Celebrating milestones.

Queensland, the fastest growing State in Australia,
is about to celebrate its 150th birthday. I’ve been talking to people across the State for my book 'Queenslanders All Over' – from a tiny island off the far north tip of Cape York, where beautiful pearls are farmed, to the State’s far outback where mining and cattle farming are often the main occupations with rodeos and camel racing an annual highlight. I’ve been constantly surprised by the courage and larrikin humor of people who live in remote areas. With world class educational facilities and a government dedicated to attracting new business the cities too are attracting people from interstate and overseas. Queensland is enjoying its burgeoning popularity as a great place to visit and to live.

There are some great characters and great stories including one I heard about ancient footprints of stampeding dinosaurs out near Winton and the bones of giant marsupials, the ancestors of the kangaroo that David & Judy Elliot found on their property. They run an excellent newsletter about local finds, it’s called “The Australian Age of Dinosaurs”.

I spoke with a resident of Burketown recently about an interesting phenomenon that occurs there in Spring. She tells me that 'the morning glory cloud’ is a big roll of cloud which can go the whole length of the sky and is quite deep.


It's like a large wave but rolling the opposite way and is proving something of an attraction for extreme sportsmen with their hang-gliders who come to ride the clouds like surf riders. Way too dangerous for my liking as apparently you can be thrown up and over if you get on the wrong angle!

For more this image of the morning glory cloud see the meteorological site: www.jeffsweather.com/.../01/morning_glory.html

http://www.joanburton-jones.com/