Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007

Subject: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 04:48 PM

Well, actually it will be spring downunder but fall for us folks from Maine. We're still in the planning stage for this trip, our third one, but it's really going to happen. Here's our proposed schedule – splitting ourselves between music, old friends, relatives, and site-seeing:

We fly into Sydney on Friday, October 26.

Sing at the Loaded Dog Saturday, October 27

Feast and sing at Earlwood BBQ Sunday, October 28

Monday through Wednesday in Sydney but unscheduled, October 28 to 31

Thursday rent a car and drive to Melbourne (or take the train to Melbourne and rent a car there)

Saturday and Sunday do workshops with Danny Spooner at Maldon Festival

Monday go driving down the Shipwreck Coast

Tuesday back to Sydney somehow (or maybe fly straight to Port Douglas)

Wednesday fly off to Port Douglas for snorkling the Barrier Reef

Saturday, November 10, fly back to Sydney

Spend some weekend time with nephew and his wife on Danger Island

Back in Sydney, probably Monday (shopping?)

Leave for the States on Friday, November 16

We're hoping to take an overnight train from Sydney and Melbourne and then rent a car once we're there. We may even fly from Melbourne to Port Douglas if that makes more sense than a round-trip flight from Sydney and round-trip train between Melbourne and Sydney.

We would appreciate any advice on what our options might be. We certainly have gotten a lot of good advice in our past trips.

We're now very comfortable with driving on either side of the road, as long as that correlates with the steering wheel and accessories. And we're well aware of the dangerous mythical and less mythical wildlife.

We'll be traveling light most of the time but I bet we'll be sending back a steamer trunk of booty before we finally fly home from Sydney. Of course I will be lugging along my 5-string banjo and maybe my F/C Anglo concertina (they are relatively rare).

Thanks to Sandra, JennyO, Danny and others who are making the musical part of this revisit so interesting.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble and JudyB

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 06:59 PM

Travelling from Sydney to Melbourne is quick, if by train (~12 hours), or may be interesting but more time-consuming, if by car. You can drive the Hume Highway in less time than the train journey but you'd be dodging semis (what Americans call 18-wheelers, but ours have 22) and B-Doubles (even longer) all the way.

When I ran a school camp at Steiglitz (60 miles west of Melbourne) and played at the Woolshed Dances in Canberra I'd frequently take visitors from overseas (or even Aussies who'd never been to the Snowy Mountains) through the High Country on the return trip. Going from Cooma to Corryong via Kiandra and Cabramurra there is one particular bend in the road where I'd time it so I reached there just before sunset and you see blue ridge after blue ridge, receding to the west. By the end of October the snow will be gone and the road will be open (with no ski resorts there are no National Parks fees on this road) and the alpine bush will be full of spring blooms. Kangaroos were never a problem and we saw only the occasional wombat. From Tallangatta (emphasis on 'ang') you can get to Wangaratta either through Wodonga or via Beechworth (the latter is more interesting) and the entire trip would take only an hour or so more driving time.

I could go on but PM me if you are interested in more (or other) details.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 07:59 PM

Rowan-

Excellent information on the Sydney-Melbourne run.

If we were driving I suspect I'd try to "make time" and we really wouldn't get to enjoy the scenic options. It's probably better for us to take the overnight train, some of which we understand have sleeping accomodations, and do our scenic driving based around Melbourne. We have seen kangaroos, wombats, and dropbears in the wild, and though it's always fun to see more it's no longer essential.

Where are you based now?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 08:12 PM

From the Tread list... :-)

Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007         
My god, is he still alive!         


:-P

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 08:21 PM

good one, Fooles

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 08:49 PM

OK; sticking to driving around Melbourne then. An afternoon at Sherbrook Forest, now almost part of the eastern suburbs and a short walk from Ferntree Gully railway station. Lyrebirds if you're lucky but a nice patch of accessible tall Eucalyptus regnans forest.

East along the Maroondah Highway to Marysville takes you up the Black Spur and through some beautiful sylvan forest that is also dominated by Eucalyptus regnans; half a day unless you dawdle and enjoy yourselves.

Southeast, through South Gippsland (John Warner comes from down there somewhere and my family comes from near Korumburra) to Wilson's Promontory, the southernmost tip of mainland Oz. National Park, a patchwork of every vegetation type in Victoria except proper alpine or desert. Great walks and most things in bloom; I'm biased, as that's where I did most of the fieldwork for my thesis on lithoseres.

You're already seeing Maldon (I was at the very first FF there as a performer; say hello to Ian Huxtable and Helen McGeochan, as well as Doddsy) so you'll see some of the Central Victorian Goldfields). From there down the Midlands Highway to Geelong if you want to get to the Shipwreck Coast, although a diversion to Steiglitz (halfway between Meredith and Maude) would show you some of the Brisbane Ranges Historic Park, as they now call it. The Great Ocean Road (all built by Returned Diggers from WWI, mostly by hand and financed by private subscription) is a scenic wonder; if heading westwards you'll be on the outside (oceanside) of all the curves, which is great if heartstopping. Back through the Grampians (check out Mt Arapiles), and then either the Otways or over the basalt of the Western District.

Have fun. These days I'm 17 hours' drive north of all that, halfway between Sydney and Brisbane.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 08:54 PM

G'day Charley,

Rowan is now based around New England University: up in the quite high portion of the Great Dividing Range where it passes through the northern end of NSW, inland from the Pacific coast. It can be quite cool, by Aussie standards.

A friend, who is doing her degree 'remote' at New England University - left too little time to post in a major project and had to drive to Armidale from Sydney ... starting off the day of severe flooding north of Sydney! She just missed the flood levels that cut off the northern roads that she was following, but on the way back (now re-directed inland) she drove through heavy snow and hail!

Anyway, I'm afraid your Sydney stay will be quieter than it might otherwise be - no raucous button accordion or concertina accompaniments from me. Patricia and I will fly back into Sydney on Wednesday night, 31 October ... after 3 weeks in Western Australia, visiting Pat's niece and her family - and getting our first look at the very different flora of the West.

Quietly enjoy the East, in our absence!

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 10:01 PM

Bob's right, but we call it the University of New England. Which confuses some from around New Hampshire but we regard UNE (at Armidale) as having precedence and thus priority.

Ever the pedant (and still keen on granite landscapes),

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: JennyO
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 11:08 PM

Aw, that's a shame you'll be missing each other by one day, Bob. By leaving Sydney on the 31st, he also misses my folk club by one day, but when it's Maldon Festival and Danny Spooner, I guess that's the way it has to be.

If only you could see our back yard now, Charlie, you'd wonder how we will ever be ready for you - but we still have a few weeks to pull it together for the BBQ!

I'll get John to give you some more ideas about the Victorian part of your trip, although it doesn't look as if you have much time with that.

On the day you leave Oz for the States, what time of day do you leave? Could we tempt you with a shanty session the night before?

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Aug 07 - 08:59 AM

It's just as we feared. We take what we think might be a short foray into what for us is new territory, the greater Melbourne area, and it turns out there are weeks of things to do. Rowan, we will follow up your suggestions as best we can and consult with our local guides as well.

Bob, we should be able to catch up with you in our last week in Sydney.

And, JennyO, "a shanty session the night before" we leave would be great! Who needs to pack? Well, actually, we can pre-pack if we know something good is happening. Would the session be aboard the James Craig? I certainly intend to pay her another visit.

Robin, some day we'll trek out to the Brisbane area and explore your part of Australia but not this trip. We could have an interesting evening swapping yarns and songs.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: JennyO
Date: 24 Aug 07 - 10:05 AM

Hi Charlie,

Sandra suggested a session on the James Craig that night. I think it's a great idea. Now we just need a confirmation from Mike Richter that it's available. We'll keep our fingers crossed!

Seeing that there obviously isn't going to be time to do all the places around Melbourne, John thinks that the Shipwreck Coast is a must-see for you - even if it's the only place you have time for around there.

There are so many places you won't have time to see that you are just gonna have to keep coming back to see them all, aren't you ;-)

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Aug 07 - 10:37 AM

JennyO-

Well, once we establish the Maine to Oz portal that won't be a problem.

I don't suppose that someone could arrange to drug our drinks while we're aboard the Craig so that we'd wake up the next morning miles out to sea...

"Yes, they'll wonder in the mornin', what they drank last night;
They'll wonder just what hit 'em, if they show an ounce of fight;
They'll be scoffin' seaboot duff; they'll be suppin' handspike gruel,
Dodgin' the belayin' pin, an' cursin' Shanghai cruel."

I have to refresh my singing of "Frederick's of Woolloomooloo," that traditional ditty that I collected the last time I was prowling around.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 04:13 AM

I remember playing on one of the ferries in The Great Ferry Race (part of the Festival of Sydney) when the James Craig was brought into the Harbour to be restored; great sight!

I've no real idea of your "particular interests" and I've mentioned only the landscape, as I suspect that, visually, that's what will be really different from Maine. The Prom might be a bit far away in the time you indicated you'd be in and around Melbourne, and is worth a weekend at least, so a shorter (and more doable) trip might be down the Mornington Peninsula to Flinders and Portsea. Things have changed since I courted in the area but seeing the Heads (the entrance to Port Phillip Bay) is worth a trip. Of course you could also see them from the other (western) side, on the Bellarine Peninsula but that side of the Bay is different.

Good travelling!

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Canberra Chris
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 05:25 AM

Charley,

Sounds like you will be bypassing us, but there is a bed for you in Canberra should you be driving either way and need it, and something would be on at the Muse on the Friday.

I can endorse the Cooma - Kiandra - Cabramurra - Corryong route as a stunning drive, as it is my route to Nariel Creek. If so, dip a toe in the Creek - it's like kissing the Blarney stone. Noone is ever quite the same.

Or you could just extend your trip by a couple of months.

Cheers,
Chris

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: JudyB
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 09:25 AM

Wish we could extend the journey, Chris! Seems like everywhere we plan to go, there's something even more wonderful over the next hill. We do appreciate your offer of a place to stay in Canberra - as you've probably noticed, our plans are still a bit fuzzy in several areas, and I'm sure Charley will be keeping this updated as things become more clear. Do hope to see you somewhere while we're in the general area.

All the best,
JudyB

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 10:45 AM

Chris, why not have a long weekend in Sydney for the Dog & Jenny's BBQ on the Sunday? My spare bed is waiting to be used again!!

sandra

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: JennyO
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 10:50 AM

Now that sounds like a plan!

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 12:05 PM

The trap is being baited!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: JennyO
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 12:08 PM

MWUHAHAHAHA HA HA HA HA!

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 10:17 PM

Greetings again Charley,
Some things to see in Melbourne itself (as you're driving around) include the very northern end of Swanston St (the main drag through the centre of Melbourne); there's a traffic island where it meets the road south of the cemetery that has a pair of beautiful eucalypts in the middle. I forget the species but they have a lovely lemon-coloured gum bark without a single piece of graffiti (the last time I looked); you don't need to stop but just catch them as you drive by. It's a pity you won't be in Melbourne for the Saturday morning, when the Queen Vic market (northern end of the city part of Elizabeth St) is in full swing; a cultural event.

If your interests extend to things 'political' (in the 'historical background' sense) you could visit the Law Quadrangle at Melbourne Uni (in the same general area as both the above) to see the building that was the centre of the struggle for the Eight Hour Day in 1856 (see Thread #104204 on "Bring out the banners", one of John Warner's songs). You could also visit the Alma Doepel in Port Melbourne; it is a restored ship that was built near Bellingen a few hours from Armidale and similar to the James Craig in some respects. I sang the odd shanty there during the restoration.

If you head south down Swanston St across the Yarra you'll end up in St Kilda Rd and driving past the Shrine of Remembrance, a monument built after WWI (on your left) and the National Gallery of Victoria (on your right); the latter has a stained glass ceiling by Leonard French that is one of the largest stained glass windows in the world. You'll also have driven past Federation Square but that postdates my Melbourne days.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: gecko
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 10:49 PM

Hi Charley, There is a small and intimate folk club held on Tuesday evenings at a pub in Gordonvale, just south of Cairns. Danny Spooner can tell you more about it as he was a guest performer at the club when he was in Cairns running union song workshops in May. You have to come through Cairns to make your way up to Port Douglas anyway (Tuesday 6 November) so you may wish to consider 'guesting' for us too. I can tell you that you would have a very appreciative audience and overnight accommodation if you needed it. And who would want to miss seeing Gordonvale, where the infamous Cane Toad was released over sixty years ago in the mistaken belief that it would cure some of the ills of the sugar cane industry!

Please PM me if you are even remotely interested - hope you will be!

YIU
gecko

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 11:27 PM

It would also be a pity to get so close to the Daintree and not visit it. I did some ethnobotany there years ago and can recommend a visit. An ordinary car will get you to Cape Tribulation, and well into intimate experience of tropical rainforest; the beaches are beautiful and nowhere else will you see tropical rainforest separated from coral reef by only 5 metres of sandy beach. The Wet will only have just started so access should be no problem. And you should look up Ron Edwards near Kuranda.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 26 Aug 07 - 12:31 AM

While Qld has lots of fun things - Victoria has the famous Goldfields, and the fabulous Great Western Highway along teh wining mountainous shore as mentioned - you drive past, so must stop and see the famous 12 Apostles - great chunks of stone eroded from the cliffs by the sea - one of the 'bridges' recently collapsed.

NSW, if you are a spelunker, has the Jenolan Caves up in the Blue Mountains. Interestingly enough, the famous 'Three Sisters' - 3 side by side peaks - are there too - this famous landmark recently achieved notority. :-)

One of the NSW based National Commercial TV channels did a program about just how ignorant 'foreign immigrants' were about Aus - one of the questions they asked, to which funnily enough the foreigners knew the answer. was 'what were the 3 Sisters' - but the producers left that out because they thought that Aussies from other states would not know about that NSW landmark! :-)

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Aug 07 - 05:34 AM

breaking news - Shanty Singing Session on the James Craig Thursday 15th November confirmed.

hooray

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 26 Aug 07 - 11:28 AM

Sandra-

Shanty singing aboard the Craig in Sydney Harbour! That will be great fun! We are planning accordingly and hoping someone slips a cable or two and we find ourselves in the early morning out beyond Sydney Heads, sailing full-an'-by towards The Snares.

Rowan-

We did make a run up to Cape Tribulation on our second visit and it was quite lovely. We also stopped on our way back to Port Douglas at a citrous planation which had displays of many ancient citrous fruits, and a small ice cream stand that we availed ourselves of.

Gecko-

It's unlikely that we'll venture south again from Port Douglas this time around although it's always tempting to "raid" another folk club. Of course the last time we tried that in Cairns itself the host group shifted the club location and the date at the last minute. We were quite puzzled when we showed up at the Green Frog (or whatever it was called) instruments in hand. However, our first priority in Port Douglas is to relax, then take the first Wavelength cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef and swim among the fishies (first encasing ourselves in wetsuits!). Thanks for your kind offer.

Foolstroupe-

We enjoyed a run through the Blue Mountains on our first trip, headquarting ourselves in Blackheath, and doing an opening set at the Ivanhoe Hotel for John Dengate. It was our first experience driving "on the other side of the road upsidedown" and once we managed to work our rental car out of Sydney we did fine!

Has anyone tried the overnight train from Sydney to Melbourne recently? We are wondering if there are actually sleeper cars (Pullman cars we used to call them) or whether you sit on a bench and grit your teeth the entire way.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 26 Aug 07 - 06:38 PM

A couple of years ago I had a kangaroo rearrange the front of my Subaru just before Christmas and had to contemplate missing Nariel. The kindness of friends from various states and territories provided camping gear (for both daughters as well as me) while there and a lift from Albury railway station (lovely example of 19th century Public Works Dept architecture) to Nariel (and back for the return trip. This meant I sampled the delights of train travel between Armidale and Sydney (daylight) and Sydney and Albury (overnight).

Because ETA Albury was ~3am and ETD Albury was not long after midnight I didn't bother with sleeper carriages when booking and I can't recall seeing any, although I have good recollections of the sleepers on the Southern Aurora, the more expensive of the two trains that used to do that overnnight run. The seats on the current train are similar to aircraft seats rather than benches.

I confess that, if I had a choice between a daylight drive via the Snowy Mntns and an overnight train trip, I'd always pick the daylight drive unless I was at serious risk of damaging myself due to jet lag. But then, I'm on home turf.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 26 Aug 07 - 11:03 PM

Rowan-

In Ethiopia the "bus" was oft' as not a Russian jeep which had 4 people in the front seats, 12 others plus a goat or two jammed into the back. Everyone had to enter and exit in the proper order. The other exciting thing about this mode of travel were the hymns people would sing as we clipped along the gravel roads at maximum speed, about 80k/hr; that's as close to heaven as I ever want to get to on this earth!

The train is sounding quite lovely.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 26 Aug 07 - 11:17 PM

G'day Charley,
I experienced similar buses in Timor (East and West) and similar train trips elsewhere and loved them but you'll not get such an experience in Oz. Africa is one of the two continents I've yet to visit but I'll get there one day. And I've been known to sing the odd hymn, too.

The train does have a buffet car but I can't remember anything about opening times. You can find info and book tickets at CountryLink

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 27 Aug 07 - 09:59 PM

You might want to consider for the future the Brisbane-Sydney Train - sleepers are available.

Also the new Fast (only one derailment so far!) Tilt-Train that runs from Brisbane up the Coast. Friends have said it is good - part day - part night journey up the coast - aircraft type seats - music, films, buffet car - you might have to book special for that. I think you can break the journey - and pick up on the next run a couple of days later... you should ask about that.

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: GUEST,lamarca sans biscoti
Date: 27 Aug 07 - 10:16 PM

Charlie, we took a week to drive from Sydney to Healesville, via Gundagai, Tumut, across the Snowies through Kiandra to Cooma, down through Bombala to Lake's Entrance, then across South Gippsland past all the places John writes about in "Pithead and the Fern" and up to Healesville.

Coming back, we drove the aforementioned Hume Highway from Melbourne all the way to Gouldburn (home of The Big Merino) in one day - we never stopped at Wagga, for we'd Sydney in our eye... We made it the rest of the way to Sydney the next morning in time to return our little rental Holden and catch our 3:30 flight Auckland!

If you're interested in natural history, Danny and Gael met us just outside Melbourne to the NE at a wonderful zoo, called the Healesville Sanctuary. A part of the Melbourne Zoo system, it's a zoo/sanctuary exclusively for Australian critters. In parts, the animals just roam amidst the people - I was thrilled to be able to pet a wallaby! They also have the one and only Platypusery, where they raise platypi in captivity... Here's the website:

http://www.zoo.org.au/healesville/

If you've the time while under Danny's wing, go see Sovereign Hill - it's the Australian goldrush equivalent of Plymouth Plantation/Colonial Williamsburg. The town of Ballarat is fascinating, too. And you MUST drive the Great Ocean Highway to see at least Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve (oops, more like 7 now) Apostles. And stop in Apollo Bay to dip your toes in the wild Bass Strait...

Oh, how I wish we could go again!

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Aug 07 - 12:54 AM

Oh, how I wish we could go again!

................

we expect you again in a few years, so start saving!!

sandra

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 28 Aug 07 - 05:39 PM

lamarca-

Sounds as if you had a wonderful run through the hills and back up the coast, with lots of support from folks along the way. We've also had great experiences as well and are really looking forward to this revisit.

How can one ever forget the resecuring of the tarp at the Earlwood BBQ as John raised a shanty and every one hauled on the lines! Or the first sea music session aboard the James Craig; Judy's shot of the Craig's rigging in the moonlight (well it may be in the security lights) is centered on Roll & Go's latest CD, ROLLING DOWN TO SAILORTOWN.

One of our favorite wildlife parks is in Port Douglas where you have breakfast with the birds, and then get to prowl along the footpaths and catwalks, shake hands with the wallabys (if you have any food for them), smile back at the crocodiles, and make strange noises at the rainbow lorikeets. Then there's snorkling on the Great Barrier Reef, although this time around we'll both wear wetsuits.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Canberra Chris
Date: 28 Aug 07 - 05:57 PM

Sandra - thanks, now that it is sadly easier for me to get away, I could get up to Sydney and catch Charley and everyone. I have to get back up to the James Craig too.

Chris

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 29 Aug 07 - 03:58 AM

take a flexi day after the James Craig Sessions & become a regular! Surely you can get one flexi day a month.

you know how wonderful it is to sing there.

sandra

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Canberra Chris
Date: 29 Aug 07 - 09:53 AM

Sandra - I sure do, it was me that told everyone else! I'll see what I can do for 15/16 November.
Chris

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 29 Aug 07 - 12:34 PM

Chris-

Judy and I will look forward to seeing you again!

As I recall, you've actually sailed on the James Craig.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 30 Aug 07 - 02:09 AM

Charley, not only had Chris sailed on the James Craig, he was the first (known) singer to sing in the hold. He probably startled his colleagues & the folks who were showing them around with a view to hiring the ship for a corporate event, or did he sneak off & sing on his own, I forget.

sandra

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Joybell
Date: 30 Aug 07 - 03:32 AM

We've just returned from a train-trip on The Sunlander. It's the old-fashioned way to go between Cairns and Brisbane.   Just wonderful if you take the "Queenslander Class" option. Booked up a long way ahead though. Much, much better than the Tilt Train.

Charlie, are you planing to drive the shipwreck coast in just one day? It's a great trip but it takes more time than it looks like it should. It's a long and winding way. If you do get as far as Warrnambool we'd be able to put you up in Minhamite - 1 hour North of there. It would still take you about a day to get back to Melbourne by the shorter inland route. Alternatively driving as far as Port Campbell and then back would have you seeing some great coastline. Still be a 2 day thing really.
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Canberra Chris
Date: 30 Aug 07 - 09:30 AM

Others had sung on the James Craig before of course, and had tried to get some shantly singing going. I did sing below decks some years ago,while setting up for a corporate event, and lobbied to get the sessions going, and crewed on it for a day, but others including John Warner have crewed on it and sung far more since, including a proper ocean sail to Newcastle. She is a proper ocean-going ship, magnificent through the water. Maybe all ships that have a great shape for sailing sound good too. Unfortunately I have since had to worship her from afar.
Chris

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: JennyO
Date: 30 Aug 07 - 11:36 AM

Ah yes, I'll have to get John on here to tell you about the infamous trip to Newcastle through high seas, and the shanties he sang to help keep all the passengers' minds - and his own - off being seasick. Brings a new meaning to the word "heave"!

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Aug 07 - 12:48 PM

JennyO-

Or the traditional order to stop work: "Vast heaving!" I'm reminded of the nasty ditty we taught the windjammer schooner crews who ply the waters of Penobscot Bay laden with summer tourists; the title is "Dramamine" to the tune of "Whup Jamboree."

Danny Spooner just sent me the draft schedule for what I would be doing at the Maldon Festival in Victoria, 3-4 of November:

Sat 3rd Nov from noon to 1 pm. C. Fox Smith workshop in the Uniting Church Hall

Sun 4th Nov 2-30 to 3-15 pm with Danny Spooner Sea Songs and Shanties The Troubador.

What joy!

Which reminds me, Joy, we would very much like to hook up with you as well. Will you be at the Festival? Danny was also mentioning a family cottage near the coast that we might avail ourselves of but he needed to check if there are already plans for it to be occupied by "family."

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Joybell
Date: 30 Aug 07 - 10:23 PM

At the moment it doesn't look as though we'll be able to make it to Maldon. You'll like it a lot. It's a great festival. Lots of wonderful people and a pretty spot.
Is Danny's cottage anywhere near us? We might be able to get together there -- at least for a few hours.
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Sep 07 - 01:06 PM

We just booked our flight today, cashing in all our frequent flyer miles for the last five years. We should, indeed, be arriving in Sydney early in the morning on Friday, October 26th but we've delayed our departure date to Sunday afternoon, November 18th; that will give us some time to recover from the shanty session aboard the Craig, Thursday, November 15th.

Now all we need to do is fill in what's in between!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 04 Sep 07 - 07:00 PM

With any luck the weather along the coast will be relatively fine when you're driving the Great Ocean Road but, with your interest in things maritime you'll appreciate the fact that, with a latitude not far off the Roaring Forties and a fetch stretching as far west as Cape Horn, it's one of the highest energy coastlines on the globe. Not far from Loch Ard Gorge I've seen waves crashing just over the tops of the cliffs, which at that point are just on 100' high. Most impressive!

Enjoy!

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Joybell
Date: 04 Sep 07 - 09:23 PM

Forgot to mention it, Charley but there's a nice little Maritime Museum at Warrnambool.

Also we know a place where there's a secret hanging garden with a fresh-water spring and pool over the ocean. Amazing spot. Far, far to the West on the Victorian coast.
Joy

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Sep 07 - 10:32 PM

"...waves crashing just over the tops of the cliffs, which at that point are just on 100' high" - Charley, what are you getting us into now???

Can we go back a few posts to the baby wombats or wallabies or whatever? That sounds more my speed!

More seriously - thanks for all the great information and suggestions! This is going to be fun!

JudyB

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 04 Sep 07 - 11:20 PM

"...waves crashing just over the tops of the cliffs, which at that point are just on 100' high" - Charley, what are you getting us into now???

Don't worry Judy, it was an unusual event and the road is well back from those cliffs. But it WAS pretty exciting and every subsequent time I went there and could see the full extent of the cliffs over a smooth sea I would recall the event and be gobsmacked.

While you're down in that neck of the woods you should go and see the Lake Conda eel traps. Most Australians think of precontact Aborigines as having no particular technical skills and no settlements. Lake Conda is a serious counter argument. Covering some hundreds of Hectares (2.5 acres/Ha) are stone arrangements that, no matter what the water levels in the lake, allowed eel traps to be used to harvest eels in vast numbers. From memory, the vertical range is around 30m (~100') and the lines of stones are well visible. Stone circles mark the locations of eel-smoking huts, with residues dated at about 3000ybp (again, from memory) and the resource supported many hundreds of people. There is some argument that their settlement of the area was more or less permanent.

And, if you drive to Maldon from Melbourne you'll probably pass a stone's throw from where the Keilor Skull (~38 kybp) was found in the 60s, changing the whole view of Oz prehistory. And, if you wanted, I could probably give you a rundown on how volcanic eruptions 15 thousand years ago led to the different types of houses you'll see (in those parts of Collingwood that used to be slums on one hand and in South Yarra on the other) and who was (or was not) regarded as employable in Melbourne in the early 1980s. We used to call it "The basalt excursion".

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Sep 07 - 01:19 PM

Rowan-

The "Keilor Skull" seems to check out as a real find, although found back in the 1940's rather than the 1960's. You'll have to excuse me if I feel a strange need to indepentdently varify some of the "finds" that our dear friends mention -- the bunyips and drop-bears, and other such fanciful creatures. We were totally amazed when we observed an entire tree full of wombats. Of course, it was a hollow tree and lying on its side along the flood plain of a small river. But still amazing!

Last evening, Judy and I demonstrated to a visiting friend of hers how we navigate our boat if we're socked in by fog. Judy was in the bow and reached down for the pail of potatoes. She appeared puzzled till we explained that her job would be to toss them out forward and as long as they went "splash" we were OK. When one went "clunk" we'd need to go "full astern." Navigating by potato is an established tradition along the coast of Maine.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: JennyO
Date: 05 Sep 07 - 01:39 PM

Charlie, surely you're not suggesting that bunyips and drop-bears are not real? I'm shocked! Flabbergasted even. We must spare John this terrible revelation, particularly about the bunyips! He would be devastated!

;-)

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Oz Fall 2007
From: Rowan
Date: 05 Sep 07 - 07:07 PM

Charley, you're right about when it was found but my (admittedly selective) memory is that it wasn't dated until Edmund Gill got to it in the 60s; it was the dating of it and the dating of Kenniff Cave finds (I suspect you didn't go quite that far north in FNQ) at around the same time that put a rocket under Oz prehistory.

And it was around that time that Albert Masola published detail of a drawing that was regarded as the origin (among Aboriginal stories) of the bunyip. So don't go dismissing bunyips too quickly.

Cheers, Rowan