Month: April 2012
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Spreading the word
Having concentrated for so long on getting this site up and running and populating it with some content, I’ve recently turned my attention to getting the word out so that people might actually read it. That was, after all, the point of creating it in the first place. Self-promotion has never come naturally to me,…
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John Oxley Centre Renovations
I took a walk down to the river this afternoon, and noticed that the John Oxley Centre, the office block standing over the mouth of Milton Drain, is undergoing some pretty substantial renovations. The courtyard, in which there used to be gardens featuring plaques engraved with excerpts from John Oxley’s fieldbook describing his landing hereabouts…
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When it really rains
La Nina has now officially left us, and already the Bureau is watching for signs of what next summer will bring. The summer of 2011-12 certainly was wet, but for the most part it was also rather gentle. Nearly all of the 700mm or so of rain that fell in Brisbane from the start of…
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Time and tides
In John Oxley and the chain of ponds, I questioned whether Oxley could have found freshwater ponds downstream from Gregory Park, given that this part of the Western Creek is subject to regular inundation by the brackish tidal waters of the river. The tidal limit of the creek (or at least the drain) is no…
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The pond is not the spring
Today’s lesson: always go back to the source. One of the intriguing leads that I came across when I started my research was a letter to the Department of Land and Works from J.C. Heussler, the first owner of Fernberg (Government House). Well, actually I didn’t come across the letter. Rather, I found a quotation…
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A trip to Toowong Creek
Wanting to take advantage of a perfect autumn afternoon, I hopped on the train and went to look at Toowong Creek. My report is here. The key word is ‘mangroves’. I had no idea there was an intact tidal section of Toowong Creek until this afternoon, so discovering it was a bit of a thrill.…
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Toowong Creek: The Sole Survivor
Angus Veitch — 7 April 2012 I was never quite sure how to go about investigating how Western Creek once was. About the only plan I had was to explore an existing creek, comparable in size and type, and consider how it might be similar to Western Creek. In particular, I wanted a creek that…
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New page – John Olxey and the chain of ponds
Happy Easter! Though I’m feeling slightly guilty for being inside when the weather is so stunning, I’m glad to announce that I’ve posted a new page to the site. John Oxley and the chain of ponds explores Oxley’s trip up the Brisbane River in September 1824, during which he landed near Western Creek and discovered…