CAN1SIR1QILA IUIIWALKXN© CLUIS IINC. N1EWLTTT1E1Q IT P.O. Box 160, Canberra, 11.C.T. 2601 Registered by Australia Post; Publication number NBH 1859
VOLUME 25 NOVEMBER 1988 NUMBER 11
PnsMent's PattIe Fire has been a human comfort ever since we came down from the trees. The colonial artists painted the pioneers by their campfires. Songs and poems made the old black billy a symbol of the explorers, drovers and swagmen. So against this background it is nt surprising that the debate on the use of campfires has moved only slowly in the last decade. For we latter day explorers the thought of a camp without a fire, especially in the cooler• months of the year, is a cheerless one. Yet pressures to minimise the use of fire exist. Some of these come from our desire for wilderness - to find the bush that we walk in as it was a thousand years ago. Others come from land management authorities. In the ACT, for example, a recently introduced ordinance requires you to have a permit to make a campfire. In NSW state forests you may only make a fire in a provided fireplace. What then is responsible use of fire for the potential bushwalker? First question - could the fire attract the attention of the fire authorities? It does our conservationist image no good for us to be in breach of the law.
Next - IS THE FIRE NECESSARY? If warmth is not important then maybe a fuel stove would do the same job without leaving any trace that we were there. I have attempted to summarise the fire laws in NSW and ACT in a separate article to help you answer the first question. The rest is up to you. Anton Cook TV VVV,VV YVYai November Monthlq Meeting This will be held as usual at the Dickson Library on the third Wednesday of the month, Novembet 16th at 8pm. This month Will Osborne from the ACT Parks Administration will give a talk about unusual native fauna of the High Country. This includes bogong moths, corroboree frogs, mountain pigmy possums and alpine grasshoppers. December Activitie5 Over the December -January holiday period the Canberra Bushwalking Club does not hold its regular monthly meetings in the Dickson library, instead a number of outdoor activities are organised. The first of these will be the regular Meroo Point base camping weekend to be held on December 3-4th. This is the ultimate in lazy bushwalks. I challenge anyone to white-ant a weekend that involves a mere tOO metre walk from cars to camp. Meroo Point is on a lovely stretch of coastline near Termeil. It offers plenty of scope for daywalks for the energetic . (eg George Carter's Clyde River, Castle Gap Trip), and surfing and sunbaking for the rest. This weekend is ideal for relaxing and catching up with old friends, for introducing non-bushwalking friends to the great outdoors, and bringing along those too young or too broken-down to do long rouqhs. There are one or two minor inconveniences: there is no fresh water so bring your own; and there is not much good wood to spare so try and bring a bundle. The map below will show you how to get there. Anyone wanting help with transport should contact the Social Secretary, Sally Petherbridge, on 480439(h), 898478(w). Then, on Wednesday December 81st, there will be the annual Christmas barbecue. This will be held again at Weston Park starting at 6pm. Bring your own barbecue plus a dish to share. The Club will provide refreshments. After that play sport, swim, talk shop or see the Walk Secretary about your plans. A sketch map below will help you find your way to the right place. The January meeting will also take the form of a barbecue. this time at Uriarra Crossing. more information will be given next month.
W ESTON PARK MEROO POINT To t 4lidrd,46. ?t.
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