For those that fear coming to Australia!

[John ks]

Nearly walked over this.

I named it monty

This is near a carpark that leads to the Wynnum Mangrove boardwalk

 

Next to the boardwalk, Is that Nessie on a holiday to Brisbane?

 

 

John

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by John ks
improve gramma

[kevinlms]

The bird afraid to fly and needing rescuing.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-13/bruce-maldon-macaw-stuck-tree-firefighters-rescue/101767494

Edited December 13, 2022 by kevinlms

[Sidecar Racer]

6 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-13/bruce-maldon-macaw-stuck-tree-firefighters-rescue/101767494

 Had to be rated funny as bird and owner are scared of heights .

[JZ]

Question about the 1960's. What brands of cigarettes were on sale then? Was it predominantly British brands, or American? Building a diorama and wondered what advertising to use.

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, JZ said:

Question about the 1960's. What brands of cigarettes were on sale then? Was it predominantly British brands, or American? Building a diorama and wondered what advertising to use.

Personally I remember mainly Marlborough and Camel, though the Camel one might be just because it had a big camel on it which you notice when you are under 7.  I do recall that Vincent Powders and Bex (Analgesic powders popular with "housewives" before their  addictiveness and kidney killing properties were recognised) were both widely advertised - those signs were everywhere, looked like this:

 

 

 

If you are on Facebook (or this group is accessible without a login, it might give you some help:

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1830760020479493/

 

 

One thing to remember is that many  products were state based - what was advertised widely in say Victoria possibly wasnt available in NSW or Queensland  and there was a different brand advertised there. (Beer being the perfect example,  but ice creams and pies too..) 

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[monkeysarefun]

There may be certain modifications needed in "Lineside Workers" figure sets. 

 

https://amp.theage.com.au/national/victoria/carolyn-thought-she-d-be-paying-bills-in-coins-now-her-pay-is-off-the-rails-20221217-p5c73w.html

[JZ]

49 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

There may be certain modifications needed in "Lineside Workers" figure sets. 

 

https://amp.theage.com.au/national/victoria/carolyn-thought-she-d-be-paying-bills-in-coins-now-her-pay-is-off-the-rails-20221217-p5c73w.html

I noticed a higher proportion of women working on the railway in Australia than the UK and in the building industry.

[Ozexpatriate]

9 hours ago, JZ said:

Question about the 1960's. What brands of cigarettes were on sale then? Was it predominantly British brands, or American? Building a diorama and wondered what advertising to use.

Good question. I can better remember television commercials of the 1970s - Woodbines, Benson & Hedges etc. As stated above, Marlboro and Camel were popular.

 

The biggest brand might have been Winfield. (British American Tobacco Company). Their tagline "Anyhow .. Have a Winfield", was huge. This isn't much help to you because they were introduced in 1972.

 

There was a large illuminated mechanical billboard for Peter Stuyvesant coming north off the Story Bridge in Brisbane (Anne and Gipps Streets). That was probably there in the 1960s. (Also British American Tobacco Company - but before Winfield.)

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

4 hours ago, JZ said:

Question about the 1960's. What brands of cigarettes were on sale then? 

2 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

I do recall that Vincent Powders and Bex were both widely advertised - those signs were everywhere,

 

One thing to remember is that many  products were state based - what was advertised widely in say Victoria possibly wasnt available in NSW or Queensland  and there was a different brand advertised there. (Beer being the perfect example,  but ice creams and pies too..) 

The more I think about it, besides Vincents and Bex, the most common advertising (as in posters) might have been ice cream. This, as noted above, was local.

 

From memory and spot-checking photographs online, there wasn't a *lot* of advertising at Australian railway stations.

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[monkeysarefun]

I remember the late 70's early 80's when an organisation called BUGA UP (Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Advertising) used to deface any billboard advertising cigarettes or alcohol in quite  amusing ways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SHMD]

The only one I remember (from the 60s ad 70s) is the pack of horses one - and always wondered what the connection with free (or corralled) horses was with smoking?

 

Although, to be fair, I wasn't all that bothered about cigs then, I was pre-occupied with trying to get a "switch track" bought for my Hornby set so that I could shunt that awful giraffe car out of the train - as long as I didn't put that potentially explosive tanker (UD) next to the steam engine!

 

You might be better with a "3sso" advert instead!

 

 

Kev.

[monkeysarefun]

Or Caltex (brought up purely so I can post this again!)

 

 

[SRman]

5 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Personally I remember mainly Marlborough and Camel, though the Camel one might be just because it had a big camel on it which you notice when you are under 7.  I do recall that Vincent Powders and Bex (Analgesic powders popular with "housewives" before their  addictiveness and kidney killing properties were recognised) were both widely advertised - those signs were everywhere, looked like this:

 

 

 

If you are on Facebook (or this group is accessible without a login, it might give you some help:

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1830760020479493/

 

 

One thing to remember is that many  products were state based - what was advertised widely in say Victoria possibly wasnt available in NSW or Queensland  and there was a different brand advertised there. (Beer being the perfect example,  but ice creams and pies too..) 

 

 

XXXX anyone?

 

[monkeysarefun]

Sending out a health advice warning people not to eat spinach because it may cause hallucinations was possibly the wrong angle to focus on:

 

From The  Guardian)

 

Australians are being urged not to seek out contaminated baby spinach products for a recreational high after more than 130 people who ate a range of fresh food items suffered symptoms including hallucinations and delirium.

Authorities were on Sunday night testing the weed believed to be responsible for the widespread recall of products containing spinach thought to have come from a farm in Victoria.

 

Symptoms can be severe and include delirium or confusion, hallucinations, dilated pupils, rapid heartbeat, flushed face, blurred vision, dry mouth and skin, and fever.

 

It is believed the weeds were harvested alongside the baby spinach and processed as such.

Dr Brett Summerell, chief scientist at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, said it was hard to distinguish between many plant species when they were small. He suspected toxic plants including nightshades could be to blame.

“There are lots of plants that could do this – lots of weeds that are relatives to potato and tomato,” he said.

 

Summerell warned people not to go searching for the contaminated products or pick and eat weeds they could not identify in search of a cheap high.

 

“People might be tempted to go out picking weeds thinking that they’ll get some sort of high [but] it’s really important to remember yes, there might be a hallucinogenic side to this, but there’s a whole lot of really horrible health issues,” he said.

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, SRman said:

XXXX anyone?

That bus scheme is 1970s. Leyland 'Panther' based on some internet photo references (1976).

 

The earlier liveries are (from an internet forum) 

Quote

All over silver

"Egg & Lettuce" - Light green, cream stripe, white

The "egg and lettuce" would be 1960s.

[Ozexpatriate]

3 hours ago, SHMD said:

The only one I remember (from the 60s ad 70s) is the pack of horses one - and always wondered what the connection with free (or corralled) horses was with smoking?

Marlboro by the sound of it. Their global "Marlboro Man" commercials were always cowboys - spoofed in "Moonraker" (also product placement). 

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[SRman]

On 19/12/2022 at 12:10, Ozexpatriate said:

That bus scheme is 1970s. Leyland 'Panther' based on some internet photo references (1976).

 

The earlier liveries are (from an internet forum) 

The "egg and lettuce" would be 1960s.

 

April 1968 - 1970 for the production batch of 340 Panthers, with the prototype #10 with an entirely different body style delivered in the blue scheme in 1966. They were intended as tram replacements, with the last tram (and trolleybus) services having been in 1969. The buses with front and centre doors rather than front and rear doors (40 x AEC Reliance and 80 x Leyland Leopard) were also painted into the blue scheme from the late 1960s onwards. None of these Leyland Panthers were ever in the earlier green/cream scheme.

 

The model in my photo represents a slightly later time in the bus's life because it has the roof hatches and the fleet number on the offside is over the rear wheel arch; the latter was in front of the front wheel arch when they were first delivered. Also, when first delivered, the doors were originally in the zenith blue (the darker of the two shades), rather than the later silver-grey. I helped research the liveries and details for this model before it was produced, including suggesting a couple of changes to the shape of the rear overhang, also on the offside. I have no connection to the producer of the model other than as an unpaid adviser.

Edit: additional info: the colours at the time were zenith blue, araluen blue, and arctic white, as reported in the Leyland Journal around 1972 (I remember that roughly because the next issue had the prototype Leyland National demonstrator on its cover). They were doing articles over two issues on Australian Government fleets which largely featured Leyland products at that time.

Edited December 20, 2022 by SRman

[kevinlms]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-19/tiger-snake-in-tasmania-house-as-owner-watches-cricket/101787382

 

But the owner didn't miss any cricket!

Edited December 19, 2022 by kevinlms

[monkeysarefun]

 

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-12-27/australia-painful-stings-spider-wasp-stinging-tree-centipede/101630136

[kevinlms]

22 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-12-27/australia-painful-stings-spider-wasp-stinging-tree-centipede/101630136

No thanks, rather him than me! Am I being selfish? Yes and proudly so!

[kevinlms]

Already it's too late to travel to visit!

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-26/cairns-corpse-flower-titan-arum-in-bloom/101809324

[monkeysarefun]

50 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

Already it's too late to travel to visit!

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-26/cairns-corpse-flower-titan-arum-in-bloom/101809324

The one in Sydney Botanic Gardens blooms periodically. I remember going to see it in 2008. ( Not my photo)

 

[SHMD]

6 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-12-27/australia-painful-stings-spider-wasp-stinging-tree-centipede/101630136

 

I'm pretty sure I've been bitten by a Red Headed Centipede.

I recognised it from his description. I was bitten on the finger tip, only, in my case I always describe it as :-

 

"Heat a long thin sword up until it is red-hot. Hold your arm out straight. Now get someone to plunge the sword into your arm as fast as they can, starting at the fingers and skewering your whole arm up to your shoulder. Leave it there to cool over several hours."

 

Kev.

[monkeysarefun]

9 minutes ago, SHMD said:

 

I'm pretty sure I've been bitten by a Red Headed Centipede.

I recognised it from his description. I was bitten on the finger tip, only, in my case I always describe it as :-

 

"Heat a long thin sword up until it is red-hot. Hold your arm out straight. Now get someone to plunge the sword into your arm as fast as they can, starting at the fingers and skewering your whole arm up to your shoulder. Leave it there to cool over several hours."

 

Kev.

Ouch. I've experienced a giant bullant bite (2.5 on his scale) I definitely wouldn't want to try anything stronger!

[monkeysarefun]

On 10/12/2022 at 21:32, cctransuk said:

 

..... and a very nice railway and town they are, too!

 

My wife and I had the train from Croydon to Normanton entirely to ourselves - two passengers and three crew!

 

The Purple Pub was very welcoming, the beer was refreshingly cold, and they served an excellent meal.

 

Chris the Croc was impressive - even in concrete form!

 

Sunset down at the river was magnificent, and there was even a bustard, posing in the middle of the road, as we took photos.

 

John Isherwood.

They're after a new train driver..

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-28/gulflander-train-driver-reflects-12-years-outback-qld-tourism/101810814