SPRING EDITION NEWSLETTER 2006

Idalia Trip - Our website info - Congratulations Lauren Kirk - Mission - Steering Committee - Reports Carmen - Dawn - Shirley - Treasurer

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Idalia Trip On the first day (11 July 2006) four of us, Steph our PhD candidate, Shirley, Gautier a visiting French student who is studying environmental economics and Kev Rapley, set out for Idalia. The trip was fairly uneventful until we reached the Barcaldine/Blackall area where our visitors from overseas were astonished at the number of road killed macropods, as well as the number of raptors feasting upon their putrefying carcasses. Upon reaching the park boundary a sign announced ‘drive carefully, animals on road’ and immediately as if someone had turned on a switch there was a great perfusion of Wallabies, Eastern Greys and Red Kangaroos. Steph and Gautier took great pleasure in spotting these creatures, and offcourse the camera shutters ran hot for a short period. A little further down the track a vehicle coming the other way proved to be the park rangers. We pulled up to meet them and were made welcome. After the rangers left we pulled away, crossed a gully and still in first gear and travelling slowly, we received quite a fright. All of a sudden a large wallaby bounded across from our right, straight up onto the bonnet of the vehicle, smashing the windscreen and denting the mudguard. The offending creature absconded from the scene rapidly and seemingly unaffected.	After examining the vehicle and reviving from the shock, we continued on to Monk’s Tank which was where we had arranged to make camp. We arrived shortly before dark, allowing us to set up camp before the light faded, although we were to be treated to a full moon and so once it rose above a few light clouds on the horizon it was almost as light as day anyway. A meal was cooked and eaten and interesting campfire discussion embarked upon, but as we were all tired from the long day’s driving we wandered off to bed at around eight o’clock.
Day 2 Up at daylight, breakfast cooked and consumed and we were on our way to the main camping area and Ranger Station at Idalia. Here we found around forty people from the Queensland University camped. These people were in the park studying a variety of subjects including vegetation. All was in a bit of a quandary as the power had failed at around 3 am leaving them with no showers (a facility not available at Monk’s Tank) and no equipment to complete their research work. The rangers were busy trying to set up an emergency generator so we moved on. We drove to the old Idalia ruins and there we commenced our koala search. This area was covered with mostly mulga and gidgee with very little eucalypt. A couple of hours searching failed to reveal any evidence of koalas. We returned to camp, had an early lunch and then set off again. This time Gautier remained at camp as he had some work to do for his studies. Steph, Shirley and I walked for around three hours in the Monk’s Tank area, again with little to report. Here we found the mulga and gidgee interspersed with stands of eucalypt, mainly moreton bay ash. Back to camp at around 4 pm for a well earned rest. Again, and as it seems is always the case, the campfire and an evening meal stimulated interesting and enlightening conversation before we wandered off to bed. During the night we were to experience a couple of light showers of rain, little did we realise that this would signal an abrupt ending to our trip.
Day 3 Upon arising at dawn on the next morning, and to our great disdain, it began to rain. A quick shuffle around the camp in an effort to keep things as dry as possible, and a cold breakfast, and then the rained stopped after about three quarters of an hour. We were unsure exactly what to do As it did look like the rain might set in, it was decided that we would go and find the ranger and see what she thought. Upon arrival at the Ranger Station we were greeted with a very definite response to our question. We were told that if we did not get out now, we may well be stuck there for ten to fourteen days. Given that we had food for about five days, and commitments to which to return, we decided that it would be wise to return to camp, pack up, and leave the park and the black soil before the rain set in properly. In very little time we were packed and ready to leave. We agreed that we would visit one more spot before we left the park, as this was a spot that the ranger had spoken of and that Steph particularly wanted to get a look at. The extra short trip proved to be very worth while. Emmet Pocket Lookout was indeed quite beautiful, even on a heavily overcast day, and presented more information about the park, and about areas to survey for koalas on future trips. Having spent a little time at the lookout we proceeded, as advised, out of the park. Even at this stage the black soil was beginning to pick up and we decided that we had done the right thing. So with great disappointment we made our way home. The trip was uneventful, except that it rained most of the way. We later heard that Idalia had received around twenty five millimetres of rain after we departed, so no doubt the right decision had been reached. Gautier has since returned to France, so we did not get the opportunity to get to know him as well as we might have, had the trip not been cut short. Whilst no sign of koalas was found the trip did give us a better idea of what has been happening with the wildlife out there and Steph collected some valuable information for her PhD studies. Kev Rapley
Dear Koalas Volunteers A bit of information on Web Sites We all take the web for granted these days, it’s just there to be used and looked at, an infinite reference source for all the world to tap into. But have you ever thought about how it got there and what the web is as such. Before the web came around there were community Bulletin boards that only a few users could log onto at one time. These bulletin boards even had graphics of one sort or another. After much study and searching the web for “the founder” it appears that Sir Timothy (Tim) John Berners-Lee first proposed the Web in 1989 while developing ways to control computers remotely at CERN, the European nuclear research lab near Geneva. He never got the project formally approved, but his boss suggested he quietly tinker with it anyway. In 1989 one of the main objectives of the WWW was to be a space for sharing information. It seemed evident that it should be a space in which anyone could be creative, to which anyone could contribute. The first browser was actually a browser/editor, which allowed one to edit any page, and save it back to the web if one had access rights. Berners-Lee devised the core communication protocols needed for transmitting Web pages: the HTTP, or hypertext transfer protocol, and the so-called markup language used to create them, HTML. By Christmas Day 1990, he finished the first browser, called simply "WorldWideWeb" Sir Timothy (Tim) John Berners-Lee continues to work on improving the web through his position in the World Wide Web Consortium. Lee was born in London England in 1955 and studied at the Oxford University. He put up the first web site in 1991 on August 6. The WWW has developed considerably since then and has remained royalty free and open to everyone. On Dec. 15, 1994, the Internet browser known as Netscape Navigator 1.0 was launched, and the world--or at least the World Wide Web--changed with the click of a mouse. Within four months 75% of all Net users were peering at the Web through the window of the Netscape browser. Strangely enough, the web took off very much as a publishing medium, in which people edited offline. They were prepared to edit the funny angle brackets of HTML source, and didn't demand a, what you see is what you get editor. The web today is full of interesting stuff and no one in their lifetime will ever see what was put up on the web in the last 24 hours. Source material http://www.seomonk.com/tech-quotes/authors/tim-berners-lee-www.htm http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/15/tech/main623321.shtml http://www.boingboing.net/2005/12/18/www_inventor_tim_ber.html Now let’s look at our website www.cqkoala.org.au Our web is FREELY hosted at CQnet, one of our local Internet Service Providers. This allows easy access for upgrading and changes. For those interested our address is ‘cqkoala’ and we are registered as an ‘org’ or organisation in the ‘au’ or Australian domain. When the registration takes place the address is linked to a numerical code that is issued and registered with the world wide web. Thus when you type in www.cqkoala.org.au the search engine will immediately look for the numerical counterpart and that will lead the search engine to the host domain. Recent Upgrades The recent upgrades on our website took place after consultation with committee members and the continual call from the education corner. Students want good quality A4 pictures of koalas for school projects and the committee wants new members. Three new pages have been developed: Kids Koalas – has 17 large pictures that can be used for educational purposes. Research Gallery – has 20 pictures of various research configurations. Track & Catch – has 15 photos showing radio trackers, koalas hiding, bag wavers, catchers and caught koalas Links to the three new pages are from the home page, Research page and Catching page. Public viewers may become interested enough to contact CQKOALAS after looking at the activities and I’m sure the students will soak up the A4 pictures, in fact Elizabeth has become one of the most called for and printed photo. What I’d like members to do is assist by giving the thumbnail images a better descriptive name and similarly with the enlargement, a short paragraph on what the photo is about. It all takes time to compile, but I’m sure we can increase our viewers by providing a interesting informative easy to use site Cheers Nick Quigley OAM WebMaster
Congratulations Lauren Kirk Website On the front page of our web site is a link to Lauren’s page. This link takes us to the web site ‘Aussie Kids’. There you will read what the young people in Gladstone are doing to save our environment. There is also an interesting article about existence of koalas on Quoin Island. Lauren has just been named Young Achiever of the Year. (Editor)

Mission CQ Koala Volunteers seek the conservation of the koala and other tree living mammals in Central Queensland by • Supporting research into koalas, other arboreal mammals and their habitat through (a) providing volunteer support to research projects, and (b) assisting in the raising of funds for research and the volunteer teams; • Developing public awareness of the needs of koalas, tree living mammals and their habitat requirements generally; • Fostering community support for koalas and tree living mammals generally; • Encouraging and assisting with the development of habitat rehabilitation projects where necessary through the region; • Supporting the rehabilitation and release of sick, injured or displaced koalas and tree living mammals. The Central Queensland Koala Volunteers are not about stopping development. They seek to encourage planned development, which allows for the co-existence of koalas and other tree living mammals with human activity. Funds are used to buy equipment for the researchers, to fund volunteer field teams and provide limited support for animal carers. Donations may also be made to the Koala Research Centre of Central Queensland and are tax deductible. Office Bearers Alistair Melzer, signatory, Chairperson Carmen Drake, signatory, CKQV representative on Koala Research Centre Board Shirley Hopkins, signatory, Treasurer Doreen Lovett, Editor: Nick Quigley, Web designer Steph Januchowski, Minute Secretary Direct correspondence to: Central Queensland Koala Volunteers PO Box 1489 Rockhampton 4701 or call Denise on 0749309944 and leave a message.

Report from recent Steering Committee Meetings Monday, 10 July 2006 7 Members present Bank Account transfer finalized All preparations for trip to Idalia completed – leave in the morning – 11 July (Report from Steph) Alistair gave a report on his recent trip to national park west of Bowen – volunteers could go later. Alistair requested the Volunteers provide $4 000 for his research into Koala toothwear and this was approved. Alistair suggested volunteers prepare list of equipment deemed necessary for field trips. Dawn is preparing a submission for a grant to purchase such items. Library Display is in window of Northside Library. Shirley had a successful day selling chocolates at the markets at Heritage Village. Chocolates to be sold at Bunnings on 29 & 30 July. Next meeting to prepare for Multicultural Fair – 7 August Monday 7 August, 2006 Meeting primarily to discuss preparations for Multicultural Fair but other items discussed. Dawn confirmed grant to obtain field trip equipment had been submitted. Letter to be sent to members re outstanding Membership Fees. Steph reported on Idalia Field trip and future trips – late September or early October. Preparations made re items to be collected for the Multicultural Fair. Chocolate drive at Bunnings raised $730

Report from Carmen Our stall at the Multi-cultural Fair was well positioned and we had quite a successful day. Nick and Kevin each had a turn at being cuddly koala - this takes some stamina as the suit can become quite warm on a sunny day, so thanks boys. Our small pocket diaries were out of the printers in time. The calendar features three paintings of each of four koala volunteer artists: Dawn Pound, Josephine Lawrence, Rhonda Melzer and I. We sold a few and hope to do better as Christmas comes closer. It is a good Xmas gift idea and costs $12 plus $1.50 postage For anyone wishing to purchase, contact Carmen on 4927 6117 or Dawn on 4928 1798. Mentioning artists, if you are in Biloela be sure to stop at the water tower in State Farm Road and see the mammoth mural that Josephine Lawrence has painted on the tower. It’s fabulous. As usual the sale of ‘orphans’ went well with some people coming back again this year to add to their collection. Our koala stall will be at Arts in the Park again this year. Dawn would like some help during the day if anyone can spare an hour. (See page 6)

Reports from Dawn Pound Library Display 3 - 27 July The display went up in the North side Library on Monday 3 July. We had A4 print outs of as many aspects of Koala tracking, catching, collaring and ear tagging and collecting data as we could find. The photos were supplied by Nick Quigley on CD to Denise at CQU, who printed them out for us. We still have more on the disc which we can use for future displays. We also included a section on our Ph.d student, Steph Januchowski, to give an awareness of ongoing projects with the Research Centre and the Volunteers involvement. Setting up these displays is not easy and I thank Doreen for her assistance and patience on the Monday morning. Bunnings Chocolate Stand Carmen, Doreen, Steph and I spent two mornings on Sat. 29th and Sun. 30th at the door of Bunnings Warehouse selling chocolates to the weekend crowds who come and go to the store. Their minds are usually on other matters so are rather surprised to be asked if they would like to help the Koala Volunteers by buying a box of chocolates. Most people responded generously and we managed to sell four cartons over the two mornings, a total of $648 with $82-30 in donations. The next week I sent a letter to Kylie Ingram at Bunnings on behalf of the Koala Volunteers, to thank her and Bunnings for their permission for us to set up our stall and for their assistance in doing so on those two days. Arts in the Park – Sunday – 8 October It’s all happening again this year at the Botanic Gardens. We will have our usual space under the huge Banyan Trees selling T shirts, etc. plus our calendar/diary. Anyone with some time to spare between 7.30am and 3.00pm who could come along and help out are most welcome. Contact Dawn on 49281798 or drop an email to ndpound@optusnet.com.au. Thank you Dawn Pound

Koala Chocolate Drive Report from Coordinators Nick Quigley and Shirley Hopkins Congratulations to members and friends for their support. There are a few ends to tie up, however profit should be about $2 200 up $400 on 2005. A considerable amount of the profit came from contacts at CQU and 23 outside organizations. Members are asked to nominate other outside organizations for future Koala Choc Fundraisers. This year Nick prepared Certificates of Appreciation for 10 organizations which made a considerable contribution. The certificates were framed and were very well received. I visited Judy Grainger, our supplier, and her husband, Ian, at Bli Bli and presented the framed certificate. Judy was absolutely thrilled and said she had never received anything like that before. Judy and Ian have a delightful home looking out on the Glass House Mountains with a wonderful garden. Shirley Hopkins

From the Treasurer’s Desk We have now transferred our cheque account and one term deposit from the Commonwealth Bank to the Capricorn Credit Union. The interest rates and service are much better. Congratulations once again Nick Nick and his wife, Helen, have just been in Brisbane to receive his OAM. We’ll have some more information in the next newsletter.

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