Our season opener is on this Saturday April 27th with a fun mixed ambrose and a great one for learners to have a go as you are in teams and don't have to hit every ball. Barbeque to follow play, please bring salad or sweet.  All welcome, whether you have clubs or not, everyone can play.
Article by Margie Ward

Please see the ‘What’s On’ Calendar for more sporting fixtures.

Kerbside Collection
The next kerbside collection will take place Monday 13th May, 2019 in the Dumbleyung, Kukerin and Moulyinning Town sites. Please refrain from putting out items before Saturday 11th May 2019. The Shire of Dumbleyung offer two kerbside collections per year. If you are not ready for this one keep an eye out for the next one which will be advertised later in the year. Thank you for your co-operation.

This will also be your opportunity to cut out and dispose of the declared weed, Prickly Cacti. It is a common garden plant found in some of the well-established gardens in Dumbleyung and Kukerin townsites. Your assistance in eradicating this weed from your garden is appreciated and it can be carted away during the kerbside collection.

Tarin Rock Book Update

April and May is when the shrubs really start entering dormancy, waiting for the rains. Last month saw only the occasional dormant shrub, but whole areas of heath are now looking brown. I’ve noticed the flowers of the Banksia sphaerocarpa have been removed from the shrubs and are laying on the ground. I think birds may have broken off the flowers while trying to get to the nectar. It also appears that an animal has been into the Isopogon pruinosus, as the budding flower parts were scattered on ground in one particular spot. I didn’t see any other plants affected, and I haven’t seen any tracks that would give me a clue as to what has been feeding there.

I was lucky to find Calothamnus gracilis in full flower, as well as Daviesia lancifolia and Acacia stenoptera.

Have you ever wondered why you see spider webs with a rolled-up leaf in it? The spider is actually hiding inside the leaf as a protection from predators.  You normally only see their legs sticking out. They are called Leaf-Curling Spiders and are a small orb-weaving spider of the genus Phonognatha. It is believed that the species in WA are different from those in the eastern states.
 
My next visit will be the 6th of May. If anybody wants to come along, let me know and we can meet up on site. If you have any questions, you can reach me by email at tarinrockbook@gmail.com or by phone on 0439978550.
Article supplied by Jolanda Keeble

The weekend prior to Easter saw the Dumbleyung cycle members and one cyclist from Wagin head southward for another well organised Rob McDougall tour. Choosing quiet secondary roads there was time to pedal and look around and time to visit the local tourist attractions.

The first port of call was Denmark where bikes were unpacked, reassembled and a 30km tourist trail embarked upon. The first 8km was a grinding hill climb but well worthwhile when Hilltop Ridge was reached and spectacular views of the ocean and farmland emerged. Fresh produce from the local veggie stalls was a bonus.

Home base for the weekend was the delightful and unspoilt Peaceful Bay where tenting and holiday accommodation was available. Cycling and walking around town plus a dip in the bay occupied our time while a spectacular 2am storm over the ocean was captured by an exceptionally keen photographer - his next exhibition will be worth waiting for!

Day two’s 46km ride commenced in Walpole, through beef and dairy country - green, hilly and picturesque. At times head winds and hills were a challenge, while one intrepid cyclists reached a top speed of 66km/h on a downhill descent while others clung to their brakes. Locally caught fish and the customary chips from the Peaceful Bay Caravan Park were appreciated by all.

The last day's ride commenced after a visit to the Valley of the Giants and the Tree Top Walk. Even the coffee cart comes highly recommended. It was spectacular cycling through the area being dwarfed by the tingle trees, which finally gave way to farmland and a morning tea stop at Tingledale Hall built by group settlement immigrants from Cornwall. From there it was on to Bow Bridge and across the flat coastal plains to Peaceful Bay, then the quick trip back to Dumbleyung.

If you want to know more about the Dumbleyung Cycle Club please ask the CRC and we’ll share your details with those involved.
Article supplied by the Dumbleyung Cycling Mob

James Lowry Bodkin, known to his friends as Jim, was born in Victoria and lived with his parents at Narioka, near the Murray River.
In 1912, Jim and a couple of his mates decided to head west to the land of opportunity. One of their first jobs in Dumbleyung was with the Dumbleyung Road Board, planting pine trees on Absolon Street.

After saving their money, Jim and his business partner Stan Meredith, took up 1000 acres of land at Merilup, six miles south of Kukerin.

It was reported in the Argus that both these ex-Wangaratta boys were practical farmers, keen judges of horseflesh, and excellent horsemen. They shipped 22 draughts horses from Melbourne to Merilup.

When WWI broke out in 1914, many country lads joined up looking for adventure and a short-term break from their rural jobs. They were convinced they’d be home by Christmas.

A number of locals joined the 10th Light Horse and with their own horses sailed out of King George Sound, Albany, bound for Egypt.

The 10th Light Horse was a wholly Western Australian unit, and as Banjo Paterson said of the Australian Light Horsemen “You’ll know them by the emu plumes in their slouch hats.”

The 10th Light Horse Regiment’s most famous campaign at Gallipoli was as part of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade’s disastrous charge at The Nek, where they fought dismounted. The Nek was a 30 metre wide strip high above Anzac Cove.

This was one of the most controversial actions in Australia’s military history.

The result was near total annihilation of Western Australia’s 10th Light Horse Regiment.
They were effectively ordered to die, as they left their trenches and ran headlong into Turkish machine gun fire.

The Commanding Officer of the 10th Light Horse Regiment called it ‘sheer bloody murder’ while the Second in Command, Dumbleyung’s Major Alan Love, also pleaded for the carnage to stop.  But they were under orders. Love Street in Dumbleyung is named in honour of the family. Major Alan Love’s former residence – now a mass of crumbling bricks – is still visible from the 129 Gate Road on the southern side of Conical Rock, on the property of the Eynon family. 

The few survivors of the 10th Light Horse Regiment were evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915.
At home, calls were being made to replenish the ranks of the 10th Light Horse. Jim Bodkin decided to enlist, leaving Stan Meredith to run their Merilup farm.

Jim trained at Blackboy Hill, just out of Northam.  He joined the 10th Light Horse just in time to be part of the Chavel’s Desert Column, which consisted of a long line of Australian and New Zealand mounted troops, moving across the Palestinian desert.

There were many skirmishes and battles along the way, where the troops had to fight on foot with rifles and bayonets. They organised themselves into groups of four, one man held the horses while the other three fought hand to hand.

Sometimes the horses went for 60 hours without water, while carrying up to 127kg in weight, which included the rider, saddle, equipment, food for man and beast, and water.

A full scale attack was ordered on Beersheba - strategically important because of the availability of water and the close proximity to the Holy City of Jerusalem.

The Germans and the Turks had heavily fortified a 30 mile strip from Gaza, on the coast, to Beersheba, inland. Defended by two Turkish armies, the line was thought to be almost impregnable.
The plan was for the infantry to attack Gaza and Beersheba from the front, while the Light Horsemen were to ride for three days out into the desert, and come in behind Beersheba.

It was made possible by the Arabs, who were revolting against their Turkish masters, and so showed the riders the Roman cisterns from which the horses were watered.

On October 31, 1917, they fought all day to capture the hills on the outskirts of Beersheba and by 3pm the order was given to charge. This was history’s last great cavalry charge.

The Australian and New Zealand horsemen, including Jim, galloped for two miles under shrapnel fire. Within 850 yards of the Turkish trenches, which measured four feet wide by ten feet deep, they came under heavy machine gun and rifle fire, but with nerves of steel they galloped unswervingly at the double line of trenches. Some cleared the trenches; others leapt from their horses into the trenches and engaged in hand to hand combat with the Turks.

Unfortunately many were killed, including Jim Bodkin who was hit by an aerial bomb and died of war wounds the following day - November 1, 1917. Today he lies in the Beersheba War Cemetery in Palestine.

Of all the pine trees planted by Jim and his mates in Absolon Street, only one grew.  When Jim did not return, his mates called this one pine tree ‘Jim’s monument’.

This pine tree grew for 85 years until cut down in 1997 by shire workers, for safety reasons.
Jim’s name appears on both the Kukerin and Dumbleyung War Memorials.

Jim was one of 52 Dumbleyung soldiers who fought in the First World War and did not make it
home.
Article by Beth Bartram

Golf Lessons on the Oval
 
A very hot day saw some very enthusiastic golfers get some tips from Correy and Jemma Price from Busselton Golf Pro Shop.   They were great and hopefully those there will be able to put them in action soon.  
Correy was easy to learn from and Jemma and Barry Price, our regional Golf Development Officer, took the school children for a quick taste of golf as well.  We hope to have them come back in July to tidy up our golf swings.  There sure were a lot of golf balls all over the oval and even some in the grandstand, the old bar and the utes by Stubbs Park Building, a few wayward shots. 
 
Thanks to everyone for making the special effort to come over to the oval and be sure to get your name in first when them come again or you might miss out.
 
Unofficial hit on Saturday again, with names in by noon.  Our season opener is on Saturday April 27th with a fun mixed ambrose and a great one for learners to have a go as you are in teams and don't have to hit every ball. Barbeque to follow play.  All welcome, whether you have clubs or not,
everyone can play.
Article by Margie Ward

Last Sunday the Kukerin Bowling Club together with the Kukerin Tennis Club travelled to Walkers Hill Winery at Lake Grace for a combined wind-up luncheon for season 2018—19.  The happy combined group enjoyed the excellent meal and a few beverages.  This completed a successful season for both clubs who had been pennant winners in their respective sports.

Finally we would like to wish all bowlers a restful break and hope to see all back on the green when the next season begins. Good bowling to those who will be travelling and playing in a few late season competitions. 

The Kukerin Bowling Club AGM will be held on Tuesday 23rd April at the Club commencing 7.00 pm.
Article by P. Adams