Author: jkirkby8712

Indigenous burn-offs are helping make Australia more fire-safe.

Writing in the Victorian ‘Weekly Times’ newspaper of 16 December, 2020, journalist Brett Ellis wrote that ‘Indigenous fire management will improve the health and safety of the land’.

This is a topic that has been referred on in various forums over recent years. In the same edition of the ‘Weekly Times’. Peter Hunt reported that “Landcare groups and the Victorian Opposition are embracing Aboriginal cultural burning as a means of reviving bushland and curbing fuel loads on private and public land………………a key part [of cultural burning] is making sure there’s enough moisture in the soil to keep the fire cool, so it just burns the leaf litter and grass thatch. The flame is no more than 30cm high. These burns will knock out the smaller shrubs and push them back into the gullies, where they belong. Lack of fire means they keep spreading ……ultimately…cultural burns boosted grass growth, while protecting the tree canopy…………The devastating impact of last summer’s bushfire highlighted the need to better manage our landscape and undertake more targeted fuel reduction burns,,”

In view of that type of comment, I believe it’s worthwhile to take note of the views of people like Brett Ellis, who himself is a fire & emergency management consultant and director at Firestick Alliance Indigenous Corporation. Admittedly, he is really only using one principal example to demonstrate his arguments, and to my reading, leaves the question a little ‘up in the air’, and he is certainly speaking from an Indigenous viewpoint – though in recent years, his voice has not been a sole call from that area. Bruce Pascoe’s book ‘Dark Emu’ [which I have previously covered in this column] – a book much maligned in some quarters  –  devotes a chapter to the use of ‘fire’ and it’s use by Indigenous communities. He makes the point, noted by Ellis below that “within years of Aboriginal people being prevented from operating their traditional fire regimes, the countryside was overwhelmed by understorey species” [p. 164].

So, from the article by Brett Ellis,  we read the following considerations about the topic..

“Australian scientific earth core sampling suggests that the mega fire ceased  about 8,000 years ago signifying that fire lore, customs and practices had established a balance  between man, flora and fauna.

Using the ‘right fire’, Aborigines maintained the balance of country and as such enabled themselves  and all living things to survive and thrive.

More than 200 years ago that balance was interrupted. Aboriginal fire lore was broken, fire practices were ceased and the landscape changed due to vegetation clearance and uncontrolled hot bushfires.

Unfortunately, Aboriginal fire lore is still being broken. Our country is sick.. Current land and fire management practices are compounding this issue with increasing larger and more frequent devastating and costly mega fires the future for Australia.

Western fire and land management practices are continuing to destroy  the sacred canopy and dry out the environment. With climate change, the need for healthy canopy and under-storey will be essential to assist the environment to remain cool and resilient with increasing temperatures.

Aboriginals have dealt with climate change before and ensuring fire lore and practices are reinstated will provide the needed protection and management to allow the environment to be prepared and protected.

Unfortunately, much of the ancient knowledge of fire methodologies, lore and practices have been lost, especially in southeast Australia.

We are still fortunate that pockets of intact knowledge remain in other parts of the continent from which to rebuild important knowledge.

Having worked in strategic fire and emergency management roles at local and state government levels, I have been challenged in the past trying to balance the competing views of burning and protection of the bush. I now know Indigenous fire knowledge and methodology is the key to balancing that tension and improving the health and safety of our landscapes.

Over the past five years I have had the good fortune of working with Aboriginal elders and knowledge holders who have spent many days at our property as part of an Indigenous fire and land management trial site. The Yarra Valley property was severely affected by Black Saturday bushfires and has a 40/40 split of pasture and recovering native vegetation.

Under the guidance of one of Australia’s best known leading Indigenous fire practitioners, Victor Stefferson, and alongside Wurundjeri elder Uncle David Wandin, we have applied the right fire on the right country at the right time. And the landscape is showing the benefits.

The addition of Indigenous fire into the system is producing an increased presence of native vegetation, stronger presence of kangaroo grass, wallaby grass and many native herbs, foods, medicines and orchids. This has been seen in the paddocks as well as under the tree canopy as strengthened native plants outcompete introduced grasses. Every area where we have applied the right fire, we have seen improvement in diversity of vegetation and wildlife.  The locations are staying greener, healthier and stronger through summer”.

Over the past few weeks, the writer has been deep into a couple of more serious books, including a written version of a television series about the history of Ireland – ‘Story of Ireland: In search of a new national memory’ by Neil Hegarty.  Needing a bit of a break from the likes of that, I chose a couple of recently released novels by two Australian authors – Craig Silvey, and Jane Harper – both novels are briefly commented upon with the aid of a couple of professional reviews written after publication.

We begin with   ‘Honeybee’ by Craig Silvey: published 2020; 424 pages  –  a very emotional and eye-opening novel about, what for me, was generally, the more seedy sides of life [at least, on the surface anyway]  –  the book’s message  ‘Find out who you are, and live that life’.

In many ways, a ‘heart-breaking story taking myself as the reader, into a world I was not familiar or particularly comfortable with – of family violence; extortion plots, botched bank robberies, drag shows, and so on. There are also stories of redemption, perseverance, mercy and hope in this scenario – of two lives changed forever by a chance encounter, and of the friendship offered from unexpected sources along the way  –  as one reviewer put it  –   “At the heart of Honeybee is Sam: a solitary, resilient young person battling to navigate the world as their true self; ensnared by loyalty to a troubled mother, scarred by the volatility of a domineering stepfather, and confounded by the kindness of new alliances”.

From the book cover and subsequent comments.

Late in the night, fourteen-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below. At the other end of the same bridge, an old man, Vic, smokes his last cigarette.  The two see each other across the void. A fateful connection is made, and an unlikely friendship blooms. Slowly, we learn what led Sam and Vic to the bridge that night. Bonded by their suffering, each privately commits to the impossible task of saving the other.

Guardian Australia writes:

Sam Watson, the narrator and protagonist of Silvey’s much-anticipated new novel, Honeybee, is another such adolescent. The reader is first introduced to Sam on the railing of an overpass, where, filled with despair and unendurable hurt, Sam has come to die.

It’s a dramatic beginning, and much of the first act of the novel is structured around unfolding the actions and history that have brought Sam to this point. Sam’s particular context, that is, is treated as something of a mystery, the discovery of which is the main narrative impetus of the first part of the book.

[As the Guardian writes] :There’s no way to write about this without a spoiler. Reader, you have been warned.

Honeybee’s opening mystery, the reason why Sam is different from Silvey’s other characters – and the reason why Sam’s particularly gentle nature is a problem in her family and life (and, arguably, in the novel) – is the fact that Sam is transgender. Sam is 14 years old, at the point where the body she was born in is beginning to develop the adult characteristics that are so different from those that match her gender; at the point, that is, that dysphoria so often becomes intolerable for trans people. For Sam, too, this is also the point where her family’s desire for her to act “like a man” has intensified, and she can see no way out of her discomfort and her shame.

None of this is inaccurate, as far as portrayals go – and it’s clear, especially from the book’s acknowledgements, that Silvey has done a great deal of research in writing Honeybee, and spoken to many people with lived experience of gender dysphoria and transition. Even still, there’s something about the way that Sam’s gender identity is treated as a reveal, as something startling or surprising, that sits uncomfortably with me. It feels othering, or almost exploitative, even as Sam is always portrayed with great compassion.

I’m not trans. I am queer – which means that transfolk are a part of my community – and the woman who I love just happens to be transgender, too. She’s an activist, and a mentor to young transfolk, and one of the reasons why she does such things is because, as a child and adolescent, she was never able to tell her own story, and because, as an adult, so many of the stories that exist about people like her centre on their pain and trauma and their struggle – and this is, she sometimes says, exhausting.

There’s a whole article that could be written about the rights and responsibilities of representation, the importance of “own voices” telling their own stories. There are smarter and better-placed people to do that. But even after Sam’s gender identity was revealed in Honeybee, I kept thinking there’s so much else to her, and to the novel, that her transness sometimes feels like just one more trauma without which the book would have worked equally well.

Sam’s life is difficult and it is traumatic – she is the only child of a mother who fell pregnant when she was still a child herself, and who has raised Sam without support, dealing with her frustration and sadness by turning to alcohol and then to much harder drugs. Sam has grown up in a series of dilapidated flats, often leaving suddenly when the rental arrears grow too high, and being continually bullied at school for her differences.

Most recently, Sam’s stepfather has joined in on this terrorising, because Sam’s sensitivity is anathematic to the rough and violent kind of masculinity by which he lives his life – and which manifests frequently in his treatment of Sam’s mother. Sam’s stepfather is also a con artist who ends up working as a debt collector and enforcer for a dangerous drug dealer, and storing fentanyl and guns in the family home. There’s a lot going on for Sam already, a lot of reasons why she might feel damaged and “wrong” (the term she uses often across the book) – plenty that could have brought her to that overpass, even before her gender is added to the mix.

At its core, though, Honeybeeis a novel about unconventional kinds of love: standing on that overpass, Sam meets an old man, Vic, who has come to the same place with the same intention, but for each of them, the presence of the other person makes this act suddenly impossible.

Thrown together by these extreme circumstances, Sam and Vic become friends, and then a kind of family. Sam moves into Vic’s house, living in the bedroom that he used to share with his late wife, and the pair learn to support, accept and enliven each other. Here, Sam also befriends one of Vic’s neighbours, the ballsy and vivacious Aggie, a teenage girl who is so fully herself that Sam can’t help but be drawn in.

What Sam finds in Honeybeeis a different kind of family, and a different kind of love – one that is based on choice, rather than just on chance – and it is with this support and encouragement that she is also able to start to find herself. This is a book as much about these kinds of relationships as it is about self-discovery, self-acceptance and coming-of-age, themes that are common in Silvey’s work, and that he always handles with tenderness and compassion. Honeybee is no exception – but it’s still difficult to reconcile this with the discomfort that is caused by Silvey treating Sam’s gender as a dramatic reveal, or as just one other trauma in her already-difficult life.

[Craig Silvey is an author and screenwriter from Fremantle, Western Australia.  His critically acclaimed debut novel, Rhubarb, was published in 2004. His bestselling second novel, Jasper Jones, was released in 2009 and is considered a modern Australian classic. Published in over a dozen territories, Jasper Jones has won plaudits in three continents, including an International Dublin Literary Award shortlisting, a Michael J. Printz Award Honor, and a Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlisting. Jasper Jones was the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year for 2010.  Honeybee is his third novel].

Our second novel is  ‘The Survivors’ by Jane Harper [published 2020; 378 pages]  –  a relatively quick read, as good as ‘The Dry’ ]her previous novel I’d read], although I felt the story could have continued a little further –  it left a few outcomes either assumed, to be guessed at, or just neglected in the writing [I doubt the latter, obviously intended as it was]  –  I guess my problem is, that I like a clean ending, but it was an intriguing little mystery, the solution to which kept you reading. I’m currently ‘ploughing’ through a history of Ireland, so this was a bit of welcome piece of light reading for a couple of days!!!  Among many other aspects of the story, there is the tragic but realistic portrayal of a dementia sufferer, a little close to home these days!!

From the jacket cover:

Jane Harper’s highly anticipated fourth novel The Survivors has been released in Australia and New Zealand. ‘The Survivors’, a standalone mystery, is set on the Tasmanian coast. Released in Australia on September 22, The Survivors went straight to No.1 on the Australian bestseller list (Nielsen BookScan) after a massive debut week.

Kieran Elliott’s life changed forever on a single day when a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home.  Kieran’s parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.  When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away…

“I’ve really enjoyed writing this one,” Jane said. “It’s been a lot of fun researching and writing about such a fantastic part of the country.”

And from the introductory paragraphs of the review in the Sydney Morning Herald [by Sue Turnbull, on the 22^nd September 2020]  we read:

This time we’re in one of those deserted-for-most-of-the-year beach communities in Tasmania with one main road and a restaurant called The Surf and Turf. Just in case you might miss it, there’s a giant crayfish fashioned out of sun-bleached shells glued to the wall, and a sign saying “In here for fish from there” with an “uneven arrow” pointing to the ocean.

Once again, as in all her crime novels beginning with The Dry, Australian crime writer Jane Harper creates an impressive landscape that serves to illustrate how the experience of place inevitably shapes the lives of those who live there. While Evelyn Bay might once have depended on fishing and forestry, it now limps along supported by seasonal whale-watching and deep-sea diving tours to investigate the innumerable wrecks offshore.

Evelyn Bay is the kind of small town most young people can’t wait to leave as soon as they can. Like Kieran, who now lives in Sydney but has returned home with his partner Mia and baby Audrey to help his mother pack up the family home. His father has disappeared into the “void” of early onset dementia, and his mother is only just coping with his increasingly erratic behaviour

Coming home was never going to be easy. But Kieran is also lugging a swag of grief for a tragedy 12 years earlier during a fatal storm that resulted in the death of two young men at sea. One of them was Kieran’s elder brother, Finn, the other a young father whose still-furious son now works at The Surf and Turf. This was also the night when a young women, Gabby Birch, went missing, and the mystery of her disappearance has never been solved.

Harper establishes the situation fast. Kieran’s only been home one night when another young woman, Bronte, who again works at The Surf and Turf, is found dead on the beach at the end of her shift. But then the pace slows, as Harper lets the ripples of effect wash over all the survivors of that storm in the past as they circle each other in a reunion that is now overshadowed by a death in the present.

While the police conduct their investigation in the background, the focus is always on Kieran as he comes to realise that he has been so consumed by his own guilt and grief, that he has missed the bigger picture. Like all small towns, Evelyn Bay has more than its share of intrigue now rehearsed on its social media network.

Harper deftly unravels these small-town secrets, where it’s the little things that matter. Kieran’s old friend and rival, Ash, now runs a landscaping business and is devastated by the destruction of his grandmother’s carefully tended garden by a recent blow-in, the thriller writer G.R. Barlin. This character gives Harper some playful opportunities to comment on the experience of being a writer.

Barlin writes the kinds of books that people buy at airports, stay “glued to” at the pool and then leave in their hotel room “to save on luggage weight”. Far from being dismayed by this, Barlin appears unruffled given he has made a great deal of money at his craft and approaches it in a workmanlike way. As he tells Kieran, “Writers’ block is for amateurs … I do this for a living.”

He is, however, the perceptive outsider who knows that for a community such as Evelyn Bay to survive, the people need to be “close-knit” and that “once that trust is broken, they’re stuffed”. It’s not just the loss of the traditional industries that threatens small communities, but the tensions that pull people apart.

As always in her books, Harper embraces the mythic. Visible from the whale lookout are three iron statues facing the sea, a memorial commissioned as a tribute to the 54 passengers and crew who lost their lives in a shipwreck nearly a century ago. Known as The Survivors, they are never totally submerged. For Kieran, his family, and Evelyn Bay, it is all about survival.

Despite the obvious symbolism, The Survivors is a subtle, quiet book about guilt, grief and growing up. You may find it hard to leave it behind.

[And thankfully, for my readers, this review didn’t reveal the story’s outcome  – it’s not hard to read, and you are constantly wondering, despite little clues along the way, just who has been responsible for the two murders, a decade apart, and seemingly unconnected!!  Enjoy!!]

[Jane Harper is the author of international bestsellers ‘The Dry’, ‘Force of Nature’, and ‘The Last Man’.   Her books are published in 40 territories worldwide.  Jane has won numerous top awards including the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year, the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year and the Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year]. 

In our current Melbourne [Victorian] lockdown of the past six months or so, the Coachbuilder has managed a degree of reading, and I would like to refer to three recently read books, and the in particular, the author of one of them. The books range from Australian history, one fictional, one real history, to a light novel, while the author we look at is Australia’s  Geoffrey Blainey.

[1] Recently,  I finished reading [out in my sunny backyard]     ‘A Room Made of Leaves’ by Kate Grenville, published in  2020, 322 pages.  A wonderful little mix of fact and fantasy/fiction about Elizabeth Macarthur, wife of the ‘so-called’ Father of the Australian sheep industry.

Who was John Macarthur?  Wikipedia describes him thus –  John Macarthur (1767 – 10 April 1834] was a British Army Officer, entrepreneur, politician, architect and pioneer of settlement in Australia. Macarthur is recognised as the pioneer of the wool  industry that was to boom in Australia in the early 19th century and become a trademark of the nation. He is noted as the architect of  Farm House, his own residence in Parramatta  and as the man who commissioned architect John Verge  to design Camden Park Estate  in Camden, in New South Wales. He was instrumental in agitating for, and organising, a rebellion against the colonial government in what is often described as the Rum Bebellion, 

But was he deserving of the generally historical, and in the main, favourable picture the books have of him?

“What if Elizabeth Macarthur-wife of the notorious John Macarthur, wool baron in the earliest days of Sydney-had written a shockingly frank secret memoir? And what if novelist Kate Grenville had miraculously found and published it? That’s the starting point for A Room Made of Leaves, a playful dance of possibilities between the real and the invented.  Marriage to a ruthless bully, the impulses of her heart, the search for power in a society that gave women none- ‘this’ Elizabeth Macarthur manages her complicated life with spirit and passion, cunning and sly wit. Her memoir lets us hear-at last!-what one of those seemingly demure women from history might really have thought.  At the centre of A Room Made of Leaves is one of the most toxic issues of our own age- the seductive appeal of false stories. This book may be set in the past, but it’s just as much about the present, where secrets and lies have the dangerous power to shape reality.  Kate Grenville’s return to the territory of The Secret River is historical fiction turned inside out, a stunning sleight of hand by one of our most original writers.”

Let’s hear from the author herself

The idea for A Room Made of Leaves was sparked nearly twenty years ago, when I was doing research for The Secret River, a book set in the earliest years of the British colony in Australia. I came across some of the letters of Elizabeth Macarthur, wife of John Macarthur, a junior officer who arrived with his family in Sydney in 1790.

Australian history, like most histories, is a bit light-on when it comes to women, because they left so little behind.  Even when they were educated enough to write letters or journals, those writings are bland, sedate things, suitable to be shared in any genteel parlour.  Women at that time had no choice but to be bland.  Without any power over any aspect of their lives, they were obliged to go along with a social and legal system that equated them with children.  They might have talked together about what they felt about that destiny, but none of them could risk putting it in writing.

Elizabeth Macarthur’s letters are no different.  She and John and their infant son landed in a new, raw, violent, hungry penal colony – a thousand convicts and a couple of hundred guards – six months’ sail from home.  Yet from her letters – unrevealing, cheery, impersonal – you’d never know any of that.

More interesting to me was what she wrote – or didn’t write – about her husband.  The son of a draper, John Macarthur had no prospects other than what he could make for himself, and in Sydney he lost no time in squeezing every drop of advantage out of the place and his position there.  His letters – far from bland and sedate – show him to have been a clever, ruthless bully, a dangerous man to cross, violent and unforgiving towards anyone who tried to go against him.

Yet from Elizabeth’s letters there’s not the faintest shadow of any of that.  Reading her letters, you’d think he was a kindly, cheerful, reasonable man beloved of all around him.  Either he was a completely different man at home, or her letters are beautiful lies.

Enter William Dawes, another junior officer in the Sydney of 1790.  Dawes emerges from the record as a very likeable man: warm, selfless, with great integrity. He was the colony’s resident astronomer and Elizabeth Macarthur asked him for lessons in “a few easy stars”.  However, stars turned out not to be as easy as she thought and, she says, “I mistook my abilities, and I blush at my error.”

I blush at my error! In the context of her otherwise bloodless letters, those five words blaze off the page with an unmistakable erotic charge.  Suddenly – for the only time in all the many pages she wrote – she’s a flesh-and-blood woman. What might have happened after Mrs Macarthur blushed?

Those five words are where this book started.  What they told me was that she wasn’t as bland and boring as her letters might suggest.  She lived – or at least wrote – behind a mask, and just for that one instant, the mask slipped.

A body of myth has grown around Elizabeth and John Macarthur.  Generations of schoolchildren have learned that John Macarthur more or less singlehandedly bred the Australian Merino sheep that until recently was the basis of our economy. All over Australia, streets and schools are named in his honour.  The myth about Elizabeth is that, when John was away in England for two long  periods, she kept the family sheep empire going, a loving, industrious, pious helpmeet to her husband.

The slipping of the mask gave me a way to sneak in behind the myth and explore something more interesting, and possibly more true.  The way I put it to myself was that Elizabeth Macarthur had written the fictional account of her life, in those bland letters.  I was going to write the non-fictional account, the truth that she couldn’t ever risk putting on paper.  It would take the form of her secret memoirs, hidden in a tin box tucked away in the roof of her house. I’d pretend that I’d found these memoirs, and that I was simply transcribing and publishing them.  The joke-within-a-joke would be that the story would be based on the real documentary record, and would even include quotes from Elizabeth Macarthur’s real letters.  Fact and fiction would overlap and allow a fictional woman of the past to do what would have been impossible for any real woman of that time: to put down in writing what she really thought.

It was an exciting project to try to give Elizabeth Macarthur the voice she could never have had.  She was a remarkable woman, to have managed the gigantic enterprise of the family business at a time when women were expected to be helpless and ignorant and stay at home with the children. She was on her own – for four years during her husband’s first absence, nine years the second – in a brutal society, yet she came to thrive. By the time Macarthur came back from that second absence, he was overwhelmed by mental illness, but the business his wife had managed so well was the richest in the colony.

But as I wrote, I realised that this was more than a book about an extraordinary woman.  It was about the dangerous power of false stories, false surfaces, myths, and the way they can erase the truth.  Women were not the only people whose voices were silenced.  In the Australian context, the other great silencing concerns the story of the Aboriginal people.  The accounts left by those early settlers are the only written accounts of that history, but as Elizabeth Macarthur warns us, Do not believe too quickly!

I travelled to Devon to research Elizabeth’s childhood, and spent many hours at Elizabeth Farm and other locations around Parramatta.  I drew on as many primary sources as I could find: the parish records of Bridgerule in Devon, archives in the State Library of NSW, Governors’ correspondence, and contemporary accounts of early Sydney.  A Room Made of Leaves had found its form and content by the time Michelle Scott Tucker’s biography of Elizabeth Macarthur was published, and I didn’t draw on that book in writing my own, but Michelle was helpful in advising me how to contact Macarthur descendants to let them know of the book (which I did as a courtesy to them). My reading of the primary sources has sometimes led me in a different direction from other writers about Elizabeth Macarthur.  But what I think we all share is admiration for that remarkable woman.

This book isn’t history. It’s fiction. But, like most historical fiction, it starts in the same place history does: in the record of the past left to us in documents, oral traditions, buildings, landscapes and objects.   Historians devise one kind of story from those sources.  Fiction writers devise another kind. Those sources are flawed, partial and ambiguous.  For that reason, the stories that come out of them, although starting in the same place, can end up very differently.  But what historians and writers of historical fiction have in common is an urge to understand that past: what it meant then, and perhaps more importantly, what it means now: for us, living in the world that’s been shaped by that past.

[2]  ‘Mines in the Spinifex: The Story of Mount Isa Mines’ by Geoffrey Blainey, published in 1960, 278 pages,  a very interesting read, and depiction of the various mistakes and miscalculations made in Mt Isa getting to where it is today [or at least in 1960, when the book was written].  In it, Geoffrey Blainey shows his lifelong skill as a writer of history.  As one reviewer wrote at the time of the book’s publication – ‘Amazing book. Blainey is such a great author! He combines dense information with literary poetics, making his histories fun and readable’..

Commentary on the book some years after it’s publication, it was noted that the development of Mt. Isa was formidable, akin in many ways to the mining of Grasberg…remote, extreme temperatures, extreme transport required, and a huge deposit. Since the book was written in the ’60s it leaves a lot of what is now long past history out. But it is interesting to note that Xstata owns it now, and is now actively mining what in the book were deposits of lower grade to be saved for the future. Most amazing about Isa are the decades that it took to become profitable and the type of men who despite all the odds keep believing in it and moving it forward, until it could become a mine with greater riches than Broken Hill. If only more money had been available to develop it early on, what a different story we would have, and perhaps another mining giant company born of it. (

Another reviewer described it as a thoroughly enjoyable and informative documentary of not only Mount Isa Mines, but also prospecting and mining in general in northern Australia (mainly in Queensland). Also a good historical account of associated business ,politics and unions from the ‘struggle years’, during which individual miners and small mining operations struggled to scrape together a meagre existence, up to the more prosperous years, following the discovery of more productive ore-bearing lodes and the transition to large scale operations. Highly recommended for those who love Australian history and are proud of our heritage, including the spirit and achievements of our pioneers.

I also recently read  ‘Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock, published in  2004, 280 pages  –  a bit of light reading in the midst of two somewhat heavier books I am was making my way through at the time. An intriguing story, set I believe in the backblocks of ‘poor’ America, and written through the eyes and words of an 8 year old girl, who feels the responsibility of protecting her 6 year old sister, Emma [who often seems much older than the story teller] and even trying to protect her indifferent mother, from the brutal attentions of their stepfather.  A story which has you wondering at the outcome, while all along, having a fairly good idea as to how it will end  – only to be way off course, with an unexpected twist, despite various vague clues along the way. I’ll say no more on that score, don’t want to spoil the storyline for potential readers.  A nice little read, albeit somewhat disturbing in view of the nature of the abuse by the stepfather, and the seeming disinterest of the mother to the welfare of her girls, or even of herself!

Here are three short reviews, which creates even more intrigue for the potential reader.;

[Goodreads]: The title characters in Me & Emma are very nearly photographic opposites–8-year-old Carrie, the raven-haired narrator, is timid and introverted, while her little sister Emma is a tow-headed powerhouse with no sense of fear. The girls live in a terrible situation: they depend on an unstable mother that has never recovered from her husband’s murder, their stepfather beats them regularly, and they must forage on their own for food.

Stop here and you have a story told many times before, as fiction and nonfiction in tales like Ellen Foster, or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings –stories in which a young girl reveals the horrors of her childhood. Me & Emma differentiates itself with a spectacular finish, shocking the reader and turning the entire story on its head. Through several twists and turns the reader learns that things are not quite the way our narrator led us to believe and everything crescendos in a way that (like all good thrillers) immediately makes you want to go back and read the whole book again from the start.

[Booktopia]:  Narrated with simplicity and unabashed honesty, Elizabeth Flock’s critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling novel Me & Emma is a vivid portrayal of a child’s indomitable spirit, her incredible courage and the heartbreaking loss of innocence
In many ways, Carrie Parker is like any other eight-year-old; playing make-believe, going to school, dreaming of faraway places. But even in her imagination, she can’t pretend away the hardships of her impoverished North Carolina home or protect her younger sister, Emma.
As the big sister, Carrie is determined to do anything to keep Emma safe from a life of neglect and abuse at the hands of their drunken stepfather,  abuse their momma can’t seem to see, let alone stop.it. After the sisters’ plan to run away from home unravels, Carrie’s world takes a shocking turn; and one shattering moment ultimately reveals a truth that leaves everyone reeling.

[Industry review]: “Me & Emma is really two stories in one: the page-turning events and how the reader reacts emotionally as he or she colors in the picture. I personally questioned how such young children could manage to survive this string of horrors unscathed. It is a tribute to Flock’s literary talent that she answers that silent question with her unexpected ending and without compromising the book’s complexity or tenor.”-

Finally, a look at the author of  ‘Mines in the Spinifex’.  Admittedly, I always maintained a close interest in his career, after a year as a student in his Economics History classes at the University of Melbourne, and have collected a number of his books.  The following little bio has been sourced from various publications.

Geoffrey Norman Blainey AC FAHA FASSA (born 11 March 1930) is an Australian historian, academic, philanthropist and commentator with a wide international audience. He is noted for having written authoritative texts on the economic and social history of Australia , including ‘The Tyranny of Distance’.  He has published over 35 books, including wide-ranging histories of the world and of Christianity. He has often appeared in newspapers and on television. He held chairs in economic history and history at the University of Melbourne  for over 20 years. In the 1980s, he was visiting professor of Australian Studies at Harvard University.  He received the 1988 Britannica Award for dissemination of knowledge and was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2000.

He was once described by Professor Graeme Davison as the “most prolific, wide-ranging, inventive, and, in the 1980s and 1990s, most controversial of Australia’s living historians”. He has been chairman or member of a wide range of Australian Government and other institutional councils, boards and committees, including the  Australia Council, the University of Ballarat, the Australia-China Council, the Commonwealth Literary Fund  and the Australian War Memorial.  He chaired the National Council for the Centenary of Federation.   His name sometimes appears in lists of the most influential Australians, past or present. The  National Trust lists Blainey as one of Australia’s “Living Treasures’  He currently serves on the boards of philanthropic bodies, including the Ian Potter Foundation  since 1991 and the Deafness Foundation Trust since 1993, and is patron of others.

Biographer  Geoffrey Bolton argues that Blainey has played multiple roles as an Australian historian:  ‘He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a pioneer in the neglected field of Australian business history…He produced during the 1960s and 1970s a number of surveys of Australian history in which explanation was organized around the exploration of the impact of the single factor (distance, mining, pre-settlement Aboriginal society)…. Blainey next turned to the rhythms of global history in the industrial period…. Because of his authority as a historian, he was increasingly in demand as a commentator on Australian public affairs’.

Educated at Ballarat High School, Blainey won a scholarship to Wesley College, before attending Melbourne University where he studied history. He worked as a freelance historical author writing mainly business histories such as The Peaks of Lyall; Gold and Paper; a History of the National Bank of Australasia; and Mines in the Spinifex. Blainey accepted a position at the University of Melbourne in 1962 in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce. He held the positions of Professor of Economic History (1968-77); Senior Lecturer 1962; and from 1977-1988 he occupied the Ernest Scott Chair of History at Melbourne University. Professor Blainey also held the chair of Australian studies at Harvard University.
Geoffrey Blainey was appointed the foundation Chancellor of the then University of Ballarat (UB) in 1993 after an illustrious career at the University of Melbourne. He was installed as UB Chancellor in December 1994 and continued until 1998. The Blainey Auditorium at the Mt Helen Campus of UB is named in his honour. Blainey, always a keen exponent of libraries and the acquisition of books, has donated part of his extensive book collection to the UB library

In 2000,.as noted above, Professor Blainey was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia for service to academia, research and scholarship, and as a leader of public debate at the forefront of fundamental social and economic issues confronting the wider community. At that time [at UB] the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Kerry Cox said ‘Geoffrey Blainey guided the new and inexperienced university through its first four years with a benevolent but firm hand. This time was challenging as the university strove to make a place for itself in higher education, grappled with funding cuts and the eventual merger with neighbouring TAFE institutes. For those at the university fortunate enough to work with Geoffrey Blainey during his time as Chancellor, they witnessed first hand his humility, and we are proud of his role in our history.’

In 2002 the degree of Doctor of Letters was conferred on Professor Blainey in recognition of his contribution to the University of Ballarat and the community in general. The same year Blainey donated a collection of material to the University of Ballarat. Included in this collection are historical books, papers and other material relating to the early history of mining and the central Victorian goldfields. A second generous donation of material was received in 2005. ‘The Geoffrey Blainey Mining Collection’.

As an economic historian, Blainey challenged the conventional view, questioning accepted contemporary understandings of European settlement of Australia as a convict nation, Aboriginal land rights, and Asian immigration. He is described as a ‘courageous public intellectual, a writer with rare grace and a master storyteller’. In a reassessment of the life of Blainey, ‘The Fuss that Never Ended’ considers his ideas, his role in Australian history, politics and public life, and the controversies that surrounded him. He was always popular with students. According to the Melbourne University home page ‘When Geoffrey Blainey spoke to final-year students in the Friends of the Baillieu Library HSC Lectures in the 1970s, the Public Lecture Theatre was packed to capacity and his audience carried copies of his books to be signed, a tribute to what Geoffrey Bolton characterised as his “skills in interpreting technological change in admirably lucid narratives that appealed to both specialist and non-specialist audiences”.  Among his most popular works are the ‘The Rush that Never Ended: A History of Australian Mining’; ‘The Tyranny of Distance’; ‘A Shorter History of Australia’; ‘A Short History of the World’; and ‘The Origins of Australian Football’……………………………………………

I occasionally read a magazine called ‘NEXUS’ [described as the ‘Alternative News Magazine] –   alternative indeed, often, quite difficult to interpret, even believe, sometimes quite scary in terms of the subject matter been explored and examined. I wonder at times how some of these ‘experts’ and ‘writers’ come to be able to, in some cases, spend their entire life trying to prove some aspect of fantasy science, occult powers, and general theories about life that most of us would consider far-fetched, and generally, conspiracies of one sort or another.

Having said that, I do find many of the magazine’s articles to be of interest, putting aside the fact of a natural born sceptic when it comes to out of this world theories,  and./or lack of clear understanding of what is been written up, if that makes sense!!  In a  recent edition, there was one example which illustrated those  conflictions [interest and vague understanding]  –  an article in it’s Science News section entitled ‘Radio Waves and Life  –  quoting an article previously published in ‘Popular Electronics’, where it was reported  by mainstream media in 1960 that strong evidence existed at that time, and as far back as the 1920s that life [human and otherwise] can detect, and be adversely affected by radio waves.

Or more easily followed, and of a personal interest, the ‘Qanats of Persia’ –  where the writer takes readers into the world of Persian  subterranean qanat technology, used by the ancients as a water transport system, and discusses its spread as far as Europe, Africa and Asia, enabling parched lands to be opened up for agriculture and trade. What a pity Australia has never managed to achieve anything of that nature on a large scale, as have many of the ‘so-called’ second and third world countries around the globe in the modern era?

Anyway, to the point of this contribution – another example of a direct personal interest –  from the Global News section of the magazine [August-September 2020], I copy below an article entitled ‘Ancient Aboriginal Artefacts found at Underwater Sites] [ as reprinted from the source of Flinders University, July 2020].

‘The first underwater Aboriginal archaeological sites have been discovered off northwest Australia, dating back thousands of years, when the current seabed was dry land.

An international team of archaeologisyts from Flinders University, the University of Western Australia, James Cook University, Airborne Research Australia and the University of York [UK] partnered with the  Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation  to locate and investigate ancient artefacts at two underwater sites which have yielded hundreds of stone tools made by Aboriginal peoples, including grinding stones.

In a study published in PLOS ONE, the ancient underwater sites , at Cape Bruguieres and Flying Foam Passage, provide new evidence of Aboriginal ways of life from when the seabed was dry land, due to lower sea levels, thousand of years ago.

The submerged cultural landscapes represent what is know today as Sea Country to many Indigenous Australians, who have a deep cultural, spiritual and historical connection to these underwater environments.

“Australia is a massive continent but few people realise that more than 30 per cent of its land mass was drowned by sea-level rise after the last ice age. This means that a huge amount of the archaeological evidence documenting the lives of Aboriginal people is now underwater”, saYS Associate Professor  Jonathan Benjamin, who is the Maritime  Archaeology Program Coordinator at Flinders University’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

“Now we finally have the first proof that at least some of the archaeological evidence survived the process of sea level rise.  The ancient coastal archaeology  is not lost for good; we just haven’t found it yet. These new discoveries are a first step towards exploring the last real frontier of Australian archaeology.”

The dive team mapped 269 artefacts at Cape Bruguieres in shall water at depths down to 2.4 metres below modern sea level. Radiocarbon dating and analysis of sea-level changes show the site is at least 7,000 years old.

The second site at Flying Foam includes an underwater freshwater spring 14 metres below sea level. This site is estimated to be at least 8,500 years old.

Both dates may be much older as the dates represent minimum ages only; they may be even more ancient.’  [Flinders University: 2 July, 2020]…………………

Next edition, we look at a couple more books read recently, and their authors!!

This is just a brief reference to a couple of small books recently read concerning fairly current historical events in two vastly different parts of the African continent –  one written by a Frenchman, and the second, from the experiences of a South Sudanese refugee. The contents of the second book, may prove quite disturbing to many readers, but unlike fiction, one cannot [or shouldn’t] hide from the reality of actual recent history, and pretend or ignore it didn’t happen.

.

The first of these is titled  –  ‘A Bookshop in Algiers’ by Kaouther Adimi’, translated by Chris Andrews from French, published in 2017, 146 pages.

To my own detriment perhaps, I’d really given little thought to the North African former French colony of Algeria, before picking up this little book –  a very thought provoking little story, to which I was initially attracted by the title [not surprisingly].  The story was quite tragic and disturbing in places, and did not install within me much favour towards the French, and their colonial treatment of Algeria, even as late as the tragic protests in Paris on the 17 October 1961.  Although admittedly, in many ways, some of the French reactions depicted, were little different from the attitudes of the English, and other European colonial powers over the past century or so.. Also disturbing was the reminder, that literature, books and writers have been so persecuted and ridiculed through the centuries by those who disagree with views expressed, etc.  Overall, though a small book, it provided me with an historical insight into a country I’d never given much thought to –   and encouraged me to learn so much more about that aspect of world history [if I have the time!!].

Algeria, after in ancient times being under Carthage and then Roman rule, was  conquered by the Arabs in the 7^th century, and about 800 years later, taken over by the Turks in 1518, with the country eventually becoming one of the Barbary pirate states. French conquest followed in 1830, and Algeria was declared French territory in 1848. A move towards nationalism after WWII led to much brutal fighting  in 1945-46, and then a further uprising in 1954 led to even more violence and bloodshed. French President De Gaulle promised self-determination for Algeria in 1960, but the French population rebelled, almost creating civil war, and the resulting revolt in 1961.

Much of the storyline in the book covers the period from the 1930s to this period of self-determination. A Bookshop in Algiers charts the changing fortunes of Charlot’s bookshop through the political drama of Algeria’s turbulent twentieth century of war, revolution and independence. It is a moving celebration of books, bookshops and of those who dare to dream.

A brief review from publishers, Allen & Unwin summarises, what the book is about
“A moving novel inspired by the true story of an extraordinary bookshop and the man who founded it..  A Bookshop in Algiers celebrates quixotic devotion and the love of books in the person of Edmond Charlot, who at the age of twenty founded Les Vraies Richesses (Our True Wealth), the famous Algerian bookstore/publishing house/lending library. He more than fulfilled its motto ‘by the young, for the young’, discovering the twenty-four-year-old Albert Camus in 1937. His entire archive was twice destroyed by the French colonial forces, but despite financial difficulties and the vicissitudes of wars and revolutions, Charlot carried forward Les Vraies Richesses as a cultural hub of Algiers.
A Bookshop in Algiers interweaves Charlot’s story with that of another twenty-year-old, Ryad, who is dispatched to the old shop in 2017 to empty it of books and repaint it. Ryad’s no booklover, but old Abdallah, the bookshop’s self-appointed, nearly illiterate guardian, opens the young man’s mind.  Cutting brilliantly from Charlot to Ryad, from the 1930s to current times, from WWII to the bloody 1961 Free Algeria demonstrations in Paris, Adimi delicately packs a monumental history of intense political drama into her swift and poignant novel. But most of all, it’s a hymn to the book and to the love of books.”

 

Our second book was ‘Father of the Lost Boys: A Memoir by Yuot. A. Alaak, published in 2020, 230 pages, written about a part of Africa which has always been close to my thoughts over the years –  Sudan and Ethiopia. Back in the early 2000’s, I was privileged to be a part of a small group of friends who assisted in the sponsorship of two young boys and two adults from refugee camps in the Sudan to Melbourne, greeting their arrival at Tullamarine Airport, and in later years, visiting the boys on a couple of occasions. In more recent times, I have wondered how those boys [now in their 20;s] have  made their way in Melbourne’s Sudanese society, which has so often been maligned due to the actions of a small minority of their race..

 

In this book, the worst of the actions of the human race are depicted. Back in the late 1980;s in that part of Africa – well, some of us may have read about events of those times [which in many ways continue today] or watched reports on TV, and I dare to say, in most cases, we quickly turned our minds to other matters and continued with, in the main, our comfortable and safe lives here in Australia.   This story reminds us of just how ‘lucky’ we really are!

Briefly, ‘Father of the Lost Boys’ is centred during the second Sudanese Civil War, when thousands of South Sudanese boys were displaced from their villages or orphaned in attacks by Northern “government”  troops, with many becoming refugees in Ethiopia.  When that nation’s government was subsequently overtaken [and supported by the North Sudanese government forces], those refugees, not just the boys but whole families, were forced to flee again, for their lives. In 1989, teacher and community leader Mecak Ajang Alaak [the father of the book’s author], himself a survivor of imprisonment and torture, assumed care of the Lost Boys as he sought to protect them from becoming child soldiers, and simply save their lives. He would spend the next four years leading the 20,000 Lost Boys out of Ethiopia back to Sudan [where most had fled from in the first place], and on to the supposed safety of the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya.   Together, those that survived, endured starvation, animal attacks, and the horrors of what was a determined policy of genocide that included landmines, ambushes and aerial bombardment.

 

From the pages of this book, a couple of quotations to perhaps illustrate just  ‘how lucky we are’ in Australia!!

• [The author as a an 8 year old child, fleeing to Ethiopia with his siblings and his mother] – “We spend the day under a tree in Anyidi. As evening approaches, we are told that since we don’t have a secure hut, we will have to sleep in the military compound guarded by soldiers. Hyenas and lions have been feeding on human flesh since the war started. They trail government troops, feeding on he corpses of massacred Southern villages. The adapt to hunt us, a far easier prey to catch than anything in the wild. We have moved up on their list of staple prey. Hyenas hunt in packs at night. They have almost annihilated some villages. Each night, packs roam on the outskirts of Anyidi. They search for doors left unsecured, or anyone foolish enough to step outside at night……………..The army compound lies at the centre of Anyidi. Hundreds of displaced persons sleep there each night. It is bare, open land encircled by a grass fence. If it rains, people must simply wait it out. We arrive as dusk approaches. Mum picks a spot at the centre of the compound. It is prime real estate – the safest spot. She verbally fights off several other mothers to keep it. There is little energy for a physical confrontation. As night falls, I am petrified. The howl of Hyenas is constant. It gets louder as they prowl closer to the centre of Anyidi. A lion’s roar rumbles. Gunfire rings out from surrounding villages. The roar of the beasts gets louder.  I hang onto Mum tightly through the long night….” [p.36-37]
• [The early stages of the trek from Ethiopia to Kenya, the author aged 10-11years, as Alaak attempts over many days to get thousands of boys, women and younger children over the flooded Gilo River to reach the border of Ethiopia and southern Sudan, with less than a dozen canoes at his disposal, and rebel forces closing in behind them]  –  “Before long, planes appear in the sky, and begin their attack. As bombs fall, I pray with hope and fear that Mum and Athok [my sister] are far enough that the artillery  shells from the direction of Gilo do not reach them. We step over the dead with no time to stop, no time to cry and certainbly no time to bury……Some of the shells tear into the jungle, killing wildlife. In this moment, hunter and hunted, we are all victims of war…………………….Even so, as we race towards Pochalla, lions, tigers, hyenas and African wild dogs continue to snatch babies from their mothers’ breasts, and attack the youngest and smallest of the Lost Boys. They prey on the elderly and the frail, as if they are a herd of zebras. Pythons constrict and swallow babies and children who are resting by the trackside with their exhausted mothers….. Slaughter was what the president of Sudan had ordered for his citizens in the south. The rebel soldiers mowed down refugees and Lost Boys with their bullets. Small boats loaded with machine gunners appeared on the river and opened fire on the refugees on the riverbank. The rebels fired at those already in the water trying to escape.  Bullets cut canoes and barges and their occupants into pieces. Women attempting to run with children on their backs were felled. Young children dived into the river but were snapped up by crocodiles, drawn by the smell of blood…………….When the shooting stopped, toddlers and babies were clinging to their dead mothers. Other little ones, separated from their mothers, crawled around in agony and shock. The bodies of Lost Boys were scattered along the river’s edge or were carried away in the water. The river was red with the blood of hundreds of innocent victims, most of them women and children……………My father takes the news very badly. Although he had managed an exodus of nearly twenty thousand Lost Boys, it is the loss of hundreds of lives that weighs on him…” [p. 101-103]

 

That latter quotation was taken from the very early stages of that 4 year trek  – and if readers get that far in the book, well, you may not feel like continuing. However, like so many similar stories, not just from within the African continent, but worldwide, they are aspects of history, and basically, man’s inhumanity to his fellow man, that we should never ignore, or pretend didn’t happen – well, while modern history suggests we don’t seem to have learned from the past, one can only hope, that maybe in the future, lessons can be learned  and heeded to. It’s difficult to be optimistic however.

 

I’ll conclude with reference to a recent television report, and specifically to the aspects of the story referred to the foregoing quotations.

As reported on an SBS news feature earlier in June, this eyewitness account by Mecak Ajang Alaak’s son, Yuot, is the extraordinary true story of a man who never ceased to believe that the pen is mightier than the gun.  Aged 76 years, a towering figure of a man,  Alaak now lives in a suburb of Perth, WA.. Mr Alaak’s mind is a lifetime away. Thirty years ago, in Pinyudu refugee camp in Ethiopia, he was responsible for the education of around 16,000 displaced youth from southern Sudan. “I was a teacher, and the role of a teacher is to educate the people and the community,” he told SBS News recently. “That was the role that I saw, to help these children to have a future.”  Mr Alaak had been a headmaster at a secondary school in Sudan before the country was plunged into its second civil war in 1983. Like many others, he fled to Ethiopia. As Pinyudu camp’s director of education, he was given responsibility for the schooling of ‘lost boys’, thousands of youths who had been displaced by war.   “The children were in a war where they might be attracted to be child soldiers, but my aim was to have the education for them. That is why I say ‘the pen is mightier than the gun’. I wanted to draw them away from the war,” he said..

Mr Alaak’s son, Yuot A. Alaak, who also now lives in Western Australia, was 11 years old when, in 1990, he joined his father and thousands of lost boys on a perilous march from Ethiopia through southern Sudan.

“We basically left in the wet season, it was raining so we walked through the mud. A lot of the boys were attacked by wild animals and eaten along the way. Some fell and broke bones,” Yuot, 41, recalls.

After several days of walking, the group made it to the crocodile-infested banks of the Gilo River on the border between Ethiopia and Sudan. On the other side lay the relative safety of Pochalla, a South Sudanese garrison town occupied by soldiers from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.

“Once we reached Gilo, the river had swelled during the rainy season. It was flooded, but Dad managed to take canoes from the soldiers and he used that to get as many boys across as he could,” Yuot says.

As thousands lined up and waited to cross the river, a group of Ethiopian rebels attacked, in what has come to be known as ‘the Gilo massacre’.

“Dad lost hundreds of boys that day, some were shot as they jumped into the river, or drowned while they were trying to reach the other side.”

The survivors made it across the river to Pochalla, but they arrived emaciated and faced more starvation

 

Next time we are quick to criticise the South Sudanese refugee communities [or refugees from other parts of the world], perhaps it may be wise to keep in mind that they and/or their families most likely were a part of the kind of stories depicted in this little book by a man and his father who lived through the worst of a genocidal situation…..

 

 

 

I thought I’d try this through my WordPress medium, maybe someone out there might happen to come across it, and the contents touch a cord  😊 .

Three separate queries relating to the same family from Scotland

1. Robert Kirk [1746-1820] and Helen Somerville [1755 – ?]

They had , as far as I’m aware , four children  –

• Ebenezer Kirk [c 1780- c 1841] married Isobel King [1776-1851], had James, Helen, Catherine, James & Ebernezer;
• Margaret Kirk [c 1782 –  ], married Andrew Keltie, had at least 2 children, Andrew & Helen;
• James Kirk, married a Margaret Drummond; and
• William Kirk [my ancestor].

I’m seeking contact with family descendents of Ebenezer, Margaret & James.

 

2. William Kirk [1773-1858] and Margaret Littlejohn [1775 – 1855].

They had  nine children.

• Ann Kirk [1800 -1883] married James Miller , had Charlotte, Margaret & William;
• Helen Kirk [1801-1875] married David Robertson, had 9 children;
• Robert Kirk [1802 – 1838] married Elizabeth McLean had William, Alexander & Helen;
• John Kirk [my ancestor];
• Margaret Kirk [1808 – ] married Peter Sangster [c 1799-1871], had at least 6 children, David, William, Margaret, Robert, Ann & John.;
• James Somerville Kirk [1810-1859] married Elizabeth Gibb [c1810-1866], had William, Elizabeth, James & Helen;
• Jean Kirk [1813 – ], married ? Duncan McDonald, and children were Peter, Elizabeth, Christian, Alexander, James & Catherine;
• William Kirk [1814-1837];
• Francis Kirk [1817 – ]

I’m seeking contact with family descendants of Ann, Robert, Margaret, Jean, William and Francis [not sure if the last two ever married].

3. John Kirk [1805-1866] and Elizabeth Welsh [1804-1865]

They had six children.

• William Kirk [my ancestor];
• John Kirk [1802 –  ?] married ? Isabella Law, possibly at least 2 children, Margaret and Mary [details not confirmed];
• Isabella Kirk [1834-1863] married [1] Henry Albeury [1830 – ], had Joseph and John; and [2] William Dalgliesh [1841 –   ], had William, George & Isabella;
• Margaret Kirk [1837-1914] married George Ross [1835-1878], had 8 children – they were Elizabeth, William, George, Isabella, James, Margaret, Elizabeth, and Louisa;
• James Smith Kirk [1839-1908] married Jessie Douglas [1839-1908], had 5 children, Jessie, Robert, John, Margaret & a 3^rd
• Elizabeth Kirk [1842 – 1891] married James Christopher Shearing [1839-1920], and they had 11 children named James Christopher, Elizabeth Isabella, Thomas Smith, Julia, Albert Edward, William Kirk, George Thomson, Margaret Ethel, Samuel Charles, Maude Eleanor, & Charles.

I’m seeking contact with family descendants of John [in particular], Elizabeth, Isabella, Margaret, and James Smith Kirk.

I can be contacted directly on email at billjkirk5358@gmail.com

addressed to Bill  🙂

 

When I was studying at the University of Melbourne back in the early 1970’s, one of the most memorable and impressionable lecturers was Professor Geoffrey Blainey, the noted Australian historian. His subject for my purposes was Economic History, and for what might seem to  many readers to be a rather dry topic, Blainey had a way of creating a certain fascination for the subject, particularly on such occasions,  as the excursion on one occasion, when he led us students to a site somewhere to the east of Ballarat, searching for Aboriginal artifacts. This ‘creative’ ability to make a ‘dry’ subject interesting, is also expressed in many of his books, a number of which I have read.

From one Wikipedia source, we read that –  “Geoffrey Norman Blainey AC FAHA FASSA (born 11 March 1930) is an Australian historian, academic, philanthropist and commentator with a wide international audience. He is noted for having written authoritative texts on the economic and social history of Australia, including The Tyranny of Distance..  He has published over 35 books, including wide-ranging histories of the world and of Christianity. He has often appeared in newspapers and on television. He held chairs in economic history and history at the University of Melbourne for over 20 years.  In the 1980s, he was visiting professor of Australian Studies at Harvard University. . He received the 1988 Britannica Award for dissemination of knowledge and was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2000.  He was once described by Professor Graeme Davison as the “most prolific, wide-ranging, inventive, and, in the 1980s and 1990s, most controversial of Australia’s living historians”

On the question of controversy –  “Blainey has, at times, been a controversial figure too. In the 1980s, he queried the level of Asian immigration to Australia and the policy of multiculturalism in speeches, articles and a book All for Australia. He was said by leftist critics to be closely aligned  with the former Liberal-National Coalition government of John Howard in Australia, with Howard shadowing Blainey’s conservative views on some issues, especially the view that Australian history has been hijacked by social liberals [the so-called ‘History  or Culture Wars’].    As a result of these stances, Blainey is sometimes associated with right-wing politics.^[  Blainey himself is a member of no political party”……….

From my reckoning, Geoffrey Blainey has published 51 books  from ‘The Peaks of Lyell’ [1954] to ‘Before I Forget [2019], together with countless shorter publications, newspaper and magazine articles, etc,  –  principally on the history and other aspects of a broad genre of subjects ranging from histories of Australia, Victoria, the world, Mt Isa mines, Christianity,  Australian mining, Camberwell, University of Melbourne, Wesley Colleger, the rise of Broken Hill,  the origins of Australian football, the NAB, Captain Cook  – the list goes on!! Probably the book he is best known for was ‘The Tyranny of Distance: How Distance Shaped Australia’s History’.  First published in 1966, the book examines how Australia’s geographical remoteness, particularly from its colonizer Great Britain, has been central to shaping the country’s history and identity and will continue to shape its future. The long distance between Australia and its colonial forebears in Europe, and also the United States, made Australians unsure of their future economic prosperity.

Geoffrey Blainey is now 89, and some might suggest he is still creating controversy, as for example with an article published in August this year in the ‘Australian’ newspaper,  headed ‘Too easy to be an Aussie: Blainey” [Historian’s Citizenship Stance].  I copy that article in full for the interest of readers…………………………………….

“Noted historian Geoffrey Blainey believes Australia gives away citizenship too easily, and that it creates a problem for our democracy.

Professor Blainey told a Sydney audience on Wednesday night  ‘Why should someone who has been in the country two or three years and does not know the language or the common discourse, why should they necessarily have a vote, if voting is compulsory?’

Last night, speaking from his Melbourne home, the 89-year old said that the right to vote was ‘quite a difficult responsibility if you know very little about the society and the language of the society. After all, democracy is government by discussion and not to have the common language limits your ability to take part in that debate and take responsibility for what happens in an election.

‘Once you accept the idea that everyone can vote, you are really downgrading democracy because you are really saying that it doesn’t matter if it is hit or miss, it doesn’t matter if a considerable proportion of the population, whether they’re native-born or not, it doesn’t matter if they know what they’re talking about or not.’

Professor Blainey said that compulsory voting was now widely favoured in Australia, and would probably not be abolished.

‘But we have to be wary of our tradition of compelling adults to vote on election day, especially when many know little or nothing about the national questions they are asked to vote upon’ he said. ‘That custom makes light of democracy.’

Professor Blainey’s initial comment was in answer to a question at a Sydney Institute event celebrating his new memoir ‘Before I Forget’, which covers his life until the age of 40.

Last night, he did not resile from his answer, but admitted to being concerned about sparking a controversy – although he has commented on the issue many times in the past.

‘I am concerned, it’s very difficult to take part in these debates’, he said. ‘But when people ask you a question you’re almost honour-bound to try to answer them.’

Professor Blainey told the audience that governing in a democracy was difficult and he would not be surprised if democracies did not exist in 100 years’ time.

‘Democracy depends not only on having parliamentarians but on 15 to 20 per cent of the population [taking responsibility for democracy],’ he said. ‘It depends on that segment of the population but I think that segment is diminishing. I remain optimistic but I remain wary in assuming that democracy will go on and on.’

Professor Blainey recalled that he invented the phrase, the ‘black armband’ view of history in the early 1990s to explain the change in approach to writing history. People had seen the phrase as anti-Aboriginal but it was ‘in no way anti-Aboriginal’. When he was younger, Australian history had been very congratulatory but later people felt ashamed.

‘They felt the treatment of the environment was terrible and in some ways, it was,’ he said. ‘Aborigines, contrary to the statements that they made [at Welcome to Country ceremonies] were not really custodians of the land. No human being can be custodian of the land. Nature is infinitely stronger than human beings.

Professor Blainey said the phrase ‘the history wars’ was exaggerated because all forms of intellectual activity involved debates ‘in which friendships are broken. History was full of disagreements, but in Australia, far more than in other countries such as the UK, history was an important arbiter in current topics such as the republic issue.

‘All the major questions have a very strong historical component. That is especially true of Australia at the moment and especially true of Aborigines and their way of life and Europeans and their way of life,’ he said.

‘The saddest thing is not that the debate takes place but that important areas of evidence are not even considered safe to investigate, and that is wrong.’

In Aboriginal.European issues there was clear-cut evidence that was regarded’as out of bounds’ because one side would not look at it.

‘We hear again and again people say it’s terrible that Aborigines were not considered worth counting in the Census,’ he said.

‘I looked up the Censuses since 1901 and there have been more Censuses that count Aborigines than count other Australians. How can you possibly allow a heresy like this to be undiscussable?  That’s when the history war becomes a war rather than a serious discussion of the facts.’

However, Professor Blainey said his view was Australia was a ‘success story’.  ‘[There] are many failings but Australia, by and large, is a success story and that’s why we have such an immigration border-protection problem,’ he said………………………….

[From the ‘Australian’ newspaper, 2 August, 2019, written by Helen Trinca].

Now admittedly, that article strayed from the nature of the way in which the article was initially headed [an easy way to attract attention to a piece of writing that might otherwise be ignored, with a leading ‘controversial’ statement].  However, I’d just make one reflection on the area where Professor Blainey comments on the question of people seeking citizenship and with it the right to vote, while not really being qualified for either because they know little or nothing about the national questions, or the language,  on which they are asked to vote or acknowledge in the relevant ceremony.  I wonder just how many ‘native’ Australians [Indigenous and non-indigenous] really have much idea themselves about the ‘debates’ and national questions that they are asked to vote on –  how many just blindly follow the way their fathers voted, or simply vote because they have to, without giving any consideration at all to policy issues, etc?

 

The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men’s national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 that it did not occur in the same year as the FIFA World Cup (which was held the previous year). The group stage was expanded from 24 to 32 teams.

The tournament also acted as qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which took the top two teams from each of the Americas and Europe, and the top team from each of Africa, Asia and Oceania, alongside the tournament’s host China. Czech Republic and Montenegro made their first appearance as an independent nations after previously being part of Czechoslovakia and Serbia and Montenegro, while Poland made its return to the FIBA Basketball World Cup for the first time since 1967.

In a lead-up to the tournament, Team USA played two exhibition matches against Australia, in  Melbourne, the weekend before the World Cup began

MELBOURNE (Australia) [23-25 August] – Australia fell short in round one of their preparation games series against Team USA, but they made up for it in their second encounter, with prolific guard Patty Mills basking in the spotlight. Mills dropped 30 points on Team USA as the Boomers prevailed, 98-94, today at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne in front of more than 52,000 fans. It was a terrific bounce-back win for the home team, which lost to the Americans in their first meeting, 102-86.

The World Cup is a week away, and the United States is no lock for gold. Australia delivered that message to the world on Saturday. How prophetic that would be!! For the first time in nearly 13 years, a U.S. roster of NBA players played an international game – and lost. Patty Mills scored 30 points, and Australia rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to stun the Americans 98-94 and snap a 78-game U.S. winning streak that started with the bronze-medal game at the 2006 world championships.  “They wanted it more than us tonight,” U.S. guard Kemba Walker said. “Lesson learned for us.”

It was the first loss for the U.S. in a major international tournament or exhibition since the 2006 world championship semifinals against Greece. The Americans won the bronze there, then were unbeaten through the cycles for the 2007 FIBA Americas, 2008 Olympics, 2010 World Cup, 2012 Olympics, 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.  Add all that up, along with wins over Spain and Australia with this team, and it was a 78-game winning streak for the U.S. – the longest in program history……………………And it’s now over.  “It was awesome,” Mills said.

The competing teams for the World Cup  separated into 8 first round groups

GROUP A:  Cote d’Ivoire; Poland; Venezuela,  China;

GROUP B:  Russia; Argentina; Korea; Nigeria;

GROUP C:  Spain; Iran; Puerto Rico; Tunisia;

GROUP D:  Angola; Philippines; Italy; Serbia;

GROUP E:  Turkey; Czech Republic; USA; Japan;

GROUP F:  Greece; New Zealand; Brazil; Montenegro;

GROUP G:  Dominican Republic; France; Germany; Jordan;

GROUP H:  Canada; Senegal; Lithuania; Australia;

Comments and reports which follow are generally taken from the FIBA Basketball World Cup web site reports, unless otherwise indicated..

FIRST ROUND 31/8 -5/9/2019

 Saturday, 31^st August

Serbia defeated Angola 105-59;

Poland defeated Venezuela 80-69

Russia defeated Nigeria 82-77

Iran vs Puerto  Rico defeated Iran 83-81;

Italy defeated Philippines 108-62;

China defeated Cote d’Ivoire 70-55;

Argentina defeated Korea 95-69;

Spain defeated Tunisia 101-62;

Sunday, 1^st September

Australia defeated Canada 108-92;

Brazil defeated New Zealand 102-94;

Turkey defeated Japan 86-67;

Dominican Republic defeated Jordan 80-76;

Lithuania defeated Senegal 101-47;

Greece defeated Montenegro 85-60;

Czech Republic vs USA defeated Czech Republic 88-67;

France defeated Germany 78-74;

 Monday, 2^nd September

Italy defeated Angola 92-61

Venezuela defeated Cote d’Ivoire 87-71;

Argentina defeated Nigeria 94-81;

Tunisia defeated Iran 79-67;

Serbia defeated Philippines 126-67

Poland defeated China 79-76

Russia defeated Korea 87-73

Spain defeated Puerto Rico 73-63

Tuesday 3^rd September

Australia defeated Senegal  81-68

New Zealand defeated Montenegro 93-83

Czech Republic defeated Japan 89-76

Dominican Republic defeated Germany 69-67

Lithuania defeated Canada 92-69

Brazil defeated Greece 79-78

USA defeated Turkey 93-92

France defeated Jordan 103-64

DONGGUAN, China — That didn’t go as planned. It wasn’t pretty, but the Boomers picked up their second win of the tournament, edging Senegal 81-68. Joe Ingles was at his playmaking best, falling one assist shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, while Patty Mills took over the second half, scoring 17 of his 22 points after the main break.  The outcome for the Australian Boomers was what they and the basketball community expected, but the way they got it was surprising, to say the least.

Senegal was coming off a 54-point loss to Lithuania, but the Boomers were only able to defeat them 81-68, in a game that would’ve had Australian fans worried during several portions of it. Patty Mills led the way for Australia with 20 points, while Joe Ingles had a near triple-double; 17 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. The win puts Australia at the top of Group H, if only temporarily, because Lithuania is facing Canada later in the evening. If Lithuania wins, then they’ll join the Boomers as the two teams through to the next phase. The top-two teams from Group H will move on to Group L, where they’ll form a new foursome that includes the best pair of teams from Group G. The likelihood is that those two teams will be France and Germany, with both points and points differential carrying over from the first group phase, into the second one.  Youssoupha Ndoye finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Senegal, who remain winless in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Wednesday, 4^th September

Angola defeated Philippines 84-81

Poland defeated Cote d’Ivoire 80-63

Nigeria defeated Korea 108-66

Puerto Rico defeated Tunisia 67-64

Serbia defeated Italy 92-77

Venezuela defeated China 72-59

Argentina defeated Russia 69-61

Spain defeated Iran 73-65

Thursday, 5^th September

Canada defeated Senegal 82-60

Brazil defeated Montenegro 84-73

Czech Republic defeated Turkey 91-76

Germany defeated Jordan 96-62

Australia defeated Lithuania 87-82

Greece defeated New Zealand 103-97

USA defeated Japan 98-45

France defeated Dominican Republic 90-56

DONGGUAN (China) – Australia confirmed the top honors in Group H with a solid all-around performance against Lithuania and a Patty Mills dagger late in the game. It finished 87-82, with both teams moving on to Group L for the Second Round.

Australia enjoyed a double digit lead for most of the game, but an 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter saw Lithuania get in front. The Boomers scored their first field goal of the fourth quarter with just 3:30 left on the game clock, and that allowed them to stop the rot and stay attached.

In the closing minutes, it was all about the one-two punch of Patty Mills and Aron Baynes. Mills hit the biggest shot of the game, while Baynes played his best game for the national team in the World Cup, with 21 points and 13 rebounds. He turned into a shooter, too – Baynes was only 1-of-3 from the three-point range in his previous 25 games at the World Cup and the Olympics, but scored 3-of-5 against Lithuania on Thursday.

Australia are a 3-0 team ahead of their  Round Two duels with France and the Dominican Republic, meaning they are an inch away from the Quarter-Finals. For Lithuania, they now know that they will most probably have to go 2-0 in the Second Round to reach elite eight status.

SECOND ROUND 6/9 -9/9/2019

Friday 6^th Sept

Poland defeated Russia 79-74

Nigeria defeated Cote d’Ivoire 83-66

Iran defeated Angola 71-62

Serbia defeated Puerto Rico 90-47

Argentina defeated Venezuela 87-67

China defeated Korea 77-73

Tunisia defeated Philippines 86-67

Spain defeated Italy 67-60

Saturday 7^th Sept

New Zealand defeated Japan 111-81

Australia defeated Dominican Republic 82-76

Canada defeated Jordan 126-71

Brazil vs Czech Republic defeated Brazil 93-71

Turkey defeated Montenegro 79-74

France defeated Lithuania 78-75

Germany defeated Senegal 89-78

USA defeated Greece 69-53

 BEIJING (China) – Two more teams advanced to the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup  with Australia and France confirming their entries and joining Poland, Argentina, Spain and Serbia in the Final Round of the competition.

Australia eked out a close 82-76 decision over the Dominican Republic to remain unbeaten in four games while France survived a thrilling 78-75 victory over Lithuania that came down to the wire.

After leading for most of the game, France had to stave off a furious rally from their European rivals which even saw Lithuania taking a 72-70 lead with 3:10 left. Nando De Colo delivered the finishing touch for France with a clutch game-winning basket. Australia and France will face each other to dispute the top spot in Group L for a better placing in the Quarter-Finals bracket.

The only remaining group with tickets up for grabs is Group K, with Czech Republic opening it up for everyone with a massive 93-71 victory against the previously unbeaten Brazil to tie their fallen foes in the standings with an identical 3-1 win-loss cards.

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated matchup between defending champions USA and the Giannis Antetekounmpo-led Greece provided an entertaining affair with the defending World Cup champions taking a 69-53 victory.

In the Classification Round 17-32, New Zealand dominated a Rui Hachimura-less Japan to the tune of a 111-81 win and get their second win of the tournament, while Turkey bounced back from a mediocre start to beat Montenegro, 79-74.

Both the Tall Blacks and 12 Giant Men sport 2-2 records and will play it out among themselves for the top spot of Group O.

In Group P action, Canada overpowered a hapless Jordan side with a 126-71 victory and tied Serbia for most assists in a game with 37, the highest total since the 1994 World Cup while Germany outclassed Senegal 89-78, setting up a battle for top honors win the group with Canada.

These Australian Boomers just can’t seem to put their proverbial foot on the throat of those less-talented teams. We saw it against Senegal in the first phase of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and it reared its head again against the Dominican Republic. Australia managed to walk away with an 82-76 win, but it wasn’t as easy as perhaps it should have been.  “Obviously 4-0 is the key,” Joe Ingles said after the win.  “You wanna win games; that’s the end goal. There’s patches of games we need to get better at. End of the game there, we could stop those free throws; little things like that can cost you a game. A little bit of those things that we can look at, watch some film, and get better at. But, overall, we obviously wanna keep winning, and we’ve been doing that.”

On the flip-side, we’ve seen time and time again when Andrej Lemanis’ team finds that second tier when they’re up against elite teams. It happened against Lithuania in Dongguan, and, naturally, Boomers fans will be the team’s Monday night game against France follows the same trend. “We obviously prepare for every team the same way,” Ingles said, on if Australia plays better against more talented opponents. “We don’t disrespect anyone; we go in and do the same thing.

It was Patty Mills who led the way for the now 4-0 Australians, posting 19 points and nine assists; while Chris Goulding came off the bench for 15 points. With the win, Australia knocked the Dominican Republic out of finals contention, and it was clear that they were playing with everything on the line. “They were playing for their World Cup survival tonight,” Lemanis said of the Dominicans. Eloy Vargas led the way for Nestor Garcia’s team with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Victor Liz finished with 14 points.

Matthew Dellavedova opened the game with a three, setting the tone for the Boomers, but the Dominicans wouldn’t back down. Liz and Vargas found easy scores to keep the game within arm’s reach, trailing just 24-19 at the end of the first quarter. As much as the Boomers tried to step on their opponent’s throat, with an eye toward jumping out to a significant lead, the Dominican Republic grinder their way into staying in the game.

Sunday 8^th September

Russia defeated Venezuela 69-60

Korea defeated Cote d’Ivoire 80-71

Tunisia defeated Angola 86-84

Italy defeated Puerto Rico 94-89

Argentine defeated Poland 91-65

Nigeria defeated China 86-73

Iran defeated Philippines 95-75

Spain defeated Serbia 81-69

Monday 9^th September

Montenegro defeated Japan 80-65

Lithuania defeated Dominican Republic 74-55

Jordan defeated Senegal 79-77

Greece defeated Czech Republic 84-77

New Zealand defeated Turkey 102-101

Australia defeated France 100-98

Germany defeated Canada 82-76

USA defeated Brazil 89-73

NANJING (China) – In a battle between two heavyweights of the basketball world, Australia outdueled France with a heart-stopping 100-98 victory to take the top spot in Group L heading into the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019. In a thrilling back and forth game that featured 15 lead changes, 17 ties on scoreboard and no one giving an inch, Patty Mills rose to the occasion with a clutch steal to deliver the win to the Boomers. Down by one, 99-98 with 4.4 seconds left, France had a chance to win the game, but Mills’ phenomenal defensive play saved the day for Australia.  The game displayed tremendous shooting from both sides with Australia and France delivering 58 percent and 57 percent respectively in a highly entertaining game

Turning Point: In a game as close as this one, there wasn’t a bigger play than Mills’ steal that sealed the win. Mills is used to making  a living on the offensive side of the ball, but the sharpshooting guard showed his determination to tow the Boomers to the top of their Second Round group.

TCL Player of the Game:  Aside from his defensive gem, Mills continued his offensive brilliance, exploding for a team-high 30 points. Mills has scored 19+ points in his last four games with Australia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. He scored 19+ points in only one occasion in his first seven games in the competition.

Stats Don’t Lie: Both teams were hot from the outside but France could not keep up with Australia long-range barrage, hitting a scorching 13-of-27 shooting from the outside. It was a three-headed attack from the Boomers side with Mills, Aron Baynes and Joe Ingles combining for 74 points out of the 100 scored by Australia.

Bottom Line: Australia further solidified their status as one of the contenders of the Naismith trophy after a thrilling win over a tough France squad who was previously unbeaten in their first four games. The Boomers will face second-placer of Group K, Czech Republic, while France have a rendezvous with USA in the Quarter-Finals..

QUARTER-FINALS  10/9/2019

Argentina defeated Serbia  97-87

Spain defeated Poland 90-78

QUARTER-FINALS  11/9/2019

France defeated USA 89-79

Australia defeated Czech Republic 82-70

SHANGHAI (China) – Czech Republic kept things close for two quarters before Australia turned up the jets and ran away with an 82-70 Quarter-Finals win at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. Behind the superb playmaking of Tomas Satoransky and the scoring of Patrik Auda, Czech Republic gave Australia all they could handle for about 25 minutes, but the Boomers just blew the game open, pulled away when coach Andrej Lemanis’ players shifted into high gear to keep their foes at bay. Patty Mills, Chris Goulding and Andrew Bogut carried Australia in this game, combining to score 43 points for Australia, who booked their sixth win in a row at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019. Czech Republic, meanwhile, drew 21 points from Patrik Auda and a sublime performance from Tomas Satoransky, who tallied 13 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds, narrowly missing a rare triple-double.

Turning Point: Things continued to be tight in the third quarter with the game last tied at 43-all, but that’s when Australia began to roll, outscoring the Czechs, 25-5, for the remainder of the period to take a commanding 63-48 lead into the fourth. Czech Republic would not go down without a fight, cutting the lead to 8 points, but that was as close as it would get.

TCL Player of the Game: Mills was his usual brilliant self in this game, shooting 9-of-15 from the field en route to a game-high 24 points. He also added 6 assists and 4 rebounds while also landing six bombs from beyond the arc. With Mills shooting so well, Australia were just too good against the upstart Czechs.

Stats Don’t Lie: Czech Republic experimented with a small-ball combination in the second half, and it bit them hard as Australia dominated the glass. In total, the Boomers outrebounded their opponents, 41-34, and had more second chance points, 14-2. Australia also forced five more turnovers from the Czechs, scoring 25 points off these errors.

Bottom Line: Australia qualified World Cup Semi-Finals for the first time ever and have a great chance to add even more to their already historic campaign if they advance to the Final. To do that, however, they’ll have to topple mighty Spain in Beijing on September 13.

Czech Republic, meanwhile, had an inspired run here at the World Cup but saw it come to an end in Shanghai at the hands of a bigger and deeper Boomers quintet. Now they are assured of a spot in next year’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and are going to shoot for as high a finish as possible in the Classification Round.

CLASSIFICATION GAMES 5-8:  12/9/2019

Serbia defeated USA 94-89

Czech Republic defeated Poland 94-84

SEMI FINALS:  13/9/2019

Spain defeated Australia 95-88

Argentina defeated France 80-66

 I was a bit disappointed with the reaction of at least one Australian player, as reported below from ‘The Guardian’, Australia – the Boomers had numerous opportunities in the closing stages –  they simply failed to score when they should have, and their turnovers just kept coming – on that performance, certainly towards the end of the match, Spain fully deserved their win.
Nevertheless, we copy the following report.

“Andrew Bogut will likely be investigated for a foul-mouthed post-game spray while Boomers assistant coach Luc Longley was also fuming after the Europeans beat Australia 95-88 in a double overtime World Cup semi-final heartbreaker. Spain trailed by 11 against the Boomers in Beijing but, just like in the Rio Olympic bronze medal game three years ago, rallied and went ahead courtesy of a dubious foul – on Bogut – in the final seconds.

Spain won that match by one but this time Patty Mills (34 points) had the chance to get one back for Australia when he went to line with four seconds on the clock down by one. But his second free-throw bobbled out and Ricky Rubio’s long heave just missed to force overtime.  Matthew Dellavedova’s desperate floater on the buzzer clanged out to send teams into a second extra period, where Marc Gasol (33 points) and Rubio (19 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists) steered their si

A “furious” Boomers team surged through the media mixed zone post-game, Bogut yelling “Google where headquarters of f……g Fiba is … it’s a f……g disgrace”.  On court Bogut had earlier flashed a money signal with his hands after the foul that helped put Spain ahead, and he is likely to face investigation and a fine ahead of Sunday’s bronze medal game against either France.  His comments were curious, given Fiba headquarters are in Switzerland.

Sunday will be Longley’s fourth bronze medal game, having played in two and coached in one already, the most recent in eerily similar circumstances against the same opponent in Rio.  “We’ve got to find an altar somewhere and burn a sacrifice to the basketball gods, because they’re not kissing us on the dick yet, like they do Spain,” he said. “I feel like Spain are kissed on the dick by the basketball gods every time we play them.  “It’s gut-wrenching for the guys; they’ve been so fucking good, so consistent and played so hard and I felt like they deserved to win that and it doesn’t feel like that’s the right result.”  Australia did have their moments though, with Mills’ free-throw somehow rimming out and 22 turnovers a constant olive branch to a Spain side that shot at just 31% in the second half. Dellavedova’s attempted match-winner looked good too, before it bounced out and he was forced out of the second overtime period with cramps. Nick Kay was enormous for Australia off the bench, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 boards as the Boomers grabbed a staggering 20 offensive rebounds. “They’re furious, crushed. .. it’s very quiet in there and it stings in lots of ways, not least of which is that’s the team we lost to in Rio,” Longley said. “It’s not the time to start pointing fingers and spitting dummies; we’ve got to reload.”

CLASSIFICATION GAMES 5-8:  14/9/2019

For 7^th -8th

USA defeated Poland 87-74

For 5^th – 6th

Serbia defeated Czech Republic 90-81

BRONZE MEDAL FINAL

France defeated Australia 67-59

Another disappointment for the Boomers – their 12^th World Cup appearance, previous best was 5^th, today’s loss, means they finished 4^th. Meanwhile, at the Olympic Games level, Australia’s best has been also 4^th – four times.

BEIJING (China) – For the second straight World Cup, France finished  third, and that just makes them hungrier to bring home more valuable silverware in the future.  Les Bleus finished among the top three teams five years ago in Spain right behind champions USA and second-place Serbia, and they duplicated that feat here in China, beating Australia in their final game to bring bronze medals home once more.  That’s all well and good, of course, but the French knew this was one of the best opportunities to take the next step, and they’ve resolved to take everything they’ve learned here to improve in the next big tournament.

 Meanwhile, for the Boomers, it happened again. The Australian Boomers are still medal-less.

It was the same story, too, and in more ways than one. Their downfall was turnovers, something that had plagued them for the entire 2019 FIBA World Cup. The outcome: fourth place, a result that’s haunted this program since day dot.  Just like their semi-final game against Spain, the Boomers abandoned a double-digit lead to France, suffering a 67-59 loss that’s become their unfortunate signature.  Patty Mills capped off his impressive tournament with 15 points, while Joe Ingles’ 17 points perhaps came a day too late; the French leaving China with bronze medals. Apart from Mitch Creek’s appearance at the mandatory press conference, the Australian players went straight to the locker rooms and left the arena without talking with the media.

The Australians left with their hands empty, and that’s not just because of the 19 turnovers.  “Some of it is, now, just ensuring that we’re really tight in offensive and defensive schemes when we get in those crunch situations; where we’re gonna go to,” Andrej Lemanis, the Boomers’ head coach, told the Australian media of where the team goes from here.  “Particularly when we’re fatigued. I thought obviously earlier in the tournament, we were able to deliver in those situations. Back end of the tournament – day on, day off; four different cities in between – there’s a fatigue factor there you’ve gotta account for as well.  “Perhaps just ensuring a couple of things where we can get to the point, and an offence that moves quite a bit, and involves player and ball movement, perhaps more stuff when we can get a bit more to the point, in those games when we’re looking a little tired.”  Taking care of the ball had been an issue all tournament for the Boomers, and their inability to fix it came back to bite them, with Nando de Colo leading France’s second-half onslaught, posting 19 points off the bench. Evan Fournier finished with 16 points.

The fourth place finish is tied for the Boomers’ highest finish in a major international tournament, with the program placing in the same position in four other Olympics: 1988, 1996, 2000, and 2016.

“The sorrow comes from having the effort that the boys put in, and then them not being rewarded for the sacrifices, and the commitment to team, and playing the right way, and all those things they do,” Lemanis said.  “They represent Australian basketball and, as I said, I’m really obviously proud of that, and being connected with this group. It’s an honour and it’s always humbling being around these guys. You want to see them rewarded. It’s tough to see them with just the hurt that they have at the moment.”

 

GOLD MEDAL FINAL:  15/9/2019

Spain defeated Argentine 95-75

From Fox Sports.

Spain has captured its second World Cup championship, defeating Argentina 95-75 on Sunday to give Marc Gasol a rare double-title year.

Tournament MVP Ricky Rubio scored 20 points and Sergio Llull added 15 for Spain (8-0), the ninth team to make it through a World Cup or world championship unbeaten. Gasol scored 14 for the winners, who never trailed.  For Gasol, it was historic.  The Toronto Raptors center becomes the second player to win an NBA title and a FIBA world gold medal in the same year, joining Lamar Odom – who did it for the Los Angeles Lakers and USA Basketball in 2010.  Gasol is also the 19th to win either an NBA or WNBA crown along with a gold medal, either of the Olympic or World Cup variety, in the same year. And he’s the first to accomplish that feat while representing a nation other than the U.S.  When Spain won its first title in 2006, it was Pau Gasol – Marc’s older brother – leading the way. This time, it was the not-so-little brother who led his nation to gold, hoisting the World Cup trophy three months after getting his hands on the NBA’s Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time.

Gabriel Deck scored 24 points for Argentina (8-1), which got off to a slow start and played uphill the rest of the way. Luis Scola was held to eight points, shooting 1 for 10 from the floor.

Spain led 43-31 at the half, riding the strength of two big runs. Spain ran out to a quick 14-2 lead, only to have Argentina answer with an 11-0 spurt. But when that ended, Spain came back with a 17-1 run and took what was then its biggest lead at 31-14. Scola, even at 39 years old still Argentina’s best player throughout the tournament, didn’t get on the scoresheet until he made a pair of free throws with 2:57 left in the third.  But they only cut the Spain lead to 19, and by then the Argentinian fans – who stood in the stands a few rows from their team’s bench, singing and chanting for much of the game – were relatively quiet. They probably had a good idea what was coming. There was one last gasp from Argentina, an 11-4 run to open the fourth quarter and cut Spain’s lead to 12 with 6:30 left. But Llull’s three-point play on the next Spain possession pushed the lead back to 15.

From NBA Sporting News, written by Gilbert McGregor [not necessarily the views of NBA] – ‘What’s next for the Boomers’?

After winning their first six games at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Australian Boomers again failed to medal in international play as they suffered heartbreaking losses to both Spain and France to close the tournament.  Still, despite coming up short with a fourth-place finish in China, the summer of 2019 is a step in the right direction for the Boomers future With a spot secured in the 2020 Olympics, Australia could potentially roll out an even more talented roster next year meaning the unfortunate streak without medalling could come to an end sooner rather than later.

For more on what lies ahead, take a look at where Australia stands…

Australia finished fourth at the World Cup with a record of 6-2 with its two losses coming in the Semi-Final round and the third-place game after winning six straight to open the tournament.

First Round

108-92 Win vs. Canada…………….81-68 Win vs. Senegal………..87-82 Win vs. Lithuania

It was essentially smooth sailing for the Boomers in the First Round, with the biggest test coming in the third game against a staunch Lithuania squad. Patty Mills established his dominance from the get-go, averaging 20.0 points and 3.0 assists per game in the First Round, serving as the teams leading scorer in the second and third game.

Second Round

82-76 Win vs. Dominican Republic……………….100-98 Win vs. France

In the win over the Dominican Republic, the Boomers put on a ball movement clinic, assisting on all 30 of their made baskets in the six-point win to set up an undefeated showdown with the French National Team. It came down to the wire but a combined 74 points from Mills (30), Joe Ingles (23) and Aron Baynes (21) proved to be the difference for Australia as it earned a 100-98 win.

Quarter-Finals

82-70 Win vs. Czech Republic

Coming in first in both of its groups proved to be beneficial for Australia, as it faced the Czech Republic in the Quarter-Final round. It was another win and another big performance from Mills, as he led the way for Australia with 24 points and six assists while shooting 9-for-15 from the field and 6-for-9 from beyond the arc.

Semi-Finals

88-95 Loss vs. Spain

As one win stood between Australia and its first medal, heartbreak came in the form of a double overtime loss at the hands of eventual-champion Spain. Mills once again led the way with 34 points in 45 minutes of action but it was the Spanish National Team that made more plays in the end.

Third Place Game

59-67 Loss vs. France

With a bronze medal still in sight, Australia failed to truly get going offensively as it scored just 59 points while shooting 4-for-17 (23.5%) from beyond the arc in the eight-point loss to France. In a rematch of the thrilling Second Round meeting, the Boomers simply didn’t have enough as it appeared the rigours of the tournament had finally taken their toll.

Australia’s top performers

Scoring: Patty Mills, 22.8 points per game

Rebounds: Joe Ingles, 6.1 rebounds per game

Assists: Matthew Dellavedova, 6.3 assists per game

Other top performer: Aron Baynes – 11.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 56.5 FG%

Through its performance at the World Cup, Australia is one of the eight countries that has qualified for basketball at the 2020 Olympic Games. The Boomers join Spain, Argentina, France, Nigeria, Iran, the United States and host country Japan as eight of the 12 teams that will compete for Olympic gold.  With Australia qualifying, it will not need to participate in one of the four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in the summer of 2020.  While the key pieces from the World Cup should be expected to reprise their roles in 2020, there are some other names that could be in the mix for the Olympics. An increase in depth can be major for the Boomers, who used their top three players more than any other team at the World Cup. Mills, who at times put the team on his back during the tournament, and Joe Ingles each averaged a team-high 33.9 minutes per game while Dellavedova wasn’t too far behind at 30.6 minutes per contest. Baynes, the only other current NBA player on the roster, logged over 21 minutes per contest and made his impact felt in his time on the floor.

It’s no coincidence that the four NBA players on the roster saw the most playing time and next year, with potentially more NBA talent joining the Boomers next summer, there could be a dispersal of playing time.  Of course, all eyes shift to Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons, who did not participate this summer but has already stated that he is “committed and excited to compete in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.” Simmons, the only Aussie All-Star in NBA history, could lift this team to another level with his size, rebounding and playmaking ability should he stand firm on his commitment. At 17, Simmons made his first and only appearance with the Boomers to date at the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship, where the team would go on to win gold. He stands to rejoin the senior team at 24 as he continues to establish himself as one of the best young players in the NBA.

In addition to Simmons, the Boomers have the option to include the likes of Deng Adel, Jonah Bolden, Ryan Broekhoff, Dante Exum and Thon Maker. Adel was one of the Boomers’ final cuts ahead of the World Cup while Bolden had full intentions of competing this summer before withdrawing due to outside circumstances.  Broekhoff, Exum and Maker have each represented Australia at various competitions and, barring any hindrances, could be wearing the green and gold in Japan. Prep standout Josh Green, who is set to embark on his freshman year at the University of Arizona, is another name that could be placed in the mix to play for the Boomers in 2020. The 18-year-old was a consensus five-star recruit and could turn in a big season in the Pac-12. An invite for Green, who is a member of the long-term future of Aussie basketball, could be the experience he needs to lead the charge of the next generation of Australian hoops. Factor in 2005 No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut, who could again make an NBA return after the upcoming season with the Sydney Kings, and the crop of NBL talent that has suited up for Australia, and the Boomers could very well be bringing their most talented team ever to the 2020 Olympics……….The future is bright for the Boomers and next summer could be a benchmark year ushering in a new era of basketball for the nation. It all begins with using their unbelievable talent to capture their first medal in international competition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOUR de FRANCE 2019

 

The 2019 Tour de France is the 106th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling’s three grand tours. The 3,480 km (2,162 mi)-long race consists of 21 stages, starting on 6 July in Brussels, Belgium, and concluding on 28 July with the Champs-Élysées stage in Paris. A total of 176 riders from 22 teams would participate in the race.

[From Wikipedia] -The race was first organized in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper L’Auto and is currently run by the Amaury Sport Organisation. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903 except when it was stopped for the two World Wars. As the Tour gained prominence and popularity, the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend around the globe. Participation expanded from a primarily French field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year. The Tour is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI World Teams, with the exception of the teams that the organizers invite. It has become “the world’s biggest annual sporting event.”  Traditionally, the race is held primarily in the month of July. While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same with the appearance of time trials,^[1] the passage through the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps, and the finish on the Champ-Élysées in Paris.  The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments (stages) over a 23-day period and cover around 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi]. The race alternates between clockwise and counter-clockwise circuits of France

The 2019 edition of the Tour de France consisted of 22 teams.  Each squad was allowed a maximum of eight riders, resulting in a start list total of 176.  Of these, 33 competed in their first Tour de France.  The riders came from 30 countries. Six countries had more than ten riders in the race: France (43), Belgium (21), Italy (15), Spain (13), Germany (11) and the Netherlands (11).

UCI WorldTeams  –  AG2R La Mondiale; Astana; Bahrain–Merida; Bora–Hansgrohe; CCC Team; EF Education First;  Team Dimension Data; Groupama–FDJ;  Team Ineos; Team Katusha–Alpecin; Team Jumbo–Visma; Lotto–Soudal;  Movistar Team; Mitchelton–Scott; Deceuninck–Quick-Step;  Team Sunweb; Trek–Segafredo;  UAE Team Emirates  UCI Professional Continental teams  –  Cofidis;  Wanty–Groupe Gobert; Total Direct Énergie; Arkéa–Samsic

As with previous international sporting events I have featured in these pages,  my specific interest was from an  Australian competition point of view, however, the outcome will be fairly broad-based. In general, comments on each race have been taken from the cycling.com website, in some cases, other sources.

 Stage One:  6 July:  Brussels to Brussels: 194.5 kms [flat]

1. Mike Teunissen [Team Jumbo-Visma] [Nederlands]
2. Peter Sagan [Bira-Hansgrohe] [SVK]
3. Caleb Ewan [Lotto Soudal] [Australia]

Mike Teunissen [Jumbo-Visma] was the shock winner on stage 1 of theTour de France   taking the first yellow jersey of the race on the uphill finish in front of the Laeken Castle in Brussels. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) finished second, just inches back, while Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) rounded out the podium.

The Dutchman, who won the ZLM Tour late last month, was a surprise winner on the stage, having been expected to help lead out for sprinter Dylan Groenewegen. The Dutch sprinter, along with the bulk of his lead-out, was caught up in a big crash inside the final two kilometres.  From there, Deceuninck-QuickStep took control at the front, but their sprinter Elia Viviani was caught way out of position in the final kilometre. Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) launched the sprint 300 metres out, just as Viviani was moving up, before then Sagan burst past with Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) alongside him.  Behind the duo, Ewan was forced to check his sprint just as he looked to move up the middle to take the win, but it was Teunissen on the outside who finished the fastest. He sped past in the closing metres and threw his bike just far enough to seal an unlikely victory.

Stage Two: 7 July: Around Brussels: Team Time Trial 27.5 kms

1. Team Jumbo-Visma 28.57
2. Team Ineos 00.20
3. Deceuninck-Quickstep 00.21

Jumbo-Visma made it two out of two at the Tour de France  following up Mike Teunissen’s  surprise stage 1 win with a dominant performance on the stage 2 team time trial. They took victory with a time of 28:57, 20 seconds ahead of Team Ineos and 21 up on Deceuninck-QuickStep.

General Classification after Stage 2

1. Mike Teunissen [Team Jumbo-Visma] [Nederlands]: 51.34
2. Wout Van Aert [Bel\] [Team Jumbo-Visma: 00.10
3. Steven Kruijswijk [Ned] [Team Jumbo-Visma: 00.10
4. Michael Matthews [Australia]:Team Sunweb: 0.00.36

 

Stage Three: 8 July:  Binche to Epernay, 215 kms

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     40.29
2. Michael Matthews [Australia]:Team Sunweb: 00.26
3. Jasper Stuyven [Belgium] Trek –Segafredo                                00.26

General classification after Stage 3

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     32.19
2. Wout Van Aert [Bel\] [Team Jumbo-Visma: 00.20
3. Steven Kruijswijk [Ned] [Team Jumbo-Visma: 00.25
4. George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma 00.25
5. : Michael Matthews [Australia]:Team Sunweb: 00.40

Alaphilippe attacked boldly but decisively with 15 kilometres remaining near the summit of the final climb of the Cote de Mutigny and never looked back. He built up a lead over the final rolling kilometres and held on to win, while Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) came over the line 26 seconds down with a group that contained most of the pre-race favourites. Overnight leader Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) was unable to live with the pace on the final set of climbs and was finally dropped on the Cote de Mutigny, but the stage outcome was dominated by Alaphilippe, who stamped his authority over the peloton despite a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders coming into the stage.

 Stage Four: 9 July:  Reims to Nancy: [Flat]:  213.5 kms

1. Elia Viviani [Italy] Deceuninck- Quick Step                   09.20
2. Alexander Kristoff [Nederlands] UAE-Team Emirates     “
3. Caleb Ewan [Australia] Lotto Soudal                                  “

General classification after Stage 4 [no change]

6. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     41.39
7. Wout Van Aert [Bel\] [Team Jumbo-Visma: 00.20
8. Steven Kruijswijk [Ned] [Team Jumbo-Visma: 00.25
9. George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma 00.25
10. : Michael Matthews [Australia]:Team Sunweb: 00.40

Elia Viviani claimed his first Tour de France stage win of his career on Tuesday, making amends for a barren Giro d’Italia with a well-executed sprint in Nancy on stage 4.  The Italian, whose only other appearance at the Tour came back in 2014, profited from a strong lead-out to get the better of Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) in the bunch sprint, with Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) taking fourth place.  Viviani’s victory made it two in two days for Deceuninck-QuickStep, who successfully defended the yellow jersey on the shoulders of stage 3 winner Julian Alaphilippe. With just two minor category-4 climbs on the 213.5km route from Reims to Nancy, it was a quiet day for the overall contenders, with no changes to the general classification.

Stage Five: 10 July:  Saint-Die-Des-Vosges to Colmar [175.5 kms]  

[ a hilly stage,  cuts a big loop through the heart of the Vosges, a mountain range in eastern France known for short, steep climbs and treacherous descents. With four categorized climbs, including the first Category 2 ascents of the Tour, it’s not a good day for the sprinters].

1. Peter Sagan [SVK] Bora-Hansgrohe: 02.33
2. Wout Van Aert [Belgium] Jumbo-Visma
3. Matteo Trentin [Italy]

Australia’s Michael Matthews was 5^th for Team Sunweb

General classification after Stage 5 [no change] – the leader on 18.44.12, second now on 0.00.14 behind, 3-5 as per Stage 4

After several near misses, Peter Sagan [Bora-hansgrohe] took his first win on stage 5 of the 2019 Tour dee France  Colmar ahead of Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma) and Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton Scott). The three-time world champion was simply too good for the opposition after a number of pure sprinters had been dropped on the climbs that littered the stage through the Vosges.Team Sunweb controlled the peloton for most of the finale as they rallied behind Michael Matthews but the Australian was boxed in when the sprint began and could only manage seventh. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) finished tenth and retained his overall lead in the race.

Stage Six: 11 July:  Mulhouse to La Planche Des Belles Filles [Mountain] [160.5 kms]

After five days devoted to sprinters and breakaways, the overall contenders will take center stage on Thursday for the first time in the2019 Tour. Stage 6, in the heart of France’s Vosges region, is relatively short at 160.5K. But it features seven categorized climbs, including an early Category 1 ascent that starts just 29K into the route, and a summit finish on La Planche des Belles Filles.

1. Dylan Teuns [Belgium] Bahrain-Merida: 29.03
2. Giulio Ciccone [Italy] – Trek –Segafredo: 00.11
3. Xandro Meurisse [Belgium] Wanty-Gobert:  01.05

First Aussie in was Richie Porte, 11^th: Trek Segafredo:  0.01.53

General Classification after 6 stages

1. Giulio Ciccone [Italy] – Trek –Segafredo: 14.55
2. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     00.06
3. Dylan Teuns [Belgium] Bahrain-Merida: 00.32

Leading Australians

21. Richie Porte: Trek-segafredo:  0.01.56

59:  : Michael Matthews [Australia]:Team Sunweb:  0.19.02  –  has dropped right down the list from a couple of days ago

Two Tour de France rookies stole the show on the first mountain stage, with Dylan Teuns of Belgium winning Stage 6 and Giulio Ciccone of Italy taking the overall race lead on Thursday.  Geraint Thomas, the defending champion, also rode strongly, going some way to answer questions about his fitness after he crashed out of the Tour de Suisse in June. Thomas rode in fourth at the top of the terrible climb to the Planche des Belles Filles ski station in the woody Vosges mountains of eastern France. But the severity of the ascent, with a final 24 percent incline and an unpaved section that kicked up clouds of dust, torpedoed other main contenders for overall victory in Paris on July 28.

Dylan Teuns had never won a Grand Tour stage before today, but not for lack of trying. The Belgian puncheur was a constant in breakaways at last year’s Vuelta a Espana but only racked up a frustrating string of near misses. Here, on his Tour de France debut, he struck gold.

Stage Seven 12 July:  Belfort – Chalon-Sur  Saone [230 kms] Flat.

After two hard days in the Vosges, riders will face the longest stage of the 2019 Tour.

1. Dylan Groenewegan [Nederlands] Team Jumbo-Visma   02.44
2. Caleb Ewan [Australia] Lotto Soudal
3. Peter Sagan [SVK] Bora Hansgrohe

In a sign that he has fully recovered after a crash on the opening day, Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenewegen won Stage 7 of the 2019 Tour de France in an ultra-tight pack finish on Friday.  Following the longest stage of this year’s race—a 230K ride away from the Vosges, with all categorized climbs appearing in the first half—Groenewegen attached himself to the wheel of Caleb Ewan to fight his way out of the group.  Then he launched his final dash for the line half a moment before Ewan, rocketing to the front at 70 kph (about 43 mph) and narrowly beating the Australian in a photo finish after more than six hours of racing.

Overall classification after 7 stages

1. Giulio Ciccone [Italy] – Trek –Segafredo: 17.39
2. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     00.06
3. Dylan Teuns [Belgium] Bahrain-Merida: 00.32

First Australian listed is 21^st: Richie Porte: Trek-segafredo:  0.01.56

 Stage Eight; 13 July:  Macon to Saint-Etienne [200 kms] [hilly]

The climbs are a mix of 5-8km hills with gradients that aren’t especially frightening and much shorter ascents that include some imposing ramps on what are tight and twisting roads. It is ideal terrain for breakaway specialists, and there should be plenty of them looking to infiltrate the early attacks, further buoyed by the knowledge that the sprinters’ teams might not be too committed in chasing them down in such undulating countryside.

1. Thomas De Gendt [Belgium] Lotto Soudal: 00.17
2. Thibaut Pinot [France] Groupama FDJ:  00.06
3. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     00.06
4. Michael Matthews [Australia]:Team Sunweb: 00.26
5. Peter Sagan [SVK] Bora Hansgrohe 00.26

Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) survived from a day-long breakaway to take the victory in a relentless day of racing on Saturday. The Belgian went away early with three others and was the last man standing, holding off a late chase by French duo Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ).  “I had a really good feeling all day so I believed in it all day,” said De Gendt. “In the morning I ate a good breakfast. This [from a break] is the only way I can win a race. I like to do it in this way. Once I get in a breakaway, that gives me energy.”

Overall classification after Stage 8.

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     17.59
2. Giulio Ciccone [Italy] – Trek –Segafredo: 00.23
3. Thibaut Pinot [France] Groupama FDJ  00.53
4. George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma 01.10

Leading Australians  are:

18. Richie Porte [Trek-segafredo] 0.02.19
19. Jack Haig [Mitchellton-Scott] 0.15.23
20. Michael Matthews: [Team Sunweb] 0.19.25
21. Simon Clarke [EF Educastion First] 0.46.22
22. Rohan Dennis [Bahrain-Merida] 0.52.46
23. Luke Durbridge [Mitchellton-Scott] 0.55.06
24. Caleb Ewan [Lotto Soudal] 1.16.06
25. Michael Hepburn [Mitchellton-Scott] 1.23.21

 

Stage Nine; 14 July [Bastille Day]:  Saint-Etienne to Brioude [170.5kms] [hilly]

This is an intriguing stage, another that offers encouragement to breakaway riders, Classics specialists, puncheurs in the Julian Alaphilippe mould, and even some sprinters. Like the day before, it rises and falls incessantly, although not as fiercely. There’s a very savage ascent in the form of the Mur d’Aurec-sur-Loire – 3.2km at 11% – but it crops up too early to have any lasting effect. While sure to string out and perhaps even shred the peloton, the dropped riders have plenty of ground ahead on which they can recoup their deficit.

1. Daryl Impey [South Africa] Mitchelton-Scott: 03.12
2. Tiesj Benoot [Belgium] Lotto Soudal
3. Jan Tratnik [SIO] Bahrain-Merida         00.10

Australians

9^th: Simon Clarke [EF Education First]                            0.01.50

27^th: Richie Porte [Trek segafredo]                                 0.16.25

Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) outsprinted Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) to take stage 9 of the Tour de France, Sunday.  “It’s the seventh time I’m riding the Tour de France and have been in a number of breakaways,” said Impey. “To finally nail it today is a dream come true. I really don’t have any words.”  The South African champion had been part of an early breakaway which split after a series of attacks in the final stages of the race, and ended up going clear with 15 kilometers remaining. The Mitchelton-Scott rider came around the Belgian in the final 100 meters to win his first Tour de France Stage. Jan Tratnik (Bahrain-Merida) was the first home from a small chase group to take third, 10 seconds behind.

General Classification after 9 stages

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     37.36
2. Giulio Ciccone [Italy] – Trek –Segafredo: 00.23
3. Thibaut Pinot [France] Groupama FDJ  00.53
4. George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma 01.10

18^th: Richie Porte [Australia]  0.2.19

Stage Ten; 15 July :  Saint-Flour to Albi [217.5 kms]  Flat

Four short categorised climbs lie ahead, the first a fourth-cat and the other three rated third-category, but there are constant undulations as the route heads through the beautiful, ancient volcanic wilderness of the Aubrac. The rolling of the terrain and the length of the stage will make it hard for the sprinters’ teams to control the break.

1. Wout Van Aert [Belgium] Jumbo-Visma: 4.49.39
2. Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
3. Caleb Ewan [Australia] Lotto Soudal
4. Michael Matthews: [Australia] Team Sunweb
5. Peter Sagan [SVK] Bora Hansgrohe

Wout Van Aert [Belgium] claimed his maiden individual Tour de France win on stage 10, and on a day of racing that saw the overall standings change after a number of contenders lost significant time in the crosswinds.  Van Aert – making his Grand Tour debut – won ahead of Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) in Albi, but the stage was dominated by the splits caused with 30km to go as Team Ineos and several allies tore the peloton apart during a section of crosswinds.  The effort succeeded, with Thibaut Pinot (Groupama FDJ), Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo), Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First) and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) all conceding 1:40 on a group that contained Nairo Quintana, Julian Alaphilippe and the Team Ineos pair of Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal. Alaphilippe heads into the first rest day with a 1:12 lead over Thomas, with Bernal four seconds further adrift. For Pinot, this was a disaster of a day after his stage 8 heroics had seen him rise up the standings. He now sits 10th overall at 2:33.

General Classification after Stage 10:

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     27.15
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos    01.12
3. Egan Bernal [Colombia] Team Ineos                                             01.16

20^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                      0.03.59

 

Stage Eleven:  17 July :  Albi to Toulouse [167 kms]  Flat

Tour boss Christian Prudhomme and his deputy Thierry Gouvenou have decided against a big mountain test the day after the rest day and opted instead for what may be the most straightforward stage of the race bar the final day. With just two categorised climbs, a third-cat and a fourth-cat, in the first half of the course, this stage is clearly intended as a comparatively gentle return to action, a chance to get for the riders to get their legs re-accustomed to race pace before the four big tests that lie immediately ahead in the Pyrenees.

1. Caleb Ewan [Australia] Lotto Soudal: 51.26
2. Dylan Groeneweganj [Netherlands] Team Jumbo Visma
3. Ilia Viviani [Italy] Deceuninck-Quickstep

Caleb Ewan won his maiden Tour de France stage on stage 11 in Toulouse. The Australian had to do it the hard way after one of his lead-out men crashed in the closing stage but despite remaining isolated in the sprint Ewan came around Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) to take the biggest win of his career. Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) finished third, with green jersey leader Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) in fourth.  After four top-three finishes in this year’s Tour de France, Ewan finally had his just reward and picked up Lotto Soudal’s second stage win of the race after Thomas de Gendt’s win in Saint Etienne.  “To be honest I can’t believe it. I’ve been close in the last four sprints I’ve done, and my team never lost faith in me. I never lost faith in my sprint. I knew if everything came together then I can be the fastest on the day, and I think today I showed that,” the winner said at the finish.  “I think with about 10km to go I got caught behind my teammate Jasper who crashed, and I was really at the back of the bunch. Roger came back for me, and he basically took me from the back of the bunch to Groenewegen’s wheel in the last few kilometres. Once I had a bit of time to recover, luckily I had the legs to be able to win.  “There’s no other race I’ve dreamt of winning since I was a young kid. I can’t believe it. The Tour de France is something so distant from Australia, something we only watched on TV. I can’t believe I’m even here, and to win a stage is a real dream come true for me.”  Ewan came into this year’s Tour de France with a point to prove. He was controversially left at home on the eve of last year’s race, with that decision part of the reason as to why Ewan would jump ship from Mitchelton-Scott and join Lotto over the winter. The Giro d’Italia provided Ewan with two valuable stage wins but he would always be judged by his performances in July. Third in the opening stage Brussels was followed by narrow misses in Nancy, Chalon-sur-Saone and Albi and it looked as though time was running out for the Australian in this year’s race.  However, he and his Lotto Soudal squad stayed the course and even when Ewan was forced to unclip his right foot and grind to a halt with 10km to go when his teammate Jasper de Buyst was nudged into the ditch the team rallied around this sprinter.  Ewan made his way back towards the front of the main field just as Jumbo-Visma imposed their dominance on the race, with Mike Teunissen the last man for Groenewegen. On this occasion, the Dutch squad simply ran out of men in the closing stages and when Teunissen’s legs failed, Groenewegen was forced to open his sprint. Even at that point only Ewan and Viviani were in contention. A corner inside the last few hundred metres ended a promising sprint from Edvald Boasson Hagen, while Sonny Colbrelli, and Alexander Kristoff were already out of contention with around 500m to go.

Overall classification after 11 stages

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     18.41
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 01.12
3. Egan Bernal [Colombia] Team Ineos                                             01.16

19^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                      0.03.59

 

Stage Twelve:  18 July :  Toulouse to Bagneres-De- Begorre [209.5 kms]  Mountain

Starting in Toulouse, Stage 12 of the 2019 Tour brings the race into the Pyrenees. Two Category 1 climbs near the end should serve as nice warmups for Friday’s individual time trial, as well as for the harder mountain stages coming on Saturday and Sunday.

1. Simon Yates {GB] Mitchelton-Scott – 57.53
2. Pello Bilbao [Spain] Astana Pro Team
3. Gregor Muhiberger [Austria] Bora Hansgrohe

First Aussie in – Simon Clarke: 9^th:   E F Education First:  0.01.28

Simon Yates [Mitchelton-Scott] won stage 12 of the Tour de France in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, outsprinting Pello Bilbao (Astana Pro Team) and Gregor Mühlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) after the trio had emerged from an initial 42-man break group after attacking the final climb of Horquette d’Ancizan.  It was Yates who launched the decisive attack, four kilometres from the summit of the climb, bridging across to teammate Matteo Trentin. Mühlberger followed, while Bilbao chased, making the catch on the descent.  The three leaders worked well on the run-in to ensure their lead was safe from the chase group, only starting to play games in the final kilometre. Bilbao led the way, before Mühlberger took the front with 500 metres to race. Yates launched the sprint first, outwitting and outpacing his companions around the final turn and holding on to take the win.

Overall classification after 12 stages

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     26.09
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 01.12
3. Egan Bernal [Colombia] Team Ineos                                             01.16

19^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                      0.03.59

Stage Thirteen : 19 July :  Individual Pau Time Trial: [27.2 kms]

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France]  Deceuninck – Quickstep     00
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 14
3. Thomas De Gent [Belgium] Lotto Soudal                            26
4. Rigoberto Uran [Colombia] EF Education First                   36
5. Richie Porte [Australia] Trek Segafredo 45

Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) surprised his doubters to win Friday’s 13th stage of the Tour de France, a 27.2 kilometer time trial in Pau.  Known more for his punchy accelerations on steep climbs, Alaphilippe blazed a impressive individual time trial to defeat defending champion Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) by 14 seconds  The course has several twists and turns, as well as two climbs: the Côte de Gelos (1.1km at 7.8 percent) and Côte d’Esquillot (1km at 7.2 percent). Alaphilippe said that the hilly terrain gave him an advantage. “On this parcourse it was really perfect for me. The first part I went full gas and I just wanted to see what I could do in the second [half],” Alaphilippe said. “In my ear I hear from my sport director, he said I had the best time.”

Overall classification after 13 stages

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     01.09
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 01.26
3. Steven Kiuijswijki [Nederlands] Team Jumbo Visma                  02.12

15^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                      0.04.44

 

Stage Fourteen : 20 July :  Tarbes to Col Du Tourmalet [117.5 kms] [Mountain]

This is the first of an unprecedented three stage finishes above the 2,000-metre mark. It will take place atop the Tour’s favourite pass, the Col du Tourmalet, which will feature for the 87th time. This, though, will be just the third summit finish here following Jean-Pierre Danguillaume’s victory in 1974 and Andy Schleck’s in 2010

1. Thibaut Pinot [France] Groupama FDJ  10.20
2. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     00.06
3. Steven Kiuijswijki [Nederlands] Team Jumbo Visma                00.06

First Australian rider in was  Richie Porte, 14th [Trek Segafredo]   0.02.05

Thibaut Pinot [Groupama –FDJ, won stage 14 of the Tour de France atop the Col du Tourmalet, outsprinting a select GC group in the closing metres of the mythical climb to take his third career stage win at the race.  Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) took second, six seconds back, to defend his yellow jersey and extend his lead over Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos), who cracked in the final kilometre, finishing 36 seconds down. Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) rounded out the podium just behind Alaphilippe.

Overall classification after 14 stages

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     11.29
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 02.02
3. Steven Kiuijswijki [Nederlands] Team Jumbo Visma                  02.14

12^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                      0.06.49

Richie Porte has moved up the leader board, but after stage 14, have dropped a couple of minutes further behind the leader.

 

 Stage Fifteen : 21 July :  Limoux-Foix; Prat d’Albis [185 kms] Mountain

The 2019 Tour’s third and final day in the Pyrenees, Stage 15 begins in Limoux and slowly heads to the top of the first climb, the Category 2 Col de Montségur. A large breakaway should have forged a big lead by this point, with Peter Sagan likely to attack to score maximum points at the Intermediate Sprint in the valley on the other side.  Then things get real, with three Category 1 climbs jammed into the final 75K. The day’s penultimate climb, the Mur de Péguère, is by far the toughest, with several extended pitches nearing 20 percent in the final 3.5K to the summit. A selection will certainly be made here, with real contenders for the stage win emerging before a 25K descent to Foix and the base of the final climb.

1. Simon Yates [Great Britain] Mitchelton-Scott 47.04
2. Thibaut Pinot [France] Groupama-FDJ                 00.33
3. Mikel Landa [Spain] Movistar 00.33

First Australian rider in was again  Richie Porte, 10th [Trek Segafredo]   0.01.30

Simon Yates [Mitchelton-Scott won his second stage of the Tour de France  triumphing once again from the break on the summit finish of Prat d’Albis. Thibaut Pinot [Groupama-FDJ], was once again the strongest of the GC contenders, taking second ahead of Mikel Landa (Movistar) and gaining precious time on each of his rivals. While Yates won from the day’s early break, chasing down Simon Geschke (CCC Team) on the day’s penultimate climb before going solo on the climb to the finish, it was Pinot who stole the headline with his relentless attacking on the slopes of Prat d’Albis. Pinot launched 6km from the line, dropping all but Egan Bernal (Team Ineos), Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and race leader Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep), though the trio couldn’t hold his pace for long. Richie Porte has moved up one position.

Overall classification after 15stages

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     00.22
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 01.35
3. Steven Kiuijswijki [Nederlands] Team Jumbo Visma                  01.47

11^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                      0.06.30

 

Stage Sixteen : 23 July :  Nimes to Nimes [117 kms] Flat

The last time the Tour raced into the Roman city of Nîmes, Alexander Kristoff burst through to claim victory after long-time breakaway Jack Bauer had been overhauled an agonising 25 metres short of a solo victory. That scenario is likely to repeated to an extent with a stage that, unusually, starts and finishes in the same location and is set up to give the sprinters their last chance to dominate proceedings before the race finishes in Paris, unless a breakaway can thwart them.

1. Caleb Ewan [Australia] Lotto Soudal 57.08
2. Elia Viviani [Italy]  Deceuninck-QuickStep
3. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma

Next Aussie in was Michael Matthews , Team Sunweb

Australia’s Caleb Ewan [Lotto Soudal came from behind to take his second stage victory of the 2019 Tour de France beating Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) in a high-speed sprint in Nîmes. Deceuninck-QuickStep took control of the sprint in the final 500 metres just before a late roundabout, giving Viviani a clean run to the line. Ewan was further back but not concerned and clearly confident of his sprinting ability. He opted to start his sprint early, anticipating Groenewegen and Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) to come up alongside Viviani. The Italian had the best line along the barriers, but Ewan had more speed in his aero tuck and came down the middle of the road to win by half a bike length. Ewan admitted he had suffered during the stage but had some personal motivation to win. His win means he is the only sprinter to so far have won two stages in this year’s Tour de France. The final sprint opportunity is expected to be on the Champs Elysees in Paris on Sunday.

Overall classification after 16 stages

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     57.30
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 01.35
3. Steven Kiuijswijki [Nederlands] Team Jumbo Visma                  01.47

10^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                      0.06.30

 

Stage Seventeen : 24 July :  Pont du Gard to Gap [200 kms] Hilly

This transition stage has ‘breakaway’ written all over it. With three race-deciding mountain stages just beyond it, the only concern for the GC leaders and their teams will be to reach Gap without suffering any mishaps and having expended as few resources as possible. Similarly, the sprinters are unlikely to instruct their teammates to chase down any escapees thanks to the presence of the third-category Col de la Sentinelle little more than a dozen kilometres from the finish.

1. Matteo Trentin [Italy] Mitcheleton-Scott 21.36
2. Kasper Asgreen [Denmark] Deceuninck-Quickstep    00.37
3. Greg Van Avermaet [Belgium] CCC Team 00.41

11^th:  Simon Clarke [Australia] EF Education First   0.01.23\

Matteo Trentin [Mitchelton-Scott], claimed victory on stage 17 of the Tour de after soloing clear of the break on the road to Gap, while Julian (Deceuninck-QuickStep) retained the yellow jersey after a day of relative truce among the general classification contenders.  On a day of two races within a race, Trentin rode to his third stage victory at the Tour – he previously won in 2013 and 2014 – after punching his way clear of the breakaway group ahead of the final climb of the Col de la Sentinelle. Alaphilippe and the podium contenders, meanwhile, rolled home more than 20 minutes behind, content to spare themselves for the rigours to come in the Alps over the next three days. Trentin was part of a 33-strong break that amassed an unassailable lead over the peloton on yet another day of soaring temperatures, and he proved the strongest and savviest of their number when the move began to fragment in the final hour of racing.

Overall classification after 17 stages [no change in leaders from yesterday].

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     39.16
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 01.35
3. Steven Kiuijswijki [Nederlands] Team Jumbo Visma                  01.47

10^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                      0.06.30

 

 Stage Eighteen : 25 July  Embrun to Valloire [208 kms]  Mountain

The stairway to heaven stage. There are four climbs, each higher than the last, the final three topping out at 2,109 metres, 2,360 metres and 2,642 metres, respectively. In other words, at the finish in Valloire the identity of the remaining contenders for the yellow jersey will be confirmed, and one outstanding candidate may well have stepped forward or strengthened their position as the king of this mountainous Tour.  Extending to more than 200 kilometres, this will be a long day in the saddle.

1. Nairo Quintana [Colombia] Movistar:   34.15
2. Romain Bardet [France] AG2R La Mondiale 01.35
3. Alexey Lutsenko [Kaz] Astana Pro Team   02.28

17^th: :  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo     00.05.18

Nairo Quintana [Movistar] claimed victory on stage 18 of the Tour de France after he soloed clear of the day’s early break on the Col du Galibier, but not for the first time on this race, the day’s drama centred on Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep), who retained his yellow jersey following a breathless descent into Valloire.  Alaphilippe was distanced by his direct rivals near the summit of the Galibier, but he scrambled down the other side to recoup his 20-second deficit and keep a hold of the maillot jaune. Just two days from Paris, Alaphilippe remains on course for a most improbable overall victory, though Egan Bernal (Ineos) reaffirmed his credentials on the first of three consecutive Alpine stages by gaining more than half a minute on the yellow jersey to move up to second place overall

Overall classification after 18 stages [no change in leaders from yesterday].

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep     18.49
2. Egan Bernal [Colmbia] Team Eneos                                              01.30
3. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 01.35

11^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                       0.06.30

 

Stage Nineteen : 26 July  Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne – Tignes [126.5 kms]  Mountain

This is the first of two consecutive stages of around the same shortish length with a finish located well above 2,000 metres. Both are likely to see the main action kick off very early and, as a consequence, the riders in the gruppetto will be hard pushed to finish inside the time limit on each of these days.

Stage results nullified, times for GC taken atop Col de l’Iseran:

1. Egan Bernal [Colombia] Team Eneos
2. Simon Yates [Great Britain] Mitchelton- Scott
3. Warren Barguil [France] Arkea Samsic

11^th: :  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo

The Tour de France was rocked by a freak hailstorm that cut short Styage 19 and produced one of the most dramatic days in its history..  Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) was the big winner during a shortened stage 19 of the Tour de FRance .  Although the jury ruled there would be no official stage winner, Bernal took the yellow jersey after the race was cancelled on the descent of the Col d’Iseran. Hail and ice in Tignes, as well as a landslide blocking the road   between Val d’Isère and Tignes, made the final kilometres of the stage impossible to pass by bike. The Colombian had attacked midway up the Iseran, launching after teammate Geraint Thomas  put yellow jersey Julian Alaphilippi  (Deceuninck-QuickStep) into major trouble on the 2770-metre mountain. Bernal caught and passed the remains of the break in the final kilometres of the climb, gaining a minute on Thomas, Steven Krujswijk (Jumbo-Visma) and Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), and two minutes on Alaphilippe.  Amid a shroud of confusion, general classification times were taken at the summit of the Iseran, meaning Bernal takes over the race lead, with Alaphilippe set to lose over two minutes to the 22-year-old.  The chaos marked the end of a frantic stage of racing, officially 126.5km long but cut to 88.5km due to the weather. Almost forgotten amidst the stage cancellation chaos was Groupama-FDJ leader Thibaut Pinot’s abandon. The Frenchman, who lay fifth overall at the start of the day, left the race after suffering through the opening 40km with what turned out to be a torn thigh muscle.

Overall classification after 19 stages

1. Egan Bernal [Colombia] Team Eneos                                           00.42
2. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep       00.48
3. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 01.16

10^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                      0.06.28

 

 Stage Twenty : 27 July   Albertville-Val Thorens [130 kms]  Mountain

The final mountain stage begins to climb the stunning Cormet de Roselend soon after getting under way in Albertville. After dropping into Bourg-Saint-Maurice, the route veers away from the main road to cross the second-category Côte de Longefoy to reach Moûtiers and the start of the interminable ascent to the finish.

1. Vincenzo Nibsli [Italy] Bahrain Menda.. 51.53
2. Alejandro Valverde [Spain] Movistar Team 00.10
3. Mikal Landa [Spain] Movistar Team           00.14
4. Egan Bernal [Colmbia] Team Eneos               00.17

First Australian in today was Luke Durbridge [Mitchelton-Scott]   0.8.27

Egan Bernal [Team Ineos], is one stage away from sealing the overall victory at the Tour de France,  crossing the stage 20 finish line at Val Thorens hand-in-hand with teammate and reigning champion Geraint Thomas as the pair finished safely among the lead group on the shortened stage 20.  Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) took the stage win as the last man standing from the early break, holding off the peloton and redeeming what has been a tough campaign for the 2014 Tour champion. Movistar duo Alejandro Valverde and Mikel Landa launched late bids for victory, but had to settle for second and third, 10 and 14 seconds down.  Bernal and Thomas rolled in three seconds after Landa, while Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) moved up into third overall after former race leader Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) was dropped 13km from the finish of the micro-stag

Overall classification after 20 stages [one to go]

1. Egan Bernal [Colombia] Team Eneos                                           52.52
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain] Team Ineos 01.11
3. Steven Kiuijswijki [Nederlands] Team Jumbo Visma                  01.31
4. Emanuel Buchman [Germany] Bora- Hansgrohe                        01.56
5. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep       03.45

11^th:  Richie Porte [Australia]  Trek Segafredo                                      0.12.05

 

Stage Twenty-One : 28 July   To the Champs-Elysees [126kms]  Flat

Finally, the climbs are almost over and the Eiffel Tower and Paris’ other celebrated landmarks will soon be visible on the skyline. The Tour’s final stage has long been a victory parade, with the yellow jersey and his teammates toasting each other with champagne and then leading the race onto the Champs-Élysées for several laps of fast and furious racing, concluding with arguably the most prestigious bunch sprint of the season and well-deserved laps of honour.

And the result:  Egan Bernal [Team Ineos] sealed overall victory at the 2019 Tour de France  finishing safely in the peloton on the Champs-Élysées.

Caleb Ewan [Lotto Soudal] won the final sprint, beating Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) and Niccolo Bonifazio (Total Direct Energie) with a perfectly executed late surge on the most prestigious sprint finish in cycling. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) finished tenth in the sprint but had already mathematically won a record-breaking seventh green points jersey.  “I can’t believe I just won on the Champs Elysees,” Ewan said.  “When we rolled onto the Champs Elysees, I almost had tears in my eyes, it was such a surreal feeling. I can’t believe I just won the stage.”   ……….It was Ewan’s third win in what was his debut at the Tour de France.  “The Tour de France started off quite slow for me. It was like I could never get there. But the second half has been unbelievable, I’ve won every sprint in the second half,” he said, explaining how he came from behind.  “The sprint was quite messy and we were quite far back but I was patient and waited. I didn’t know how many guys were in front of me and so I waited and then ran at the three guys across the road. I went down the right, most sprinters I’ve talked to, said don’t go down the right because its bumpy. But luckily I had the speed to come through in the end.”

Meanwhile, for the overall winner –  The 21st and final stage of the 2019 Tour de France covered 128km from Rambouillet to the iconic finishing circuits on the Champs-Élysées in Paris – a mostly celebratory ride to close out the race that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the race leader’s yellow jersey.  Bernal was greeted outside the Team Ineos bus in Rambouillet by a huge crowd of supporters waving Colombian flags and cheering for the 22-year-old. He took the start line wearing the yellow jersey, happy to ride alongside his teammates into Paris, where he would be officially crowned the overall winner of the Tour de France.  In the early part of the stage, riders were seen congratulating one another on finishing off a very tough and unpredictable three weeks of racing.  Bernal wore his yellow kit and rode a custom yellow Pinarello team bike surrounded by his teammates. He was also given a customary glass of champagne from the Team Ineos car, as were all of his teammates, as the toasted to their first and second place finishes in the overall classification and the team’s seventh Tour de France victory.  Bernal hit the finish line alongside 2018 Tour de France winner and runner up this year Geraint Thomas. The two pointed at each other in celebration as they passed the crown of Tour de France winner. They were joined by third placed Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma). Thomas finished 1:11 down on Bernal, with Thomas at 1:31.  Bernal again struggled to believe what he had achieved, almost crying on the podium.  “Wow. It’s incredible. It doesn’t seem true. I’ve won the Tour de France but I’m struggling to understand it all. I’ll need some days to realise what has happened,” he said.  “I saw my family after the finish and we celebrated together. It’s all incredible.”  “It’s the first Tour win for a Colombian and so everyone is so happy. I’m very proud to be the first Colombian to win the Tour. Now I want to go home, celebrate with my family and take it all in,” Bernal said.

 Stage 21 result

1. Caleb Ewan [Australia] Lotto Soudal] 04.08
2. Dylan Groenewegan [Nederlands]; Team Jumbo Visma
3. Niccolo Bonafazio [Italy] Total Direct Energie

Final Overall classification after 21 stages in 2019 Tour de France  [Yellow Jersey]

[top 10 positions, followed by Australians remaining in the event at the end]

1. Egan Bernal [Colombia] Team Eneos                                57.00
2. Geraint Thomas [Great Britain – Wales] Team Ineos 01.11
3. Steven Kiuijswijki [Nederlands] Team Jumbo Visma      01.31
4. Emanuel Buchman [Germany] Bora- Hansgrohe            01.56
5. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep       04.05
6. Mikel Landa [Spain] Movistar Team                                  04.23
7. Rigoberto Uran [Colombia] EF Education First                 05.15
8. Nairo Quintana [Colombia] 05.30
9. AleJandro Valverde [Spain] Movistar Team 06.12
10. Warren Barguil [France] Arkea Fransic                           0-07.32
11. Richie Porte [Australia] Trek Segafredo                              12.42

Other Australians to finish

38. Jack Haig [Mitchelton-Scott] 1.36.59
39. Simon Clarke [EF Education First] 2.11.43
40. Michael Matthews [Team Sunweb] 2.16.34
41. Luke Durbridge [Mitchelton-Scott] 3.15.36
42. Caleb Ewan [Lotto Soudal] 3.54.34
43. Michael Hepburn [Mitchelton-Scott] 4.07.32

Final Team Result

1. Movistar Team 58.15
2. Trek Segafredo          47.54
3. Team Ineos 57.52
4. EF Education First 25.57

 Points Classification [Green Jersey]

1. Peter Sagan [SVK] Bora Hansgrohe                    316 pts
2. Caleb Ewan [Australia]                                     248 pts
3. Elia Viviani [Italy] Deceuninck-Quickstep 224 pts
4. Sonny Colbrelli [Italy] Bahrain –Merida            209 pts
5. Michael Matthews [Australia] Team Sunweb 201 pts

   Mountain Classification [King of the Mountains: Polka Dot Jersey]   

1. Romain Bardet [France] AG2R La Mondiale   86 pts      
2. Egan Bernal [Colombia] Team Eneos                    78 pts
3. Tim Wellens [Belgium] Lotto Soudal                     75 pts                                      

Young Rider Classification [White Jersey]

1. Egan Bernal [Colombia] Team Eneos             57.00
2. David Gaudu [France] Groupama FDJ 23.58
3. Enric Mas [Spain] Deceuninck-Quickstep 58.20
4. Caleb Ewan [Australia] Lotto Soudal                3.54.34

Combativity Classification

1. Julian Alaphilippe [France] Deceuninck – Quickstep

From news.com report regarding Caleb Ewan [Australia]

Aussie freak Caleb Ewan has cemented his reputation as the fastest man in the world after saving his best for last in the frantic sprint to the finish on the iconic on the Champs-Elysees on Monday morning.  Ewan is again the toast of the cycling world after finding a way to hit the line first despite being crunched deep in the pack while winding through the Paris streets, just a few hundred metres from the finish line of the final stage of the event.  Ewan’s stunning dart to the line handed him his third stage win and marked him as a man to be feared when the peloton returns to France in 12 months.    The Australian burst through on the right side of the cobbled avenue, hugging the fence, to beat Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen and Italian Niccolo Bonifazio, despite only being able to get a late launch.  “It’s unbelievable,” Ewan said.  “When we rolled onto the Champs-Elysees, to be honest I almost had tears in my eyes when I rolled through there. “It’s such a surreal feeling and I can’t believe I just won the stage.”  The stage victory was the Australian’s third of his debut tour, putting him second after Peter Sagan in the points classification, and continuing a successful season that includes two stage wins on the Giro d’Italia and two on the Tour of Turkey. “The Tour de France started off quite slow for me. It was like I could never get there. But the second half has been unbelievable, I’ve won every sprint in the second half,” Ewan said.  “The sprint (on the final stage) was quite messy and we were quite far back but I was patient and waited. I didn’t know how many guys were in front of me and so I waited and then ran at the three guys across the road.  “I went down the right, most sprinters I’ve talked to said don’t go down the right because its bumpy. But luckily I had the speed to come through in the end.”

It was just 12 months ago that Aussie team Mitchelton-Scott GreenEDGE dramatically left Ewan off their team for the Tour, resulting in the rising star’s move to Lotto Soudal.  After not being able to get a start on the 2018 Tour, Ewan’s debut has been worth the wait.  The 25-year-old seems certain to be jostling for stage wins for many years to come.  Even sprinting legend Mark Cavendish was left in awe of the Aussie on Monday.

Meanwhile, Australia’s best result in the overall classification was Richie Porte.

From AAP: ‘Long touted as a potential Tour de France winner during a luckless career, Australia’s Richie Porte finished 11^th  overall, 12 mins 42 sec behind winner Egan Bernal of Colombia”.  Porte had hoped for an even better outcome this year after two disastrous events in 2017 and 2018. He had remained in 10^th position for a number of days, his best position from Stage 15,  but dropped back in time and position over the concluding stages………Porte was philosophical, while disappointed,  after the event, stating that he had hoped for a better outcome……Halfway through the event,   “Keep on keeping on,” was the message from Richie Porte as he crept into the top 10 at the Tour de France. The enforced withdrawal of Jakob Fuglsang during the 177km 16^th stage to Nimes continued the Tasmanian’s gradual progression up the standings. Since stage 10, his overall position climbed from 20^th to 19^th, 15^th, 12^th, 11^th and then  10^th, with his best result a fifth place in the individual time trial around Pau.

And from the ‘Examiner’ Tasmanian Cycling News –  “Richie Porte took little consolation from recording his second-best Tour de France finish.  The Launceston 34-year-old slipped out of the top 10 on a “terrible” penultimate stage in the Alps to finish 11^th overall, bettered only in his nine Tours by fifth place in 2016.   Porte finished 19^th and 23^rd in 2013 and ’14 respectively but had failed to finish the last two Tours.  “I didn’t come here to come 11th, that’s no secret, but I think I fought with everything we had and we didn’t have great luck but we had a great team here, a good atmosphere and the three weeks went really fast,” he said.  “It’s been three years since I made it to Paris so bit of a miracle to get here and it’s been a great three weeks.  “The good for me personally would have been the time trial (fifth place), the bad probably the Tourmalet and the ugly was stage 20 (38^th place) – I had a terrible day and exploded – but otherwise I think there was probably more good than bad.”   Porte was the team leader for Trek-Segafredo which finished second in the teams classification but director Steven de Jongh was not mincing his words.  “With Richie, we wanted to be top 5,” he said. “That was the expectation, but we also must not forget that Richie finished his last Grand Tour in 2016, and after that, he always crashed out.   “Coming back and finishing in 11th was not what we expected he’d do, and he’s also disappointed in that, but in the end, at least he finished the Tour again. Now he knows again what it is and what he needs to do to be up there and I think that will help him in future Grand Tours.”

 

The Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 took place over 20 thrilling sessions of netball from 12-21 July 2019. The 2019 Netball World Cup was the 15th staging of the premier competition in international netball, contested every four years. The tournament was held from 12–21 July 2019 at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England.  Once again, this asrticle is constructed from the perspective of an Australian supporter!

All matches at the event were held at the M&S Bank Arena (known for non-commercial purposes as Liverpool Arena), which has a seating capacity of 11,000. The venue was the centre-piece of the ACC Liverpool sporting and events precinct, which allowed the event’s other amenities, such as warm-up and administration facilities, to take place within the one location. Sixteen teams contested the 2019 tournament Five teams automatically qualified by virtue of their high ranking position in the INF World Rankings, and England qualified as the host nation. The remaining ten teams qualified via regional qualification tournaments, with two teams selected from each of the five international netball regions; Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. The five teams (six if England is included) to be granted automatic qualification, in order of seeding were

Automatic:  Australia, England [host nation], New Zealand, Jamaica, South Africa, and Malawi

Qualified:  Scotland; Northern Ireland; Fiji; Samoa; Uganda; Zimbabwe; Trinidad & Tobago; Barbados;  Sri Lanka; and Singapore

The Australian squad  for the competition was:

Caitlin Bassett(captain), April Brandley, Kelsey Browne, Courtney Bruce, Paige Hadley, Sarah Klau, Jamie-Lee Price, Caitlin Thwaites, Gretel Tippett, Liz Watson (vice-captain), Jo Weston, Steph Wood.

A new format was introduced for the tournament. Teams  competed in three stages; the Preliminaries Stage One (12-14 July), Preliminaries Stage Two (15-18 July) and the Play-offs and Placings matches (19-21 July).

Preliminaries Stage One
There were four groups (A, B, C and D) of four teams in the first stage, with the top eight teams pre-assigned to their groups and one team from the 9th-12th seeds and one from the 13th-16th seeds drawn randomly into each group. However no more than two teams from the one region could be drawn into the same group. The top three teams from each group progressed to the second preliminaries stage.

 Preliminaries Stage Two
The top three teams from Groups A and B formed group F, and the top three teams from groups C and D  formed group G. The bottom four finishers from groups A-D competed against one another in group E. Where teams in groups F and G had already played each other in the Preliminaries Stage One (i.e. A1 has already played A2 and A3), those results carried through to the Preliminaries Stage Two.

 Play-offs and Placings
The teams finishing first and second in groups F and G went through to the semi-finals, with the top placed team in each group facing the second placed team in the other group. The winners of each semi-final competed for gold in the final, with the losers played for bronze.

The teams finishing third and fourth in groups F and G will competed for final positions fifth to eighth – third in one group played fourth in the other – with the winners playing off for fifth place and the losers for seventh. The teams that finished fifth in groups F and G played off for ninth and 10th places. The teams that finished last in groups F and G played off for 11th and 12th places. The teams that finish first and second in group E played-off for 13th and 14th place and the teams that finished third and fourth in group E played-off for the 15th and 16th places.  This writer was still confused about all that when the final games were being played!!!

Australia’s Netball World Cup campaign kicked into gear on the Friday night with the team still haunted by their Commonwealth Games nightmare. Australia’s quest for Commonwealth Games redemption at the 2019 Netball World Cup began this night.   Coach Lisa Alexander’s team were hoping to win the prestigious tournament for a fourth-consecutive time — and this year had the added motivation of revenging their loss to England at last year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

Australia Ranking: 1  Nickname: The Diamonds……….World Cup wins: 11 (1963, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2007,2011, 2015)………….World Cup final appearances: 14…………The dominant team in the world game were the team to beat in Liverpool as they looked  for an astonishing 12th world title in 55 years. Although the squad contained nine World Cup rookies, they boasted some of the sport’s outstanding players in mid-courter Liz Watson and goal shooters Caitlin Bassett and Gretel Tippet.

Preliminaries Stage One results

 Group A: Australia, Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe & Sri Lanka

12 July: Australia defeated  Northern Ireland [7.30pm AEST 9 Gem]….88-24

              Zimbabwe defeated  Sri Lanka……79-49

13 July: Australia defeated Zimbabwe [5.45pm  AEST 9 Gem]…73-37

Northern Ireland  defeated  Sri Lanka…  67-50

14 July:  Australia  defeated  Sri Lanka  [11.45pm AEST, Chan 9]….99-24

Zimbabwe defeated Northern Ireland…51-49

 Group B:  New Zealand, Malawi, Barbados,& Singapore

12 July:  New Zealand defeated Malawi…65-45

Singapore defeated Barbados…69-34

13 July:   New Zealand  defeated  Barbados…78-25

Malawi defeated  Singapore…87-38

14 July:  New Zealand  defeated  Singapore…….90-21

Malawi  defeated  Barbados….66-41

Group C:  Jamaica, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago, & Fiji

12 July:  Jamaica defeated  Fiji…85-29

South Africa defeated Trinidad & Tobago…76-45

13 July:   Jamaica defeated Trinidad & Tobago…68-43

South Africa defeated  Fiji… 90-35

14 July:  South Africa defeated Jamaica…55-52

Trinidad & Tobago defeated  Fiji…..67-56

Group D; England, Uganda, Scotland & Samoa

12 July:  England defeated Uganda…64-32

 Scotland defeated Samoa…53-35

13 July  England defeated Scotland…70-33

Uganda defeated  Samoa…69-48

14 July:  England  defeated Samoa…94-24

Uganda defeated Scotland..,.52-43

 Preliminaries StageTwo results

After Stage One, the following groups have resulted for Stage Two Preliminary matches. If teams have already played each other, the results of the earlier match are carried forward, eg, Australia vs Northern Ireland & Zimbabwe in Group F.

Group E: Sri Lanka, Singapore, Fiji, Samoa,

Group F: Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Malawi, Australia, Barbados,

Group G:  Jamaica, England, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, South Africa, Scotland

15^th July – 16^th July:

Group F: New Zealand defeated Zimbabwe…79-36

Malawi defeated Northern Ireland…47-43

Australia defeated  Barbados [8pm]…91-22

Group E: Sri Lanka defeated Singapore…88-50

Group G: England defeated Jamaica…56-48

Group E: Samoa defeated Fiji…56-54

Group G: Uganda defeated Trinidad & Tobago…57-54

Group G: South Africa defeated  Scotland…66-38

16^th July:   -17^th  July

Group E: Fiji defeated Singapore…71-56

Group E: Samoa defeated Sri Lanka …65-55

Group F: New Zealand defeated Northern Ireland …77-28

Group F: Australia defeated  Malawi  [2am]…74-25

Group F: Zimbabwe defeated Barbados…66-41

17^th July – 18^th July

Group E: Fiji defeated Sri Lanka… 59-44

Group E: Samoa defeated Singapore…63-49

Group G: England defeated Trinidad & Tobago…72-46

Group G: Jamaica defeated  Scotland…67-36

Group G: South Africa defeated Uganda…67-40

18^th July – 19^th July

Group F: Northern Ireland defeated  Barbados…46-43

Group F: Australia defeated  New Zealand [7.30pm]…50-49

Group F: Malawi defeated Zimbabwe…59-43

Group G: Trinidad & Tobago drew with Scotland…43-43

Group G: Jamaica defeated Uganda…61-48

Group G: England defeated South Africa…58-47

Australia survived its sternest test at the Netball World Cup, holding out a hard-charging New Zealand to win a thriller 50-49 in Liverpool. Even though little was at stake, the trans-Tasman rivals fought out easily the best game of a tournament that has been dominated by one-sided fixtures through the first week. Both teams were guaranteed a place in Saturday’s semi-finals yet they played with intensity throughout, particularly in the final quarter when New Zealand gobbled into a lead that was as big as nine goals midway through the third quarter. With the scores locked 49-49 in the final minute, captain Caitlin Bassett sunk a goal to hand Australia the advantage.  New Zealand’s Maria Folau had a chance to level with a shot five seconds from the end but missed, handing the Diamonds a 12th win from their past 13 meetings.  “We all know how accurate Maria is from range,” Diamonds defender Courtney Bruce said. “I was just trying to my hardest to annoy her and get over her shot and really get in her head.”  The result means Australia’s semi-final will be against South Africa after it lost its final group game to England 58-47.

19^th July – 21st July

 For 5^th to 8^th position

Jamaica defeated Zimbabwe …77-47

Malawi defeated  Uganda ..55-44

Uganda defeated Zimbabwe…58-47

Jamaica defeated Malawi…68-50

For 9^th to 12^th position

Scotland defeated Barbados… 53-42

Northern Ireland vs Trinidad & Tobago

For 13^th – 16^th Position

Samoa defeated Fiji…53-42

Sri  Lanka defeated Singapore…78-57

Semi Final 1:

New Zealand defeated England…47-45

New Zealand have booked a place in the Netball World Cup final with Australia after edging hosts England 47-45 in a dramatic last four clash 47-45 in Liverpool. Tracey Neville’s team clawed back from a nightmare start to lead 24-21 at halftime on Saturday but a disastrous third quarter gave the Silver Ferns a three-point lead going into the last. The deficit proved too tough to breach for an England team who must now somehow recover for Sunday’s third-place playoff against South Africa. The warning signs were there early on as Maria Folau gave New Zealand a 5-0 lead inside the first four minutes.

Semi Final 2

Australia defeated South Africa…55-53

Alexander made five changes to the side that edged out the Silver Ferns on Friday with skipper Caitlin Bassett and Steph Wood dropped to the bench as Caitlin Thwaites and Gretel Tippett filled the goal shooter and goal attack roles. South Africa started strongly in a keenly-contested opening quarter, as both sides turned the ball over regularly in the opening exchanges. The Proteas were made to pay for missed chances from under the hoop by Lenize Potgieter as the Diamonds scored two quickfire goals to open up a 14-10 lead at the start of the second stanza. The Diamonds slowly started to exert some dominance with Tippett causing South Africa all sorts of problems in the attacking third of the court as they stretched their advantage to 31-23 at halftime. However, Plummer’s message to her players during the interval had the desired effect as the Proteas won the third quarter to close the gap to 43-39 going into the final 15 minutes.

For 3^rd and 4^th position [Bronze Medal]

England defeated South Africa…58-42

England won bronze at the Netball World Cup by beating South Africa 58-42 in their play-off match in Liverpool. Tracey Neville’s side were aiming for gold on home soil but suffered an agonising two-goal defeat by New Zealand in Saturday’s semi-final But the Roses, ranked third in the world, did finish with a medal – comfortably seeing off the Proteas after a cagey opening quarter. England won an unexpected gold at the Commonwealth Games 15 months ago and although they could not match the elation of that moment, the home crowd were still delighted to see the Roses on the podium on the final day. It also gave head coach Neville a positive send-off in her 70th and, as it stands, final match in charge before she steps down to concentrate on starting a family. “When Tracey first came into his job it was a whirlwind, but to see her grow as a world-class international coach has been a pleasure,” said England captain Serena Guthrie. “Today was about sending her off as best we could and we did that. “It’s hard to keep it together when we have got everybody crying at the moment. This has been the best experience.  “We almost feel like we have won a gold medal because of how we have changed the game. These 12 athletes have been up against it from the beginning and I’m so proud of everyone. I’m lost for words.”

 For World Cup Final [Gold Medal]

New Zealand  defeated Australia… 52-51

Australia are suffering heartbreak in Liverpool after losing the Netball World Cup final to New Zealand by a goal. For the first time since 2003, the Silver Ferns beat the Diamonds in the gold-medal match 52-51, with classy defence and better control.  Having lost their last meeting to Australia in the final game of the preliminary rounds, New Zealand overthrew the hosts and favourites England in the semi-final.  This was an impressive feat itself, considering they did not even place at the last Commonwealth Games.  The opening quarter was the sort of tussle we are used to seeing from the trans-Tasman rivals and heading into the first break the score was level, 10-10.  A similar pattern was repeated in the second quarter, with each team shooting one-for-one until the Silver Ferns got on a roll, scoring three consecutive goals in the final minute.  Goal shooter Maria Folau had started slow, but improved during this period, moving from 63 per cent accuracy to 85.  Her shooting partner in goal attack, Ameliaranne Ekenasio, also outsmarted the Diamonds multiple times, drawing both circle defenders away to leave Folau free in open space for the feed.  Unfortunately Australia did not learn from this mistake and it cost them. Even the injection of Sarah Klau at goal keeper in the third quarter could not stop the momentum.  Brimming with confidence and sticking to the dogged defence that helped them reach the big dance, New Zealand continued to test the Aussies, scoring six unanswered goals in this quarter to take a seven-goal lead in the final break.

While the Diamonds fought hard in those last 15 minutes, they could not take back the lead.  Basset scored to make the difference just one in the final minute, but a mixture of penalties meant the Silver Ferns held on to possession.  The experience of their older and more capped players paid dividends in ensuring they held onto concentration in such a big event.  One of them, Casey Kopua, who was awarded player of the match, influenced the game from the back with two intercepts, three gains and an important rebound.  She gets to leave the game a hero, having played her final game in a black and silver dress.  But Australia should be proud of their performance, especially the fight they showed in the fourth quarter to bring the difference back to a single goal.

[Note, comments on matches taken from various netball related websites]