For you guys thinking about going to Australia

[Bob Reeves]

If you are wanting to go to Australia for the worlds you need to see the movie "Wolf Creek" 

[Avaiojet]

If you are wanting to go to Australia for the worlds you need to see the movie "Wolf Creek" 

If I go to Australia it would be for a new life! 

[Randy Powell]

Decided against a job I was offered a couple of years ago that would have taken me to Brisbane. Thought pretty seriously about it and almost took it. Kinda wished I had taken it.

[Noel Corney]

Would have welcomed you with open arms, another stunt pilot -builder.

[Will Hinton]

I'm like Randy, almost went in the late 60's but discovered a lady in my house was pregnant and decided to stay here for that reason.
I, too, wish I had gone.  My kids would have been great Aussies!
After eading Zane Grey's "Wilderness Trek" I really fell in love with the idea.  (Grey spent a couple of years there at one time as I understand it.) 
For this day and age, I love their leader's attitude with the present situations that are developing.  Love it or leave it!  Beautiful.

[Steve Helmick]

I loved Brisbane. Spent a cold & wet month in Aussie in September/October '83. Flew into Sydney, then right over to Melbourne. Went by road up to Goulburn, Canberra, Tamworth, Brisbane, Cabulture, then down the coast by road back to Sydney and as far as Fairy Meadows (Owen's Engines). Saw lots of neat stuff, but never saw a snake, spider, or evil person. Bell Birds, Blue Wrens, and some other interesting "birds" tho...   Steve

[John Stiles]

I stayed in Brisbane during the late 60s met a real nice girl on a ranch in the outback. Stayed with her family for a short while and they almost talked me into going AWOL....but my oath to the country was too strong and I went to Vietnam instead! Boy was I stupid!

[Damian Paten]

Your all more than welcome as far as I am concerned.
You'll pick up the lingo pretty quick or you'll think we're all weirdo's. Whys that you say. Well for a start we all wear thongs.  



Wolf creek is a walk in the park compared to Wrong turn.
 

[Steve Thornton]

Decided against a job I was offered a couple of years ago that would have taken me to Brisbane. Thought pretty seriously about it and almost took it. Kinda wished I had taken it.

I, too, had an opportunity to relocate to Brisbane in '96-'97 and also have my regrets....but I would have missed the better opportunity to meet and marry my bride, get our 3 daughters married ($$$$$) and I would have missed the birth of my 6 grandsons and 1 granddaughter... because I would have never moved back!

[Curare]

Ahh Wolf Creek. Truly chilling viewing.

With that said, metropolitan Perth isn't like that, and even the far reaches of the outback most people are nice. I guess it's probably the same sort of thing in the central US, people don't get a lot of human contact, and go a little wacky because of it.

Generally they're harmless.

Now, as a sneaky little aside, John Jarrett, the lead antagonist in Wolf Creek, got into a fair bit of trouble some years back trying to remove some tennants from a house of his. It probably wasn't the best idea to impersonate the Wolf Creek guy over the phone!

Link for those who are bored/interested:

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/actor-jarratt-threatened-tenant/story-e6frfmvr-1111113369157

[RknRusty]

Americans including myself are generally fascinated with Australia. I think it would be a great adventure to visit and go surf fishing on your beaches. I'm afraid I might hook a giant man eating shark though. I suppose I'd just hafta remember to take my big knife to cut the line.

Crocodile Rusty

[Mike Keville]

The way things are going here, that's not a bad idea....

[Randy Cuberly]

The way things are going here, that's not a bad idea....

I'm not so sure that's true Mike.

According to my friend Tony Clifford their political situation is at least as bad as ours and maybe worse!

Randy Cuberly

[Brian Hampton]

I'm afraid I might hook a giant man eating shark though.

Crocodile Rusty

A couple of weeks ago a guy was doing some river fishing up near Darwin when his line got snagged. He stepped off the bank into the river and...BANG...caught by a crocodile! The croc was caught and killed and they found his remains inside. That particular croc had been known for about 40 years in that area and had a distinctive white head. It's name was Michael Jackson .

[RknRusty]

Hmmm, oh well maybe I'll just get myself a cool Aussie Slouch hat and stick with Pawleys Island, SC. Nice and safe, but the girls all wear tops.

[Steve Helmick]

A week or so ago, I came across a framed Australian Free Flight Team Certificate in my shop. It states (among other things), that "Steve Helmick is authorised to rescind the title of 'Yank' and shall henceforth be known as an 'Aussie'." Signed by the 1993 team members and supporters: Tahn Stowe, Richard Blackham, Kim Blackham, Don Blackham, Peter DeVisser, Julie DeVisser, Martin Williams, Peter Nash, Dave Thomas, Jan Thomas, Vin Morgan, Leigh Morgan and Jon Fletcher. There's one signature I can't decipher, sadly. I moved it straight upstairs into the "trophy room" (such as it is!).  Steve

[George]

Ahh Wolf Creek. Truly chilling viewing.

 

If you want to talk about movies, there's probably lots of room to fly at "Walkabout Creek" ... just ask for Wally.     

George

[John Stiles]

The way things are going here, that's not a bad idea....

Don't think I hadn't considered it already!

[Avaiojet]

For those of you that know how to sing.

I pulled this Post from the New American build, #47, 5-14-2012.

"Notching a Turtledeck"

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

Notching a Turtledeck, Notching a Turtledeck
"You'll come a-Notching a Turtledeck, with me"
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
"You'll come a-Notching a Turtledeck, 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 shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Notching a Turtledeck, with me."

Notching a Turtledeck, Notching a Turtledeck
"You'll come a-Notching a Turtledeck, with me"
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Notching a Turtledeck, 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-Notching a Turtledeck, with me."

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

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


Hey Mates! Great song BTW.

[John Stiles]

Matilda is not gonna be very happy with you Charlie! 

[John Cralley]

Those of us that cannot afford to do the Australia trek should at least try to lay their hands on a series of mysteries (20+) written by Arthur W. Upfield. He sets the stories in various different parts of Australia and the detective is a Half-Caste (White/Aborigine) based on a fellow that Upfield had met while traveling around Australia. They are not only a good read but they give a feel for the variety of locals found in the "Down Under".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Upfield

[qaz049]

Those of us that cannot afford to do the Australia trek should at least try to lay their hands on a series of mysteries (20+) written by Arthur W. Upfield. He sets the stories in various different parts of Australia and the detective is a Half-Caste (White/Aborigine) based on a fellow that Upfield had met while traveling around Australia. They are not only a good read but they give a feel for the variety of locals found in the "Down Under".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Upfield

With respect John, I don't think that Upfield's characters are representative of anyone in Australia any more. We are possibly the most urbanised nation on the planet. Australia isn't the US fifty years ago, and not too many locals would want it to be so. If people come here expecting that, then they'll be very disappointed.

Americans can expect a warm welcome, and to be treated with respect. However keep in mind that Australians will tend to agree with you to be polite as much as anything else, and we also tend to be wary of those who hold "strong" opinions.

[Louis Rankin]

Australian people are great.  They have never forgotten the battle of the Coral Seas and seem to forever appreciate the Americans.

[James D. Hayes]

Well fella's I did take the jump. I met a girl in Brisbane in 1988 while serving in the USN. Ended up marrying her. 25 yrs later I can say that my family is Aussie through and through. Got out of the navy in 93 and moved down there. We lived in Brisbane all up for around 7 years. My kids went to school there for a while. Australians are wonderful people.


Jim Hayes

[Douglas Ames]

The way things are going here, that's not a bad idea....

It's pretty much illegal to own and keep and firearm in Oz. Crime has gone up since the Gov't. confiscation.

[qaz049]

It's pretty much illegal to own and keep and firearm in Oz. Crime has gone up since the Gov't. confiscation.

Douglas Old boy, that's just ignorant ill-informed rubbish.

The Australian  ban on automatic weapons has been a marvellous success. People can still own guns, but not those of military performance.

It has overwhelming support from all sides of politics and has successfully removed access to the tools of murder from the psychologically challenged.

Crime rates are actually dropping. There has never been a real US style gun culture in Australia.

[PerttiMe]

The Australian  ban on automatic weapons

Is the ban based on appearance or function?

.-.-.-.-.
Never mind the crocodiles. Beware of the drop bears.

[Bob Reeves]

Douglas Old boy, that's just ignorant ill-informed rubbish.

The Australian  ban on automatic weapons has been a marvellous success. People can still own guns, but not those of military performance.

It has overwhelming support from all sides of politics and has successfully removed access to the tools of murder from the psychologically challenged.

Crime rates are actually dropping. There has never been a real US style gun culture in Australia.

This is an extremely controversial topic but I would really love to hear more details about down under gun laws from an Australian who lives it. We obviously have different view points but maybe we can keep it civil. The last few posts need to be moved to the debate section under a new heading.

[John Cralley]

With respect John, I don't think that Upfield's characters are representative of anyone in Australia any more.

I would guess your are correct. Upfield's books are somewhat similar to the Western novels that portray the USA in late nineteenth century. Our West in much different now and so is Australia.

[Curare]

The tightening of firearms came after a mass shooting in Tasmania in 1996. After that there was a gun amnesty to retrieve all fully automatic and semi automatic weapons. While there was a massive uproar at the time, things have since settled, and we've had very few (I think none) mass shootings (more than 4 people) since.

Sporting shooters are still very prevalent in Australia, and we have some of the best target shooters in the world.

Although normal crime is a problem (find me a large city that doesn't have it) crimes involving fire-arms are a bit of a rarity.

[Steve Thomas]

This is an extremely controversial topic but I would really love to hear more details about down under gun laws from an Australian who lives it. We obviously have different view points but maybe we can keep it civil. The last few posts need to be moved to the debate section under a new heading.

Hi Bob,

With a due sense of trepidation, I'll give you my perspective, which is that of a former professional military officer who got to use plenty of interesting weaponry and isn't much of a bleeding-heart leftie.

What you have to realise is that while we're hardly a nation of neutral pacifists, we've never had the same relationship with guns that you seem to in the US (and we don't really understand it, to be honest).  The current gun laws were brought in by a conservative prime minister (imagine that happening in the US!), and I think it was about the best thing he did. This happened early in his first term of office, and he ended up being the second-longest serving PM in Australian history.  So clearly it didn't hurt him much politically.

We had a few shooting massacres here in the 80s and 90s, culminating in a terrible one in '96 which resulted in the current laws.  Since then, there have been none.  If you want to go pig hunting or target shooting you can be licensed to do so, but the automatic and semi-automatic stuff is out.  Some gun enthusiasts weren't happy about this, but the vast majority here feel no need to own an assault rifle or handgun, and are fine with it.  Nobody seems to really think about guns much. There are no metal detectors in schools, no universities being shot up by misfits, and no 4-year-olds accidentally shooting their 2-year-old sisters.  I have no fear that my family or I will be a victim of gun crime, and I'm pretty happy about that.  I'd also agree with qaz049 that crime hasn't gone up as a result of the laws changing - anyone who claims otherwise is either ill-informed or trying to push an agenda.

Someone is probably going to point out that the bad guys will always find a way to get hold of illegal weapons, and they'd be quite right.  Out here it seems to be mainly the outlaw bikers, drug producers, and Middle Eastern crime gangs (these are frequently all one and the same, at least in Sydney).  Thing is, they seem to keep their shootings to themselves, so it doesn't impact the rest of us beyond reading about it in the newspaper occasionally.  Maybe if there were millions of guns in widespread circulation here, I might feel the need to own one for self-defence (probably not).  As it stands though, because no-one much has guns, no-one much feels the need to have guns (if that makes sense). The US is a very different place - your gun laws are your business, not mine, and what works for us mightn't work for you.

More generally, a lot of the stereotypes about Australia don't really reflect reality.  If you come out here expecting to find lots of deadly animals, crocodile wrestlers, homicidal maniacs, or some utopian version of 1950's America, you're going to be disappointed.  Still, you'd be very welcome and I'd hope you'd like it here.

Steve

[Howard Rush]

One problem I've seen with Australians is the disrespect they have shown World Stunt Champions.  I reported in an earlier thread the terrible depantsing of Igor Burger.  Below is a photograph of an Australian attempting to kiss Richard Kornmeier.  I shall advise David Fitzgerald not to go to Australia unarmed. 

[Geoff Goodworth]

For you Americans thinking about coming to Australia for the World Chapionships, the things you must watch out for are the kangaroos in the main streets of the major cities and towns—they can do terrible damage to a car if they jump on it—and—if you are into camping—the drop bears. The drop bears will really get you.

[Damian Paten]

Also lookout for bunyips and yowies. Nasty critters.

[Steve Helmick]

Also lookout for buyips and yowies. Nasty critters.

I b'lieve Damian misspelled "Bunyips". They're harmless enough, if you give them a bottle of water (take the cap off).  The only "Yowies" I saw were on the beach near Surfer's Paradise. They actually looked rather soft and cuddly. 

[Air Ministry .]

[PJ Rowland]

" One problem I've seen with Australians is the disrespect they have shown World Stunt Champions "

I SERIOUSLY doubt you would find many Australian Stunt fliers showing that level of disrespect.

Even if its meant as a joke, there SHOULD be a certain level of professionalism & respect shown toward those whom HAVE done things in this sport. Its not Dog racing.....

Thats how "bad wraps" get started...

[Damian Paten]

I b'lieve Damian misspelled "Bunyips". They're harmless enough, if you give them a bottle of water (take the cap off).  The only "Yowies" I saw were on the beach near Surfer's Paradise. They actually looked rather soft and cuddly. 

 
Fixed.

[John Stiles]

I loved this!