Letters To The Editor
The story of VC hero Paddy Bugden
My maternal grandmother, Annie Bugden, was a member of the Bugden clan. The
following information is provided to clarify some of the issues raised by Helen
Coyle (Echo, July 7). I do not propose to discuss Paddy Bugden's birthplace as
his immediate family would have provided the information appearing on the memorial.
However, some records show that he attended Gundurimba Public School and Tatham
Convent School.
At the time of his enlistment he was employed in the family hotel at Alstonville,
hence the connection with Alstonville in relation to the site of his memorial.
Bugden enlisted in Brisbane and undertook basic training in that city before embarkation.
As the Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously, it is reasonable that decisions
in relation to the location of his memorial and the custody of the medal rest
with his immediate family. I do not believe anyone should be critical of the decision
to erect his memorial in Alstonville, his home town at the time of his heroic
death, or of his sister's presentation of the Victoria Cross to the Queensland
Museum. I think everyone would agree that it is far better for the medal to be
there than sold at auction to some collector. As a matter of interest, two of
Bugden's cousins were killed within 12 months of his death fighting on the Western
Front.
As a resident of South Lismore, Ms Coyle may be interested to know that the
Governor of Queensland at the time, Major General Peter Arnison, who unveiled
the memorial, was born and bred in South Lismore and, in my opinion, was a very
worthy choice to perform this important duty. If Ms Coyle visits the South Lismore
Bowling Club the members there will be only too happy to show her Major General
Arnison's old family home that has been very well maintained by the current owner.
Bob Grant
Ballina
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Vision splendid
Thank you all who have given eyeglasses.
We received a letter from the Christian Blind Mission thanking donors for their
glasses, they are forwarded to projects in developing countries where they will
enable someone with vision problems to share with us in the joy of having better
sight.
If you have any unwanted or unused glasses please leave them at Terry White
Chemist (near Woolworths). Thank you.
Lois Keep
Lismore
Petrol deal
It is bitterly disappointing for the residents of Diadem Street that McConaghy
Properties Pty Ltd have "sold out" and are supporting Woolworths
in their application to construct a petrol station on what was reeently residentially
zoned land in Diadem Street, Lismore.
As I understand it McConaghy Properties Pty Ltd initially objected to sharing
the loading dock driveway with Woolworths/Caltex in the DA rejected in March
2005. In an about face, McConaghy Properties are now assisting
Woolworths Petrol by supplying extra land, and dropping their objection to
petrol customers and delivery trucks sharing a delivery road.
The quality of life of residents in Diadem Street will be eroded by this proposed
development especially through increased traffic.
We have been given tremendous verbal support from Lismore residents in their
objections to the petrol station.
For your support to be effective it needs to be in writing. If you can spare
10 minutes please write to Lismore Council. Submissions close on July 29.
Andrew Morrissey
Lismore
Doug's alright
Mungo McCallum (Echo, July 14) has, unfortunately, perpetrated an untruth which
I feel obliged to correct.
Mr MacCallum writes: "A Mr D Webber of ... Macquarie Bank recently bemoaned
his plight: "I live in a $2 million house, but there is not much else"
he snivelled. "While I am on a big income my lifestyle soaks that up."
Mr MacCallum lifted this impression from the front page of The Sydney Morning
Herald, which appallingly misquoted Mr Webber and was corrected in a letter to
the editor two days later.
Doug lives in a medium-sized house in Sydney's far outer western suburbs, which
certainly isn't worth $2 million, and drives a (not new) Nissan, and, like most
Australians, is covering his expenses as he puts his kids through school. When
he spoke to the SMH he was making the point that real estate prices had risen
so high in Sydney that someone who bought in the 1970s could find themselves with
a house worth $2 million while their pension just manages to cover the rest of
their living expenses.
I was with Doug when he spoke to the SMH and we can't quite figure out how
the quote came to be portrayed in the first person. As a result he has taken a
verbal battering from most people he has come across who believe he is arrogant
in the extreme.
Doug is one of the nicest, most modest, self-effacing blokes you could come
across and we are saddened that one journalistic error should make its way to
Lismore only to be repeated and spread by a journalist of the calibre of Mr MacCallum.
Irene O'Brien
Public Relations, Macquarie Financial Services Group
Bugden story II
In reply to "Memorial Musings" (Echo, July 7). Helen's letter was
a subject of discussion at the recent monthly meeting of the Alstonville RSL Sub
Branch, and it came to light that one of our members has had a long established
interest in Paddy Bugden VC, through family connections many moons ago.
The member wishes to remain anonymous. He has passed on to me some very interesting
facts, as much as his memory will allow, and I would like his response to be printed
in its entirety.
"Tatham and Gundurimba are only a stones throw apart, but from the history
that I have read, I understand the Bugden family moved from Gundurimba to Alstonville
and took over the Alstonville Hotel. It is from there Paddy enlisted for the war
and drafted to the 31st Battalion along with my late uncle, Pte W J Brandy from
Clunes. They became good friends. Both were killed in the battle for Polygon Wood,
Ypres. Pte Bugden is buried in the cemetery at Polygon Wood. I visited his grave
when on tour of the battlefields and war graves in Belgium 1998. Pte Brandy has
no known grave.
The Bugden family moved to Brisbane after the war. I understand his mother
always carried Paddy's VC medal in her handbag. I also understand his mother was
involved in a motor vehicle accident at some point, and her handbag, (with the
medal inside) was misplaced at the accident. The handbag was found the next day,
at the scene, and returned to Mrs Bugden. The medal seems to have been lost, most
likely on the death of Mrs Bugden. A replica of the medal is on show at the Alstonville
RSL Sub Branch Hall.
"As to the unveiling of the Memorial by the Governor of Queensland, Major
General Peter Arnison, who was born and grew up in Lismore. He graduated from
the Royal Military College and rose to the rank of Major General. Upon retiring,
he was appointed Governor of Queensland".
So, it appears that there was a strong connection between NSW and Queensland.
I hope this information answers a few of Helen's questions, and if she needs
any further information, contact the Alstonville RSL Sub Branch at PO Box 690,
Alstonville, or cdon1446@bigpond.net.au.
Coral Donnelly
Media officer
Alstonville RSL Sub Branch
DA dithering
The decision by Lismore Council to defer making a decision for six months on
the development application lodged by the North Lismore Exton Street tanker depot
after nearly three years of illegal operation is shameful. The council's
own planning department recommended that the application not be approved because
of the "adverse impact on amenity... due to noise from truck operation outside
acceptable business hours".
The business has approval to operate as a mechanical workshop, not as a depot
for fuel tankers. Residents have been complaining for years about the noise
of the fuel tankers coming and going at all hours of the night. Despite this
it has taken three years to get to the stage of a development application being
lodged and assessed. One wonders what the point of this process is when the recommendations
are ignored by the majority of councillors. It was clear from the quality
of the debate that many councillors had not bothered to read their business papers.
This appalling decision on the depot implies that in Lismore it's okay to develop
a site without any reference to council. Clearly this business is unsuitable
in a residential area and should not be approved. Residents have no desire
to see jobs lost or a good business lost. The proper decision was to reject the
application and to give the business time and assistance to relocate.
Vicki Findlay
North Lismore
Burger boycott
Do people realise that McDonalds is sourcing cheaper produce from New Zealand,
India and Sri Lanka? The NSW Minister for Regional Development, David Campbell,
has appealed to McDonalds to continue using Australian produce. I'm sure that
a boycott of McDonalds would make them think twice about where they sourced their
produce from and about supporting the country that they are in.
Kim Kena
Lismore
Super film
I am currently in the process of filming a documentary about Lennox Head and
its rapid transition from surfing/fishing village to chic seachange destination.
The story is being told through the eyes of local surf identity Chris Brock,
who has lived at Lennox Point for over 30 years.
I am looking for super 8 footage, photos and stories about Lennox Head from
locals to complete the picture.
I am also seeking sponsorship from those who may be interested in helping document
the flavour and history of Lennox Head especially as it applies to surfing.
I think this may be of interest to the North Coast community. Please feel free
to contact me for further details.
Many thanks,
Stephen Shearer
southpacificfilms@hotmail.com
6687 5201
Always hope
For Jim Roche (Echo, July 14) "desperate" means "without hope".
Hope keeps you going when there's no cause for optimism. We're not optimistic
over Angels Beach cycle path - just forever hopeful.
Good to see sparring mates like Jim responding to my provocations; why else
should I bother writing? Debate keeps democracy alive.
Debate is banned in Ballina Council; everything's decided before the meeting
starts. The Echo and other papers are our only venues for open debate. Now to
Jim's protestations:
- Numbers, votes, and popularity have nothing to do with right and wrong, racism
or anything else. Hitler was elected by popular democratic majority vote. The
"will of the majority" is often morally wrong (remember the invasion
of Iraq?). The minority are conscience-bound to tell them so.
- Dissenting is an integral part of democracy. Without it, democracy dies and
you have the tyranny of the majority (mob rule) - worse than the tyranny of a
dictator.
- Two rapes don't make a right. Angels Beach is like Gallipoli for its traditional
owners. Once sacred, then vandalised once (as Anzac Cove recently was), but never
again! It's forever sacred even if every bone disappears - it's where the events
happened.
- Talk about "frustrating" Council - that's the joke! Council
frustrated itself and its ratepayers by voting against its own professional staff
recommendations (2002) to engineer the cycle path west of the Coast Road. Councillors'
belligerent demands for a "highway through the dunes" created all the
delays.
- Dune carers' solemn mission is to restore the dune environment, then protect
it against future damage. The planned cyclepath is vandalism. We're conscience-bound
to protest its location as over-expensive, useful only for a minority, part submerged
in wet years, environmentally/culturally destructive, and likely be a dead-end
or white elephant.
Lee Andresen
Angels Beach
Terror tango
Hinze's brilliant cartoon (Echo, July 14) certainly tells a thousand stories.
The snake of war feeding on the snake of terror, and vice versa the snake of
terror feeding on the snake of war. Meanwhile the innocent people are caught-up
inside the vicious circle.
And just as it is being depicted in the picture, so it is in reality too,
war and terrorism are inseparable. In fact the difference is one of scale only.
War is terrorism of monumental proportions.
If you check the dictionary's definition, it will tell you that terrorism is:
"The systematic use of violence and intimidation to achieve political ends".
Now isn't that what war is? So how can we have a 'war on terrorism' when war
is terrorism?
Of course, we are being told repeatedly that the wars we start are being done
for a 'just cause'. But then again, there has never been a terrorist who didn't
have a 'just cause' for his terror.
Meanwhile the tens of thousands of Iraqi and Afghani victims of 'our' terrorism
are quickly forgotten by the makers of wars. Or as the former Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright would say: "We think the price was worth it".
Has anybody actually asked the Iraqi and Afghani people if they were willing
to pay that price? No, of course not. And that is a fundamental trait terrorists
of all kind share in common: they never ask their future victims for consent.
And the perpetrators are actually calling this massive state terror a 'war
on terrorism'.
Let's not forget: wanton killing of innocent civilians is terrorism, not a
war against terrorism.
Even if you believe the Pentagon's claim that its intention is not to kill
civilians, if civilians in fact become victims again and again, and it's predictable
that they will, can that be called an accident? If the deaths of civilians is
inevitable in bombings, as Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Hill acknowledged, then
it is not an accident. The people prosecuting these wars are committing murder.
They and all their supporters are engaging in terrorism.
Terrorism is terrorism, whether it is carried out with a pocket knife, or by
B-52 bombers. And a terrorist is a terrorist, whether or not he speaks from a
cave in Afghanistan or from the steps of the White House.
They must be rejected because they feed off each other. Indeed, they would
be powerless without each other.
Unfortunately, judging by the signs, they are still having the run of the show,
dancing their latest tango of terror.
And it is us, the innocent bystanders of this world, who are paying the price.
Tom Koo
Alstonville
Zimbabwe abuse
The shocking disregard of human rights being carried out in Zimbabwe at present
should concern us all. This has led the Catholic Zimbabwean Archbishop of Bulawayo,
Pius Ncube, to declare in an interview with Britain's Channel 4 News from Vatican
Radio, "I am ready to stand before a gun and be shot". President Mugabe's
"Operation Drive Out Trash" campaign has destroyed the homes of 275,000
of the poorest Zimbabweans in an attempt to force them to return to rural areas.
The President's actions have been widely condemned by the Archbishop, other church
leaders and the international community. The Archbishop said he would rather die
than stay silent in the face of widespread human rights abuses in his country
and that Mugabe should be arrested and tried before an international court for
the said abuses.
Margaret Hains
East Ballina
Young at art
Having seen the current exhibition of 2004 NSW HSC students artworks, I urge
everyone to visit the Lismore Regional Gallery before this outstanding exhibition
moves on Saturday, August 13.
The range of work from film, digital photography, fabric, sculpture, metalwork and
ink to pencil and paint is amazing. The subject matter takes us from immigration
through feminism to potatoes and more!
As the Artexpress co-ordinator Lesley Brown said, this exhibition gives us
a glimpse into how young people are thinking and we adults can only come away
in awe of the thought processes, imagination and talent of these young artists.
We can be particularly proud that students from the North Coast are disproportionally
represented in the finalists selected from the 8000 folios of work judged in Sydney
from all schools throughout the state.
These young artists, their parents and teachers can be justifiably proud of
their success and our community is indeed fortunate to have the opportunity to
see this collection in Lismore. Do yourself a favour - go and see it.
Cr Jenny Dowell
Goonellabah
Student unions
I'd like to add my thoughts to the debate on the Howard Government's plans
to end compulsory student unionism. In principle, I support the move, on the basis
that just as important as the freedom of association should be the freedom not
to associate. Student unions clearly pursue political agendas, and as such, I
can't agree with the concept of compelling all students, regardless of their political
views, to be members of, and financially contribute to, a union whose political
goals they may not support.
However, John Taylor (Echo, July 14) points out the various non-political student
services provided at Southern Cross University by the union and paid for by the
compulsory fee contributions of students. It is worth noting that the compulsory
fee varies between universities and can be much higher than that charged at Southern
Cross (and likewise, the student services provided also vary). These services
are essential and greatly enhance university life for students.
So, do our university students deserve to lose these services? I believe that
if compulsory student unionism is to be abolished, then an alternative means of
funding these student services needs to be provided. Consequently, whilst I retain
my aversion to the principle of compulsory membership of a political organisation,
I can't support the Government's proposal unless it includes provision for an
alternative means of funding those student services currently being provided by
unions courtesy of the compulsory fees.
Nick Casmirri
Wollongbar
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