David Coombe

Canberran. Partner. Father. Retired systems analyst, designer & developer.
Original research on colonial artist S.T. Gill 1840-1853.
Gardens : vegetable, native.
Following more hashtags than accounts.
Portrait (detail) : by Phillip England (TasmanianTintype), gift of my daughter.

Web: https://coombe.id.au
Location: Canberra, AU
Some local tags: [#Canberra](https://aus.social/tags/Canberra ), [#Belconnen](https://aus.social/tags/Belconnen ), [#LibrariesACT](https://aus.social/tags/LibrariesACT )
More tags: [#S_T_Gill](https://aus.social/tags/S_T_Gill ), [#colonialArtAU](https://aus.social/tags/colonialArtAU ), [#historyAU](https://aus.social/tags/historyAU ), [#TroveAU](https://aus.social/tags/TroveAU )

Public Key

npub1nzxg45dlvumwe320xwzkm8mklxa8690j9cs88auetdqztf3x2khq96t6u4

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsf3ry26xlkwdhvc48n8ptdnam0nwnazhezugrn77v4ksp95cn9ttspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds3zjuna

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1nzxg45dlvumwe320xwzkm8mklxa8690j9cs88auetdqztf3x2khq96t6u4

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-07-27 02:52:11 CEST

"A Motor Freak and its Disatrous End" - A random #TroveAU find. This article did the rounds of Australian colonial newspapers from 1902 to 1920, always beginning with "a few weeks ago"! Newspapers ran it just once, except for the Ballan Times (Victoria) which ran the story 23 times from 1903 to 1920!

2026-07-23 02:53:42 CEST

- reply

Questions to keep asking are:
When you say “data centre”, what data will it be storing?
When you say “AI” what do you mean?
When you say “factory” what is it you’ll be making?
#dataCentres

2026-07-22 00:17:08 CEST

The industry wants them to be called #dataCentres. “Data centre” sounds so benign.
Q: When is a data centre not a data centre?
A: When it is a processing centre.
Ask what’s inside. Are they computer chips or storage drives? Does it store your photos, does it mine cryptocurrency, or does it generate AI tokens?
(Today’s news even adds the term “data factory” to the mix.)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-22/tasmania-firmus-ai-data-centre-plan-to-use-irrigation-water/106935718

2026-04-18 07:02:56 CEST

#Canberra has a new "waste less" thingy - a Reusables Library - thanks to community group SeeChange. Borrow crockery, cutlery, etc, for events such as meetings, seminars, school fetes – anywhere there are a group of people and food and/or drink is provided.
https://www.seechange.org.au/reusables-library

2026-02-25 20:30:17 CET

#Tasmania Hidden Treasures Walk to the West #colonialArtAU exhibition in Queenstown 6 March – 10 April. #artAU
https://rst.org.au/search-for-the-lost-piguenits-a-valuable-artwork-could-be-hanging-on-your-wall/

2026-02-21 06:20:22 CET

- reply

I totally respect their wish to curate their own Mastodon experience.

2026-02-01 21:38:37 CET

- reply

Yuma. Give him a break. I thought he did very well last night. He was energised and came across as confident, which is what’s needed. (And the thermometer graphic was fixed.)

2026-01-27 09:27:40 CET

Absolutely bizarre thermometer graphic used on #ABCTV news tonight. Check the number scales both left (C) and right (F) in the #Canberra edition. No AI please! #ABCNewsAU
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/966/094/855/948/760/original/9fd674dc1192ac8c.jpeg

2025-12-18 08:17:26 CET

My oregano got nicked. I had a whole oven tray of 3 day sundried oregano ready to be brought in today. But this afternoon there was only one stem left. Not blown away. No person took it. I imagine some bird now has a new aromatic nest. Take 2! #gardening #birds
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/739/310/393/950/371/original/f5702b47729ab889.jpeg

2025-08-13 07:23:09 CEST

#S_T_Gill only occasionally portrayed drunks, and this may be the earliest extant such picture: the Annual Agricultural Show in 1846. Five hotel booth signs are in the scene including the Wheatsheaf #Adelaide!
#AGSAAdelaide recently made their digitised image available in the public catalogue, so now I also can display it. #artHistoryAU @npub157y…uhd8
View: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_1845_1846.htm#243

2025-08-08 01:56:48 CEST

Mum said she thought Dad might have a new girlfriend. He hadn't visited her in "hospital".
Mum has #dementia. Dad died 25 years ago. They were happily married for 45 years. (This challenging conversation had a very positive outcome.)
Mum repeated this girlfriend thing a few times and I resisted the obvious head-on factual approach and was replying "Dad wouldn't do that Mum".
Mum wasn't retrieving #memory from the "right" time. I wondered if a different hook might help.
I asked Mum, Do you remember when you last saw Dad? No. Do you remember Dad at home in W---? Yes! Do you remember Dad getting sick, having treatment and you working hard looking after him? Yes! And then he went to ---- Hospital? Yes! (Mum and I came up with the hospital name simultaneously.) And Dad died? Yes.
I saw the realisation on Mum's face. She wasn't distressed; she looked reassured. At this stage Mum had accessed a memory by coming from a different angle.
We talked about Dad a bit more. Mum even revealed she'd sneakily scattered some of Dad's ashes at our T--- family home. I don't recall that story myself!
Mum thanked me for reminiscing and helping her remember. It was a gentle joyful moment.
(This week, together with my son, I visited Mum for a few days. Mum is in an aged facility, 1200km away from me and even further from him.)

2025-07-31 11:48:07 CEST

#ABC730 Why does our Prime Minister (head of government) talk with the President (head of state) and not the Prime Minister (head of government) of Israel? Have I got this diplomacy awry?

2025-07-30 04:45:16 CEST

- reply

will they gift him a tie? am watching him with interest.

2025-07-26 08:52:23 CEST

Have they played “Up There Cazaley” yet? #Hottest100ofAustralia

2025-07-26 04:10:15 CEST

- reply

My old 1970 Australian assembled #MGB. Cream leather inserts weren’t standard but I liked them.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/917/087/165/774/722/original/9842ae570d0af60a.jpeg

2025-07-26 04:02:00 CEST

The #ABCNewsAU article on cars made/assembled in Australia omits to mention #MGB. My B I had for 12 years was put together in 1970. There is a project covering these cars (including my old one): https://mgbsmadeinaustralia.org

2025-07-24 08:17:28 CEST

This reminds me of the famed Emperor Nasi Goreng who made his own attempt at keeping rabbits out.
https://youtu.be/2yckqyg75oE?si=zYUIZQ2_RzXn2Rsk
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/906/745/394/860/482/original/ee976d2ff91a064f.jpg

2025-07-15 11:19:52 CEST

- reply

Aldi … good different

2025-07-11 01:24:57 CEST

- reply

my brain gets startled every time it has to think that Paradise is a suburb of Adelaide

2025-07-08 00:44:47 CEST

I found #ABCTVAU’s Australian Story about the Franklin River rafting rescue heart warming EXCEPT where the blokes say they want to do it again in 2026. That struck me as “directionally motivated reasoning” - perhaps motivated more by sense of self. I wouldn’t think more highly of them if they repeated the trip. In fact I’d think more highly of them if they changed their minds. (1/2)

2025-07-02 05:46:45 CEST

- reply

The Gill I brought back from Melbourne is now hanging at home. Soon after that I obtained a directly relevant primary historical source. I'm very pleased with what it revealed. But the rest must wait I think until I finish the #S_T_Gill project scope. (It's not in scope.) Some things just have to sit on my backburner (even things "in scope") for years while I progress methodically.

2025-07-02 03:11:24 CEST

In the 1980s Ralph Grandison was mapping #S_T_Gill's artworks in #SouthAustralia. I recently viewed in the State Library his 1991 paper on Gill's 1844 #Barossa works. Interestingly he's included many of "The Seasons and The Months" - see image snippet. Clearly he didn't accept Appleyard & Radford's 1986 redating of these from 1847 to 1840-42. #artHistoryAU #colonialArtAU #historicalMapping
Over the next few months, I'll need to supplement my earlier work with Grandison's insights at: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill's_The_Seasons_and_The_Months.htm
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/780/958/871/044/335/original/9065a945343c3627.jpg

2025-06-29 10:22:01 CEST

- reply

he was worried about your “special” mushrooms

2025-06-26 12:01:57 CEST

- reply

bit of a road trip - a mix of research work, opportunistic location visits and last but not least, unrelated leisure.

2025-06-26 10:18:47 CEST

Saturday. It’s now a golf course but J A Horrocks and #S_T_Gill passed this way in 1846 seeking out a view from the hill known as Mount Maria at Wilmington, #SouthAustralia.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/748/653/485/039/606/original/967d046e59c48cfb.jpeg

2025-06-24 11:20:49 CEST

- reply

i was there today. didn’t see the homestead. saw a lot of water infrastructure. was told about the big 2022 flood.

2025-06-24 09:00:38 CEST

Today. Kinchega Woolshed 1875 - 1970, Kinchega National Park, on the #DarlingRiver #outbackNSW. Built from river red gum and corrugated iron. Tree trunk posts in photo. #NSWParks
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/737/039/723/332/307/original/0af9a0d2a2126b97.jpeg

2025-06-11 00:17:42 CEST

- reply

The Nats won’t ever define the scope of the question of course because it’s not a genuine question. They show no desire to engage. It’s a disingenuous rhetorical device. #auspol

2025-06-11 00:01:40 CEST

#auspol Listening again to National Party (Dan Tehan) asking interviewer what’s the cost of climate action. This seems to be their new standard tactic (as also used by Joyce). Don’t ask us mate! You’re in parliament. You have 3 years to work it out and then tell us.

2025-06-07 04:52:35 CEST

- reply

to be fair she hadn’t heard of him when she was younger. but i’m not posting about politics, just the comma.

2025-06-07 04:12:12 CEST

- reply

I suppose at some stage none of us had heard of Antony Green except his parents :-)

2025-06-07 04:00:08 CEST

- reply

aye, “Barr’s staffer new ACT Labor secretary”. The paper saved ink by omitting a comma.

2025-06-07 03:31:50 CEST

“Ms Cook, the mother of a six-month-old and a toddler from Labor’s left faction …”
Starting them early!
#CanberraTimes

2025-06-06 06:25:02 CEST

- reply

New backing finished - an inner brown paper and then an outer paper. I also used foam door silencers to keep the picture off the wall. I'm happy with that. (Today's learning thanks to a couple of internet videos.) #S_T_Gill
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/634/500/427/522/725/original/d7f9f88f2cfcde70.jpg

2025-06-06 06:03:07 CEST

- reply

Today it gets a new backing. (I did the initial cleanup some days ago.) Frame looks like a box inside a box and rather than navigate the hills and dales with one piece of brown paper, I papered the inner part first. #S_T_Gill
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/634/410/005/016/125/original/9264b934f05adc9c.jpg

2025-06-06 04:31:52 CEST

- reply

The silverfish had got stuck into the backing paper but fortunately no damage to the #S_T_Gill original. I've removed the old paper and cleaned everything. I'm now working out how to do a new backing. (Conservators please look away - but it will be better and it'll be good for some time.)
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/634/054/463/269/169/original/146703a79432ef91.jpg

2025-05-27 11:34:10 CEST

- reply

yes, i think so. my first original Gill. i’ve done some research and think it’s very historically significant. bit more work to do before a write up.

2025-05-27 08:42:30 CEST

#S_T_Gill picture on a train.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/578/419/982/198/464/original/6097145be4943b30.jpeg

2025-05-21 05:58:01 CEST

- reply

From what I read in that older article (non-government) MLA Jo Clay is very engaged in the matter. I guess the govt wanted to give the leaseholder every opportunity to stay operational, but given this recent risk of destruction by fire, they had firm grounds to take strong action. I assume it’s the government that’s done the fencing. Personally I think they can now take further action against the Big Splash lessee, such as revoking the lease. #Belconnen

2025-05-21 01:31:26 CEST

- reply

Call to save ‘failing’ Big Splash
Canberra Times, 1 February 2025
This article on the Jamison #Belconnen water park reported on a petition sponsored by Greens MLA Jo Clay. It included the following:
“The lease for Big Splash says the lessee must maintain the site to the satisfaction of the ACT government. If outstanding repairs or maintenance are not done, the government has the option to go in and do the work itself, at the cost of the lessee.”
It looks like ACT has now stopped waiting on the lessee and taken its own action with protective fencing around Big Splash.
See also earlier post by @npub13hm…mdgu https://aus.social/@zorrobandito/113924524605384221

2025-05-20 09:54:36 CEST

- reply

FURTHER UPDATE: After the initial boarding up, "Big Splash" Jamison entrance is now protected by a high cyclone-style fence. #Belconnen
I suspect this is the ACT government’s good action. (And not the recalcitrant leaseholder. If you want more background, a websearch will suffice.)

2025-05-13 02:47:08 CEST

- reply

UPDATE: "Big Splash" Jamison entrance has now been boarded up. #Belconnen #Canberra
That’s a good start. I hope the ACT government will take action against the recalcitrant leaseholder and bring this facility back to public benefit.

2025-05-11 03:02:14 CEST

- reply

yes, Jo Clay & Tara

2025-05-11 02:35:02 CEST

- reply

I’ve emailed 2 MLAs this morning.

2025-05-11 02:34:25 CEST

"Big Splash" Jamison needs to be urgently secured. #Belconnen #Canberra
Photo yesterday afternoon shows smashed front door and windows and vandalism further inside. There’s risk vandalism will continue with potential for a destructive fire.
Then this amenity should be restored. As well as being important for recreation the pool was often used for school swimming carnivals.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/486/378/935/606/814/original/f27a954facd88573.jpeg

2025-04-26 09:42:06 CEST

I spotted a female koel in a neighbour’s tree this afternoon. I would’ve expected her to have returned north by now? #Canberra #CanberraBirds

2025-04-20 02:00:31 CEST

Did anyone else get this Peter pellegrini in their timeline? I can’t see how he should have appeared in mine.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/367/345/248/089/373/original/a8406ca4ed2b6a00.jpeg

2025-04-15 02:13:14 CEST

Added an 1845 watercolour of North Terrace #Adelaide to the list of #S_T_Gill”s pictures for George French Angas. (It’s signed: G F Angas!) This further adds to my demonstration that Gill was a ghost artist for Angas.
It’s NOT available online at #AGSAAdelaide and I don’t have permission to share the scan so that makes it a bit ho-hum for the reader. However I do link to an old newspaper reproduction!
https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_and_George_French_Angas_1844_1845.htm#776

2025-03-24 04:04:30 CET

- reply

yes it is very beautiful. The pedestal is compact and sweet. Australian timber craftsmanship and made in Sydney for a middle class market.

2025-03-24 02:05:07 CET

#ArtDeco bedroom suite made in Sydney 1927/28. Made from Queensland #silkyOak by Standardised Furniture Ltd, Marrickville and retailed by Symonds' of Pitt Street. #1920s #historyAU #vintageFurniture
New (personal) article:
Identifying and dating my grandfather’s suite: https://coombe.id.au/personal/bedroom-suite.htm
Toot suite!

2025-03-21 23:33:18 CET

The very jolly Bald Archy portrait prize just announced its winner as “Despicable Ploy” by Phil Meatchem. The exhibition is in #Canberra till tomorrow Sunday 23 March, before travelling to Griffith NSW, then Mansfield Victoria, followed by other NSW and VIC regional. You can also view the finalist entries online. #artAU
https://baldarchy.com.au
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/202/790/004/538/115/original/35443a3b5d5f2479.jpeg

2025-03-03 04:43:35 CET

- reply

thanks very much Jude. Yes I think it’s significant. I don’t know if this is the earliest artwork of this subject. It likely predates Hamilton's 1847 sketches https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_and_George_Hamilton's_Breeches.htm#Conflict.

2025-03-03 02:06:11 CET

- reply

This morning I found some historical context for "The Avengers". The context is likely 1842 murders at Port Fairy, Victoria. I think this now resolves past confusion over #S_T_Gill's sympathies - which were with the Aboriginal people and not the ambushing colonists. I've just updated the article to reflect this. #frontierWars #1840s

2025-03-01 05:11:04 CET

Last week I got to research at #StateLibraryNSW Sydney.
An artwork I "reidentified" is "The Avengers" by #S_T_Gill showing colonists about to fire on a group of #Aboriginal people. I date this to about 1844/1845 - a decade before his previous earliest known of this subject. #frontierWars #1840s #colonialArtAU
Read: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_and_E_L_Montefiore.htm
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/085/194/888/942/370/original/04941928ef2404dd.jpg

2025-02-27 02:24:22 CET

Cory Doctorow @npub1fdr…lvhs :
“We are entering a period of omnishambolic polycrisis.”
Pluralistic: With Great Power Came No Responsibility (26 Feb 2025)
I found this to be a very worthwhile read. Much about our friend Canada - situation and solutions - but applicable to us in Australia too.
https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/26/ursula-franklin/

2025-02-25 22:44:41 CET

Antony Green:
Why I’ve Decided to Retire from Presenting Elections Plus a few words of thanks
February 26, 2025
https://antonygreen.com.au/why-ive-decided-to-retire-from-presenting-elections-plus-a-few-words-of-thank-you/

2025-02-20 09:20:18 CET

No Running in the Playground
“You, you and you! Up to my office!” - yelled from the second floor window.
One lunchtime 56 years ago 3 primary school kids were summoned to the principal’s office where we were given the cane for running in the playground. (Technically we were running out of our classroom towards the playground. All of it was bitumen.)
Today I returned to reclaim the right.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/035/227/693/514/617/original/9c2aad0bd8620b06.jpeg

2025-01-27 00:42:07 CET

- reply

We think we know something is true (“it’s bin day”) but the contrary apparent beliefs of our community cause self-doubt. A neighbour once told me they just followed what I did. Which worked until I stuffed up!

2025-01-25 01:05:57 CET

What a stuff up on #ABCRN this morning. In trying to explain #AustraliaDay, renowned historian Michelle Arrow erroneously said Arthur Phillip claimed the eastern half of Australia on 26 January 1788. No, that was James Cook in 1770.
We all make mistakes but this was a bad one in the context. #historyAU #InvasionDay
Hear 1 minute into this 11 minute listen:
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/saturdayextra/australia-day-history/104857568

2025-01-24 00:24:56 CET

Eukodko - #MurrayRiver crayfish - being caught by #Aboriginal women in floodwaters. Painted c. 1844 by #S_T_Gill from George Hamilton's sketch. #SouthAustralia
(See also today's article in The Conversation.) #StateLibraryNSW image only linking indirectly at present but you can see same in #NationalLibraryAU https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134369231/view
Read more in my 2021 article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill,_E_J_Eyre,_Symmetry_1844.htm#45
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/880/231/892/386/102/original/29181b0fc65479eb.jpg

2025-01-23 02:31:07 CET

Mean streak : a moral vacuum & a multi-billion government shake down
Should be compulsory reading for public servants and critical reading for engaged citizens.
#goodGovernance #Canberra #publicService #RickMorton #robodebt
Rick Morton in his own words:
https://www.rickmorton.com.au

2025-01-20 04:03:39 CET

- reply

In general, zero carbon aluminium is something that makes sense for Australia to make as a renewable energy superpower as I recall from Ross Garnaut’s recent book. (I haven’t read the details of this project/article though.)

2025-01-17 04:53:45 CET

#ABCNewsAU today reporting more than one thing “back on track”. Absorbing the slogan. Aaaargh!

2025-01-11 21:34:44 CET

If you’re listening to #ABCRN #SundayExtra you may be shouting back.
Wanted: Australian social media that connects to the world.
Not wanted: tracking, ads, corporate ownership.
No mention: Mastodon and Fediverse.
We need to get the message out better, especially to Australian journalists. Can we work together on improving this? #ausSocial @npub1ycm…l644

2025-01-09 01:35:53 CET

Welcome to my project on arguably Australia's most recognisable colonial artist, Samuel Thomas Gill. It's a blend of #catalogueRaisonné, biography, historical narrative and map atlas. The scope is from Gill's arrival in #SouthAustralia in 1839 up to his early time at the Victorian gold diggings in 1852-53.
Project update: Six articles on the diggings are now complete except for pending visits to Sydney and Adelaide to check on some undigitised sources. Good progress on at least two articles for 1839-1844 gap.
Later this year I'll write some more reflective material and some of particular interest post 1853.
You can follow the hashtag #S_T_Gill for updates - you don't need to follow me.
#historyAU #1840s #1850s #VictoriaAU #colonialArtAU #historicalMapping #catalogueRaisonne #biography
https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill

2025-01-06 22:06:44 CET

- reply

Canberra Alliance for Participatory Democracy - CAPADACT - reply: “We did consider [Mastadon] but it’s a question of capacity to manage multiple channels.” #ACTpol

2025-01-05 00:31:21 CET

Last night CAPADACT - #Canberra Alliance for Participatory Democracy - announced their departure from X and move to BS. I have encouraged them to set up here. #ACTpol
http://canberra-alliance.org.au/

2024-12-20 00:15:17 CET

Wale migration #ABCNewsAU
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/682/027/749/046/485/original/b4ab93480eb056bb.jpeg

2024-12-17 09:33:24 CET

Man the koels are loud at the moment!
The fascinating story of how the #koel came to live in #Canberra and their connection with red wattlebirds is told in this 2019 article by naturalist Ian Fraser:
https://the-riotact.com/the-koels-and-their-call-return-to-canberra-for-spring/333371

2024-12-07 04:36:00 CET

- reply

And maybe we won’t be and that’s OK too.

2024-12-06 23:49:20 CET

There’s heaps happening in Syria in the last some hours. I find Twitter still a useful source for stuff such as OSINT. Not much here though. (I no longer engage there, so don’t @ me.)

2024-12-05 02:25:33 CET

- reply

… 2/2 It’s not what one expects of typical Australian bush foliage. It makes a good hedge or filler. It suckers but is easily controlled by pulling out by hand. Here it is 2m high. It is frost and drought tolerant.

2024-12-05 02:25:33 CET

This Australian native plant is uncommon in gardens but I think would be widely appreciated. It is the fine-leafed form of Polyscias sambucifolia (“elderberry panax”). The bees today are loving the inconspicuous flowers. #gardeningAU #ozPlants 1/2 …
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/597/599/822/046/548/original/9f2501f1488e1bfb.jpeg

2024-12-03 22:37:19 CET

- reply

“under-utilised particularly in colder months” strikes me as a weak argument. The government could invest in solar heating to increase use of public pools. It’s a choice.

2024-12-03 09:06:18 CET

- reply

And saw you on the telly just now!

2024-11-25 23:17:37 CET

#Enshittification is the Macquarie Dictionary (AU) word of the year for 2024.
https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/woty-2024/

2024-11-22 07:08:42 CET

- reply

It’s a funny feeling approaching the end of the project. I may backfill with some missing earlier narrative. But I plan no more narrative beyond that March 1853 date. #S_T_Gill

2024-11-22 06:34:42 CET

I made good progress today fine-tuning the back end narrative in the #S_T_Gill project. It concludes with this magnificent colour print of the Victorian diggings as painted in July 1852 and published as a print in March 1853. #colonialArtAU
https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135629862/view

2024-11-17 21:47:59 CET

- reply

The #cicada and its shell on the ti-tree this morning!
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/500/182/201/622/776/original/48f7650678059cad.jpg
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/500/253/324/672/229/original/bd73355903d3689a.jpeg

2024-11-17 09:19:32 CET

- reply

The #cicada has now moved around to the underside of the branch. No live webcam. Next update tomorrow morning.

2024-11-17 07:19:09 CET

I just found this cicada nymph freshly surfaced from underground at the end of this afternoon’s rain. It was likely going to climb the paling fence so I hope I’ve given it a better chance on the ti-tree (leptospermum). #cicada
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/496/819/897/198/938/original/0d5f5ef176825b26.jpeg

2024-11-12 22:14:48 CET

- reply

You likely remember there was a range of flags used in the Canberra cooker events, this being among them. There seems to be a parallel (unsurprisingly) with US: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_citizen_movement see Denominations and symbols.

2024-11-12 01:05:37 CET

- reply

I have no insight there. I would guess it’s somehow meaningful to the cookers. I think people have generally assumed they fly the (official) red ensign and I haven’t noticed anyone pick up on this before.

2024-11-11 23:01:44 CET

- reply

I’ve now written to the ABC.

2024-11-11 22:23:52 CET

- reply

Further investigation ... The sovereign citizens (cookers) are flying a flag which was the Australian red ensign from 1901 to 1903.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_red_ensign

2024-11-11 10:13:39 CET

Unfortunately in tonight’s #ABCNewsAU of Remembrance Day in #Melbourne the flag featured is one used by Cookers. I expect this was unintentional by ABC but it’s very poor. (See the numbers of points on the stars.) (Screenshot from the #Canberra bulletin.)
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/463/522/644/798/219/original/31dca49ae57a75aa.png

2024-11-05 04:19:39 CET

“Smith posits a slippery dialectical relationship between the national and international, as if each is imminent in the other.”
I’m only on page 3 of the introduction of this book and have a growing sense of dread. The book is my subject of interest but the writing may do me in.

2024-10-30 09:01:55 CET

- reply

I wonder if increasing American pronunciation is an outcome of less exposure to Australian content on screens. It’s a trend hard to resist but if we funded more Australian content we might hold back the tide.

2024-10-28 23:24:54 CET

- reply

That’s pretty slim pickings for us as social animals. Will you be working on getting more social interaction?

2024-10-28 22:33:48 CET

Come on #ABCNewsAU! “Andrew Leigh, the shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, says this country's small-scale farmers are getting hammered …” Leigh is a government minister, not a shadow.
[EDIT: article fixed now.]

2024-10-24 21:58:16 CEST

- reply

more mundane in this case - a possible later mistranscription from “Mrs” to “Maj”. Occasionally titles are demonstrably wrong.

2024-10-24 03:56:03 CEST

This is detail from #S_T_Gill's 1874 picture of Major King's sheep station (from back caption). Problem is: there was no Major King (- thanks Trove). But there was Mrs King's sheep station. So I've tentatively renamed this picture. #SouthAustralia
https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Subject_Shepherd.htm#162
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/359/906/081/272/726/original/7e9ce1c1122e4474.jpeg

2024-10-23 07:24:23 CEST

- reply

I suppose the big challenge is having enough will to change.

2024-10-17 23:38:37 CEST

- reply

For the first time I won’t be voting at my local school. It’s no longer a polling place.
I’ll miss that gentle wandering down on Saturday; merging with neighbours in that communal action.
This will be a trend #Canberra. As polling places close due to low turnouts, their former regulars will vote elsewhere - and many will vote early and online. (Like I just did.)
#DemocracySausage and cake stalls may become a distant memory.

2024-10-17 05:29:19 CEST

For the first time I won’t be voting at my local school. It’s no longer a polling place. Good I read the official Voting Guide. No gentle wandering down on Saturday. No P&C cake stall. #Canberra

2024-10-11 23:34:02 CEST

#FakeOrFortune is being repeated on #ABCTVAU and the William Nicholson “Glass Jug” episode reflects badly on the expert. A clear gulf between weight of evidence and critical thinking on the one hand and an “expert’s feeling” on the other.
See feedback on the controversy at https://www.williamnicholson.net/post/fake-or-fortune-sparks-controversy
#artHistory #catalogueRaisonné

2024-10-10 10:50:47 CEST

- reply

I was particularly thinking of other types of organisations that may be dominated by seniors.

2024-10-10 10:02:41 CEST

- reply

demographics: recent retirees may find organisations are run by their long-lived parents’ generation

2024-10-07 12:06:37 CEST

Accidentally got in the winners photo (image 4, red top) at the Australasia Gaelic Games on the weekend.
More importantly: a great event thoroughly enjoyed.
https://x.com/gfhaaustralasia/status/1843223444768555247?s=46&t=HFimttOeT2RUc4pVVOnUpw

2024-10-03 03:44:36 CEST

I hadn’t watched Tony Armstrong on #ABCTVAU until “Monday's Experts” aired. Armstrong and co-host Catherine Murphy were both brilliant. However at the time I was uncomfortable with what I saw as ongoing belittling / bullying behaviour by regular guest Guy Williams. I could see Armstrong and
Murphy were also uncomfortable and were blindsided. It wasn’t good and it wasn’t funny. I didn’t post about this before as the show seemed to steady itself. But now think it’s worth saying given today’s piece in #ABCNewsAU.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-03/abc-independent-racism-review/104416776