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Working Mossman.
There are two Mossman’s in Australia, one is an upmarket suburb in Sydney and the other is in far north Queensland. It is the later where I worked and where I speak of now. A tropical location north of Cairns. I worked in Mossman in January and February each year, spraying sugar cane to control weeds which grew rapidly up the cane and over the canopy pulling it down. The herbicides we used were estercides of 24D and245T. One had to take considerable care because of neighbouring susceptible crops and a tropical areas have very susceptible plants. It was difficult work. And rain. I will always remember 84 inches of rain in 3 days. The hotel where I stayed had a tin roof so one never endeavoured to talk. It would be fair to say the majority of farmers were Italian whose parents and grandparents were formally cane cutters. Those were the days when immigrants worked where as today they just get welfare and the rest of us just get mad.
The old farmers houses still stand although dilapidated but yet occupied. Free loaders that cultivate their own crop between the rows of cane. And they hate spray planes. Cane is obviously not susceptible to herbicides and their plants are. Very.
Much of the cane to the south of Mossman was located in the Cairns Airtraffic Control area. As I was working well below the quite high hills I never bothered to get an airways clearance from Cairns. But it didn’t take them long to find out I had violated their airspace. These deserted house dwellers, lets call them AP for alternative people, called Cairns tower to complain about the aeroplane working around their houses. Of course Cairns knew immediately I was in their airspace without a clearance.
Next year I was granted a blanket clearance to work there.When I finished I called Cairns to cancel my clearance and asked how many complaints they received. “none” they said.
I mentioned this to my farmer agent, Ron Veri and Ron said“forgot to tell you Gary the cops cleaned them out. More than 15 in jail”
One AP waved a rifle at me. I told the cops and they went and took the bolt from his rifle. I asked “do I assume the rifle has no bolt or is it another rifle”. I thought they were a bit weak.
I used to spray estercides along the Daintree river. (Mossman). Today it would be me in jail. It’s populated, many AP, houses and tourists.Many people don’t like food production and they don’t have appreciation of farmers. They have open hostility to crop sprayers. Yet they enjoy eating.
Ten miles away was a small costal community called Port Douglass. A backwater. It has turned into a large resort and it seems as if Australians have just discovered it. It is expensive, up market and nauseating.Isn’t it a shame when developers step in a trash small communities.