Terrace Falls, Hazelbrook

Terrace Falls Hazelbrook, were dedicated for public recreation in 1892, the walking tracks were developed and built by Thomas Gallagher of Lawson at a cost of ₤14. My son Inigo stands at the base of the eight cascades.

Blue Mountains Dreaming, the Aboriginal heritage, 2nd edition

Contents & blurb, new edition available from Megalong Books, 183 The Mall, Leura, 4784 1302, www.megalongbooks.com , rec. price $60.00

If I were a Dewey number...

Merryjack's Dewey Decimal Section:

565 Fossil arthropods

Merryjack's birthday: = 2565


Class:
500 Science


Contains:
Math, astronomy, prehistoric life, plants and animals.



What it says about you:
You are fascinated by the world around you, and see it as a puzzle worth exploring. You try to understand how things work and how you can make them better. You might be a nerd.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

Right on, nerds rule I say!

Planet Survival Guide

Cherry Blossom

From my bedroom window over morning coffee...

My first video

The Katoomba train arriving Springwood station 5.17 pm, camera - Canon Powershot, edited - MS Movie Maker, music - Beethoven from Windows XP sample, shadow - me.

Yes we are mindful that one of the earlierst pieces of moving film was 'Arrivee d'un train en gare a La Ciotat', made in 1896 by Louis Lumière, which demonstrates a movement towards the camera that became a standard method for staging action for years to come. Audience reaction to the film was great - stories tell of patrons backing away from the screen to avoid the oncoming train. We don't need to go that far though...we now have office chairs with wheels, wheeeee!

Boys' day out - Lake Lyell

It was a pleasant and relaxing day out at the lake with my sons Inigo and Jaz, the recent rain had cleared but good cloud cover remained, we caught some nice fish both browns and rainbows in the upper reaches, the water level was up to around 50% capacity; we sighted pelicans, cormorants, ducks; enjoyed a fry up for lunch, shared a few home brews, went for bit of a paddle, stayed into the night for moonrise and arrived home at a late hour.

The lake is also the site of an important convict stockade dating from the 1830s. The young convict Thomas Cook was transported for forgery in 1831 and recorded his experiences in a chain gang stationed there in winter:

The dismal and dilapidated state of the habitation which exposed its inmates to the inclemency of the weather, the wretched and haggard countenances of the men, the severity of the cold, and the want of a second or even one good blanket to save the half frozen men from perishing, the idea of bedding with a second or third man as was the custom so as to create warmth, appeared to me altogether objectionable and many a tear did I shed when contemplating upon my hard fare. I was yet in the dark of the horrible propensities which the coarse and brutish language of my gang mates in calamity, coupled with their assignations one towards he other, shortly told me the greater number of them had imbibed. In referring to this horrid contagion I feel I should reserve its nauseous details out of respect for the delicacy of my readers.

Experiences of a Convict, 1840.

It is hardly surprising that things were just a bit too cosy for young Thomas, because the three pillars of convict society from 1788 to at least 1840 when transportation ceased, have been described as rum, sodomy and the lash (not that there is anything wrong with that!).

Although a little warmer now than it was in the 1830s, the lake's location on the Lithgow plateau produces water temperatures that are cool enough year round for salmonid stocking and it's the nearest trout fishery to Sydney, which makes it popular with locals as well as visiting anglers. Fishing link