Patriot Realm

St. Patrick’s Day might be an Irish tradition, but in the heart of the Australian Outback, it takes on a character all its own. Under the sun, far from the green fields of Ireland, bush pubs overflow with laughter, cold beer, and a good dose of Aussie-Irish banter. From dusty cattle stations to tiny country towns, the day is marked with spirited celebrations that blend Irish heritage with classic Outback grit - think Guinness poured beside Bundy rum, green clovers pinned to Akubras, and the sound of a fiddle competing with a distant dingo’s howl.

One of our regular sojourns was to the St. Patrick’s Day races at Broken Hill. It was traditionally held over a long weekend to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day and, like the Birdsville races, attracted a big crowd from all over the Outback and beyond.

This is my story of our trip to celebrate St Patricks Day in the Australian bush. 

On the 13th of March each year, we mark World K9 Day. The day that the world is supposed to celebrate the gift of loyalty and dedication that our four-legged friends have given to our Military men and women.  Our canine friends have fought beside us and stood beside us and comforted us in times of trouble and we are increasingly, as a species, forgetting their dedication and love and consigning them into the same bin that we place our unborn children. 

We are reading more and more stories of heartbroken and dispirited Veterans who are taking their own lives. 

It saddens me that this Worldwide day of tribute often passes without a mention on mainstream media. Let us ensure that does not happen this year.

Why are we always putting green energy assets in all the wrong places?

The main electricity demand comes from big cities and their industries, so the electricity generators should be nearby, thus reducing capital costs and transmission losses, and supporting local jobs.

Why put wind turbines, access roads and power lines in rural and remote areas where there is little demand for electricity, where neighbours hate them, and where they destroy forests, wipe out resident eagles and start bush fires? And of course it is foolish to locate wind turbines anywhere along the cyclone coasts of Queensland, Northern Territory or the Kimberley coast in Western Australia.