Last Frontier near Sydney .........Marley Beaches

This is how the City of Sydney coast would have looked 200 years ago. Little Marley Beach in the foreground, Marley Beach and Marley Headland in the distance. Looking further north and not shown is Cronulla, Kurnell and then Botany Bay and Sydney airport. Thank the Royal National Park for the lack of people and buildings in this picture.


JH on 30.11.04 @ 05:17 PM AEST [link]

Last Frontiers........near Point Plummer NSW

I drove north of Port Macquarie, crossed the river on an old-style 'punt' and headed toward Crescent Head on a coast 'road' - at present a dusty, pot-holed torture for any 4x4. Signs advise the road is unsuitable for speeds above 60 kph - a very optermistic statement. Maybe it will get graded in time for for the Christmas holidays?

The bad track in keeps visitor numbers down. Surfers and rock-hopping snorkellers brave the harsh conditions and discover one of the last, unspoiled, undeveloped pieces of territory on the mid-north coast.

Learn-to-Surf camping tours leave Kings Cross in Sydney each week for a five day bus tour ending Friday night at trendy and now over-priced youth destination, Byron Bay.

The first three days camped near this beach is probably the surf tour highpoint, plus a visit to "Legends Surf (and now shark) Museum" 7km north of Coffs Harbour, just off the Pacific Highway.


JH on 29.11.04 @ 07:17 AM AEST [link]

"Northern Safari" .....Crocodile Safari Man's movie (and a book)!

The most successful Australian documentary film of all. Made at a time when most outback roads were still dirt, when aborigines were more nomadic than they are today and when hunting crocodiles was more acceptable.

The film shows Keith Adams his wife and his sister travelling from Perth to 'The Gulf' in a 1948 Buick sedan, converted to diesel, towing a box trailer and small boat. The pet fox terrier dog Tiger was to many viewers, the star of the film, chasing wildlife and often catching it.

At subsequent film showings, attended by tens of thousands of people in each city, the dog developed 'a bald patch' on the top of his head from the constant attention and patting by the general public. Yes, the entire Adams family was at each screening, selling tickets, running the 16mm projector, and talking to the 'punters' at intermission in the three reel 165 minute original show, with two intermissions (later reduced to 120 minutes)- the first wave of environmentalists along to view the very first Australian wildlife film, in color.

Believe it or not, the ladies eventually stopped assisting with the film shows, 'becoming tired of counting money every day'. Today, the equivilent of about $100,000 per week, every week for several years, and later overseas in South Africa, U.K. and Canada. Amazing success at the box office.

This was almost 40 years ago when crowds of 1000 people per showing were possible in the giant, dusty suburban cinemas before these became carpet warehouses or later, video shops. In Australia or overseas it was the same thing, huge crowds in large theatres or auditoriums. In Queensland the film toured constantly, returning each year to the same theatres with equal success.

This was an era in Australia when an adventurer confident enough 'to go bush', could catch giant 100kg groper, ten foot hammerhead sharks with a handline fishing from the bank of a river. So much natural food (wild ducks) in the bush, all you needed was a rifle and a fishing line to live for months off the land and sea.

The girls cooked barramundi and fresh bread on open fires. When Keith Adams required a pole to help winch his car from a flooded river, he improvised as one needs to do in the bush. The film shows how.

It was also an era when only a few 4x4 vehicles travelled the chosen route, Perth to Ayres Rock (Uluru) via the Great Central Road- then a far lesser track than it is today.

Then on to 'The Gulf' where most of the adventure occurs, and a return months later to Perth via the Northern Territory and rugged West Australian coast (when bridges were few and flooded rivers plenty).

Northern Safari can also be appreciated as a magnificent record of one man's film making with a hand-wind 16mm Bolex (shown above)- a very simple yet professional camera used later by many pioneers who followed the same techniques to adventure and fame via their films.

Keith Adams was the original trailblazer. Film historians seem to have neglected the success of Northern Safari possibly because the box office figures were unconventional, 16mm was not a 'professional' format once on big screens, and few historians knew the whole story which includes successful marketing outside conventional film company control.

Now on video and CD and sold with a book in it's second edition both can be obtained direct from the film maker himself:

Northern Safari"
13 Rinaldi Crescent,
Karrinyup W.A. 6018

www.northernsafari.com


JH on 28.11.04 @ 08:14 AM AEST [link]

Swim and dive with fish.........then eat them!

Sign outside shop in North Queensland, last month.







JH on 27.11.04 @ 04:42 PM AEST [link]

Historic Wharf .................Tathra. (Near Bega) NSW

Always a delight to see when visiting the NSW south coast, the most scenic region on the east coast. The last of the old wharves in NSW. Nearby at Merimbula an almost identical wharf was foolishly demolished in 1978 and replaced by a much smaller fishing platform.

The surrounding underwater rocks were once thick with abalone but years of beaurocratic delay at NSW Fisheries (in regulating the catch-rate) saw the once prolific beds stripped almost bare. Professional abalone diving was well established by 1964 in this area by Ern Hendry and Eddie Keollner.

Ron Taylor, Bob Grounds and I tried our hands at professional abalone diving near here for a few freezing days once. Bob kept at it and at one time held licenses in three southern states similtaneously, worth about $15+ million today!

Extenable text A US Liberty ship torpedoed off Tathra in deep water; white pointer sharks caught from the wharf; scuba dive site popular under wharf; Bob Grounds and Sea Coatings protect rotting wharf piles; pictures of the original wharf (1963, onwards and the newly repaired wharf thereafter, 35mm transparencies); 16mm Kodachrome under actual wharf with white pointer shark remains.


JH on 26.11.04 @ 05:15 PM AEST [link]

Cropp Cat ....................lives on seafood

Tiger is the cat in Ben Cropp's household at Port Douglas. He has a good life and knows what quality seafood is. Former Cropp cats have appeared in TV documentaries, i.e. Streaker the Siamese who had a canned catfood commercial made around him in 1978. Tiger has a lower profile. He's a good old boy that enjoys a brushing, his great delight in life these days.

Extendable More pictures of Cropp Cat.











JH on 25.11.04 @ 03:39 PM AEST [link]

One 'Stuffed' Cat ...........Darwin climate keeps them slow

Darwin cats are not too active. The temp hovers between a 'cool' 29 and anything in the low thirties all year around. Consequently the fur-coated felines are not-too-active. This one doesn't have to do much, Rick Trippe feeds it plenty of fish from the harbour which he catches with a speargun, while dodging all the crocodiles. True!

Puss lays around yawning as this picture shows. What's all this got to do with marine pictures at this cyber site? Well cats eat a lot of canned fish.....and that has an impact, (truth is, I need a scanner to start publishing 'slides').

Half the population loves cats anyway. If you hate cats, a question: Do hate or resent your mother? There is said to be a connection. Torture cats (in any small way) at your own peril.

Extendable cat text How saving a black and white kitten at Sun Pictures (Broome W.A.) changed my life forever. Cat boutique in Brisbane: pussiesgalore.com.au Robert deNiro's sings cat vs. dog praise in the feature film "Meet the Parents";fox's eat cats on Gold Coast, giant feral cat reported on North West Island, Great Barrier Reef.




JH on 25.11.04 @ 03:18 PM AEST [link]

Real Stuffed Cats Antiques from SE Asia

Leopards shot and stuffed in Laos circa 1927 won't be eating any more fish. These ones lay around on the floor in Sydney doing absolutey nothing.
















JH on 25.11.04 @ 03:05 PM AEST [link]

The Wobbegong Hunter ...........A Professional at work.

The link between lobster (crayfish) and wobbegong sharks is interesting. They both shelter in prefered rocky crevices for safety. The main enemy of the lobster is octopus which 'suck the living flesh' from within the lobster's hard protective shell.

A favourite food of the wobbegong shark is octopus. It was a relationship from heaven for wobbiegong and lobster to live close to one another. 'Wobbies' got to eat 'occies' (who were seeking lobster) and the 'lobster' did well out of it.

But, lobster were targeted by 'starving' fishermen because of their increasing value linked to a decreasing supply.

At the critical point a few years ago, the lobster supply was critical. What happens next?

The value of shark meat increases, especially the white-fleshed wobbegong fillets. It then became worthwhile for lobster fishermen to market wobbegong shark.

This decline in wobbegong shark must be good news for the octopus, who will eat whatever lobster are left! The situation gets worse.

Expect the price of eastern rock lobster to rise even further.

Extendable text Movietone News black and white archival library movie film of wobbegong shark(held by tail) biting man's arm; (text only) 'more divers bittten by this species than by any other shark'; 35mm transparencies of wobbegong fins, heads and tails underwater (including a grey nurse head).

JH on 23.11.04 @ 08:57 AM AEST [link]

Do Shark's Have Friends? ............Two catsharks and a wobbe.

A pair of cat sharks not bothering too much about the wobbegong shark below them.

There was a strong surge from the surf above. The three sharks were jammed into a narrow crevice where once we might have found a lobster. It would not surprise me if a wobbegong shark occasionally ate a smaller cat shark. This unusual scene was at our favourite southern location: Point Lookout Nth. Stradbroke Is. Queensland.

Extendable Exclusive never-published additional transparencies of the above; (text only) 'whaler shark attacks dolphin swimming and feeding behind a prawn boat travelling at night'.
















JH on 23.11.04 @ 08:37 AM AEST [link]

Heals All ...........keep a bottle nearby!

HEALS ALL works. An all-purpose skin healing lotion, even works on sore throats (but you'll never forget the taste)! I've used it for 20 years and many friends are now never without it. The point is, if any cut or scratch is treated as soon as possible, it has healed faster and without problem.

A good test was conducted at Seal Rocks when pro fisherman and former Manly NSW surfer Maurie Lee had his fingers lacerated by a small shark in the surf which thought he was a scap of fish.

Heals All was applied Friday, by the following Tuesday the wound was looking good as the pictures show.

Other good mixtures are available direct from the Tasmanian naturopaths Dr FJ Steed via mail order which include something good to combat coughs; 'flu; sleeping; headaches; angina. Enquire about the booklet "How to Get Well and Stay Well" which is worth it's weight in gold but costs maybe $5.

"Noreen's Easy Vegetarian Knowhow"(A guide to delicious foods and balanced nutrition for good health) by Noreen Steed PhD N.Sc is a unique cookbook, which is a 'survival guide' or sorts. About $25 including postage and handling, to your address.

Dr FJ Steed is inventor of the popular LSA breakfast diet which has been promoted by many others since 1965 and is a commercial product today. However for best results grind it fresh, yourself.

houseofsteed.com

JH on 22.11.04 @ 08:05 AM AEST [link]

Food for Survival ......Saving yourself heaps.

Essential info to research for yourself
(a) Elimination of toxins from your body;
(b) hazards of impurities in drinking water;
(c) chemicals in food;
(d) processed foods;
(e) what LSA does for your body;
(f) flaxseed oil;
(g) olive leaf extract.

Artwork courtesy: Dr FJ Steed
Model: Christina Tsai
JH on 21.11.04 @ 09:55 PM AEST [link]

The Silver Jacket magazine ....... and Valerie Taylor

Valerie Taylor worked at this magazine for some years soon after leaving school. She was the only female employee in a team which included talented artists John L Curtis and George Roots.

The Silver Jacket was a 'thinking school boys' magazine of true stories in the era pre TV.

JH on 20.11.04 @ 06:54 PM AEST [link]

Sunfish ..........with Valerie Taylor

Vic Ley a spearfishing champion, captured this rare (in Australian waters) sunfish off Sydney by carefully spearing it in a fin. Brought by speedboat to the marine aquarium at Manly.

It survived for a year or so. Sunfish were so unusual at the time, and underwater photographs even more unique, we had just had to make the effort and swim with this one.

Pictured is Valerie Taylor as she gently guides the disc-shaped fish soon after it was captured.

Valerie Taylor began as a commercial artist with The Silver Jacket, (a favourite of many teenagers including myself); then a stage actress before becoming the diving celebrity that has given her vast internationa recognition and fame.

Her artistic hands are back in use with beautiful water colour paintings, a series titled mermaids and white pointer sharks.

November 9 2005 was Valerie's 70th birthday. This picture was recently signed.

As for sunfish they have been found in groups of up to a dozen, in cooler to cold water overseas.

They are still rare to photograph and always a very interesting one.

Sometimes the dorsal fin, rising high above water is mistaken by boating people as belonging to a giant shark.


JH on 20.11.04 @ 06:32 PM AEST [link]

Tiger Shark Live Fin .......fish soup potential?

Often shown by artists as above water, when in fact the shark fin is more often submerged and out of sight.
The streamlined shape works like a boat's rudder. Surfers are re-inventing the shark fin for surfboards having already tested dolphin and spanish makerel fin shapes. Divers are yet to think of a use - if there is one, apart from the often (but not always) dreadful waste associated with making shark fin soup.

Fishermen Louie Komsic of Cairns, working near Princes Charlotte Bay, reported 'catching seven sharks, each with pectoral and dorsal fins hacked off by previous fishermen, and barely managing to swim, but still alive'. Read additional Louie material Archives 23 September 2004

View: wildaid.org to learn more about shark protection measures including recent Thailland court decision.

Extendable text John Harding's report from International Shark Conference (Taipei, Taiwan 2002) Organised by WILD AID.


JH on 19.11.04 @ 08:49 AM AEST [link]

"Coral Cay Reef" ............. montage 2004.

MONTAGE n.1. the art or method of arranging in one composition pictorial elements borrowed from several sources so that the elements are both distinct and blended into a whole, through techniques such as superimposition. 2. a picture made in this way. ( text:The Macquarie Dictionary.)
JH on 17.11.04 @ 07:26 AM AEST [link]

SS YONGALA ............A mystery sinking in 1911.

Much has been written of the sinking of the steam ship Yongala but all lacking details on the discovery of the ship's bell.

(View our exclusive, first time published photo of Wally Gibbins with his bell, below).


JH on 16.11.04 @ 09:02 AM AEST [link]

SS Yongala shipwreck .........as seen at 25 meters depth.

Seen in natural light, the Yongala wreck is eirie in blue. Laying on her side, this view shows possibly the outdoor walkway on the side of the ship, yet a gapping hole seems to be a former port hole?

I was diving alone on the ship when this picture was made. Absolutely nobody else had been diving on the ship wreck that morning. It was a rare experience.

This peaceful world suddenly and noisily broken by the arrival of a large ship of maybe 30 divers. The Supersport had arrived. (Intro picture).

Anchor chain clanged and rattled on the steel ship above, motors thumped along as the big boat was positioned nearby, Zodiac's and their outboard motors made an incredible noise on the surface as necessary safety buoys were positioned.

(All this will change, or has changed with permanent moorings, long over-due)

This was an annoying yet interesting as a unique news-worthy experience that has been (so-far) over-looked by well intending critics who find fault with the most trivial of common diving habits.

FOOD FOR THOUGHTS. If extra attention was given to the reactions-responses of fish, turtles and especially grey nurse sharks to our present noisy diving-boating-invasions of their 'privacy', a new understanding of their subsequent migrations (aka disappearances) might be revealed.
Other factors to include: rainfall and this effect on sea 'abundances'. The undersea has variations just as on land. Few farmers study both, the late Eddie Keollner a Tathra NSW abalone diver and former farmer spotted the link during his 20+ years of pro abalone diving in southern pristine waters.


JH on 16.11.04 @ 08:44 AM AEST [link]

YONGALA bell discovery ...........the proudest diver in Australia

Lost in the sea for for than 70 years, it took the experience of Wally Gibbins to locate the once barnacle-encrusted SS Yongala bell from the maze of wreckage he and Ben Cropp were exploring and filming in 1982. Ten years ago Wally was offered $10,000 for the bell by collector AJ (Tony) Flook of Sydney but was refused.

The bell was the most significant discovery from this stunning shipwreck inshore from the Great Barrier Reef. For the following years it was displayed in Wally's former museum near Coffs Harbour, NSW until he "donated it on loan" to Townsville Maritime Museum. Qld.

Previous explorers to the wreck had missed finding the bell, the most sought-after of all ship relics. It had broken away and fallen onto the sandy sea floor, completely covered with living shells. Wally had suspicions the clump of marine material may contain what he hoped was the bell, and he was correct.

This exclusive underwater shot of Wally Gibbins and his discovery was made after the bell was cleaned.

Photo's: John Harding/fathom
JH on 16.11.04 @ 08:12 AM AEST [link]

Christmas PhotoCard 1991...........Hump Head Maori Wrasse

Forward to friends, compliments of yourself and the crew at this site. Recycled.

P.S. "Dont Harass the Wrasse" first appeared in PEOPLE magazine as a double page plea to give the species a better deal. It's taken 13 years but CITES meeting in Bangkok just last month voted to prevent the further international trade of these wrasse. It's a good start, but not the total ban needed. Spearmen have a view that requires more 'adjusting'. i.e. "leave them alone".

This is not a trick photo, it's a former attraction of 'The Cod Hole', east of Lizard Island, Qld GBR. It was the 2nd largest wrasse once known to frequent this much-publicised patch of reef.

Maori Wrasse Chelinus undulatus
JH on 15.11.04 @ 08:14 AM AEST [link]

Barramundi Sunset .......spearfish these at your own peril!

There are always nice Barramundi in Bathurst Bay, and where ever there's 'barra there's crocodiles. Fortunately the water where they are found is mostly so murky you couldn't see a croc if one was in front of you. Dean Cropp speared this beauty of his recent northern safari aboard Freedom III with brother Adam. They saw a croc this day too!

It's even worse in Darwin harbour where Rick Trippe 'lives'. More than 100 large crocs are captured alive each year and shipped away to more remote places. Rick has seen a few 'swirls in the murk' but is yet to come face-to-face with one. So for courage in a quest for dinner table seafood, no one does it tougher than the trippe. Three meters visability is a good day in Darwin.


JH on 04.11.04 @ 07:29 PM AEST [link]