The Australian Bite

Brumbies, war and water

19 March 2010

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Credit unions are supposed to take our hard earned money and invest it wisely. So why is an Australian credit union spending thousands of dollars of its members funds to buy water for some struggling lakes in northern Victoria?  We find out on this week’s Australian Bite. We also drop in on Shell Shocked- a travelling exhibition that gives a great insight into the lingering impact of World War 1 on on Australian families and communities.   And we’ll look at the heated debate over how to control the growing numbers of wild horses, or brumbies, roaming the Alpine regions of New South Wales and Victoria.

Credit Union to buy water for Lakes

The Hattah Lakes is a network of 27 lakes in Northern Victoria, listed as internationally significant wetlands under the Ramsar convention. They support communities of river red gums, a wide range of plants and are an important breeding site for water birds. The long-running drought in the region has left the Hattah Lakes dry and desperate, but help for the Hattah lakes has come from a surprising source. A credit union called MECU, has announced that it’s using its members’ money to buy water for the lakes, in a partnership with the Australian Conservation Foundation. Rowan Dowland is the General Manager Development at MECU, and he tellsMichael Cathcart why they’re doing it.

Find out more about the Hattah Lakes here at the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment website

See the location of the Hattah Lakes here on Google Maps

Shell-shocked documents the lasting impact of war

World War One was a conflict that left 200,000 Australians dead, injured or maimed and a generation in “shell shock” – that’s a phrase that was back then used to describe the psychological trauma and stress suffered by men serving on the war’s key battlefronts. Well a new travelling exhibition put together by the National Archives of Australia gives us an insight into Australia’s struggle with the lingering effects of the war. It’s called Shell-shocked: Australia after Armistice and it has just opened at the Torrens Parade Ground in Adelaide.  Johannah Wilson is the touring exhibits manager from the National Archives of Australia, and she speaks with reporter Brett Williamson.

See more on this story including photos and audio at the ABC Adelaide website

 . . . and more still at the National Archives of Australia

What’s to be done about high country horses?

The iconic home of the wild horse or “brumby” is Australia’s alpine region, which stretches across the New South Wales and Victorian border. More than seven and a half thousand horses are estimated to be living in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains – Australia’s highest mountain range, and home to Australia’s tallest peak – Mount Kosciuszko.  And that’s not counting the ones to be found in Victoria. The number of wild horses is expected to double over the next two years, causing headaches for farmers and severely impacting on the natural environment. But there are conflicting views on how to deal with the problem, as reporter Brendan King found out.

See the Snowy Mountains and Victoria’s Alpine National Park on Google Maps

You can read a related article on this issue here  

Music (not in podcast)

5 piece Sydney outfit Bluejuice have two studio albums to their name – this is the latest single from their second album, Head of the Hawk.

Artist: Bluejuice

Track: Ain’t Telling the Truth

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Album: Head of the hawk