Outback cracks under assault of the Big Dry
Wow dont I know that is the truth, my kids and I just had to lay over 100mtrs of turf in my back yard for the first time in 48 years. Unfrikingbelievable and they say there is no Global Warming, Howie you friking turn the Water off in Camberra, or I'll turn my water on at home darn it all. Dead Beat.
The ground is cracked. Without decent rain, it's been at the mercy of temperatures that have exceeded 50C.
Even in less extreme times the heat is oppressive. A bone-dry wind dries the back of your throat. A squadron of flies that won't take no for an answer mounts another sortie towards unprotected eyes, mouths and ears. This is the last town before the vast nothingness of the deep interior. There are smaller townships further inland on unsealed tracks but this is where pubs, post offices and newsagents stop.
In the wide, sleepy main street in Bourke, no one seems in much of a hurry - it's too hot. A dozen shops are doing their best to stay afloat, but when the farming industry is in pain, the whole town suffers.
Some shopfronts are boarded up. The population of this hardy community is about 3,500 and declining. Those leaving are unlikely to return. Among the playtime squeals and basketball games at the primary school there is a real sense of despondency. >>>cont
Five years of drought have left Australian land parched and towns on the verge of economic ruin
Phil Mercer in SydneySunday December 10, 2006The Observer
Drought has plunged one of Australia's most famous outback towns to the brink of social and economic collapse. Bourke - heralded as the 'Real Gateway to the Outback' - faces oblivion.
Five years of drought has left Bourke facing its worst crisis. Little wonder Australians are calling this prolonged barren spell the 'Big Dry'. The earth in this isolated corner of New South Wales, 500 miles north-west of Sydney, crunches underfoot. Every step stirs a tiny swirl of fine dust.
The land is slowly dying of thirst. Some farms are the size of a small country, yet still they can't produce enough grazing for their livestock. Farmer Ben Mannix is determined to stay until the drought passes, but life is a struggle. 'You fight it,' he said. 'You work through and you pick up your pieces and on you go because breaking down or giving up isn't going to achieve anything.'
Five years of drought has left Bourke facing its worst crisis. Little wonder Australians are calling this prolonged barren spell the 'Big Dry'. The earth in this isolated corner of New South Wales, 500 miles north-west of Sydney, crunches underfoot. Every step stirs a tiny swirl of fine dust.
The land is slowly dying of thirst. Some farms are the size of a small country, yet still they can't produce enough grazing for their livestock. Farmer Ben Mannix is determined to stay until the drought passes, but life is a struggle. 'You fight it,' he said. 'You work through and you pick up your pieces and on you go because breaking down or giving up isn't going to achieve anything.'
The ground is cracked. Without decent rain, it's been at the mercy of temperatures that have exceeded 50C.
Even in less extreme times the heat is oppressive. A bone-dry wind dries the back of your throat. A squadron of flies that won't take no for an answer mounts another sortie towards unprotected eyes, mouths and ears. This is the last town before the vast nothingness of the deep interior. There are smaller townships further inland on unsealed tracks but this is where pubs, post offices and newsagents stop.
In the wide, sleepy main street in Bourke, no one seems in much of a hurry - it's too hot. A dozen shops are doing their best to stay afloat, but when the farming industry is in pain, the whole town suffers.
Some shopfronts are boarded up. The population of this hardy community is about 3,500 and declining. Those leaving are unlikely to return. Among the playtime squeals and basketball games at the primary school there is a real sense of despondency. >>>cont
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 2:32 AM
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