Canberra g o r F e e r o b o r r o Bushwalking C it Club newsletter Canberra Bushwalking Club Inc GPO Box 160 Canberra ACT 2601 Volume: 50 www.canberrabushwalkingclub.org Number: 4 GENERAL MEETING May 2014 8 pm Wednesday 21 May 2014 In this issue 2 Canberra Bushwalking Walking in the Blue Breaks Club Committee Presenter: Meg McKone 2 President’s prattle The Blue Breaks is a remote southeast corner of the Blue Mountains with 3 Walks Waffle rugged cliffs and a magnificent display of spring wildflowers. This illustrated 3 Membership matters talk will show some attractive routes discovered over five decades of 3 Sharing experiences walking in the area, with a few photos from Meg’s recent Easter trip. 3 Training Trifles 3 Review: Clement The hall, Wragge’s Mt Kosciuszko Hughes Baptist Church, Weather Station 5 Thank goodness this is 32–34 Groom Street, Hughes not Namadgi (The Hall is accessed via the car park - left side of the building as 6 Conservation concerns you face the main entrance) 6 Thinking ahead to Xmas 7 Activity program Also some leaders of walks in the current and next 7 Wednesday walks month will be on hand with maps to answer your 11 Bulletin Board questions and show you walk routes etc 12 Feeling literary? Important dates 21 May General meeting 28 May Committee meeting 28 May Submissions close for June it Committee reports Canberra Bushwalking Club Committee President’s President: Linda Groom prattle [email protected] 6281 4917 our Committee has been very busy in the last Treasurer: Julie Anne Clegg Ymonth. David Briese and John Evans have man- [email protected] aged to incorporate short notice walks into the Club’s online activity list, making these walks more accessible 0402 118 359 for prospective members. The online How to Join page Walks Secretary: Lorraine Tomlins has been redrafted. On the conservation front, the Club submitted comments on the draft ACT Conservation Bill [email protected] and several people have expressed interest to Cynthia 6248 0456 or 0434 078 496 Burton in commenting on the ACT’s draft bushfire man- agement plan. The Club is also forming a Weed Busters General Secretary: Gabrielle Wright Group (see page 6). All the walkers who achieved the [email protected] targets of the Stretch Your Legs program have received 6281 2275 their certificates and congratulatory letters. Membership Secretary: Roger Edwards You might think the Committee members never get time to walk, but most of them have been out walking [email protected] this month, enjoying the interestingly variable autumn 6288 7863 or 0406 378 217 weather. If you are on a walk with a Committee member, don’t hesitate to give them feedback on Club matters. Training and Safety Officer: John Evans Whether it’s your views on the ideal Club Christmas [email protected] party or the range of walks available, or any other mat- 6288 7235 or 0417 436 877 ter, as a Committee we are happy to listen. g o r F e e r Linda Groom o b o r r o Conservation Officer: Cynthia Burton C [email protected] President 0488 071 203 Web Manager: David Briese [email protected] From the IT Archives 6286 3479 g o r F –celebrating 50 years e e r o b o r r o Editor: Alison Milton C The corroboree frog [email protected] In May 1965 the Club newsletter introduced 6254 0578(h) or 6289 2717(w) the Club’s new emblem, including the frog in Assistant Walks Secretary: Keith Thomas its letterhead for the first time. The following appeared in the newsletter for May 1965. [email protected] The Corroboree Frog is distinct from all other 6230 1081 or 0421 607 667 Australian frogs because of the striking yellow Social Secretary: Quentin Moran and black stripes on the back. It lives in sphag- [email protected] num bogs and beside watercourses above 4500ft., and crawls, toad-like on tip-toe on all fours in 6288 9840 amongst the moss and undergrowth..........., Publisher: Tim Wright Come and hear more about our new Club emblem [email protected] – at the next meeting when Mr. Ross Pengolli (sic) of the Botany Department A.N.U. will give 6281 2275 a lecture. Mr. Pengelli is doing a special study All members of the Committee can be contacted of the Corroboree Frog and has slides and tape in one email to recordings to illustrate his talk. [email protected] Walk booking procedures were quite different in 1965 as shown by the following in the May IT. Check in: [email protected] Club members wishing to proceed on trips should Web site: www.canberrabushwalkingclub.org make certain that their names are added to the list in the Garema Sports Store, Garema Arcade, Canberra by 4.00 p.m. on the Thursday before the trip. g o r F e e r o b o r r o C Page 2 – Canberra Bushwalking Club it May 2014 g ro F e re o b ro r o C Committee reports Review: Clement Walks Training Wragge’s Waffle Trifles Mt Kosciusko s the weather gets frostier and alk leaders plan and lead Weather Station Athe days shorter we are tempted Wwalks for your enjoyment. ew people who have strolled to to snuggle down in a warm place. In addition, they fulfil their duty Fthe top of Mt Kosciusko would Resist the temptation! Winter can be of care to you by sending walk be aware that for a few years from a great time for walking in Canberra participant details to check.in@can- 1897–1902 there was a weather and surrounds with clear, crisp and berrabushwalkingclub.org (only seen observatory on the summit. There usually sunny days. What better by selected committee members) is nothing there today to mark or way to clear the head and work up and also registering the completion commemorate its existence. Why an appetite for cake and coffee with of the walk. This is part of your was it there? Who initiated it and friends? And talking of food – walk- Club’s safety protocols, which are why was it removed? ers are prone to talk of food – I am in place such that, if ever there is an looking for members to contribute emergency, someone can be noti- Canberra historian, Matthew Hig- recipes for favourite bushwalking fied. But who? gins provided us with an intriguing account of this largely forgot- food. This has been done in the past You can help by registering your but there is probably a crop of new ten piece of our history of the emergency contact. Go to the CBC high country at the General meet- favourite food that you would like web site, click on Your Member- to share. Lightweight nutritious fare ing on 16 April. Following is a ship, login with your Username and report that summarises his talk. is always popular and tips for meals Password, click the Edit Profile tab that dehydrate well are welcome. Details of his paper on which and enter your Emergency contact. the talk was based can be found Please send contributions to me – Don’t forget to Save your Profile. walksec@canberrawalkingclub. at: http://www.australianalps. org. The aim is to have them acces- There are new articles on food and environment.gov.au/publications/ sible through our web page. gear on the Training and Safety page alps-program/pubs/iym-full.pdf of the CBC web site. (NB Scroll down to Page 339.) g o r F e e r o b o r r Lorraine Tomlins o C Clement Wragge established the Walks Secretary Keep an eye on the Training Pro- gram, accessed via the Training and weather station on the summit in Safety page of the CBC web site December 1897. Born in England, or through the monthly published Wragge dropped out of studying Activity program in it. The next law before commencing studies in Membership overnight pack walk for beginners is navigation and thence sailing the on 14–15 June. This is a short walk world. He worked as a surveyor in matters which provides an introductory South Australia in 1876, where he opportunity to walk in the expected began his studies in meteorology. Returning to England, he became Please ensure that you keep the conditions. Contact Rob and Jenny Horsfield for enquiries. Their excel- involved in meteorological stations Membership Secretary informed in Staffordshire. of any changes to your email lent annual Navigation refresher address. begins on Tuesday 5 August. After the Scottish Meteorologi- Looking further afield, there is an cal Society decided to place an New members: David Poland, observatory on top of Ben Nevis Venugopal Thaduri introduction to snowshoeing run by Terence Uren on 14 August (1,343 m), Britain’s highest peak g o in 1881 together with a sea-level r F e e r o b o r r o Roger Edwards C and a gear demonstration and Membership Secretary selection event on 6 September in a station nearby, Wragge volunteered public place coordinated by Cynthia to establish the summit observa- Burton. tory. Thereafter he ascended the peak every day for five months to Would you like to try kayaking? take recordings. His results were Sharing experiences We are thinking of arranging an welcomed by British scientists and hy not share your introductory paddle down the coast he was awarded a gold medal by with a commercial operator next the Society. Wwalking experience spring. Interested? Let me know. with a presentation at It was believed that important a Club general meeting.