Canberra Bushwalking Club Newsletter
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it Canberra Bushwalking Club Newsletter September 2019 Canberra Bushwalking Club Inc GPO Box 160 Volume 55, Issue 8 Canberra ACT 2601 www.canberrabushwalkingclub.org ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING INSIDE THIS ISSUE 7.30 pm Wednesday 18 September 2019 Notice of AGM................ 1 President’s report ......... 2 Weston Creek Uniting Church, 16 Parkinson Street, Binna Burra bushfire ..... 3 Weston Membership Secretary’s Report It’s AGM time once again. ......................................... 3 Book Review ................... 4 Come along to lend your support to our Club, hear the CBC Committee ............. 4 President’s overview of how we have fared this year, and Bushwalking NSW Honours welcome the Committee for 2019-20. You might even One of Our Own ............. 5 consider nominating for a position. Come and enjoy an evening of insights and surprises in what promises to be an Review August presentation ......................................... 6-7 interesting night. See also ‘President’s Report’ on following page. Walk/trip report ........... 8-9 AGM Papers ................... 10-13 AGM papers will be found on pp 10-13. Activity Program ............ 14-23 Bulletin Board ................ 24 CBC Publication Policy link to website ............................ 24 Link to Bushwalking NSW publications .................... 24 IMPORTANT DATES • 18 September— Annual General meeting • 25 September—Committee meeting • 25 September—Articles for inclusion in October 2019 It close Canberra Bushwalking Club It—September 2019—Page 1 President’s Report • Gabrielle Wright (Editor) is the most cheerful newsletter assembler the Club has seen. • Mac Kirby (Mem Sec) defines true dilligence in helping the membership join, remain and move on. • Pete Hegarty (Training and Safety) brings a sense of importance for doing things the right way. The Annual General Meeting is coming up on • Cynthia Breheny (Conservation) Wednesday 18 September. This is an represents the growing interest in the important meeting for the Club and I environmental side of walking. encourage you to attend and participate.This meeting also marks the end of my two year • David Williams (Publisher) makes sure term as President, a period I have enjoyed. In you receive IT each month. the last two years we adopted the new website including its activity management • Keith Thomas (Assistant Walks Sec) system, we grappled with the subsequent keeps tabs on our involvement from a question of privacy and we have also seen foreign land. the Club membership grow to a new high of over 400. I’d like to thank all members for • Terrylea Reynolds (Social Sec) makes supporting the committee and myself, every meeting and occasion an enjoyable especially those who have been active in one. leading walks and other activities. I thank the Committee, without whom the • Andrew Meers (Web Manager) ensures Club would not function. At the AGM we will our electronic presence is shown to the elect a new Committee and I hope you can world. join me in thanking these people for their contribution. Many of these Committee members will • Melinda Brouwer (Treasurer) willingly continue and I leave you with the mysterious stepped into a role that brings scrutiny, but incentive to discover who at the coming AGM. handles it with class. There are a number of new people ready to step into the Committee and again you may • Jenny Stewart (General Sec) is an wish to see who. If we’re really fortunate, we intelligent correspondent who represents may even see an appearance of my good the important external written face of the friend, the real Nigerian Prince, who is quite Club. interested in a number of positions. Michael de Raadt • Linda Groom (Walks Sec) leads by example, and a great example. Canberra Bushwalking Club It—September 2019—Page 2 Late News—Binna Burra Lodge destroyed by bushfire Members who have stayed at Binna Burra Lodge, Queensland, on CBC and private trips, will be saddened to know that the lodge and its heritage wooden cabins were destroyed by a bushfire on 7 September. The 'Groom cottage', camping area, and surrounding rain forest happily escaped the fire. No-one was injured or killed. The lodge was insured and will be rebuilt. Linda Groom Membership Secretary’s Report Occasional reflections #2: I get quite a few emails asking me ‘I've paid my membership fee, so why have I got the renewal reminder?’ This is almost always associated with a payment by bank transfer (for which we are of course grateful), rather than through the online Paypal sys- tem. But paying by bank transfer isn't a renewal of your membership, and won't stop the re- minder emails (which are automatically sent by ‘The System’) unless you have also renewed via the web page. ‘But something's wrong with the renewal web page, and it won't let me click Sub- mit’, I might get in reply. Ah, but you're probably trying to renew more than 28 days before your renewal date. ‘The System’ doesn't accept renewals before 28 days from the renewal date. If you wait until nearer your renewal date - Hey Presto! - everything will work as it should. (OK, there are occasional system glitches, but most of the glitches are human!) Membership stands at 386 as at 29 August 2019. 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 Number membersof 100 50 0 Jan-14 Jan-15 Jan-16 Jan-17 Jan-18 Jan-19 New members: 2 new members in the last month. Stephen Huang Christopher Parker Mac Kirby 3 Canberra Bushwalking Club It—September 2019—Page 3 CBC Committee 2018-19 President: Michael de Raadt [email protected] 0410 233 090 Treasurer: Melinda Brouwer [email protected] Walks Secretary: Linda Groom [email protected] 6281 4917 General Secretary: Jenny Stewart [email protected] Membership Secretary: Mac Kirby [email protected] Training and Safety Officer: Pete Hegarty [email protected] Conservation Officer: Cynthia Breheny [email protected] Web Manager: Andrew Meers Former CBC member Matthew Higgins’ latest book conveys [email protected] an engaging mountain perspective, addressing the question Editor: Gabrielle Wright 'What is it like in Australia’s high country?' Matthew traces [email protected] the mountain experience in a rich variety of ways. Firstly he talks of his own times in the alps as a bushwalker, cross- Assistant Walks Secretary: Keith Thomas country skier, historian and oral-history interviewer. Then [email protected] Matthew profiles a range of people (most of whom he +64 27 535 6176 interviewed) who have worked, lived or played in the Social Secretary: Terrylea Reynolds mountains: stockmen, skiers, Indigenous parks officers, rangers, brumby runners, foresters, authors, tourism [email protected] operators and others. Central themes of place, people and 0408 715 218 story are interwoven with concerns about environmental Publisher: David Williams impact and climate change. An extensive collection of [email protected] beautiful images helps to tell the magnificent mountain story, from Kosciuszko to Kiandra, Brindabella to Bimberi ————————————————————— and Bogong, to Tidbinbilla and beyond. Available in all good All members of the Committee can be contacted bookshops and Alps Visitor Centres. Reviewed in It last year. in one email to Matthew Higgins [email protected] [Matthew was a welcome supporter of CBC in many ways Check in: [email protected] during his time in Canberra, and his book featured above Web site: www.canberrabushwalkingclub.org was reviewed by Jenny Horsfield in July 2018 It. Matthew’s talk on ‘A History of the High Country’ at our July 2018 June 2018 It photos by Matthew on Mt Domain monthly meeting was reviewed in August 2018 It. In our were featured. The list goes on!] Ed. Canberra Bushwalking Club It—September 2019—Page 4 Bushwalking NSW Honours One of Our Own At this year's AGM Bushwalking NSW honoured also summiting Koscuiszko on the final day. our current Walks Secretary, Linda Groom, with Perhaps even more importantly many people their prestigious annual Chardon Award for throughout Australia have now been made aware ‘outstanding contributions to the bushwalking of the problem of feral horses in KNP through movement'. conversations either along the walk, at petition- signing tables, or through discussions at Many of you will be familiar with Linda having gatherings and in the media. been fortunate to have been on one of her popular walks. For newcomers to the Club But Linda was not done. She determinedly set Linda's achievements and contributions, which out with a team of CBC and other like-minded span many years as a member of Canberra bushwalkers to gather 10,000 signatures on a Bushwalking Club (CBC) and in committee paper petition to be presented to NSW positions with various other organisations, may Parliament calling for a debate on repeal of the possibly be less well known. Linda has served ‘heritage’ horse legislation. The petition was CBC as President and Walks Secretary as well as presented to Parliamentarians in August with making major contributions to computerising the over 12,000 signatures! walks booking process, developing programs to On 22 August the petition was hotly debated in involve more families and to increasing club the Parliament further highlighting the damage membership. These achievements alone these feral animals are doing to the park and to constitute outstanding contributions to the water which flows ultimately into the Murray bushwalking. Darling Basin. More work continues with Linda Over the last 14 months Linda has made an spearheading the effort towards the final goal – enormous contribution to the Reclaim Kosci repealing the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Campaign. She started by proposing and then Act. organising the Save Kosci walk from Sydney to Linda’s nomination for the Chardon Award was the summit of Mount Kosciuszko. This event initiated by the NPA ACT with the submission involved not only planning the route and written by the CBC culminating in the joint advertising the event to ~500 NSW groups but nomination.