What a great Aussie gentleman Bud was.

I think I first saw him on TV when I was 10 years of age, when he was in "Bellbird"

Bud you will be missed.

Bud Tingwell dead at 86 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/20...

Veteran Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell has died aged 86. His agent Joanne Baker confirmed he died this morning in a Melbourne hospital. "He had been suffering from prostate cancer," Ms Baker said. It is understood Tingwell had been battling the disease for the last couple of years. The Sydney-born star first appeared on the silver screen in 1946 and is best known for his roles in classic Australian films Breaker Morant, The Castle and TV cop show Homicide. He became a radio actor while still at school, before joining the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941 and serving as a reconnaissance pilot flying Spitfires and Mosquitoes over Nazi-occupied north Africa and southern Europe. After leaving the service, he entered the film industry and landed his first speaking role in 1945 in the film Smithy, which was about aviator Charles Kingsford Smith. In 1952, he was invited to Hollywood to work alongside Richard Burton on The Desert Rats. He went on to have roles in a number of Australian films and TV shows, including All The Rivers Run, Puberty Blues, The Flying Doctors, All Saints and Neighbours. Most recently, Tingwell had small roles in The Craic, The Dish and the ABC series Changi and Bed Of Roses. He was awarded the AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in 1999 for his services to the performing arts as an actor, director, producer, and to the community. He is survived by his son Christopher and daughter Virginia - who is an actress. Tingwell's wife Audrey died in 1996. 'Australian legend' Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has paid tribute to Tingwell as an "Australian legend". "Bud Tingwell is in every sense an Australian legend," Mr Rudd said. "From old generations knowing him through Homicide and newer generations knowing him as the battlers' friend from The Castle. He is so much a part of the Australian character as it's been shaped and as it will evolve in the future. "A great Australian and all Australians are...

Veteran Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell has died aged 86.

His agent Joanne Baker confirmed he died this morning in a Melbourne hospital.

"He had been suffering from prostate cancer," Ms Baker said.

It is understood Tingwell had been battling the disease for the last couple of years.

The Sydney-born star first appeared on the silver screen in 1946 and is best known for his roles in classic Australian films Breaker Morant, The Castle and TV cop show Homicide.

He became a radio actor while still at school, before joining the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941 and serving as a reconnaissance pilot flying Spitfires and Mosquitoes over Nazi-occupied north Africa and southern Europe.

After leaving the service, he entered the film industry and landed his first speaking role in 1945 in the film Smithy, which was about aviator Charles Kingsford Smith.

In 1952, he was invited to Hollywood to work alongside Richard Burton on The Desert Rats.

He went on to have roles in a number of Australian films and TV shows, including All The Rivers Run, Puberty Blues, The Flying Doctors, All Saints and Neighbours.

Most recently, Tingwell had small roles in The Craic, The Dish and the ABC series Changi and Bed Of Roses.

He was awarded the AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in 1999 for his services to the performing arts as an actor, director, producer, and to the community.

He is survived by his son Christopher and daughter Virginia - who is an actress.

Tingwell's wife Audrey died in 1996.

'Australian legend'

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has paid tribute to Tingwell as an "Australian legend".

"Bud Tingwell is in every sense an Australian legend," Mr Rudd said.

"From old generations knowing him through Homicide and newer generations knowing him as the battlers' friend from The Castle. He is so much a part of the Australian character as it's been shaped and as it will evolve in the future.

"A great Australian and all Australians are sad to see his passing."

'A delight'

Tom Gleisner from Working Dog Productions, who collaborated with Tingwell on a number of projects, says the actor was a "delight" to work with.

"He would willingly throw himself into anything - from Neighbours to a small and often uncredited role in a film," Gleisner told Jon Faine on ABC Radio 774.

Gleisner said Tingwell was a master of learning his lines and was happy to "jump into" projects, which helped give him his longevity in the industry.

"He had an interesting philosophy. Some actors are very selective about what they do or are cautious about their image, but Bud had the other end of the spectrum. He virtually never said no to anything," he said.

Rob Sitch, who directed Tingwell in films The Castle and The Dish, says the actor's life was defined by a willingness to try new things.

"He said that one of the secrets to life was saying 'yes', because you end up meeting people, you have new experiences - you know, luck seems to follow you," Sitch said.

"I don't know that anyone's kind of lived a life in entertainment that's proved that point better."

Margaret Pomeranz from ABC 1's At The Movies says Tingwell was an exceptional talent.

"To maintain your craft for that length of time and to put yourself out there and be brave in the films that you take on, I mean it's a pretty wonderful life actually," she said.

"He's given us a lot."

Triple J film critic Marc Fennell says Tingwell's contributions to the local entertainment industry ran deep.

"The thing with Bud Tingwell is that everyone knows the big roles that he's done in The Dish and The Castle, but what a lot of people don't know is that he would do tons of Australian short films and student films," Fennell said.

'He foxed me'

Sitch says Tingwell's death has surprised him.

"Because I visited him last week in hospital and he completely foxed me. We were talking about work and what he was going to do - he was in the middle of a production at the time and he said, 'It's such a bother, I just can't wait to get all these tubes off me'," Sitch recalled.

"I walked away thinking, 'Oh we've got Bud back'.

"It's incredible to think that someone that was so ill was being so positive and welcoming."

Fellow actor Jack Thompson, whose parents were friends with Tingwell, says he will be greatly missed.

"It's like a great tree has been felled in the landscape of our culture and, in particular, in the landscape of our film world," he told Sky News.

Professor Dodson was Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity. 

Fifty eight year old Dodson is a Yawuru man from the Broome area of Western Australia who now lives and works in Canberra.  He is widely recognised as a proud, courageous and humble Aboriginal leader who has spent his adult life trying to explain to people why and how they can help his people. He has pursued justice and reconciliation through a process of education, awareness and inclusive dialogue with all Australians.

While his official roles tell only a small part of the story of what he does, Dodson has served in a variety of challenging and highly sensitive roles at community level, with governments, the United Nations and in academia. He has also actively mentored, nurtured and promoted young Aboriginal leaders and encouraged respect between people of all cultures.

He has described himself as a ‘persistent bugger’ and is uncompromising in arguing for justice and good sense. He champions the successes of the Indigenous community but also expects accountability for failures, not shying away from difficult questions or issues. As Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia, he has said his dream is to achieve reconciliation in this country, and a better future for his people.

The Prime Minister thanked Dodson for his lifetime commitment to improving the lives of Aboriginal people and promoting understanding between all Australians.

“Mick Dodson has been a courageous fighter for reconciliation and for closing the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians,” said the Prime Minister.

“His efforts truly show that if we work together, we can achieve real progress.”

 
Professor Dodson, currently Director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies at the Australian National University.  Well done, Mick Dodson!

Mick Dodson 2009 Australian of the Year

Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet, comprising 11 ships and around 1,350 people, arrived Port Jackson on 26 January 1788.

The Second Fleet's arrival in 1790 provided badly needed food and supplies; however the newly arrived convicts were too ill, with many near to death, to be useful to the colony. The Second Fleet became known as the 'Death Fleet' - 278 of the convicts and crew died on the voyage to Australia, compared to only 48 on the First Fleet.

From 1788 until 1823, the Colony of New South Wales was a penal colony. This meant that there were mainly convicts, marines and the wives of the marines although free settlers started to arrive in 1793.

By 1821 there was a growing number of freed convicts who were appointed to positions of trust and responsibility as well as being granted land.

When the last shipment of convicts disembarked in Western Australia in 1868, the total number of transported convicts stood at around 162,000 men and women. They were transported here on 806 ships.

The transportation of convicts to Australia ended at a time when the colonies' population stood at around one million, compared to 30,000 in 1821. By the mid-1800s there were enough people here to take on the work, and enough people who needed the work. The colonies could therefore sustain themselves and continue to grow. The convicts had served their purpose.

Charles Darwin visited Australia in 1836 and noted that it was a country doomed to fail due to the convict bloodlines.  "It can hardly fail to deteriorate," Charles Darwin said after his voyage here in 1836.

"It is without doubt an admiral place to accumulate pounds and shillings, but heaven forfend that I should ever live where every other man is said to be somewhere between a petty rogue and a blood thirsty villain."

Charles Darwin was wrong. 

There is no doubt that Australia is a lucky country.  We are not a perfect country and along the way we have made our fair share of mistakes.  We started as a white man’s penal colony on land that belonged to an indigenous population.  The white man in the main was not a good friend to the indigenous population and naturally they suffered due to the colonisation of their land.  To this day we are still a nation trying to reconcile our past actions and are attempting to put things right.  Hopefully in time our nation will be fully reconciled and we will be a better country because of it.

I would prefer celebrating Australia Day on another date which is not associated with the "invasion" of the indigenous people's land.  Mick Dodson also feels that another day would be more appropriate, as it would be more inclusive of the indigenous people.  Mick is of the opinion that it is something we as a nation should at least sit down and discuss as mature adults and decide together if today is the most appropriate day.  I agree whole heartedly.

Our nation is made up of people from many nations and I believe this has made us a better land, a more tolerant land and hopefully a country that believes in giving every honest citizen a fair go.

Today we welcome more than 13,000 new Australian citizens from 120 countries as they make public pledges at citizenship ceremonies of their commitment to Australia.

An Australian achievement: The portable beer cooler known as the ‘esky’ was invented in Australia in the 1950's and is now used around the world.

There is an email doing the rounds at the moment.

Subject: The Front Fell Off

In August 2007 an oil tanker off the coast of Australia split in two, dumping 20, 000 tons of crude oil.

Senator Collins a member of Australia's Parliament, appeared on a TV news program to reassure the Australian public.

This actual interview is so funny you would think it came from Saturday Night Live.

It just proves ......... Once a politician, always a politician!

Enjoy!

The truth is it is an Aussie comedy skit which was done after an oil tanker lost its bow off the coast of Western Australia in 1991.  John Clarke is the 'politician' and Brian Dawe in the 'interviewer'

I had hoped to post this post on Australia Day however my internet obviously had other ideas and so I was unable to post anything for a few days.  Then I thought I would let it pass because I had felt that my window of opportunity had passed.  However it seems that the subject has literally been ignited after a group of 100 indigenous Australians protested against Australia Day and burnt the national Australian Flag.

The point which was being made was as follows:

About 100 Aborigines from across Tasmania rallied in Launceston's City Park against what they call "Invasion Day".

After the speeches, Adam Thompson stepped from the crowd and burnt the Australian flag with a cigarette lighter, to cheers from the crowd.

Mr Thompson says he would not have been deterred by the threat of prosecution.

"I would have done it anyway because it signifies something, and that's for a bigger cause," he said.

"Australians know what it means to Aboriginal people for them to celebrate Invasion Day and they do it anyway, so there's a blatant disregard there for Aboriginal people. And that made us angry enough to do that.  (Source)

For those who are not aware, Australia Day is Australia's national day of celebration of our great country.  The date coincides with the date that the British fleet first landed on the shores of Australia in order to establish the British penal colony in Australia. This occurred on the 26th January 1788.  The British felt justified in occupying this land because according to the British the land was void of inhabitants.  This was a common practice and was not just applicable to the colonisation of Australia by the British.

The occupation of the land was occupied under what is termed "terra nullius". 

Sovereignty of a territory could be acquired under the enlarged notion of terra nullius , for the purposes of the municipal law that territory (though inhabited) could be treated as a ‘desert uninhabited' country.' At the time of the establishment of the Colony in Australia, it “consisted of a tract of territory practically unoccupied, without settled inhabitants or settled law”. Their statement to that effect was thereafter seen as au­thoritatively establishing that the territory of New South Wales had, in 1788, been terra nullius not in the sense of unclaimed by any other European power, but in the sense of unoccupied or uninhabited for the purposes of the law.

However as we are aware there were people occupying the land now called Australia and as is the case in the majority of colonised countries throughout the world, the original inhabitants were not treated well.  In my opinion the date we as a nation have picked to celebrate our national day of pride, is not inclusive of our indigenous brothers and sisters and I believe they are justified in seeing the 26th January as a day of invasion and not a day of celebration given the treatment of their people over the past two centuries by 'white' Australia.

In my opinion if we as a nation are truly working toward true reconciliation with our indigenous Australians, then we also need to revise the date we celebrate our day of national pride.  It should be a date that is debated on and decided on by all groups of Australians and it needs to be inclusive of all Australians especially those belonging to our indigenous people and a day all Australians can feel proud.  To my way of thinking when we are well on the way to true reconciliation, then a day that celebrates that achievement would have more meaning.

There is some good news and this news has made me feel proud. 

The Getup! organisers put out a request to its members to list the things they wanted GetUp! to present to parliament as an agenda we would like our government to tackle in the year(s) ahead.

The item which made it to number three on the top 10 list was: Indigenous rights and living standards.

2008 People's Agenda

In my opinion that is great news, as the people of Australia really do want true reconciliation.  The new government is currently is the process of developing a meaningful statement of apology to the Australian Indigenous people, hopefully this apology will bring about effective dialogue in the future years to come.

We have a great country; and let’s make it even better by making a genuine effort to help Indigenous Australians achieve the life they are entitled to. It will take effort from all communities, but I know if we work together it can be achieved.

A fellow VOX blogger, Daddy-Fu has written some very interesting posts in regards to indigenous Australians and reconciliation and I would like to draw your attention to them.


The Hardest Word - Part One: Me

The Hardest Word - Part 2: The Facts

The Hardest Word - Part 3: Compensation

The Hardest Word - Part 4: Australia Day

Australia Day - a minor side note

Australian National Flag

The Australian Aboriginal Flag

Torres Strait Islander Flag

T'is the time of the year to be jolly.  I would say "Ho, Ho, Ho Merry Christmas" but that is now politically incorrect as I  maybe referring to some one's whore and there are some that don't even like the "Merry Christmas" bit.  So I guess I shall say, "Have a good one!" whatever 'one' is.

Nah stuff it, "Merry Christmas" to you all and have a BONZA 2008.

Thanks to all who dropped by and read some of my posts.  Thanks to all of you who wrote interesting, thought provoking and amusing posts (sometimes all in the one post) and shared your inner thoughts with the world.  Thank you to those who shared their beautiful talents in so many varied artistic forms.

I am grateful to all of the friends I have made along the way and the support I have received from many of you.  Sorry to the odd one or two I set free along the way, I sincerely hope that you are doing well.

This past year has been a big year for me, especially the 2nd half of the year.

My youngest son decided to play Aussie Rules football for the first time, so I became a 'footy' Mum.

I lost my grandfather just 5 weeks short of his 102nd birthday.

One son was married and he and his bride bought their first house.

I started a new treatment for my ME/CFS. There have been tough times along the way, it has not been smooth sailing but I am working through it day by day.  Since starting in September time seems to have just escaped me.

This month has been eventful.  Our daughter and her partner bought their first house and they became engaged the night they moved in.  Last weekend it was Hubby's mother's 90th birthday party - that was a big event.  I have had a couple of 3 hour (each way) trips to Melbourne for various reasons and they have zapped my energy.  December has also been a month of continual dramas with internet and phone companies for one reason or another.  The latest drama was so ridiculous that for the first time in Chezza history I will be making a formal written complaint.

The Christmas presents have finally been bought and wrapped.  I have never left buying Christmas presents to nearly the last minute, it is a huge relief to have them finally sorted out.  *Big Sigh*

We haven't put a Christmas tree up.  Not one Christmas card has been written - Oh dear will they ever forgive me.

Tomorrow the Christmas celebrations begin with a visit from part of my side of the family for lunch. 

Then Christmas Day we will have a family breakfast with the kids and then head off to Hubby's extended family's Christmas lunch.  Naturally I shall be in blackout gear to repel the nasty sunbeams.

Due to a mountain of things I really must attend to, I will not be around much for a while.  I have a "To Do List" that MUST be done and there is only one way that it will be done and that is less time hanging out here.  Of course I am addicted to this place so I am sure I will be around just a tiny wee bit.

Christmas Nativity

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Christmas Reindeer

3 comments

Oh one huge event I forgot to mention, the Australian Liberal (RW conservatives - don't let the name fool you!) Party fell in a landslide election defeat and now Australia has a new Prime Minister and the Australian Labor Party is now in power.  Hopefully good things will come from the change in government.

"They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" is a hit 1966 novelty song by Napoleon XIV (aka Jerry Samuels).

Released on Warner Bros. Records, the bizarre depiction of mental illness became an instant hit in the United States that summer, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart.

However, it was highly controversial at the time. Some groups protested the apparent mockery of mental illness, while other groups attacked the apparent comparison of Napoleon's wife to a "mangy mutt". The protesters put pressure both on radio stations directly and on the stations' advertisers. This was especially felt in New York City, where Top 40 stalwarts WABC and WMCA soon dropped the record from airplay and skipped it during their countdown shows, much to the confusion of the young teens who made up a large part of those broadcasters' audience. The record was soon banned from airplay at radio stations in a number of other markets as well. As a result, it quickly sank back down the charts, spending a total only five weeks in the Billboard Top 40.  (Source)

FORMED: 1979, Melbourne, Australia
DISBANDED: 1985

Formed in 1979 by Colin Hay and Ron Strykert as an acoustic duo, with the later joining of Jerry Speiser playing drums, John Rees playing bass and Greg Ham playing sax, flute and keyboard. They signed with CBS Records and recorded their first single "Who Can It Be" produced by the American Peter McIan, that was sent to the American radio and reached #1. In 1981 they released their first album, Business as Usual, bringing back their hit now named "Who Can It Be Now?", and a new one, "Down Under", which also was a #1 hit, putting Business as Usual as the #1 album in 1982, taking out Michael Jackson's Thriller from the top.  (Source)

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Jump down the shelters to get away
The boys are cockin up their guns
Tell us general, is it party time?
If it is can we all come

Its a mistake, its a mistake
Its a mistake, its a mistake

Sorry for including this post here, but it seemed so appropriate after posting Men at Work's song, "It's a Mistake" as they are the final words that the army officer said at the end of this video.

Australia is my home, it is where I grew up and I am glad that this is the land that I live in.  I acknowledge that there was a fantastic indigenous culture here before my ancestors arrived.  I love my heritage and I love the Australian Indigenous culture and I am proud of all Indigenous people’s achievements and despite our past history of ill treatment towards the Australian Indigenous community for which many white Australians are very sorry including myself, I know that this country of mine will continue to move forward for the betterment of all. See are separate entry regarding our treatment of Indigenous Australians.

The country I live in has been called racist, as far as racism in Australia is concerned, the degree of racism really does depend on where you travel in Australia; we have our "red neck" areas (not going to name areas) just like most countries.   Generally I have found the more multi-cultural areas aren't all that racist and most of the people I come across definitely aren't racist to any degree - and I say degree, because as much as we don't want to admit it, we all have some degree of racism within us, even if it is subconsciously.  I think the more educated (formally or self) and the more we allow ourselves to experience other cultures the less racist we generally become. 

It is easy to label Australia as a racist country (due to the actions of some), however we mustn't forget that our society is now very multi-cultural compared to some countries who do not allow much immigration into their country at all, but for some reason we seem to ignore these countries when it comes to the racist debate.  Given how multi-cultural our country is, there is bound to be some racial tensions between some groups and racial tension works both ways, new racial groups can be just as racist towards Australian born Australians as Australian born Australians are to the new racial groups.  Also please ignore the actions of some of our politicians, as I can assure you some of them do not speak for all Australians.

To illustrate how multicultural our population is, this is a list of the top 30 birthplaces (not every ethnic group that is represented in our population just the top 30 birthplaces) of Australians in the 2001 census: Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam, China, Greece, Germany, Philippines, Netherlands, South Africa, Malaysia, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Poland, Yugoslavia, United States of America, Sri Lanka, Croatia, Ireland, Indonesia, Malta, Fiji, Macedonia, FYROM, Korea (South), Singapore, Egypt, Turkey, and Canada.

The following data is derived from the 2001 Australian Census:

·         21.8% of Australians were born overseas and 72.6% were born in Australia.

13.2% of people (2,485,093) were born in non-English speaking countries. This compares to 8.5% who were born in English speaking countries other than Australia.

So I think Australia is doing pretty well as far as immigration is concerned.

Many Australians embrace the cultures that our immigrants bring into Australia.  Just take a stroll down Lygon Street in Melbourne and you will see and enjoy what multi-cultural Melbourne has to offer.

As for Australians being arrogant, yes well there are some arrogant bastards around, no doubt about that.  But I tell you what; most Aussies are not arrogant for a number of reasons.  Firstly we live on this island on the bottom of the world and most people would hardly even know where the hell we are.  I bet most people wouldn't even know the name of our capital city and the only reason some may have heard of our prime minister is because he is a pal of George W Bush and I bet you would still struggle to come up with his name.  So no, I don't think we are that arrogant as we know our place in the world, just an island some where at the bottom of the world.  Another reason we tend not to be arrogant is because Aussies have this thing called, "Tall Poppy Syndrome", if you get too big for your boots we tend to cut you back down to size quick smart - trust me we are experts at it.   Some people may mistake that as arrogance, but that is their opinion and they are welcome to think that about us.  We love to take the piss out of each other too; I think it is a national pass time.

We love nicknames and we love to change people’s names.  I made the wrong assumption of thinking that international bloggers would automatically realise that because I call myself Chezza, people would automatically realise my gender was female and my name was Cheryl, not so it appears.  This altering of names appears to be an Aussie thing.  Here are some examples:

Cheryl - Chezza or Chez

Sharon - Shazza or Shaz

Darren or Darrell - Dazza or Daz

Aaron - Azza

Barry - Bazza or Baz

Warwick - Wozza or Woz

Marion - Mazza or Maz

Australian - Aussie

Angela - Angie

barbeque - Barbie

Elizabeth - Lizzie

John - Johno

Steve - Stevo

Dave - Davo

So despite what some of you may think we are not all a bunch of drongos; just some of us - perhaps even me.

My opinion regarding Steve Irwin. 

Steve was Steve, he was passionate about what he believed in, which was getting the message to the world about wildlife conservation and not just the cuddly cute animals, but also the ones that were frightening to look at and also potentially quite dangerous.  To be honest, I initially think Steve was rather over the top for many Australians, he was a larger than life figure and Australians were not used to such a figure.  But it seemed that the American audience loved him and his antics.  There were times when I would watch his TV shows and think, “Oh Steve you really shouldn’t be doing that” and I remember one time he received a nasty bite to his hand by a sea creature and I thought, “Steve serves yourself right!”  But I grew to like the man because he had passion and he did have the animal’s best interests at heart, despite what some may say.  Yes he did aggravate a few animals along the way, but to my knowledge he never actually physically hurt them.  In my opinion his motives were pure and sometimes the end does justify the means.  Was Steve a superhero? No he was just a human with a passion who had some successes and some failures just like us all.  But at least he stood up for what he believed in and that was conservation. Money from the films that he made was put back into numerous conservation projects and Australia Zoo is a testimony to his life’s work.

Steve Irwin - just a man with an enormous amount of passion with all of the human foibles we are all prone to.

We know what Germaine Greer has said of Steve, but what have others said of Steve Irwin.  I think these may be the opinions we should have been listening to.

Sir David Attenborough apparently praised Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was, he was a born communicator." Taken from

The Australian

Another apparent quote by Sir David Attenborough was in the following extract from the Guardian: The odd thing about Attenborough's career is that, over the course of 50 years, it is hard to think of anyone who has come close to challenging him. He dismisses this as nonsense and mentions, among others, Bill Oddie, Charlotte Uhlenbroek and Simon King, who made Big Cat Diary. Australian he-man Steve Irwin and his imitators make a different kind of wildlife programme altogether and, says Attenborough, "what's wrong with that? An adventure story in which the bit parts are played by animals. And that's fine. It gets people interested."

Another extract from another Guardian article during an interview with Sir David Attenborough: When I ask, for example, about Germaine Greer's verdict on Steve Irwin's death that "the animal world had finally taken its revenge", at first he remarks, "Well, it's a fairly brutal thing to say. And you don't want to, you know, de mortuis nil nisi bonum [speak ill of the dead]. But on the other hand, the point about Steve Irwin is that he was an adventurer and what he told were adventure stories. I mean, he traded on - well, he used danger as a way of attracting people to his story.

"Irwin wasn't talking about natural selection or population dynamics. He was talking about [mimicking an Australian accent], 'Well, what am I doing here then?' “The tone is mild and airy, but the compliment is devastating. ”And you know, that's fine. You know, we've all done that. I mean, when I was a kid I was all for going out there and wrestling with anteaters and so on." …………………

"Well, this is going to sound funny, but actually people don't turn on my programmes to see me," he suggests. "They turn on to see the animals. They watch because they know I don't stand between them and the animals they want to watch. We're back to Steve Irwin again, aren't we? If I watch a Steve Irwin programme it's because I want to see Steve Irwin. That's not what I do."

But when I ask if he found Irwin's popularity depressing, he seems affronted by the very idea. "Oh no. Not at all! We were just interested in different sorts of things. Of course television changes. Everything changes. You don't want to be going around saying, Oh woe is me. You want to be saying, Ah, that's a new opportunity! Let's exploit it that way."

An excerpt from Reuters: International environmentalist David Suzuki told Ten Network television Irwin had brought a much greater respect for animals such as snakes and crocodiles that are normally "demonised".

"He not only captivated Australia and all the visitors there, but he captivated America because he was audacious."

To be balanced Steve did have his detractors in the area of animal conservation.

From smh: But Alastair Fothergill, who produced the Planet Earth series narrated by Attenborough, has criticised Steve Irwin, saying he had pushed his own stardom before any interest in the animal kingdom.

From FoxNews: Separately from the service, marine explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau said that, while he mourned Irwin's death, he disagreed with the Australian's hands-on approach to nature television.

He said he respected Irwin's environmental message, but noted that Irwin would "interfere with nature, jump on animals, grab them, hold them, and have this very, very spectacular, dramatic way of presenting things."

"It sells, it appeals to a lot people, but I think it's very misleading," Cousteau said in Los Angeles. "You don't touch nature, you just look at it."

But I will leave my final words to Jean-Michel’s nephew – Phillippe Cousteau Jr in an interview with CNN shortly after Steve’s death.

Yothu Yindi

Yothu Yindi are probably the most successful and internationally recognised of Australia's aboriginal bands.  Formed in 1986, Yothu Yindi was recognised from its earliest stages as a unique band, combining Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal musicians, and marrying the instrumentation of western rock and roll with songs and performance from the ancient song cycles of north east Arnhem Land.

Yothu Yindi

The main kinship term Yolngu people use to describe the glue that binds their society is Yothu Yindi, literally meaning "child and mother". The Yolngu concept of Yothu Yindi recognises duality and fosters balance where there is difference. It encompasses the two sides of a world in which balance is maintained: a balance between people and land that has ensured their survival for tens of thousands of years.

The group's central figure Mandawuy Yunupingu and clansman Witiyana Marika were originally part of the rock band The Swamp Jockeys with non-aboriginals Cal Williams and Stuart Kellaway. They gathered other aboriginal musicians and dancers to become Yothu Yindi, a troupe initially created to perform at cultural events both in Australia and internationally.  Lead singer and songwriter Mandawuy Yunupingu is one of Australia’s highest profile Indigenous artists and was named the 1992 Australian of the Year. Initially Mandawuy Yunupingu used his music profile to further the cause of his 'other' job, as headmaster of a culturally mixed school in Arnhem Land, but he ended up being forced to apply for leave to concentrate on his music career.  Yothu Yindi has released six albums, toured widely throughout the world, performed at the Seoul and Atlanta Olympics and won numerous Australian and international song writing and video awards.

Probably Yothu Yindi’s most famous song is “Treaty”. "Treaty” was composed by Yothu Yindi in collaboration with Paul Kelly and Midnight Oil to protest the failure of the Australian Government to honour the Prime Minister’s promise to Indigenous Australians at the Barunga Festival. The song was remixed in Melbourne by Filthy Lucre in 1991 and rapidly climbed the Australian charts as did the album on which it was released, Tribal Voice (1992).  Click here for more background information regarding the history of this song.

Lyrics:

Well I heard it on the radio
And I saw it on the television
Back in 1988, all those talking politicians

Words are easy, words are cheap
Much cheaper than our priceless land
But promises can disappear
Just like writing in the sand

Treaty yeah treaty now treaty yeah treaty now

Nhima djat’pangarri nhima walangwalang
Nhe djat’payatpa nhima gaya nhe
Matjini ... Yakarray
Nhe djat’pa nhe walang gumurrt jararrk gutjuk

This land was never given up
This land was never bought and sold
The planting of the union jack
Never changed our law at all
Now two river run their course
  Separatedfor so long
I’m dreaming of a brighter day
When the waters will be one

Treaty yeah treaty now treaty yeah treaty now

Nhema gayakaya nhe gayanhe
Nhe gayanhe matjini walangwalang nheya
Nhimadjatpanhe walang
Gumurrtjararrk yawirriny
Nhe gaya nhe matjini
Gaya gaya nhe gaya nhe
Matjini walangwalang
Nhema djat’pa nhe walang
Nhe gumurrtjarrk nhe ya

Promises disappear - priceless land - destiny
Well i heard it on the radio
And i saw it on the television
But promises can be broken
Just like writing in the sand

Treaty yeah treaty now treaty yeah treaty now
Treaty yeah treaty now treaty yeah treaty now
Treaty yeah treaty ma treaty yeah treaty ma
Treaty yeah treaty ma treaty yeah treaty ma

The following Yothu Yindi songs are also favourites of mine.

Here is a link to an interview with Mandawuy about Yothu Yindi and the yirdaki. Mandawuy is not well at the moment which makes this interview all the more important. Let's hope his health improves. 

More information about the band Yothu Yindi can be found at their website http://www.yothuyindi.com

Garma festival

The Yothu Yindi Foundation has announced that the theme for the Key Forum at the 2007 Garma Festival of Traditional Culture will be Indigenous health: real solutions for a chronic problem.

Board Member of the Yothu Yindi Foundation and Reconciliation Australia, Raymattja Marika, says the 2007 Forum will focus on a particular set of Indigenous health issues and topics, centred on:

• Traditional healing
• Maternal/child health services (two-way)
• Relationships to make things work – social determinants in public health
• Infectious disease control that makes a real difference
• Health advice/education: effective ways of getting the messages across

And we are determined it will make a real and on-going difference. We want the maximum possible practical results from it, and we will also be following up on the outcomes to maintain the momentum”, she said.

“Education and health are two of the central challenges facing Australia in regard to its Indigenous population, so it is particularly apt that Indigenous health: real solutions for a chronic problem is the 2007 Forum theme, following on from “Indigenous Education and Training” in 2006.

“And we will be working even harder in 2007, particularly after Garma, to try to make sure that a set of concrete, practical policies and actions come out of Garma, with everyone involved taking on specific roles and responsibilities to address this extremely important issue.

“At the Foundation, we are walking the walk, not just talking the talk, in developing community leaders, in sharing and protecting culture and knowledge, in bringing Australians together and in creating economic opportunities and real outcomes”, she said.

Raymattja Marika was speaking at Parliament House in Darwin, during the launch of the Garma 2006 Forum Report on “Indigenous Education and Training”.

The 2007 Key Forum will run for three days from August 4 to August 6, 2007, at the Garma Festival site at Gulkula, near Nhulunbuy in north-east Arnhem Land.

Have a fantastic and very productive festival guys.

Given the current government policy developments, you have picked the perfect topic for this years festival.