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X Marks The Spot

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X Marks The Spot

USQ’s bid to preserve traditional Indigenous game

It’s like noughts and crosses, but played by young hunters in pre-colonial Australia.

Visitors to Toowoomba’s Cobb+Co Museum, part of the Queensland Museum Network, would be familiar with the floor game Burguu Matya, a traditional Australian Aboriginal activity from the Wiradjuri people.

In a bid to share this important piece of Australian history with more people, Cobb+Co has joined forces with the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) to bring the game to a digital platform.

Thought to be traditionally played with stones, the game can be likened to a more strategic tic-tac-toe or simplified chess.

USQ’s Zoe Lynch and Shane Gadsby (front from left), who developed and animated the browser-based version of the game, with Queensland Museum Head of Lifelong Learning Amy Boulding and Cobb+Co Museum Learning Officer Tony Coonan (USQ Photography)

USQ has officially handed over a browser-based version of the game developed by the University’s Office for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching.

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor Helen Partridge said the initiative was a perfect example of USQ contributing to community. “USQ delivers high-quality education and research around the world, but our ties to local community are the backbone of our University,” Professor Partridge said.

“We want to share USQ’s culture of excellence and innovation in learning and teaching, as well as our expertise in developing exceptional education resources. “This particular collaboration will make a difference to the lives of the many young learners who visit Queensland museums like Cobb+Co.”

Cobb+Co Learning Officer Tony Coonan said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture had become a major focus of school visits. “One of our favourite parts of school visits to our Binangar Gallery is when they play Burguu Matya,” he said.

“Burguu Matya is not only significant because of its connection to our First Peoples, but it also requires strategic and divergent thinking.” Mr Coonan said putting the game online allowed for a fantastic follow up when students returned to school or home.

“It allows the game to reach out into the wider community for people of all ages to enjoy,” he said. “This will hopefully encourage more people to visit or revisit our Aboriginal Gallery and develop a greater understanding of Indigenous culture.”

To learn more about Cobb+Co Museum, visit www.cobbandco.qm.qld.gov.au. The browser-based version of Burguu Matya can be played at https://burguu-matya.herokuapp.com. 

 

 

Submitted by:
Rhianwen Whitney,
email: rhianwen.whitney@usq.edu.au

Wildlife Rangers School Holiday Fun

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Wildlife Rangers School Holiday Fun

Kids can step into the shoes of a Wildlife Ranger these school holidays at Cobb+Co Museum. Running each weekday until Thursday 18th April, a variety of animals will visit the Museum for the Wildlife Rangers school holiday program.

With live animal shows daily, children have the opportunity to meet furry new friends and learn all about the day to day lives of some of Australia’s favourite animals, including:

• Green Tree Frog or Magnificent Tree Frog
• Leaf Tailed Gecko or Burton’s Legless Lizard.
• Bearded Dragon, Frill Necked Dragon or Water Dragon.
• Crocodile
• Freshwater Turtle
• Green Tree Snake or Python
• Tawny Frogmouth, Barn Owl or Kookaburra
• Bandicoot or Wombat
• Ringtail Possum or Brush Tailed Possum
• And more.

 

 

 

 

 

 Live animal show held by Geckoes Wildlife educating kids on some of Australia’s favourite native animals.
ï‚· Kids interacting with the animals and enjoying activities that are part of the Wildlife Rangers school holiday program.

The program is designed for children aged 3 to 12 years and costs $10 per child, which includes access to one of two live shows. The 10.30am show is best for ages 3-7 and the 12noon show is best for ages 8-12. However, please note all ages are welcome to attend either show.

Submitted by:
Veronica Dawson
Marketing Coordinator
Cobb+Co Museum
27 Lindsay Street | Toowoomba | Queensland 4350 | Australia
cobbandco.qm.qld.gov.au

 

Brennan Family Museum A New Feature At Highfields Pioneer Village

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Brennan Family Museum A New Feature At Highfields Pioneer Village

The Volunteers of Highfields Pioneer Village are very excited to be offering another very special museum to visit and enjoy during the Easter Vintage Festival – the Brennan Family Museum. The museum was the result of a 50 year long friendship between Volunteer Manager Ray Ashford OAM and his mate Merv.

Mervyn Roland Brennan was born and raised on the family farm at Oakey. His father Roland Brennan had first settled the property 20 years previously. Merv was a product of the post-depression era and was born right at the start of WW2, and passed away on Christmas Eve 2018.

The year Merv was born is represented in the museum by a 1939 pen. A penny in 1939 would buy two loaves of bread” his son Ron says. “The Brennan Family Museum is full of little delights from the era of Dad’s (Merv’s) early life growing up”.

Merv was a huge fan of music and antique gramophones and the restoration of them was his specialty. His treasures also include garagenalia items, fuel bowsers, stationary engines, tins and cans and old signs.

The Brennan Family Museum is a culmination of three generations of passion for ‘anything old’. Ron, his son, definitely caught the bug as a young man and is a lifelong motoring enthusiast and young James… Merv’s grandson has a craving for vehicles from our motoring past.

Merv Brennan, was also a prolific motor vehicle collector — as anyone driving by his property at Drayton, on Toowoomba’s southern outskirts, would have observed. Merv spent the last years of his life in Camira and later in Mudgeeraba.

The Brennan Family Museum stands as a memorial to Merv and is an ongoing labour of love for his son Ron and grandson James. The Museum will be open to the Public every day during the Easter Vintage Festival 20th to the 22nd April 2019.

The Festival has a fantastic line up of entertainment from artists such as Lyn Bowtell, Laura Downing and Cathy Drummond and there will be great food and a BBQ to support the Leukaemia Foundation. Demonstrations of Antique Machinery and age-old crafts will run every 30 minutes, and the program will include  Milking the Cow, Sheep Shearing, Grain Threshing and the spectacular Grand Parade at 1:30pm each day.

For more info log onto the Facebook page or phone the Village office on (07) 4696 6309.

Australian Drivers: Underprepared And Prone To Mishaps

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Australian Drivers: Underprepared And Prone To Mishaps

Chancing It On The Open Road

  • 48% of Australians plan to go on a road trip over Easter school holidays, yet one in three are significantly underprepared for long haul road trips
  • Almost half of Australians have experienced a mishap on the road (45%)
  • 31% of Aussie parents find their children incredibly distracting in the car
  • With school and Easter holidays just around the corner – and many Australians planning a road trip – Allianz is encouraging drivers to plan ahead and stay safe on the road

New research from Allianz Australia has uncovered the huge proportion of Australians failing to adequately prepare for those much-loved road trips, leaving them at greater risk of motoring mishaps, unexpected expenses and backseat meltdowns.

This comes as almost half (48%) of Aussies plan to hit the road this Easter, confirming the Australian love of a road trip is alive and well. In fact, the research revealed 90% of Australians plan to go on a road trip in 2019, with half (55%) believing road trips are the best way to see our incredible country.

Despite a love of the great open road, one third of us (27%) don’t know how to change a tyre, 34% don’t know what to do in the instance of their engine overheating, and a surprising 18% of women and 11% of men have even run out of petrol on the road.

With this gap in our essential car maintenance know-how, it’s unsurprising just how many drivers have faced problems on the road. The research also revealed almost half of Australians have experienced a mishap while driving (45%), costing one in three (36%) people significantly as a result. A third of respondents admit these car mishaps could have been avoided with better preparation.

But it’s not just our preparedness that is causing us grief on the roads. The research also found that Australians are falling victim to simple driver distractions, with 20% ranking flying objects as one of the top four distractions, and unsurprisingly mobile phones makes the top four too (12%).

Half of Australians see road trips as a great way to spend time with the family, but children are sitting high on the list of distractions with 31% of Aussie parents finding their children incredibly distracting in the car. One out of five (18%) parents find their children asking, “are we there yet?” at least twice an hour on a road trip, with one in four (22%) stating this happens within the first half an hour of the trip.

 With school and Easter holidays – and many Australians planning a road trip – Allianz is encouraging drivers to plan ahead and stay safe on the road.


Allianz commissioned Pure Profile to conduct a consumer survey in February 2019. The survey was a nationally representative sample of over 1,000 Australian adult respondents (18+). The survey was carried out online. 

Revamped Licences For Queenslanders

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Revamped Licences For Queenslanders

Upgraded licence cards will be rolled out across Queensland from this month.

Transport and Main Roads (TMR) General Manager for Land Transport Safety and Regulation Andrew Mahon said a new contract for the state’s licence products gave TMR the opportunity to refresh the design and move to a contactless card.

“The new cards will maximise customer value for money and have several benefits,” Mr Mahon said.

“The current cards have a visible microchip, which requires them to be inserted in scanners for reading, but the new cards will be contactless, so they will be tapped on a scanner.”

“The updated design means the chip, which is now contained within the card, is no longer visible, allowing space for bigger font to assist Queensland Police officers and security staff reading the cards.

“The cards also have updated security features.”

Mr Mahon said the rollout would also include a new photo identification card to help younger Queenslanders. “We are aware young people who don’t have a learner licence may still need photo identification to prove their age and access community services,” he said.

“Since 1 April, the current Adult Proof of Age card has become the Photo Identification card and eligibility for the card has been reduced from 18 to 15 years old.

‘‘First-time class C (car) learner applicants who hold a Photo ID card will be eligible for a $40 reduced fee. The Photo Identification card and new Marine Licence Indicator cards started rolling out from 1 April.”

“Remaining licence cards, including driver and heavy vehicle licences, will be available from mid-June this year.” Mr Mahon said.

 

One Person Diagnosed Every 40 Minutes

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One Person Diagnosed Every 40 Minutes


In Australia, 38 people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each day, that’s at least one diagnosed every 40 minutes. In the last six years, the number of people diagnosed with this progressive and degenerative neurological condition has increased by 17%.

Parkinson’s is not a disease that only affects the elderly. Young-onset Parkinson’s disease (YOPD) accounts for the one in five diagnosed while under the age of 50 and the 10% diagnosed before the age of 40.

Without a known cause or cure, Parkinson’s disease affects people both physically and mentally, impairing the ability to think clearly and move steadily. Symptoms such as sleep disturbance, constipation, depression and loss of a sense of smell can pre-date symptoms such as a tremor by up to a decade.

This World Parkinson’s Day (11th April), the Shake It Up Australia Foundation is raising awareness of YOPD and encouraging Australians to Pause 4 Parkinson’s by making a donation or hosting a fundraising event to support research into finding a cure.

David Hack Classic Meet 2019

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David Hack Classic Meet 2019

Rotary Club of Toowoomba North’s major fundraising event, ‘David Hack Classic Meet’ is on Sunday 19th May at the Toowoomba Aerodrome.

This is our 21st year and last year was a bumper year.  We had over 5,000 people through the gates, about 21 aircraft and over 300 classic and vintage vehicles on display. The RAAF Spartan was a huge hit and is coming again this year (unless it is called into service) along with the Batmobile, and 2 Marchetti jets flying in from Sydney (joy rides available).

Video of highlights of 2018 David Hack Classic Meet


Submitted by:
Robyn Jeffery
Rotary Club of Toowoomba North

Web site: http://therotaryclub.com.au

Club Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/ToowoombaNorthRotaryClub/

David Hack Classic Face Book https://www.facebook.com/davidhackclassic/

 

Crow’s Nest Heritage Community Branch Celebrates 20 Years

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Crow’s Nest Heritage Community Branch Celebrates 20 Years

Crow’s Nest celebrated 20 years of community banking with a public event in Centenary Park on Saturday, 6th April.

Progressive Community Crow’s Nest Ltd opened their first joint venture branch with the then Heritage Building Society in 1999, followed in 2004 by the Highfields Heritage Community branch.

As other banks withdrew from Crow’s Nest, the Heritage Community Branch was there to provide financial services to residents of the district, with the joint venture returning $5million to the local community through local organisations and by funding community programs and projects.

Directors of PCCN say the partnership has simply been an outstanding success surpassing even their most optimistic expectations.

Progressive Community Crow’s Nest Ltd extended an open invitation to join in the 20th Anniversary celebrations with music by Slow Train Coming and street artists, food by Squealing Pig (Wofty Possum) assisted by the Lions Club and CWA,  in Centenary Park.

(The Board of PCCN Ltd – Howard Littleton, David McEvoy, Baden Brown, Jeff Close, Paul McRae, Branton Woodhead, Dennis Nissen, Ged Brennan, Colleen Myatt).

PCCN Director, Howard Littleton pictured with Heritage Bank CEO, Peter Lock (left)

 

 

 

Slow Train Coming performing for PCCN in Centenary Park, Crow’s Nest

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