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Anecdotal stories, observations,comments and discussion pieces as insights into living in Rural Australia

town life - Living Rural

A Smashing time - Crime in towns

August 30th 2008 02:28

Choosing the way to go

As I live out of town on a farm I tend to forget or not be affected by the night time events that occasionally occur in town. Don’t get me wrong, our country town is, on the whole, peaceful and law abiding. But there have been a spate of incidents lately that make me wonder at the psyche of some people. Perhaps it is alcohol and drug induced or boredom or simply high jinks, but all are disturbing in their own way.

Take for example the drag racing. WA State Government TV ads say that these can be stopped with a phone call. But if the phone call is to a main Police centre 150 km away and the receptionist believes it is not important enough to rouse the local policeman – then one is in for a fairly restless night.
One of our ex- residents is doing well in the AFL. So to celebrate his success, his so called mates – instead of taking his example to do something constructive with his life - decided to “celebrate” by going around the town breaking windows at the school canteen, the charity shop and a couple of businesses. This followed an incident after an 18th birthday where others (or some of the same) smashed church windows and Sports Club windows the week before.
It is not as if these people aren’t being assisted in getting employment or live in derelict houses. They don’t even seem to want to hide their “crimes”. A letter in our local paper states: “Break-ins and attempted break-ins are looked upon as ‘opportunistic crimes’ by our local police. … but… these windows and doors have mesh on them and individuals have been caught with crowbars attempting to get in….. This is premeditated. Once again though we seem to applaud individuals in our community –“Locals learn shearing skills”…but a few of those individuals published are related to these crimes. My frustration lies with those individuals commiting these offences and constantly flaunting the law.” And another – referring to the Local shearers story “Take a stroll down the alley way between … and …. Street where the names of some of the participants are “artistically” plastered over resident’s fences”.

So how is the problem to be solved? Is it a more hands-on approach from police – a few bog laps around the town at night to display a presence and a local police number to call if there are problems? (At least our town has a police presence during the day – not like several towns where our present Government has closed the stations.) Is it a need to name and shame continuous offenders even if they are underage? Would that have an effect when, even now, they boast of their antics and thumb their noses at the police because they remain untouchable. Do we ban alcohol usage as occurs in some of your Northern towns – a great success for the towns involved, but the problem drinkers tend to move elsewhere. Setting up programmes to arrange employment help some, but not all. Or perhaps it is now so much part of our culture to “play up’. On some levels we all have laughed off the misdemeanors of our youth, and many have failed to guide their children by their own example.
Yet I manage to have two boys that never steal, get a taxi if they drink too much, never steal time from their boss and can be trusted to work on their own with company cars and company equipment. Andy many others have such children too.
Last week I was having a meal at lunch time in an open air restaurant. At the table next to me was a young couple and a boy of about eight. The boy could not finish the pizza, so his mother asked if they could have a take away box to take it home. When it came, to my surprise she laughingly placed the restaurant china plate in with the pizza in the box and after a while they left. I happened to be leaving at the same time and told the manager want was happening. He was so short staffed, he said, he could not follow them. Perhaps I should have said something to that mother myself (Excuse was I have just had a op. on my foot and wouldn’t have been able to make a quick exit) But perhaps here lies the route of our problems. There are too many people who seem to believe that if you can get away with something, then it is OK. It is there in all our dealings – from avoiding paying some taxes, taking an unneeded sickie to smashing windows. There does not seem to be a lot of rewards for being honest and respecting others. For me, my conscience would make me take that plate back, even if I had been tempted in the first place, but I am concerned that we are producing a society where a clear conscience is not a criteria for happy living any more.
I have practice what I should have said to that mother – “Don’t be surprised when you find your son stealing from your bag or smashing a shop window. You have just taught him that it is cool to steal.” I wish I had spoken out – but I doubt if it would have made a difference. Perhaps that is why the police don’t go out and about at night – they doubt it would make a difference. Are we all just giving up?

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Mining Town's dilema

June 26th 2008 03:45

Mt Whaleback Mine- Newman

Travelling in the north west of Western Australia is a time to reflect on the rural life in relation to Mining towns such as Meekatharra, Port Hedland and Tom Price, to name a few.
Recently there was news that Rio will be receiving a windfall in prices for iron ore, which will no doubt seep down into other companies as well. This will reap the state government an extra billion dollars in tax. People say, why aren’t the companies putting more into the towns, but the question is also why isn’t the government?
I feel the problem is not a lack of money alone, but money and manpower combined. Mines pay a large amount of money to their workers to entice them into remote areas of the state. As a result other workers – teachers, nurses, council workers etc look at their meagre wages and decide they are better off working for the mines – so there are fewer people willing to clean up the streets, teach the children and nurse the sick. Governments refuse to increase the wages for their workers to come to anywhere near other wages so the temptation increases.
Because there are no workers doing these other jobs – also a lack of builders, plumbers, electricians etc, housing is also rare and expensive. Now the price of rentals in these towns are enormous and workers not involved in the mines and government employees are often living in poor accommodation. Hospitals and schools need major repairs in many cases and a lack of skilled workers to fix things adds to the problem. Governments, in these cases need to look to ways of developing incentives for workers to come. Why would you bother going to these towns??

Families rarely come to the towns to live, so a sense of community is lost. Fly in-fly out mining staff – a part “solution” to the lack of housing - means that the workers work 12 hour shifts which leaves them with no time to take part in community sports or voluntary activities.

As one goes through these towns the surface seems normal. But looking more closely we can see full rubbish bins and broken toilets in shire rest areas, makeshift dogas in caravan parks, TV dinners in the shops and not even enough footy players to make up a team – even in a town full of men. What problems are more hidden? Broken relationships because of long absences, loneliness, depression, unequal education opportunities, preventable deaths… And for those who do live in the towns and are not part of the boom, a wider chasm of the haves and have –nots.

Mining truck - Newman museum

What are the solutions? I have not all the answers. However: 1) increase wages of the service workers and government employees so that they stay in their trained jobs. 2) give the Shire funding to increase wages of their council employees 3) Find incentives for skilled workers – electricians etc to come to the towns (even fly in- fly out is better than nothing) 4) Skill up the locals eg as Andrew Frost from FMG hopes to do – teaching Indigenous people to drive trucks etc, 5) Give locals an option of eight hour shifts so that they can have a family and community life.
Something needs to happen, for this mining industry is not a short term boom as others have been and while it is still a “young man’s game’ in some respect, it is so different to the old mining hardships – and more is expected in these days of fast travel and communication. This is a problem for all Australians – for we all benefit from Government wealth – even if we don’t think we do directly.
August 2008:Your text goes here Since writing this blog in June, I have watched an ABC TV "Four Corners" program called "Money Pit" reporter Matthew Carney which addressed these problems in relation to Port Hedland (and South Hedland). One issue I did not mention was the problems of boredom and the resulting over-drinking and drug use that comes from the culture of blokes together with nothing else to do. Improvements in community infrastructure - such as a variety of sporting facilities means more opportunity to interact in other ways - but organization within the industry to allow for co-ordinated times for such interaction is also needed. Even competitions between different sectors of the minng industry in sporting games or other competitions would be something, and if that could also involved other community members all the better.
In addressing the haves and the have nots - when Council workers are getting only $500 per week compared to $1500 per week from some mining workers - and the council worker has to live in a homeless shelter or his car - something is obviously wrong. Or when a worker has to be satisfied to live in a donga - with a bed and a fridge and no cooking facilities at a rent of $250 per week - then it is no wonder they go out drinking at night. Mining towns are not temporary living and we need to look for Governments to stop thinking of them as such. The first need is to release more land for building and to provide good housing for those who need them. The second need is to provide funding to make the towns more family friendly. With 80% of the mining population on fly in fly out programmes and the long hours of work, we are creating a social problem that will lead to costs that any amount of iron ore dollars will not compensate.

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It's for You - Telephonists

March 1st 2008 02:25

Across the miles - communication

When I first went out into the country to work – in the early ‘70’s (OK that gives away my age) the main form of communication was the land line telephone – and, believe it or not, there was still a human (usually female) operator who would make the connections. Coming from the city I was not that familiar with such workings, so I was duly warned by my flatmate to be careful what I said on the phone. While telephonists (the word isn’t even in most dictionaries any more) will swear that they did not listen to people’s conversations, ….. of course they did - be it deliberate or not. Compare it with today - if you are next to someone on the bus who is talking on their mobile, you can’t tell me you don’t half listen!!!! Of course you do! We are all curious human beings after all!
Anyway, back to my story. My flatmate warned me to be careful and told me her story. When she had arrive in the little house we occupied she discovered the previous occupant had been using the bath as a place to store hay – because she had a horse. I won’t try to imagine how that girl kept clean. However…
My friend was discussing the same with a pal in the city on the phone and as a joke said “I’m not sure where I am going to put my horse!!!”
Within a couple of hours she had had several phone calls from friendly farmers welcoming her to the district and offering her a paddock for her horse! That was the end of any horsing around on that phone!
However, I do have to say the telephonist had her uses. If you wanted to know where someone was – for example was John ….at home, at the shop or down the pub, she would usually know – or would even ring the pub to check. And when there was an emergency – a fire or an accident, she would often make all the relevant phone calls once the first call came through. She was also known to give advice on everything from recipes to knitting patterns to childhood illnesses. I do wonder if, at times, she was a self proclaimed censor if phone calls became too heated or if when she discovered something illegal or immoral going on she would have to report it to authorities. One would have to be fairly dumb to plan a robbery or a dalliance on the telephone anyway! Perhaps there are some stories yet to be told. But hurry because ex-telephonists are a disappearing breed.
After exchanges became automatic, that contact was lost and there was a while where everything was more private and the town gossip or concerns were less well known. It could take a little longer to find out that old Mrs Brown had fallen down the front step and now needed a brigade of willing helpers to get her three meals a day and to do her washing.
Now, however mobile phones and e mails get messages around at great speed – provided they work in your part of the world. And on one level, that can be a good thing to ensure help comes quickly.
But is there something missing? I am not one to spend time reminiscing and I can’t really say that telephonists were part of my past – but could there be something to be said about someone who intercedes or stands between a message and its receiver. Perhaps if we all acted with a little more discretion when we text-ed or emailed each other, censoring the content and considering the circumstances of the receiver, we might live in a better world. And of course, whether you are living in remote parts of the country or in a large lonely city, face to face conversations can create their own form of censorship. One would like to think so, anyway.

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Country Newspapers

February 11th 2008 07:01

Road Closed - read it in the local Newspaper

What is the main source of information in a country town? It is not the town gossip – despite the characterization of such people - it is the town’s local newspaper. These may be part of a wider network of Community Newspapers that are bought from the local newsagency and come on the usual newsprint and newspaper size. Or, as in the case of our town, it is a fortnightly paper run by volunteers with articles written and edited by volunteers, printed in the local telecentre and folded by volunteers. The costs here are met by local businesses that pay for their advertising. It requires a large degree of dedication from a few people and the co-operation of many organizations who contribute articles and information for future events.
There are, of course many regular items: sports results for all levels of every sport in the town – from bowls to bingo and everything in between, Church notices, CWA, Red Cross, Garden Club and other meeting notices. There are also children’s writings- a different class from school contributing stories for each paper. The Shire uses the paper to get out essential information such as which roads will be closed for repairs, when the fire breaks will be inspected or why the rates are going up again. Achievements of individuals and community groups – whether it is winning a state competition, the school productions, quiz kids or work milestones may make it into the paper.
Juicy gossip – births, marriages or who is having a special milestone are celebrated

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Posted By: bumpkin - Category: farming, town life, people, events, observations

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Multi-cultural living

August 3rd 2007 01:28

Sharing Culture - photo from "The Kodja Place

All Australians are migrants – including the Aboriginal people, but their's is a level of occupation of thousands of years compared to the meagre 200 years of European and other nationalities.
While there are people within all communities that forget this fact and treat their British heritage as a class above the rest, it is time that the recognition of the diversity, even within a rural community needs to be acknowledged

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Shopping for food in a country town

July 27th 2007 03:35

Sunday -quiet, Monday - trucks, utes and muddy cars

Don’t you hate those food preparation programs on TV that insist that you must visit the local fish market to pick up some exotic species of marine animal that is essential for their recipe? Or even things like sea salt or a variety of Chinese vegetable only to be found in a city market? Now I don’t know what the local supermarket is like near you, but the only fish I can get is frozen hake, schnapper and a couple of other types – and they nearly all come from somewhere like Japan, Vietnam or Korea. Fresh unusual vegetables will take a week to get if you really want them – by which time the urge to experiment will have left long ago. You can try tinned lychees if you like or frozen raspberries – but they will be rather squishy when they defrost.
If you are attempting to be an enthusiastic chef, then shopping for your food supplies is not a joyous event in any supermarket – but particularly in a rural town several hundred miles from the coast or the city. However, if you are a reasonably straightforward cook who occasionally likes to try that new Charred grilled vegetable sauce, then you will survive shopping for food in a rural setting

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Lifestyle Farmers - neighbours from Heaven or Hell?

May 30th 2007 02:25

Farms to the left of you, farms to the right

There is a sense of unease among many farmers who rely on what they can produce from the land as their major source of income, when they are introduced to the hobby farmer, absentee land owner or those who have opted for a “bush change” in their retirement or semi-retirement - the so-called lifestyle farmers. While most people in the bush make a great effort to welcome new-comers to their district, these people can be met with some suspicion and coolness, if certain basic principals are not followed.
The new comer must realize that to begin with, the price paid for the piece of land they have acquired was probably inflated to a degree that a normal farmer was unable to acquire it. This is great for the seller, but not for farmers who wish to expand their properties. However, most farmers bow to the demands of market forces, however unwillingly, and if the new neighbours are nice enough people, such little matters can be overcome. (Besides, the farmer will make a mental note of the price and adjust the equity value of his property a little as a result

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Here comes the Rain!

May 3rd 2007 04:14

I'm in the good books!

The cat is earning his keep at the moment. He has managed to catch two mice in the house and he and I had a wonderful time getting rid of a family of eight rats that took up residence in the hen house. Well the old dog helped a bit with one – he scared it to death – honestly – it had a heart attack! I believe the moggie is now being employed gainfully down at the shed for the same purpose.
Why this sudden influx of rodents? It all has to do with a change in the season – and more importantly the signs that it is going to rain. I have it on very good authority (my husband) that rodents in my kitchen are a sure sign that good rains are on the way. So instead of complaining about the half eaten Weetbix and the smell in the saucepan cupboard I should be happily cleaning out said cupboards each week and living in hope! Well I hope he’s right – because I hate cleaning at the best of times… (Just as an aside here - we have had some rain already – it’s good to see some patches of green in the paddocks – may it continue – lots and lots!)
What other signs of nature should we all be aware of to predict rain? The first one to to be seen is when the salt water that is just below the ground in salt patches comes to the surface. This is really noticeable and often salt tolerate grasses start to green up too. This is, of course, like many farm activities a mixed blessing. The farmer can see if his salt patches have spread – not good, but he is also hopeful that rains are on the way - good.
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Anzac Day in the Bush

April 17th 2007 07:49

Lest We Forget

The time of year is again approaching when Australia remembers those who fought in many theatres of war over the last one hundred or so years. Most country towns will hold a march from point to point with any veterans available, women who had served as nurses or land army, some children of these service men and women, Red Cross and CWA members, the boy scouts, girl guides and possibly the fire and ambulance volunteers to swell the numbers. The local clergy will say the prayers and others will share the formalities of the service. The last post and reveille will be sounded by the gifted child that is learning the trumpet or the sounds will come from a well worn tape recording. Wreaths will be laid at the local memorial – a cairn in a park, a soldier with his rifle turned upside down in the main street or a wall on which names are displayed – many of them the same surnames as those that are still within the town. Nothing will stop this solemn ceremony – even Highway traffic must give way for this event.
Most towns sport a Memorial Hall, a Memorial park and/or an RSL Hall as permanent reminders of these sacrifices. These places are held in respect and a certain reverence.

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A stranger in town

January 5th 2007 15:03

What is "Community"? This is a question that I have been slowly tackling in my own way since the New Year. I have spent some of that time in a Community away from my home - a Youth conference community - no as the "youth" but as a volunteer - doing everything from adious-ing rubbish to setting up book stalls. This is a temporary community - in its way artificial in that it brings together reasonably like minded people from all over the Pacific Region to explore their beliefs and learn and share and have fun. Behind the scenes are other communities - those who have spent a couple of years organising the event, or those who come in for short bursts from out-lying communities to add to the event. Even in this one setting there are multi-communities.
Coming from a small town, it has been an interesting experience to be almost an outsider. True there are a few people I know or I have heard of and true, I have my jobs to do - some I am confident in doing, others not. But once again I feel a little like I did when I first ventured out into a rural community as a young teacher. At times I stood alone, uncertain where I fitted in the dynamics of the town. As I was the new teacher I was immediately associated with that community group. (just like I am now the woman who cleaned up the meeting room.) But it was important to thrust myself into other community groups. I played hockey for a while - very badly I might add, joined the Rural Youth - not just to meet blokes, went to a Church ( 'cos that is part of what I do). Then I eventually ventured into the pub and developed a liking for lemon, lime and bitters (or is it lime lemon and bitters?)
If you are to live in a rural town, you will be labelled according to the community group people choose to place you. I was still being called a teacher even after 10 years of not teaching, and I am still shaking off the jobs associated with being the Historical Society's Secretary, even though I haven't had that job for 5 years. What community groups you start with, will not determine all your life - I am certainly not a hockey stick weilding rural youth member, but I do feel I belong to some communities within the town structure

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The Oval- a place where dreams are made.

September 28th 2006 09:47

In every country town there is a green oasis that is treasured by its residents and carefully maintained by successive local councils. This hallowed place is the Town Oval. While some towns may also have school ovals and other grassed areas where "minor" games such as hockey are played, the Town Oval is the most loved and respected - and well kept. Any country hockey player will agree that they are the ones that must dig the ball out of the potholes and risk spraining the ankle in the ditches on their lesser piece of earth. But it is the footy oval- whatever code of fotty is played that must be kept in pristeen condition. Come drought or flood all attempts must be made to ensure it is green and grassy. Failure to maintain a safe and smooth surface will only bring ridicule from the neighbouring sporting teams when they come to play.
It is not just the ground that sets the mood of the sporting oval. Nearby is the Clubhouse. Whether it is a new brick building with concrete verandah and steel posts or a weatherboard building with a long history and wooden verandah and posts - the club house must provide shelter from the summer sun, and winter rain and hail. It must provide a good view of the proceedings on the oval and above all the bar must be open throughout the game and beyond. Imperative to the club house is its name and its memorbillia. The name will be either after that bloke who bequeathed his life's savings into the building of the club house, or it will be the name of that local lad that ended up playing for the big league. It doesn't matter if he only went to school to Year Five in the town - he is "our champion" and he will be always welcomed back to the club as the one whose dreams came true.
Not everyone comes to the clubhouse to watch the game. Many country ovals are boardered by pine post and a rail - just big enough to keep the young hoons off the oval in their utes if they are tempted to do doughnuts around the cricket pitch. But cars do venture close by. Bonnets are poked towards the centre and if the weather is foul, the passengers remain in the car, peering though the fogged up windscreen and showing they are aware of the proceedings by tooting their horns when their team gets a goal. If it is fine the spectators will venture out and sit on the car bonnet or the pine rail and shout abuse across the way to their own players, the opposition players and their teams supporters. One should be glad it it is only abuse that is thrown. I know of one story where a rather large women took offense at an opposition supporter and after a brief chase around the oval that stopped the game, folded a tin tray around his head! (Not an incident that can repeated often without involvement from the local constabulary who are usually in attendance - or participating, along with the local ambulance volunteer

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