A two-metre crocodile that has taken up residence on a north Queensland golf course has given new meaning to the term "water hazard".

The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) is planning to remove what is believed to be a freshwater crocodile found swimming in a water hazard at the Willows golf course Thuringowa, outside Townsville.

Regional director Clive Cook says golfers should be cautious.

"If it's a fresh water crocodile they're obviously not quite as dangerous as a salt water, but still with that sort of size it's not something you want to leave in a water hazard on the golf course," he said.

"It might compound the hazard nature of golf."     ABC Queensland

To see what has been happening with the flooding in Queensland, go to the Video page and click on the addresses under Flooding News.

The news is devastating for the residents of the affected areas and all I can say is that we are relieved the residents of Tamborine Mountain are amongst the lucky ones.

What is particularly pleasing is that it has gone to someone who has selflessly given a great deal of his time to the community, despite being a "temporary resident" on a 410 visa. This is what the local paper had to say about him today:

WELL-KNOWN Tamborine Mountain resident JAAP VOGEL (above) has won the Mayor’s Special Award in the 2008 Beaudesert Shire National Australia Day Awards.

Since arriving in Australia five years ago, Jaap has made an outstanding contribution to his local community through his active involvement in Tamborine Mountain Landcare.

Hailing from the Netherlands, Jaap and his wife Jedda decided to settle on Tamborine Mountain after coming to Australia in search of a better lifestyle.

Upon arriving on the Mountain, Jaap’s first formal introduction to the community was at a Landcare meeting, where he put his hand up to lead the organisation. For the past three years, Jaap has been president of Tamborine Mountain Landcare. He is also the manager of the Landcare-sponsored bookshop Piccabeen.

Jaap and his wife (Jedda) are also qualified snake catchers, and in their spare time engage in nursing sick or injured snakes back to health.

The Mayor of Beaudesert Shire, Cr Joy Drescher said the Mayor’s Special Award recognised the time and energy Jaap has put in over the years to drive the aims of Landcare.

“He is a remarkable person and has made a remarkable contribution to his local community. Even now, when he is receiving cancer treatment, Jaap continues to correspond with Landcare members to ensure projects continue,” she said.

Currently, Tamborine Mountain Landcare is undertaking 21 regeneration projects, with sites located throughout the local area including Ohio, Knoll and Contour Rds, Tamborine Mountain High School, Rosser Park and the Botanic Gardens.

The Botanic Gardens project is one of the group’s major ongoing projects, and is being undertaken in partnership with the Tamborine Mountain Garden Club to regenerate and extend the existing rainforest along Tamborine Creek, which runs through the Botanic Gardens. As a result of this project, large areas of lantana have been replaced with local rainforest species which will mature into an extension of the existing rainforest habitat.

Jaap also contributes to the local business community and is involved in the Tamborine Mountain Chamber of Commerce in an effort to build positive working relationships between tourism operators and environmental groups.

AUSTRALIAN WEATHER

With so much weather around at the moment, it is natural that we are reading many statistics on the subject, and amongst the many articles, I discovered the following:

1. WHAT IS THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN AUSTRALIA?

The highest temperature recorded in Australia using standard instruments was 51C at Oodnadatta, SA, in 1960.

2. WHAT IS THE LOWEST?

Australia’s lowest temperature was -22,2C recorded at Charlotte Pass in the NSW snowfields on June 29, 1994.

3. WHAT IS THE WETTEST PLACE IN AUSTRALIA?

Tully in northern Queensland has the highest average rainfall at 4,242mm.

4. WHAT IS THE DRIEST?

Mulka in South Australia averages only 103mm per year.

5. AUSTRALIA’S HOTTEST CAPITAL CITY?

The highest temperature ever recorded in an Australian capital city is 47.6C at Adelaide on January 12, 1939.

6. WHICH IS WETTER - MELBOURNE OR SYDNEY?

On average - Sydney, easily. Melbourne’s annual average rainfall is 655mm compared to Sydney’s 1,214mm,

7. AUSTRALIA’S WORST BUSHFIRE?

This is a tough one but two stand out, The Black Friday bushfires that ravaged Victoria on January 13, 1939 in which 71 people died and 1,300 homes were destroyed, And then we have the Ash Wednesday fires -75 people died and 2,500 homes were lost.

8. WHAT IS AUSTRALIA’S MOST DANGEROUS WEATHER HAZARD?

Surprisingly, heat waves. When temperatures peak in the mid-30s or higher over a succession of days, heat waves have caused more deaths than any other natural hazard. Just one, the January 1939 heat wave, killed an estimated 438 people across south­eastern Australia.

9. AUSTRALIA’S DEADLIEST CYCLONE?

The Bathurst Bay Cyclone that struck far northern Queensland on March 10, 1899, killed as many as 400 people, making it Australia’s worst cyclone disaster.

I heard some reasonably good news, yesterday. It seems that Chris Evans the new Immigration Minister, was interviewed on Perth radio yesterday morning, and the issue of 410 visa holders was raised, and in particular, the question of permanent residence. The most interesting part of his reply was when he said that he firmly believed that no-one who lives in Australia and who has lived here for some time should be denied the opportunity to become an Australian citizen. To my knowledge, this is the first time anyone of any kind of seniority, and, let's face it, you can't get much more senior than the Immigration Minister, has actually come out in support of our quest.

Of course, it may all come to nothing; once Parliament gets together next month, which will be the first time since they came to office, and the Civil Servants start to weave their own form of control over the ministers. Still, what he said cannot be unsaid, so this could be just a very tiny crack in opening the door to permanent residence.

I understand that one of the new MP's in Perth, Sharryn Jackson, who was also at the radio interview, is very much a supporter of our cause so we are hoping that she will be a champion for us in any kind of lobbying we will be doing in the future.  

It is now a matter of watch this space!

The rain has certainly had an effect on the garden of late, not least with the overwhelming amount of weeds! On the other hand, it is also doing good and on looking in my front garden today, I found a hibiscus that I had pruned very severely and it has produced not only a beautiful flower but a large one. Have a look at the other photo showing my hand next to the flower.

Another thing I found today was a complete co-incidence. I watched a programme from the UK called A Year at Kew and one of the items was about Fungi and someone had sent in what turned out to be a rare find in the UK which was a PepperPot Fungus. Well, I discovered its sister the Saltcellar, or Earth Star. The sample I found was quite old, as much of the star part on the base had deteriorated, still, there is no doubt of what it is.

Some of you who were around in the 1970's might remember the op group Middle of the Road. They first came to prominence when they competed in the UK TV talent show Opportunity Knocks appearing 4 weeks running and reaching the All Winners Final. They brought us memorable songs like "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep", "Soley, Soley", & "Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dum", to name but three. They have a very interesting website which gives the complete history of the group, who are still performing today, with an albeit slightly changed personnel. Why not wander down Nostalgia lane?

Have a look at the BBC's "Where Are they Now?" page and read an interview with Ken Andrew who has been with the group since its inception.

You may wonder why I am mentioning them at all, well my interest is because two of the founder members of the group, Ian and Eric McCredie are my cousins and it is with very great sadness that I have to report that Eric died recently at the relatively young age of 62; he will be sorely missed in the industry as he was very well liked and respected.

I can remember visiting them and my Uncle and Aunt in Glasgow when we were all quite young and they tried to show me how to play the chanter that is used for the bagpipes; I couldn't even get one peep out of it! Eric was always the one who got up to mischief and was a great giggler. I shall always remember him with that lovely smile of his. R.I.P. Eric.

Links to reports of Eric's death:

The Independent; The Final Taxi; Herald Scotland; Middle of the Road; From Jane Laight

Just to let you know that on Page 2 of this website there is an opportunity for you to talk about anything you like (as long as you are civilized!). You will have to be logged in to access this site, as it is for members only. Click on the tag above called Post Your Messages (Members Only).

Here are some thumbnail photos taken just now around the garden. You will notice just how prominent the ant hills are due to the heavy rain. Just click on the photos and they will enlarge and take you into a slide show.

"Ahhhhr! It's the rainy season", the old timers say, "This is how it always used to be", or words to that affect. Well, Jaap Vogel has collated all the rainfall data for Tamborine Mountain since the records started in 1889 and it seems that this could be a myth. For this month, which statistically is the wettest month for this area, we have had almost 400mm of rain, and it is only halfway through the month. As far as I can make out this figure has only been exceeded 10 times since 1889 with the greatest amounts in 1995 - 625, 1927- 800, 1947 - 1931 and 1974 - 1790, so I would reckon that this year will be counted as an exception, not the rule.

Still, I don't think we should grumble, after seeing what is happening in the UK. Only today I was reading in the Weekly Telegraph that, like here, more than a month's rain fall fell in some parts of the country on Sunday, causing a series of floods in the Midlands, the South West and Northern Ireland.

Saturday January 26 is Australia Day and to celebrate the mountain will be getting a visit from Barry Crocker who will be appearing at The Pavilion Garden Restaurant. Only a few weeks ago Elton John paid a visit to Canungra, which, for those of you who don't know, is a small town just off the mountain.

Read this as reported in news.com.au

Any holiday weekend in Australia is usually busy for Tamborine Mountain as visitors come here in their droves. Of course it is busy on most weekends, but particularly so on holiday weekends . As a resident not involved with tourism, I tend to stay in the comfort of my own home, because we maintain that living on Tamborine Mountain is like being on holiday all the time!