I recently wrote an essay, ‘A home among the peach trees’ about refugee settlement in regional Australia and I wrote it for two reasons. One was because while I care and am vocal about the cruelty with which Australia treats refugees, especially those in offshore detention, I also believe not enough time is spent discussingContinue reading “Essay: ‘A home among the peach trees’”
Tag Archives: Goulburn Valley
SPC Ardmona isn’t just a factory
‘We could be about to see what happens to a town when it loses its identity. Shepparton is SPC Ardmona’ – Warwick Long, ABC Rural journalist, 30 January 2014 via Twitter. I am a graduate of Dookie Primary School No. 1527, where there was a grand total of five students in my grade. All up,Continue reading “SPC Ardmona isn’t just a factory”
Pedalling the paddocks: Dookie Rail Trail
Part of the trend to rejuvenate disused railway lines and making them into cycling tracks, the Dookie Rail Trail is short* but sweet. It is 4.8km long, but as a casual round trip, it is a nice couple of hours of cycling (or a bit longer if you prefer to walk) through paddocks in thisContinue reading “Pedalling the paddocks: Dookie Rail Trail”
Roses in the gumtrees
Rosie and Ronnie Harker live on the outskirts of Dookie, in Victoria, and have one of the most impressive gardens you will ever see. This weekend just gone, they had an ‘open garden’ and here is a snippet of just the roses; with a vintage touch.
Dookie waking
Having returned from New York last week, I’m having a few days in Dookie, in country Victoria, where I grew up. It is quiet, and with the wheat crops yet to turn golden just yet, it is very green and pretty. My jetlag also means that I am waking full of energy before 6am (whichContinue reading “Dookie waking”