Happy Australia Day to Aussie Grady owners

[jekyl]

Hope you are all enjoying better weather on your Australia Day. The recent cyclones that went by have left us with lots of rain and some minor flooding. Nothing to complain about except that I had planned on a nice day over at Maggie Island on Tanami.

Ah well the damper and Golden syrup in bed was nice. Just listening to "The man from Snowy River". Heading over to my brothers for a lunch Barbie and we have Pavlova for dessert.

So much to be thankful for living in such a "Lucky Country"..........

 

[GW VOYAGER]

Heck jekyl I would have to take a crash course in food names because the only thing you had that I knew was the golden syurp and I'm not real sure about that.
I looked up the Pavlova but I have no idea what lunch Barbie is.
I guess we live a sheltered life in South Ga. Even with the problems we have I love Ga.

 

[jekyl]

Well that's how I feel when you guys get talking about stuff that's like another language........and i have been to the US 3 times already!

Aussies love abbreviation so "barbie" is a Bar b Que.

Pavlova is a meringue style dessert created in Australia. MMMMM!

Damper is a bushman's bread usually created on an open fire in a camp oven. This is a caste iron pot with a lid covered in hot coals.

If the weather is good we play beach cricket in the arvo (afternoon).

 

[GW VOYAGER]

I don't know about the beach cricket but I enjoy reading your post from over there.

 

[Gary M]

Just for fun..............

I go to New Zealand often and I will occasionally run into a Grady there. Here's a nice one that I spotted in Opua, Bay of Islands, NZ about 2 years ago.............. Oh yeah.....my Kiwi wife makes an incredible Pavlova!

 

[Jas]

Good on ya, Go Wallabies! And just for you...

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Down came the troopers, one, two, three,
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?"
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?",
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong,
"You'll never take me alive", said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."
"Oh, You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."

 

[jekyl]

Now you're just trying to make me go all tearful............

 

[Absolute]

We had a great day out on the water at jibbon just south of Sydney, enjoyed a few beers from a keg on the beach, a couple of snags on a bread roll and the weather was a perfect 34 C degrees. Probably 300 boats at the beach everyone having a great Australia Day.

 

[dobson_c]

G'day Jekyl,

My boat was out in Sydney Harbour for the day chasing down the ferries in that crazy race they have!

Happy Aus day to all the Aussie Grady Owners. I'm thinking we should start up a club down here soon. There are a few down here now, including a fantastic 300 Marlin with twin 350's moored in Watsons Bay...

Anyone keen to make this happen too?

Cheers

Chris

 

[jekyl]

I wouldn't have a problem with it. Would be nice to be affiliated with these guys as they are so helpful and have so much knowledge to share.....

Maybe we could do house and boat exchanges.

 

[KingJ]

Happy Australia Day!

One of my favorite Aussie expressions is: “Back of Burke”. It is a saying for something that is VERY far away.

A bit of background…the N. W. American explorers of fame, Lewis and Clark, basically have an Australian equivalent known as the famous Burke and Wills. (Please, step in and correct if/where needed anyone.) Well, Burke and Wills headed N.W. on the Australian continent as well and didn’t make it back for various reasons…(another story)

But the saying goes…if it happens to be far away….that it is the; “Back of Burke”….of course meaning figuratively, behind that dude who is still, WAY out in the bush. Further than Burke and Wills went....

Use: “He’s gone Back of Burke, mate.”
Yank translation: Your buddy has gone on a long distance road-trip.

Better examples needed.

Cheers!

 

[jekyl]

With my job I travel 1000kms every 3 months due west of the northeast coast in OZ. At about 800k's i go past the Burke and Wills memorial.

They had attempted a north, south and return, crossing of the continent about 6,500kms!

It was a sad story of poor leadership and bad timing with the leaders missing their restocking party at a prearranged camp, by only a few hours, after they had assumed the leaders were never going to get back.

Typical of many european expeditions they were ridiculously weighed down with stuff like a dining table and chinese gong.....what t f.

Like your "go west young man" these guys were just the fore fathers of our pioneers trying to open up the continent. When i drive out there in my airconditioned 4x4 i have the utmost respecrt for anyone who attempted such adventures with no safety backup at all.

My Grady is named after the "Tanami" desert which is aboriginal term meaning never dry.

 

[KingJ]

Thank you, Jekyl. I find that so interesting and really appreciate the history. Thanks again. My respect also is at wide-open-throttle for such pioneers of all continents. I happen to be reading the memoir “South” by Ernest Shackleton about the Endurance voyage in Antarctica, and the discipline…and example of sheer leadership seems quite striking in this day and age.

An Australian Grady White Owners Club is way overdue.

Cheers,

 

[richie rich]

Jekyl, you talk about staying in becaues of the rain, but I'm a big fan of the aussie open and it s been nothing but great weather in Melbunnnnnnn as far as ESPN2 is showing.....really, hows the weather down under...the last time i visited in 2005 it was awesome in the November timeframe sailing Americas cup yachts in the Sydney harbor...I've got kin in Melbunn and it was the one of the greatest visits I've ever had....

 

[jekyl]

We've ben watching the tennis and the cricket and Lance in the "tour down under" all hot and dry.

Where we live in the tropics it is probably like hurricane season in Florida...... hot and wet. In the last week we have averaged around 4 inches of rain per day!

Our great weather should start in about April and we could then be rainless until November/ December as we were this year.

My back yard doesn't allow the water to escape fast enough so I have a bilge pump hooked up to 80amp hr deep cycle battery and hose, to direct the water out to the street.

I just finished watching the re-enactment of Douglas Mawson's Antarctic expedition and like Shackleton it was a very close call in ubelievable conditions. Thankfully they didn't take a dining table or a chinese gong!

One of my favourite rhyming slangs is "no drama cane farmer" as in "no worries" or "she'll be right" and when it's finished it's "all over range rover" these are obviously gen x sayings not quite as clever as the originals.

 

[richie rich]

4 inches of rain per day......people will kill for that in your area as you guys are in a big drought these days........I miss your rainbow beach area and whit sundays.........one of the most awesome areas on the planet.....the beef pies are great as well...................

 

[jekyl]

Unfortunately we are way up north and most of the problems are further south. Hopefully some it gets that far.

Our NQ weather seems to be returning to a more traditional wet wet . with last years being the second biggest on record.

 

[SieraSky]

Happy Aussie Day to 1st. Field Squad !!!

I was TDY(temp duty) with the 1st Field Squad , Nui Dat, great bunch of guys, real professional soldiers. Brings back some memories , some good some bad. If there is any old soldiers out there PM me if you like

 

[jekyl]

One of the guys in our gamefishing club Mick Meares did 2 tours of duty over there. A guy I have the utmost respect and admiration for. He now runs a 26 ft blackwatch.

Townsville Where I am is the largest northern base for our troops and many of the OS deployments come out of here.

I have several members of my extended family that are career soldiers and sailors. They are our heroes.

I have read several books on that conflict and have visited the chu chi tunnels (as a tourist). It's a beautiful country and so are the people.

 

[LUNDINROOF]

Australian Vacation

We leave for our vacation on the 15th of this month and will arrive Sydney on the 17th. I still havn't been able to explain to my wife why we miss the 16th completly but promised her we will find it on the way back to the states.
We board Princess Sun in Darling Harbor on the 18th for a cruise around New Zealand and when we arrive back in Sydney we start the Australia portion of our vacation. We hit Crains, Alice Springs and Melbornne for three or four days each and then back to Sydney to stay with friends for three days.
Something I have looked forward to for 20 years but never had the time.
Please see to it that we have good weather, please.
Wife says its been cool in the ports we visit on the cruise but hot as hell in Alice Springs.
By the time my wife finishes shopping in Australia, their depression will be over and they didn't even need Obama to help them out.