The most striking thing I noticed about Australia was the booming economy due to mineral resources. This included coal mining in Queensland and offshore gas and oil in Western Australia and Northern Territories. In addition, the live cattle and sheep trade with the Middle East and Indonesia was large. Flying into Mackay and seeing two [...]
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Spending six months away from home and away from the normal work environment was a privilege that not many people have the opportunity to experience. It is one of the substantive ‘perks’ of academia for those who choose to avail themselves of this opportunity. While it does take considerable energy to move house and office [...]
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The trip around Savai’i Island passed through dozens of small villages that intercept the single road that largely follows the coastline. Each village had one to several large churches with immaculately kept grounds and a painted empty propane tank hanging out front. The propane tanks serve as the church bells to call people to the [...]
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Samoa is broken up into American Samoa and Samoa (formally known as Western Samoa). The islands are volcanic in origin, formed by a ‘hot spot’ of tectonic activity below the Pacific tectonic plate which is moving from east to west. The last volcanic outburst was on Savai’i, the largest island in the archipelago, in the [...]
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At the invitation of Drs. David Haynes and Tim Carruthers, I visited the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) offices in Apia, Samoa. I had previously met David Sheppard, the Director of SPREP, when he visited Washington, D.C., but David was away on travel when I visited Samoa. The SPREP offices formed a [...]
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A new scientific facility in Brisbane is the Ecosciences Precinct on the site of the old gaol (jail) which was known as Boggo Road. The facility is just across the Brisbane River from the University of Queensland, connected by the new Eleanor Schonell pedestrian, bicycle and bus bridge. The Ecosciences Precinct is a partnership between [...]
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The naming of the city of Darwin is an interesting case of premonition by a sailor. Port Darwin was named by Captain John Wickham in 1839 when the HMS Beagle sailed into Darwin Harbour as part of a survey of Australia’s top end. Charles Darwin went on to become one of the most famous men [...]
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On June 1, I boarded the ‘Beaglet’, a Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport (NRETA) boat for a Darwin Harbour field trip. I enjoyed the naming reference to the famous ship ‘Beagle‘ that Charles Darwin sailed around the world, including his famous visit to the Galapagos Islands. The boat skipper was Matt Majid and [...]
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I had breakfast with Malcolm Robb, Western Australia Department of Water, and Professor Lyn Beazley, Western Australia Chief Scientist. We talked about a wide range of issues associated with science applications and education. Lyn is a vibrant and personable scientist who clearly advocates for science in Western Australia. She spoke about getting microscopes into schools, [...]
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On May 9, I attended a Project Catalyst Workshop at the Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre along the Central Queensland coast. The workshop was organized by Will Higham and his colleagues at Reef Catchments, and it included three dozen sugarcane growers from three sugar producing regions within the Great Barrier Reef catchment; Mackay/Whitsunday/Isaac region, Burdekin [...]
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