Back in the late 80s if a bushfire started in the district aviator Max Hazelton and his crop spraying pilots would hop in their agricultural planes, load up with water and go on bombing raids to help put it out.
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Cootamundra agricultural pilot Col Adams did the same in his district and also believed aeroplanes were effective fighting fires but the Rural Fire Service hierarchy continually rejected the concept.
At one meeting Emergency Services minister Ted Pickering told him he "hated aeroplanes and NSW doesn't have much of a fire problem...".
The then RFS boss Phil Koperberg said he could get aircraft from Victoria with 12 hours notice, fixed wing aircraft were no good in the bush and retardants were dangerous in national parks.
For years both pilots continued to bang their heads against a brick wall trying to get authorities to adopt a more positive attitude.
Devastating fires in the Mount Canobolas area caused damage estimated at $6 million with huge stock losses and hundreds of hectares of valuable pine forest wiped out.
So thankfully attitudes have changed and now aircraft have been well-and-truly accepted as a valuable fire-fighting resource
- Denis Gregory
Max Hazelton always believed they could have been stopped sooner if aircraft had been called but he was confident something would one day be done to fight fires from the air.
He was right. Aircraft now are a major weapon in fighting bushfires and the RFS last November had around 40 on the job in NSW.
And last week the bushfire royal commission's final report recommended a new national aerial fire-fighting fleet be formed funded by state and federal governments.
So thankfully attitudes have changed and now aircraft have been well-and-truly accepted as a valuable fire-fighting resource.
Fifty years later.
Golden Eagle Bowls has a nice ring to it
The metropolitan media made a big thing about last weekend's second Golden Eagle 1500m race at Rosehill Gardens for four-year-olds.
Total prizemoney was $7.5 million making it the second richest race in NSW after the silly named Everest.
But did the Australian Turf Club pinch the name from Orange City Bowling Club that's run the highly successful $16,000 Golden Eagle tournament for 52 years?
No it didn't. Racing NSW registered the Golden Eagle race name in December, 2018.
Obviously the bowling club was left at the starting post.
It didn't register the name and in fact Golden Eagle Bowls is still there for the taking.
Sometimes money isn't all it's cracked up to be
You can forget going to the supermarket with the proceeds of your piggy bank because most stores don't have to accept handfuls of coins.
A shopper complained that a Western Sydney Aldi assistant wouldn't let her pay $7 of a $9.25 grocery bill with coins, telling her it was company policy.
Aldi later denied that but the Reserve Bank says although coins are legal tender the Currency Act 1965 sets down restrictions.
You can't pay more than 20c in 1c and 2c coins that are still legal tender, although withdrawn from circulation, or no more than $5 in any combination of 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c coins.
- READ ALSO: Death by Postcode: the Great Divide in NSW
If you pay with $1 or $2 coins they can't exceed 10 times the face value of the coin.
It's time for a laugh now
Bill: "Did you know it takes three sheep to make a pullover?"
Fred: "That's amazing. I didn't even know sheep could knit."