Yes a big thank you for your love and protection of dingos, we need them to build healthy ecologies. And they are magnificent! . And a big thank you too for the shout out 🙏
You're most welcome Sally. I felt your piece was perfect for this week. Communities can be so grounding. And your are right, we do need dingoes for a healthy eco system. The same farmer who used to try to trap/kill the dingoes would also, sadly, get an annual permit to cull kangaroos on his property. Perhaps he would have found a dingo would have done the job for him, naturally, and in return, the dingoes would have had less need to come down to his property.
Thank you for sharing this Alia, and also for sharing my work! I didn’t know much about the plight of dingoes, but always wondered ‘what the heck is a wild dog, if not a dingo?’ - I am most definitely going to read more on this topic.
Yes, the common understanding for a long while has been that most of the canines in the bush were interbred feral dogs. It's a misconception that all dingos are a sandy colour. They can have quite varied coats that make it hard to tell if they're pure or not. But recent DNA studies have shown that the vast majority are pure :)
Alas, no. Our little campervan isn’t up to off road, or even unsealed roads if they’re too lumpy and dusty. We were in Bright for Mountaingrass. Also did some (figurative) digging in the library on the Upper Ovens goldfields. Deepening the backstory for Black Spur, with an eye to a full second draft next winter.
Mountaingrass! I forgot that was on. Were you playing? I hope it was a good one this year. We ended up in Wagga on the Murrumbidgee, which was nice, but then the rain hit!
Hope the library had something useful. It's pretty small. It's part of a High Country network with most books found in the larger library in Wangaratta, which could be worth a visit if you're back up this way.
We go every year, to listen rather than perform. First when it was in Harrietville, then Beechworth, now Bright. The library was actually very useful. I was looking for stuff specific to the Morse Creek diggings, and I struck a rich vein. Before that I was at the Burke Museum and library in Beechworth, and I think the researcher there will be able to help me too. It's nice, getting back into some research. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed working in libraries, all those years ago during my PhD. A lot I'll be able to do online, on PROV and TROVE, but the knack I find is coming up with the right questions. Once I have those, the answers tend to follow.
A beautifully written story Alia — the sock, the washing, the horses, and the dingo, haunting and vivid. I knew very little about alpine dingos before I read your piece. Thank you for these insights. I am glad you are doing what you can to protect the dingoes, while also understanding their hunting nature and seeking to protect your family. I’m glad that neighbour has long gone, lights, radios blaring all night! Let’s hope others around you can also think of strategies beyond trapping and poisoning. Thank you also for sharing my work in your newsletter 🙏
Thank you, Kate, and you're welcome. Yes, I don't particularly like talkback radio at the best of times, let alone throughout the night, drowning out the soothing sounds of the creek, the crickets and the owls 😂
Alpine dingoes are pretty special. They're a little fluffier than their desert and northern cousins. There's a children's book called 'Wandi' inspired by a true story of a dingo pup found in someone's backyard in Wandiligong a few years back. They think he was dropped by an eagle. When it was discovered he was a pure dingo, it changed everything. Up until that point, we all believed the myth that they were all wild dogs.
I look forward to reading your other work about these beautiful beings! Thank you for making the issues known and more widespread amongst humans.
I live in the subtropical rainforest that meets the beach in northern NSW and we rarely hear or see them close to the ocean. My dog is half dingo though, and he has the intelligent wildness in him, so I like to think his dingo resonance has some positive effect over the land here!
But recently, in the rainforested hills, I was driving and, on a bend of the winding road, a gorgeous dark tan dingo stopped to watch me pass with her glittering almond eyes. I've never seen a wildling so close. In that split second our eyes met I gasped in awe. She slipped away, but left joy in my heart, for they are still here, even with the government's campaign to rid us of 'wild dogs'!
They sure are beautiful, Yen. I'm glad to hear you've had a sighting up there and that this story has shone some light on their plight for you. I was fortunate to see a dingo somewhere in northern NSW many, many years ago, although I can't remember where I was, haha. The encounter was not far from the coast though.
Oh, I definitely knew of their plight, but seeing that people are speaking for them is uplifting and reassuring. Also, inspiring for me as a writer to speak more for them and other beings. Perhaps change will come from this...
Yes a big thank you for your love and protection of dingos, we need them to build healthy ecologies. And they are magnificent! . And a big thank you too for the shout out 🙏
You're most welcome Sally. I felt your piece was perfect for this week. Communities can be so grounding. And your are right, we do need dingoes for a healthy eco system. The same farmer who used to try to trap/kill the dingoes would also, sadly, get an annual permit to cull kangaroos on his property. Perhaps he would have found a dingo would have done the job for him, naturally, and in return, the dingoes would have had less need to come down to his property.
Thank you for sharing this Alia, and also for sharing my work! I didn’t know much about the plight of dingoes, but always wondered ‘what the heck is a wild dog, if not a dingo?’ - I am most definitely going to read more on this topic.
Yes, the common understanding for a long while has been that most of the canines in the bush were interbred feral dogs. It's a misconception that all dingos are a sandy colour. They can have quite varied coats that make it hard to tell if they're pure or not. But recent DNA studies have shown that the vast majority are pure :)
Reads like a sunny morning song ☀️ thank you for protecting the dingo, and the lambs, and everybody!
Thank you Rena 🙏 I'm glad it feels sunny 🌞
There has to be space in this big country for people and dingoes. Thanks for this article, Alia. Coincidentally, I was in Wandiligong this week.
I agree Steve. If I can protect my veggies from the bowerbirds, anything is possible :)
Ah, Wandi, just a stone's throw away! Did you head over to Wonnangatta?
Alas, no. Our little campervan isn’t up to off road, or even unsealed roads if they’re too lumpy and dusty. We were in Bright for Mountaingrass. Also did some (figurative) digging in the library on the Upper Ovens goldfields. Deepening the backstory for Black Spur, with an eye to a full second draft next winter.
Mountaingrass! I forgot that was on. Were you playing? I hope it was a good one this year. We ended up in Wagga on the Murrumbidgee, which was nice, but then the rain hit!
Hope the library had something useful. It's pretty small. It's part of a High Country network with most books found in the larger library in Wangaratta, which could be worth a visit if you're back up this way.
We go every year, to listen rather than perform. First when it was in Harrietville, then Beechworth, now Bright. The library was actually very useful. I was looking for stuff specific to the Morse Creek diggings, and I struck a rich vein. Before that I was at the Burke Museum and library in Beechworth, and I think the researcher there will be able to help me too. It's nice, getting back into some research. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed working in libraries, all those years ago during my PhD. A lot I'll be able to do online, on PROV and TROVE, but the knack I find is coming up with the right questions. Once I have those, the answers tend to follow.
Oh good, there'd be a fair bit about Morses Creek in there as that was the old town name (as you've probably discovered already).
It's quite a funny small world. Three of the people I read on Substack were in Bright in the past fortnight! It's a busy little place 😆
Fascinating! Thank you.
Oh boy. Loud talk back radio is enough to drive anyone away! A beautiful piece Alia. (How I love gang gangs!) And thank you for the shout out!!
Thank you, Tash. Gang Gangs are adorable. I'm more than happy to let them take all the hazelnuts, which is saying a lot because I love hazelnuts!
A beautifully written story Alia — the sock, the washing, the horses, and the dingo, haunting and vivid. I knew very little about alpine dingos before I read your piece. Thank you for these insights. I am glad you are doing what you can to protect the dingoes, while also understanding their hunting nature and seeking to protect your family. I’m glad that neighbour has long gone, lights, radios blaring all night! Let’s hope others around you can also think of strategies beyond trapping and poisoning. Thank you also for sharing my work in your newsletter 🙏
Thank you, Kate, and you're welcome. Yes, I don't particularly like talkback radio at the best of times, let alone throughout the night, drowning out the soothing sounds of the creek, the crickets and the owls 😂
Alpine dingoes are pretty special. They're a little fluffier than their desert and northern cousins. There's a children's book called 'Wandi' inspired by a true story of a dingo pup found in someone's backyard in Wandiligong a few years back. They think he was dropped by an eagle. When it was discovered he was a pure dingo, it changed everything. Up until that point, we all believed the myth that they were all wild dogs.
Oh Wandi, my daughter has read this book, I might have too as well.
I look forward to reading your other work about these beautiful beings! Thank you for making the issues known and more widespread amongst humans.
I live in the subtropical rainforest that meets the beach in northern NSW and we rarely hear or see them close to the ocean. My dog is half dingo though, and he has the intelligent wildness in him, so I like to think his dingo resonance has some positive effect over the land here!
But recently, in the rainforested hills, I was driving and, on a bend of the winding road, a gorgeous dark tan dingo stopped to watch me pass with her glittering almond eyes. I've never seen a wildling so close. In that split second our eyes met I gasped in awe. She slipped away, but left joy in my heart, for they are still here, even with the government's campaign to rid us of 'wild dogs'!
They sure are beautiful, Yen. I'm glad to hear you've had a sighting up there and that this story has shone some light on their plight for you. I was fortunate to see a dingo somewhere in northern NSW many, many years ago, although I can't remember where I was, haha. The encounter was not far from the coast though.
Oh, I definitely knew of their plight, but seeing that people are speaking for them is uplifting and reassuring. Also, inspiring for me as a writer to speak more for them and other beings. Perhaps change will come from this...