Archives for March 2012

March 22, 2012 By Adam Preston

Kiama’s Heather’s aiming high

RIDING 650km on a bicycle from Sydney to Mt Kosciuszko might seem like a tough challenge, but Kiama’s Heather McAlpine says that’s nothing compared to fighting cancer.

For Mrs McAlpine, who started the Ride to the Top on Saturday, it is her first full-length endurance ride since she was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2009.

She is raising money for the Breast Cancer Support Network.

“The network supports you in the cancer journey, particularly in the first month – when you’re diagnosed, your mind goes into a spasm and it’s a time of shock and intense decision-making,” she said.

She started riding 10 years ago when she and her husband, John, moved to Kiama.

“It was a weird time to start because Kiama has so many hills, but it helps you to get fit fast because you’ve got to do the hills – you’ve got no choice,” she said.

“I lead a busy life and I found that if I caught up with friends while riding, I could do two things in the same amount of time.”

After she joined the Kiama Bicycle Users Group (BUG), she took part in her first endurance ride from Sydney to Kosciuszko in 2003.

She hoped to ride last year, but the discovery and removal of a non-cancerous tumour on her ovary meant she could only ride from Bowral to Goulburn.

“It’s very meaningful being able to do the whole distance this year,” she said.

She said the chemotherapy had had lasting effects on her lungs.

“I’ve been told I’ve got 180 per cent higher fitness for my age, height and weight, but the dodgiest set of lungs,” she said.

“But my respiratory physician said cycling is the best thing for me.”

Mrs McAlpine will finish the Ride to the Top this Saturday and is hoping to raise $6500 – she has raised $3300 so far.

To donate, visit http://personalchallenge.gofundra ise.com.au/page/heathermcalpine

March 20, 2012 By Adam Preston

Kiama jazz festival strikes a chord

Courtesy of the Illawarra Mercury;

Blue skies and a stellar line-up drew thousands of festival goers for Kiama’s three-day Jazz and Blues Festival at the weekend.

A crowd of 5000 filled parks, clubs and restaurants to hear boundary-blurring jazz and blues including burlesque, barrelhouse, swing, soul, fusion, funk and even a bit of Britney Spears.

Publicity co-ordinator Eevi Stein said the 25th anniversary festival was the most successful yet and attributed the huge crowd to the fantastic line-up and ‘‘the goddess of jazz and blues’’ for the beautiful weather.

One of the biggest musical drawcards was Christa Hughes and the Honky Tonk Shonks, who wowed the crowd at Kiama Leagues Club with a cheeky burlesque show.

The chanteuse sang traditional bluesy tunes but also managed to fit in songs by her former band, Machine Gun Fellatio, and her own version of Toxic by Britney Spears.

‘‘Christa was amazing – she is a little bit irreverent and pays out on everyone, she has a great sense of humour and just an amazing voice,’’ Ms Stein said.

She said other highlights included the Buddy Knox Blues Band and a gutsy performance by vocal powerhouse Fiona Boyes.

The festival finished yesterday with an all-day concert in Hindmarsh Park and sunset blues played by local outfit the Stringers at Kiama’s Grand Hotel.

March 18, 2012 By Adam Preston

Kiama Downs residents happy with NBN

Courtesy of ABC;

Listen to MP3 of this story (minutes)

ALTERNATE WMA VERSION | MP3 DOWNLOAD

MARK COLVIN: Sometime in the next two weeks the company that runs the NBN will release the details of which houses will be connected to the National Broadband Network over the next three years.

By that time NBN Co expects to connect millions of subscribers to the high speed network.

As it stands, the fibre cables can only reach 18,000 or so homes around Australia at the moment. And only just over 2,700 households have actually opted in so far.

But as David Mark discovered, when he visited one of the test communities on the New South Wales south coast, those who have connected to the NBN are generally very happy with it.

(sound of plastic chips being scooped up)

SENIOR WOMAN: So we’re pretty good at this game; this is Rumican (phonetic).

DAVID MARK: It’s game time for the seniors at the North Kiama Neighbourhood centre in Kiama Downs, about 100 kilometres south of Sydney.

(sound of plastic chips)

SENIOR WOMAN 2: Right I’ve got three pods here.

DAVID MARK: It’s hard to imagine anywhere further removed from the cutting edge of the information super-highway.

And yet….

SHARON PARKER: so as you can see we’ve got four computers, and we’ve got a laptop. We’re also going to be able to do teleconferencing, which is going to be really exciting.

DAVID MARK: That’s Sharon Parker the Neighbourhood Centre’s community development manager.

She’s particularly excited because the centre is about to get hooked up to the NBN.

SHARON PARKER: Absolutely. Yes this week we’ll be all connected up and we’re going to start running courses.

DAVID MARK: What does that mean; what does having a high speed internet connection at a community centre mean?

SHARON PARKER: It’s fantastic. It’ll be terrific for the community to come down and actually get onto it and U3A’s going to find it really fantastic because they’ll be able to actually link up with the Northern Territory U3A.

DAVID MARK: That’s the University of the Third Age, a virtual university for over 55s.

SHARON PARKER: So, they’ll be doing photography at the moment. So they might want to link up with Armidale and have a look at see what their photography group’s doing.

DAVID MARK: People in Kiama Downs have been living with frustratingly slow ADSL1 internet connections for years.

But as one of the test sites for the NBN, they’ve been amongst the first to try out high-speed internet.

Sharon Parker’s had the NBN at her home for six months.

SHARON PARKER: Downloading, uploading, fast, brilliant. Sending emails, instant. Downloading really big documents, we get it straight away.

DAVID MARK: And you’ve got a couple of members of your family who are perhaps using the internet at the same time, is that the case?

SHARON PARKER: We sometimes have six laptops going at the same time, plus the TV.

DAVID MARK: And does that all work?

SHARON PARKER: Brilliant. We don’t have any dramas, none whatsoever.

DAVID MARK: How much do you pay for this?

SHARON PARKER: I actually pay $109 a bundle.

DAVID MARK: That’s $109 a month?

SHARON PARKER: Yep.

DAVID MARK: Is it worth it?

SHARON PARKER: Yes. Absolutely, I wouldn’t go back.

(sound of meeting and introductions)

DAVID MARK: Paul, g’day, I’m David how you going?

PAUL GOSNEY: I’m Paul, come on in.

DAVID MARK: Paul Gosney’s not going back.

PAUL GOSNEY: We’ve made a choice, a decisions to move to Kiama, just a sea change basically, or get out of Sydney – we’re raising two small children. And as a consequence of coming down here we found out we’d be eligible for the NBN. And that sort of tipped us over about coming down. It made me feel more comfortable bringing my business down here.

DAVID MARK: He’s a photographer and still does most of his shooting in Sydney, but the NBN’s uploading speed means he can do the rest of his work from home.

PAUL GOSNEY: What happens in the post production, so I travel back down from Sydney to Kiama, I’ve begun to now utilise offshore processing for some of my images. So I send them to companies outside of Australia typically and they’ll do some of my post-production, they’ll do deep etching and then send it back to me and I send it on to my clients.

DAVID MARK: Ok but this is obviously all happening on the net?

PAUL GOSNEY: This is all via the net. And so the fact is now I can deliver my jobs quickly.

DAVID MARK: So the long and the short of it is that the NBN has allowed you to live the lifestyle you want to live; is that correct?

PAUL GOSNEY: Yeah. And that’s the whole idea of coming down here is to have a better family and social life and you know it’s beginning to sort of bear fruit.

(sound of card being swiped)

WOMAN: There’s your card Catherine.

CATHERINE: Thank you.

MICHELLE HUDSON: My name is Michelle Hudson and I’m the manager of library services here at Kiama Council.

DAVID MARK: Over at the library they’re hoping that the fast speeds of the NBN will allow local residents to electronically access the regions historical documents, which when digitised become very large files.

MICHELLE HUDSON: So there’s things like old rates books, there’s old photos that people have. We’ve got some lovely film footage that people have taken on their holidays in the 1940s and at the moment that information is kept behind locked doors. And what we see with the NBN, in the potential that it will be able to realise for us, is to make all that content available.

DAVID MARK: In the centre of the library some people are using the NBN via the library’s WiFi.

MALE LIBRARY USER: It’s quicker. Yep.

FEMALE LIBRARY USER: It is very quick. It’s very good

DAVID MARK: So, the consensus is, the product is good; but not necessarily the service.

Paul Gosney recently moved and had to wait for weeks to get the NBN connected even when the fibre was already there at his house.

PAUL GOSNEY: There has been some frustrations that I’ve experienced with getting this thing operating. A lot of it I can put down to early days and so on, but now it’s a commercial product I would hope it would be working better than it actually is.

DAVID MARK: And that’s important when you consider the NBN plans to have the network available, or building availability, to more than 750,000 households by the end of the year.

Ninety-three per cent of Australia will be connected by 2021.

And even when the NBN is available, a quick doorknock around Kiama Downs shows not everyone is taking it up.

MALE RESIDENT 1: Not at the moment, no. But I believe a plan is to eventually get it connected.

MALE RESIDENT 2: No we don’t, no

DAVID MARK: Why not?

MALE RESIDENT 2: Because we’ve just moved down and we haven’t got round to getting everything sorted out yet.

DAVID MARK: Have you got the National Broadband network?

FEMALE RESIDENT 1: Yes we do.

DAVID MARK: How long have you had it?

FEMALE RESIDENT 1: Say a month

DAVID MARK: What do you make of it?

FEMALE RESIDENT 1: It’s been pretty good.

FEMALE RESIDENT 2: No I don’t

DAVID MARK: Why not?

RESIDENT FOUR: Because we’re on a contract with someone else, we’re waiting for that to expire and then we will.

DAVID MARK: Do you have the NBN?

FEMALE RESIDENT 3: Yes.

DAVID MARK: When did you get it?

FEMALE RESIDENT 3: Two months ago.

DAVID MARK: And what are you using it for?

FEMALE RESIDENT 3: Mainly emails and Skype.

DAVID MARK: And what do you think of it?

FEMALE RESIDENT 3: I think it’s wonderful because I was on dial up before.

DAVID MARK: So it’s a dramatic difference?

FEMALE RESIDENT 3: Oh dramatic difference, yes.

MARK COLVIN: A resident of Kiama Downs, south of Sydney, ending David Mark’s report.

March 12, 2012 By Adam Preston

The beat goes on in Kiama

Courtesy of the Kiama Independent;

The beat goes on

07 Mar, 2012 01:00 AM

AT A time when other music festivals are struggling or dying, the organisers of the Kiama Jazz and Blues Festival are far from taking the event’s success lightly.In the lead-up to this year’s 25th birthday event, Festival co-ordinator Ross Eggleton paid tribute to the area’s businesses and audiences for supporting what has grown into a major tourism and economic drawcard for the region.Mr Eggleton said in planning this year’s event they didn’t stray too far from the winning formula of top acts but stressed keeping performances free was a priority.”We concentrated on making it free,” he said,. “The first free one we did was last year and that was highly successful so we wanted to repeat that success and make it even bigger.”

More than 20 venues will host more than 50 gigs, more than 35 bands, more than 100 performers over the festival weekend March 9, 10 and 11.

Most of the gigs take place in the Kiama CBD, at the Kiama Leagues Club and the Sebel Kiama, plus a variety of clubs, pubs, restaurants and cafes over the weekend from Gerroa to Jamberoo to Minnamurra.

Highlights include the All Day Jazz & Blues concert on the Sunday in Hindmarsh Park with six bands playing throughout the day, Eat to the Beat, Young Bands Come out to Play, Jazz Gospel Service, Jazz Breakfasts and roaming bands.

Mr Eggleton said formulating the performer’s list was a year-long process of listening, taking note and making a “wish list”.

“You look at who you want, who is available and who you can afford!” Mr Eggleton said.

While the spilt between jazz and blues acts is roughly 50-50, Mr Eggleton said the blues line-up was particularly strong this year.

In the event of wet weather, Mr Eggleton said the festival performances slated for Hindmarsh Park would move to the Kiama Leagues Club.

Festival programs are available from Kiama Tourism and cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs throughout town or visit

www.kiamajazzfestival.com

Tu rn to pages 19, 20 and 21 for more festival news.

March 10, 2012 By Adam Preston

Tullibigeal take Kiama Nines by storm

Courtesy of The Daily Advertiser;

Tullibigeal take Kiama Nines by storm

LES MUIR

05 Mar, 2012 11:10 AM

GROUP Nine club Junee missed the boat, but Group 20 counterpart Tullibigeal Lakes United rode a wave of success at the Kiama Nines tournament at the weekend.In a head-turning performance, TLU surged into the Kiama Nines final at Kiama on Saturday, only to lose 14-6 to powerful The Entrance from the central coast.

Playing at picturesque Chittick Oval, the Sharks swept past Gymea Gorillas 12-10 in a semi-final before The Entrance ended their streak at the tournament.

In contrast, Junee, which was the only other Riverina team to enter the Kiama Nines, never left home, telling organisers the team was stranded by the floods.

Kiama rugby league secretary Steven Patterson yesterday reported the Diesels and Bathurst St Pats were the only teams from the 20 nominated that did not clock in for the Nines.

Speaking from Kiama, Patterson said the loss of two teams had not had a detrimental impact on the tournament.

“Even allowing for the wet weather, it was a terrific day,” Patterson said.

“There was a lot of water, but no mud.

“We were actually astounded the council let it (Nines) go ahead.”

Patterson said TLU had emerged as a “crowd favourite” at the tournament.

“They (TLU) were a real bush football team,” he said.

“They were here to have some fun and they also played it tough.

“I think the crowd was right behind them (in the final).”

With Junee pulling the plug on Friday, the Sharks were left to carry the flag for the Riverina – and made a slashing impact.

A week after making an impressive impact at the West Wyalong Knockout, TLU was defied by arguably the strongest team at the tournament.

Patterson said The Entrance is a team which plays in the Bundaberg Cup, a third tier competition on the NRL schedule.

“You can imagine, they’re a really strong team,” he said.

“It was a great effort by Tullibigeal Lakes United to make the final and be so competitive.”

Patterson said the Kiama Nines had attracted a cross-section of teams from Sydney, Canberra and country areas.

“We had Warilla and The Oaks play-off in the Plate Final and Tullibigeal and The Entrance in the main final,” he said.

“That’s a good spread of teams from different areas.”

Yet again, TLU has shown it could be the big improver in the Group 20 premiership in 2012, with dynamic fullback Jaden Kelly set to steer the team to a real shot at the title.

March 8, 2012 By Adam Preston

Daisy the Decorated Dairy Cow in Kiama

Courtesy of Kiama Municipal Council;

Kiama’s Daisy the Decorated Dairy Cow

Daisy the Cow has been an institution within the Kiama community since 1991, she is located at the Old Fire Station Community Arts Centre in Terralong St, Kiama and is situated ‘out on show’ whenever an exhibition is open at the Centre.

Daisy’s coat of paint is changed throughout the year by local residents and artists giving her a life and personality all her own. She is frequently photographed by locals and tourists alike and can be seen around the world via the internet.

Council has published a Biography of Daisy’s life featuring many of her painted incarnations. The book is available for purchase for $15.00 at Kiama Library. Also available for purchase at the Library are postcards of some of Daisy’s favourite painted designs.

Fast Facts

The idea for Daisy the Decorated Dairy Cow was conceived by Graheme Kime the then Cultural Arts Officer with Kiama Council.

Daisy was ‘born’ in 1991 and is modelled on a real cow named, Meadowhaven Daisy the 47th.

Meadowhaven Daisy 47th was an Illawarra Short Horn. This breed sprang from breeding programs of dairy cattle in the Illawarra which included genes from the Ayrshire and Shorthorn cattle. It has been said that the forbears of the Illawarra breed were shoved off ships and had to swim for it to 7 Mile Beach, Gerroa.

Illawarra is an Aboriginal word that means ‘High Place by the Sea’.

Meadowhaven Daisy 47th was bred and owned by local farmer Tom Walsh.

The artist who sculptured Daisy was Ernesto Murgo, a local Italian born sculptor. Council later bought Daisy from Ernesto after receiving a grant from the Australia Council, when Ernesto decided he wanted to send Daisy to the ‘knackery’.

Daisy is made of; wire for bones and paper mache for flesh. However, she has since had a tougher hide provided for her by being coated in plaster and sisal.

Daisy’s artwork is generally not planned and local artists and community groups paint her as they see fit. However, Daisy does now have some guidelines for her artwork which determine the type of artwork that she can display.

There was another model of a Kiama cow before Daisy, she was made for the Springtime Festival in 1957. That cow was also modelled on an Illawarra Shorthorn, who was called Lemongrove Margaret the 6th from the farm of C.R Chittick .

Daisy is stored at night in the Old Fire Station, but by day, she is proudly displayed out on the street in front of the Old Fire Station. .

March 5, 2012 By Adam Preston

Quick Fijians take out Kiama Rugby Sevens

Courtesy of the Illawarra Mercury;

They never played together previously and had trouble remembering each other’s names.

But by the end of the day, a ragtag bunch of Fijians had taken out the Kiama Rugby Sevens in entertaining style.

Playing under the name of team sponsor Kiama Inn, the squad consisted of players from various country areas.

After kicking off the annual seaside tournament with a 14-5 over Illawarra-based side Avondale, Kiama Inn upset favourites West Harbour 10-7.

A 14-5 defeat of Uni Norths was next before Kiama Inn drew 12-all with Manly and advanced on a countback.

Taking on Tupou College from Tonga in the semi-final, Kiama Inn prevailed 26-7, setting up a meeting with Parramatta in the final.

They completed the fairy tale with a 24-17 triumph in the decider.

‘‘The boys didn’t know much about each other at the start of the day but you wouldn’t have known it watching them play,’’ Kiama Inn coach Mark Bryant said.

‘‘They only dropped about two balls all day and it was like they’d been together for a few years.

‘‘Kiama Inn is a sponsor of Kiama Rugby Club and they just wanted to have a Kiama Inn team in the Sevens. It started as a chat over a beer – just an idea to bring some blokes together and give them an opportunity to be involved – and it’s culminated in winning the whole thing. The guys played great rugby all day and deserved to win it.’’

The Ha’ateiho Spartans beat Tupou College 17-12 in the third v fourth playoff, Queensland downed the ACT Brumbies 17-12 in the women’s final, Kiama prevailed 17-12 over Engadine in the Country Cup and West Harbour conquered Southern Districts 28-17 in the Bowl final.

‘‘We had a fantastic day,’’ Kiama Sevens games manager Richard Statham said.

‘‘The weather was perfect and the rugby was great. The crowd got bigger as the day progressed and I’m sure everyone enjoyed themselves.’’