Sir William Walkley, Ampol and the New England New State Movement

I was doing some research on the Walkley Awards. Named after Sir William Walkley, the Walkleys are Australia's top journalism awards. This reminded me of a New England linkage and a possible explanation to something that has always puzzled me.

Born in New Zealand, Sir William founded what would become Ampol Petroleum. Now how does this link to New England and our fight for self government?

In 1961, the New England New State Movement launched Operation Seventh State, a major fund raising campaign to support a new self government drive. I acted as an usher at the launch, wearing my first ever suit borrowed from my Uncle Jim.

Our target was to raise 100,000 pounds, a very large sum in those days. We were successful, leading to a very major campaign culminating in the 1967 self government vote.

As part of the campaign, the Movement decided to mount a major car drive on Sydney. The aim was to flood Sydney with thousands of demonstrators in the domain matched by press advertising. Because it was a car drive, the decision was also taken to swamp parking spots around the Domain even though this would incur fines.

The drive was organised with military precision by a team headed by General MacDonald from Wallabadah Station as marshall. This was my second New State demonstration - I organised the first at the request of ABC Four Corners to provide them with some TV footage - and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But that's another story.

So what's the linkage with Ampol? While we were asked not to talk about it, and no-one did, Ampol provided free petrol. As I remember it, the company also offered to pay the parking fines.

The thing that has puzzled me? The Australian Soccer Federation acted to separate New England from NSW, creating a Northern NSW State League. I never knew how this happened. Now that I have read Sir William's ADB entry and learned of his connection with soccer, I suspect that I have the answer.

The Great Inland Fishing Festival 2015

Photo: That's a fish!

In an earlier post I talked about New England dam levels. While water levels are down, there is still some good fishing.

The Great Inland Fishing Festival at Lake Copeton has established a reputation among regional anglers as one of the best, with more than 800 anglers expected to vie for a prize pool of $20,000 over the weekend of November 30, December 1 and 2.

Lake Copeton is regarded as one of the nation’s best inland fisheries, with plentiful Murray Cod, as well as Yellow Belly, Catfish and Silver Perch.

In 2003 the rules were changed to make it a catch and release contest (rather than catch and kill). The proceeds were then used to put fish back in the water in an effort to further develop Inverell's claim to be the Inland Fishing Capital of Australia.

Festival organiser Darrel Kachel says while the Lake Copeton level is at 15%, the fish are still plentiful. He attributes the high level of fish to the catch and release policy of the surrounding fishing clubs in recent years.

“There’s certainly a healthy supply on hand and our sponsorship has really improved since we introduced the catch and release policy,” he said.

Mr Kachel said the festival is designed to be a family event which promotes the district and sustainable fishing.

At least three measuring stations will be set up on the dam foreshores during the competition, as well as 20 flag boats for measuring out on the water.

A highlight of the weekend is the Fishermens’ Dream Raffle – with a prize of boat, motor, trailer, and safety equipment.

The Australian Inland Fishing Champion will be awarded a major prize of $1,000.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The Great Inland Fishing Festival at Copeton Dam runs from November 30 to December 2. Lake Copeton is between 17 and 35 kilometres south west of Inverell, depending on which area of the Dam you choose to go. It is three times the size of Sydney Harbour and offers cabins, bunkhouses and campsites.

Entry fees for the Festival are $20 for adults, $8 for pensioners and children and $30 for a family. For festival enquiries, phone Darrel Kachel (02) 67224410 BH or (02) 67221054 AH

For accommodation enquiries at Lake Copeton, phone the Recreation Area on (02) 6723 6269.

Inverell is 569 kms (7 hours 35 minutes) north west of Sydney if you travel by Thunderbolt's Way. The New England Highway route is longer. If you are travelling from Brisbane it is 433 kms (5 hours 20 minutes), from Armidale 126kms (one hour 43 minutes).

More on Manilla and Paragliding

• Photo: Bill Thurtell, a 73 year old paraglider.

In my post on Manilla and the Paragliding World Championships I talked about the role of Godfrey Wenness in developing Manilla as the centre of paragliding in Australia. Local postman Bill Thurtell was one of those influenced by Godfrey's work.

Looking up and seeing the sky peppered with paragliders in his hometown of Manilla, Bill was jealous.

On those good weather days blessed with the perfect flying conditions the town has a worldwide reputation for, Bill would look up and wonder.

“I’d see them all up there and I was amazed, and thought: ‘Gee I’d like to be able to do that’,“ Bill recalled.

So, Bill turned up one Saturday to do the paragliding course at the Manilla Sky Sailors Club. Being 68 years old was absolutely no deterrent.

That was five years ago. Now at 73, Bill tries to get out most weekends for a paraglide. He is proud to be the oldest paraglider pilot in Australia, particularly because his hometown is preparing to host the FAI Paragliding World Championships next February.

Bill is a pretty active bloke – he’s also the town’s postman and works as a doorman at the RSL Club in the evenings. He has had a quadruple heart bypass and suffers from some old football injuries but once he’s flying, none of this matters.

“I was a bit apprehensive at first because of my age, and weak ankles from my football days,” he admitted, “but once you’re up there this gets pushed out of your mind pretty quickly because you have to focus on other things!”

Bill admits he’s not as fit as he’d like to be which can be an issue in terms of the distance he has to walk back to the support vehicle once he lands.

When he’s out doing his mail run he often acts an impromptu support vehicle, picking up pilots from roadsides and running them back to the mountain for another flight.

Bill is trying to encourage his two granddaughters to take up the sport.

“Their mother – my daughter – keeps coming up with excuses for them not to do it!” he laughed.

Bill is a member of the World Championships organising committee and while there’s no competition category for “senior” pilots, he is looking forward to being a spectator and enjoying the buzz around town.

“This event is going to be great for Manilla and great for the sport itself as well,” he said.

The 10th FAI Paragliding World Championships will run from February 23 to March 10, drawing 150 pilots from 50 different countries, and an anticipated audience of between 3,000 and 5,000.

Paragliding World Championships Manilla 2015

The 2015 FAI Paragliding World Championships will be held in Manilla from February 23 to March 10 2015.

These, the 10th World Championships, are expected to draw 150 pilots from 50 different countries with an anticipated audience of between 3,000 and 5,000.

The Manilla location owes much to Godfrey Wenness. A former Sydney property developer, Wenness bought an old sheep property at Mt Borah just outside Manilla in the mid nineties.

Mt Borah proved to be an ideal place for launching, enabling pilots to take off from any direction in almost any wind condition.

Recognising the value of the site, Wenness first set up the Manilla Sky Sailors Club then the Tamworth (Manilla is 45 km north of Tamworth) Hang Gliding Club. Today Manilla Sky Sailors has around 2,000 visiting members.Manilla has a population of just 2,500. The whole community supported by the local council has gathered together to support the event and to guarantee visitors a superb country reception.

For further information on the Championships visit http://www.manilla2015.com/ or phone Godfrey Wenness on (o2) (international + 61 2) 6785 6545.