Month: September 2024

The debt of burden was the skeleton in all their closets – the failure of the Beerburrum Soldiers Settlement Scheme

A Grand Vision

The Queensland government funded Beerburrum Soldier Settlement Scheme was a disaster. The aim was to provide repatriated servicemen from World War I with farms where “swords could be transformed into ploughshares” for a tranquil existence in a rural climate.

The high enlistment numbers and enormous physical and mental casualties from the war, forced Australian authorities to develop a repatriation policy.

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Reflections on working in a hippy valley

“Bellingen continues to attract younger people with what they perceive as Bellingen’s ‘hippy’ and ‘alternative’ reputation, with love and peace in their hearts and wellness and wokeness in their souls.       Paul Hemphill

The Bellinger Valley has a long history of dairy farming and timber harvesting.

The devastating floods of the 1950s played a major role in the eventual decline of the dairy industry.

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