An early experience of Aboriginal land rights came when I went to Tennant Creek to cover the Warramungu land claim.
What I found was no firebrand politics and protests, but a system where all parties seemed to want to make sure the right thing was done.
This was one of the first stories I covered on arriving in Darwin in 1985.
In March 1985 a large crocodile was worrying workers building a bridge over the the Elizabeth River, south of Darwin. Conservation Commission rangers set a trap for the crocodile however the animal was found dead in the trap.
While the conflict between commercial and recreational fishing interests was significant in the Territory, so was the conflict between recreational fishing and conservation interests.
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Not long after I arrived in Darwin, the city received one of its more unusual military visitors, the USS Pogy, a nuclear submarine.
At the time it was standard policy from the US Navy to “neither confirm nor deny” they carried nuclear weapons when entering Australian ports.
With the more stringent conservation methods being applied in many national parks, 1985 saw conflicts arise between those who wanted to see National parks conserved entirely, and those who saw recreational pursuits such as fishing remain a credible part of that conservation.
Each Friday, The Tasmanian Country Hour crew was responsible for a 15 minute radio documentary called Friday Journal.
This piece combines some olde English farm lore with some olde English folk songs recorded at a folk festival.
Cyril Phillips is a former Sussex farmer with a very strong accent. Cyril also sings some of the songs. The result was nicknamed Rae’s revenge as half the audience complained they couldn’t understand a word he said.
Family farm days at Erriba, south of Ulverstone in Tasmania.
Alternatives ’85 was run by the Kentish Baha’i community.
[audio:https://www.raeallen.net/audio/alternatives-85.mp3]A seminar run by the Tasmanian Branch of the Australian Farm Management Society, looking at the Tasmanian Taskforce into Agriculture.
Chairman of the task force was John Alright.
[audio:https://www.raeallen.net/audio/siezing-the-opportunities.mp3]
While working in Tasmania for the Rural Department, One of our commitments was a 15 minute radio documentary each Friday.
Normally interviews mixed with voice-overs and actuality, their production was sometimes the last thing anyone wanted to do on a Friday, but at a time of 2 to 5 minute interviews I found it a pleasure to have a time frame to get my teeth into.
This particular Friday Journal came about when I met Warren Purton, a Northern Tasmanian farmer who was still using draught horses to do some of the jobs more recently managed by tractors.
Talent: Warren Purton
To air: Friday Journal, 23 May 1984, duration: 14:03
Up until the mid-1980s, Antarctica was more or less cut off from the world for 6 months of the year.
In 1984 telephone communication was established with Mawson base in Antarctica and I was one of the first half dozen people to call the research station.
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