National Whale Day 14-15 June 2008

Australia celebrates National Whale Day on the 14th of June 2008.
Show your support this weekend for these magnificent creatures which inhabit Australian territorial waters.
Link to National Whale Day website here.

Some NSW land-based vantage points for sighting whales:

• Cape Byron state recreation Area near Byron Bay
  
• Broken Head Nature Reserve near Byron Bay
  
• Solitary Islands Marine Park north of Coffs Harbour
  
• Hat Head National Park near Kempsey
  
• Crowdy Head National Park near Taree
  
• Tomaree National Park near Nelson Bay
  
• Barrenjoey Headland in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park near Sydney
  
• North Head in Sydney Harbour National Park
  
• Cape Solander in Botany Bay National Park at Kurnell
  
• Jervis Bay National Park near Nowra
  
• Ben Boyd National Park near Eden

Clarence Valley will be celebrating National Whale Day on Sunday 15th June.

* At Pilot Hill, Yamba, where the mouth of the Clarence River meets the Pacific Ocean.
Starts at 11a.m. and includes whale watching and interpretive session with National Parks & Wildlife, community whale wall and family barbecue. Everyone is welcome.
Come and show support for the Valley's adopted humpback whale, Yuraygir.

Further information phone: (02) 6643.0200 Susan Lynch - Clarence Valley Council

Heard 'round the traps

An elderly man leaving a Grafton shopping centre to his mate:
"I've seen the future. I can't afford it."

A reminder to Pandora Archives on the folly of Internet censorship

Went to Pandora Archives yesterday to look up some information on a contentious blog and found this:

This resource has been restricted in Pandora
Access to this item is restricted for 70 Year(s) from the date of archiving. During this period it is only accessible to National Library staff for preservation purposes.

Which begs the question - haven't the archives heard of the Internet Wayback Machine which happily allows everyone who read Club Troppo's Missing Links yesterday to find out what Caz and The Hack had been up to (over 50 snapshots of homepages) even if they had never followed that contentious blog.

All the Australian Government's Pandora Archives has done with its 70 year restriction is hold government up to ridicule.

Well done, NSW North Coast

The 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours list contained the names of a few Northern Rivers folk who well deserved their recognition.

An Order of Australia Medal (OAM) to Jim Agnew of Yamba, who has been taking on government and bureaucracy for years in an endeavour to obtain decent health care for his town.

An Order of Australia (OA) to Elizabeth Davies of Minnie Waters and Braunstone, for her long service to nurse and midwifery education.

An Order of Australia (OA) to Laurie Marchant of Grafton, for services to the community spanning decades.

An Order of Australia Medal (OAM) to John Beasley of Lennox Head, for services to the lifesaving movement.

An Order of Australia Medal (OAM) to John Mace of Northern Rivers, for his work with bush fire brigades.

An Order of Australia Medal (OAM) to James Crethar of Goonellabah, for his work with youth in the Lismore area and beyond.

And to any other NSW North Coast quiet achievers I may have missed here - well done!