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- September 2006 -
Newsletter for Offshore Residents of Pittwater, Australia Volume 9, Issue 162; September 2006
Greetings from Russia :) Another community grant to check up on newsletters in Russia was gladly accepted by the editor and his young assistant. Hopefully you will feel an Eastern European slant to newsletters in the future. And a special thanks to assistant editor Julian for being at the helm in September. On a more serious note, offshore communities have 'enjoyed' great quantities of rain in recent weeks that has played havoc with the roads. SIRA (Scotland Island Residents Association) are determined to get improvements made to our road infrastructure. Please support them as they move to obtain financial support from government.
Without geography, you're nowhere. ~Author Unknown
The first school in Pittwater
was held in the little Methodist Church at Church Point. On
May l, 1884, Samuel Morrison was appointed the first
teacher. Unaware of the location of Pittwater, Morrison, who
had received his early training in Dublin, inquired at the
Education Office and was directed to go to Manly by boat and
then by coach to Newport. The next day, a Saturday, he
travelled to Manly and was told that the coach for Newport
would not leave Bagnall's Hotel on the Corso until 4 p.m.
the next day when it would be taking workmen from a
powderworks company at Newport back to work. Harry Boulton,
the coach driver, assured Morrison on Sunday morning that he
would pick him up at the hotel at 4 p.m. 
The coach loaded up at the
livery stables behind the Steyne Hotel and, when the driver
had a load, went off leaving the frustrated young teacher
behind. His hotelier, Mr. Bagnall, told Morrison it was
only 12 miles and, since the next coach would not leave
until Tuesday, the teacher had no alternative but to walk to
Pittwater. After crossing Manly Lagoon bridge he met no one
and passed only two houses that were occupied, Mrs.
Malcolm's at Brookvale and Miss Jenkins' at Collaroy. From
there the road was rough and heavy going and a sandy track.
Walking was difficult and tiring and it was getting dark. After
passing a bag and bark humpy where the old Narrabeen Inn
later stood, he was overtaken by a man with a horse and
cart. When stopped and asked the whereabouts of Pittwater by
Morrison, the man replied that he was going that way and
offered him a lift. The driver introduced himself as Johnny
Collins , an old identity in the district who kept a
boarding house at Newport known as Bayview House. He
invited Morrison to stay the night.
The following morning, after breakfast, Collins insisted on rowing him across the bay to Bayview. From that point he began his final walk of a mile and a half to Church Point to the school. He reported later that he was charmed with the beautiful scenery and " had never seen anything so fine!
Alongside the school in the church building was a comfortable residence and it became Morrison's home for 20 years. Later , when the school was moved to Bayview , Morrison met and married Emma Chave, a local girl, in 1887 and the following year the brick Pittwater School was built. In 1895, Morrison wrote an official Education Department Arithmetic Text Book for Third Class.
On Arbor Day, 1945, a Samuel Morrison Memorial Tree was planted in the grounds of Mona Vale Public School.
Next Month: The history of the Bays
light dances across the trees
a khaki stage
dressed with shadows and sun.
and the hills weave,
rising and falling
above a waterway
restlessly painting,
in reflection and ripple.
my space fills with the songs of
the sun
that gently bathes
the land glowing beyond the window.
life reaches upwards
straining to lift limbs
higher and higher
cheekily playing with neighbours,
sighing, singing, swaying
free.
but, I must put away my words ,
stiffened brushes,
brittle with colour,
discarded, dry.
the
sun has caught the rain
and together they hover,
an angel, an apparition,
I am overwhelmingly graced
and, ceasing my restless scribble,
I am
humbled,
becoming
childlike
and
silent
Geoff Bullock, Scotland Island
Further to our request for a list of JP's residing in the offshore community, we have these volunteers!
- Bob Bolton ajb_bobbolton@hotmail.com
- Paul Burchall p.burchall@burthom.com.au AH 9997 5496
- Bob Mitchell bob.mitchell@cia.com.au Home = 9974 5628 (Mackerel Beach)
- Paul Purvis paul.purvis@gmail.com 99799667
- Scotland Island and Offshore
Artists Needing Old Jetty Planks
As part of The Shape of Water
art exhibition for the Scotland Island Festival this year,
we are planning a collaborative installation in Catherine
Park.We plan to use old and weathered jetty planks but the
ones we thought we had have been cut up into firewood!.
If you have any old intact jetty planks and you are willing
to part with them so they can be transformed into art,
please speak to, call or email:
Gordon Floyd: 9979 2035;
floydcbg@ozemail.com.au
Marion van den Driesschen: 9999 4632;
marionvdd@yahoo.com.au
Eamon Hamilton : 9999 1267;
eamon@kdkmedia.com.au
Emmie Collins 9979 7506;
emstar@tpg.com.au
The
Red Planet is about to be spectacular!
This month and
next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that
will culminate in the closest approach between the two
planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come
this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs
on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be
certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the
Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years
before it happens again.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes
to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the
moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain
a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide.
At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large
as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to
spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at
10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.
By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars
will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the
sky at 12:30a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something
that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark
your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow
progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.
Radio Northern Beaches - add your event
If anybody has any community announcements, or items of interest etc., that they would like broadcast, please let me know by Wednesday evenings 8.30p.m. Hope to hear from you soon....Phillippa Thomas. Contact me by clicking here
Chimanga -
Feeding Body and Soul
A exhibition of photographic images by Claude Ho,
honouring the world's indigenous communities including
those in Malawi, the San people of the Kalahari Desert
in Africa and small communities in the Northern
Territory.
Proceeds from the exhibition support FOCHTA, a charity
working in Malawi to strengthen the future of children
and families affected by HIV Aids.
The exhibition is in the Mona Vale Library from Monday
28th August till Sunday 10th September--Library opening
times are Monday to Friday 10 am - 6 pm, Saturday 10 - 5
pm and Sunday 1 - 5pm.
You are all aware that the Scotland Island Festival is approaching. Remember the festival is spread out over a month and you might like to know what is happening and when.
Simple - just check the online calendar at www.scotlandisland.org.au/calendar
21st
Birthday of the Kindy Raffle
Whilst we were celebrating the 21st Birthday of the Kindergarten on Scotland Island, many parents purchased raffle tickets in support of my daughter Felicity for her Son Rise Program that we are running. I wanted to sincerely thank the kind people who bought tickets as well as the kindergarten that kindly donated the prizes. Thank you to Taurs and Andy for organising the prizes and making them available.
What does Scotland Island & the Indian village of Khunti
have in common?
Milk!!!
West Pittwater is soon to host a HUUUUUGE film festival
event on 4 November 2006. The theme is Milk.
Khunti is a village in North East India. They are trying
hard to start up a dairy co-operative.
The link was made through the website
www.nabuur.com.
Nabuur is a networking site that promotes community
development in impoverished parts of the world. They
provide no funds or assistance other than connecting
communities.
Over the past 8 months Boyd Attewell of Scotland Island
has been in regular email contact with Praveen Ohal of
Khunti as well as many other ‘neighbours’ from around
the world. They have worked together on business plans,
funding applications and promotions. In that time a cow
shelter big enough to house 40 cows has been finished.
Two cows have been acquired, NANDINI and PADMINI and one
of those has calved already. Sooooooooo…….37 cows to
go!!!!
The Co-op will be able to acquire some more cows from
the profits of milk sales, and there is also other
fundraising efforts going on in India – BUT – we can
help. It costs about AUS$400 to acquire a suitable dairy
cow and to provide it with a year of feed supplements
and veterinary care. All funds raised will go first to
Balgowlah Rotary, who will ensure that funds reach their
destination and are used wisely.
If you want to find out more, go to
www.nabuur.com and
follow the links to Asia, India and the village of
Khunti, or contact Boyd on
boydatt@bigpond.com or 0417
991 499.
Free Online Tutoring through Avalon Library
Students can now participate in live, one-to-one online
learning sessions with a tutor through a new service
offered by Avalon Community Library.
Online Classroom is offered by Avalon Community Library
FREE to its members in what is thought to be a first on
the northern beaches. It works like MSN Messenger,
allowing the tutor and student to text chat, share web
pages, transfer files and much more. Subjects include
Mathematics, Science and English from Years 4-12,
Assignment Research and Study Skills.
The system is available Monday to Friday between 4pm and
8pm through Tutoring Australia. Students can access the
system via computers at Avalon Library from 4pm and 5pm,
and after that via their home computers using their
library membership details.
The software required to run the programs can be
downloaded from the library website at
www.avalonlibrary.org.au Details of Tutoring
Australia can be found at
http://yourtutor.com.au
Librarian Helen Clark said: “We are proud to offer this
valuable service to our student members. We feel it is a
…complement to our existing services we offer local
students. We believe we’re the first library to offer
this service to students on the northern beaches. We
encourage parents to work with their children in getting
started with the system. We stress that all tutors are
background
checked by Tutoring Australasia and the student does not
give any personal details.”
Interested people should visit
www.avalonlibrary.org.au or contact Helen Clark at
avalonlibrary@ozemail.com.au or on 9918 3013.
A very well attended
training day for the new Scotland Island web site was
held on Sunday 20th August.
Representatives
from many community groups, together with other interest
individuals, learned of the amazing ability of the
upcoming website to be maintained by the many and not by
the few! Some photographs are shown of the day. The
whole exercise, from the development of the site, to the
training of the participants was fully funded by
Pittwater Council. We are very grateful for their
support.
If you would like to be involved in this great new project or feel you would like some tips on how you can use the opportunity to develop your own island community group page, please give me a ring. I am away in, ahem, Russia, until the end of September, but a call after that will get a response! 02-9979-9667 (editor Paul)
Toddler & Baby Toys
The Scotland Island Playgroup has been running a couple
of months now and the children and parents are enjoying
the weekly get together and time to play, develop new
skills and socialize. It’s a great way to meet new mums
and kids, and a great opportunity to familiarize the
children with the ‘Kindie’, helping to build confidence
for those planning to go to ‘Kindie’ when they come of
age.
There are lots of fun toys, books and games to play
with, but we have very few toys and equipment for the
younger kids and babies. If anyone has any pre-loved
baby and toddler toys they would like to donate to the
Playgroup we would be really grateful. Toys can be big
or small, but should be in good condition with no broken
parts or dangerous elements, especially as babies love
to eat everything!!
If you can help we would love to hear from you, either
call Lizzie Hazelwood (02 9997 8731) or pop in on
Mondays (10-12pm) at the Kindie to meet the kids & mums.
Scotland Island Community Transport Vehicle
Notice to Users
We are pleased to announce that we now have a new
community vehicle which arrived on the island on 18
September, courtesy of Pittwater Council and the NSW
Department of Transport.
The Community Vehicle is driven by volunteers who give
their time for 24 hours when on duty. They are not
employees and the service is not a taxi service. The
drivers are available to take calls and transport
community members and their visitors from 9:00 am to
9:00 pm daily and must be available for emergency calls
24 hours a day.
Drivers therefore ask that users show some consideration
to them in their use of the vehicle by giving adequate
prior notice that they will require transportation as
well as confirming their arrival at Church Point.
Adequate prior notice is particularly helpful if the
vehicle is required after 6:30 pm when the driver on
duty may be busy preparing or eating the evening meal.
If adequate notice is given, then the drivers are able
to make the necessary arrangements to minimise the
disruption to their daily lives and to deliver the
service you require.
If you intend to go shopping, or you are coming home
from a trip, for example, call an hour before, or even
half an hour, and let the driver on duty know your
intention, then ring again on arrival at Church Point.
This is of benefit to both driver and user – the driver
knows in advance what his or her schedule is and the
user may not have to wait any longer than necessary.
Delays may be experienced when there are multiple
bookings. There may be times when users are unable to
give prior notice and the drivers understand that this
will sometimes be the case, but with some consideration
on the part of users, those occasions will be reduced to
a minimum. The drivers ask that users understand that
there may delays in responding to calls if no adequate
prior notice is given.
Please remember – this is a community service and we are
all, including the drivers, part of that community. We
should all contribute to the service to make it as
efficient as possible.
Thank you for your co-operation.
TWO DOLLAR VEHICLE-MAINTENANCE SURCHARGE FOR ALL
USERS
With the rise in petrol prices continuing, it will be
necessary to charge the $2 maintenance surcharge to all
users, including those in the disabled and aged
categories, from 1st September. Lifetime members of SIRA
are exempted.
Gordon Floyd,
Scotland island Community Transport Co-ordinator
Thank you Pittwater!
On Friday of last week some residents of West Pittwater
put on an afternoon of music at Church
Point to raise money to buy a cow for a village in north
east India. What a success! By the end of the evening we
had collected $742.
Special thanks go to Matt Trapnell and Rebecca Moore,
but there were many many people involved. Thanks too to
the Balgowlah Rotary club who put in a few more dollars
to round it up to $1,000. Rotary will be sending the
funds off to the village this week.
The money will go towards acquiring cows for the Khunti
Dairy co-op project, a locally driven project that
allows villagers to own cows directly, but to have the
support of a co-op infrastructure.
Pittwater
Business Limited Breakfast
Ita Buttrose – businesswoman, journalist, author, TV
panellist, presenter and professional speaker – will
speak on Secrets of Successful Sales and Marketing at
the second breakfast meeting of Pittwater Business
Limited on Wednesday 30 August 6.45am-8.45am at the
Terrace Restaurant, Newport Arms Hotel.
Cost (including breakfast): Members $25 Non-members $50. Places are limited, please register today at www.pittwaterbusiness.com.au/members/events.asp
Island Thinking
Saturday 16th September 8pm
Julia Miller will present:
The Fall of an Angel: the gendering and demonising of El
Nino.
Julia will discuss the naming of the weather phenomenon,
El Nino, and how 20th century attitudes to environmental
management have turned an angel into a demon.
Venue: Julia Miller’s home 113 Florence Terrace – Black
house with green roof on water 5 houses South of Eastern
Wharf Bottom of Elsie Street steps and below Cover’s
black house with green roof.
Contact: Jenni Cover 9997 8724, 0409 560008 or
jenni.cover@urnet.com.au
More about the Island Anthology event at Ednas on
Saturday 7th October 8pm in next newsletter.
Lost Bear
We have a very sad Care Flight bear dressed in blue top
and yellow cap. Found on our waterfront near Bells in
early August. He would like to be returned to his owner.
Please contact Deryn on 9979-9141
| What's On in Pittwater - Self Editing Event Diary Click Here | |
| Scotland Island Traders - On-line shopping from your computer, through your door on Scotland Island. Contact Graeme on 0419 460 331 or click here for full details | |
| Buy and Sell: Pittwater Trading Online or visit http://www.pittwatertradingonline.com.au | |
| Local Real Estate Agents: |
| Bothammottl Real Estate | L.J.Hooker Mona Vale |
| PMC Hill (subscribe to their newsletter here) | Pittwater Real Estate |
| Government Organisations: |
| Local Pittwater Council, or email them at pittwater_council@pittwater.nsw.gov.au or by clicking here. |
| Federal: Bronwyn Bishop, Member for Mackellar, or email her by clicking here or Bronwyn.Bishop.MP@aph.gov.au |
| State: Alex McTaggart, Member for Pittwater, email him at pittwater@parliament.nsw.gov.au or by clicking here |
| Local Transport: Scotland Island Community Vehicle: Info: click here. Phone 0404 103 700 Church Point Ferries (0408 296 997) Manly Warringah Cabs (02 9997 9111) Palm Beach Cruises (02 9997 4815) Pink Water Taxi (0428 238 190) |
Emergency Contact Numbers
Emergency Scotland Island Water Contacts: click here for information (while online) |
||||||||||||||
Airlines,
Buses and Railways
| Sydney Airport: Arrivals and Departures | Qantas Information Jetstar Information |
| Sydney Buses information. | Virgin Blue Information |
| City Rail Timetables and Information. | Country Link Rail Timetable |
Weather
- Tides, Moon phases, Sun rise & set for Sydney
- Weather Forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology in Sydney, Australia
- Radar weather for Sydney (128k circle)
| Join SIRA You can now join the Scotland Island Residents Association by clicking here. Please print the page you see and return the completed form to SIRA at this address: The Treasurer, SIRA, PO Box 70, Church Point 2105. Please NO CASH. Contact SIRA at sirapittwater@hotmail.com |
Join WPCA
To join the Western Pittwater Community Association, contact Michael Wiener at m2wiener@bigpond.net.au |
Archived Newsletters A complete set of past electronic newsletters since May
2000 can be found and read at
http://www.scotlandisland.org.au/newsletters/archive.html or by
clicking here
or by visiting the Mona Vale
Library. The Scotland Island website is at
www.scotlandisland.org.au
Finally:
If you would like
to contribute to this newsletter it's easy!. Send an e-mail to the
editor by
clicking here.
Type your short contribution
(100 words would be fine) and assuming it is of general interest to the
community, does not include matter of a political nature and is not
offensive to your neighbours, it will
appear next month.
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION:
To get on and off this newsletter, or to change your options, click here or got to: http://www.scotlandisland.org.au/signup
The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the views of the Scotland Island Residents Association (SIRA), or any of the associated Pittwater Offshore Resident's Committees
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