BETWEEN FRIENDS

Greetings!

A lot has happened in the previous four months. Two Friends weekends have transpired, which are reported here by Peter Ackroyd. Several major projects are currently in progress, which are also covered.

As a bonus for FOBC supporters, a free copy of our very own Bat Pamphlet is included with this newsletter. To really support the FOBC, we need your attendance on the volunteer weekends, even if it is only once a year. The upcoming Buchan weekend on 20th to 21st March 1993 is an ideal opportunity. Whether there is a turn out of ten or a hundred, there will always be plenty of interesting and rewarding work to do, so please consider.

Not only has Peter Ackroyd finished preparing the pamphlet, it has been printed, and it is ready for public consumption in vast quantities! It will soon be going on sale at the Buchan Caves Reserve at a cost of $1. This is excellent value, considering the A3 size and the mine of useful information it contains.

This FOBC working-bee was held over the Melbourne Cup weekend, commencing 31st October 1992, in this isolated part of North-Eastern Victoria. A smaller group than last year, but just as enthusiastic, was present for the continuation of the cleaning of Pendergasts Cave. The project has now reached the stage where a considerable change is noticeable in the cave environment.

Due to the long drive up to Limestone Creek, people were a little slow to start, but Graham Parkes and Mark Doyle, helped by Mick Troy, got things going by setting up the fire fighting pump at the resurgence of Pendergasts Cave. The 50 mm canvas hose was run into the cave and an initial wet down of the upper chamber was carried out prior to the application of considerable quantities of elbow grease behind a platoon of scrubbing brushes.

Despite the fact that the grime has had well over 100 years to accumulate, it was found that it could be removed, if somewhat laboriously from most areas. The front half of the upper chamber and the passage leading into it were thoroughly scrubbed; floors, walls and roof, along with all the remaining speleothems (the cave has suffered considerable vandalism in the past.) A remarkable transition from muddy hole to well decorated chamber occurred before our eyes as the mud was slowly removed.

A small waterproof sign asking visitors to help the Friends with their restoration project by not proceeding into the cleaned area was installed near the entry point. The sign also gave Mark Doyle (the Ranger at Swift's Creek) and Peter Ackroyd as contacts for further information. If any Friend is in the area in the next few months, it would be useful to know how the sign, and the cleaned area, are being treated by visitors to the cave.

To proceed with the project from this point it will be necessary to obtain the use of a high pressure water pump with a generator to drive it. This is likely to be on the cards for next year.

Potholes re-vegetation

The fencing posts and wire have been completed and a start has been made on the weed eradication program. A full report is in Nargun 25(6):54-55. The next step is to mount and connect the solar powered "shocker" for the electric fence.

Geoff Hammond is about to commence the growing of saplings using selected seed collected from across the road at Wyatts Reserve. He would appreciate help in looking after the plants in their early stages.

Federal Cave water system

The installation of the low-pressure PVC pipe has nearly reached a conclusion. Finishing touches to the pipe fittings and the last tap is all that remains to be done. Peter Ackroyd is supervising this project.

Honeycomb Cave restoration

An area of the main chamber is still roped off and restoration cleaning is still in progress under the watchful eyes of Mick Adler, Bill Cuffe and Robyn Calnin. The main difficulty is avoiding the undoing of the cleaning by the large numbers of muddy feet which frequent the cave. Proper education of the attached minds and bodies is essential.

Re-lighting of Blackwood chamber

This project is still in its infancy, but a lot of eye-balling, chin-wagging and paper-scribbling has been done. A few low-voltage lights have been purchased, and a temporary transformer box has been constructed. The Friends weekend in March will see the evaluation of various options for placing lights, running cables, and the positioning of controls in this pretty chamber of Fairy Cave. Much of the design work is being done by Neil Brenton and Glenn Baddeley.

The weekend of the 5th and 6th of December 1992 saw the final Friends get-together for the year at Buchan. During the first day, work continued on the Federal Cave wash-water system, which is now close to completion.

Another group of electrically and aesthetically inclined Friends got down to the nitty gritty of designing a special lighting system for the Blackwood chamber in Fairy Cave; a new Friends project.

There was much activity out at the Potholes on Saturday, in questionable weather, with the 5-strand electric fence being strung around the 2 Hectare re-vegetation area to exclude stock. It is now ready for electrification.

The evening of the 5th was the Annual General Meeting at which the financial reports were presented and accepted and elections were held. This evening was a great success, organised by Robyn Calnin, and featuring Graham Parkes satays and hamburgers cooked by the chef himself. The results of the elections were:

President:	Geoff Hammond
Vice President:	Mick Adler
Secretary:	Brett Wakeman
Treasurer:	Peter Ackroyd

The next FOBC weekend is at Buchan on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st of March 1993. There will be several activities to choose from. The last run of pipe and taps in the Federal Cave wash-water system will be completed. Work on the Potholes re-vegetation and the clean-up of Honeycomb Cave will continue. The Blackwood chamber in Fairy Cave will see the experimental placement of temporary lights.