Location: Manning Valley
Date: September 2012

September 28, 2012. Actually, it's taken the best part of the month to shoot the video for this project. I finished editing it today. I chose four villages from the Manning Valley to illustrate what the smaller places are like. Many of them have been bypassed by the Pacific Hwy or have been victims of the demise of the logging and timber industry, which still exists but not like it was during the 19th and 20th centuries. Logging is still practiced but selectively, and the focus is on re-generation of the forests.

The villages I chose are Tinonee, Croki, Coopernook and Mt George. They're pretty quiet places nowadays but still retain their early charm and provide a pleasant way to spend a few hours relaxing and sight seeing, as well as learning a thing or two about the Manning's history.

September 29, 2012. The other day I drove out to Wingham for the Veteran & Vintage Chevrolet Association of Australia show 'n' shine in celebration of its 85th anniversary. It was a great show with cars from the 1920s through to the 1980s. One old bloke was sitting in a yellow rag-top Chevy and I asked him who was older. His son volunteered to tell me... the Chevy was almost 90 but the old bloke had already been there. "You don't look a day over 89," I said. And a nice old fella he was too. He told me he owed his longevity to being a dairy farmer and that he'd traveled quite extensively around Oz in one of those old jalopies. One time, outback, they came across a bogged modern 4WD Pajero whose driver asked if they could tow him out of the bog. So they did, no worries. I overheard the son saying they stick to about 30 or 35mph because anything over that, like 50, "and you've really gotta hang on (to the wheel)." Then they showed me why... semi elliptical springs and no shock absorbers. Enjoy the video!