Birds of the Ballarat Region: A handbook by Roger Thomas and Jack Wheeler.

Birds of the Ballarat Region: A handbook by Roger Thomas and Jack Wheeler. Paperback book published by Roger Thomas 1983, 112 pages with a few colour photographs and one black and white map.

“The first readily-available bird guide of the Ballarat area, written by its most experienced bird observers. Useful for anywhere in south-eastern Australia, this guide to the birds of the Ballarat region gives details of distribution, habitat, status, numbers, arrival and departure dates of migrants, and the places to find the birds. The text is arranged in three parts, according to habitat—a change from the usual taxonomic groupings. A useful innovation is the inclusion of brief but concise identification keys, enabling all birds to be readily identified. All keys are cross-referenced to the text. lndispensible for all birdwatchers, bush-walkers and casual observers.”

Huc & Gabet headquarters are within the Ballarat Region and yes, there is a noticeable amount of bird life around here. Probably one of the most prolific and therefore noticeable birds in the area, is the Cockatoo, of which when I say there can be thousands circling the town, I really do mean thousands. Generally you become aware of them as the noise is fairly intrusive and it's as obvious as a good book is amidst a shelf full of rubbish, that something is going on. When I hear the Cockies circling overhead, I don't need to reach for a book in the hope of identifying what the noise is, I reach for earplugs*.

Probably my favourite local bird (yes, I have a favourite bird) is the Wedge-tailed Eagle, which is one of our local feathered friends that you don't see here in downtown Clunes, but do see in the surrounding country side. A few weeks back I was at an Australia Day barbecue at a farm just out of town... and yes, it was a very Aussie celebration. It was my first visit to this farm and I was quite awed by it and it's impressive vista. It was mid afternoon and after mentioning my vista awe to some of the other guests, I was informed re the Eagle display that usually took place around dusk. I'm fairly sceptical about this sort of thing... you know, the whole nature will perform for us at this and this time... but I kept an open mind and wouldn't you know it, the Eagles delivered. It was an outstanding display of hovering and near stationary Eagles (there was more than one) in the wild, in full hunting mode. It was so great, that here I am a month and a bit later writing about it in this blog.

Both of the birds I have mentioned above don't really need looking up in “Birds of the Ballarat Region”. I can identify a Cockatoo and an Eagle with some confidence. There are plenty of other birds around here that i'm not so familiar with and a book such as this could be quite useful. I have one slight criticism of it and that is a lack of photographs or illustrations of the majority of the birds listed. There are a few photos, but a complete novice like myself would love some more pictures. Still, it's nice that there is a book like this with a local flavour.

* I don't actually own any earplugs... 

Oh My Goddess! by Kosuke Fujishima.

Oh My Goddess! by Kosuke Fujishima.  20 Paperback books published by Dark Horse Manga, unpaginated with black and white illustrations throughout (Manga).

“Oh My Goddess! (Japanese: ああっ女神さまっ Hepburn: Aa! Megami-sama?), or Ah! My Goddess! in some releases, is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima.”

Sometimes you gotta jump in the deep end... or at least paddle a little bit in the shallow end. Manga is not an area that I am particularly knowledgeable about but is something that I am well aware of as being a part of current popular culture. It may have originated in Japan but it is now a global phenomenon. I am also aware that Manga is a single word covering a very broad range of titles which all have their own audiences. Some of these are very popular here in Australia... don't ask me which ones, as I have absolutely no idea... which is what my paddling about in the shallow end is all about.

If you flick through Manga you get a very disjointed impression of cartoon characters, usually younger people (...yes I am old...) doing stuff that sort of seems a bit unusual, sometimes violent and sometimes sexual... and sometimes unusual, violent and sexual. Oh My Goddess! is described by the publisher as “a priceless shipment of action, romance, and comedy!” and from what I can gather it has less of the violence and sex that many other Manga books seem to have. I get the impression that Oh My Goddess! is written for younger teen girls, but I could be way off the mark on this...

Occasionally I get asked for Manga which is probably the main reason I was tempted into purchasing this rather daunting large set of books. 20 volumes of something i'm not really that familiar with is a bit of a risk, but something I figure is worth a try.

The Unique, Endemic and Rare Flora of Sulawesi

The Unique, Endemic and Rare Flora of Sulawesi, edited by Yuzammi and Syamsul Hidayat. Hardcover book with pictorial boards (no dust jacket) published by Center for Plant Conservation, Bogor Botanic Gardens, Institute of Indonesian Sciences in collaboration with Yayasan Sosial Chevron dan Texaco Indonesia 2002, 220 pages with colour photographs and maps as well as black and white maps (some with red dots on them).

“The richness of Indonesian biodiversity has been of great interest for a long time. In Indonesian it is commonly known as ‘zamrut khatulistiwa’ (the scattered emeralds along the equatic belt) ranging from Sabang (small island in north Aceh) to Merauke (Papua). In addition, Indonesia is also rich in oceanic flora and fauna. Therefore, it is referred to a Megadiversity Country. Unfortunately, it is changing from a Megadiversity Country to a Hotspot Country. The pride of being a country of the rich of biodiversity has tended to encourage the exploitation and neglect with little to unsustainable use of natural resources. As a result many plants and animals are now endangered in the wild while their value or potential are still unknown. Inventories of Indonesian flora have been conducted sporadically. Nevertheless, these do not equal with the richness of Indonesian Biodiversity nor the rate at with it is decreasing. Etc”

Yep, it is decreasing... not that i'm an expert on the matter, but I do read a bit and that's what i've read... and the telly says so as well... as does the internet... so it must be true. I find the exploitation and neglect that is rampant in this world (all of it, not just Indonesia) more than a little depressing. Big foreign multinational companies are often to blame... you know the ones... the big ones... like oil companies etc. The sort of company where the bottom $ is all that matters and a few plants blocking progress is really of little concern when profits are to be made.

This book has incredibly lush photography of some truly beautiful and amazing plants. Not all of them are threatened, which is a good thing, but there are enough plants here that are marked “Vulnerable”, “Data deficient” and “Near threatened” to cause some concern. I should point out that this book is not really coming from a hard line environmental doomsday scenario. It is more of a guide and appreciation of what Sulawesi has to offer in the Flora department.

I've never been to Sulawesi. But I would love to visit this part of the world for many reasons including the flora and fauna and a book like this makes me realise that the later I leave it the less I will probably see.

Finally, I think it's great that the publishers have included a purpose printed bookmark. It shows an attention to detail... or it could be a blatant form of advertising, just in case you hadn't realised who the warm and fuzzy companies were that had bankrolled the whole thing.

The Melbourne Cable Trams 1885 – 1940 by Jack Cranston.

The Melbourne Cable Trams 1885 – 1940 by Jack Cranston. Hardcover book published by Craftsman Publishing 1988, 132 pages with black and white photographs and illustrations as well as a few coloured photographs.

It's hard to imagine a public transport world without Trams. Unlike a lot of other cities here in Australia, and around the world, Melbourne was one of those places where Trams were hung on to as a viable means of shifting people around. For as long as I can remember Trams were usually the best way of getting from A to B, particularly the closer you got to the city centre. Sure, trains were and are often quicker, but there is the whole waiting time aspect... that is unless you live in a marginal electorate and have trains every 9 minutes!!!

Here in Clunes we have a train...that is, one train a day. There are a few buses that arrive and depart sporadically enough for me not to get my head around their timetables and of course there is the phone a neighbor scenario, which involves calling a neighbour/friend and asking kindly if they could pick you up from the nearest metropolis (Ballarat). There are no trams here in Clunes.

The first time I encountered a cable tram was in a museum. Yes, the Melbourne Museum (… it's in Melbourne...) has a cable tram in it's collection. On first view it seemed to me to be an olde worlde tram of a vintage design which is not that unusual a thing to find in a museum. Reading the word 'cable' I didn't at first get the gist of what 'cable' meant. Trams have cables, I knew that. It was only on reading the display a little more closely that I realised the cables weren't cables as I know them (aerial power cables) but rather mechanical cables under the road. Yep, these cables moved large and long distances with the trams grabbing the cables when they wanted to go forth. I found this to be quite shocking and for some reason, very Fred Flintstone. I guess this is why the tram was in the museum as it is something that was once the norm but is now a little unusual.

Since finding out about this method of tram propulsion, I have started to notice vintage ex tramways buildings at various locations around Melbourne which were obviously where they had the machinery pulling the cables. It's an interesting part of the history of transport here in Australia and one that could easily be forgotten... which is why this is such a great book.

Turf and Heath: Australian racing reminiscences by Samuel Griffiths.

Turf and Heath: Australian racing reminiscences by Samuel Griffiths. Hardcover book (no dust jacket) published by A.H. Massina & Co. 1906, 262 pages with some black and white photographs and illustrations.

A few years ago I was in the midst of negotiating the purchase of a large collection of mainly railway magazines from a rural historical society (… it's a long story) when for some long forgotten reason one of the historical society members recounted a rather interesting anecdote regarding the original local horse racing track ledger (1880s?) which was in the historical society's possession. It was an item that they were reluctant to part with, but one which they believed would be of minimal use to their mostly genealogical research. That is until one of the local horse racing aficionados discovered that the ledger existed. The historical society has a library which as you can imagine is full of irreplaceable items of all sorts... including the racing ledger... and is therefore not a lending library. I can't remember exactly why, but it was decided that just this once they would let the book out of their collection and into public hands for a short period only. The book was returned intact a few days later by the very appreciative borrower.

In itself this is not that exciting a story, but it is a story that left an impression on me. The ledger was something that most people would find incredibly boring... myself included. It's a list of names of long forgotten horses racing on a country race track in the middle of what would then have been nowhere. The historical society couldn't really see how it would be of interest, but due to it's historical nature had decided to preserve it. It was only when it was discovered by that one very interested local person, that they realised the historical value of what they had.

It was with this anecdote in mind that lead me to not hesitate in picking up this history/reminiscence of the early days of Australian horse racing. Sure many horse racing fans would find more use in a more recent form guide, but there are those who are interested in a more in depth history of what is a rich tradition here in Australia. Maybe it is just the one guy, but somehow I think there may be more around.

A History of Bunyips: Australia's Great Mystery Water Beasts by Josie Flett.

A History of Bunyips: Australia's Great Mystery Water Beasts by Josie Flett. Paperback book published by Free Spirit Press 1999, 84 pages with black and white photographs and a few black and white maps.

“An authentic history of the terrifying and mysterious creature which once haunted the creeks and billabongs of Australia. Accounted for in Aboriginal legend, described by the early settlers and then dismissed by scientists unable to ascribe a suitable theory, the Bunyip remains today as a colourful and intriguing character out of Australia’s past.”

In the not so distant past (2 days ago) at around dusk one evening, I was adventuring in a remote area of Victoria's central goldfields (100 metres from where I now sit) when I stumbled across an isolated body of water (… actually the creek that runs through the middle of town). Not really a large lake, but more like a big damn and sort of big enough for a small row boat... but too small for a small sailing boat... you can't water ski on it. So there I was when out of the water jumped a massive beast that for want of a better term I would describe as being a Bunyip... or maybe it was a big dog having a swim... Now that I think about it, it did look more like a Wallaby... and it wasn't in the water... but at the time and in the half light it was Bunyip like... even though I have no idea what a Bunyip should look like... it was next to the water which is where Bunyips are supposed to live.

So what is a Bunyip?

The bunyip, or kianpraty, is a large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks,riverbeds, and waterholes. The origin of the word bunyip has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia language of Aboriginal people of South-Eastern Australia. However, the bunyip appears to have formed part of traditional Aboriginal beliefs and stories throughout Australia, although its name varied according to tribal nomenclature. Wikipedia

Yes it is difficult to see a myth and I guess that is why I personally haven't seen a Bunyip or any another mythical beasts and also why the Wallaby that I saw was actually a wallaby and not a Bunyip. I do like the idea that there are those who can comfortably assert that they have seen myths. It's a brave path to travel and this book is a collection of those paths regarding the elusive* Australian Bunyip. The information is mainly historical and I think that what brought this book to my attention is that it is not that often that I find stand alone books about Australian Great Mystery Water Beasts / Myths.

… and you never know, maybe I'm wrong about that Wallaby. Children beware.

*Mythical

Stockhausen: Life and Work by Karl H. Worner

Stockhausen: Life and Work by Karl H. Worner. Paperback book published by Faber & Faber 1973, 270 pages with some black and white photographs.

“The aim of this book is to present the non-technical ‘background’ to Stockhausen. Background it must remain, for there can be no foreground but the music—a music whose understanding and enjoyment presupposes nothing that can be learnt through words. Yet this is by no means a monochrome or indistinct background. For one thing, the characteristic ideas expressed by the composer encompass many areas of thought, both concrete and abstract. For another thing, Stockhausen never for long remains unconscious of the need to find outlets for his creative will, and it is with such a will that he wields his words; rarely content merely to describe or merely to argue, his verbal style becomes a direct form of expression, often seeking out and exploring regions quite its own. And finally, there emerges from this ‘background’ a kind of spiritual biography, revealing the most striking contours in the mentality of an artist whose energetic pioneering has never blighted his musical sensitivity.” From the introduction.

Yep, Stockhausen was a real barrel of laughs. ...but then again, I don't think that he ever passed himself off as a being a funny sort of guy and if you've ever listened to any of his work I think most of you will agree that it is fairly intense stuff and not really a barrel of laughs... The introduction above comments that Stockhausens music is “a music whose understanding and enjoyment presupposes nothing that can be learnt through words”. I think this means that if you read this book you will learn nothing and that only a listen will give you an idea of what this bloke was all about. So have a listen...

I've listened and enjoyed Karlheinz's work for many years now and I've even attended a live performance of his tape music* here in Australia. I guess you could say that I have an appreciation of his work, or at least some of his work. A friend passed on a CD of his Helicopter String Quartet a number of years ago and I can honestly say I have only ever listened to it the once. I found the concept whilst intriguing just that little bit too absurd for my appreciation... and I didn't think it sounded that great either.

So when I found a book about “one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries”, I couldn't resist picking it up. Not that I thought it would initiate a buying frenzy amongst my customers, particularly considering the large rips to the front cover which look like someone has removed a large price sticker or some such adhesive. No, this was more of a cultural purchase. Often I buy this sort of stuff on a misguided hunch that there is some interest, somewhere. The truth is I have no idea if a slightly dated and worn book about Mr Stockhausen is of interest to the wider book buyer public... but it should be.

* A live concert mix of multichannel sounds, originally recorded by the man himself