The Tingle Factor Box

Rover Looks At Things Littorally

This week, Rover decided that, with the weather turning cold and a little less inviting, he would like to spend some time remembering a few of his summer trips. He went back through the photographs, and discovered a few he had not used on the blog, photos of the amazing rainforest to be found at Bass Point on the South Coast of NSW. He thought this would be a perfect time to remedy that situation.

If you would like to visit Bass Point, it is located in Shell Cove, near Shell Harbour. To get there, first find Addison Street in Shell Cove and then turn into Wentworth Street. From there, take Darley Street (heading towards the coast) and then turn into Boollwarroo Parade. Boollwarroo Parade eventually turns into Bass Point Tourist Road which leads to Bass Point itself. Along the road at Bass Point you will drive through the beautiful rainforest, and there are also plenty of places to picnic, run around or explore a little.

Bass Point is a very special place. Not only is there an association with early European exploration, with Matthew Flinders naming the point in circa 1800 after his friend and fellow explorer George Bass, but the area protects one of the few remaining pockets of littoral rainforest on the South Coast. So what exactly is a littoral rainforest? Littoral rainforestss are typically seen within two kilometres of the coastline and in many ways littoral rainforests could be defined as seaside rainforests. They grow on beach sands and are bedded in soil rich in quartz sediments and often volcanic minerals, as is the case at Bass Point.

Littoral rainforests have incredibly diverse vegetation, with shrubs, dense vine thickets and ground plants often thriving together, under a dense closed canopy of trees which can be up to 30 metres tall. Due to their coastal positions, and exposure to sea winds and salt sprays, ferns are less often present and the plants which do grow often have thick and leathery leaves and/or have become tolerant of salt. Today, the littoral rainforests of NSW are a fragmented group of habitats which are now classified as endangered ecological communities, making up less than 0.6 percent of the Australian rainforests. In fact, some fear that littoral rainforests may someday be extinct, yet once they were common along the eastern coastline of Australia.

Roy Creates Delicious Custardy Orange Cream Biscuits

This week, Roy wanted to make some delicious biscuits to share with a friend who was coming to visit. This friend loves sweet treats, but also likes things which are simple and not too rich. Roy wanted to find something which would be flavoursome and delicious, but which wouldn’t be over the top, and when he found a recipe for orange cream biscuits, he thought they sounded very promising. The results were even better than he expected and he decided to share the recipe with his online friends. So this week, Roy Creates Delicious Custardy Orange Cream Biscuits.

You Will Need:

• 185 grams of butter
• ½ a cup of castor sugar
• 3 eggs
• ½ a cup of custard powder
• 2 cups of self raising flour

For the icing:

• 125 grams of butter
• 1 cup of icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons of custard powder
• 2 teaspoons of orange zest
• 2 teaspoons of orange juice

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius and line biscuit trays with baking paper.
• Cream together the butter and sugar

• Add the eggs and beat them in, one at a time
• Sift together the custard powder and flour and mix this into the butter mixture.
• Roll teaspoons of the dough into balls and place onto your prepared trays (Roy fit 12 on a tray).

• Press the balls of dough with a fork to flatten
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden and cooked through
• Cool on wire racks completely

• Sift the icing sugar into a bowl
• Add the butter, custard powder, orange zest and orange juice to the icing sugar and mix into a smooth icing

• Use the icing to sandwich the biscuits together
• Enjoy!

Hadn't They heard Of Icecream? The Dinner Year Book

Imagine you are a housewife living in the late 1800s. You have only married recently, and there are so many things which you must now remember and do, which you were not responsible for before. One of the things which you find most daunting is preparing a dinner menu. Selecting the appropriate dishes, and ensuring the selection works together is such a difficult process, and especially when there is somebody important coming to dine with you. You are fortunate indeed that your mother provided you with a wonderful book upon your wedding day – The Dinner Year Book has indeed been a godsend!

When I showed the children this recipe book, they were intrigued and surprised to discover such a range of different recipes which would once have been just a part of life. Many of the children are used to having similar meals each week, or at least having leftovers for dinner the following day, and were amazed by this book which prescribes something different every day! What’s more, they could not imagine having such a range of dishes available for dinner, and having a special dessert each day seemed like something between heaven and “over the top – hadn’t they heard of ice-cream?”

Cookbooks have a surprisingly long history, dating back as far as the first century or perhaps even earlier. It is believed that recipes were certainly recorded before this, but the earliest surviving book of recipes comes from the first century and is thought by many to have been written (in Latin) by Marcus Gavius Apicius. Whether he wrote the collection or not, the name Apicius actually came to mean a collection of recipes, though we are more familiar with the term ‘cookbook’ today. Other ancient cultures also had cookbooks, with Chinese recipe books known to exist as early as the Tang Dynasty while Arabic cookbooks are thought to date to about the 9^th century. In the western world though, the writing of cookbooks died out, until in the 13^th century people again began to compile recipes into collections.

It wasn’t until the printing press was invented, and the 16^th and 17^th centuries though that cookbooks really began to take off. With the ability to easily print numerous copies of a publication, people began to write books explaining household management and food preparation and soon there was competition between well off families as to who could prepare the best meal. By the late 1600s cooking had become an art form of its own, and good cooks (and their recipes) were in high demand. As demand grew, many of these cooks began to publish their own collections of recipes. Yet most of these books were aimed at domestic cooks, not the housewife herself. Eliza Acton was the first to write a book aimed specifically at the housewife and her book Modern Cookery For Private Families, published in 1845, was extremely popular. This popularity led others to begin to publish their own cookbooks, the most famous of which was Mrs Beeton. Today, cookbooks exist for every culture, cuisine, size and taste, and of course with the advent of new technology, many are now available online.

Roaming Roy Visits A Green Corridor - Corridor Of Oaks

This week, Roy decided it was time to head towards the Blue Mountains for a day in the fresh air and beautiful scenery. Roy loves the Blue Mountains, with their history and stunning scenery, and is constantly amazed by the fact that every time he visits, there seems to still be something new to see. This time, he decided to stop by Faulconbridge to visit a park which he had heard about and even driven past many times, the Prime Ministers Corridor Of Oaks. 

 

 

If you would like to visit the Prime Ministers Corridor Of Oaks, it is located in Jackson Park in Faulconbridge. To get there, take the Great Western Highway through the mountains, and turn off into Sir Henry’s Parade at Faulconbridge. Continue over the railway crossing and you will soon see Jackson Park to the left. There is plenty of parking available, and Jackson Park is a perfect place for a picnic, or to run off a little excess energy.

 

 

Faulconbridge is a little town in the Blue Mountains with a big history, being named for the property which was established by Sir Henry Parkes (which was itself named after his mother - Faulconbridge was her maiden name). Parkes was, of course, most famous as the father of Federation, but he did not live to see his dream of a single, federated Australia realised. In 1917 his home at Faulconbridge, Faulconbridge House, was purchased by Joseph Jackson, a businessman and long term resident of the area. Jackson was interested in Australian history and was also a great admirer of Sir Henry Parkes and in 1932 he and his wife, Mylora purchased the land opposite their home, offering it to the Blue Mountains Shire Council as a park - what became Jackson Park. 

 

 

The park was soon established, but much of the early work in creating and caring for the park was actually done by Jackson. He also extended the park area over the following years, purchasing and donating more land. Then, when the park was fully established, Jackson hit upon the idea of having each Prime Minister (or their surviving relative) plant a tree within its bounds. He was perhaps inspired by two trees in his own garden which had been planted in 1881 by their Royal Highnesses Prince Albert and Prince George during a visit with Sir Henry Parkes. Jackson imagined a grand corridor of oaks standing proudly opposite the home of the father of federation, a memorial not only to the Prime Ministers themselves, but to Sir Henry Parkes who had made it all possible. The first oak was planted on September 12, 1934 by the then Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, and each Prime Minister of Australia is represented, whether by a tree planted by themselves, or by a relative. 

Roy Creates Chocolaty Date and Caramel Slice

This week, Roy decided he had a hankering for some sort of delicious, chewy slice. Roy loves to cook any sort of food, but slices are one of his favourite things to make as they are so easy, and so delicious. He remembered seeing a recipe in one of his cookbooks for a Date and Caramel Slice with Chocolate Icing and thought this sounded absolutely scrumptious. Indeed, the results were so good that the slice didn’t last long before it was all eaten up. So this week, Roy Creates Chocolaty Date and Caramel Slice.

You Will Need:

• 125 grams of margarine
• ½ a cup of sugar
• 1 cup of coconut
• 1 cup of self raising flour
• A pinch of salt
• 1 cup of chopped dates
• 2 tablespoons of golden syrup
• 1 cup of icing sugar
• 1 dessertspoon of butter
• 1 dessertspoon of cocoa powder
• ½ a teaspoon of vanilla essence

Method:

• Line a slice tin with baking paper and preheat the oven to 170 degrees celcius

• Mix together the sugar, coconut, flour, salt and dates.
• Melt the margarine and golden syrup together (you can do this in the microwave, just be careful not to burn it)

• Add the golden syrup mix to the dry ingredients and mix together
• Press into the tin and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked
• In the last few minutes of cooking, make the icing by mixing together the icing sugar, butter, cocoa and vanilla until smooth. You may need to add a little hot water to make the icing the right consistency.

• Spread the icing over the slice while the slice is hot. Roy also sprinkled his slice with coconut
• Allow to cool and then cut into squares.

They Were Experimenting All That Time Ago? Motor Book

Imagine you are a little boy living in the 1950s. You have been working hard at school to get the best possible grades you can manage, because if you do well, your parents have promised you a special reward. They will take you to the bookshop and you can choose any book you like! You have already decided which book you want to choose, a book about Motor Cars, with lots of pictures inside. You just hope you get the grades you need!

When I showed the children this Pageant Picture Book; ‘Motors’ they were intrigued, not so much by the book, but by the pictures contained inside. Children are, of course, very familiar with modern cars, but they were amazed to see what some of the older cars looked like, and several thought they looked slightly ‘more handsome’ than cars of today. The cars which truly intrigued them most though were the experimental cars – they were amazed to think about people experimenting with making ‘crazy cars so long ago – I thought people only did that now!’

Automobiles, or cars as we usually call them today, have a remarkably long history, dating right back to the 1700s and, during their entire history, have involved a lot of experimentation. In 1768 Nicolas Joseph Cugnot design the first ever steam powered automobile which was able to be used for transport while in 1807 Francois Isaac de Rivaz created the first car powered by internal combustion. This car had an internal combustion engine which used a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, which was ignited with an electric spark. His engine was certainly not the same as those used in cars today, but was a remarkable step forwards. However, it wasn’t commercially successful and like many other early cars, it didn’t catch on.

The idea of a combustion engine had merit though, and in the late 1870s Nikolaus Otto created the four stroke internal combustion engine which is most often used today. Although the internal combustion engine was successful and became well used, people still continued to experiment with different ways of powering cars (and in fact steam powered cars were still being experimented with into the 20^th century). Electric engines to power car’s first appeared in the 1800s, with the Flocken Elektrowagen, created by Andreas Flocken in 1888, considered to be the first fully operational electric car. It was the 1950s though which brought about perhaps the most dangerous experiments concerning powering cars – nuclear powered cars! These cars had tiny nuclear reactors on board, but the technology was soon abandoned because it was incredibly dangerous. Of course, today people continue to experiment with ways to power cars, looking for cleaner, greener options – but there is nothing new about the experimentation process itself!

Roaming Roy Finds A Creek In History - Flat Rock Creek

This week, Roy decided it was time to enjoy a quiet meander in beautiful, natural surroundings. Roy was heading into the North Sydney area though, so he knew he would have to look carefully to find the perfect place where he could walk and almost forget he was close to the city. Eventually we decided that Tunks Park and Flat Rock Creek in the Willoughby area would be perfect.

If you would like to visit Tunks Park and Flat Rock Creek, it is located in Cammeray, not far from North Sydney. To get there, continue along Strathallen Avenue, across the suspension bridge, and then turn into The Boulevarde. Continue along Rowlison Parade until you reach Vernon Street and from there turn into Brothers Avenue. You should now be able to find somewhere to park. Alternately, you can turn from Strathallen Avenue into Cliff Avenue and then follow Lower Cliff Avenue to Brothers Avenue. There is plenty of room to have a picnic, run off energy, kick a ball or just enjoy a walk along the creek! There is also a fabulous children’s playground to explore and enjoy.

Tunks Park, named after William Tunks (the first Mayor of St Leonards), is a foreshore park which has long been the centre of sports in the area. With fields catering for cricket, football, soccer and even school carnivals, it is a popular place for not only organised sports, but for more informal games. The sports fields themselves were created in the 1950s, when the creek and mudflats at the top of Long Bay were reclaimed. The fields were named the Falcon Memorial Playing Fields, in memory of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars. However, the history of the area surrounding Tunks Park goes back much further. There are shell middens and rock art sites in the area which show that the local Aboriginal people, the Cammeraygal people after whom Cammeray is named, used the creek and tidal flats for food and water.

After European settlement though, the area around Flat Rock Creek became heavily used. Rock was quarried from the area for use around Sydney, and in building the piers for the suspension bridge which spans the park. The soils around the creek were also found to be rich and fertile and quickly orchards and market gardens began to appear, many of which were operated by the Chinese. There was even a piggery, the ruins of which can still be seen if you walk the entire length of the creek. Of course, the creek was also picturesque, with cascades and a magnificent waterfall, and many came to the area to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Then, in the 1930s the beautiful waterfall which had been so popular with picnickers, was designated as a rubbish dump. The Walter Burley Griffin Incinerator could not cope with the amount of waste, and tonnes of rubbish was tipped into Flat Rock Creek Gully, right up until 1985.

Roy Creates French Onion Steak Casserole

This week, Roy decided he would like to share a recipe one of his friends shared with him recently. After the black outs and flooding in various areas, many were looking for simple ways to use meat, and lots of discussions were held about favourite recipes. One which he was told stuck out though, not just because it was easy, but because when he tried it, it was absolutely delicious. So this week, Roy Creates French Onion Steak Casserole.

You Will Need:

• Butter
• Steak
• 1 packet of French Onion Soup mix
• 1 tin of chopped or crushed tomatoes
• 2 onions. Roy used red onions, but white are fine too
• Optional: You can mix sliced mushrooms in with the onions if you like.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

• Scatter dobs of butter over the base of the baking tin
• Slice the onions into thin rounds and spread across the bottom of the dish

• Cover the onions with the steaks. You can dice these or leave them as complete steaks - whatever you prefer!
• Sprinkle the steak with the French Onion Soup mix

• Pour over the tomatoes
• Cover the dish with foil
• Bake until the steak is cooked and tender (the cooking time will vary depending on what sort of steak you decide to use)
• Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetables and enjoy

So Stars Move? Starfinder Chart

Imagine you are a child living in the 1960s. You are fascinated by the night sky, and by all of the planets, stars and other things which make up far off space. You have a telescope which your parents gave you for your birthday, but one of your absolute treasures is the Starfinder Chart which they gave you as well. Without the chart, you would be able to see all of the wondrous things out there, but you couldn’t tell which was which!

When I showed the children this ‘Starfinder’ chart, they were intrigued by it. They had not seen very many star charts, and they were fascinated to be able to see what stars were present in our Southern Skies. The thing which amazed them most was that the position of the stars changed so much during the year. The children realised that the stars seen in the northern hemisphere are different to the ones we see in the southern hemisphere, but they didn’t realise that the positions of the stars also varied as the earth rotates.

Star charts have an extraordinarily long history, with the oldest known example carved onto a Mammoth ivory tusk. This star chart, which comes from Germany, dates back about 32,500 years, and looks like a representation of the constellation we know as Orion. Other ancient drawings and carvings in caves and grottoes show various star systems, but it is the Nebra Sky Disk which is perhaps the most famous ancient star map. This disk, which comes from Germany, was made in about 1600 BC and is a bronze disk with gold symbols thought to be a sun or full moon, and a number of stars – possibly even the milky way! The disk, one of the oldest known depictions of our cosmos, is so important that it is considered one of the most significant archaeological finds of the 20^th century, and is included on the UNESCO Memory Of The World Register. Two of the oldest representations of star charts may have been found in Germany, but it is known that many ancient civilisations studied the night skies, including the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians and Chinese.

Early astronomers of these ancient cultures were interested in how the sun, moon and planets moved amongst the stars, and often they were focussed on using the sky to make predictions. They knew about constellations, and had even named many of them, but they used the sky as a system to understand the universe and life. Study of the stars did not stop though, and during the medieval and early modern periods star charts continued to be created. These often took a more ‘scientific’ view, attempting to accurately map the night sky and as time went by, and more stars and planets were discovered, these were added. These medieval and early modern charts were usually  manuscripts or paper documents – the first ‘star charts’ as we think of them today. Fascination for the night sky has never stopped, and throughout history, as technology advanced, charts have been added to and altered, and also produced for the public to use. The chart I showed the children is a 20^th century attempt to allow families to identify the stars they could see in the southern skies. Today of course, many simply turn to a mobile device and a cheaply purchased app to do the same thing we have been doing for centuries – star gazing!

Rover Is Artistically Inclined - Pugh's Lagoon

There has been so much rain about recently, and Rover thought while the sun was out, it was the perfect time to enjoy time out and about. He also thought, with Mothers Day upon us, it was the perfect time to share a beautiful spot to take Mum’s and Grandma’s to enjoy a picnic. There are plenty of beautiful places which Rover knows of, but one which he recently visited stood out – Pugh’s Lagoon.

If you would like to visit Pugh’s Lagoon it is located in the beautiful and historic Richmond area. To get there, follow Windsor Street until you reach the beautiful lagoon area. Alternately, you can follow Old Kurrajong Road, if you are coming from the Mountains, and this will also take you to the lagoon. You can find a place to park in Smith Park, and there is plenty of room to spread out a picnic blanket and enjoy the beautiful surrounds. There are also plenty of waterbirds to watch!

Pugh’s Lagoon is named after Edward Pugh who was transported to Australia as a convict on the First Fleet. He arrived with his wife, Elizabeth Parker (who was also a convict) and their daughter Ann but sadly both Elizabeth and Ann died not long after arriving in Australia. Edward remarried another convict, Hannah Smith, not long after Elizabeth’s death and together they had a family. Edward served out his sentence and in 1791 he was granted 70 acres of land near Parramatta. The grant was cancelled in 1802 and a new grant given to Pugh in an area near Richmond, just west of a lagoon, the lagoon later known as Pugh’s Lagoon. By the mid 1830s though, Edward was a pauper and he died at Windsor District Hospital in 1837.

Pugh’s Lagoon is not just historically linked with a First Fleeter though. The Richmond and Windsor district is a beautiful area which has long captured the interest of artists who have come to the vicinity to capture the stunning scenery. Pugh’s Lagoon is just one area which artists have frequented. The most well known was the impressionist Charles Conder. In 1888 Conder was in the area and painted a view from the southern end of Pugh’s Lagoon and looking towards St Peter’s Church which stands on the rise beyond. There is a sign in Smith Park commemorating this visit and the painting, though it is quite a distance from where Conder actually painted the scene from. Charles Conder was a well known member of the famous Heidelberg School and is represented in many international collections. The painting of Pugh’s Lagoon is in the collection of the National Gallery Of Victoria.