Between Friends - No. 18 - November 2000

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BETWEEN FRIENDS Newsletter of the Friends of Buchan Caves (Inc.) Buchan Caves Reserve, Buchan VIC 3885

No. 18, November 2000 Formed 1987, Incorporated 1991

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Hello Friends! Another fairly productive year culminates with the final working bee, break-up barbecue, and Annual General Meeting at Buchan on the first weekend in December. The year was certainly a success in terms of work done and grant projects completed, although the trend in attendance over the previous few years has continued downwards. I guess the cost of fuel and how people are spending their recreational time are becoming significant factors for those Friends travelling all the way from Melbourne. The prospect of doing this several times per year can easily add up to several hundred dollars in total costs to a volunteer. This issue of the newsletter contains reports on the two working bees held since the last newsletter at the start of June. A copy of the minutes from the 1999 AGM are included with the mail-out of this newsletter. Its time for a change. I have edited every issue of Between Friends since it started in November 1992 and I am now going to finally step down as Editor. Hopefully the new editor (whoever they are) will give the newsletter a well-deserved make over and continue to keep everyone informed of what is going to happen and what has already transpired. Have a think about taking on the job, it only requires about 10 hours work per year. The Editor doesn't have to write everything, just collate the reports and usual information into a few pages, make photocopies, print address labels, stuff envelopes and post about 50 envelopes. Its all pretty easy if you have access to a computer and a printer. Since joining the Friends in 1991, my tenth year was a first for me in terms of actually holding an official position on the committee. However, due to other life commitments, I am not going to re-stand for President or any other position. All the committee positions are fairly easy jobs, and I heartily recommend being on the committee to anyone. It is very satisfying to be involved in the running of such a well regarded and vital Friends group. I am happy to continue as the Friends liaison with Parks Victoria and the Friends Network in the Victorian National Parks Association. I hope to see many Friends turn up for the final working bee of the year. The details are at the end of the report on the August working bee.

Glenn Baddeley, Editor and President

Notice of 9th Annual General Meeting As usual, the AGM will be held in the guide-hut at the Buchan Caves Reserve. It commences at 8PM on Saturday 2nd December 2000. The business of the meeting is the presentation of the Annual Financial Report, the election of a committee for 2001, and to decide the working bee dates for the coming year.

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A free barbecue will be held outside the guide-hut, commencing at 630PM. Salads, bread and cooked sausages and hamburgers are provided, but please bring your own drinks. The $2 individual and $5 family annual membership fee becomes due at the AGM, so if you come along it will provide an ideal chance to renew your membership of the Friends. Glenn Baddeley

Working Bee Report 17 - 18 June 2000 Glenn Baddeley, 20 September 2000 Friends: Glenn Baddeley Ian Sebire Erica Maggs

Nola Sebire

This working bee was deliberately programmed to coincide with the ACKMA Annual General Meeting weekend at Buchan. It was a great opportunity for ACKMA members to see the Friends group in action and realise the significant contribution made to the Buchan Caves Reserves over the past 13 years or so by our band of dedicated volunteers. It also enabled the Friends to meet a range of karst managers from around Australian and New Zealand. The references given at the end of this article contain some positive comments about the Friends group from the ACKMA point of view. Unfortunately it was a very small turn-out, but we still achieved the main objective of the weekend by installing two new interpretation signs. The signs were funded by a community grant from Parks Victoria and provide information about F.J. Wilson and the walk named after him, and about the Spring Creek walk. They are reproduced on the Friends web site at http://home.pacific.net.au/~gnb/fobc-bf/interp2k.html, along with a photograph depicting the installation. In the preceding weeks Glenn had consulted with Parks Victoria and members of the Friends over the wording and layout of the signs, and arranged for the manufacture of the long-life enamelled signs in Melbourne. The four of us gathered at the workshop in the main reserve at 10AM on Saturday. We unveiled the A3-sized signs and decided how they would be mounted. A simple 12mm ply back-board was screwed to two 100mm square posts about 1.5m long. The whole thing was then painted with a couple of coats of Heritage Green quick drying paint. The signs were carefully attached with tamper-proof stainless steel screws. After lunch a hole was dug at the start of Spring Creek walk, about 5m back from the road, a sign was erected, and the earth firmly tamped down around the posts. The same process was then carried out near the start of the path leading up to the administration offices and the F.J. Wilson walk. This is a temporary arrangement until proper mounting frames can be designed and manufactured. The final signs and frames should have a useful life span of at least 20 - 30 years. This is in line with the five existing interpretation signs installed in the main reserve by the Friends about 5 years earlier. Due to lack of numbers the Friends BBQ was called off and Glenn and Erica joined ACKMA for their dinner at the Willow Tree Cafe. Nothing much was left to do on Sunday, so the remaining Friends participated in the ACKMA field trip to the Potholes Reserve and Murrindal. A recently completed

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reinforced concrete retaining wall around the entrance to Honeycomb Cave was inspected by about 20 ACKMA members, and the entrance to Razor Cave and its warning sign were also viewed. This was followed by an inspection tour of Murrindal Cave and Lilly Pilly Cave led by Dale Calnin. It turned out to be a great combined event weekend and the weather was equally kind. References: Pierce, M., 2000, ACKMA Annual General Meeting at Buchan, Nargun, 33(1):5, July 2000 Pierce, M. & Henderson K., 2000, ACKMA At Buchan, ACKMA Journal, No. 40, Sep 2000, p.9-11 This article first appeared in Nargun, 33(4):28, October 2000, and The Doline, October 2000, p.4

How do I become a Friend for 2001? Anyone can join the Friends, no questions asked! The annual membership fee is $2 for an individual and $5 for a family. It became due at the Annual General Meeting in December 2000 and may be given to the Membership Officer. The fee covers the cost and postage of this newsletter for the 2001 calendar year.

2000 Executive Officer Contact List Glenn Baddeley

(03) 9808 7248 (H)

Vice President

Jim Tulk

(03) 9458 2485 (H)

Secretary

Erica Maggs

(03) 9808 7248 (H)

email: [email protected]

Anne Raner

(03) 9543 5289 (H)

email: [email protected]

Glenn Baddeley

(03) 9808 7248 (H)

email: [email protected]

President

Treasurer and Membership

email: [email protected]

Co-opted officers: Editor and Parks Vic liaison

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Please note that all email addresses include ".trip89" as an anti-spam measure. Please remove ".trip89" to make them legitimate addresses. Feel free to contact any of the Executive Officers by phone or email. Correspondence and enquires may be sent via post to: The Secretary, FOBC PO BOX 2277 Mount Waverley VIC 3149

Working Bee Report 26 - 27 August 2000 Glenn Baddeley, 22 October 2000 Friends: Glenn Baddeley Cathie Cranston Kyle Tisdale Dale Calnin

Jack Lewendon Michelle Tisdale

Daryl Carr

Erica Maggs

Shani Tisdale

Simone Clancy Peter Robertson Steve Wood It was reassuring to see that the third working bee for the year was well attended, given the disappointing turn-out for the working bees held earlier in the year. There were two main tasks to be undertaken; completion of the interpretation signs grant project and commissioning of a new high pressure water cleaner for restoration work in the tourist caves. Saturday morning greeted us with bright sunshine as we all met at the kiosk in the main caves reserve. Two new interpretation signs had been installed on the previous working bee in June, temporarily mounted on stumpy wooden posts. Our job was to remove the posts, attach the enamelled signs to custom-made steel frames, dig deeper holes, and concrete the frames in place. The new frames are made of heavy galvanised tubing which has been bent into an inverted 'U' shape and powder coated. The frame has cross members which are tapped with threads to allow the sign to be attached using six tamper-proof stainless steel screws. Dale's ute was loaded up with tools, cement, sand and screenings. We took the short walk to where the first sign is located, at the start of the F.J. Wilson walk, near the administration offices. Within an hour or so the new frame and interpretation sign was in place and the concrete base was being smoothed off. After a few photographs it was time to knock off for lunch. It was tempting to just sit around outside the kitchen at Homeleigh, talk, and soak up the sunshine, but there was one more interpretation sign waiting for the same treatment. The team of Friends reconvened at the start of Spring Creek Walk in the main reserve and soon enough the second sign was concreted in place, after some careful levelling and minute adjustments. Just before the BBQ that evening, the new Gerni high pressure water cleaner was unpacked from its carton. The Friends were disappointed to see that one of the corner mounts on the plastic casing of the pump unit had been damaged in transit. It was agreed that a repair would be attempting by putting a couple of self tapping screws through the case. This was soon carried out and the result seemed quite solid and acceptable. The cleaner was connected to a water supply and mains power and then fired up for its first test; cleaning cars! There were two lances, a high pressure adjustable width fan type, and a variable pressure 'laser' lance which blasted away any dirt in its path. The BBQ was very enjoyable and everyone returned to Homeleigh for a night-cap

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drink around the fireplace in the dining room. On Sunday morning some of the Friends took the Gerni into Royal Cave to experiment with its capabilities. It was quite easy for two people to carry the Gerni up and down stairs, and for one person to wheel it through even the most confined sections of the tourist paths. Another two people are required to carry the hoses, lances and extension cord. We knew that the spray was very powerful so a test area would have to be carefully selected. In the end the Gerni was taken all the way through to the Princess Royal Chamber and set up in the large flat concreted area. Both of the lances were tried on flowstone on the western side of the chamber and the floor just outside the hand-rail. The high pressure lance was good for reaching up to 3 metres, but it seemed to cut too much when used for work under 0.5 metres from the end of the lance. It would clean out dirt and lint really well, but we suspected that calcified sediments and thin calcite were also being shifted. The laser lance was more controllable, although the pressure adjusts from nothing to full-on in about an eighth of a turn of the motorcycle-style throttle. It also spreads the spray out over a wider area so the cutting effect is not as intense. The general feeling was that the exact area to be cleaned should be planned before taking the Gerni into the cave and the objective of the cleaning and any possible dangers noted. With a lance in hand it is very easy to just swing it around blasting away the "dirt" and have little appreciation of the fine damage being done or the risk to nearby decoration, sediments, run-offs, lights and power cables. The pressure needs to be appropriate and someone else must be monitoring the progress. A portable floodlight needs to be set up to provide adequate lighting. Before and after photographs should be taken to record the cleaning and provide a benchmark for assessing the actual build-up of dirt, lint, lampen-flora etc. over the ensuing years. On our way out of Royal Cave it was noticed that the Friends donation bin needed emptying, but we couldn't unscrew the clear plastic pipe which holds the money. Eventually it was removed after Erica and Jack took the whole thing back to the workshop. After looking at the condition of the backing board, and also the one in Fairy Cave, it looks like the boards and bins will have to be 'reconditioned' in the new year. It has been several years since their last rejuvenation and the very damp conditions in the caves has taken its toll. I think that everyone who helped out with the Friends had an enjoyable time and it would be great to see a good attendance for the Annual General Meeting, BBQ and working bee on 2nd-3rd December. Meet at the kiosk at 10AM on Saturday if you would like to be involved in a new cave restoration programme using the Gerni and the planning of new projects for 2001. The BBQ will start at 630PM outside the Guide's Hut, followed by the AGM at 8PM. This article first appeared in Nargun, 33(5):34, Nov 2000

Grant for Signage at the Potholes The Friends have been successful in applying for $4,500 from the Parks Victoria 2000/2001 Volunteer Groups grant programme to develop and install an interpretive sign at the Potholes Reserve. The sign will interpret the significance of the cave systems in the reserve and provide safety guidelines for cavers, in order to preserve and protect the cave and karst environment. This project will have involvement from several community groups and caving organisations to ensure that the signage will be most suitable to such a high profile and important area as the Potholes.

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Friends Donations collected from the Tourist Caves during 2000 Royal Cave Fairy Cave 14 Jan $76.90 27 Apr $83.20 9 Apr $280.60 27 Aug $46.60 27 Aug $330.50 Total $688.00 Total $129.80 Total both caves $817.80

Friends Groups at Limestone Creek Scott Perkins and Dale Calnin (Parks Vic Rangers at Buchan) have suggested that the Friends of Buchan Caves and the Friends of the Cobberas combine forces to be involved in the karst environment at Limestone Creek, about 70km North of Buchan. The main roles would be monitoring the condition of the caves and providing feedback to management, in order to protect the environmental value of the area. If anyone is interested being involved in this, please contact the committee. Two new interpretation signs on page 4 of of Between Friends [Index of Issues] [Previous] [Next] Copyright © Friends of Buchan Caves Inc. 2000, 2009 bf18.html was last updated 3 Nov 2009. Report problems and send comments to Glenn Baddeley.

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