May/June 2019

Australian Geographic

The journal of the Australian Geographic Society

Australian Geographic2 min read
150th Collector’s Edition
OUR LIVES have changed in so many ways since that day in late December 1985 when the first AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC journal appeared in mailboxes and news-agencies around Australia. Dick Smith described the first issue as a labour of love and expressed
Australian Geographic3 min read
Notes From The Field
“You’re never far from a skeleton in London,” a Museum of London archaeologist told Roff Smith (Finding Flinders, page 78) when he was working on a story about the discovery of a 15th-century drowning victim, the skeleton still wearing boots, in a co
Australian Geographic3 min read
Special 150th Edition
I was an original subscriber and my in-laws renewed my subscription on each birthday or for Christmas until they passed away. I live in the USA and most of my old magazines were cut up for school projects (we have six children). I was also Vice Presi
Australian Geographic2 min read
Banjo, Revisited
TRADITIONAL NATURAL HISTORY illustration – that fusion of close observation, anatomical understanding and artistic flair combined with a leap of the imagination – exquisitely captures the beauty and truth of our unique flora and fauna. Australian Geo
Australian Geographic2 min read
The Case Of The Glowing Cross
IN 1907, FOLLOWING a fatal attempt to stop a runaway train at Mullumbimby, a young rail worker, William Steenson was laid to rest in the North Lismore Pioneer Cemetery. The epitaph on his tomb paid tribute to his courage and valour. Soon after his de
Australian Geographic2 min read
Defining A Clever Country
IF NECESSITY is the mother of invention, we Aussies may have endured more than our fair share of privations if our track record of game-changing innovations is anything to judge by. From the boomerang to wi-fi, from the Sunshine Harvester to the blac
Australian Geographic2 min read
Traces NSW
IN A QUIET OUTBACK town in north-western NSW, far from the congested tourist traps of antiquity, lie the world’s oldest known human-made structures. While the exact age of Brewarrina’s fish traps is the subject of ongoing research, it’s widely accept
Australian Geographic2 min readAstronomy & Space Sciences
Unforgettable Ultima Thule
YOU MIGHT NOT have heard of 2014 MU69. But there’s a good chance you’ll know it by its unofficial name – Ultima Thule. That’s a Latin term used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for a distant unknown place, making it the perfect nickname for an icy as
Australian Geographic2 min readEarth Sciences
Ships And Rising Sea Level
FILL A POT WITH water right to the brim, gently add an egg and the water will flow over the edge. So, by how much does sea level rise when we plonk ships into the world’s oceans? During the 19th century, sea level rose by about 6cm worldwide. In the
Australian Geographic2 min read
Mint Condition
THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN MINT has produced a new coin series called Echoes of Australian Fauna. Made from silver, plated in black nickel and then decorated with gold-plated images of extinct or endangered native species, the coins feature a thylacine (Ta
Australian Geographic3 min read
1966 Wave Hill walk-off
The Gurindji had lived in what is now the Victoria River area of the NT for tens of thousands of years, when in 1883 the colonial government granted almost 3000sq.km of their country to the pastoralist Nathaniel Buchanan. In 1884, 1000 cattle were mo
Australian Geographic3 min read
Oatlands, TAS
OATLANDS HAS the largest collection of Georgian sandstone buildings in any village in the Southern Hemisphere, with 87 stone buildings in High Street alone and a total of 138 historic buildings within the town boundaries. It is a wonderland for anyon
Australian Geographic1 min read
Oatlands Timeline
Before European colonisation the area was occupied by members of the Paredarerme Aboriginal language group. Europeans first explored the district when Governor Lachlan Macquarie and his party passed through in 1811. On 3 June 1821 governor Macquarie
Australian Geographic3 min read
The List
visit|download|watch|view|read|enter Visit 24 May–13 October, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC TAKE A WALK through past and present Chinese art and culture with this dual presentation of masterpieces. The large-scale Terracotta Warriors e
Australian Geographic1 min read
The Awards
ESTABLISHED in 1987, the Australian Geographic Society (AGS) Awards are the nation’s longest-running awards for adventure. With the addition of the conservation medallions in the early 1990s, the AGS Awards celebrate the best of Australian endeavour
Australian Geographic2 min readNature
Tale Of A Whale
This stunning wide-angle image of a humpback whale in waters off Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean was a winner in the international Underwater Photographer of the Year 2019 competition. Australia’s own humpback populations head to tropical waters i
Australian Geographic2 min read
Bird Nerd
Few other birds put as much work into building and decorating a place for courtship as bowerbirds. BOWERBIRDS ARE THE avian world’s architects, junk collectors and artists. Of the 20 known species, eight are found only in Australia, 10 are restricted
Australian Geographic3 min read
Global Bugpocalypse
IF YOU’VE BEEN driving in regional Australia for many years, think about whether the number of insects getting squashed on your windscreen has declined. Are you needing to wash it less frequently? A University of Sydney researcher who’s published a s
Australian Geographic6 min read
Symbol Of The Kimberley
AUSTRALIA ISN’T KNOWN for its deciduous trees. Across vast swathes of forest on other continents, the annual cycle of shedding and regrowth is ubiquitous. Each year, as days shorten and temperatures drop, leaves fall. Trees shut down for winter, bidi
Australian Geographic8 min read
Fabled fortune
IN THE FIRST issue of Australian Geographic, in 1986, the magazine’s founder, adventurer and entrepreneur Dick Smith, wrote: “There are six books published on Lasseter’s Reef and a major documentary. I’ve thoroughly researched the lot and I still hav
Australian Geographic12 min read
The Puzzle Of The Platypus
THE MORE WE DISCOVER about the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) the weirder it seems. The latest feature setting this Australian species apart, yet again, from any other living animal is a unique protein in its milk that’s been found to kill bacte
Australian Geographic1 min readPsychology
Poisonous Platypus
PLATYPUS VENOM IS produced only by males and only during the breeding season. It’s made in glands in the thigh and delivered via sharp spurs on the back feet (see right). University of Sydney geneticist Professor Kathy Belov, whose research focus is
Australian Geographic10 min read
Creating A Super-park
OF THE MANY trees filling the landscape northeast of Melbourne, mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) – Earth’s tallest flowering plant – is the area’s most famed species. Yet our guide, Steve Meacher, chooses myrtle beech to explain how the plants of To
Australian Geographic2 min readBotany
The forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands
1 Kalatha Giant Tree, Kalatha Road, Toolangi State Forest. This mountain ash is believed to be 400 years old and one of the largest trees by volume on the Australian mainland. Over-mature and breaking down at the top, it displays a classic fire scar
Australian Geographic11 min read
Finding Flinders
AUSTRALIA’S HISTORY IS littered with explorers who’ve gone missing – Ludwig Leichhardt, Jean-François de Galaup La Pérouse and George Bass, to name a few. But only one managed to achieve the feat posthumously in the heart of London. Matthew Flinders,
Australian Geographic2 min read
Leadbeater Magic
ABOUT 20,000 YEARS AGO the distribution of Leadbeater’s possum extended across many hundreds of kilometres between where Melbourne and Sydney are now located. These days the species has become restricted to an area of just 70 x 80km of ash and snow-g
Australian Geographic5 min read
The Duke Of Ed Marches On
THIS YEAR MARKS THE 60TH anniversary in Australia of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. Adventure filmmaker and Australia’s first Gold Awardee Michael Dillon ref lects on its personal and national impact. Delayed by storms and flooding rive
Australian Geographic2 min read
Wednesdays with Dr Retter
ISABELLA (ELLIE) BURNETT started her Duke of Ed while at boarding school in Sydney. She cites the Voluntary Service Section of her Bronze Award as rewarding and life-changing. Each Wednesday she caught a bus to St Luke’s Aged Care to spend time with
Australian Geographic2 min readLeadership
Making It Count
OWEN TAYLOR–WILLIAMS completed his Gold Award in 2017, the experience exposing him to life-changing opportunities that uncovered passions for sailing, environmental research and leadership. For the Voluntary Service Section he sailed as a Leeuwin Oce
Australian Geographic8 min read
Spice Of Life
WE’RE ON A forest trail climbing Gamalama, a 1715m-high volcano in eastern Indonesia. Our goal is Afo, which, at more than 400 years old, is said to be the world’s oldest clove tree. The mossy path edges past a mountain stream where orchids greet us
Australian Geographic6 min readEarth Sciences
Skiing The Back Country
From june to October snow transforms the highest parts of the Australian Alps, including the Snowy Mountains, which are mostly within Kosciuszko National Park. This draws skiers en masse to resorts in the park of which the largest, Perisher, provides
Australian Geographic5 min read
Diamonds In The Sky
Come on an adventure with us while raising funds for the AG Society at the same time. I’M IN WARRUMBUNGLE National Park, in western New South Wales, looking in awe at the most stunning night-time spectacle I’ve ever seen. It’s a show that’s been bill
Australian Geographic3 min read
Special Itineraries And Offers From Our Trusted Travel Partners
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