Monday 31 December 2001

Heat still on as worst winds are yet to come - INFERNO AVOIDED, The Australian, 31 December, 2001.

Heat still on as worst winds are yet to come - INFERNO AVERTED: [1 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 31 Dec 2001: 4.
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Mr [Don White] said the pattern occurred about every 11 years, always coinciding with large bush fires. He said an identical pattern had occurred in 1957, 1968, 1979, 1990 and 2001. The year 1994, which also saw the same conditions, was the only variation to the pattern.
"It is a combination of low humidity and gusty winds, rather than temperatures alone. The conditions on Tuesday would not be disastrous on their own, but thefact that we already have fires means the winds are perfect for fanning the fires we already have."
WHILE Armageddon didn't quite arrive on Sunday, all hell could break loose tomorrow, at least in weather terms.
Hot, dry and gusty conditions are being forecast.
There is no rain in sight.
Nor is there any significant rain forecast until at least the middle of next week -- and that is at the earliest.
There has been no rain in Sydney since December 19.
But tomorrow is the day of biggest concern.
This is because the hot gusty westerly winds are expected to be at their worst.
Spokesman for consultancy firm Weatherwatch, Don White, said: "The problem is freshening, probably very dry winds and temperatures in the western suburbs well into the 30s.
"It is a combination of low humidity and gusty winds, rather than temperatures alone. The conditions on Tuesday would not be disastrous on their own, but thefact that we already have fires means the winds are perfect for fanning the fires we already have."
Forecasters are hoping that despite the dry conditions stretching out at least for another week, the fire danger may begin to ease from tomorrow with a shift in wind directions.
The wind is expected to tend more from the southwest, with southeasterly sea breezes also producing cooling later in the week.
Mr White said the present conditions were caused by a series of strong low pressure systems over the Southern Ocean pushing unseasonal westerlies across the eastern seaboard.
Mr White said the pattern occurred about every 11 years, always coinciding with large bush fires. He said an identical pattern had occurred in 1957, 1968, 1979, 1990 and 2001. The year 1994, which also saw the same conditions, was the only variation to the pattern.
"The authorities should learn from this predictability," he said.
"We have to consider our policies on tree preservation in urban areas. Authorities should accept that this will happen again within the next 11 years and look at policies surrounding hazard reduction."
A total fire ban is in force throughout the Sydney region, with high to extreme fire danger warnings in place.
Illustration
Photo: Map
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Triumph: We survived our first full year, Dads on the Air, 31 December, 2001.

Including an attempt from those who did the women's show at the radio, Lesbians out West I think it was called, to destroy the program. Dads on the Air survived a considerable amount of vitriol and vindictiveness from the same brigade who can barely open their mouths without using the word "diversity", but go into meltdown when someone dares to disagree with them. The thuggish group think of Australian public life has only grown worse since.











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Friday 28 December 2001

Weekend outlook: brace for worse - THE BUSHFIRES CRISIS, The Australian, 28 December, 2001.

Weekend outlook: brace for worse - THE BUSHFIRES CRISIS: [1 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 28 Dec 2001: 2.
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Canberra's minimum yesterday of 2C was the coldest summer temperature in any capital city for 37 years. It also hit -4C in Thredbo. Melbourne had its coldest Boxing Day since 1924.
Putty Rd from Upper Colo Rd to Packer Rd
Heathcote Rd between Princes Hwy and New lllawarra Rd
WHILE temperatures in bushfire-ringed Sydney should hit 26C in the city and 30C in the west today, the outlook for Sunday is grim, with expectations of mid to high 30s right across the city, with extremely low humidity.
The biggest problem across NSW on Sunday would be the forecast high winds, NSW Rural Fire Services commissioner Phil Koperberg said.
Longer term weather models say it is going to be dry, warm and windy right through to the New Year, Don White of consultancy firm Weatherwatch said. "Thesituation could get nasty next week. The pattern we had this week could repeat itself from Sunday to Tuesday."
The exceptionally dry air mass, with no cloud flowing up from a low pressure pattern south of Australia, is producing some unusual results.
As bushfire ash rained on Sydney yesterday, where temperatures were 4C below normal, snow settled on the peaks of the Snowy Mountains.
Canberra's minimum yesterday of 2C was the coldest summer temperature in any capital city for 37 years. It also hit -4C in Thredbo. Melbourne had its coldest Boxing Day since 1924.
"The unusualness of it is that the patterns are what you would expect in early spring when temperatures are normally cooler," Mr White said.
"The westerly winds are unusual in summer. If it has been dry before, they bring on a critical fire situation."
The damage done
10 SHOPS AND OFFICES DESTROYED
ROADS CLOSED
Wiseman's Ferry Rd at Spencer
Peats Ridge Rd at Somersby
F6 turnoff to Helensburgh
Princes Hwy from Heathcote Rd to Bulli Pass
Lawrence Hargrave Drive
Albatross Rd
Putty Rd from Upper Colo Rd to Packer Rd
Local roads in Warrimoo
Sliverdale Rd and Mulgoa Rd between Glenmore Park and Warragamba Dam
Train line south of Sutherland
Heathcote Rd between Princes Hwy and New lllawarra Rd
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Thursday 27 December 2001

Ecological tragedy unfolds in park - BOXING DAY INFERNO, The Australian, 27 December, 2001.

Ecological tragedy unfolds in park - BOXING DAY INFERNO: [1 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 27 Dec 2001: 2.
He said National Parks and Wildlife Service botanists were particularly concerned about heathlands in the park. While some plants can reshoot from the same rootstock after fires -- and their recovery is fairly rapid -- those relying on seeds are more problematic. They may not have had enough time to mature since the last big burn.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service director general, Brian Gilligan, said the bushfires were a scientific and ecological tragedy.

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MORE than half the Royal National Park south of Sydney was destroyed yesterday afternoon -- leaving the world's second oldest national park facing devastation for the third time in a decade.
There were fears much of the 16,000ha park would be burnt out by this morning.
The park was severely burnt in 1994 and was again under threat from bushfires in 1997.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service director general, Brian Gilligan, said the bushfires were a scientific and ecological tragedy.
But few fire-fighting resources were directed to preserving it yesterday -- the more urgent priority was saving life and property.
The coastal park on the city's southern fringe has long been a fixture of Sydney life. Ornithologists claim it has more bird species than any other park in the country, including the Northern Territory's Kakadu.
"It's fundamentally too soon for the park to be comprehensively burnt again," Mr Gilligan said.
National Parks research indicated that while some species, such as kangaroos and pigmy possums had recovered after 1994, only one koala was spotted in the latest survey.
Botanists are also concerned about plant populations.
"The difficulty we face with the frequency we are dealing with now is when the plant community don't have enough time to recover you get a gradual change or reduction in biodiversity," Mr Gilligan said.
He said National Parks and Wildlife Service botanists were particularly concerned about heathlands in the park. While some plants can reshoot from the same rootstock after fires -- and their recovery is fairly rapid -- those relying on seeds are more problematic. They may not have had enough time to mature since the last big burn.
Altogether, 100,000ha of national parkland across the state has been burnt. Parks and remote walking tracks will remain closed until further notice.
Illustration
Caption: Too soon: Picture: Rohan Kelly; Photo: Photo
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'Hot, windy, dry' stays on horizon - BOXING DAY INFERNO, The Australian, 27 December, 2001.

`Hot, windy, dry' stays on horizon - BOXING DAY INFERNO: [1 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 27 Dec 2001: 2.
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THERE is no end in sight for the devastating weather pattern contributing to the destruction of millions of dollars worth of property throughout NSW. Hot, windy and dry conditions are being forecast for the weekend.
Another distinctive feature has been the concentration of heat along the coast. While Broken Hill has been relaxing in temperatures in the 20s, Christmas Eve at Evans Head reached 45C, the highest December temperature ever recorded on the north coast.
THERE is no end in sight for the devastating weather pattern contributing to the destruction of millions of dollars worth of property throughout NSW. Hot, windy and dry conditions are being forecast for the weekend.
While there may be a slight easing of conditions today and tomorrow, forecasters fear that extreme fire conditions will be back in force by the weekend.
The unusual pattern is exactly the same as that which created the firestorms of January 1994. An unseasonally strong low-pressure system south of Tasmania is generating westerly winds across a third of the continent.
While the low contributing to all the problems of the past 48 hours is expected to have moved off towards New Zealand overnight, it is likely to be replaced by another low late in the week or on the weekend.
"There is no sign at the moment of a significant break to this type of pattern," said Don White of the consultancy firm Weatherwatch. "We need a good solid burst of rain and there is no hope of that in the foreseeable future."
He predicts the pattern could easily last another seven to 10 days, with devastating results.
A distinctive feature of the present pattern has been the low humidity, with Christmas Day in Sydney recording only 7 per cent, one of the lowest this century.
Another distinctive feature has been the concentration of heat along the coast. While Broken Hill has been relaxing in temperatures in the 20s, Christmas Eve at Evans Head reached 45C, the highest December temperature ever recorded on the north coast.
Illustration
Photo: Diagram
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Monday 24 December 2001

Caught In The Net, Merry Merry Christmas or both, with Adam Todd, Dads On The Air, 24 December, 2001.




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Thursday 20 December 2001

Cancer claims Arkie Whitely, The Australian, 20 December, 2001.

Cancer claims Arkie Whiteley: [2 Edition]

John Stapleton, Leah Creighton. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 20 Dec 2001: 5.
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[Arkie Whiteley], who has been seriously unwell with cancer, recently secretly married her lover, Bali-based surfer and painter Jim Elliot.
Last year Arkie Whiteley was diagnosed with a brain tumour and underwent surgery at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital. She is believed to have succumbed to a particularly virulent form of cancer.
ARKIE Whiteley, 36, the daughter of painter Brett Whiteley, died yesterday.
Arkie, who has been seriously unwell with cancer, recently secretly married her lover, Bali-based surfer and painter Jim Elliot.
Staff at the resort he owns, The Villa in fashionable Seminyak, confirmed that Ms Whitely had died. Her husband could not be contacted last night. People at the house in Palm Beach, Sydney, where he is staying also refused to comment.
Her father, one of Australia's most outrageous and most admired painters, died of a drug overdose in 1992.
Last year Arkie Whiteley was diagnosed with a brain tumour and underwent surgery at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital. She is believed to have succumbed to a particularly virulent form of cancer.
Arkie, the only child of Brett and Wendy Whiteley, went through much in her life, including an unorthodox childhood and thesubsequent break-up of her parents' marriage.
The stunningly beautiful and well-regarded actress appeared in nine movies, including Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior in 1981 and most recently The Last Musketeer in 2000.
After her father's death Ms Whitely took on the challenge over eight years of cataloguing and archiving his works for show at the Brett Whiteley Studio in Surry Hills, Sydney.
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'Extinct' shrub found, The Australian, 20 December, 2001.

`Extinct' shrub found: [1 Edition]

Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 20 Dec 2001: 5.
Then came Bob Makinson, a botanist with Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, who was searching for a rare grevillea around the historic Blue Mountains village of Hartley when he came across about 50 unfamiliar shrub-like plants.. "Further identification of the shrub, which was producing beautiful golden-yellow flowers at the time, revealed it to be the long-lost asterolasia buxifolia," he said.

Full Text

A SHRUB not seen for more than 160 years has been rediscovered in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.
The yellow-flowered asterolasia buxifolia, so rare it has no common name, was last recorded by explorer and botanist Allan Cunningham in the 1830s.
Subsequent attempts to find the plant proved unsuccessful and it was thought to have become extinct.
Then came Bob Makinson, a botanist with Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, who was searching for a rare grevillea around the historic Blue Mountains village of Hartley when he came across about 50 unfamiliar shrub-like plants.. "Further identification of the shrub, which was producing beautiful golden-yellow flowers at the time, revealed it to be the long-lost asterolasia buxifolia," he said.
"It was only by chance that I found the plant, but it wasn't chance that saved it all these years. The area is well fenced and still supports a beautiful remnant patch of native bush that is almost as rich as it was in those early days of settlement."
"It is hard to predict whether the nursery trade will take it up or not."
Cuttings are being propagated at Mount Annan Botanic Garden on the outskirts of Sydney.
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