Journals from the week ending December 20, 1996
Darwin, Australia
by Michael Michie (visitor aboard Concordia, Department of Education of the Northern Territory of Australia)
12/18/96, onboard ship...Darwin is a city of 70,000 people located in the tropical north of Australia. It is the capital of the Northern Territory which is about one sixth of the area of Australia. Darwin is the traditional home of the Larrakia people, one of many groups of Aborigines in northern Australia.
It was settled by Europeans about 170 years ago. It is named after Charles Darwin. He did not visit it but his ship, H.M.S. Beagle, explored the coast on its next voyage after Darwin's travels.
The people in Darwin are cosmopolitan in origin. Many are of Aboriginal descent and some visitors still live traditional lifestyles. Others are of European descent, not just from Britain, and there is a large group who originally came from Greece. There have also been people from Asia: the Chinese came to mine gold last century and the Japanese came to fish for pearls. Today there are people from all over the world living together in this community.
Because it is in the tropics (12 degrees south of the Equator) the temperatures in Darwin are always warm. Locals divide the year into two seasons: The Wet Season (October to May) when it is hot and humid. This is the time of year when it rains and there are frequent storms and occasionally cyclones. The Dry Season (May to October) when it is hot and dry. There is no rain and the winds from the south make the locals feel cold. Most of the time the temperature during the day is around 30 degrees C (85 F) but the change in the humidity during the year means that it is hot and sticky during the wet season.
Kids in Darwin are pretty much like kids in America. They are mostly English speaking and many television programs come from America. There are other influences such as K-Mart and McDonalds. Because the climate is warm they don't need to dress in warm clothes and they aren't confined in the kinds of things they do. All kinds of sports are popular (except snow sports- it never snows there!). Kids often go fishing or camping with their parents.
Kids in Darwin attend primary school until they are twelve years old, they go to high school for up to five years. There are many schools in Darwin, and many of them are air-conditioned. When they finish school they can go to university. Many kids come to Darwin with their parents. Some are just traveling around but others come with the army or because of their parents' jobs. More of them are staying in Darwin because they find it a great place to live.
The Great Barrier Reef Meets Concordia
by Kathy Townsend (Marine Biologist from Heron Island Research Station)
12/5/96, onboard ship...After months of cryptic faxes, days of organizing and hours of breathless anticipation, the barquentine "Concordia" was finally spotted sailing up the Southern side of Wistari reef. The square sails were up and the rigging appeared to be covered in red ants. As the ship got closer, I realized that the "ants" were actually the students that I was going to spend the next fifteen days with. My first impression was "Wow, what an entrance!". My second reaction was "Ow!", as those standing around me punched me in the arm and called me a "Lucky so and so" and other harsher names. Unfortunately, I couldn't argue with them, as I felt particularly lucky myself.
Rubbing the bruises on my upper arm, I tried to imagine what it was going to be like to spend the next 15 days sailing from Heron Island to Darwin, lecturing about the Great Barrier Reef on this unique high school at sea. I had lectured to many groups in the past, but never to a group of crusty teenage sea sailors who had partially circumnavigated the globe. The prospect was exciting.
Who would have thought that a girl from the Prairies (Calgary to be exact) would some day be living in Australia specializing in coral reef ecosystems and lecturing aboard a tall ship. To give you a little background about myself, I was born in Canada, immigrated to Australia in 1991 and educated at the University of Queensland (in Brisbane). I was fortunate enough to have won a long term Ph.D. scholarship, allowing me to work and live at Heron Island Research station for the next two years. As my main interests lie in coral reef ecosystems and the effects that natural and man made pressures have upon them, Heron Island reef is the perfect place to do a long term research study. I am currently investigating the role that algae eating organisms (herbivores) have in maintaining a coral based verses a algal based reef system. Funded by U of Q, Department of Zoology, School of Marine Science, H.I.R.S and L.I.R.S. I am conducting comparative studies between Heron Island reef off of Gladstone (a relatively untouched reef system) and Low Isles reef off of Cairns (which is a highly disturbed reef system). Ultimately I hope to provide those who manage the Great Barrier Reef with solid data to make educated decisions about conserving Australia's exquisite reef systems.
Armed with this background, I jumped into the zodiac with representatives of H.I.R.S. to welcome the anchoring ship. The island residents hadn't been this excited since the last cyclone came through in 1992. While shimmying up the Jacobs ladder I kept thinking to myself "Well, the worst I could do is fall in from here and look like a fool." (You see I have a reputation for falling off of boats, but that's another story). After heaving myself on board without incident, I finally got to match the sunny voice from the telephone calls with the smiling face of Anne Woomer. She made me feel at home right away, I thought to myself, "This is a good sign." After introductions and a tour of the ship, we discussed the agenda for the next day. My assistant Deb McKenzie and I had planned a day packed with exploration and adventure. First a tour of the research station and an island walk, then lunch, a reef walk and a snorkle in the Blue Pools (one of the best snorkling sites on the reef). To round the day off, a night time walk around the beach to watch the turtles come up to lay their eggs.
Gabe
by Nick Hurzeler
12/5/96, aboard ship...On our first day in Brisbane, the very first person I saw as I came up the mess stairs was a stranger. He turned out to be our new cook, Gabe. Gabe's talents became evident very quickly. Meal times suddenly became an event that everyone wanted to attend. Our first breakfast that Gabe cooked was an amazement to the entire crew, and since then, all his meals have been of the same level of greatness. In fact, now that Gabe has been on board for some time, we are getting accustomed to good food (the provisions we picked up in Brisbane are especially tasty.)
Outside of his cooking, Gabe's personality has endeared him to everyone. His enthusiasm about being on board is definitely part of it. Even though the galley's duties are more difficult than with our old cook, this extra work is alleviated with Gabe's friendliness. Besides, the extra work shows up in the food. We all feel lucky to have Gabe, but he has done one bad thing: he has raised our expectations for next semester's cook. Hopefully, he/she will live up to them!