1. No category

Issue 598 December 2014
50 Years
1964 - 2014
Page 1
www.bosq.bwq.org.au
FOOTNOTES
December
2014
BUSHWALKERS OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND INC
GPO BOX 1274 BRISBANE Qld 4001
Email
[email protected]
Website: www.bosq.bwq.org.au
Footnotes
ISSUE 598 December 2014
3. Or in person at: Various over counter locations
shown on website:
Editorial e-mail: [email protected]
With cc to:
[email protected]
(If possible put “The Editor” in subject line).
EDITORIAL DEADLINE: Tuesday 6 January 2015
PRINTED BY:
mylestones printing
3/503 Gympie Road
Strathpine QLD 4500
Ph 07 3881 2881 Fax: 07 3881 3132
email: [email protected]
Secretary
John Edenborough
Treasurer
Chris Trehearn
http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/experiences/overcounter-permits.html
IF A WALKING TRIP IS DELAYED
Occasionally trips are delayed due to unforeseen
circumstances. Whom should the leader in the field
contact back in Brisbane? If friends or relatives of walkers
are concerned about the delayed return, whom might they
contact in the club to inquire about what has happened?
The contact should be with any member of the BOSQ
Management Committee, listed opposite. Move down the
list till you find someone at home.
OFFICE BEARERS
John Marshall
1. Contact the QPWS on: 13 74 68
2. Or visit the website at:
http://parks.nprsr.qld.gov.au/permits or
http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au
Editor: John Edenborough
PO Box 80
Mount Ommaney Qld 4074
Ph.
3279 2500 Mob 0418 100 277
President
CAMPING PERMITS: You need to make your own
campsite bookings with the QPWS if camping in a
Qld National Park on a club basecamp. First confer
with your leader, and then contact the following to
book and pay by credit card:
5498 6780
0411 501 391
Outings Secretary Neil Douglas
3279 2500
3875 1090
Safety & Training Officer
New Members Officer Bronwyn Menkens
Committee Members David Longland
Patrick O’Donoghue
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Ordinary Membership ..........$35.00 p.a.
Current cover for financial members- Public Liability
insurance under the BA group insurance scheme is $20
Million
Executive Committee meetings for 2013-14:
Last Monday of September, November, February, April,
June and August.
Membership Register
Changed your contact details?
Please advise John Edwards of any change to address,
phone or email.
Tel
email
Before leaving on a BOSQ outing, walkers should tell a
family member or friend where they are going and give
them a copy of Footnotes or a copy of the phone numbers
of the Committee members. Leaders should also carry a
list of contact numbers with them on the walk.
If there were a situation that required a search or rescue,
members of the Committee would liaise with experienced
walkers within BOSQ and within the Federated Mountain
Rescue, who would contact emergency services if
necessary. Members of the BOSQ Management
Committee hold a list of phone numbers for FMR contacts.
They will also hold membership details for all BOSQ
members, including the name of a family member or friend
to contact in case of delay or emergency.
Insurance cover
Insurance for BOSQ members is arranged through the
peak body of Australian bushwalking federations,
Bushwalking Australia Inc. (BA). There is coverage for
both Public Liability and Personal Accident. Club members
and visitors are insured while participating in all activities
conducted by BOSQ, including survey trips, meetings,
social events, and travelling to and from club activities.
The policies can be viewed and downloaded at:
http://www.bushwalkingaustralia.org/insurance
Personal Locator Beacons (PLB)
The club owns two PLBs and walk leaders are
encouraged to take one on their walks, especially on any
off-track walks, extended trips, or survey walks. A
‘northside’ PLB is held by Bronwyn Menkens (3397 6487)
and a ‘southside’ PLB is held by Neil Douglas (3875 1090)
for collection and return. There is no charge to club walk
leaders.
E-Comms: To register for regular email updates on the
walks program or other club news, send an email request
to: [email protected] Please include ‘E-Comms’
in the subject line. To be removed from the group, put ‘Opt
Out’ in the subject line.
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FOOTNOTES
October
2014
BOSQ Inc. … Walks Programme
Walk Gradings
Distance
S - 1 to 10
km
Terrain
Fitness
1 to 3 - Graded
track or open
terrain. No scrub
1 to 3 - Easy
Suitable for
beginners
M - 10 to 15
km
L - 15 to 20
km
X - Over 20
km
4 to 7 - Off track.
Minor scrub,
rainforest, rock
scrambling, creek
rock-hopping
4 to 7 - Medium
Reasonable fitness
required
8 to 9 - Off track.
Thick scrub, major
rocks, scrambling
using hands,
technical climb
8 to 9 - Hard
Fit walkers only
½ DW Sat 20 Dec
Greens Falls area, Brisbane Forest Park
Grade:
S43
Leader:
Di Edwards
Contact:
Meet:
Water:
Bring:
Activity Type
Graded Track Walk GTW
Day Walk DW
Through-walk TW
Base-Camp, self-sufficient BC
Base-Camp, accommodated ACC
Social SOC
Safety & Training S&T
Federation FED
Federation Mountain Rescue FMR
Petrol Money Contribution
Current Suggested Rate when car-pooling is:
10c per km
Walks Programme November – December
2014
DW Sat 13 December
Mt Coot-tha Breakfast Stroll
Grade:
S22
Leader:
Di Thornthwaite
Contact:
Meet:
Water:
1 litre - there is no water along the track
A leisurely stroll before the heat of the day attacks
us. We will be doing the Bardon Trail returning along
the Maculata Track and after a short break and gossip
we will walk the Kulgun Circuit. The whole walk should
not be more than 6 kms. There is a lovely café just
down the road which now serves Sunday breakfast
and lunch. There is no nomination deadline – you can
just turn up.
DW Sun 14 December
Christmas Party
Venue: Grey Gum picnic area, Mt. Coot-tha
Organiser: Judy Whitehorne
(for info - nominations not necessary)
Time: 4:30pm onwards
It's time to put on those Christmas hats and furbelows
and head to Mt. Coot-tha for our cheerful Christmas
club get-together.
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Please bring:
1.
Nibbles or dessert to share and whatever
you want for main course and drinks.
2.
One wrapped gift per person, value
approximately $2 for the traditional swapthe-present game - be inventive!
3.
Some money if you would like to make a
donation for the Club to give to a worthy
cause.
Come ready for fun and friendship as we celebrate
another successful year with BOSQ!
www.bosq.bwq.org.au
2 litres
Snack to enjoy by the creek
Lunch to share together (stored in the cars
by the picnic area.)
Options: 1. Do the complete walk (should take
about 2 1/2 hours)
2. Walk the track systems (Greens Falls,
western windows track - leader can
advise details)
3. Come to Miala Picnic area by 11:30 to
12:00 noon to join us for lunch.
This is probably our last chance to walk together
before 2015! It's a short walk using part graded tracks
but there is a section in the middle involving a steep
uphill and down to a small creek - approx 1 hour
walking with some scrambling around fallen trees etc.
Hence the grading of 4. The walk is almost totally in
the rainforest so will be shady, but there may also be
some leeches!
Please nominate by Friday 19th if walking and if you
wish to share cars from Samford.
DW Sat 10 Jan 2015
Warrie Circuit Springbrook
Grade:
L44
Distance: 17km
Leader:
Kerry Necker
Contact:
Meet:
The walk follows the base of the cliffs to
Goomoolahra Falls then descends into mossy green
depths of rainforest.The track named Warrie,(the
aboriginal meaning is"rushing water") has several
crossings of creeks and gullies until reaching"the
meeting of the waters"where all the water courses
draining into the Canyon meet. The walk then climbs
uphill to the western side of the gorge.
Please wear good walking boots as it might be wet.
FOOTNOTES
October
2014
Tuesday 13 January 2015
Business Meeting
Monthly Club Meeting
7:30 pm
Little Kings Hall, cnr. O’Keefe & Carl Sts.
Buranda
Bike Ride Sun 18 Jan
River Bike Ride
TBA
Further Trip Reports
DW Sat 8 Nov
Bushrangers Cave
Numinbah Valley, Bushrangers Cave, Wagawn,
Binna Burra, then down to the valley via a section of
the The Great Walk. A car shuffle first up and we were
on the border before 8am. Not long into the walk,
discovered a dead snake which looked like it had met
with foul play. Why do people kill snakes?
Rainforest Grevillea
Neil pointed out a rare flowering of a Rainforest
Grevillia on the walk in to Binna Burra, where we had
lunch. Nice to have a cold coke in the middle of a walk!
Kerry also bought me a cookie! The next section was
on some of the road, which wasn't too busy, then down
to Numinbah Valley via a section of The Great Walk.
There were traces of a storm through the area but is
still very dry for a subtropical rainforest. Thanks to
Kerry and Neil D for some great company and
conversation. Special thanks also to Di T for helping
me with the recce the week before and making me
hitch hike for the first time in my life.
Euey Mangan
Lone (Bush)Ranger or Tonto?
Bushrangers Cave is an amazing place. Neil says it
is even prettier after rain! We had a fairly steep off
track climb with some scrambling up to Wagawn.
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DW Sat Nov 15
Tooloona Circuit
This was everything I’d hoped for. As the
temperature rose to 36° in Brisbane and the G20
caused a mix of excitement and frustration, we
escaped to the shade of the rainforest at O’Reillys.
The prolonged dry spell that has caused such distress
to our gardens meant that only one leech ventured
forth to try to mar our enjoyment of the waterfalls. That
was a relief!
We encountered several like-minded souls on the
walk but nothing prepared us for the company we kept
at lunch. An intrepid bettong hopped around close to
us as it nibbled its own lunch (definitely not supplied by
us!) and showed no fear at all.
The only sour note of the day came as we neared
the carpark and encountered a family on the path –
complete with pet dog (on a leash). We were polite as
we ticked them off – which took quite some effort on
my part.
Thanks to Lyn, Christine, Betty, Di E, Lynne, Heather
and Tom for a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Bronwyn Menkens
FOOTNOTES
October
2014
DW Sat 23 Nov
Larapinta Falls, South Branch of Christmas Creek
Three people - Neil Douglas, Heather Buchanan,
and Kerry Necker – joined me for this very interesting
walk to Larapinta Falls which is approximately one
kilometre from Westray’s Grave. Larapinta is an
indigenous name meaning “flowing creek” and it
probably got its name from the continuous flow of
water from the large Lamington catchment area that
feeds the falls. From the moment we entered the
canopy at 0750 hrs we knew it was going to be a very
uncomfortable walk as the air was like a soup - hot
and 150% humidity. After a few expletives we began to
accept that that the canopy is not a refuge from high
humidity. Frequent water stops were required and this
altered the pre- walk times which were completed in
more pleasant conditions.
We made Westray’s Grave within an hour and a half
and we soon found ourselves rock hopping up
Christmas Creek. We quickly picked up a foot pad on
the left bank and followed this to where another creek
comes in on our right. It is easy to mistake this for
Christmas Creek as I did on the pre walk. The waterfall
in this adjacent creek is the one that Jim Westray
probably fell down and it is probably where Bernard
O’Reily found his body. Heather pointed out the ridge
between the two creeks is the start for the walk up to
the top of Larapinta Falls. Neil and Heather have done
this walk previously and recommend it as a new walk
for the club. From the junction of the creeks we made
our way up the flatter left bank and had our smoko
where it emerges closer to the creek. While we were
enjoying our champagne we noticed 4 hikers on the
raised right bank making good speed on an alternative
route. We wondered whether we were on the best side
but while we deliberated Neil found a well-marked
higher track and we continued on this pad which
eventually took us back down to the creek. Neil
spotted the top of the falls first and we all became
excited anticipating the scene.
The canopy opens to an amazing visual experience of
a high 180 degree amphitheatre with a forest of
Cunjevoi ( elephant ears) on the left bank and a
vertical drop on the right bank. The bottom of the falls
is open, sunny and rocky and the swimming hole
unfortunately has no sudden drop off for a swim. We
retreated to where the canopy opens up to enjoy
shade, alfresco dining and a spectacular view of the
total scene.
Well Earned Respite
Our trip back was generally the reciprocal of the way
up except that we tried the lower left bank pad( that
the other group tried) instead of the higher well marked
right bank. This track was barred by a forest of
Stinging Trees and Lawyer vine and the increasing
height so we exited back onto the creek and crossed
over to the flatter right bank . It had taken us one and
half hours from Westray’s to Larapinta Falls and one
and a quarter hours back. After many drink stops we
reached the parking area at 1430 to be refreshed by
the cool air-conditioning of my car and a second bout
of air-conditioning at McDonalds in Beaudesert.
Thanks to Neil, Heather and Kerry for coming along
and battling through the humidity with me.
Tom Bor
Could Not Resist Inclusion
Straddie - Beautiful one day. Better the next
Rather Foreboding
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FOOTNOTES
October
2014
Treasurer’s Report as at 30 November, 2014
(Period November 2014)
Opening Balance 1 November 2014
Income
Bank Interest
$
Membership fees
$
Expenditure
Donation Little Kings
Printing FN
Stamp advance
Pilgrimage Expenses
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
Closing Balance 30 November 2014
$
President’s Report - December 2014
This month marks a milestone in BOSQ’s history as
it was in December 1964 that a formal meeting was
held to determine the club’s formation. The formation
was somewhat unusual in that the group was already
in place before the club existed, as it was an
afterthought, so to speak, of a group tour to Central
Australia organised through Binna Burra Lodge.
Participants in the trip had such a great time that they
decided to stay together and form a bushwalking club.
The minutes of that first meeting are reproduced in
this edition of Footnotes. Choosing the club name
went through several iterations before settling on
Binna Burra Bushwalkers Club (BBBWC) under a
‘gentleman’s agreement’ to use the Lodge name. At
the time the group had a very close association with
the lodge and staff members, who often led quite
adventurous walks for its members. Indeed the club
quickly gained a reputation for running great walks as
it ‘poached’ several members from other established
clubs in Brisbane. The annual Christmas Party
weekend was always held at Binna Burra Lodge, and
often included a hectic day’s activity such as abseiling
down Coomera Crevice.
Over time, this relationship slowly declined, as the
club evolved more into a Brisbane based organisation,
and expanded its walks repertoire into the greater
South-East Qld. region and further afield. The decision
was made in 1997 to change the name to Bushwalkers
Of Southern Qld. to better reflect our range of
operations (“you only walk at Binna Burra don’t you?”)
and to avoid any possible problems with using the
registered trading name of the Lodge. When we came
to incorporate, this change was vindicated.
Over the last 50 years, hundreds if not thousands of
people have walked with the club; some stay with us
for maybe just a year or two, others become life-long
members and join our expanded circle of friends to
share our bush exploits and to support each other
th
socially. We are currently planning a 50 Anniversary
event for our Golden year and hopefully many past
and present members will be able to attend. The date
rd
and venue is Saturday 23 May 2015 at The
Brookfield Hall. The plan is to have a catered
luncheon; more info and booking forms will be
distributed in due course.
What of the future? Today, the demographic
environment in which bushwalking clubs (all clubs?)
operate is much different to that prevailing in 1964,
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and the club needs to continue to evolve to better
meet the nature based recreational needs of a rapidly
changing society. To this end, we will be conducting a
forum of members early on in our celebratory year to
scope out some direction for the future. Enjoy the
party, re-new old acquaintances, but in the meantime
please be creative and contribute ideas as to how we
may now move forward. Possibly our best years are
still ahead of us.
John Marshall
Pilgrimage 2014 Report
The annual combined camp of south-east Qld. clubs
held over the weekend of 5-7 Sept. at Camp Laurence
on Moogerah Dam went very well, with 133
bushwalkers attending the weekend, representing
most of the clubs in the region. I think everyone
thoroughly enjoyed the weekend.
The walks program on the Saturday offered 12
walks, of which 4 were cancelled due to lack of
nominations or track closure. The 8 that went ahead
were well patronised and thanks are due to the leaders
from the two host clubs, Gold Coast Bushwalkers and
Bushwalkers of Southern Qld.
The indication we got from the nominations was that
for the Pilgrimage, people do not want to drive a long
way for their walk, nor do they particularly want a high
degree of difficulty, especially if a bush dance follows
in the evening. There was an element of exploration
however with 3 of the walks offering perhaps a new
destination for many people and these were popular.
These aspects should be considered for future
Pilgrimages.
The walks on offer were: Maroon Caves Route, Mt
May, Mt Clunie, Wilsons Ck Cascades, Mt Greville,
Mathieson Trail, Mt Edwards, Mt Mitchell, Bare Rock,
Mt Alford, Flinders Peak, Ramparts Lagoon. A big
thankyou to our volunteer leaders and tails: Ann
McLean, Bob Carr, Rick Elston, Brian Cummins,
Russell Eddie, Craig Flett, Gary Poland, Graeme
Staley, Desley Pedrazzini, Neil Gray, Geoff Seer, Liz
Tanner, Peter Trehearn, David Longland, Geoff
Anstey.
On the Sunday, FMR conducted a beginners abseil
activity on a nearby cliff next to the lake. This
Pilgrimage innovation was very well received with 21
participants being shown the ropes – for some it was
their first ever abseil. Thanks to the FMR crew Chrissy
Dott, Peter Rollings, Anne Kemp, Hilary Riley, Betty
Murray and Norm Johnston for running this popular
activity in such a professional manner. Please contact
FMR if you are interested in doing more activities with
them: www.fmrqld.bwq.org.au
Also available was a self-guiding walk around the
headland beyond the abseil cliff and back along a dry
creek bed with spectacular rock formations. Kayaking
and bike riding was also undertaken by those who
brought their own equipment.
Saturday night saw ‘Stone The Crows’ bush band
providing wonderful live music for the dance. These
guys really know how to get everyone up by walking
us through each dance beforehand. It is a successful
formula to ensure everyone basically knows what they
are doing and to thoroughly enjoy themselves. A good
number of bushwalkers were still on the dance floor at
FOOTNOTES
October
2014
close at 11:30 pm – rock & rolling & jiving! The band
actually complimented us for being such an
enthusiastic group.
Thanks are especially due to the back room
volunteers who ensured the Pilgrimage was such a
success. To Josie Bell and her team of kitchen helpers
– the fresh vegetable soup was superb, as was the
supper spread at the dance. To our spreadsheet
compiler (who requests anonymity) who recorded the
registrations and payments – a tremendous effort
involving many hours of close attention. And to Robyn
Cox for her motivating way with walk leaders, and
dedication and direction to incoming campers on the
Friday night, assisted by Rick Elson, Ann Cummins
plus others. The resulting campsite was the neatest I
have ever seen at a Pilgrimage, 4 rows of tents and
vans with two traffic lanes – all achieved without
signage or lane marking.
Thank-you’s would not be complete without
mentioning all who hopped in to do the myriad odd
jobs, e.g. cleaning the toilets, washing up, mopping
floors, clearing rubbish, keeping the tea & coffee
makings available and stoking the fire, and stacking
tables and chairs at the conclusion. I would also like
to acknowledge the assistance provided by Camp
Laurence staff and administration – Laura Farnan for
showing us around on the initial inspection and Sonja
Skelton in the office for her understanding and flexible
approach regarding the attendee list in the lead up to
the event. The venue proved perfect for our purposes
and I would recommend it to any club or organisation
contemplating a group camp. (They require a minimum
of 30). Contact: [email protected]
Finally, it was gratifying to see the general good
spirit and fellowship between the various clubs’
members, which clearly demonstrated the worthiness
of continuing the Pilgrimage in the future.
Sadly however, it seems that some person, or
persons, just don’t understand the concept of the
bushwalkers Pilgrimage. For I do need to report the
one negative that I am aware of, and that is the
apparent theft of three items of FMR abseiling
hardware from the abseiling site. They were a Petzl
Reverso belay device, one other belay device and a
screw-gate karabiner. They “walked” from an
equipment bag at the top of the abseil cliff, (which was
adjacent to the self-guiding walk route). It is the first
occasion that FMR have lost equipment in this manner
and is to our knowledge the first such incident at a
Pilgrimage in its 44 year history. The total replacement
value of these items is around $100.
For the record, we cleared expenses by around $350
and the committee has decided to donate this to FMR.
Thanks to all who supported Pilgrimage 2014 and
we’ll see you all at next year’s.
John Marshall
(On behalf of the organising committee.)
Pilgrimage 2014
Income and Outlay Report
Income
BWQ advance
Registrations
Page 7
$
$
$
www.bosq.bwq.org.au
Outlays
Camp deposit
Advert. DVD
Band cost
Boot engraving
Balance camp hire
Refunds
Refund BWQ
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
Surplus
$
Important Reminder to all Members
Cancelling Nominations for Outings
If you have nominated for an outing and are unable
to attend, please notify the leader so that the walk is
not delayed as the leader tries to contact you.
Prompt arrival at meeting places
There have been several instances lately when
people have turned up late and outings have been
delayed.
***Important Notice***
Annual Membership Renewal
The 2015 financial membership year commenced
th
Tues 9 September. The most significant factor of the
receipt of the completed renewal form is the
acceptance of the Awareness of Risk statement which
is a mandatory requirement under the current
insurance cover.
Un-financial members are not covered by insurance
nor eligible for general club benefits.
Notices
** Advance Notice**
Australia Day Weekend
Sat 24 – Mon 26 Jan 2015
Australia Day is on a long weekend - 24 to 26
January 2015. I intend to lead a basecamp at
Goomburra NP with some walks, but nothing
overboard. Weather is always a problem at this time of
year and the blacksoil road can be closed. However
we seem to get in and out okay most years. More
information in January.
Bryan Read
**Advance Notice**
BC 8-28 Feb - 2015
Western Victoria
Grade:
M-L 3 4
Leaders: Linda Stone and Jeff Bennetts.
Contact:
Linda
Enquiries ASAP please,
numbers must be finalised by 30 Jan at
the latest.
Petrol:
TBA
Camping: sites up to $40pn.
Base camping in a sequence of locations with day
walks mainly on tracks, jointly run with the Canberra
Bushwalking Club. The trip will be in three modules
and participants can choose one or more with
highlights of: the:
FOOTNOTES
October
2014
Great Ocean Walk (8-14 February)
Great South West Walk (15-21 February)
Grampians (22-28 February)
Maps: Great Ocean Walk, Lower Glenelg and
Discovery Bay, Northern Grampians
*** Extreme Advance Notice***
Larapinta Track – 2015
The Larapinta Trail is an extended walking track in
the Northern Territory, Australia. Its total length covers
223 kilometres (139 mi) from east to west, with the
eastern end at Alice Springs and the western end at
Mount Sonder, one of the territory's highest mountains.
This exciting long distance walking track is divided into
12 sections, each a 1-2 day walk.
The Management Committee is considering the
Larapinta Trail, or sections of, as a possible 2015
extended walk. Interested members should advise the
MC of an ‘Expressions of Interest’.
Articles for Footnotes
To expedite the preparation of the Footnotes and
provide an archival copy it would be appreciated if
articles were forwarded to the following:
Editorial e-mail: [email protected]
With cc to:
[email protected]
Photographs for Footnotes
There is often space in Footnotes where a photo or
two could be included. The submission of a relevant
photo, referenced to a walk, by any member on that
walk would be appreciated. Please forward images as
attachments at the original capture resolution
Minutes of the Meeting of the Binna Burra Hikers Club
8 December 1964
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FOOTNOTES
October
2014
Page 9
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FOOTNOTES
October
2014
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FOOTNOTES
October
2014