The Bywong Soapbox

I wonder if anyone in the Bywong/Wamboin area has noticed the little yellow airplane that’s been buzzing around at low altitudes the last few weeks.

In the skies over Bywong

Well, it’s a geologic survey aircraft, VH-KPY, owned by Fugro Airborne Surveys that does magnetic geologic surveys for mining companies and whoever else has enough money to pay for their services.

VH-KPY A Geologic Survey Aircraft

“So what?”, you all say?  Well, this little gem has been sighted for the sixth time in a few weeks, flying low altitude patterns over Bywong, especially around William McEnally’s old mining area, ‘Macs Reef’.  One or two passes might be the norm for a simple survey, but they’re making these low passes a habit, so I’d assume they’ve found something interesting in their survey.

Keeping in mind that at today’s petrol prices and pilot fees, it costs a hell of a lot to spend a few weeks flying low altitude passes over Bywong. Must be something REALLY interesting in the ground around here.  Does everyone have their panning dishes handy?  In 1852 the NSW Government geological surveyor, Rev. W. B. Clarke, concluded that “gold in profitable quantities will hereafter be found in some part of the district of which Bywong Hill is the centre”.  Perhaps Fugro is about to make the same statement in 2010..  The price of gold in recent months HAS made the smaller deposits look profitable again.

“Big deal!”, you all say?  Well…  Eventually, their mining company client will apply to the NSW Department of Primary Industries for an exploration permit.  They’ll then rock up to your door and expect to drill some exploratory bores or dig a hole here and there.

How is this possible?  If you take a good look at your Land Title papers, you, like everyone else in this area, will find a little caveat that states the mineral rights belong to a mining outfit in West Australia, who just happens to hold the mineral lease on your property.

Yes folks, you only own what you can see.  What’s below the surface of your paddock, belongs to this outfit in WA, and there’s nothing you can do about it.  So, if you’ve been digging holes in your property, everything you take out, actually belongs to them.  So.. any nuggets you find…  you’ll have to turn in to the proper owners.  Right?

Go have a read of the Landholder Rights, pursuant to the the provisions of the Mining Act 1992.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/minerals/titles/landholders-rights/mining_act_1992

Know what they can and cannot do. Know your rights and you can use the miners to your advantage.

How would Bywong look as a Strip Mine?

Now, I’m sure that if some large reserve of Gold, Silver or Uranium (Heh heh.. now wouldn’t THAT piss off Earth Mother Moore?), were found in Bywong, the Shire’s pillar of honour, Stainless Bascomb, would be soon filing writs of Compulsory Acquisition on everything the Shire could get it’s hands on.  And you could be sure that Bywong would become an open pit strip mine from the Lake George escarpment to Kowen Forest.

One good thing…. It would get rid of all the noxious weeds in the area..

Occasionally,  I find solace in taking the trash to the tip as the local tip seems to be one of those places where you’ll run into interesting neighbours.  Having deposited my recycling in the appropriate bins, I was dropping a few old monitors off in the recycle area when I happened across the lad that does the website for the neighbouring community of Wamboin.  Well, Bruce and I began extolling the benefits of the treasures you find at the tip and asked me if I’d like a Digital TV set top box that was acting up.

Well, rather than let him toss it in with the rest of the trash, I took it home with me and fired it up to see what was the problem.

But first, let me digress and explain what these things are….

Australia is turning off analog TV signals in the very near future.. Everyone will need to embrace the new Digital TV technology, by either getting a new ‘digital ready’ TV, or getting a set top box converter to use with their old analogue TV.  The advantage of the digital clarity is well worth the few ten’s of dollars to get a set top converter.

Anyway…. Having recently purchased an ‘all singing – all dancing’ Digital LCD TV for the bedroom, I was debating what to do with the aged Grundig analogue beastie in the TV room.  A pretty flash, large screen TV in it’s day, it was now getting long in the tooth and ready for a trip to the tip.

Enter Bruce, with his tired SRT 5390 Digital TV recorder/converter.  Yes, this thing even has an 80Gb hard drive for recording your favorite programs, just like a VCR, but digitally… on the hard drive… no tape… AND he had the remote with it as well!

So.. I plugged it in and made the proper connections to the TV.

Well… It would work for a few minutes, then seem to lose the signal.  When a digital TV loses the signal, the picture either goes black or turns to a mess of pixelated squares.  So, it did have a problem and I went straight to the Internet forums to see if anyone had the fix.

Sure enough, the SRT 5390 had a documented problem with the power supply and the fix was to change a couple of electrolytic capacitors for ones of a higher voltage value.  So, a quick trip to the local electronics store, about 78 cents worth of parts and 30 minutes of my time to de-solder and install new capacitors.

The results?  A Digital Set Top Box Converter/Recorder that works like a new one and the satisfaction of being able to breathe a year or so of life back into an old TV.

Thanks Bruce… If you happen wander by, I’ll crack open one of my homebrew stouts and we’ll sit on the veranda to muse about the mysteries of the rural lifestyle.

How many of you  Bywong/Wamboin residents have come home after a hard days work to find your dog cowering under the veranda or hiding in it’s dog house? Shaking, afraid to come out?  Does this odd behaviour in your pet seem to occur about every three months?

You’ve probably been visited by Country Energy’s Meter Reader.

Oh, he’s a friendly old sort… Always smiling and happy to chew the fat on what’s happening in the neighbourhood.  But if your pet get too close to him, he’s quick to throw the boot or give your pet a good cuff to the ear.

Yes, this friendly old guy has a real mean streak towards over-exuberant pets.  I’ve watched him.  On each visit to my electric meter he has either cuffed or booted a small puppy, who’s only crime was the joy of having someone new to smell and lick.

Is it this mans place to discipline your pet? How would you feel if he were dispensing this sort of discipline to your child?

This isn’t the first time Country Energy Contractors have taken liberties with pets.

A favorite dog of mine, who has since gone to his great reward, was once disciplined by the Country Energy tree trimmers.  I came home to find the poor animal bleeding from the nose with a crushed eye socket. Evidently, he’d been ‘disciplined’ by the tree trimmers.

I rang the Country Energy people and explained my concerns.  Their answer wasn’t good enough, so I’ve indicated to them that any future visits by their contractors would require a phone call to arrange a time for me to be present while any subsequent work is carried out.

I have told these people, any Country Energy Contractor venturing onto my property, without my permission, will be treated as an intruder and dealt with as such.

Unfortunately, I’ve had to extend this to the Meter Reader as well.

Remember, Country Energy is not above the law, nor are they allowed dominion over your animals.