It's not an especially fragrant scent. Kind of reminiscent of fresh tar but at least I know.
On the bike you see the wildlife too. Travelling relatively silently I surprised emus, roos, a fox (should've seen the look on his face), a couple of snakes and myriad bobtails & birds. I was serenaded most of the way by 28's (western rosellas that go 28, 28, 28), black cockys & the occasional galah. Being spring I did get swooped by about a dozen magpies but you feel reasonably secure under your helmet and the quality of their warble makes it easy to forgive them.
I only did about 60 to 80 kilometres a day which was enough to get the blood flowing without being too debilitating apart from a bit of a sore bum by the end of day. Trish my lovely wife came as support crew in the car. She makes dolls so was happy to while away her spare hours doing that and wandering round op shops in the towns we passed through. That was nice because she could collect me and transport me over the bits I didn't want to do.
We stayed in country pubs & caravan parks and enjoyed aspects of country life you miss when you fly through by car. Went to a quiz night in Darkan and watched the Dockers loose the finals (sob) at the Kojonup pub.
So now I'm inspired to do the Grafton to Newcastle section of Edward's trip by bicycle. I have ridden horses a bit in the past but from that I know that riding is something that you need to be in practice to do. Plus accessing and managing horses for a trip like that would be quite a task. I was just going to do it by car but now I figure that a bike will allow me to experience the country in a manner closer to Edward's experience. Can't wait.
Thursday, 17 July 2014
A Bush Education
As I was scanning the second volume of Edward's Diary, the process was slow enough for me to read each page as I went. (Luckily each page is brief.) In doing so I was struck by how well educated and literate he was.
The diary is very readable and he displays a good knowledge of classical history, geography and world events, along with a grasp of French and Latin. His awareness of the Crimean War was also interesting in that at that stage news of events from Europe would take several months to reach Sydney, let alone the far reaches of the colony in places like the Upper Clarence. Obviously he kept himself up to date on such matters.
Clearly Edward was an intelligent man with an enquiring mind. He took advantage of some of the down time on his trip to take lessons in Italian in order to make the most of his time in that country. Just the fact that he made such an extensive trip also demonstrates his thirst for knowledge.
What strikes me though is that from his biographical details, Edward had little or no formal schooling. He arrived in New South Wales at the age of 10, and while he may have had some schooling before leaving England, on arrival it was not long before he travelled with his family to what was then the outer reaches of the Upper Hawkesbury.
There it would appear his education was solely in the hands of his parents Mary and William. It also seems that from an early age he was an active participant in the daily work of their developing property, which while it would have provided much practical education in farming and bushcraft, would have left little time for the 3 R's. It is also likely that both his parents would have had their hands full with the demands of developing a farm in such arduous conditions. That education was a parental responsibility is evident in that other family members happiest reminiscences included evening lessons in such things as Ancient Greek with their father.
While there are home schooled children today who achieve high levels of education, particularly if managed by enthusiastic and academic parents, I am struck by the comparison to modern complaints that rural children are disadvantaged by a lack of access to high quality educational resources. I certainly wouldn't wish to discount the benefits of striving to improve education but clearly Edward demonstrates that there are other factors at work. I guess it is a demonstration of the enduring benefits of parental input and the advantages of a committed, caring family life. Well done Mary and William. You did a good job with the boy.
The diary is very readable and he displays a good knowledge of classical history, geography and world events, along with a grasp of French and Latin. His awareness of the Crimean War was also interesting in that at that stage news of events from Europe would take several months to reach Sydney, let alone the far reaches of the colony in places like the Upper Clarence. Obviously he kept himself up to date on such matters.
Clearly Edward was an intelligent man with an enquiring mind. He took advantage of some of the down time on his trip to take lessons in Italian in order to make the most of his time in that country. Just the fact that he made such an extensive trip also demonstrates his thirst for knowledge.
What strikes me though is that from his biographical details, Edward had little or no formal schooling. He arrived in New South Wales at the age of 10, and while he may have had some schooling before leaving England, on arrival it was not long before he travelled with his family to what was then the outer reaches of the Upper Hawkesbury.
There it would appear his education was solely in the hands of his parents Mary and William. It also seems that from an early age he was an active participant in the daily work of their developing property, which while it would have provided much practical education in farming and bushcraft, would have left little time for the 3 R's. It is also likely that both his parents would have had their hands full with the demands of developing a farm in such arduous conditions. That education was a parental responsibility is evident in that other family members happiest reminiscences included evening lessons in such things as Ancient Greek with their father.
While there are home schooled children today who achieve high levels of education, particularly if managed by enthusiastic and academic parents, I am struck by the comparison to modern complaints that rural children are disadvantaged by a lack of access to high quality educational resources. I certainly wouldn't wish to discount the benefits of striving to improve education but clearly Edward demonstrates that there are other factors at work. I guess it is a demonstration of the enduring benefits of parental input and the advantages of a committed, caring family life. Well done Mary and William. You did a good job with the boy.
Thursday, 19 June 2014
A Diary the Size of my Little Finger
While Vol. 1 of Edward's Diary is available as a free Google ebook, Vol. 2 is not. I've got facsimile copies of both volumes but I don't want to have to cart them around when I start travelling in Edward's footsteps so I needed to get Vol. 2 in digital form. Not having a scanner I initially contemplated manually typing it into my computer. That seemed like a pretty major task but I figured that Edward would have written it all long hand himself and then his printer would have had a probably more time consuming task of typesetting it all word by word, so I didn't want to seem like a modern day sissy.
Fortunately, however, I was able to get access to a scanner through the Albany Historical Society (thanks guys) so now I am sitting in an office in Albany's Old Convict Gaol, scanning Vol. 2 onto a thumb drive. What would Edward have made of such a marvelous little device that could hold his entire diary, and much much more, in something about the size of his little finger.
Yesterday too, I was at the printers, arranging the typesetting of cafe newsletter that I have a hand in. I was marveling at the way in which the printer was whizzing around his keyboard, achieving in seconds what typesetters would have needed hours for just a couple of decades ago.
So in word processing, information retrieval and printing we've come a long way but not necessarily so with everything. As I mentioned, I'm in the Old Gaol. The initial part of this building was the original convict depot, constructed in 1852 so it would have been here when Edward visited in 1854. He doesn't mention it but it would likely have been visible as he made his way up from the jetty and he does mention the convicts.
While modern buildings have some improved materials and techniques, they built places to last in 1854. Its been renovated in recent times but some of the brickwork in this place looks like it went up yesterday and they really had the right idea about climate control. With thick walls, high ceilings and steep roofs, unless there is a run of exceptionally hot or cold days, this place remains a constant and reasonable temperature.
Albany's Old Convict Gaol
Fortunately, however, I was able to get access to a scanner through the Albany Historical Society (thanks guys) so now I am sitting in an office in Albany's Old Convict Gaol, scanning Vol. 2 onto a thumb drive. What would Edward have made of such a marvelous little device that could hold his entire diary, and much much more, in something about the size of his little finger.
Yesterday too, I was at the printers, arranging the typesetting of cafe newsletter that I have a hand in. I was marveling at the way in which the printer was whizzing around his keyboard, achieving in seconds what typesetters would have needed hours for just a couple of decades ago.
So in word processing, information retrieval and printing we've come a long way but not necessarily so with everything. As I mentioned, I'm in the Old Gaol. The initial part of this building was the original convict depot, constructed in 1852 so it would have been here when Edward visited in 1854. He doesn't mention it but it would likely have been visible as he made his way up from the jetty and he does mention the convicts.
While modern buildings have some improved materials and techniques, they built places to last in 1854. Its been renovated in recent times but some of the brickwork in this place looks like it went up yesterday and they really had the right idea about climate control. With thick walls, high ceilings and steep roofs, unless there is a run of exceptionally hot or cold days, this place remains a constant and reasonable temperature.
Friday, 13 June 2014
Documentary Film Production 101
Yesterday was educational. Met with Cath, my daughter's producer friend, who over a glass of sparkling water in a Leederville cafe, gave me a potted education in the process by which documentaries are made. To Cath's way of thinking the idea needs some more development before it would be likely to be taken up as a commercially viable project but she gave some helpful ideas on possible "hooks" on which such a project could be based.
More importantly she outlined who locally might be able to be involved and some of the costs and pitfalls associated with documentary making so in all a profitable afternoon.
Perhaps most important of all, the discussion with Cath got me thinking more about a variety of aspects of the project, all of which is useful because the more I think about it the further the journey is likely to progress. I'm often refer to myself as "an ideas man" meaning that I get ideas but don't always pursue them. I'm lazy. I like to come up with the idea but when it comes to the hard work of progressing it... that doesn't always happen. (One of my ideas once was to sell ideas to other people. Never did it, but a top idea. See how my thinking works?)
This journey is one idea though that I am determined to follow through. My bets are hedged a bit in that what I am committing to is to recreate Edward's trip. That I will do. The incidental bits as to how I record it are still up for debate but in talking to Cath I'm pretty sure I will be able to film it on some level. Whether that be a "home movie" or a full fledged documentary, only time will tell.
As a side issue to my thinking about the trip, I have thought about the many other descendants of Edward Ogilvie and wondered whether I should try and track some down and see if I can find anyone else who is interested in taking this journey with me. Co-incidentally Cath mentioned that one of the principals of a local production company is an Ogilvie. Might he be from the same line of Ogilvie's? Won't that be a spooky co-incidence? As Edward had 8 daughters most of his descendants don't carry the Ogilvie name but who knows?
More importantly she outlined who locally might be able to be involved and some of the costs and pitfalls associated with documentary making so in all a profitable afternoon.
Perhaps most important of all, the discussion with Cath got me thinking more about a variety of aspects of the project, all of which is useful because the more I think about it the further the journey is likely to progress. I'm often refer to myself as "an ideas man" meaning that I get ideas but don't always pursue them. I'm lazy. I like to come up with the idea but when it comes to the hard work of progressing it... that doesn't always happen. (One of my ideas once was to sell ideas to other people. Never did it, but a top idea. See how my thinking works?)
This journey is one idea though that I am determined to follow through. My bets are hedged a bit in that what I am committing to is to recreate Edward's trip. That I will do. The incidental bits as to how I record it are still up for debate but in talking to Cath I'm pretty sure I will be able to film it on some level. Whether that be a "home movie" or a full fledged documentary, only time will tell.
As a side issue to my thinking about the trip, I have thought about the many other descendants of Edward Ogilvie and wondered whether I should try and track some down and see if I can find anyone else who is interested in taking this journey with me. Co-incidentally Cath mentioned that one of the principals of a local production company is an Ogilvie. Might he be from the same line of Ogilvie's? Won't that be a spooky co-incidence? As Edward had 8 daughters most of his descendants don't carry the Ogilvie name but who knows?
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
Every Journey Starts With a Single Step
So how do I do this? Planning this project has definitely become a constant theme of my day dreams. I'm constantly thinking about the best way to make this trip and to document it. Do I try and do it as Edward did, as one continuous trip, or do I do it in stages? Do I try and recreate it exactly as he did? Travel by horse where he traveled by horse, by ship where he did etc, etc?
An exact re-creation was ruled out pretty quick. While I was a fair horseman back in the day, I haven't been aboard a nag for more than a decade and from experience I know that riding is not a physically soft task. Old Edward might have been out riding the day he died aged 81 but he had been doing it pretty well every day of his life till then and was undoubtedly a harder man than I. On that basis I was ruling out sleeping under the stars, with a few blankets on a mattress of brush too. Like I said. Tougher than me.
It is still possible to travel by P&O from Sydney to Southampton via the Mediterranean on a similar, but not exact, route as Edward. At around $8,000 that isn't a cheap option although Edward quoted 150 Pounds as the full fare to England in a shared cabin. That converted roughly to current figures is about $12,000. However, probably the principal obstacle to this method is that today, P&O cruise ships only stop for a day or so in most of the ports and there is no hop-on, hop-off option. There might be only one or two cruises per annual season. In Edward's day, there was a ship along on this, the major mail route, at least every six weeks and you could miss one and catch the next. To explore each destination to the same extent as Edward did would not be possible in a day or so, so a P&O cruise is out. Who said the world is necessarily a smaller place?
So it seems that an exact re-creation is off the table. However, I am still pondering whether I need to make the trip in one continuous effort and if the impact will be the same doing it in separate stages. No decision on that yet.
Next question is how do I document my "travels". Well this blog seems to be up and running so that is the bottom line. Do I add to that though? Does blog morph into book? Do I film it? There will be photos on the blog 'cos that's easily achieved but what about a documentary? Is it interesting enough to consider a full scale documentary? How do you achieve that? What would it cost? To resolve some of those questions, my lovely daughter Cushla who is a radio producer with a myriad of media contacts has lined up for me to meet with a documentary producer to suss out some of those issues.
Who knows? At this stage the only definite is that I will do it...for my own interest and pleasure. Exactly how, and how to document, remains to be concluded. I guess I just follow my nose and see what happens. Stay tuned...
An exact re-creation was ruled out pretty quick. While I was a fair horseman back in the day, I haven't been aboard a nag for more than a decade and from experience I know that riding is not a physically soft task. Old Edward might have been out riding the day he died aged 81 but he had been doing it pretty well every day of his life till then and was undoubtedly a harder man than I. On that basis I was ruling out sleeping under the stars, with a few blankets on a mattress of brush too. Like I said. Tougher than me.
It is still possible to travel by P&O from Sydney to Southampton via the Mediterranean on a similar, but not exact, route as Edward. At around $8,000 that isn't a cheap option although Edward quoted 150 Pounds as the full fare to England in a shared cabin. That converted roughly to current figures is about $12,000. However, probably the principal obstacle to this method is that today, P&O cruise ships only stop for a day or so in most of the ports and there is no hop-on, hop-off option. There might be only one or two cruises per annual season. In Edward's day, there was a ship along on this, the major mail route, at least every six weeks and you could miss one and catch the next. To explore each destination to the same extent as Edward did would not be possible in a day or so, so a P&O cruise is out. Who said the world is necessarily a smaller place?
So it seems that an exact re-creation is off the table. However, I am still pondering whether I need to make the trip in one continuous effort and if the impact will be the same doing it in separate stages. No decision on that yet.
Next question is how do I document my "travels". Well this blog seems to be up and running so that is the bottom line. Do I add to that though? Does blog morph into book? Do I film it? There will be photos on the blog 'cos that's easily achieved but what about a documentary? Is it interesting enough to consider a full scale documentary? How do you achieve that? What would it cost? To resolve some of those questions, my lovely daughter Cushla who is a radio producer with a myriad of media contacts has lined up for me to meet with a documentary producer to suss out some of those issues.
Who knows? At this stage the only definite is that I will do it...for my own interest and pleasure. Exactly how, and how to document, remains to be concluded. I guess I just follow my nose and see what happens. Stay tuned...
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