January - Februrary 2024

Australian Geographic

The journal of the Australian Geographic Society

Australian Geographic2 min read
Much To Explore
MANY OF YOU will be picking up this issue to pore over it while relaxing during the annual festive season. So we’ve made sure that most of the content you’ll find to explore in these pages is celebratory. There’s our feature on Big Things (page 50) t
Australian Geographic1 min read
Protect Golden-shouldered Parrot Chicks
Help recover the endangered golden-shouldered parrot by protecting chicks from predators. The Australian Geographic Society is supporting a project being run by not-for-profit group Conservation Partner at Artemis station on the Cape York Peninsula t
Australian Geographic1 min read
AG Subscriber Benefits
IF YOU ARE a subscriber to AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC you are automatically a member and supporter of the Australian Geographic Society. From 2023, 100 per cent of profits goes towards supporting scientific and environmental research, conservation, commun
Australian Geographic2 min read
Obsessed with Big Things
AUSTRALIA’S BIG THINGS aren’t only quirky froth and bubble. They’ve been a fixture of family road trips for generations of Aussies. Tim the Yowie Man, who’s written on these phenomena for this issue (see page 50), recalls, “Like many kids who lived a
Australian Geographic1 min read
Australian Geographic
EDITOR Karen McGhee CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aleksandra Beare GROUP PICTURE EDITOR Nicky Catley CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Maggie Cooper SENIOR DESIGNER Mel Tiyce STAFF WRITER AND SUB-EDITOR Esme Mathis DIRECTOR OF CARTOGRAPHY Will Pringle PROOFREADER Susan McCreery
Australian Geographic4 min read
Your Say
$50 WINNER Thomas Mayo’s article in AG 174 on Barbara Shaw should have been compulsive reading for every referendum voter. I acknowledge from the outset that I was, and still am, a strong supporter of The Voice, and, along with the 39.9 per cent of Y
Australian Geographic1 min read
Talkb@ck
How wonderful was it that this lovely man had two famous horses in his life – Phar Lap and Reckless. His bond with these two horses and the devotion he gave them is something we all should appreciate. I love this photo. I have had the pleasure of lis
Australian Geographic1 min read
Big Picture
I FIRST HEARD of the outback New South Wales town of White Cliffs in 2020, while bunkered down during Sydney’s lockdown. Initially I went there as a complete outsider, became captivated by underground life and then spent a month in a dugout. I’ve sin
Australian Geographic6 min read
Geobits
New tool could predict fire season severity. A NEW WARNING system, developed by Rick McRae, an adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales Canberra, might help predict the severity of a fire season months in advance by analysing conditions
Australian Geographic1 min readForeign Language Studies
Placenames
THIS NSW RIVERINA district has a Wiradjuri name, but there’s been discussion through the years over just what it means. That’s because Wiradjuri (just like English) has words with multiple layers of meaning. Whatever it means, we can be certain it is
Australian Geographic2 min read
Eye Of The Storm
IN EARLY JANUARY 2020, photojournalist Tracey Nearmy arrived in Nowra, on the New South Wales South Coast, to photograph the pyrocumulonimbus firestorm that was developing outside the town. The blaze stretched deep into the atmosphere and produced it
Australian Geographic2 min read
The Man Who Lived In A Log
IT’S THE DREAM of every child who loves the outdoors – build a secret bush cubby, a retreat from the prying eyes of parents and an opportunity to let the imagination run wild in a make-believe world of fairies, goblins and other magical creatures. Vi
Australian Geographic6 min read
A Curious Mind
SIX-YEAR-OLD MATTHEW BAILES waits on the edge of Adelaide’s Glynburn Road for a gap in the busy traffic. He sees an oncoming car and wonders why he can see it. Later he asks his parents, “Why can we see cars? Why can we see anything?” – deceptively s
Australian Geographic1 min read
Talking Australia
Professor Tim Flannery (above) is an internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer, environmentalist and conservationist, and one of Australia’s leading writers on climate change. In this episode, he shares his views about youth-led climate movements
Australian Geographic6 min read
Rescuing The Goddess Of The Grasslands
IN 1922 BIRD collector William McLennan was exploring the country outside Coen, on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula, when he stumbled upon a vast grassy flat populated with thousands of termite mounds. Nearly every conical mound showed signs that the
Australian Geographic3 min read
Recalling The Inferno
FOUR YEARS AGO, I faced the biggest bushfires of my more than 40-year career in emergency management. Over the previous decade I’d increasingly focused my attention on the escalating risks Australia was facing due to climate change. But even then, th
Australian Geographic2 min read
Varroa Mite
AFTER SPREADING THROUGH most of Earth’s honeybee populations, the parasite known as the Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) has landed in Australia and has begun devastating our own bees. It’s tiny, about the size of a sesame seed, and it feeds on a bee’
Australian Geographic1 min read
Oz Words
THIS IS A new expression that sits beside “barbecue stopper” and “pub test” as a distinctively Aussie contribution to political discourse. “Cane toad politics” describes those policies proposed by intelligent, benevolent and well-intentioned people t
Australian Geographic3 min readCrime & Violence
Last Man Hanged
ABOUT 1900 PEOPLE were executed in the Australian colonies between 1788 and 1901. Capital punishment declined after Federation, with 114 people executed between 1901 and 1967, when Ronald Ryan was the last. Ryan was born in the Melbourne suburb of Ca
Australian Geographic2 min read
Running Rings Around Galaxies
WHEN SOMEONE MENTIONS a galaxy, odds are you’ll imagine a disc-like whirlpool of stars rotating majestically in space. If you grew up in Britain, you’d probably imagine a chocolate bar, but that’s a different story. Like chocolate bars, however, gala
Australian Geographic1 min read
Looking Up
Try seeing beyond the wonders of Orion’s stars this evening. The northern Milky Way is not as spectacular as our autumn/winter views, because you’re looking towards the galactic anticentre, opposite the busy galactic hub in Sagittarius and Scorpius.
Australian Geographic4 min read
Your Society
AS WE HEAD into a fresh year, we’re introducing some exciting new programs to the Australian Geographic Society. They’ve been inspired by the changes that will see all profits from the Australian Geographic company being donated to the Society. We’re
Australian Geographic3 min read
Society Events
Solo, unassisted, non-stop. Great Pacific Ocean journeys with Richard Barnes and Tom Robinson. Dr Richard Barnes became the first person to kayak solo, unassisted and non-stop across the Tasman Sea in February 2023. He spent 67 days alone in his hand
Australian Geographic1 min read
Your Subscription Is Essential To The Australian Geographic Society
EVERY SUBSCRIBER automatically becomes a member of the not-for-profit Society. Your subscription helps us fund our conservation and exploration programs. To subscribe, call 1300 555 176 or scan the QR code Who are the Australian Geographic Society? P
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Receive A Gift And Save 25%
WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW TODAY SCAN THE QR CODE TO SUBSCRIBE GO TO: AUSTRALIANGEOGRAPHIC.COM.AU/M178AG OR PHONE: 1300 555 176 AND QUOTE M178AG For Terms and Conditions visit australiangeographic.com.au/ag178. Our privacy policy can be viewed at au
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Is The Truth Still Out There?
IN THE AUTUMN of 1982, Tasmania Parks andWildlife Service (PWS) ranger Hans Naarding was birdwatching near Togari in the state’s far north-west. After a tiring day in the field, he parked his Land Cruiser near a crossroads to sleep. At about 2am, wit
Australian Geographic11 min read
The Bigger They Come
I CURSE, SLAMMING my car door as I step out into the frigid Snowy Mountains air. “What? It’s gone!” I’ve just driven two hours on teeth-rattling back roads from Canberra to photograph Adaminaby’s Big Trout. Weighing in at 2.5 tonnes and measuring 10m
Australian Geographic1 min read
Our Oldest Big Things
WHILE DEVOTEES OF the iconic Big Banana at Coffs Harbour will try and convince you otherwise, Dr Amy Clarke believes Scotty, the Big Scotsman – who’s loomed large outside a hotel in the leafy Adelaide suburb of Medindie since 1963 – is Australia’s lo
Australian Geographic1 min read
Mint Recognition
THE BIG OYSTER at Taree didn’t make the cut, nor did Robertson’s Big Potato – possibly for obvious reasons – but Swan Hill’s Giant Murray Cod did, twice. So did the Big Lobster at Kingston SE in SA. If you’re a stamp or coin collector and a fan of Au
Australian Geographic1 min read
Australia’s Forgotten Big Things
DUE TO THEIR alfresco location, meaning exposure to the elements, BTs require maintenance. However, unless a local council or community group provides ongoing funding and/or people power, thay can deteriorate over time. Fires and closures of adjacent
Australian Geographic1 min read
From Parades To Parks
MOST BIG THINGS WERE designed to be stationary, but a few began their lives as parade floats. My top three are: The Big Pelican, Noosaville, QLD: Percy – or sometimes Pete – began life as a float in the 1977 Noosaville Festival of Waters Parade, tran
Australian Geographic8 min read
People Power Offensive
A CROWD IS GATHERING along a wide dirt road in the wilderness. Cars, trucks and mud-splashed four-wheel-drives park in a long line, one behind another. Families with young children emerge, kitted out in bright jumpers and gumboots, then backpackers a
Australian Geographic2 min read
Like A Western Sunset
IT WAS A hot summer’s day in January 1994 when Pierre Horwitz had his first memorable encounter with a sunset frog. “I was with my research assistant Kim and we were finishing our year-long survey of peatlands in the South West,” he recalls. They wer
Australian Geographic12 min read
Up And Away
IT COULD BE any ordinary day on Queensland’s famous Surfers Paradise beach – sparkling water, warm, golden sand, children shrieking and jiggling in the whitewash, hundreds of colourful umbrellas swaying precariously on thin poles nearby. But today is
Australian Geographic9 min read
Australia’s Unsung Hero
AFTER WORLD WAR I, when pressed by a journalist to nominate the bravest person under his command, Australian military commander General Sir John Monash named war photographer George Wilkins and likened him to Lawrence of Arabia. A century later, perh
Australian Geographic12 min read
A Continent In Crisis
WHEN BRITISH ANTARCTIC survey scientist Peter Fretwell spoke in July 2023 at the SCAR biology symposium in Christchurch, New Zealand, his words drew gasps of despair that later rippled around the world. SCAR – the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Re
Australian Geographic2 min read
Antarctic Tourism
IN 1992 JUST a few thousand tourists visited Antarctica, but the number grew tenfold during 1992–2020, to 75,000. By 2022–23, it had grown to 104,897. Most arrived on purpose-built Antarctic cruise vessels, and most remained on board. Like all activi
Australian Geographic4 min read
Seas The Day
PADDLING MY KAYAK from Schouten Island back to mainland Lutruwita/Tasmania, I found myself swallowed by the fog, driving rain splashing into the choppy Tasman Sea. But then, as if on cue, the fog lifted and about 100 dolphins materialised around me,
Australian Geographic1 min read
Why Travel With Us
Cape Hauy’s Candlestick and Totem Pole dolerite columns, in Tasman NP, create a rugged backdrop for kayakers. Travelling with Australian Geographic inspires people to care about the planet by providing meaningful opportunities to explore it. Our exp
Australian Geographic2 min read
In The Wake Of The Makassans
FROM THE 16TH century, Makassan trepangers began venturing from their homeland in South Sulawesi in Indonesia. Travelling through the Flores and Savu seas, they arrived on the shores of Arnhem Land and the Kimberley region. We invite you to embark on
Australian Geographic1 min read
RAJA AMPAT & SPICE ISLANDS
A BOARD CORAL GEOGRAPHER, retrace the historic trade routes of spice merchants who once exchanged Chinese silks for cloves, Indian cotton for nutmeg, and Arabic coffee for pepper. Explore some of the hundreds of rarely visited islands of Raja Ampat,
Australian Geographic2 min read
Whales And Trails Of Western Australia
JOIN US ON our inaugural Whales and Trails expedition as we explore the coastline of southern Western Australia, with adventures on land and sea. Follow the migratory trail of the humpback, southern right and blue whales that frequent this confluence
Australian Geographic2 min read
North Queensland Tropical Birding Tour
THE WET TROPICS stretch from Townsville to Cooktown, encompassing approximately 9000sq.km of rainforest interspersed with farmland, rivers and tropical savanna, not to mention coastline and coral cays. Such an array of habitats explain the region’s h
Australian Geographic2 min read
Mallee And Outback Birds Of Victoria And Mungo
CROSS THE GREAT Dividing Range and travel into the Victorian outback in search of birds and other wildlife that thrive in this region’s arid zones. Explore ancient granite outcrops, vast open plains, Ramsar-listed ephemeral wetlands, outback rivers,
Australian Geographic1 min read
Journey to Antarctica: the White Continent
EXPLORE THE LAST great wilderness with a team of top naturalists aboard our state-of-the-art polar ships. Above water, photograph penguin colonies with a National Geographic Photography Expert, glide around enormous icebergs in Zodiacs, kayak and exp
Australian Geographic1 min read
Authentic Peru
OUR AUTHENTIC PERU itinerary includes the stunning train journey to Machu Picchu, with the expertise of a private guide to provide insights and navigate you away from the crowds. You’ll stay three nights in the Amazon, exploring the river by dug-out
Australian Geographic1 min read
Cruise the Kimberley with Coral Expeditions
THIS CLASSIC 10-NIGHT voyage explores the rugged Kimberley coastline, carved by the powerful forces of nature. Thrilling rides through Horizontal Falls, showers under Kings Cascade, ancient rock art, crocodiles basking on rock ledges – this is a trul
Australian Geographic1 min read
Hit the Road!
IF YOU’RE ITCHING for a good old fashioned road trip, we reckon North Queensland is just the place to start. Around here, there’s something for every driver: from tracing epic 4WD tracks in Tropical North Queensland to exploring rainforests, beaches
Australian Geographic1 min read
The New Broome
OUT LATE FEB SUBSCRIBE TO AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC australiangeographic.com.au or call 1300 555 176 Coming soon: Forgotten Anzac diggers Great Victoria Desert delight Norfolk Island biodiversity Small island community life While waiting for your next is
Australian Geographic2 min read
Ausquiz
1 Which park is older – Luna Park, Sydney, or Luna Park, Melbourne? 2 Who was Australia’s longest-serving Labor prime minister? 3 What type of animal is a banded humbug? 4 What is Australia’s largest inland city, with a population of more than 450,00
Australian Geographic1 min read
Adventure
Explore Canada’s Outdoor Heartland ISSUE 10 ON SALE NOW ISSUE 10 of Australian Geographic Adventure is packed with all things outdoors! In addition to exploring the home of the polar bear in Manitoba as well as other Canadian provinces, we reveal som
Australian Geographic4 min read
Canowindra, NSW
CANOWINDRA PROUDLY DESCRIBES itself as the hot-air balloon capital of Australia. A combination of gentle breezes, excellent thermals and beautiful, undulating countryside make it ideal for the pastime of ballooning. Canowindra has an old-world charm,
Australian Geographic2 min read
Victoria Settlement NT
BEFORE PALMERSTON (modern day Darwin) was founded in 1869, the British made four failed attempts to create a settlement on New Holland’s“unclaimed” northern coastline. The largest of these wasVictoria Settlement, located about 200km northeast of Darw

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