The Old Gum Tree

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, I sang as a child in school, and sang to my sons when they were young. At some point, I learned that ‘the old gum tree’ was a eucalypt, but then I had no idea ...

Australian Mammal Extinctions

There is a simple answer to the question of what caused so many Australian mammals to go extinct. People. More specifically, it was hunting by people and by three non-native carnivores that humans int...

Cotters Market and Geckos

This morning, the Townsville Golf Club course glistened silver with dew, as though an endless bolt of shimmering fabric had been draped over the gentle hills and valleys during the night and left to a...

Pallarenda Beach, Townsville

I’m an early riser. My alarm beeps into the darkness at 5 a.m. every morning, rain or shine. Vilis, however, is an evening person, so for him to rise at 5:30 a.m. two days in a row on the weekend wa...