Re: tell a Model A related story
 

What has gone wrong.

I have spent considerable time this morning writing a story about my friend Dave who crashed his cropduster only yesterday. I copied a picture from the news paper but can't get it to paste. I have tried many things to have it work, but no. print screen then copy. No. Send as an email to myself then copy and cut but no. it will copy to another word document yes but still won't paste to this forum. I have removed the newspaper article and picture and tried all of the above and no. I do reckon if I was to retype it on a new sheet or directly to this forum it would work but that will now have to be tomorrow.
I am open to ideas.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Engine failure in flight.

Yes I know what they are like as I have experienced many. I went down maybe 4 times with fuel starvation not to be confused with fuel exhaustion. Many times with magneto or lead problems when I lost substantial power. Twice where the engine self destructed, once damaging the aeroplane where it required a rebuild and I guess there were other times for other reasons. The main reason is we were using very old engines that had been rebuilt many times over many years.
The oddest engine partial failure was the R985. Yes. Quite a number of times. I could never figure out why. What would happen is the engine would move on the mount telling me something was failing. This gave about 20 seconds warning then it would lose almost all power.This 20 seconds gave me sufficient time to set up for a paddock or road landing. Then I could takeoff immediately and resume the job. Quite silly isn’t it. We pulled the engine and it was reported one ignition lead was damaged and the spark would jump into other leads. It looks likely I had damaged it in the reassembly following a mag change. It would have been easy to rectify had I known.
What has made me bring this story is my friend Dave from Dalby crashed yesterday. Engine failure in a P&W 1340. Too early to know what component failed but when the engine gets pulled down it will be apparent.
I have been to Wikipedia and found some 35,000 of these Pratt and Whitney engines were built. That includes the smaller R985 which is a sweet engine. What we are using these days was manufactured in the 20’s through to ’53, mostly in war time.That makes the newest engine 65 years old. I sat behind these engines for 16 years.When I was operating the purchase price for an overhauled R1340 engine was 20k USD and is now 64k. They have a time before overhaul of 1,100 hours but you could sometimes get more if you cribbed your flight times.
I have been to the internet for the price of a garden variety PT 6 gas turbine, the popular engine today, but can’t find a new price. There are deals everywhere and no one wants to reveal their price. But I see the cost of overhaul is 265K and the life, in an agricultural aeroplane, can run as high as 8000 hours. They burn more gas, do more work and are, with exception, totally reliable. However it is beyond many operators financial means to afford one. It is difficult now because operating costs for ag operators is rising and the market, (farming industry) is financially declining. Well that’s in Australia anyway. Unlike other countries we are not subsidised but for one exception. Limited subsidy for transport of fodder during declared drought.
Yes I do go on about farming and farmers don’t I. These are the people who grow the food that is put on our dining tables. They are a tiny minority of our population and are treated poorly by governments and largely unrecognised by the public. Economically important and politically insignificant.
Well back to my friend Dave who crashed yesterday in his radial powered ag plane. He is an operator on the Darling Downs in Queensland. The regions agriculture is totally dependant on rainfall. It is described as a feast or famine farming area. That’s why he is not operating a turbine aeroplane. Dave is 78 years old and was flying as a teenager. I too was flying as a teenager and thought I was doing well at 71. I congratulate you Dave and admire you but I am capitulating to you.
Well Dave climbed out of the wreckage, walked to a road and was given a ride to hospital and had a finger stitched up then went home.
The newspaper has a photograph of the wreckage but no matter how I tried I was unable to copy the picture.

Enjoy your breakfast and think of the farmers and cropdusters who made eating good food possible.
The 1340 powered Thrush is pictured. An internet picture. Yes that was a long story and for those of you who endured it, I hope you enjoyed it. Cheers, gary

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Another Fog Incident.

I was due to start a spray job early one winters morning. It was foggy so I didn’t get out of bed. The phone rang and the farmer was demanding to know why I hadn’t turned up. I enquired with him about fog and yes he said it was foggy at his place too but still thought I should be there. He was a bit hostile. He called yet again and yes it was still foggy. I endeavoured to explain that I wouldn’t even find his farm under the fog let alone his airstrip. He couldn’t understand that.
My loader driver’s name was Mark, young and off a farm. I called Mark and asked he proceed out and asked him to call me when the fog cleared. Eventually he did so, I took off through the fog at my base using the big yellow ball in the sky as a visual reference, cleared the fog which was thick and proceeded to the job. On arrival he demanded an explanation but still was not convinced. He was young and the third generation on that farm. He thought he was most important.
Loader driver Mark has had an interesting life. I must write about him.
I had another incident with fog at Morundah where I landed in the street of this small town. I did write about it earlier.

Footnote. We all have heard of the third generation syndrome. The founder starts a business including farming, the second builds on it. The third either runs it down or destroys it. I find the third generation sometimes comes in with a big ego and the feeling of self importance. Thankfully there are exceptions.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Christmas brings cheer and sadness.

And some will miss it entirely. Those who board flights in the western hemisphere, mainly America, on Christmas eve and fly west to Asia including Australia. They will arrive on boxing day. They have of course crossed the international dateline.

For those who spend time with their families or friends. It is, for some, the only time they meet for quite a time. And the kids. Unwrapping gifts, the excitement, pretty paper going every where and the talk, yelling even screaming. Adults watching with much pleasure. The Christmas lunch. Much good food and special dishes. Over eating and perhaps just a little too much wine. Later regretting it.

And now for the families who have lost loved ones throughout the year. There are several I know of on this forum. Their first Christmas without a family member or even a close friend. It will be sad. I feel for you.

Also for those of you who have had health set backs I do hope you have a family Christmas reunion. For those of you who have lost a family member some time back. I do hope you too have a family reunion.

For those of you who are alone for any reason. I do hope you find comfort with someone for Christmas.


This household brings in such people so they don’t feel unwanted.

I wish you all well.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Well it’s behind us for another year. Christmas that is.

We had a pleasant lunch with 3 of our 4 kids and 7 of our 11 grandkids. The 4th kid and family is in Utah and we all wished we too were there with them. It’s over 100 here and getting to 113, all numbers being Fahrenheit of course.

I cooked breakfast this morning, bacon on the BBQ. I had complaints. Today’s bacon included remains of yesterdays bacon and the previous days and the previous days etc etc. Yes the BBQ grate was getting fairly grubby. But if it’s cleaned too frequently it destroys the flavour. I guess I did need cleaning.

This is how it is done.Put a piece of tinfoil on the grate and shut the lid. Turn the gas up fairly high. Let it burn and when it’s all dried charcoal remove the grate and tie a piece of wire to it. Then tie the wire to the back of your bicycle and peddle down a gravel road. Bingo. Clean grate. Don't let this secret out.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...A5a60D84xiQlZthttps://www.fordbarn.com/forum/data:...AASUVORK5CYII=https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/data:...AASUVORK5CYII=

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Gary gets caught.

It’s pretty hot outside. Yes 105 at this moment, (10.15) and on it’s way up to 113. In the last fortnight I have planted 48 small seedling trees and shrubs. I have placed wood chip around the base of them all to preserve moisture and to prevent soil becoming extremely hot.
I water these of course. It doesn’t matter how much water one pours on, nothing can beat a rain to have these seedlings and indeed all plants come away well. The best I can do is use a weak solution of seasol (a sea weed derivative) and urine and give each seedling a panican a day. Still not as good as the rain but never the less the best I can find.
We have a household of visiting children and grandkids, being Christmas. Six grandkids in all. Well to get my solution of plant nutrition mentioned above, I was having a pee in a bucket when granddaughter Kitty spotted me. Well she roared with laughter and it took only 35 seconds for every kid in the house to know. That is something none of them shall ever forget. I can expect to be ribbed to the end of my days when I am growing daisies.
What names would come to your mind. Well each of those names has left the lips of six kids already.


https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...KPMXEvq7qcvRDg
picture from internet of course.


A footnote.
An explanation in the use of urine. Proteins we eat are digested and are excreted as uric acid in urine which is nitrogenous. The fertilizer urea is likewise nitrogen. Nitrogen is also found in rain particularly when thunderstorms are involved. Nitrogen promotes growth particularly green growth. And incidentally when all the uric acid is not scavenged from the body the bearer of the such body suffers gout.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Bill Riley was a clever bloke and a scallywag.

Well Bill started a gliding school and flight centre for gliders (sailplanes) here at Tocumwal about the mid seventies. Bill’s expertise was radar and radio. During the war he was a radar operator on Sunderland aeroplanes searching for German Uboats. He got to fly them as well.

After the war Bill started a radio and electrical shop at Colac Vic. Then TV arrived, what a boon for Bill. The sets with good mark-ups were highly tuned and those with smaller mark-ups were slightly detuned.

Then Bill discovers an old war time airstrip and hangers at Tocumwal and figures that all looks good for a gliding school facility. He purchases a disused military hanger and acquires a local agency for the Blanik gliders. They are excellent to fly and possibly the best pilot trainer there has ever been. Bill is selling these Blaniks all over the country. They came in two colours, unpainted with black trim and unpainted with a kackey red trim. He had 3 sold at once but that was going to create a problem. 3 were painted with kackey red trim and only 2 black.

Well Bill fixed this. several days prior to pickup he let out a story that when they were built they were painted black but the ones that exceeded design limits were painted red. You can guess who wanted what. Now that was a good cunning move by the master of scallywags wasn’t it?
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/data:...AASUVORK5CYII=

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

A bit long-winded and it is technically a hot rod, but my coupe's story is written here:

https://ironandsteele.com/blogs/news/the-business

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

yes a long story but you did well.
Do write some more in this forum and in this thread. Will look forward to reading them.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Not surprising, seeing that Australia's first European "settlers" arrived against their will, being that they were mostly convicted criminals.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

yes, that's quite correct Mr 40. What once was considered a disgrace or shameful has now turned into a status. It was only when my wife Patsy started doing family history that I learned my ggg grandfather was one and his son who would be my gg grandfather married a convict too. Both convicts were thieves, the former, with others stole 20 pound and the later, clothing. When I visit England, which is not frequent I look at the people and thank god for my thieving forebears. And the judges that exiled them.
The family had a split and my section moved to New Zealand chasing gold and then to California for the same reason. My g grandfather was born in Sacramento. Later returned to New Zealand where I was born. Then I returned to Australia and I will not be going any further, that is won't be going to England.
Yes, Australia was settled by convicts including my forebears. Do I care. Yes, if it wasn't I could be living in England. Not much adventure there.

and it's nice to hear from you Mr 40.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Wot's a "Panican? A web search didn't help.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Response to readers.

I received a note from 40 deluxe asking if his comment offended me. No it didn't, not in the slightest. In fact I welcomed it. I thought a short story on my family history may be of interest.

And Katy asks what is a panican. It's a tin or enamel mug. I don't know where the name originated.

Hi to both 40 Deluxe and Katy.

I thought I might re run a story of scallywags in the Northern Territory. It will be posted shortly. gary.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Another Territory Scallywag.


In the early 70’s I was mustering cattle in the Northern Territory with a Bell 47. This is a 3 seater bubble type helicopter.
The“territory” has many remote and isolated cattle properties. Numerous are 1 mil acres which is the max area available for leasehold. There are however 5 properties bigger than 3 mil acres.The quality of this country is variable from poor with only small carrying capacity to very large well grassed plains.
Men and women can be characters and some are household names. Bernie Thomlan was one such person. A fencing contractor I met at Willeroo Station which is west ofthe town of Katherine.
The town ofLarrimah is a little over 100 miles south of Katherine and has a population of 11, yes eleven. A property at Larrimah has an extensive area of Coolabah trees. You know the tree under which the swagman sat after stealing the jumbuck. (waltzing matilda).
Bernie spent 3 days there cutting Coolabah posts. Then who should arrive but the station owner and a policeman. Bernie didn’t have permission to gather timber and realised immediately he was stuck. Well the owner said he wasn’t intending to press charges, Bernie departed so did the owner and policeman. But the owner returned next day, along with a truck and helpers. They were now his posts and he had come to pick them up. He was pleased with Bernie. Now Bernie the provider.
When he arrived at the site for these posts he found Bernie had returned with his chainsaw and what were posts was now cut in half. Now good only for fire wood.
And no one in the top end of the Territory ever lit a fire except at a stock camp or cattle drive on which to cook. . Aircon is more appropriate.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Gary, which takes more concentration to keep moving in a straight line, a helicopter or a Model A?

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Both my Model A 's with that 7 tooth steering box. I'm thinking of upgrading to a gemmer with 2 tooth. I've put on a short pitman rod and whilst the steering is lower geared and easier the slop is greater. I purchased a 35 steering box, rhd, thinking I'd have it converted but the engineer said it wouldn't fit in the chassis u frame.
However a helicopter is unstable and one must hold the controls at all times. It has been now 45 years since I flew a helicopter and it didn't have any modern gear like one would find in a modern machine.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

This is a long preamble, but it will give you something to read during the new year break.

Preamble fromWikipedia. Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about 1 m (40 in) in length with small, stubby tails. There are three extant species and they are all members of the family Vombatidae. They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
Wombats dig extensive burrow systems with their rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. One distinctive adaptation of wombats is their backward pouch. The advantage of a backward-facing pouch is that when digging, the wombat does not gather soil in its pouch over its young. Although mainly crepuscular and nocturnal,wombats may also venture out to feed on cool or overcast days. They are not commonly seen, but leave ample evidence of their passage, treating fences as minor inconveniences to be gone through or under, and leaving distinctive cubicfeces.[5] The cubical nature of the feces is thought to serve two purposes; to mark territory and to attract mating partners. The wombat produces between 80 and 100, two-centimetre (0.8 in)pieces of feces in a single night, and four to eight pieces each bowel movement.[6]


Our Wombat. Big heart and little head.

Dick was an aeroplane maintenance man. I hired him when he lived on Queensland and he drove1100 miles south to take up the position for the summer season. Initially he stayed with Patsy and I at our home. He was a likeable bloke, always worked his best which mostly was pretty ordinary. He was frequently in trouble with me so he kept out of my way. He worked at night and by the time he got home I was either in bed or too tired to care. Because he worked at night I named him Wombat.
It turns out Wombat was spending most of the evenings at the local and when he was asked how he acquired the name Wombat he would always respond with “Wombat eats roots and leaves”.
Well Wombat had no money and I felt sorry for him. I payed him well but it just wouldn’t stick. I decided it would help him if I sold him our car. An older model but I had kept it in immaculate condition.
Our shed on the local aerodrome was where we kept chemical, aeroplane spare parts, tools and junk. It was a hot place to hang out during summer but when I arrived back early I found Wombat there, just hanging about. I couldn’t figured why. Well the telephone rings and I answer. A finance company rep calling to enquire about Wombat, the sort of things financiers like to know when providing money. I provide the answers and elaborated on them in a way that pleased the man but didn’t really please me. When the call finished I looked at Wombat and I knew why he was just hanging around the shed in the heat with otherwise nothing to do. To receive that call himself and bullshit the financier he was expecting to call.
Well the season closed, Wombat took delivery of his new car, made the down payment then headed back to Queensland. Of course we heard from the financial quite frequently afterwards.
Well Wombat later returned to the region, setting up a maintenance facility in Benalla which is about an hours drive south. He had plenty of work, much from aeroplane owners who couldn’t find an engineer or workshop to sign off work that had been previously done mostly by themselves to their respective aeroplanes. Always in trouble with the aviation authority. Still helping people out where other engineers wouldn’t.
Wombat. Known far and wide by that name alone. Still likeable, big heart and little head.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Yesterday. Wombat’s were part of the story. So today I’ll continue with other Australian native animals.
The Koala.

Koala. Commonly called the Koala Bear. I always call them bears which drives my wife batty and she is continually correcting me.
The animal is a marsupial- she carries the bub in her pouch- for about 6 months. They are herbivores and spend their time up the gum tree not necessarily in the canopy. Their diet is gum tree leaves and it is rare that they drink water.
The male is a Buck, the female is a Doe and bub a Joey. They live to be about 20 years max, are territorial and seem to need about 30 acres each. When I first heard one I mistook it’s grunting to be a pig. I’d never pick one up, the long sharp claws are quite a deterrent.
My daughter inlaw got a picture of one crossing the old railway bridge outside our house. A tourist got a picture of one sitting on our fence post. Maybe even the same animal. Pictures included, that’s if I manage to get them both on this story.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

The bear, the one on the right hand side, in the previous story, number 420, was not on my fence post. the correct picture is here.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

The possum.

No, not the opossum which is American but the Australian possum. They are mainly leaf eaters but do succumb to fruit which I use to catch and relocate them. Apples are their favourite. They are nocturnal and love to make home in the roofs of houses. They become a nuisance and if they make it into your ceiling you will reckon there’s a footy team up there playing a grand final. They wake sometime after dark and venture out to feed. They return about an hour before daylight. They can be tamed easily, especially with fruit but quickly become a pest. They love to decimate your orchard by taking one only bite from each piece of fruit then dropping it on the ground and moving on the do the same to the entire tree. They are marsupials and prolific breeders.

I read thereare more than 20 types of possums in Australia but I know only two. Brush tailsand ring tails. The former being more common. I wish I didn’t know any.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

The Sugar Glider.

Mainly herbivore but also insectivore, marsupial and nocturnal. A small fellow that shows after dusk. Well I guess that's what nocturnal means. Climbs up the tree quite rapidly not unlike a squirrel and glides to another tree. It has a membrane of skin between all legs. It’s approach to the destination tree is rapid and the touchdown is hard.

We had quite a few Sugars until our neighbour decided to keep cats and now the population has been decimated. The Sugars do provide a useful service to the native trees. We have a parasitic mistletoe which drains the tree of moisture and nutrient and when it flowers the Sugars eat the flower and thus prevent this curse spreading.

Sugars are not known to many people. The picture is from the internet.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Australia’s most hated animal.

It is the domestic and feral cat. Killers of native animals and birds. Respective owners all claim their pets would not do such a thing but almost without exception they know the truth. The quote below is direct from the internet.

Each feral cat kills between 5-30animals per day. A conservative estimate puts the total population of feral cats at approximately 4 million. This means feral cats are killing millions of native animals killed per day.

The above quote does not account for destruction by domestic cats.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Just curious: Where do rabbits fit in here? I've heard they're rather unpopular, too!

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Yes you are quite correct Mr 40. The poms bought rabbits to Australia to provide game. They also bought sparrows, those pesky dirty little birds. It was an endeavour to have Australia "just like home".
yes rabbits have caused vast areas of erosion. Perhaps secondary they eat pasture which would otherwise be eaten by profit producing livestock.
At this moment they are somewhat under control with the introduction of Calisivirus. Earlier it was myxomatosis but gradually rabbits became tolerant to that. It will probably happen, in time, that they will become tolerant to Calisi as well. I remember flying low level in South Australia and watching about 150 yards in front of the aeroplane and seeing rabbits by the hundreds run for their burrows. It's been some time since I flew there but last trip didn't spot a single one.
One can find historical film of catching rabbits by the thousands. Rabbit proof fences were erected. Then it was dog or dingo fences. Now there's areas of cat proof fences to allow the small native animals to breed. It looks successful but encompasses only small areas.
copied from the internet, below-

Within a number of years, those 24 rabbits multiplied into millions. By the 1920s, less than 70 years since its introduction, the rabbit population in Australia ballooned to an estimated 10 billion, reproducing at a rate of 18 to 30 per single female rabbit per year.Mar 8, 2018

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

And incidentally during the depression rabbits were called "underground chicken".

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

The Echidna.

I have compiled this story mainly from the internet. The animal is one that I don’t see often and don’t know alot about. There is a link at the bottom of the page which takes you to an article on the Echidna, it is interesting and short. The parts that are copied are in blue and some come from the article from the link shown at the bottom.
Echidnas are egg-layingmammals. Along with the platypus, the echidna is a member of themonotremes, an order of egg-laying mammals found in Australia. After mating, a female echidna lays a single, soft-shelled, leathery egg, about the size of a dime, into her pouch.
The Echidnais a spiky little fellow that one doesn’t find frequently. When approached it will burrow it’s feet and snout into the earth and just can’t be picked up, not that one would want to. If found on ground that is too hard to dig into it will roll into a ball. It lives on ants and termites, they are day workers except in very hot weather when they go on night shift.
As some other posters have already said, echidnas are monotremes, hedgehogsare insectivores and porcupines are rodents. They are all mammals though. ...One of the major differences is that echidnas are actually monontremes (egg laying mammals) while hedgehogs and porcupineare not. (they give live birth).Nov 8, 2015
Now here’san interesting situation, maybe some readers could feel quite envious.
Echidnas typically breed between Julyand August. Mating for echidnas is quite unusual. Males have four-headed penises and the females have a two-branch reproductive tract. Only two of the heads are active at a time. It is thought that the four heads help males produce more sperm and enables them to become more competitive against other males

A female usually lays one egg at atime. The egg goes into a pouch on her stomach to incubate. After seven to 10 days, the egg is ready to hatch, according to the Animal Diversity Web. When it hatches, a baby echidna, called a puggle, is about half an inch (12 millimeters) long and weighs 0.02 ounces or about half a gram.The puggle stays in its mother's pouch for another six to eight weeks, which give its spines time to harden.
https://www.livescience.com/57267-echidna-facts.html


Tomorrow, the duck billed platypus.
Picture from the internet.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

The Platypus.

Commonly known as the duck billed platypus. Lives in creek beds and burrows from below the water line then up to dry ground. This allows the entrance to be hidden. He’s a fellow that not many have seen. One needs to stand or sit very still for two or three minutes then the creature will continue its task at hand which is probably food scavenging.
It has a bill like a duck, thus the name, webbed feet too like a duck but they are retracted for movement on land and a tail and fur like a beaver. It can defend itself with poison spikes behind its hind feet. It feeds on small aquatic creatures such as prawns (shrimp) and some insects.
It is a mammal but not a marsupial. She lays an egg which she nurtures with body heat by holding it against her tummy with her tail. The only other egg laying mammal is the Echidna which was featured yesterday.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Acknowledgement and Gratitude.

I upgraded my 6V starter motor to 12V and the bendix has been troublesome ever since. Synchro909 came to my rescue by selling me a starter motor (and cheaply too) and offering to fit my new field coils into it. Thankyou Mr Synchro.
Picture of Synchro otherwise known as Mr A. That is A for awesome.
And myself as accepting with delight.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Aw shucks, 'taint nuthin.
Seriously, I think helping each other is what this forum is all about and something I like to do when I can anyway.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

The Bandicoot.

A delightful small character, about the same size as a rabbit but have a rat look alike appearance. They have soft fur and are harmless little characters. Found in forest, particularly rain forests in the north but do extend to the south. A marsupial and a fast breeding one too however its population is decimated by cats, foxes and dingos. Urban expansion also.
They tend to be solitary characters rather than live in families or packs and their young are called bilbies.
I enjoyed just seeing these little creatures in the north. I’d leave out, on the lawn, a take away food bag with a few scraps and that would attract them. I have never known any to be kept as pets and there is no need to.
Pictures from the internet.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Animals I know not alot about.

Information gleaned mostly from the internet.

Tasmanian Devil.
Confined to Tasmania. A marsupial about the same size as a dog. Mainly nocturnal has diet of almost anything. Known for its shocking table manners.They fight for food not unlike a pack of wild dogs being thrown a bone. The only ones I have seen are road kill.

Quokka.
A marsupial and relative to the kangaroo. Grows to about 18 inches tall. Marsupial,carnivore and nocturnal. Found only at Rottnest Island, about 15 miles off the coast of Perth WA. The island was named by Dutch explorer who mistook the Quokka for rats thus the name in Dutch- rat nest. I have never been to Rottnest thus never seen one.
This is a direct copy from the internet.
Rottnest Island was discovered in 1696 by Willem de Vlamingh,a Dutch explorer, who named the island Rats' Nest due to the many large rats that he found on the island.

Quoll.
About the same size as a cat, found throughout Australia. Carnivore, Marsupial, and nocturnal. I have neverseen one.
There are many more native creatures. In the animal world I will write of the kangaroo and crocodile. I’ll then do some birds and some reptiles. Hope you won’t become bored shirtless.

the pictures, L to R. Tasmanian Devil, Quokka and Quoll.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

"Roadkill"? Did I hear "roadkill"? Got any good roadkill recipes? Some U.S. states allow you to get a permit and keep that deer you clobbered on the highway.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Yes Mr 40Delux. Roadkill. Well the Tas Devil does not stimulate my appetite. Dirty little Devils is what they really are.
Could I put one in my freezer for you.?

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Estuarine Crocodiles or Salt water Crocodile.

Well known is the estuarine or salt water crocodile because it is a man eater and bovine eater and horse and donkey eater but mainly for consumption of unsuspecting tourists. It gets a couple each year. It is the largest reptile in the world and is egg laying with mother taking protective guard of her future offspring. About 50 eggs and incubation period of 12 weeks. It lives to 70 years, grows to the extreme of 24 feet long and 1 ton in weight. Moves at fast speed in water and on land for short periods. Not intimidated by anything. Found mainly in Northern Australia plus Papua New Guinea and some parts of Indonesia. I’ve seen them from the air, sunning themselves on the river banks. Not frightened by aeroplane.

The Johnson River Crocodile or Freshwater Croc.
Named after Johnson an aboriginal policeman who first bought this to the attention of a naturalist, not the Johnson river in North Queensland. Can be found inland in good rivers and billabongs. Not aggressive infact slightly shy and swimmers bitten by this freshie only when it has mistaken it’s target.
Very much smaller than the saltie typically 8 feet long and weighing only about 150 pounds. Diet of small native animals. Like the saltie it lays nests and when the young hatch mother carries the bubs to the water in her mouth.
Both saltie and freshie have same habit on catching prey. They roll and roll and the prey drowns. The pictures, from the internet show 2 salties and on the right a freshie.
Tomorrow the Kangaroo.
A late footnote. When I lived in the Kimberlies of WA in the '60's I'd fly down the Ord River about 50 feet and infront, about 100 yards and see these little fellows run from the shore to the water. It was great to get such exposure to that wild life.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

The Kangaroo.

Widespread throughout Australia. It’s a well known animal and recognised as an Australian icon throughout the world. They have big feet and powerful hind legs. An enormous jump and can make 25 feet in one single hop and reach speeds greater than 30mph. They are the biggest marsupials in the world and can grow to a height of a little more than 6 feet and weigh about 200 pounds. One that size is called a booma. The females a doe, the males a buck and bubs a joey.
The most common are the red kangaroo and the eastern grey kangaroo. In all there are 55 different species. The wallaby is their smaller cousins. Simular characteristics just smaller.
They are herbivores. Their numbers have expanded rapidly because of the expansion of grazing with more watering points and improved pasture. Everyone likes kangaroos but too many can become a nuisance to graziers by competing for pasture with livestock and to farmers because they trample crops. They can jump fences or pass under the bottom wire. Sometimes they just mess up fences. In dryer conditions the roadside is greener because in addition to any rain the runoff from the road promotes green pick and they come there to graze. Many motorcars are damaged by striking them and bodies can be seen in big numbers along some roadsides. They are most active at dusk and dawn. When I see them on the road I turn off the headlights because they are drawn onto the road which is illuminated. We would have a couple of hundred around Tocumwal here. They are an attraction for visitors especially kids.
They are harvested for pet food. Greenies go off and say they are becoming extinct. It bullshit.One lady said she flew from Broken Hill to Sydney and never saw one. She was asked if she saw any sheep and no she said, she didn’t. Well it was pointed out to her we, at that time, had 120 million of them. (We now have only 99 million.)


The pictures show 2 bucks having an altercation, the emblem of local airline, Does with Joey's in pouch and feeding on lawn.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

something is wrong. 40Deluxe hasn't yet asked if we eat kangaroo roadkill.
Maybe he hasn't read it yet??

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Hi Gary, I'm just waiting for the recipe! Does it taste like chicken? In the U.S. they say every odd dish (rattlesnake, frog legs, etc.) tastes like chicken.

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

From Mr 40. In the U.S. they say every odd dish (rattlesnake, frog legs, etc.) tastes like chicken.

No Mr 40, it's only rabbit that is called chicken. Underground chicken. It would appear the appetites of Australians is more selective than Americans. cheers, gary

Re: tell a Model A related story
 

Tomorrow is Snakes. But in the interim it is about Gary. Yes me.

I had had a school friend come and spend a day with me. Of course we reminisced about everything associated and I brought up my “school certificate” results. This was a pretty low level exam and basically any student with an IQ greater than 60 should pass. Well gary here got a big fat 0, yes zero. One needed from 5 subjects a mark of 200 or greater but a minimum of 30 for the compulsory subject of English. Well I couldn’t make that. High marks in every other subject. But English, 28. Passed the following year. There was a compulsory essay and one topic in the choice of subjects was “aerial topdressing”, well bingo. I scraped through.
Another aspect in which I was poor was communicating. It was not a big thing in our household. I do remember well my parents discussing with me my school report and the teacher reported “gary has difficulty expressing himself”. That was a fair comment and in addition to that I never defended myself well against criticism even unfair criticism. It was easier to let it pass.
Why am Itelling you all this? Well it is this forum that has taught me to express myself much better. Now I don’t let unjust criticism pass. My self esteem is better and since I’ve written about a broad range of subjects I’ve come to realise I’ve had an interesting job and indeed life. The support I have had from readers has confirmed this and I acknowledge and thank you all. And I welcome comments and questions I get from you.