I'm in man! Just joined, just now. Coming to you from Chum Creek ( don't laugh ). Cheers..... Mike :-)
Good lord! I saw you whistle past me at warp 10 in EAH! The top is an impressive place to start ;-)
Well done Mike, Mike 8-)
Oh, by the way. I used to live on a farm (you guessed it 8-) at the intersection on Chum Creek and the Watts River, in Healesville. We had the south side of the valley (it's a small valley) but it's all been subdivided now. I must go back and see how they did it. The shire wouldn't let us do it. We could have got $650K plus instead of the $310K we did. Oh well, that's farming.
The we moved to Yellingbo (aka where's that?). We subdivided that one in to five blocks 8-D. Sold that house paddock (No. 5) for what we paid for the whole lot. Council were not ammused. But what can you do, when your property is chris crossed by government easments 8-D
Good lord! I saw you whistle past me at warp 10 in EAH! The top is an impressive place to start ;-)
Well done Mike, Mike 8-)
Oh, by the way. I used to live on a farm (you guessed it 8-) at the intersection on Chum Creek and the Watts River, in Healesville.
Yooo! Ah, near the chicane on the 'other' road to Toolangi, near the intersection with Donnelly's Weir road. You would have had Valley Farm Road as one of the boundaries, and you may have been on the original Valley Farm land of course. That's a flood plain man. :-) Also known as 'wombat alley' by some unlucky drivers! :-) Many years ago near there, I had cause to vomit on someone's front fence late one night, I do hope it wasn't yours! :-(
( I apologise to the forum in advance for such excruciating detail, but it may clear up any lingering mystery...... )
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We had the south side of the valley (it's a small valley)
Heck it's a small world! I had no idea anyone would have a clue what Chum Creek meant! We live up the Chum Creek road , a little beyond the aqueduct crossings, up on a hillside from Lake Yumbunga - which is just a flood retarding basin really.
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but it's all been subdivided now. I must go back and see how they did it. The shire wouldn't let us do it. We could have got $650K plus instead of the $310K we did. Oh well, that's farming. The we moved to Yellingbo (aka where's that?).
Know it well, on the way from Woori-Yallock to Cockatoo!
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We subdivided that one in to five blocks 8-D. Sold that house paddock (No. 5) for what we paid for the whole lot. Council were not ammused. But what can you do, when your property is chris crossed by government easments 8-D
Outstanding!
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
Yooo! Ah, near the chicane on the 'other' road to Toolangi, near the intersection with Donnelly's Weir road. You would have had Valley Farm Road as one of the boundaries, and you may have been on the original Valley Farm land of course. That's a flood plain man. :-) Also known as 'wombat alley' by some unlucky drivers! :-) Many years ago near there, I had cause to vomit on someone's front fence late one night, I do hope it wasn't yours! :-(
( I apologise to the forum in advance for such excruciating detail, but it may clear up any lingering mystery...... )
How about 1993 Melways map ref's 270 D8 & D9, the other side of St. Leonards Rd, were so many of the young locals parked their cars after their usual drink & loose ;-) They (their dad's) mended our extra high redgum posted boundary fence on the NE portion of the property on the other side of the river ;-). They were not happy with the price of those extra high redgum posts either – parents tend to confiscate Ute's for such travesties, mine did and I didn’t own a Ute 8-D Absolutely flood plain!!! We had a "gutter" running down the southwestern part of the flat land that started of at about 50cm wide and about 35cm deep. It gradually increased to 5m deep and 7m wide, that's on top of the river which was about 6m deep and about 11m wide. We'd came out some mornings to see the whole thing 1m under water, including our flat land! We could tell the depth, because our highly flood resistant fence posts would be sticking out of the water by 1 or 2cm. That was a hell of a lot of water. The Maroondah Dam people were really great at keeping all the farmers informed. I always felt bad for the market gardeners down the road though.
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Heck it's a small world! I had no idea anyone would have a clue what Chum Creek meant! We live up the Chum Creek road , a little beyond the aqueduct crossings, up on a hillside from Lake Yumbunga - which is just a flood retarding basin really.
The Maroondah Dam people wanted us to keep our flat land as pseudo retarding basin, so they looked after us pretty well. Both our farms were the only ones I ever knew to have mains water in every paddock 8-D My dad was great negotiator, all our neighbours got together to get him to lobby the Shire Council, but we had to get our 1,500 bales of hay in. They traded, they reckoned it was greatly in their favour, dad and I reckoned the other way and tried to explain but they had none of it. So they brought in our hay, on 45°+ day and dad and I went to the Shire and convinced them that it would be in their best interests not to charge farmers suburban rates!!
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Know it well, on the way from Woori-Yallock to Cockatoo!
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Absolutely, spot and well done. One of my uncles has a place at Cockatoo. If you keep going, it comes out at Pakenham, near Main Drain Rd, if I'm not mistaken 8-) Oh god, I'm a country boy!
Quote:
Outstanding!
That's what we thought too, because all we got when we sold all the cattle was a little over $15,000. That shocked me, because I realised that was the same as our yearly income :-(
Ah that takes me back, shotting, horse riding, trail bike riding (up near your place too), chooks, dogs, a bloody huge farm cat (1m from nose to rump, and he was the runt of the litter 8-) Up at 4:00AM, knee deep in mud and cow poop, horses that don't want work until it warms up, mending boundary fences in 45° + heat. I think I'm suburbanised now ;-)
Yooo! Ah, near the chicane on the 'other' road to Toolangi, near the intersection with Donnelly's Weir road. You would have had Valley Farm Road as one of the boundaries, and you may have been on the original Valley Farm land of course. That's a flood plain man. :-) Also known as 'wombat alley' by some unlucky drivers! :-) Many years ago near there, I had cause to vomit on someone's front fence late one night, I do hope it wasn't yours! :-(
( I apologise to the forum in advance for such excruciating detail, but it may clear up any lingering mystery...... )
How about 1993 Melways map ref's 270 D8 & D9, the other side of St. Leonards Rd, were so many of the young locals parked their cars after their usual drink & loose ;-) They (their dad's) mended our extra high redgum posted boundary fence on the NE portion of the property on the other side of the river ;-). They were not happy with the price of those extra high redgum posts either – parents tend to confiscate Ute's for such travesties, mine did and I didn’t own a Ute 8-D Absolutely flood plain!!! We had a "gutter" running down the southwestern part of the flat land that started of at about 50cm wide and about 35cm deep. It gradually increased to 5m deep and 7m wide, that's on top of the river which was about 6m deep and about 11m wide. We'd came out some mornings to see the whole thing 1m under water, including our flat land! We could tell the depth, because our highly flood resistant fence posts would be sticking out of the water by 1 or 2cm. That was a hell of a lot of water. The Maroondah Dam people were really great at keeping all the farmers informed. I always felt bad for the market gardeners down the road though.
Quote:
Heck it's a small world! I had no idea anyone would have a clue what Chum Creek meant! We live up the Chum Creek road , a little beyond the aqueduct crossings, up on a hillside from Lake Yumbunga - which is just a flood retarding basin really.
The Maroondah Dam people wanted us to keep our flat land as pseudo retarding basin, so they looked after us pretty well. Both our farms were the only ones I ever knew to have mains water in every paddock 8-D My dad was great negotiator, all our neighbours got together to get him to lobby the Shire Council, but we had to get our 1,500 bales of hay in. They traded, they reckoned it was greatly in their favour, dad and I reckoned the other way and tried to explain but they had none of it. So they brought in our hay, on 45°+ day and dad and I went to the Shire and convinced them that it would be in their best interests not to charge farmers suburban rates!!
Quote:
Know it well, on the way from Woori-Yallock to Cockatoo!
Absolutely, spot and well done. One of my uncles has a place at Cockatoo. If you keep going, it comes out at Pakenham, near Main Drain Rd, if I'm not mistaken 8-) Oh god, I'm a country boy!
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Outstanding!
That's what we thought too, because all we got when we sold all the cattle was a little over $15,000. That shocked me, because I realised that was the same as our yearly income :-(
Ah that takes me back, shoting, horse riding, trail bike riding (up near your place too), chooks, dogs, a bloody huge farm cat (1m from nose to rump, and he was the runt of the litter 8-) Up at 4:00AM, knee deep in mud and cow poop, horses that don't want work until it warms up, mending boundary fences in 45° + heat. I think I'm suburbanised now ;-)
How about 1993 Melways map ref's 270 D8 & D9, the other side of St. Leonards Rd, were so many of the young locals parked their cars after their usual drink & loose ;-)
Well, I didn't drink 'n drive 'cos I didn't have a car! This would be about 197X'ish. Anyhow's a prickling feeling up my spine provokes me to say that I may know of those you speak of... :-) While we don't have it in Australia, our American listeners may suggest that I 'take the Fifth' from this juncture. :-)
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They (their dad's) mended our extra high redgum posted boundary fence on the NE portion of the property on the other side of the river ;-). They were not happy with the price of those extra high redgum posts either – parents tend to confiscate Ute's for such travesties, mine did and I didn’t own a Ute 8-D
I'll get a hernia if I laugh any harder! That 90 degree left, short straight, then 90 degree right has always been a traditional challenge for young pups....
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Absolutely flood plain!!! We had a "gutter" running down the southwestern part of the flat land that started of at about 50cm wide and about 35cm deep. It gradually increased to 5m deep and 7m wide, that's on top of the river which was about 6m deep and about 11m wide. We'd came out some mornings to see the whole thing 1m under water, including our flat land! We could tell the depth, because our highly flood resistant fence posts would be sticking out of the water by 1 or 2cm. That was a hell of a lot of water. The Maroondah Dam people were really great at keeping all the farmers informed. I always felt bad for the market gardeners down the road though.
You're right that is now subdivided into 5'ish acre blocks which run from the back of the houses at St Leoanrd's Road towards the Watts. They've just put in a service road actually. I think they are permittted to build on the slightly higher land at the eastern ends of these blocks. Someone has recently put deer on one of them!
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The Maroondah Dam people wanted us to keep our flat land as pseudo retarding basin, so they looked after us pretty well. Both our farms were the only ones I ever knew to have mains water in every paddock 8-D My dad was great negotiator, all our neighbours got together to get him to lobby the Shire Council, but we had to get our 1,500 bales of hay in. They traded, they reckoned it was greatly in their favour, dad and I reckoned the other way and tried to explain but they had none of it. So they brought in our hay, on 45°+ day and dad and I went to the Shire and convinced them that it would be in their best interests not to charge farmers suburban rates!!
Sadly, my Dad used to be the Shire Engineer for about 18 months around 1975-6 or so. He couldn't stand it, so he left. Being the interface between the elected council on the one hand and the ratepayers on the other was like being a brake shoe on a sports car! More heat than light! I often have to mention this connection with trepidation as I'm not sure if people necessarily have fond memories of involvement with him. A perpetually thankless task alas..... :-(
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Absolutely, spot and well done. One of my uncles has a place at Cockatoo. If you keep going, it comes out at Pakenham, near Main Drain Rd, if I'm not mistaken 8-) Oh god, I'm a country boy!
This just keeps getting deeper, doesn't it? I was born in Pakenham! :-)
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That's what we thought too, because all we got when we sold all the cattle was a little over $15,000. That shocked me, because I realised that was the same as our yearly income :-( Ah that takes me back, shoting, horse riding, trail bike riding (up near your place too), chooks, dogs, a bloody huge farm cat (1m from nose to rump, and he was the runt of the litter 8-) Up at 4:00AM, knee deep in mud and cow poop, horses that don't want work until it warms up, mending boundary fences in 45° + heat. I think I'm suburbanised now ;-)
Rapidly moving to outer suburbia here now.....housing estates everywhere.... the mountains are still stunning though.... :-)
I hope the forum doesn't mind two ( old'ish ) farts reminiscing.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
Well, I didn't drink 'n drive 'cos I didn't have a car! This would be about 197X'ish. Anyhow's a prickling feeling up my spine provokes me to say that I may know of those you speak of... :-) While we don't have it in Australia, our American listeners may suggest that I 'take the Fifth' from this juncture. :-)
I don't recall drinking and driving, I needed my Vic Drivers Licence to keep my CAMS Rally licence BUT I do remember coming in the back way to Yellingbo, off the dirt and on to the "main drag" and thinking "Gee, I'm going a bit quick!" Looked at the speedo and I was doing 110K. I started to back off because it was Easter 8-). Then I remembered the two extra "city" cops in town only did the main highway through town, for tourists. My cousin (the sergeant ;-) would be the one out after locals. That's how I got my car confiscated the second time - he took me to dad :-(
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I'll get a hernia if I laugh any harder! That 90 degree left, short straight, then 90 degree right has always been a traditional challenge for young pups....
You have no idea how many times we'd find a car, a disgruntled young driver and a very angery dad on a tractor just about to haul it out. And, we knew them all by name! Most times we knew the car anyway ;-)
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You're right that is now subdivided into 5'ish acre blocks which run from the back of the houses at St Leoanrd's Road towards the Watts. They've just put in a service road actually. I think they are permittted to build on the slightly higher land at the eastern ends of these blocks. Someone has recently put deer on one of them!
Ouch! I remember when our agent had a Water Buffalo, female fortunately out there. 8-0 But deer, oh dear! Where would they put our two breading herds and our scrubber herd (Don't cheat the local butcher with scrubbers, if you ever send him a real one, you don't get the same one back - so we butchered our own after that little game. We stayed friend’s 8-).
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Sadly, my Dad used to be the Shire Engineer for about 18 months around 1975-6 or so. He couldn't stand it, so he left. Being the interface between the elected council on the one hand and the ratepayers on the other was like being a brake shoe on a sports car! More heat than light! I often have to mention this connection with trepidation as I'm not sure if people necessarily have fond memories of involvement with him. A perpetually thankless task alas..... :-(
Don't think we ever had a problem with the Engineer, just the Councillors. Heck, we had free rubbish collection at Healesville. They needed a place for the truck to turn around so they asked if they could use our private road and turntable in front of the yards in exchange for picking up our rubbish. All we had to do was put it in the middle of the turntable and we were allowed three rubbish bins - no farm refuse though.
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This just keeps getting deeper, doesn't it? I was born in Pakenham! :-)
When I was very young, we lived way out in the country, Tally Ho, now called Burwood East! I remember it as forest, farms, orchards and coolstores. I found out how much fun explosives could be there. Damn we did some stupid things, I would have been five or six but dad strictly controlled it. I could only blow it up if I made it! The explosives that is ;-)
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Rapidly moving to outer suburbia here now.....housing estates everywhere.... the mountains are still stunning though.... :-)
Yeah, that started before we left, the Greenies were all buying suburban blocks up above our place. Can you imagine the complaints when we used the tractor, the horses, the bikes, moved herds - it was just dust, hell they're living in the country, they should learn when to put the washing out! And god forbid you should prod a few cattle threw the race. They'd call the RSPCA, who wouldn't touch it and pass it on to Conservation. Who’d pretended they didn't know what it was and pass it to Lands. Who said this is animals and they’d give it to the Agricultural Department. Their staff wonder out, have chat then leave. It wasn't till we asked one why they were doing it, that it they explained it to us. But he knew the cattle could do way more to each other than we ever could, let alone the bull 8-0 The Greenies were a weird mob! Hey, do you still get snow on top of, what was it, Mount St. Leonards or Mt. Lofty? We used get four Dingo's wandering around our place and one of them was the last, of two, Alpine Dingo's. Looked pure too. The pack leader was a cross of course 8-(
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I hope the forum doesn't mind two ( old'ish ) farts reminiscing.
I hope not, I like the insite into diverse lives around the world, it's about time I contributed something back. Besides, I've enjoyed the reminiscing too much ;-)
Hey, it's my thread anyway, doesn't that give me some special rights? No? And we've had 474 views, so someone likes it ;-)
I needed my Vic Drivers Licence to keep my CAMS Rally licence
You'll be pleased to know that the Rally of Melbourne has been a huge success staging around Healesville in recent years. It runs simultaneously with the Victorian competition, who follow the main field and sometimes overtake! At the top of Mt. Toolebewong, up Don Rd., there is a terrific hairpin intersection to go down the Don Valley to Launching Place. Most sections are up in the Black Range behind Toolangi and across to Marysville, then down the Acheron Way. It winds up with a few poncy bits in the vineyards at Yarra Glen for the yuppies and TV. The cars are stunning, with top of the line gear, shame to get them dirty really.
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BUT I do remember coming in the back way to Yellingbo, off the dirt and on to the "main drag" and thinking "Gee, I'm going a bit quick!" Looked at the speedo and I was doing 110K. I started to back off because it was Easter 8-). Then I remembered the two extra "city" cops in town only did the main highway through town, for tourists. My cousin (the sergeant ;-)
After consultation with my wife, also locally grown, we would lays odds on this being either a MR. Jim Crowe, a MR. Neville Willmott, or a MR. Jo Kay?
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would be the one out after locals. That's how I got my car confiscated the second time - he took me to dad :-(
Pain!
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You have no idea how many times we'd find a car, a disgruntled young driver and a very angery dad on a tractor just about to haul it out. And, we knew them all by name! Most times we knew the car anyway ;-)
At least I don't recall any fatalities. It was a 'soft' lose, just brown trousers and the world facing the wrong way...
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Ouch! I remember when our agent had a Water Buffalo, female fortunately out there. 8-0 But deer, oh dear! Where would they put our two breading herds and our scrubber herd (Don't cheat the local butcher with scrubbers, if you ever send him a real one, you don't get the same one back - so we butchered our own after that little game. We stayed friend’s 8-).
Ha!
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Don't think we ever had a problem with the Engineer, just the Councillors. Heck, we had free rubbish collection at Healesville. They needed a place for the truck to turn around so they asked if they could use our private road and turntable in front of the yards in exchange for picking up our rubbish. All we had to do was put it in the middle of the turntable and we were allowed three rubbish bins - no farm refuse though.
Dad thought the job was to give technical advice of interest to the various parties. But all too often he was the messenger to be shot. Though I do recall him coming home one evening with several crates of vegetables! He'd nutted out some solution to a water supply problem. The details are arcane but related to the fact that pipe networks grow incrementally, and often well beyond the expectations of earlier designs. The upshot was that he'd dramatically increased water pressure to about a dozen homes, two of which were market gardeners'! Nothing like a strong hot shower after a hard day, when you'd had dribbles for years.....
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When I was very young, we lived way out in the country, Tally Ho, now called Burwood East! I remember it as forest, farms, orchards and coolstores. I found out how much fun explosives could be there. Damn we did some stupid things, I would have been five or six but dad strictly controlled it. I could only blow it up if I made it! The explosives that is ;-)
Cruel, but fair...
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Yeah, that started before we left, the Greenies were all buying suburban blocks up above our place. Can you imagine the complaints when we used the tractor, the horses, the bikes, moved herds - it was just dust, hell they're living in the country, they should learn when to put the washing out! And god forbid you should prod a few cattle threw the race. They'd call the RSPCA, who wouldn't touch it and pass it on to Conservation. Who’d pretended they didn't know what it was and pass it to Lands. Who said this is animals and they’d give it to the Agricultural Department. Their staff wonder out, have chat then leave. It wasn't till we asked one why they were doing it, that it they explained it to us. But he knew the cattle could do way more to each other than we ever could, let alone the bull 8-0 The Greenies were a weird mob!
Still are. Greenies are the strongest evidence to date against Intelligent Design. I'm surprised that some weren't exhibits in the recent US trials. Clueless NIMBY's that give the genuine environmentalists a bad name. Small Subaru station wagons are their current mounts. ( To save any offense to those of our international listener's who quite correctly have well felt concerns about our species rape of this planet, I point out that am referring to a peculiar subculture who have no idea about much of anything and who pay lip service to true environmental thinking because it's trendy. A single bumper sticker doesn't really change the world )
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Hey, do you still get snow on top of, what was it, Mount St. Leonards or Mt. Lofty?
Absolutely! Last winter had a great sprinkling down to about 1500m altitude across the whole lot.
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We used get four Dingo's wandering around our place and one of them was the last, of two, Alpine Dingo's. Looked pure too. The pack leader was a cross of course 8-(
Long time, no see alas. Wombats thriving, though over-represented in road kill. More Eastern Greys than flies sometimes.
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I hope not, I like the insite into diverse lives around the world, it's about time I contributed something back. Besides, I've enjoyed the reminiscing too much ;-) Hey, it's my thread anyway, doesn't that give me some special rights? No? And we've had 474 views, so someone likes it ;-)
Ahh, is that how it works....:-)
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
If the non-local semi-rural to rural and non-rural members of the board want Mike and I to keep bring you up to date on what has happend since the 1970's and '80's around the well watered and very fertile areas just south west of The Great Dividing Range (Them's the mountains with the snow;-), type now or forever hold your peace!
Because it just dawned on me, we could continue our reminiscing on the BOINC@Australia Discussion forum! 8-O Doh!
We're up to 530 views now, so someone still likes it 8-)
RE: I'm in man! Just
)
Good lord! I saw you whistle past me at warp 10 in EAH! The top is an impressive place to start ;-)
Well done Mike, Mike 8-)
Oh, by the way. I used to live on a farm (you guessed it 8-) at the intersection on Chum Creek and the Watts River, in Healesville. We had the south side of the valley (it's a small valley) but it's all been subdivided now. I must go back and see how they did it. The shire wouldn't let us do it. We could have got $650K plus instead of the $310K we did. Oh well, that's farming.
The we moved to Yellingbo (aka where's that?). We subdivided that one in to five blocks 8-D. Sold that house paddock (No. 5) for what we paid for the whole lot. Council were not ammused. But what can you do, when your property is chris crossed by government easments 8-D
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RE: Good lord! I saw you
)
Yooo! Ah, near the chicane on the 'other' road to Toolangi, near the intersection with Donnelly's Weir road. You would have had Valley Farm Road as one of the boundaries, and you may have been on the original Valley Farm land of course. That's a flood plain man. :-) Also known as 'wombat alley' by some unlucky drivers! :-) Many years ago near there, I had cause to vomit on someone's front fence late one night, I do hope it wasn't yours! :-(
( I apologise to the forum in advance for such excruciating detail, but it may clear up any lingering mystery...... )
Heck it's a small world! I had no idea anyone would have a clue what Chum Creek meant! We live up the Chum Creek road , a little beyond the aqueduct crossings, up on a hillside from Lake Yumbunga - which is just a flood retarding basin really.
Know it well, on the way from Woori-Yallock to Cockatoo!
Outstanding!
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
RE: Yooo! Ah, near the
)
How about 1993 Melways map ref's 270 D8 & D9, the other side of St. Leonards Rd, were so many of the young locals parked their cars after their usual drink & loose ;-) They (their dad's) mended our extra high redgum posted boundary fence on the NE portion of the property on the other side of the river ;-). They were not happy with the price of those extra high redgum posts either – parents tend to confiscate Ute's for such travesties, mine did and I didn’t own a Ute 8-D
Absolutely flood plain!!! We had a "gutter" running down the southwestern part of the flat land that started of at about 50cm wide and about 35cm deep. It gradually increased to 5m deep and 7m wide, that's on top of the river which was about 6m deep and about 11m wide. We'd came out some mornings to see the whole thing 1m under water, including our flat land! We could tell the depth, because our highly flood resistant fence posts would be sticking out of the water by 1 or 2cm. That was a hell of a lot of water. The Maroondah Dam people were really great at keeping all the farmers informed. I always felt bad for the market gardeners down the road though.
The Maroondah Dam people wanted us to keep our flat land as pseudo retarding basin, so they looked after us pretty well. Both our farms were the only ones I ever knew to have mains water in every paddock 8-D My dad was great negotiator, all our neighbours got together to get him to lobby the Shire Council, but we had to get our 1,500 bales of hay in. They traded, they reckoned it was greatly in their favour, dad and I reckoned the other way and tried to explain but they had none of it. So they brought in our hay, on 45°+ day and dad and I went to the Shire and convinced them that it would be in their best interests not to charge farmers suburban rates!!
Join the #1 Aussie Alliance on Einstein
RE: Yooo! Ah, near the
)
How about 1993 Melways map ref's 270 D8 & D9, the other side of St. Leonards Rd, were so many of the young locals parked their cars after their usual drink & loose ;-) They (their dad's) mended our extra high redgum posted boundary fence on the NE portion of the property on the other side of the river ;-). They were not happy with the price of those extra high redgum posts either – parents tend to confiscate Ute's for such travesties, mine did and I didn’t own a Ute 8-D
Absolutely flood plain!!! We had a "gutter" running down the southwestern part of the flat land that started of at about 50cm wide and about 35cm deep. It gradually increased to 5m deep and 7m wide, that's on top of the river which was about 6m deep and about 11m wide. We'd came out some mornings to see the whole thing 1m under water, including our flat land! We could tell the depth, because our highly flood resistant fence posts would be sticking out of the water by 1 or 2cm. That was a hell of a lot of water. The Maroondah Dam people were really great at keeping all the farmers informed. I always felt bad for the market gardeners down the road though.
The Maroondah Dam people wanted us to keep our flat land as pseudo retarding basin, so they looked after us pretty well. Both our farms were the only ones I ever knew to have mains water in every paddock 8-D My dad was great negotiator, all our neighbours got together to get him to lobby the Shire Council, but we had to get our 1,500 bales of hay in. They traded, they reckoned it was greatly in their favour, dad and I reckoned the other way and tried to explain but they had none of it. So they brought in our hay, on 45°+ day and dad and I went to the Shire and convinced them that it would be in their best interests not to charge farmers suburban rates!!
Absolutely, spot and well done. One of my uncles has a place at Cockatoo. If you keep going, it comes out at Pakenham, near Main Drain Rd, if I'm not mistaken 8-) Oh god, I'm a country boy!
That's what we thought too, because all we got when we sold all the cattle was a little over $15,000. That shocked me, because I realised that was the same as our yearly income :-(
Ah that takes me back, shoting, horse riding, trail bike riding (up near your place too), chooks, dogs, a bloody huge farm cat (1m from nose to rump, and he was the runt of the litter 8-) Up at 4:00AM, knee deep in mud and cow poop, horses that don't want work until it warms up, mending boundary fences in 45° + heat. I think I'm suburbanised now ;-)
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RE: How about 1993 Melways
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Well, I didn't drink 'n drive 'cos I didn't have a car! This would be about 197X'ish. Anyhow's a prickling feeling up my spine provokes me to say that I may know of those you speak of... :-) While we don't have it in Australia, our American listeners may suggest that I 'take the Fifth' from this juncture. :-)
I'll get a hernia if I laugh any harder! That 90 degree left, short straight, then 90 degree right has always been a traditional challenge for young pups....
You're right that is now subdivided into 5'ish acre blocks which run from the back of the houses at St Leoanrd's Road towards the Watts. They've just put in a service road actually. I think they are permittted to build on the slightly higher land at the eastern ends of these blocks. Someone has recently put deer on one of them!
Sadly, my Dad used to be the Shire Engineer for about 18 months around 1975-6 or so. He couldn't stand it, so he left. Being the interface between the elected council on the one hand and the ratepayers on the other was like being a brake shoe on a sports car! More heat than light! I often have to mention this connection with trepidation as I'm not sure if people necessarily have fond memories of involvement with him. A perpetually thankless task alas..... :-(
This just keeps getting deeper, doesn't it? I was born in Pakenham! :-)
Rapidly moving to outer suburbia here now.....housing estates everywhere.... the mountains are still stunning though.... :-)
I hope the forum doesn't mind two ( old'ish ) farts reminiscing.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
RE: Well, I didn't drink
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I don't recall drinking and driving, I needed my Vic Drivers Licence to keep my CAMS Rally licence BUT I do remember coming in the back way to Yellingbo, off the dirt and on to the "main drag" and thinking "Gee, I'm going a bit quick!" Looked at the speedo and I was doing 110K. I started to back off because it was Easter 8-). Then I remembered the two extra "city" cops in town only did the main highway through town, for tourists. My cousin (the sergeant ;-) would be the one out after locals. That's how I got my car confiscated the second time - he took me to dad :-(
You have no idea how many times we'd find a car, a disgruntled young driver and a very angery dad on a tractor just about to haul it out. And, we knew them all by name! Most times we knew the car anyway ;-)
Ouch! I remember when our agent had a Water Buffalo, female fortunately out there. 8-0 But deer, oh dear! Where would they put our two breading herds and our scrubber herd (Don't cheat the local butcher with scrubbers, if you ever send him a real one, you don't get the same one back - so we butchered our own after that little game. We stayed friend’s 8-).
Don't think we ever had a problem with the Engineer, just the Councillors. Heck, we had free rubbish collection at Healesville. They needed a place for the truck to turn around so they asked if they could use our private road and turntable in front of the yards in exchange for picking up our rubbish. All we had to do was put it in the middle of the turntable and we were allowed three rubbish bins - no farm refuse though.
When I was very young, we lived way out in the country, Tally Ho, now called Burwood East! I remember it as forest, farms, orchards and coolstores. I found out how much fun explosives could be there. Damn we did some stupid things, I would have been five or six but dad strictly controlled it. I could only blow it up if I made it! The explosives that is ;-)
Yeah, that started before we left, the Greenies were all buying suburban blocks up above our place. Can you imagine the complaints when we used the tractor, the horses, the bikes, moved herds - it was just dust, hell they're living in the country, they should learn when to put the washing out! And god forbid you should prod a few cattle threw the race. They'd call the RSPCA, who wouldn't touch it and pass it on to Conservation. Who’d pretended they didn't know what it was and pass it to Lands. Who said this is animals and they’d give it to the Agricultural Department. Their staff wonder out, have chat then leave. It wasn't till we asked one why they were doing it, that it they explained it to us. But he knew the cattle could do way more to each other than we ever could, let alone the bull 8-0 The Greenies were a weird mob! Hey, do you still get snow on top of, what was it, Mount St. Leonards or Mt. Lofty? We used get four Dingo's wandering around our place and one of them was the last, of two, Alpine Dingo's. Looked pure too. The pack leader was a cross of course 8-(
I hope not, I like the insite into diverse lives around the world, it's about time I contributed something back. Besides, I've enjoyed the reminiscing too much ;-)
Hey, it's my thread anyway, doesn't that give me some special rights? No? And we've had 474 views, so someone likes it ;-)
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RE: I don't recall drinking
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Well put! :-)
You'll be pleased to know that the Rally of Melbourne has been a huge success staging around Healesville in recent years. It runs simultaneously with the Victorian competition, who follow the main field and sometimes overtake! At the top of Mt. Toolebewong, up Don Rd., there is a terrific hairpin intersection to go down the Don Valley to Launching Place. Most sections are up in the Black Range behind Toolangi and across to Marysville, then down the Acheron Way. It winds up with a few poncy bits in the vineyards at Yarra Glen for the yuppies and TV. The cars are stunning, with top of the line gear, shame to get them dirty really.
After consultation with my wife, also locally grown, we would lays odds on this being either a MR. Jim Crowe, a MR. Neville Willmott, or a MR. Jo Kay?
Pain!
At least I don't recall any fatalities. It was a 'soft' lose, just brown trousers and the world facing the wrong way...
Ha!
Dad thought the job was to give technical advice of interest to the various parties. But all too often he was the messenger to be shot. Though I do recall him coming home one evening with several crates of vegetables! He'd nutted out some solution to a water supply problem. The details are arcane but related to the fact that pipe networks grow incrementally, and often well beyond the expectations of earlier designs. The upshot was that he'd dramatically increased water pressure to about a dozen homes, two of which were market gardeners'! Nothing like a strong hot shower after a hard day, when you'd had dribbles for years.....
Cruel, but fair...
Still are. Greenies are the strongest evidence to date against Intelligent Design. I'm surprised that some weren't exhibits in the recent US trials. Clueless NIMBY's that give the genuine environmentalists a bad name. Small Subaru station wagons are their current mounts. ( To save any offense to those of our international listener's who quite correctly have well felt concerns about our species rape of this planet, I point out that am referring to a peculiar subculture who have no idea about much of anything and who pay lip service to true environmental thinking because it's trendy. A single bumper sticker doesn't really change the world )
Absolutely! Last winter had a great sprinkling down to about 1500m altitude across the whole lot.
Long time, no see alas. Wombats thriving, though over-represented in road kill. More Eastern Greys than flies sometimes.
Ahh, is that how it works....:-)
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
OK I have had an idea! Why
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OK I have had an idea!
Why is everybody laughing? I have ideas, really!
If the non-local semi-rural to rural and non-rural members of the board want Mike and I to keep bring you up to date on what has happend since the 1970's and '80's around the well watered and very fertile areas just south west of The Great Dividing Range (Them's the mountains with the snow;-), type now or forever hold your peace!
Because it just dawned on me, we could continue our reminiscing on the BOINC@Australia Discussion forum! 8-O Doh!
We're up to 530 views now, so someone still likes it 8-)
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