Eylandt Echo Fortnightly news & events for the Groote Eylandt community proudly produced by GEMCO

GEMCO Rehabilitation and Mine Services crew celebrated a 12 month injury free milestone last month with a lunchtime BBQ at Alyangula boat ramp. Superintendent, Matt O’Hare was already look-ing to the future for the team... “They’re well on their way to their next 500 day injury free mile-stone.”

Groote Eylandters are being urged to tread carefully following several close encounters between venomous snakes and people on Eylandt re-cently.

In one such incident, Umbakumba School trainer, Bucko, trod on a highly venomous brown snake on the Alyangula Golf Course while walking to the 11th tee.

“I was walking up the hill and didn’t see it at all,” he said. “I trod on its head and its body flicked up and got tangled around my leg. I managed to shake it off and jumped back from it. It took off into the scrub and I went straight to the clinic where they did some tests. I remained there for observation for 10 hours.”

Bucko counts himself as lucky to be unharmed by the highly venomous snake. “It was a little bit scary,” he said. “Not knowing if I had been bitten or not but thankfully I was fine.” What to do if you are bitten by a snake …

In the event of a snake bite, NT Health recommend the following first aid:

keep the arm/leg/ foot that has been bitten completely still to stop movement of the venom through the body and don't let the person walk

do not wash the bite site and definitely do not cut or suck the bite site

record the time of the snake bite

tightly wrap a bandage or any cloth directly over the bite site, then up the arm or leg from the bite site. Preferably use an elastic type of ban-dage

wrap tightly enough to be firm but do not block the blood flow in the arm or leg

don't move the arm or leg at all and splint the limb using for exam-ple rolled cardboard/ ruler

Groote Eylandt Emergency Services Supervisor recommends Eylandt residents should call Emergency Services 000 in an emergency situa-tion.

It is not recommended that peo-ple try to catch the "offending" snake. This is not required when determining the requirement for anti-venom and may lead to fur-ther snake bite victims. How a snake bite is treated in the Territory… In remote locations such as Groote Eylandt, NT Department of Health protocol is to provide an emergency retrieval for peo-ple with suspected snakebite. Why isn’t anti-venom adminis-tered in remote locations…? While GEMCO has previously stored snake anti-venom on

Residents urged caution with snakes

Editorial 2

News 2

Education 3

Out & About 4

Rangers 5

GEMCO 6

Health & Wellbeing 7

Community 8-9

Fishing 10

Puzzles 11

Sports 12

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Continued over page

New! New! New!

Community Calendar

See page 8

Greetings Eylandters,

Welcome back to your Eylandt Echo. While it feels like just yesterday that the last edition was out, it has been eight months since the Echo was published and it is great to be back on board.

People come and go from Groote Eylandt and with the sad-ness of saying farewell to old friends comes the chance to meet new ones. Regardless of how long you have been Eylandt, this beautiful and sometimes challenging place stays in your heart long after leaving its shores.

Submissions to the Echo are always welcomed, whether it be a picture of the biggest fish you have ever caught or an announcement, please send it in. This is YOUR community newspaper.

Happy reading

Sarah Dixon

Contact us: Eylandt Echo

Phone: (08) 8987 4137 or 0409 248 399 Email: eylandtecho.gemco@bhpbilliton.com or sarah.dixon@bhpbilliton.com

The Eylandt Echo newsletter is produced each fortnight for the benefit of everyone on Groote Eylandt. The Eylandt Echo is sponsored by GEMCO as a community service. The contributions and advertisements contained within the Eylandt Echo are not necessarily the views and opinions shared by either the Editor or GEMCO, but are presented for the community’s interest at large. NEXT DEADLINE: July 2013

N E W S

Groote Eylandt, due to the technical expertise required and possible complications stemming from its administration, it is no longer held. A spokesperson from the NT Health Department stated that: “NT Health does not stock anti-venom in remote clinics. Snake anti-venom is available in Emergency Departments of hospitals and the aeromedical retrieval services. The administration of snake anti-venom requires both clinical assessment and laboratory testing which is not available in remote clinics.” “There is a risk of severe anaphylaxis (allergic reaction) due to the proteins in horse serum contained in the snake anti-venom. This can lead to complications such as very low blood pressure requiring spe-cialist emergency resuscitation, using both technical expertise and specific drugs not stocked in remote clinics.” NT Health Department figures show that, “over the last 20 years only a few patients have required anti-venom during aeromedical retrieval before arriving at an NT hospital. There have been three deaths from snakebite in the NT in the last 20 years - all in urban areas from West-ern Brown snakes; two Darwin and one in Alice Springs.” What is anti venom and how does it work…? Snake anti-venoms contain antibodies against the snake venom. They are produced by injecting small amounts of venom into horses. These antibodies when injected into a person with signs of snake enveno-mation, bind to the snake venom and stop it causing further effects. What should I do if I see a snake? Residents of Groote Eylandt should call emergency services on 89874425 if they are requesting a snake removal or the GEMCO Envi-ronment team on 08 8987 4226.

GEMCOs Emergency Services team on Groote Eylandt stress the im-

portance that resi-dents on Eylandt maintain vigilance with maintaining their properties which can lessen the potential for a snake looking for food or shelter in their back-yards.

GEMCOs Township Department make the following recom-mendations to keep your home as snake –free as possible:

Remove hiding places – snakes are secretive and will hide in your garden if you let them.

Remove all surface debris. Store things at least 50cm above ground level. Cut and kept all grass short. Avoid bushy gardens near buildings. Plant garden bushes that have bare trunks & keep

trimmed. Store food in rodent-proof containers. Position feed bowls to minimise spills.

Continued from page 1

Arrest: A 23 yo male was arrested and remanded in cus-tody after assaulting his partner at Angurugu on 19 June

2013. He will re-appear in Darwin Court on 9 July 2013.

Disturbance: A 32 yo male was aero medically transported to Darwin after receiving an injury to his leg following a dis-turbance at Angurugu on 16 June 2013. Police are investi-gating the matter and charges are expected to be laid. “Anyone that participates in disturbances particularly involv-ing weapons can expect to be charged and face the court, we

will not tolerate such activity in the community.”

School Holidays: have come around again and a number of people are away from the community. Please report any ab-sences to your neighbours and the Police to ensure security patrols can be made to prevent possible thefts and property

damage.

Liquor Permit Holders: at Alyangula who fail to adequately secure liquor or supply non permit holders with liquor will result in Police seeking the revocation of their liquor per-mits and prosecution. “Permit Holders have been provided adequate advice on this issue and Police adopt a zero toler-

ance approach to such activity”.

Motor Vehicle Registry business: The majority of MVR services can be completed on line including improved changes to MVR services as of 1 July 2013. See MVR web-

site http://transport.nt.gov.au/mvr

“Love is but the discovery of

ourselves in others, and the

delight in the recognition”

~ Alexander Smith

A moon snake removed from an Alyangula residence last week

E D U C A T I O N

Echo: How long have you been on Groote Eylandt?

Kristie: Four years

Echo: Where to next?

Kristie: I’m taking a holiday to New Zealand to see friends, Sydney to see family and then up to Darwin to see where the wind takes me! In January I am off to the United States on study leave to Harvard to complete some study with them which I am very excited about.

Echo: Why the change of scenery?

Kristie: Its mainly study oriented but also so I can reenergize to further contrib-ute to education for the benefit of children.

Echo: What will you miss the most about Groote Eylandt?

Kristie: For me it’s the kids saying ‘Good morning Kristie!’ when they see me at school with big happy smiles. Even in Alyangula they say it and give a big wave. I’ll definitely miss that.

Echo: In your opinion, what is education in remote communities most in need of?

Kristie: Dedicated, well trained staff and continued funding for assistant teach-ers to continue their own training in order to become leaders and teachers themselves. We need to invest in education and get the right people trained to do the job.

Echo: What is your hope for the future of the school?

Kristie: Getting attendance has always been challenging and it is my hope for the future that it will only improve. Recently we had over 50% which is great. It is also really important to see the community coming together which was just fantastic to see at the recent festival here in Angurugu. I would also like to see our students becoming teachers, doctors, pilots and grow to run and lead their communities.

Echo: What has been your toughest challenge in Angurugu?

Kristie: It is initially really important to gain the trust of the community as relationships are so important here. But I guess getting the kids to school has always been the big challenge. It’s a challenge to ensure that all services are available to benefit the students and their families. Living remotely, its not

always easy to get the services you get in more metropolitan areas. We continue to keep advo-cating so the kids can get the services they need to thrive.

Echo: What have the kids taught you?

Kristie: So many things! They have taught me not to get upset because there is really no point. They have taught me patience, resilience and also not to fight fire with fire.

Echo: First three words that come to mind about Angurugu?

Kristie: Hope, beauty and a lot of love.

Echo: What’s your favorite bush tucker food?

Kristie: Little green plums called Dumangkarrkba. They’re soft and juicy and delicious.

Echo: What has been your favorite rec spot on Eylandt?

Kristie: I haven’t gone to a lot of them because I’ve been too busy working! Otherwise, anywhere out on the water.

“I would like to thank all on Groote Eylandt for their welcoming, openness and acceptance. I would like to thank all the tutors and assistant teachers and all the strong women of Angurugu. Keep doing a great job and caring for the kids. Thank you for all the friendships here on Groote Eyalndt. I hope to be wel-comed back some day in the future.”

Ngakwurralangwa College Director, Mark Monaghan, spent four years on Groote Eylandt with his family and leaves to take on leadership of another Col-lege in East Arnhem. Mark speaks about the progress the College has made dur-ing his time on Eylandt and the future of education on Groote.

The changing of the guard ... Last month saw two of Groote Eylandt’s favourite figures in education leave our sunny shores and make the move back to the main land. Angurugu Principal, Kristie Lloyd, and Ngakwurra Langwa College Director, Mark Monaghan, share their thoughts on remote education, the fu-ture of Groote Eylandt and of course, fishing.

Angurugu Principal, Kristie Lloyd says farewell

Looking back on Groote Eylandt

“I will never forget this place; sitting in the sand at Thompsons Bay listening and talking with the people, the incredible bay at Umbakumba which took my breath away every time I saw it and of course, the kids of Groote Eylandt.

I feel like I am leaving behind a solid foundation. We have brought the ALC, GEMCO, GEBIE and industry together to provide broad support for education on Eylandt. We have established a structure to give ownership and governance to the people. Before the schools were unified un-der one college, there were teachers in Alyangula who had never been to Umbakumba before and vice versa. I feel like we have brought people together to provide functional leadership and a positive direction for growth, linking education and employment on Groote Eylandt.

I am very proud of the Mikbamurra Stitches at Umbakumba, involving the young mothers work-

ing towards their own enterprise and also proud of the achievements of our schools. I feel like we have really made the building blocks for a strong founda-

tion with all involved working towards a common goal and giving generously to it. We have a new way forward for education on Eylandt and the end point is employment.

My time on Groote Eylandt has taught me to work respectfully with people. I have leaned patience. I have learned that the answer is always there in someone and it is important to be open to every-body. I’ve learned that challenges in education are not resolved by individuals, but by collective intelli-gence. The College is in a strong position to move ahead in what ever direction is best for the kids.

One of the best days for me was listening to Louise Amagula explain to her husband what the logo of the Ngakwurralangwa College represented in her own language and seeing how proud she was of it and of the story behind it. This is their story and always will be. These kids just needed someone to believe in them.

I have a deep sense of gratitude for being here and know that both myself and my family will carry this time we have spent here in our hearts and look back fondly on it.“

One People

One Voice Festival

O U T & A B O U T

Friday the 14th of June saw Groote Eylandters converge in Angurugu for the second One Peo-ple One Voice Festival. The festival began last year to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the birth of the Anindilyakwa Land Council and is now an annual event to celebrate the culture on Groote Eylandt. Festival organisers listed the main events as traditional dancing, a footy match between Angurugu and Umbakumba, spear throwing, the performance of local bands and a guest performer, Emily Foster-Wurramarra, who lives in Brisbane but whose mother is a Groote

Eylandter. There were plenty of marquees up around the Angurugu oval includ-ing a GEMCO stand, Land & Sea Rangers stall, Groote Eylandt Linguistics with craft and Ipads for the kids, Milyakburra didgeridoos and bush medicine for sale and lots more. Festival goers also enjoyed a BBQ dinner put on by the ALC. In Groote Eylandt culture, traditional celebrations involve traditional dance which are also part of formal Ceremonial Life (i.e. Mortuary Ceremonies and the Mardian Ceremony, which is the Initiation Ceremony for men). Spear throwing which was also a part of the Festival has been part of sports events for decades.

Clockwise from above: a festival goer gives the peace sign; GEMCO RMS crew; girls basketball competition in full swing; intent faces watch the footy; an Angurugu student enjoys the day; face painting fun; Alyangula students in full song ( thanks to Terry Crothers for

contributing images)

L A N D & S E A R A N G E R S

Ian with Aussie, the cane toad sniffer dog

New Chief Ranger, Ian Kerr arrives on Groote Eylandt with his partner, Cathy, and son, Harry, from Lord Howe Island, where he worked as Marine Park Man-ager. Ian is well accustomed to island life, listing the Groote archipelago as his fifth island home. With extensive land and sea management experience, Ian brings years of experience in some of Australia’s most beautiful country in-cluding Rottness Island, Whitsunday Is-lands, North Stradbroke Island and Byron Bay to the job.

Echo: What do you see as the biggest challenge about your job?

Ian: I think combining indigenous tradi-tional knowledge with scientific and technological advancements is always challenging. It can be difficult to find a balance of the two. Also ensuring that we have our workplace health and safety standards met is important, as well as increasing the skill set of the Rangers and the cultural awareness of non-indigenous staff. This adds up to a very big work load.

Echo: How does being in close prox-imity of a mine site impact the work of

the Rangers?

Ian: I have worked in Kakadu previously, close to a uranium mine, and from experi-ence we need to ensure we keep up environ-mental monitoring. It is also a great opportu-nity for joint research projects and to work closely with industry.

Echo: What is important about Groote Ey-landt’s eco system?

Ian: Its terrestrial environment has very strong biodiversity because there are no cane toads or many feral cats here. It is one of the most pristine tropical systems left in Austra-lia. The marine ecosystem is important due to the sea grasses, coral and mangrove popu-

lations. Plus the dugong, turtles and fish spe-cies.

Echo: Do you have a position on sea bed min-ing?

Ian: I strongly support sea country expansion and the notion that you can’t separate land and sea. So I support the expansion of terrestrial land protection into the sea.

Echo: What plans do you have to work towards with the Rangers?

Ian: I would like to focus mainly on increasing their skill set and their independence initially. At the same time I think it is important to foster and continue to build relationships from plat-forms which already exist. I am also interested in sustainable use of our resources like sea-food.

Echo: The most important question of all, do you like fishing?

Ian: To be honest I’m not a big fisher. For someone in my position it would be like work-ing in a lolly shop and eating all the lollies. That said, Lord Howe had some decent King Fish.

Echo: What’s your favorite animal?

Ian: The dugong by far. Because of their peaceful vegetarian nature, status as a threat-ened species and their cultural significance both as a food source and symbol. Australia is the last strong hold for this creature.

The Rangers Station at Pole 13 has been abuzz with activity this month, with indigenous staff returning from the World Indigenous Network Conference in Darwin and the addition of a new head ranger at the helm, Ian Kerr.

Ranger, Keith Lambert, said the crew were working hard at training and up-skilling Rangers in conjunction with Charles Darwin University.

Land & Sea Rangers, mechanics & road crew members, Melvil Ammagula, Samual Lalara, Eddie Lalara & Bindal Wurramurra in front of ghost nets collected from Jagged Heads. Rubbish found in the nets came as far away as Indo-nesia.

“We have just had seven people finish their cox-swains training last month. Plus just this year we have had training for chainsaw operation, chemical handling, weed management, forklift operation, marine mechanics as well as ongoing literacy and numeracy training. We have also been busy with all our usual activities of turtle conservation, fish monitoring and ghost net retrieval.

GEMCO goes clean and green

G E M C O

GEMCO has successfully com-pleted the FY13 financial year. Some of the key achievements include a 29% reduction in re-cordable injuries (TRIFR 6.5), record annual production (5.027mt), record annual ship-ping (4.575mt) and also C1 unit cost 8% below budget (1.23/mtu).

GEMCO has recently commenced supporting a small scale biofuel manufacturer in Darwin. The two long term Territory residents Colin Carthew and Michael Brand approached the Environment Department recently with a new business proposal: they would remove and appropriately recycle all waste cooking oil from site, free of charge.

Colin explained that the process of converting cooking oil into usable fuel commences with the purification process.

“After a week or two, the water settles in the bottom of the drum, then we pump it through a set of filters [to remove any solid contaminants]; the smallest filter being 1 micron,” he said.

Filtered waste vegetable oil can be used di-rectly as a fossil diesel substitute, which is exactly how Colin and Michael run their cars and buses. “I have travelled approximately 70 000km so far, using a mix of 80% filtered waste cooking oil and 20% regular diesel,” Colin said.

Michael adds that any remainder of the oil which their setup can not process, is redi-rected to the first and only certified Biofuel Company in Darwin, Fryerfuels, so that 100% recycling of the waste product is achieved.

Fryerfuels convert the oil into biodiesel by transesterification. This process includes add-ing alcohol in form of methanol to the oil which, with the aid of a catalyst (KOH), chemi-cally converts it into biodiesel and a by-product glycerol.

Fryerfuels then sell the produced biodiesel at a much smaller cost to the consumer than regular diesel: $1.10 versus $1.63 per litre of biodiesel and regular diesel respectively.

Even though GEMCO only achieves a cost sav-ing of about $2,000 per year in reduced waste disposal costs through participating in this scheme, the value added to the wider com-munity is much greater by turning a waste product into a clean, desirable, and cheaper commodity through recycling.

We want to hear from YOU! What is your

mean, clean, green recycling scheme? Send it

into Martina.Ripcke@BHPBilliton.com

A submission from the GEMCO Environment Department

Below: Filtered oil noticeably becoming cleaner as it moves through the filtration process

GEMCO FY13 figures announced By GEMCO General Manager, Ben Yaksich

The table below summarises the key production volumes.

These results can only be achieved through team work and engagement of our people and I would like to personally thank everybody for their con-tribution and commitment throughout the year.

Below: Stockpiled manganese ready for transport at GEMCO

H E A L T H & F I T N E S S

Spurred on by the lack of local support groups, local Mum, Jody Foster has taken her wellbeing into her own hands.

Jody has set up a support group on Eylandt for weight loss and healthy living. “It’s to give people the chance to come together and brainstorm, chat and to stay on their weight loss jour-ney together,” she said.

“While we use online apps like My Fit-ness Pal, Weight Watchers Online and Value Diary, we are not associated with any organisation or particular pro-gram. We’re just doing whatever works best for us and helping each other do it.”

Jody was inspired to start the group after recognising that it took work to control her weight. “I lost a lot of weight two years ago, and it can easily creep back on,” she said.

“Doing it on your own is the hardest thing of all and its easy to slip into old

Have you ever noticed that with each year your life seems to get busier and

busier? The more time we have available, the more we manage to squeeze

into it. I don’t know about you, but the busier I become, the more I realise

that I need to find the time to take regular “time outs” for me. I like to think

of these “time outs” as opportunities to release, regenerate and refo-

cus. Because if you don’t, then you may notice that it is the little things that

will often tip you over the edge.

I, like you, have experienced the impacts of being stressed. What I notice is

that when “stress” builds up I tend to snap at the littlest things, I do not re-

spond to life’s challenges as easily and effortlessly as I would like to, and my

emotions get the better of me! And that is just what is happening on the

surface. What I now know is that the impacts of stress on the inside of my

body are even more concerning.

Stress is the major cause of over 95% of all lifestyle diseases today. Stress

literally sends our body into over-drive, elevating our heart rate and blood

pressure, shifting blood away from internal organs to skin and muscles, reduc-

ing or stopping digestive and elimination processes. When stress is experi-

enced on an on-going basis then you can see how this will have a dramatic

impact on your overall health and wellbeing!

If one of your goals is losing fat, then you may also be interested to learn that

stress can contribute to weight gain and prevent weight loss. At chronic levels

stress will raise the levels of cortisol within your body. In small doses cortisol

plays a key role in promoting fat metabolism, in large doses it starts to have

the opposite effect, where fat metabolism is impaired and instead of burning

or losing fat your body switches to storage mode. What I have noticed in

clients that have plateau’ed or are not seeing the results they want in their

body transformation journey, stress is often a contributing factor.

The good news is that there are many ways that we can reduce stress and in

habits. We will bring scales and a tape measure to each meeting so that we are answerable for our outcomes, but of course, this is totally optional. We can swap ideas for recipes, give each other motivation and also share a li-brary of Healthy Living magazines.”

Jody’s tip for staying healthy? “Try and fit a healthy lifestyle into your routine so that it is sustainable. Also keep it fresh and make sure you reorganise your pantry!”

particular, improve our capabilities and skills to respond to situations around us in

a more resourceful and calm manner, no matter what is going on around us!

A fantastic and energising way to release, regenerate and refocus is by taking 4

minutes or less a day to slow your body down, improve your breathing and qui-

eten your thoughts through Tai Chi. Tai Chi means transformation and en-

ergy. Because through Tai Chi you are moving your body slowly, combining deep

breathing with slow and graceful movements you are increasing the “Chi” or en-

ergy in your body.

The health and wellbeing benefits of Tai Chi have been promoted for a long time.

Research is now confirming the positive benefits of this ancient martial art, and

ultimate practice in relaxation to assist you to move more effectively, as you de-

crease likelihood of injury by increasing flexibility, stability, coordination and bal-

ance and improve your internal health and wellbeing, increasing blood flow, oxy-

gen and energy in your body.

Tai Chi is often referred to as Meditation in Movement, and for me personally I

find that it is one of the easiest ways for me to clear my mind and achieve calm-

ness and clarity. This is why I am incorporating Tai Chi at the end of each fitness

session so that I have the opportunity to teach simple techniques that you can

remember and practice in your own time, and for less than 4 minutes a day, you

can experience the amazing benefits of this beautiful form of exercise as you

nourish your body, mind and soul:)

So if you want to feel peaceful, calm, relaxed and energised then give Tai Chi a go

and discover the benefits for yourself.

Yours in health & fitness,

Rach x

How to de-stress & improve your wellbeing in less than 4 minutes a day Weekly health & fitness with Rachel Van Oosten

Health and wellbeing support arrives on Eylandt

C O M M U N I T Y C A L E N D A R

C O M M U N I T Y A N N O U N C E M E N T S

Got an announcement or advertisement you would like to place in the Eylandt Echo? Please send it in to e y l a n d t e c h o . g e m c o @ b h p b i l l i t o n . c o m o r sarah.dixon@bhpbilliton.com

Is pain affecting your work.... and your lifestyle? Physiotherapy can help

Active Performance can help you get back to doing the things you have to do and the things you love to do - QUICKLY AND SAFELY by achieving balance in life through balance in health.

Active Performance is a private physiotherapy practice on Groote Eylandt that specialises in the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. Emphasis is on the correction of movement dysfunction which can be the cause of problems such as spinal pain, sports injuries or other musculoskeletal

problems.

SERVICES

Musculoskeletal injury treatment

Acute and chronic pain

Manual therapy and Massage

Core stability programs

Home Exercise Programs (including strength and cardio training pro-grams)

Active Performance will treat patients with or without health insurance. HICAPS and EFTPOS available.

Clinic Address

The Cubby

Alyangula Health Centre

Poinciana Street

Postal Address

Po Box 86

Alyangula NT 0885

Mail To: Nick.Kenny@bhpbilliton.com

Mobile: 0427547918

Posture and Ergonomic Assessments and rehabilitation

Pelvic Floor rehabilitation

Performance enhancement for sport

Workers compensation

Milner bay

times and heights of high and low waters

The above information is sourced from the Bureau of Meterology and is available at www.bom.gov.au. It is advised to check any current National Weather Warnings at http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/index.shtml. The tide heights are in metres above Predic tion Datum, red for low water and blue for high water. The times stated are Australian Central Standard Time (24 hour clock). Daylight Saving Time is not observed

GEG&S F I S H I N G C L U B

Wednesday 24 Thursday 25 Friday 26 Saturday 27 Sunday 28 Monday 29 Tuesday 30

Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height

1108 1.76 1158 1.69 0206 0.67 0232 0.73 0733 0.90 0806 0.99 0840 1.08

2131 0.40 2211 0.47 0307 0.67 0352 0.72 0908 0.88 1036 0.93 1922 0.65

1243 1.57 1320 1.41 1349 1.23 1413 1.06

2245 0.57 2310 0.66 2309 0.73 2237 0.74

Wednesday 17 Thursday 18 Friday 19 Saturday 20 Sunday 21 Monday 22 Tuesday 23

Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height

0913 1.08 0913 1.18 0656 1.33 0742 1.49 0830 1.63 0921 1.73 1014 1.77

2227 0.70 2112 0.67 1845 0.62 1842 0.50 1917 0.40 2001 0.35 2047 0.35

All financial members of the Groote Eylandt Game and Sports Fishing Club are entered into the Longest Fishes of the Year Competition. All you need to do is catch one of the named species on any line type (mono or braid), take a photo of the fish on a measuring tape or brag mat similar. Send a photo of the fish within 7 days of capture to gegsfc@hotmail.com. The winner will be presented with a trophy at the GEG&SFC presentation night.

Measurement points

TRIVIA NIGHT Saturday 31st of August at the ARC

7.00pm for a 7.30pm start.

Max 6 people per team (no exceptions)

$150.00 per team includes platter

Heaps of prizes

Door prizes

Best Dressed

Auctions

Raffle.

Booking are essential there will only be 36 tables available this year first in best dressed. Entry forms are at the Alyan-

gula Kiosk and Newsagent. Any further queries please contact Bomber 0414 903 109

Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 block contain all of the digits 1-9. Good luck! Answers next week

P U Z Z L E S

Across

1. Snakelike fish 4. Assist in crime 8. Particle 12. Imitate 13. Fruit 14. Pulsate 16. Bad time for Julius 17. Border 18. Wipe out 19. Laconic 21. Sediment 23. Additional to or different from 24. Attempt 25. Slightly open 27. Cut down 29. Form of transport 30. Vitality 31. Fuss 34. Study of plants 37. Bill of fare

38. Napkin 39. Quartz used in cameos 40. Used to control a horse

33. Woodwind instrument 34. Male hog 35. Merely 36. Variety 37. Coalesce 40. Saloon 41. Be unwell 43. Jump 44. Annual grass seeds 45. Melody 46. Gambit 49. Infer 50. Tree with conelike fruit 51. Person 52. Fry quickly in fat 53. Pointer 54. Chew 55. Buddy 56. Wading bird 57. Part of the ear 59. Long and thin 61. Facile 63. Mischievous fairy 65. Staining substance

Down

1. Type of duck 2. Mineral used as an abrasive 3. Not as great 4. Simian 5. Pandemonium 6. Avid 7. Woody plant 8. Consumed 9. Tossed 10. Unwritten exam 11. Flowerless plant 12. Glove 15. Insect 20. Yield 22. Tibia 26. Crested bird 28. Flightless bird 29. Charge 30. Animal doctor, in short 31. Fit

41. As well 42. High mountain 43. Fraud 45. Each 47. Cereal grass seeds 48. Paddle 49. Aromatic herb 50. Fitting 51. Champion 52. Droop 55. Tablet 58. Aspersion 60. Languish 62. Residence 64. In the middle 66. Halo 67. Defamation 68. Shade of blue 69. Pack tightly 70. Medieval land worker 71. Hinge joint 72. Conifer

Answers in the next edition of the Echo

Got a cool story from the holidays you would like to share? Send it into us and we will publish the best holiday story in the next edition of the Echo. You can be as imaginative as you like, tell us who was on holiday, where you went and what you got up to or even draw a picture. You can drop it in the suggestion box at the Supermarket by the 24th July or email it to sarah.dixon@bhpbilliton.com

S P O R T S

GEMCO Production Engineer, Conor te Kloot, will don the Aussie green and gold when he represents Australia at The Inter-national Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series Grand Final in London in September.

The event, considered the last and most important on the international triathlon calendar, features athletes from all over the world compete ting for the title of World Champion.

“I can’t wait to compete in London,” Conor said. “The chance to wear green and gold, on the 2012 Olympic course, in front of a big crowd and against the best age group athletes in the world….does it get any better?”

Conor is one of 20 men aged 30-34 years selected to represent Australia in his age group category.

Competing since 2004, Conor says it’s the challenge in the sport that keeps him com-ing back for more.

“Whether its completing your first triath-lon, trying to qualify for London, racing over a longer distance or trying to improve your PB time, there’s always a challenge in

Production engineer swaps orange for green and gold

Auskick will re commence again on Tuesday July 30 at 5:15pm sharp.

New participants are welcome to join. Cost of registration is $75 and includes and

Auskick pack filled with, football, hat, water bottle pump football jumper and much

more. Parent volunteers are encouraged. Season will conclude on September 10.

The biggest ever East Arnhem Carnival was played over the weekend of the 22nd—23rd June with six teams participating from across the region. The high quality matches were extremely tight with all teams being very competitive.

Matches were played in 2 x 12 minute halves while all finals were 4 x 10 minute quarters.

The minor rounds involved all teams playing against each other once. It was so close that the Groote team who did not win a match, had the second highest points scored for in the competition. Groote Eylandt were unlucky not to get a win playing in 2 x drawn matches, a 2 point loss, a 3 point loss, a 4 point loss and a 10 point loss over the carnival.

In the Grand Final Galiwinku Giants were the eventual winners when they trailed Manin-grida All Stars by 15 points at three quarter time to over run them and win the match by 17 points.

The carnival assists AFLNT staff to identify new talent in the region. Already identified players including ex AFL player Nathan Djer-rkura, NT Thunder player HezikiahLawrence and previous Thunder players, Basil Bara, Kenny Morton, and LochlanDhammarandji-were involved in the Carnival. Many more players also showed they have the attributes to perform at a higher level and these names will be passed on to the NT Thunder Football Club.

This years carnival was a great success and plans to make the carnival an annual event on the calendar. Right: The Groote team on Gove

East Arnhem AFL Carnival Results

every race,” he said. “The feeling of ac-complishment that comes with this is huge.”

Since moving to Groote Eylandt 12 months ago, Conor has competed in three races and says it takes commitment to succeed in the sport.

“You need to be committed and constantly changing the sessions you do to keep it interesting. For the majority of races, I need to put in three months of training beforehand and I’m always talking to friends or getting tips from coaches on how I can change my training to perform better on race day.”

For Conor, the isolation on Eylandt can prove tough, but the motivation of wearing green and gold keeps him pushing on.

“I won’t lie, there is a lot of solo training. Weekend rides on the Umbakumba road, runs around town, afternoon swims in the pool. Maybe not ideal training conditions (especially during the wet season) and no big triathlon squads, but with a bit of extra motivation nothing stops me.”

Groote Eylanders wish Conor all the best in his upcoming race.

Footy Report by Kevin Bruce

Conor crosses the finish line at the Noosa Tri