Townsville region’s community radio station Triple T 103.9 has launched a new 10-minute segment on crime called CrimWatch Weekly hosted by two JCU lecturers.Triple T has launched CrimWatch Weekly with hosts Dr Amy Forbes and Dr Mark David Chong from JCU’s College of Arts, Society and Education (CASE).

The 10-minute program airs every Tuesday at 6:40 pm and in the segment, Mark and Amy discuss the growing crime rate in Townsville and surrounding areas.

They discuss topics ranging from doing citizen arrests, the pros and cons of organising vigilante groups, using social media to name and shame offenders, etc.

If you missed the first two episodes, listen to them here:

Episode 1   Is there a crimewave in Townsville?

Ep. 1 – https://soundcloud.com/user-6…/triple-tshow-crimwatch-weekly

Episode 2   Vigilantism: Pros and Cons
Ep 2 – https://soundcloud.com/user-6693…/episode-2-crimwatch-weekly

Episode  3 – Local government responses and initiatives to curb criminality in Townsville

Ep 3 - https://soundcloud.com/user-669338153/episode-3-crimwatch-weekly-18-july

Episode 4 – Parental responsibilities under the law over disciplining children

Ep 4 – https://soundcloud.com/user-669338153/episode-4-crimwatch-weekly-25-july-1

Episode 5 – Results of nationwide wastewater drug monitoring project  showing methamphetamines as the most used drug in Australia

Ep 5 – https://soundcloud.com/user-669338153/episode-5-crimwatch-weekly-1-august

Episode 6 – What are the rehabilitation prospects of an ice addict? What laws govern the use of drugs in Queensland?

Ep 6 – https://soundcloud.com/user-669338153/episode-6-crimwatch-weekly-8-august

Episode 7 – Car thefts in Townsville (Part 1)

Ep 7- https://soundcloud.com/user-669338153/episode-7-crimwatch-weekly-on-car-thefts

Episode 8 – Car thefts in Townsville (Part 2 Do’s and Don’ts)

Ep 8 - https://soundcloud.com/user-669338153/eisode-8-crimwatch-weekly-29-august

Episode 9 – So you want to be a police officer? (Part 1)

Ep 9 – https://soundcloud.com/user-669338153/episode-9-crimwatch-weekly-5-september

Episode 10 – So you want to be a police officer? (Part 2)

Ep 10 – https://soundcloud.com/user-669338153/episode-10-crimwatch-weekly-12-september-part-2-cops

Gender equity is an important issue for everyone, men and women, across all areas of the University.

In November 2015, James Cook University’s Vice Chancellors Advisory Committee resolved to seek admission to the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) pilot program of the Athena SWAN Charter in Australia.

The Athena SWAN Charter was established in the United Kingdom in 2005 and has shown positive results in advancing gender equity in the STEMM disciplines.

In her email to the University, Vice Chancellor Sandra Harding said gender equity is more than a parity issue.

“We must recognise the intrinsic value of diversity to innovation and intellectual life and its diminution if the cohort is dominated by one gender,” Professor Harding said in her message.

“As I am sure you are aware there is an increasing recognition across the higher education sector that women are under-represented in senior academic positions, with particular emphasis being placed on the number of females in leadership roles in STEMM disciplines,” she said.

While the focus of Athena SWAN is on  STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine), there is a push to extend this across all discipline areas at JCU.

Participating universities and institutions are required to collect, analyse and prepare data on current gender equity policies and practices, to identify weaknesses and gaps and to develop and implement an action plan to improve gender equity.

Division of Tropical Environments and Societies (DTES) Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Iain Gordon is leading the initiative at JCU.

JCU hopes to be accepted into the program and ultimately be in a position to apply for accreditation under the Athena SWAN Bronze Institutional Award in 2018.

Watch the personal accounts of some of JCU’s top women in STEMM.

These video projects were produced by students in Broadcast Journalism (JN2301) under the supervision of Dr Amy Forbes.

Professor Helene Marsh

AProf. Muriel Soden

Dr Alexandra Trollope

Dr Jodie Rummer

 Professor Sarah Larkins

Podcasts:

Interview with Professor Lin Schwarzkopf by jayden Woodbridge

Interview with  Haylee Letson by Caitlin Dobson

Interview with Dr Sara Brice by Nea O’Connor

Interview with AProfessor Ellen Ariel by Karlie Brady

by Caitlin Kelly

Local residents and wildlife carers became aware of hoons coming through the neighbourhood killing animals and running over wheelie bins.

“Often they are going off the edges of the road to hit the wallabies which is how we know it is deliberate,” says experienced macropod carer Michelle Bible.

The police have been involved.

However, the North Queensland Wildlife Care Inc. and local community have largely conducted their own investigation in the hope of catching the perpetrators.

Local residents and wildlife carers have been collecting video evidence of the offenders who they believe are a group of young men who live in the area.

They have set up a community Facebook page to track and collect evidence of the offenders in the act.

Wildlife Carer Michelle Bible who lives in Oak Valley has played a large role in collecting evidence.

“I have been collecting video footage and the numberplates of their vehicles which I’ve given to the police. Hopefully, they’ll catch whoever is doing this,” she says.

The incidents began last year but have recently escalated after the community became involved in stopping the offenders.

Michelle has received several death threats but refuses to stop trying to catch the offenders.

“They called me and left some really nasty messages when they realised I wasn’t backing off. I’ve put my life in danger doing this but someone has to do it,” Michelle says.

Police and Townsville RSPCA inspectors are investigating the incident and are treating it as a case of animal cruelty.

They could not, however, release any details on an active investigation due to privacy laws.

Michelle deals with the wounded and dead animals and has found up to six dead wallabies at a time.

“It is horrific for local residents and Michelle who has to go out and pick up all the bodies,” says fellow career Jenny Hayden.

Even if the wallabies are still alive when carers find them, they still need to be put down because of their injuries.

Animals which survive often suffer internal bleeding or shattered bones, and the only option for carers is to euthanize them.

Adult wallabies also die of stress easily which makes their care and rehabilitation impossible for carers.

Wallabies are particularly at risk of being hit by cars this time of year with the drought forcing them into suburban areas in search of food.

Wildlife Carers see a rise in rescue cases between July and August and can perform up to 3-4 rescues a day.

James Cook University (JCU) officials are saying students need to make formal complaints about the lack of on-campus parking before something can be done about it.

by Mykala Wright

Townsville JCU Security Manager Ian Brooks says students are not expressing their frustration with on-campus parking formally.

“Car parking complaints have been on a downward trend in 2016,” he said.

“Traditionally there are complaints at the commencement of the academic year until timetables settle down.”

PHOTO: JCU Memes Facebook page

JCUs Head of Estate Operations Robyn Fallon suggested the decrease in formal complaints may be due to an increased education campaign for   students and staff.

“We have enhanced our website to provide improved parking information and advise the University community at the start of semester about parking.

“Our message is that other options should be considered during busy times.

“Arriving early to secure a park, parking in free areas further out, cycling, car pooling and public transport should be considered during these times,” Mrs. Fallon said.

Third year Law student and former JCU employee Kate Gough said alongside her, a number of students feel frustrated with the on-campus parking, but do not submit formal complaints.

“I have only placed a complaint on one incident when contesting a parking fine that I received,” she said.

Third year Arts student Emily Devon also said the on-campus parking is inadequate despite never making a formal complaint.

“I never considered the possibility of a formal complaint making a difference,” Mrs. Devon said.

Other students, including first year Health Sciences student Talisha Mason, say they do not see the point in placing a formal complaint.

“I feel like making a formal complaint would be a waste of time.

“I don’t think it would be taken seriously or change anything at all,” Mrs. Mason said.

Mrs. Fallon said student’s formal complaints are taken seriously.

“We do listen to complaints to try to understand what we can do better.

“Students are our customers and the reason the University exists.

“We need to ensure their needs are met.” Mrs. Fallon said.

She also said it is the Estate Offices challenge to provide sustainable solutions.

“At the same time we need to encourage people to consider their impact on the environment and destroying natural areas to create bitumen car parks is not an environmentally sustainable action,” Mrs. Fallon said.

Mrs. Gough, Mrs. Devon and Mrs. Mason all said the current on-campus parking is unreliable.

“If every student attended every class they were enrolled in, there is no way there is an adequate number of carparks,” Mrs. Gough said.

Ms. Gough said there had been instances where the on-campus parking had negatively impacted her studies.

“There have been a few times that I have been late to class, and on top of that a few times where I could not find a park at all so just went home, despite arriving early,” she said.

Parking on the Townsville campus consists of a mix of free parking and permit only parking, with more than half of the parking areas exclusively available to permit holders.

Mr. Brooks encourages students to buy parking permits. 

“It [parking permit] does expand the parking choices.

“However, availability of Permit Parking is not guaranteed as demand peaks at certain times,” he said.

If you have a complaint in regard to the Townsville JCU campus parking, place it formally here.

by Emily Joy Tierney

Dr. Anneke Silver is a prominent and well established Queensland artist and art educator who has had  more than 30 solo shows, and countless group, invitation and touring shows,to her name in Australia as well as America, Europe and Fiji.

by Patch Clapp

Ron McBurnie is one of Townsville’s pioneer printmakers. He also etches and draws, and is one of the artists featured in the ““Celebrating Townsville” exhibition currently on at Umbrella Studio contemporary art.

Click here for video

Transcript

Ron McBurnie

Etcher, Drawer, Printmaker

RB: Often the water colours are done when I am in a place where I know I haven’t got as much time, but if I know I’ve got a lot of time I might do something in a really detailed way.

0:21- 0:48

This one’s done outdoors, that one was done up on the tablelands on the weekend. So I would sit in the rainforest looking at that and drawing it.

And then I’d bring it back into the studio and just finish little bits.

And I’d always try and finish form memory rather than from a photograph.

Most of the work I do is reasonably fine and fairly detailed.

0:49- 1:06

I go back to the same place a lot and do different images of them from different points of view. You get to know a place really well. And then we have places on the river, we have some mango trees where we draw, we have places up at Hervey’s range where we draw.

1:07 – 1:21

The earlier work was more about stories about people, but lately more about the landscape of this area, North Queensland, about the place where we live. Trying to getting a sense of what is this place where we live and finding the beauty in it.

1:22- 1:32

Artists in regional areas have a great network. I probably have about six people that I get feedback from and 1 or 2 that I trust implicitly.

1:33- 1:40

But, you know I have a lot of colleagues I show work to and say, “What do you think of this and how can I improve it?” and so on.       Shot of Ron showing etching into close up of etching.

1:41 – 1:51

Anneke Silver, Robert Preston and James Brown, and they were three colleagues who were of great influence in various ways on my work.

1:52 – 1:59

I think the art department, as it was, was incredibly vibrant and relevant to what was happening in the community.

2:00-2:36

All of the presses in this room came from… from the university. So this one here comes from RMIT, and this one here from my memory came from the bulletin.

I used to run a printing, a publishing, press at the university called lyrebird press with a guy called Tate Adams.

When I left the university, they closed down the Lyrebird press so I negotiated to get these presses. So then I had to build this shed, quickly, and then we moved the presses in there.

2:37-3:21

This is one of the major publications I did at the university when I was working on lyrebird press.

And we picked a number of artists to produce a work related to their experience of going to the Palmetum.

The publication took about 5 years to make.

I chose to do a work relating to the lagoon part of the Palmetum.

And then on every book, Lyrebird book, were the different lyrebirds that were designed by, often, by the artists whose book we did.

3:22-4:10

I’m as interested in collecting music as I am in art. I’ve got a huge music collection.

If I’m working on an etching or something grubby, I’ll always put a cd or digital file on or something like that.

Whereas if I’m working on a drawing or something like a watercolour Ill always put a vinyl on because I have to physically et up and turn it over. Vinyl only lasts 25 minutes. It means you have to stretch and get off your chair because the big danger for artists is that they forget how long they’ve actually been working on something.

I just have that process.

4:16-4:30

In your head you have an idea or an ideal about what you actually want achieve in your work. So you’re always searching to improve what you’re doing and try and get better at what you’re doing.

4:32-4:46

At a certain point when a work is getting toward the end, it starts talking to you, and once the dialogue’s finished, and it doesn’t talk to you anymore then it’s usually… you get on with something else.

Music: Memories from www.bensound.com

Footage by Patch Clapp and Andrew Sands.

Stills and time-lapses by Patch Clapp.

Townsville has once again exported a marvellously talented person into fame through their love for art and the teachings of James Cook University lecturers.

Allison Byrnes

Lucy T. Smith is a botanical illustrator, now living and working in London at Kew Gardens. She has been included in the T150 JCU artists exhibition as a part of the 150 year celebration of Townsville as a municipality.

Smith found her love for illustration whilst studying a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Hons) and a Master of Creative Arts at JCU, graduating in 1994 and 1999 respectively.

When Smith began her Bachelor at JCU, the degree had just been introduced as a switch from a TAFE course to a university standard. The degree gave her the opportunity to study two loves: art and English literature.

During Smith’s time in Townsville, she said that the environment around her created a great work flow to follow a passion she so loved.

“I was very much influenced by the surrounding environment. Having explored the rainforest and other areas of North Queensland during my time in Cairns, I was keen to learn more about it, and the serendipity of my art study was that I realised I could use illustration as a tool to learn more about, and express my deep appreciation of, that environment,” she said.

Smith also expressed her love for the art world that is so heavily present in London compared to the much smaller scale of Townsville.

“I have been exposed to an amazing array of art exhibitions showing work from all periods of history, and contemporary times, all at a very high standard.”

“This has inspired me to try and be ‘world class’.”

However, Australia is still always in her heart as she finds herself often clinging to a more “exotic” artistic landscape, rather than the naturally gloomy environment that England is so famous for.

“Lately I have been reconnecting with the kind of illustrations I did in Australia in the work I do outside of the Kew illustration, showing plants in their natural habitats rather than isolated on a white background – less formal and I think more full of life.”

Smith reflected on her time studying at JCU Townsville and praised the University and staff.

“I was so lucky to have very talented and skillful teachers. All of the teachers collectively were inspiring, even those who did not teach me directly. From those that did, each one taught me something special,” she said.

Smith’s natural botanical illustrations will be on show at Umbrella Studios from July 8 to August 14 as part of the “Celebrating Townsville” T150 exhibition organized by the JCU Library Special Collection’s team.

Jill O’Sullivan has always had a passion for art. Jill has spent much of her life learning about art and creating lithographs and technical drawings through printmaking.

by Sam O’Brien and Amy Crawford

A James Cook University alumna, Jill has spent much of her life learning about art and creating lithographs and technical drawings through printmaking.

The well-respected printmaker will be showcasing two of her lithographs alongside 11 other remarkable artists in the ““Celebrating Townsville” exhibition currently on at Umbrella Studio contemporary art.

JCNN’s Sam O’Brien and Amy Crawford sat down with Jill to learn about her influences, her motivations and why the dedicated artist space within Umbrella Studio is “the best thing that has ever happened” to her.

Scroll down to read the interview’s full script.

To gain more insight into Jill’s Art Musings, visit her blog.

Transcript

On reflection, how do you believe teachers influenced your art practices?

A great deal of course, I started with the PDA all the way through to the PHD. But it was just the way that they [lecturers] worked, their instructions, and their support. Basically that was the main thing that worked very well with me and of course their knowledge, their technical knowledge, and being able to reference. Anne [Lord] and Ron [McBurnie] particularly were very, very good at art and knew what was happening in the current art world- and not just printmaking but historically, particularly with Anne’s drawing as well as printmaking.

You mentioned [JCU Visual Arts Lecturer] Anne Lord there, she nominated you for the Celebrate Townsville 150. What would you say her influences were on your art practices?

Basically, again her knowledge, her understanding of the lithography – my two pieces in the upcoming show are both lithographs – and I worked pretty seriously with Anne over probably in many ways, over about six or seven years. She was my supervisor in my Honours/ Masters and I ended up taking her back on for my PHD. So she’s had a lot of influence on my conception development, technical skills and total support.

When you reflect on your own art-making career, we’ve already spoken about some of your lecturers at JCU, who else or what other things would you identify as your main influences on your art?

Probably drawing- I had Bob Preston for third year drawing and that was extremely good again, technical. James Brown for certain things, I didn’t have a lot of James but I had him for different subjects and I loved his technical mind- he really is one of the best painting technicians I’ve ever come across and he knows how to apply paint. Anneke Silver developed my interest in art history and that was actually pretty interesting, even before I came to JCU I met Anneke and she run workshops supplying arts out west, and she again was extremely supportive. I think all of these people fed into where I went and what I was doing. I can’t say that I followed any of their styles because that wasn’t the way it worked in printmaking– we didn’t follow the lecturer’s style at all, you developed your own.

Does drawing play a significant role in your art practices and if so how?

Oh, it does! Well, being a printmaker you draw, it’s one of the most important- not the most important, but the most important part of printmaking. You need to understand line, tone and how it will work in black and white and you’ve got to think backwards too, being a printmaker. I was a drawer before I came to uni, and one of the reasons I came to JCU was because of their drawing and printmaking components and those capable lecturers teaching those too.

Artists most often have to be self-reliant and lead a somewhat solitary lifestyle to create their art?

In the case of the printmaker, not necessarily, as you can see downstairs (the studio). Printmakers are a pretty sociable group, and because you’re using presses and sharing, you tend to share your knowledge as well. Painters are probably more solitary people than printmakers are.

Do you think that the added social element and support network helps you maintain your motivation?

Oh yeah, you bounce off the others and the others bounce off you. Downstairs we’re working on a project at the moment and we’re all going through ideas and keeping busy!

How does having a dedicated space downstairs for the making of art enable your practices and help you to create your pieces?

Well it does, because of the equipment downstairs. With the closure of the arts and printmaking at JCU, it was going to be extremely hard to actually access machinery and I’ve actually sat up and worked out I would probably mainly deal with lead prints and drawing. This all came to be through Vicki Salisbury and the fact we could get the presses over to actually enable me to continue lithography and etching, without having to outlay a lot of expense. And the space, it’s quite important to me.

Your works have been in many exhibitions and galleries; do you have any particular works that hold a special meaning to you?

Maybe one or two, but I tend to keep looking forward to the next piece of work. There’s a few that I’ll think ‘oh that was not a bad piece’. One or two of them are in the show I really like. So that’s a bit of experimenting with different techniques for both of them and they both worked. But any particular work I look at some now and think ‘oh that’s not much good’ and with others, ‘that wasn’t too bad’. But no, I tend to look forward more than backwards on my work. That’s a challenge.

Do you have any moment or exhibition that stands out as a highlight in your career as an artist?

Well probably my Honours one was probably the first major solo exhibition I had and that was quite successful, and then by the time I did Masters I got rather used to the idea of having solo exhibitions. So I’d say my first Honours one, first solo one, is the one that stands out most.

Art has a really special place in Townsville that is often under-rated with exhibitions across the town that are recognized nationally. How important do you feel art is in the Townsville landscape?

Well it is extremely important, and it probably has stronger presence than is actually realised- Perc Tucker [Regional Gallery], Umbrella [Studios], Pinnacles [Gallery], The Drill Hall [Studio], even my little gallery- Gallery 48, we all seem to have a good turnover of people that are interested. We get quite a few downstairs having a look at print works. But it’s actually quite- in fact it’s extremely important. There are moves on to build a nice dedicated precinct. TAFE is doing its very best to keep the art practice up and teaching. It’s growing from strength to strength, it comes and goes. 20 years ago I believe it was right across performance art, right across the board, and it’s building up again today.

Originally you are from Mount Isa, what triggered your move to Townsville and how do you feel the move has influenced your art practices?

I had basically been going to summer schools of applying arts to sort of develop the artist. In ‘88 I was sick and it wasn’t that serious in the end, and so I went off to the local TAFE to do something different, and that lead to joining applying arts. Anneke Silver and Anne Lord came out from JCU with lots of pamphlets and then there was another change in circumstances and I thought ‘I’ll see if I can get in’. So I rang up Anneke and I said ‘what’s the chances of me doing uni?’ And she said, ‘you’re in’. So that was it, I sold up and told my kids I was going back to school. The eldest just said ‘oh okay, that’s alright’ and my grandkids just looked at me and said ‘you’re going to school?’. So I ran away to uni and I came for the three years and at the end of three years I said, ‘I might as well do Honours’ – at the end of honours, ‘Oh I might get a scholarship and do Masters’, then ‘Oh I might as well finish the thing off now!’. So that was the trigger, the fact I was really interested in art. I’ve been doing summer schools, mid-term schools, I went to USQ [University of Southern Queensland] and I just thought that well, I wanted to take it further. It wasn’t so much the degrees, I just wanted to know.

What are your major sources of inspiration when creating a new art work?

That depends what I’m doing. For my PHD the main thing was ancient maps, and that was a major continuation for what I was doing then. But most of the artwork I did up until I finished my PHD have all been historically based. I drew the sources from- the concepts came out of studies in modern Renaissance, ancient mapping and Ptolemy, and one was the historical background of rural figure and the land. So these are all historically based, I think where I started from, but they’re my own interpretations of them. Not so much styles but the concepts.

What is your workflow and how do those ideas from history and the Renaissance become a piece of art?

With my PHD I did huge maps, subjective mapping of place which wasn’t grids and lines, but rather the feeling and the elements of place. That’s where I went to- and there’s this thing petrography which is a subjective backing of place, so that’s how it fit into that. I took that idea and did these big maps of place. But now I’m looking at- what’s driving it a little bit at the moment- is the fact we’ve got certain projects on and so we are working to a subject. Like the one that I’m working on downstairs is one that’s going in The Vault [a showroom in Umbrella Studios]. In the downstairs group we’re looking at a shifting of the building environment. So that’s quite a challenge. Where I work, I did people for a long time, just people in place. So it changes all the time now- where I go from here I’m looking at domestic settings next I think.

You mentioned there that there are a couple of pieces you’re currently working on, are you able to tell us any more about those pieces and where they’ll be displayed?

One of the pieces was done in my Honours year and I set up a number of posers with a friend of mine, based roughly on the portraits of Vermeer. But there were other ones that I set up and I would stage the people in a similar setting- it wasn’t copying it exactly, that was just the influence there. The other one I was interested in the domestic icon, or things that people collected. And where I was living at the time, I was renting with Ron McBurnie and his window sill over his kitchen was full of glass bottles and so I actually documented that as a lithograph because it was quite fascinating. That was a fairly recent piece- well not that recent now, it was about 2006, but that was where I was looking at investigating. And I’m quite interested at going back into that.

Do you have any plans for the future? Are there any exhibitions or competitions you will be entering in the short-term future?

I haven’t bothered with competitions for quite a while, just one is the time factor. But yes at the moment I’ve just finished working with compact prints which is here, I’m working on the piece for Shift in The Vault and I’ve got the postcards coming up. So that’s three major things all in within the next two months. What happens next year, I’m not quite sure yet! I’ve got another one too [current project] which opens… at our little gallery with Anne Lord and a friend of ours from out west, related to the dry tropics.

Outside of your own work, are there any pieces of artwork in Townsville that stand out to you as particularly influential or significant?

Well probably not influential, but I really like Ron McBurnie’s- the way he draws, prints and of course he has some really nice works. James Brown, Anneke- well basically I keep going back to these people who I’ve worked with or not so much that they’ve influenced my artwork but artwork that I’ve responded to quite happily. Then there’s on a day-to-day basis what’s produced here [in the Umbrella Studios workshop] with the other artists, it’s no piece or one piece that I’ll sort of say ‘wow!’ but there’s a few pieces I do say ‘wow!’. There’s quite a few people who are working here whose works I really like.

This year marks Townsville’s 150th year anniversary. How important do you feel it is that the history of Townsville’s art is recognized as part of commemorations?

Well it’s probably most important- artists have been working here since Townsville was founded. If you look at some of the prints and drawings in the Special Collections at JCU, you can see that there’s actually a time it played quite an important part in recording Townsville and arts of Townsville. The artwork that’s still produced now is still, a lot of it is recording the town as it is or was. So I think it’s quite important. And it has, I mean it’s not just art it’s hands on artwork, photography, even plays and music festivals- that’s all part of the art scene here and I think that’s still important. The Chamber Music Festival gets recognised Australia wide and internationally. These are things that make up a community and fits into culture.

You work across a number of mediums outside of printmaking, what is your favourite medium to work in?

Drawing. I used to paint- I used to be an oil painter- but I haven’t got the room to keep storing the canvases. So there’s drawing, mixed medium, and believe it or not digital work. The 3D printer’s providing a bit of a challenge there and the other one would be mixed medium- sculpture, 3D, yeah. I’ve taught pretty well through most of those mediums one way or the other.

You have run workshops in the past, educating Townsville’s next generation of artists. How does it feel to see your art practices influencing and developing the next generation of the region’s artists?

Well it’s good. I think my main thing is the fact that I’ve- where I’ve tried to impart downstairs and into workshops is the technical side of things, so if it’s done properly. That’s what I’m hoping I’ve helped with, I don’t see if my artwork is a major influence on them, but I think my technical knowledge was.

It was mentioned that there are challenges involved in the making of your art; do you find that that challenge adds motivation or do you look for pieces you could do easily?

No. I’m experimenting with different types of aqua tinting downstairs which is quite a challenge because we can’t use certain types of aqua tinting because of the health and safely things. That’s been good fun and so we’ve all been playing with that. I just like the technical challenge and to see ‘how will we get out of this?!’

With drill in hand and an immense sense of immersion, Alison McDonald draws her seat to her workbench for another day of turning scraps into art.

Sam O’Brien

Townsville based artist Alison McDonald, pictured in front of her Jensen Studio ‘Bliss’

For almost 50 years, Victorian native McDonald has been turning bottle tops, keys, nails, records, pots and other items of general refuse into incredible works of art.

“Mother Nature is my biggest inspiration, so I use recycled materials that are given to me or that I collect” Alison said of her works.

“I hate waste, I really hate waste”

Alison’s work has become iconic around Townsville with her piece “Shimmer” taking out the artistic excellence award at the 2015 Strand Ephemera.

However it was in the cold, gloomy streets of Victoria where Alison began to develop her love for art.

In fact Alison comes from a family rich in artistic skill with sculptors, cartoonists, writers, painters and musicians part of a bloodline which Alison credits as one of her greatest influences.

“I am originally from an artistic family that nurtured my creativity from an early age.”

Alison also attributes part of her recycling ethos to the way she was raised on the orchard in Victoria.

“My grandmothers used to recycle everything, they would collect everything. I think the war did that to them

“I grew up on an orchard and we didn’t have rubbish collection so we had to be very careful what we did with our rubbish.

“It [the rubbish] wouldn’t just go in the bin and get collected so that made me very conscious.”

Throughout her art career Alison has used a variety of items, many of which people may think are obscure; a claim which Alison vehemently denies.

“I’ve used plastic bottles, cup hooks, coins, recycled wire, corks, saucepans, CD’s [and] phone cards.”

“I usually use something that we get lots of, little coffee pods, cassettes, things like that

“It’s stuff we see every day, so it is only other people who think it’s obscure; it’s not to me.”

In fact, some of Alison’s most popular pieces have been created using items we pass on a daily basis.

Her winning Strand Ephemera piece ‘Shimmer’ was created using metal power pole tags, whilst fan favourite piece ‘Flow’ was constructed using plastic bottle tops.

’Flow’, which is made of discarded plastic bottle tops is one of Alison’s best-known works

Bottle tops and metal tags however pale in comparison to what Alison does consider the most obscure item she has used.

“X-rays may be the most obscure thing I’ve used perhaps.”

Along with her larger sculptures, Alison also uses recycled goods to create jewellery to ensure even the smallest pieces of off cuts don’t go to waste.

“Sometimes I get really sick of doing really big stuff and I want to get a bit more intimate in my studio.”

“I would do all these great big sculptures and I would have all these little bits left over and thought that would make a real nice piece of jewellery.”

Amongst items Alison uses for her jewellery are discarded road signs, plastic bottle screw top stoppers and, one of her favourite items to use, the fish shaped soy sauce bottles provided with sushi.

“The sushi fish, I love that. We get those, they’ve got soy sauce in them we put the soy sauce on our sushi and then we toss it. We would be lucky to have that in our hands for 30 seconds.

“One day an archeologist is going to come along and dig this thing up and he will go ‘wow, this is made of such permanent material! It must have had a really, really, interesting use.’”

“Can you imagine the archeologist when he goes ‘they had it in their hand for 10 seconds and then they threw it away and it came from a material that was produced over millions and millions of years, oil, and then they made the thing and then they threw it away.’”

“The irony of how we use materials is of great interest to me and I try to even out those values.”

Alison moved to Townsville in the mid 1980’s with her family, where she completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts, with honours, in sculpting and painting at James Cook University in the early 2000’s.

Alison credits her move to Townsville as a crucial stage in her career which has helped to frame the artist she is today.

“I moved to Melbourne when I left high school and I met a man who was in the army.”

We moved around and we got a posting to Townsville and then we moved around some more.

“When we got the opportunity to leave the army, where did we want to go? Back to Townsville.

“It was just a place that I felt I belonged and I could be happy here.

“I feel the people are warmer because you get outside and do things. I like the casualness rather than the formalness and the greys of Melbourne and Victoria.”

Alison is currently working on a number of pieces ahead of a variety of exhibitions and shows

Alison’s time at James Cook University will be recognized in July, as part of the T150 Celebrating Townsville Exhibition at Umbrella Studio.

The Exhibition, commissioned by the JCU Special Collections Team, will explore the influence of art educators on the development of Townsville’s art collections.

Alison sees the exhibition as an opportunity for Townsville to recognize all those who have contributed to the Townsville art scene over the past century and a half.

“One of the things a lot of people don’t know about Townsville is we have got so many art educators and so many great teachers.

“It’s very important that people see what abilities and skills are around in Townsville and show it off.

“It’s an asset to Townsville how many great artists we have got.”

It is these art teachers that Alison sees as major influences on her career, including Jane Hawkins, who lectured Alison at JCU and nominated her for the T150 “Celebrating Townsville” Exhibition.

Alison said one of the key lessons she learnt from JCU was the importance of drawing and its role in preparation.

“It [has] set me up to think about the preparation (drawing), the form (sculpture) and then the final finish, which painting taught me.

“I learnt so much there [at JCU], it was an enormous influence.”

Along with the T150 “Celebrating Townsville” Exhibition, Alison has a number of upcoming shows including a work for the Warwick Regional Council and a travelling solo exhibition, which will travel to 12 galleries around Australia from December 2016 to early 2019.

Alison is particularly excited about her upcoming travelling solo exhibition.

“It’s a solo exhibition with Visions Australia who have sponsored it, [as well as] Museum and Gallery services and Umbrella Studios who have organized it. It’s pretty big.”

Alison McDonald is a nationally recognized artist working out of her Jensen Studio ’Bliss’. For more information on Alison and her upcoming works, visit www.alisonmcdonald.com.au.

The Palaszczuk Government has pledged $5.8 million dollars to conduct the biggest comprehensive crocodile monitoring program in state history.

Andrew Sands

The jobs of 10 wildlife officers across the state have been also been secured with the funds as the state government seeks to survey the waterways from Cape York to Gladstone for at least three years in order to gain a better understanding of crocodile populations in the state.

In a bid to update the state’s current data from as far back as the 1970s, the program will compare new data and work to ensure public safety and the survival of the species.

Environment Minister Dr Steven Miles said he was excited to welcome members of the team to the program, a part of the Queensland Government’s crocodile management review, which will be led by crocodile expert and the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) Principle Wildlife Officer Dr Matt Brien.

“Dr Brien is currently undertaking the preliminary work so that the planned crocodile population survey is based on rigorous science,” Dr Miles said.

“Assisting Dr Brien is Dr Laurie Taplin who has agreed to come on board as a specialist advisor, bringing an invaluable historical perspective on Queensland’s crocodile population.”

Dr Miles said that a process of consultation is underway with large groups in order to gauge their attitudes towards topics such as capture and removal, the welfare and conservation of crocodiles and public safety.

“EHP officers will be on the ground in Cairns next week [from Monday 27 June] to conduct a series of consultation meetings with key organisations including Cairns Regional Council, Tourism Tropical North Queensland, the Queensland Crocodile Conservation and Protection Society, Surf Life Saving Queensland, and Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures,” he said.

“An important part of the Queensland Government’s crocodile management review is to establish what’s working and what can be improved and that’s why it’s important to seek the views of the community”.

Four of the ten appointed wildlife officers will be based in Cairns, two in Central Queensland and others based in areas such as Innisfail and Townsville.

Dr Brien said that the work of counting crocodiles would be done at night and during particular phases of the tides when it’s most easy to spot the creatures.

“It’s very important that we establish a rigorous method which can be applied throughout north and central Queensland where crocodiles occur,” he said.