As the Sun sank slowly into the West, we leave...

We uplifted from Russell Island, our home for 14 years today.  Our shoreline house has been rented, our worldly goods, sold off, given away or some stored for our return to Australia after a European Summer.

We leave at the best time for the Islands, as the late autumn closes in with clear, cool, crisp days and what have got to be some of the most spectacular sunrises and sets on the planet.  Yes, we are going to miss it...and our many friends accumulated over that time but time and tide wait for no man, we must move on with our lives while we still have the energy.

We caught the next to last barge on Friday night and we were able to capture a few images to remind us why we have to revisit these magic islands and the kind people who inhabit them.

Ray-Ban Barge reflects the setting Sun

One last image of Russell's Krummel Passage

Posted from Lee Shipley's phone

SMBI: Another magic morning

Posted from Lee Shipley's phone

Jazz on Macleay

Organised by the Macleay Arts Complex, Michael Mills played "Pure Piano at Sunset" on the foreshore last night.  

People bought their own seats tables food and wine. Michael supplied the calm improvised jazz.

Trained in both classical and jazz, Michael chatted between numbers about his development as an improvisational pianist and composer. He believes that music is a “journey of the heart”, and that improvisation is the purest form of musical expression. He likened his spontaneous improvations to “musical painting”, a sentiment that was felt by the quiet, appreciative audience soaking up his notes.

Michael Mills plays jazz into the dusk of a beautiful autumn day on Macleay

Michael's opening number was the often asked for "Misty"--then he got down to some serious improvs.

The perpetual question of people from the mainland and from the other islands answered by a thoughtful notice by the organisers.  The Arts Complex is at the top end of the island, about 4.6km from ferry terminal in the south.

Mysteriously dead foreshore trees still make for dramatic photos

La grande dame: what would good jazz be without good wine.

To give you something of a taste, here is a previous performance he did of another standard "The Girl from Ipenema"
And finally, you can pay and download his albums from his website

Macleay Island Canoe Classic

Neville Prosser has put together a rather nice video of this year's event. The 'classic' is becoming just that and a credit to the people on Macleay who have made it so.
https://youtu.be/Qo1F9HmpIhU

Posted from Lee Shipley's phone

Things I will miss #2

Autumn sunset

It is hard not to love the Southern Moreton Bay Islands in the Autumn. The savage rolling rain banks of late Summer are suddenly replaced by a cold azure still sky. the masses of mosquitoes peter out and the constant buzz of the lawn mowers do much the same. On go the jackets and the pleasant smiles: the heat and humidity are gone and the really chilly months are still a long way off. We linger and take the time to watch the stars appear in the dusk.



Posted from Lee Shipley's phone

Redland Bay warm autumn

The seasonal changes in South East Queensland are subtle. The heat of the day still burns but the wind is less fierce. The late afternoon casts longer, cooler shadows but the light is still harsh. More often than not the water mirrors the fishing boats. The persistent waves of spotty rain make the ground soft and mushrooms abound. Sub-tropical flowers bloom in defiance of European ideas of Autumn.  It is a good time by the water.

Mixed messages about Stradbroke bridge from the Queensland Government

One of three planning strategies doing the rounds between 1977 and 1986. It proposed five new urban centres and a peak holiday population of 80,000 people. The plan included building a bridge and the continuation of sand mining.  The natural environment would not have been restored and instead the land used by the mines reshaped to suit residential development. Of the new centres, Clayton would be a series of hectare blocks along Clayton Road, Amity. Karboora will be halfway along the Dunwich 18 mile swamp road and Mllbool will be at the end of the road. Canaipa Point  would have been be south of Dunwich near where the bridge joins the Island and Canaipa Waters was planned as a canal estate south of Canaipa Point. The suggested tourist development included a casino at Karboora and a country club at Dunwich.

Queensland Ministers are disagreeing on the future of North Stradbroke.

John
Paul-Langb
roek

In the Courier Mail yesterday Education Minister John Paul-Langbroek said a North Stradbroke Island bridge might have to be reconsidered to ensure the island community remained viable.
"We do have to plan for people to be able to maintain their lives over there," Mr Langbroek said.
At the same time Planning Minister Jeff Seeney said the project was currently "not on the Government's radar" and a spokes person for Transport Minister and Main Roads Minister Craig Emerson flatly told Brisbane Times that trying to bridge in North Stradbroke Island was uneconomic.
The spokesperson said that the southern Moreton Bay islands will come into the Translink network, allowing them cheaper ferry trips, from mid-2013.
The reason for the sudden flurry of comment was the release of the 1982 Queensland Government Cabinet Papers which revealed for the first time the extent of the carve up of North Stradbroke Island Crown land that was to bankroll bridging from the mainland 20 years ago.
In May 1982, Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen told his cabinet:
"Early this year I received a deputation representing a consortium of private developers which expressed interest in submitting a proposal to the government for private financing of a bridge in return for development rights to certain Crown lands on North Stradbroke Island"
"I am now in receipt of a proposal from the consortium ... including Keneba Pty Ltd, a company incorporated in Western Australia, and Seo Il Construction Company Limited from Korea."
A route across Russell Island had been investigated by the Department of Main Roads in March 1978.
The Cabinet papers showed that a toll would not be enough to cover the expenses of the bridging so, in order for the plan to work, the Government was considering giving freehold title for the 800 hectares of crown land near Point Lookout to the companies that they could then sell off to "reputable developers".

Joh
Bjelke-Petersen

Estimates at the time said this was enough for 8,000 houses and a permanent population of 20,000.and a permanent population of 20,000 on North Stradbroke.

About 50 hectares of "prime beachfront land" would have been set aside for commercial and high-density development.
What is more the developers would have exclusive rights to develop land on North Stradbroke Island.
It wasn't until 1986 that a $81 million final proposal was revealed. It would have taken the route across Pannikin and Russell islands and overshot the budget
The developers wanted the Government to bear part of the cost of the bridging and the State Government canned the project as "economically unviable".
Two years later Redland Shire Chairman Merv Genrich said that as the Shire’s plans to pipe water from the sands of Stradbroke Island to the mainland via Russell in order to support residential development in the south of the Shire.  95% of the North Stradbroke was declared a water catchment reserve and thus insufficient crown land was left on Stradbroke to excite developers today.

Karen
Williams

Commenting on the feasibility of the current State Government revisiting the issue, Redland City Council Mayor Karen Williams  said North Stradbroke Island faced challenges as mining operations wound down but she believed there was neither funding nor community support for bridging.
She told Andrew MacDonald of the Courier Mail that it could also risk damaging North Stradbroke's reputation as a pristine and relatively secluded tourism asset.
"My position currently would be that we need to take a long-term view of the transition plans for North Stradbroke Island and I don't know that the bridge is the solution," she said.
"When you do build that kind of infrastructure, there is then pressure to find ways to keep up with costs and find ways of maintaining it which could ultimately mean developing parts of the island we wouldn't be considering today."
Taking a similar line to Craig Emerson she said a bigger issue facing council was providing additional services to the southern Moreton Bay Islands.

Craig
Ogilvie

Councillor for North Stradbroke's Division Craig Ogilvie said the proposal in 1982 reflected "a type of thinking that belonged back in that generation. It certainly isn't the type of thinking that belongs in this generation.
"Any move to reconsider the issue could inflame residents".

Grey Army versus the commuters on the SMBI

Just judging by the numbers on the
ferries is a poor guide 

If we have a common myth on the islands, it is that the islands is becoming more of a commuter community than the retirees.
The reverse is true.
Below is a comparison using the Census figures of 2011 and those of a decade ago.  While the overall numbers have increased by nearly double  to 5,626 the number of older people either retired or close to setting up for retirement is increasing faster than the other groups. The proportion of workers 50 to 59 approaching retirement has fallen from 22.8% to 16.3%. parents and home builders in the 35 to 49 age group has fallen from 18.6% to 17.3%  and the young workforce in the 25 to 34 bracket have remained constant, those in the 60 to 84 group have dramatically increased.
Most telling of these groups is the jump in the retiree and empty nester group aged from 60 to 69 who have gone from being only 7.3% of the population to nearly a quarter at 23.1.
In theory such a large proportion of retirees should indicated a higher degree of voluntary work making up for the gaps in the social services available on the islands but it doesn't: the numbers are only slightly above those of Redland City as a whole and, ominously, the 18.4% participation is falling fast from the 21% we had  in 2006.
The question is will, granted these trends, inclusion of the SMBI in Translink  help or hinder the sustainability of the islands?

Southern Moreton Bay Islands	2011			2001			Change
Service age group (years)	Number	%	Redland City %	Number	%	Redland City %	2001 to 2011
Babies and pre-schoolers (0 to 4)	335	6	6.2	146	4.5	6.6	189
Primary schoolers (5 to 11)	387	6.9	9.5	239	7.3	11	148
Secondary schoolers (12 to 17)	346	6.2	8.9	181	5.6	9.8	165
Tertiary education & independence (18 to 24)	216	3.8	8.7	103	3.2	8.7	113
Young workforce (25 to 34)	386	6.9	10.6	225	6.9	11.9	161
Parents and homebuilders (35 to 49)	975	17.3	21.4	606	18.6	23.7	369
Older workers & pre-retirees (50 to 59)	919	16.3	14	742	22.8	12.7	177
Empty nesters and retirees (60 to 69)	1300	23.1	11	631	19.4	7.3	669
Seniors (70 to 84)	725	12.9	7.8	349	10.7	7	376
Frail aged (85 and over)	37	0.7	2	30	0.9	1.2	7

Dip of death

Too close for comfort: swimmers at Russell Wharf yesterday

Every summer when it heats up, kids are out of school and head for the water.
In the Bay Islands this is becoming a dice with death or serious injury.

1. Shark attack. Six years ago, a young woman was taken by Bull Sharks in the Rainbow Channel at Amity on North Stradbroke Island.  A public information campaign aimed at visitors was mounted by the Redland Council and permanent signs erected along the shoreline.
2. Getting infections. The latest Healthywaterways report gives the Southern Moreton Bay area a "D" rating drawing attention to the outsized sewerage plume originating from the Albert and Logan Rivers after the heavy rains early in the year.
3. Leaping from the roofs of structures.  Both the Council and ferry operators have looked at redesigning access to gantries and roofs to prevent access but the practice continues.



Leaping into the wake

4. Being run down by water traffic.  Fast ferries, big barges and private vessels are growing in number every year in the islands and converge on the few public pontoons used by the swimmers.  Fast ferries frequency is around one every half hour at most island pontoons. Fortunately most of the ferries are now waterjet driven so the danger of being hit by a propeller or rudder has been lessened. However, bobbing heads are difficult to see and not every swimmer can see or hear boats approaching. 

 Efforts have been made by locals and authorities to prevent the practice.  Island police have been called to the jetties when unsafe practices have been observed.  Locals have erected (and had torn down) signs warning of the shark danger. The ferry drivers are always alert for swimmers. One of the key reasons for the Council and State authorities and Education Department backing the building of the $1m Russell Island swimming pool was to give an alternative.
But the practice continues and is only a matter of time before a serious accident happens.
What is the answer?