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SECTION 2-PAGE 2-PLAINDEALER-WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1975 Highlights Of Summer In Australia Are Recalled The following is the result of an interview with Dan Fry regarding his summer as a participant of the American /Field Service International Scholarships program representing the McHenry chapter. He «was sent to Australia June 17, 1975, and returned to McHenry Aug. 27. Though it was summer vacation for students in the United States, it was actually winter in Australia. "After a Ibng, but enjoyable 18-hour flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu to Auckland. New Zealand, and there on to Sydney, we were met by AFS in the terminal and rode on a bus to Camp Steward, about one hour north of Sydney. The camp is bordered by a typical Sydney area forest or 'bush' and had men and women dormitories, separate shower houses and a main hall. "The first night we listened to a speaker from Sydney university lecture on the dif­ ferences and likenesses bet­ ween the United States and Australia - have to admit everyone was so tired from the long trip that probably half of us kept dozing off. The next day all fifty-four of us broke into smaller groups, according to our Australian state, to discuss school, family relationships, possible problems we might have and general "do's and don'ts" in Australia. I thought that the orientation in Sydney was quite helpful -the AFS staff seemed very competent and well organized. About noon the next day I was the first one to be met and picked up by my new family. "Mum (as they say in Australia) and Dad picked me up in their car and we drove to Dad's mother's place. Later that afternoon we visited Davd's brother, who is a lawyer in Sydney. We had dinner at his place and we slept at Mum's cousin's house. The following four days were spent in Sydney. "Dad showed me around the city, the New South Wales Legislature building, the New South Wales library, the Sydney Harbor bridge, the old quarter of Sydney, the Opera House (well known as Australia's National Debt costTft& $100 million, but is a structure they can be justly proud of, used for all the Arts), also saw much of downtown Sydney. "The city itself is on the harbor and its various canals and inlets make it quite a beautiful city, resembling San Francisco, Calif. Its sprawling suburbs are nestled in a forested, mountainous coast. Ninety percent of the homes have red or green Spanish tiled roofs and many of the homes are brick. The Sydney area forest or 'bush' is typical of the eastern coastal regions of Australia. It receives a fair bit of rain although dry spells are not uncommon. Everything was green and growing when I viewed it. However, I don't think I can say that I saw a familiar plant. "More stops along the way -- we visited my two younger brothers, Bruce, 16, and An­ thony, 12, who attend a private all boys' boarding school in Sydney. I was very ap­ preciative of the time and effort my parents took for my benefit. We made our 450-mile drive home from Sydney on a Sunday .morning and you can well imagine I saw a lot of new South Wales that day. Once we were out of the mountainous coastal region, I found myself in ranch country - low moun­ tains, sheltered valleys and a lot of beef cattle and sheep. The further northwest we traveled the drier and flatter it became. As the property it is very flat, there are no mountains or hills and it is quite dry. "Here in country Australia the roads are a type of gravel and dirt well packed and solid during dry spells. Although rain is uncommon during July and August, it did rain on and off while I was there, turning the roads into a mud bath. My family had a diesel Land Rover used for traveling on the' properties and the roads; when it is wet you can't get around in anything else. Speaking of driving, because the roads are quite rough they have a very strict law about seat belts and also not having arms out the windows -- the penalty is $25. "Soon after my arrival I met my brother Warwick, 23, who is share farming wheat about 90 miles east of home. Another brother, John, 24, who is at­ tending college, came home on a holiday shortly thereafter. John, by the way, had spent a year as an AFS'er in Iowa in 1969. Elizabeth, 20, who is teaching a class of 12-year-olds in Queensland drove down and spent a weekend with tfs. That left only Margaret, 18, who is studying Business at a college on the New South Wales coast and she stopped by two weeks later. "Your first thought must be, 'Do all Australian children go away to school? Are there no public schools in Australia?' "Well, yes, there are public schools, however, up in the 'bush' where I stayed there were only small, one-room country primary schools. Besides the distance, in that my family had the means, they felt that they wanted their children to associate with the city dwellers and to learn away from their confined en­ vironment. However, most country Australians have their children attend public high schools in the larger country towns. "Now to describe my placement - it was an 11,000- acre ranch or 'properties' (as the Australians say), is located between the cities of Moree and Collerenbri (Aboriginal meaning Place of Flowers). It was quite a complex consisting of a large home, garage, tool shed, wheat shed, meat house, shearing shed, dipping tanks, water tanks, several fenced in livestock yards for special chores, tennis court, fruit and ornamental trees. The family's operation consists of 400 head of cattle. 5,000 sheep and 2,000 acres of wheat. The diversity is wise because of possible failures due to unpredicted weather and economic con­ ditions. Major draughts or floods can be quite harsh on this clav-sand type ground and all that a grazier has built in a decade can be ruined (wiped out). "I understood that the rains which occurred downstate Australia during my stay caused a lot of flooding and storm damage but up where I was. everyone was overjoyed for it meant a good wheat crop and green pastures, however, we had much less rain. The roof of the house is tin, from which water is collected for drinking. Water for other uses is dam­ med and pumped to the house by a windmill. They also have an artesian well which is 3,000 feet below the surface and used only for the livestock because it is so full of minerals. Due to the dry heat this water comes through the pipes very hot and is channeled around the properties through board drains for the livestock. "The land supports about one cow for every 10 acres and one sheep for every 2 acres. Most of the sheep are used for wool, although Dad does have a herd of meat sheep and we but­ chered about two sheep a week for the household consumption. Seventy percent of the meat we ate was mutton. Approximately twenty-two pounds of wheat seed is planted, without any fertilizer, on the 2,000 acres and on an average they are able to harvest 38.000 bushels per year; the price received depends on the World Market. Unfortunately, I just missed shearing (on our ranch) and had to leave before- lambing. But there were still plenty of activities going on. • . "Though I was not required to participate in the work chores. I chose to do so. At first they were sowing wheat. I rode in my first round-up or 'muster' (as they say). It wasn't long and we only had about forty cattle involved but boy was I sore the next day. The horses used have a special tem­ perament and are specially trained, very well mannered. "While I was there, I always rode on "Glamor", ^ small strawberry roan mare. We used a type of English saddle to work stock. During my stay we had to bring all the cattle in for TB testing. We did a lot of ys 's Savings for Your Home with Our Lowest Prices of the Season! STORE HOURS: MQN.-FRI.: 9-9 SAT. SUN. 10-8 m TUES. 9-5 WED. 9-5 (Senior Citizens Day) THURS. - FRI. 9-9 SAT. 9-6 Save Now...Save All Year with Fiberglass Energy-Saver Draperies 48x63" Regular $6.99 Pr. Now 5.59 Pr. or 2..!K> : \ ~ I - u p * . t 1 V 48x84", Reg. $7.99 ... .6.59 Pr. or 2 Pairs $12. Get year 'round savings on your home heating and cooling costs! These beautiful fiberglass draperies are foam-backed to keep out the cold of winter and the heat of summer's sun. Easy to keep love­ ly too ... just wash and hang, never iron! Choose yours in white, gold or green solids, or bamboo print in gold or brown combinations. Values for You( Your Home and Family! Custom Order the Bed­ spread of your dreams! 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Shearing of sheep is done once a year at the beginning of winter. The two varieties my family had were Marino and Border Luster sheep. By the way, it is a government requirement that every property owner provide accommodations for the traveling shearing crew and built according to strict specifications too (it can be no better and no worse than the requirements call for), i "A special building is provided for the butchering, wrapping and freezing of the meat. Dad did manage to take me to a neighboring ranch while shearing was being done and I even had a go at it myself. 1 also tried docking, castrating and ear-marking. The greatest portion of the work in session during my stay was drafting (separating) the livestock, needless to say cattle were more difficult. A typical winter day schedule would be to get up at 7:30 - have breakfast (in­ cluding tea) work 'til 11:30 - then have a fifteen-minute break called "smoko" which is tea time - then work 'til 1:30 - have lunch (including tea) - afternoon 'smoko' (tea time) at 4:30-work 'til dark, about 6:15 - dinner at 7 (more tea). I must say I drank more tea during this experience than ever before in my entire life and I did learn to like and look for­ ward to it. "Summer temperatures can climb up to 100 degrees. Of course while I was there it got cool at night but warmed up during the day. If the wind is calm and it is sunny it would get up to 75 degrees. However, in the morning I was usually able to see my breath in the house because none of the homes are centrally heated and the nights here are quite chilly. We merely wore heavier clothing such as sweaters during these hours. I was in­ formed that the most pleasant time of the year in Australia was during my stay. "Mail is delivered three times a week in bags and hung on the mail post for pick-up. Kangaroos are pests. They are very destructive to wheat and a mob can demolish a crop in one night. There are three types, Blue, Grey and Red, and they are killed out of necessity. One of my experiences was "roo- shooting'. However, the biggest thrill for me was hanging on to the buggy we rode in for the hunt. So. I did see plenty of kangaroos, but also emus (an ostrich-like bird) foxes (which are red, like American foxes- introduced), wild pigs, rabbits and hare and all sorts of native birds. "Koala bears are common to the forested coast only. The birds all make such a racket in the morning that it sounds as if one is in a jungle. There are a lot of dogs in the area, too, but dogs are never kept as pets. They are considered work animals for the stock and treated as such. One of the new puppies was named after me. "Ant hills are really something else. They are huge mounds appearing most anywhere on the properties. One must really be careful for if you step onto a hill it is very soft and before you can blink an eye ants are crawling up your trouser legs and cover you if you do not back off im­ mediately and brush them off. "There is a paved road from Moree which ends ahfout 16 miles from the properties. Then it is gravel road which i$ fairly well maintained. Moree is a busy town, 10,000 people, two high schools, a radio station and a lot of shops, businesses, etc. Collerenbri is thirty-five miles from the properties in the opposite direction (west) and is very small-a few shops, a bank and a primary school with only a few hundred people. "Australia itself, for the size of it, has a population of fourteen million (a bit more than the state of Illinois). The population is quite con­ centrated, however. The average Australian is a city dweller and I considered myself lucky to have been sent to the 'bush'. Dairy country is along the coast - northern South Wales - which is a green paradise. The highest mountain rises only 7,000 feet, called Kosiwsko. "Australia has two Satellite stations - one in Moree and one in Sydney - certainly up here htere is no interference. Australians are fantastic tennis players which I humbly lear­ ned. Having your own court is not considered for the wealthy only - where land is plentiful in the country it is not unusual for families to own their own tennis court. Other popular Australian sports are cricket, rugby and bowling (not as we know it). "In short order, I got used to the Australian accent -- bloke, mate (pronounced mite) and many more are widely used there, and as in the United States different parts of Australia have different ac­ cents. My AFS family is really great! All the kids are good natured and did everything to make me feel at home. t "My parents are really something. Dad took a lot of time and 'trouble explaining and discussing things. He is an active, capable, very pleasant 'bloke' and I spent a great deal of time with him. Dad originally came from the Sydney area. His father was a Presbyterian minister. Dad first worked in a bank, then went into ranching partnership with his in-laws and later bought them out. Mum is really nice. She is a quiet, easy-to- talk-to person, very household and family minded-hard working! "Most of all, I think the ex- pereince gave me some real insight of how self-sufficient one can become. I was very fortunate to visit a great country and meet some won­ derful people, making my summer in Australia an in­ valuable experience which I will treasure the rest of my life." * * * * Most people have some good in them, and all peo­ ple have some evil. * * * * Trading at home is a good policy; every dollar spent here has a chance to come back to you. LAYMAN'S SUNDAY - Mayor Joseph Stanek, left, was a guest at St. Paul's Episcopal church on Layman's Sunday, Sept. 21, and read one of the Lessons. With him are Charles Boak and Daniel Heldt, lay readers, and Charles Hamilton, right, chief usher at St. James Cathedral, Chicago. The latter spoke on the layman's role in the church at the 10 o'clock Mass. POtfNKjjjf tim Restaurant Rte 59 & Rte 152 Fnv lb III rox LK. III. FOR RESERVATIONS CAU. 312-587-1551