‘Under One Sky’, great new video by Malcolm Paterson which vividly evokes the atmosphere and the benefits of the Bimblebox art, science and nature camps, the well-grown brainchild  of Jill Sampson.

From watching this film, all you wonderful folk who contributed to our pre-Covid Chuffed fundraiser to upgrade the camp site can take heart that your effort was well worth while.

Vale Joan Vickers 1943 – 2023

(Adapted from Sheena Gillman’s eulogy at Joan’s funeral)

The Bimblebox Alliance acknowledges the significant part Joan Vickers played since our foundation in 2014. She was a true environmental warrior with an amazing brain and a determination that we must all care better for our protected areas, and that our beloved Bimblebox would not succumb to being a weeping chancre on the landscape of Queensland.

Joan held different roles on the TBA management committee, particularly as the Treasurer, but also in the updating of the website. We valued her contributions of her knowledge in science and legislation until 2020, when her health started to fail her.

We admired her optimism about her various surgeries gone wrong; she would always insist that she would soon recover.  Her tenacity was evident in many ways, and as photographer Greg Harm, a participant in the 2015 Art Camp, said: ‘I remember Joan as one who could not be stopped.’

It is evidenced in this story of Paola’s from that Camp:

‘It was already dark she arrived, with one eye sunken and bloodshot; a wrong turn on her way in and she’d had to wrestle with a particularly tight and difficult cockie’s gate, the like of which she possibly had never met in her life.

‘As she battled the gate, the handle flew into her eye, and her glasses, though flung in the dust nearby, saved the eye from a worse fate. Yet the next day she wanted to go for long walks, carrying backpack and water bottle. “What about the eye?” It was still sore and blue all round, but she insisted she could see well from the other eye.

‘Joan was up for anything going on – from riding on the back of the ute to a remote site of the nature refuge, to walking for miles with a heavy backpack full of flora and fauna books, while others were on mountain bikes. She felt invincible, while everyone was worried about this thin elderly woman who ‘could not be stopped’.

‘I too was challenged by her frailty – we joked together that I being of heavier girth had 3 children – how on earth did she give birth to 4? Soon after, the conversation might switch to her conquests in rock climbing and orienteering, while carrying a weight most would of us could not bear.

‘This weight upon Joan was the arthritis she suffered – the endless operations – her pain, her disappointment when things went wrong, and latterly – the most miserable of wrongs as she lost her wonderfully clever brain – a head full of knowledge, of life experiences, her canny dry wit, her love for her family and the environment.’

Whilalloo NR – Joan Vickers & endangered Macrozamia carei

Sheena said: This was Joan in her element as we knew and respected her as a member of The Bimblebox Alliance committee.

On behalf of our Bimblebox Alliance – to each one of us Joan was a dear friend – we are sorry to lose her from our kin. I say to Joan – go well, dear woman, know that you made a difference because we won against Palmer – we did it, and you were an integral part of that win, for which Bimblebox will be eternally grateful.

Joan Vickers –  died 14th October 2023.

Our 2024 Calendar, celebrating the historic Land Court win last year, features photographs by Malcolm Paterson, taken at the recent Art, Science and Nature camp plus quotes from President Kingham’s Ruling and explanations about the landmark judgment. 

(This will likely be the last Bimblebox Calendar. So a collector’s item? Note that as it is now February, we have now reduced the price from $20 to $10.)

We did not only save Bimblebox…

Read this very clear article by Tony Coleman, who was the actuarial expert for the TBA/YV case against Waratah Coal. He gives a good summary of the many and wide-reaching implications of our landmark case.

How an insurance professional helped stop a massive coal mine | Insurance Business Australia