Sharks

Bull Sharks, bronzies and great whites

Stripy tigers in the night

A hammerhead in full flight

A wobbie slinking out of sight

With razor teeth and fearsome bite

Sharks can cause great fear and fright

But their streamlined awesome might

Is cause for wonder and delight

Many sharks are killed on sight

And their future is not bright

But killing them is not alright

And saving sharks is worth a fight 

I love sharks!  They scare the hell of me but they are wonderful. You can mitigate the risk of being attacked by a shark but the risk is always there.  I am hyper-aware of sharks when snorkelling in Spencer Gulf. I have seen the 5.5 m cast of Shaka the shark in the Port Pirie Visitors Centre. At any moment I know she will emerge from the depths with jaws agape. Perhaps I should do something safer. Like drive to Adelaide. 70 people have been killed on the roads in South Australia this year. A few years ago there was a fatal shark attack in South Australia. 

What we struggle with is the illusion of safety.  There is no evidence that shark culling improves swimmer safety. The removal of 10s of thousands of sharks from Queensland and NSW waters has not secured swimmer safety. Shark attacks still occur despite the decline in some cases of greater than 90% of some species of sharks.  But voters need to be reassured and we can’t afford to scare away the tourists so we persist with bad policies. There are other options. We can use drone surveillance, we can use sonar detectors, we can use shark- shields and, if we are really scared of sharks, we can keep out of the sea. It’s not just a question of culling or not culling because we like sharks or don’t like them. The collapse of the population of apex predators will lead to the collapse of marine ecosystems and fisheries.  That's a disaster and it’s already happening. We live in a world where decisions are made on emotion and belief. We need evidence based decision making. We need politicians to accept the advice of experts and we need to educate the general public. A political party with a Policy of shark protection will get my vote every time.

The Gumby Gumby Medicine Tree

Shade near the salt lake

A whiteness all shimmering

And shade in the Pilbara

By red rock simmering

A weeping green willow

Where few people go

And desert winds blow

Where the creeks rarely flow

I rest in the shade

Like the red kangaroos

Cool under leafiness

While the outside world stews

I first came across gumby-gumby medicine tree in the Pilbara in 1980s. We called this incongruously lush and beautiful tree by its Latin name of Pittosporum phylliraeoides and I collected large volumes of its brilliant red seeds for use in mine-site revegetation. It was years later in Queensland that I heard about a miraculous medicine tree called Gumby-gumby. It's leaves were being commercially harvested for medicinal tea and it was being researched by a number of Universities. I have long been interested in bush medicines and soon discovered that the plant in question was Pittosporum angustifolium. This species had previously been lumped with the  Pittosporum phylliraeoides I was used to but recently split into its own species. I consulted my reference books, including the magnificent Traditional Aboriginal Medicines of the Northern Territory, written by the Aboriginal Communities of the Northern Territory, and discovered that the Pitjantjatjara People called it Kumpalypa and used it to treat sore muscles and bruises. The bright red seeds were ground to make an oily preparation which was massaged into the affected area. The online information about Gumby-gumby seemed largely confined to the use of its leaves as a medicinal tea. I could not find information about the use of the seed to treat muscle-pain and decided to experiment. I eventually landed on a brilliant orange infusion of seed in coconut oil. A friend confirmed that the bright colour was Beta-carotene and it was stable in the soap making process. It creates brilliant-orange soap. It was also marvellously effective in treating sore joints and muscles. I have now been giving it to friends for a couple of years and it is proving to be highly effective on sore backs, sore knees and sore muscles. In my personal experience  it is at least as effective as Ibruprofen and it works in the same way by reducing inflammation.  I have now decided to make it more broadly available and have set up a website. It's great stuff and can be ordered through www.envirowizard.solutions.