Australian Content

[AustralianEmu]

G'day! As you can tell by my accent, I'm an Aussie. Your advisors on all things Antipodean (in Let the Music Play) have done you a bit of a disservice with incorrect information.

For instance:

- Your 'bottle tree', we call a boab tree and is not found in Queensland.

- Toowoomba is a temperate mountain town west of Sydney, not Brisbane.

- trucks are called trucks, only the English use the term 'lorries'.

- the farms west of Brisbane are cattle, not sheep.

- the desert is further than three hrs from Brisbane.

- if the first concert is in Perth the group would not fly into Brisbane.

- flying from Europe to Australia you would go over the Indian Ocean, not the Pacific Ocean.

- the desert really does not extend into Queensland. (State where Brisbane is).

 

The story is great, and I'm sorry to be pedantic, but the incorrect Australian items just make me cringe. I'm happy to help should anyone need some background info on Australia. Oh, I live in Perth, so am keen to read the next chapter 'Revelations' to see how you deal withy home city.

Thanks!

Edited March 17, 2014 by AustralianEmu

[AustralianEmu]

Oh, another thing... I kearnt when travelling with a cast that it's not a good idea due to in-flight swelling. The cast would need to be cut open for the flight and a new cast put on at the destination.

[AustralianEmu]

A couple more things...

- the compound would use solar power with solar panels for electricity.

- when committing suicide by cutting wrists, it's best to be in a bath, the wound taking longer to clot.

[Graeme]

- Toowoomba is a temperate mountain town west of Sydney, not Brisbane.

 

G'day!

 

There may be a Toowoomba west of Sydney, but there's also one in Queensland.

 

It's the one in Queensland that appears in the story

 

On the other matters, please note the difference between dialogue and narration. For example, I agree regarding lorries being called trucks here in Australia, but that should only apply if it's an Australian saying it (and an Australian who doesn't have a lot of American influences). If it's in narration, or if it's in dialogue by someone from another country, then lorry could be correct.

 

I do most of the Australianism checking for C James, but I'm by no means perfect. C James, however, does a lot of research and usually picks up on the things I'm not familiar with. For example, the Queensland Bottle Tree. However, I agree with you on the matter of the flights. Europe to Australia is generally via Asia. However, it's certainly possible to go via the USA if money isn't an issue, and if they want a short stopover in their home country before continuing the tour. If they did it that way, flying into Brisbane is certainly a possibility.

 

I can't comment on most things because that's C James's place, but I could respond to some

[Graeme]

I was curious to see where C James has referenced some of the things you mentioned. The question on the bottle tree and sheep-vs-cattle farms appeared to be the following in chapter 12

 

Gazing out at the patches of forest dotting the rolling countryside, the engineer asked, “I thought the center of Australia was all desert?”

 

Bored with his driving after traveling a hundred miles west from Toowoomba, Dimitri replied, “Not exactly, as you can see. The central deserts are vast, but in some areas, such as this part of Western Queensland, there is usable land. However, the further west we go, the drier the land becomes. Here there is agriculture; mainly grazing lands for sheep.

 

Our compound is an old sheep station in a much drier area about a hundred miles ahead. There, you will find only the occasional Bottle Tree and a few tufts of dead grass. We had to go out that far in order to have enough isolation.”

 

This is saying that the area where the ';desert compound' is located is about two hundred miles west of Toowoomba. That would make it somewhere around St. George, which the Wikipedia page says is wheat and sheep country. However, the story is imprecise as to where they went, so it could also be as north as Roma or Mitchell, though that's moving into more cattle country. My best guess is somewhere between Roma and St. George. Given the climate data on the Roma web page, while it's not desert country, it certainly has low enough rainfall for many people to consider it to be desert-like. Also, a hundred miles west of Toowoomba, where Dimitri made his comment, would make it around Tara, which is definitely sheep country.

 

Was that the reference you were referring to? If so, it's much further west than you were thinking. If so, I agree that it's not technically desert country. The desert region in Queensland is near the borders with South Australia and the Northern Territory, and this is only half-way across the state towards that desert region. As for named deserts, you're correct that they barely make it into Queensland. The question is whether the word 'desert' is being used for a named desert, or a climatic region. In either case it's incorrect to call it a 'desert compound' but the area in question is certainly hot and dry for much of the year and calling it a desert compound gives the correct feel for the location, even if it's technically incorrect.

 

I found the reference to 'lorry' in chapter 15. To be honest, I'm not sure if the people in Brisbane use that term or not. I do know that I've heard it used here in Victoria, though 'truck' is certainly much more common. I suspect it's partially generational, with older generations preferring 'lorry' and younger generations preferring 'truck'. A lot of that would be based on the level of British immigration into the area since, as you rightly pointed out, it's more a British term.

 

Thank you! Researching these questions has been fun I hadn't realised what you'd said about Queensland not really having deserts until you pointed it out, which lead to the research to find the maps I've linked above.

[Winemaker]

The question about lorries is an interesting one... I originally come from Western Australia, where they are usually called trucks except for the large English migrant population( W.A. has the largest percentage in Australia) of whom some would still use the word "Lorry".  Having lived for the last nine years in New South Wales, I've been surprised to hear the term Lorry(usually trucks smaller than articulated vehicles) used quite often here. So it seems that no matter where in Australia we live, because of our close ties and sometimes high population percentage of folks from the "old country" It certainly seems plausible that the term could have been used.

I've been to Toowoomba in QLD.... never heard of one in NSW..... though there may be one Cheers

Edited March 18, 2014 by Winemaker

[Graeme]

One thing I've learned is that just because things are a particular way here in Victoria, they're not necessarily the same in other states The simplest example off the top of my head is what we call "potato cakes" in Victoria are called (I believe) scallops (or potato scallops) in NSW.

 

That's why I said above that I don't know how likely it is in Brisbane that they'd use the term 'lorry'. The context of the use in the story is:

 

 

At the port, he located, with slight difficulty, the truck – or lorry, as the locals would say – that Dimitri had arranged.

The character at the time is in Brisbane, so the question is whether the locals (ie. the people in Brisbane) would use the word 'lorry'. I'm hoping C James will join in on this conversation so he can let us know where he got the above statement from.

 

I'll also confess that I missed it when I was doing the beta-read However, I'll also admit that I'm corrupted, because I've worked in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and the UK, so I've experienced terms and phrases from all of those countries. I lived in the UK for a year, so I recognise the term lorry easily and it's natural for me, though truck is more natural.

[C James]

G'day! As you can tell by my accent, I'm an Aussie. Your advisors on all things Antipodean (in Let the Music Play) have done you a bit of a disservice with incorrect information.

For instance:

- Your 'bottle tree', we call a boab tree and is not found in Queensland.

- Toowoomba is a temperate mountain town west of Sydney, not Brisbane.

- trucks are called trucks, only the English use the term 'lorries'.

- the farms west of Brisbane are cattle, not sheep.

- the desert is further than three hrs from Brisbane.

- if the first concert is in Perth the group would not fly into Brisbane.

- flying from Europe to Australia you would go over the Indian Ocean, not the Pacific Ocean.

- the desert really does not extend into Queensland. (State where Brisbane is).

 

The story is great, and I'm sorry to be pedantic, but the incorrect Australian items just make me cringe. I'm happy to help should anyone need some background info on Australia. Oh, I live in Perth, so am keen to read the next chapter 'Revelations' to see how you deal withy home city.

Thanks!

 

 

Welcome!!!!

 

Okay, flight routing; I'm going from memory here, but if we're talking the flight from Rome, they changed planes in Hong Kong, so would not be going the firect route, which is as you say over the Indian Ocean.

 

Toowoomba is in Qeensland,inland of Brisbane, not in NSW.

 

I probably screwed up on "lorries". I'm American, and though I've been to Oz, it was long ago, thoguh I go to the UK often. I probably, and wrongly, assumed that the usage was correct.

 

West of Brisbane, yep, cattle in the main, but once you're well past the Darling Downs and well west of Toowoomba, it's more arid, and you start to get more sheep.

 

They flew into Brisbane for a reason (such as photoshoots and a vacation) not just for the Perth concert. Also, their tour was arranged by the ever-freindly Jerry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, another thing... I kearnt when travelling with a cast that it's not a good idea due to in-flight swelling. The cast would need to be cut open for the flight and a new cast put on at the destination.

That's absolutly true, but limited to the first 48 to 72 hours of having the cast.  

 

A couple more things...

- the compound would use solar power with solar panels for electricity.

- when committing suicide by cutting wrists, it's best to be in a bath, the wound taking longer to clot.

 

Solar power absolutly would not have worked for them; the kind of equipment they were using pulls a heck of a lot of amps (for example, metalurgical furcances are most often electric), so they'd need a vast array, plus a heck of a lot of batteries. A generator system makes far more sense for their particular needs.

 

One thing I've learned is that just because things are a particular way here in Victoria, they're not necessarily the same in other states The simplest example off the top of my head is what we call "potato cakes" in Victoria are called (I believe) scallops (or potato scallops) in NSW.

 

That's why I said above that I don't know how likely it is in Brisbane that they'd use the term 'lorry'. The context of the use in the story is:

 

 

The character at the time is in Brisbane, so the question is whether the locals (ie. the people in Brisbane) would use the word 'lorry'. I'm hoping C James will join in on this conversation so he can let us know where he got the above statement from.

 

I'll also confess that I missed it when I was doing the beta-read However, I'll also admit that I'm corrupted, because I've worked in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and the UK, so I've experienced terms and phrases from all of those countries. I lived in the UK for a year, so I recognise the term lorry easily and it's natural for me, though truck is more natural.

 

I really don't remember where I got that "lorry", but it's an error on my part.  

 

One thing I do want to remind everyone of; I'm the author and do the final checks and reveiws, so any errors are mine alone, not those of the team.  

 

[AustralianEmu]

I'm very impressed by the quality of reseached comments to my observations. Also I'm very glad that offence was not taken from my points, as none was certainly intended.

I will have to take your word for it that there is a second Toowoomba. The one I know is in the Blue Mountains. My Dad once had a cattle farm at St George. It was subject to terrible floods. This was in the early 80's.

I'm enjoying the comprehensive research and attention to detail. Well done!

Marie

[MikeL]

 

One thing I do want to remind everyone of; I'm the author and do the final checks and reviews, so any errors are mine alone, not those of the team.

 

 

Phew!  And welcome back, C J.

 

In case you've forgotten, C J's real first name is Cliff.

[Winemaker]

I'm very impressed by the quality of reseached comments to my observations. Also I'm very glad that offence was not taken from my points, as none was certainly intended.

I will have to take your word for it that there is a second Toowoomba. The one I know is in the Blue Mountains. My Dad once had a cattle farm at St George. It was subject to terrible floods. This was in the early 80's.

I'm enjoying the comprehensive research and attention to detail. Well done!

Marie

  It would be great if you can let us know just where the "Toowoomba" in NSW is as I would love to visit it. We visit the blue mountains regularly as we have relatives in Oberon. I've looked on all our maps and can't find it.  Maybe you're thinking of Katoomba?? BTW if you google "Toowoomba" it will show you the one in QLD only but I guess there is the chance that their maps are not up to date   Cheers

[AustralianEmu]

D'oh! It was Katooomba I was thinking of. Boy, is my face red...

[Phantom]

  It would be great if you can let us know just where the "Toowoomba" in NSW is as I would love to visit it. We visit the blue mountains regularly as we have relatives in Oberon. I've looked on all our maps and can't find it.  Maybe you're thinking of Katoomba?? BTW if you google "Toowoomba" it will show you the one in QLD only but I guess there is the chance that their maps are not up to date   Cheers

 

Last I checked Toowoomba was missing... however before it went missing it was the bomb...

 

 

[Winemaker]

D'oh! It was Katooomba I was thinking of. Boy, is my face red...

 No worries there... Hope it's getting a bit cooler over there in the west. Have heard it's been a stinker this summer