BIBLE THOUGHT

“O you that hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.” (Psalms 65:2 AKJV)

God still hears prayer. Take time to pray. CHAIN FENCE JUST received a notice from my “neighbour”, Defence Housing Australia, which informs me that it has decided to erect a six-foot high chainlink fence from Henry St along Martini St to Rifle Range Rd to keep out the riff-raff.

They say it’s also for we residents’ own protection and WHS following undetailed vandalism by unknown persons.

It will be like waking up and thinking about prison camps; it will assist in keeping we locals in our place.

Gone are the days of the beauty of Mt Lofty and its environs.

Next will be the bulldozers and their beeping and squawking.

I look at the beautiful 1000 year old bushland soon to be totally destroyed and cry for it, the flora and the fauna soon to be lost forever. SHAEN EGAN, Toowoomba

TRADITION

THE hills of north Toowoomba were alive with tradition when the two great colleges in the city Downlands and Toowoomba Grammar met last Saturday for the rivalry of rugby with the staging of the O’Callaghan Cup at Downlands College.

The weekend was not just about the points on the scoreboard, and a welldeserved win to TGS, it’s about something more special.

As a Downlands past student of the 1970s and in fact the first class of co-ed students to travel from St Ursula’s College daily in 1971 in a double decker McCafferty’s bus for education, it is always significant each year to visit the colleges and experience what the day represents which is tradition, friendship, pride and a bond that exists across life.

The family tradition of the O’Callaghan Cup each year for more than 30 years has seen Patric O’Callaghan, a former Downlands student, travel from Perth to present the winning school with the family honour and now sharing this time with his young grandson.

Former students from both schools share in social reunions and memories of their school days, their mates and the experiences of school, with some more memorable than others.

Congratulations to both colleges and special mention of the Downlands principal who at the end of the game gave the crowd a message of responsibility and care in celebrating the result of the day and remembering what is really important in life.

How lovely also for the class of 1971 to share memories of school with the class of 2016 – Olivia, Tessa, Jess and Ellie from the sideline as we cheered on the boys in red and blue.

A great celebration in the city of Toowoomba shared by many across the country.

BARBARA MCGOVERN, Toowoomba FERAL PETS THE hares on the block on the corner of Spring and Hume Sts, which is proposed to be developed, has seen me caught out too.

I was recently asked, what’s the difference between a hare and a rabbit. All my answers proved to be wrong.

Of course, you all know the difference. Rabbits, I’m told, can grow “hairs”, but hares can’t grow rabbits.

Silly me. There’s always someone smarter out there. A bit of research revealed that we do have quite a few ferals. Horses, camels, goats.

But the real pests include cane toads 1935, foxes 1855, cats 1849, rabbits 1859, the only ones with known introduction dates. Other serious pests include rats, mice, pigs, buffalo, carp. Less so deer.

We couldn’t really call hares pests. In plants and birds there are many, many introduced species that have gone feral to various degrees. All of our domestic animals, birds, many plants are all originally introduced.

Our cereal grains etc, the list could go on and on. Australia didn’t have a lot to start with suited to the Caucasian lifestyle.

RAY HARCH, Toowoomba