Title: Inspector Rex by Request
Cast: Tobias Moretti, Gedeon Burkhard, Alexander Pschill, Elke Winkens, Gerhard Zemann, Karl Markovics, Wolf Bachofner, Fritz Muliar, Heinz Weixelbraun, Marin Weinek.
Distributor: Aztec International
REVIEWED BY RAMA GAIND

You needn’t be a canine lover to understand the Inspector Rex phenomenon. Rex is a gorgeous German Shepherd who is a very special police investigator.
Released last year, this three-disc DVD comprises five of Australia’s most popular episodes of Rex ever screened in Australia – as voted by the viewers.
It’s difficult to explain Rex’s appeal, but you know that most of it comes from the way in which he calmly and logically assists his handsome detective master to solve a crime. Some of the credit also goes to the cast and Vienna as the location.
What’s more, it includes an absorbing 60-minute documentary in which the trainer, Teresa Miller, reveals how she manages to extort those amazing acting skills from Rex.
Another fascinating interview is with the co-creator, writer and producer Peter Hajek and a 16-page booklet with stories and some never-before-seen photographs in Australia.
The concept of this Austrian-made police television drama (seen on SBS TV) was simple enough – and it has paid off handsomely.
What’s the secret of its success? Divine intervention maybe?
As Peter Hajek states in the booklet on July 26, 2007:
“…But maybe you can ask Pope Benedict XVI. When interviewed on the occasion of teh Pope’s birthday his brother, Georg Ratzinger, a high-raking clergyman himself, revealed that he and his brother only watch two things on televison: the News and Inspector Rex".
The series has been running on SBS since September 1999. Now we wait anxiously for Series 9!
 

Originating in Sydney in 2007, the Earth Hour campaign has now gained global attention. As a result, on 8pm March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities will unite and switch off for Earth Hour.

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

More information and how to sign up from www.earthhour.org

Saturday 5 April
Shoreline walk
(from Geary’s Gap to Silver Wattle)
8.30 am 5 km walk
Walk along the shore of the lake with expert guides. Cmmentaries on pastoral and natural history will inform and entertain.
Bring water; sturdy footwear and trousers recommended. (For more details and map please check Weereewa website at www.weereewafestival.org)

Lake George Gardens Tour: presented by the Australian Garden History Society.

9.30 am to 4.30 pm Visit historical gardens
From 9.30 am to 4.30 pm visit historical gardens of the lake district: Currandooley and Willeroo, and The Old Stone House in Bungendore, are presented in conjunction with Australian Garden History Society.

AGHS members $15 non members $25
For booking information please contact
Australian Garden History Society
GPO Box 1630
Canberra ACT 2601

Or phone the Weereewa Festival on 6238 0119

Living across the Cultural Divide

Literary Dinner – an evening with writer Kim Mahood

Sunday 30 March 2008

7.00 pm Champagne Opening at A Suitable Book

Dinner at Wood Works Café

Kim Mahood grew up in the Tanami Desert. Despite time away at boarding school and later teaching at the Canberra School of Art, Kim is constantly drawn back to her heartland. Her identity is defined across two cultures. In her memoir, Craft for a Dry Lake and in a number of more recent essays, she explores the powerful relationship between people and landscape.

$45.00 & BYO

Bookings

A Suitable Book
Village Square
Malbon Street
Bungendore NSW 2621

02 6238 1648

Sunday 30 March 2008
FORUM: Shorelines – Palaeo, Pre and Present. A Story of Weereeewa

9.30 am to 5.00 pm One day multidisciplinary forum. 

Since its inception in 1999, the Weereewa Festival has featured a one-day forum to bring together specialists in various fields and disseminate information to a wider audience. The aim of the Weereewa Festival forums has been to raise awareness and understanding of the unique values of Weereewa (Lake George) and its region.
This year’s Forum Shorelines Palaeo, Pre and Present, tells the story of the Weereewa region across a broad sweep of time. Speakers include Dr Geoffrey Hope Dr Kathryn Fitzsimmons and Dr Philip Hughes from the ANU, George Main of the National Museum of Australia, Beth Hatton, artist and Adam Muyt, ecologist. Barry Cohen will launch the forum, which is convened by Rainer Rehwinkel.

Silver Wattle
Lake Road
Bungendore NSW 2621
For registration forms ring:
02 6238 0119
Or Email [email protected]
Registration fee: $65
Concession: $50
(includes lunch and light refreshments)
(For the registration form please go tpo the Weereewa website at: www.weereewafestival.org)

Bookings:
A Suitable Book
Village Square
Bungendore NSW 2621
02 6238 1648
 

Weereewa Festival of Lake George
Saturday 29 March 2008
BATS Weereewa Concert

4.00 to 10.30 pm
Bring your own food and drink to the Weereewa Concert featuring local musicians and BATS members. Bands include the Firepigs, Eagle Medicine, The Bond Traps, Honey Groove, Larry King Band plus soloists and Bush Poets.

Bungendore Memorial Hall Molonglo Street
Bungendore NSW 2621
Contact: Danny Velnaar 6238 1673
Entry Adult: $10 U/16 Free

Saturday 29 March
Shoreline walk from Geary’s Gap to Silver Wattle.

8.30 am 5 km walk with expert commentaries on pastoral history and natural history. This is a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with Lake George, the moody inspiring landscape and its stories.
Bring water; sturdy footwear and trousers recommended. Starts from Geary’s Gap.

Shoreline: Weereewa Sculpture Trail

11.00 am Launch of Sculpture at Silver Wattle
Ten artists have been selected to create site specific works on the shores of the lake. At the launch they will be on hand to speak about their work. Your journey along Lake Road will be enthralling, giving you a new perspective on this extraordinary landscape. The sculpture Trail will be open to viewers until 13 April.

Silver Wattle gate
at end of
Lake Road
Bungendore NSW 2621

The preceeding events are part of the 2008 Weereewa Festival of Lake George.
Queries should be directed to: 
Weereewa Festival
Contacts. Tel 6238 0119 PO Box 170 Bungendore 2621
email: [email protected]
Website: www.weereewafestival.org

A Day of Dance at Mirramu Creative Arts Centre

From 12 noon to 6 pm on Saturday 29 March 2008, Passion on the Lake is a one-day event held in the grounds of Mirramu Creative Arts Centre and on the lake-bed of Weereewa/Lake George. The program features dance artists from Mirramu Dance Company performing excerpts from their recent Tango Lament production, and community dance groups from the ACT and local regions.

Workshops and presentations in Tango, Salsa and other world dance styles will be led by members of the Tango Social Club of Canberra, Racquel and Andrea Paez from the Salsabor Dance Company and Naomi Lieberfreund from Wild Earth Dance Theatre. Artistic wares, many with a South American flavour, will be on sale at the colourful stalls, and sculptured installations will be on show under the trees. Bring a picnic basket and celebrate this special place.

Passes are available at the gate: Adult $12, Concession $8, family $28

Location: Mirramu Creative Arts Centre 849 Lake Road, Bungendore
Contact: Miramu Creative Arts Centre
Phone: 02 6238 1492
E-mail: [email protected]
 

Performances: 28 Mar 2008 to 29 Mar 2008
Comedy duo John Shortis and Moya Simpson return to Bungendore for two nights at the best venue in town, the Bungendore Bowling Club. They are renowned for their sharp political satire, and with a whole host of new targets in Parliament House, they’ll have a batch of brand new material. Mixed in is a selection their wello known comedic songs, and a few with a distinctly local flavour. Bowling for Bungendore is witty, irreverent, original, surprising, poignant, and very funny. Come with a friend or with a crowd.

Doors open 7.30pm for perfomance at 8.30pm. Seating is at tables of 4, 6 and 10. The bar is open and the ticket price includes a light supper. Book now, don’t miss it. Bungendore Bowlng Club Turallo Terrace Bungendore NSW 2621
TICKETS:

$30 per person (including light supper) Table bookings are recommemded (tables of 4, 6 and 10 are accepted)

BOOKINGS:

Send cheque or money order with your booking to:
Weereewa A Festival of Lake George "Bowling for Bungendore" PO Box 170 Bungendore NSW 2621

Or pay by cheque, Credit card or cash at:
X Gallery 32 Gibraltar Street, Bungendore NSW 2621 X Gallery opening hours: Fri- Mon 11am-5pm Tel: 6238 0550 or 0417730087

An interesting cross section of media, all works on paper, will be selected for the first Weereewa Works on Paper Prize. Works will be for sale from the exhibition, which will be at the  Bungendore Woodworks Gallery from Friday 28 March to Tuesday 8 April and is part of the 2008 Weereewa Festival of Lake George. The two prizewinners will be selected by judge Helen Maxwell of Helen Maxwell Gallery, Canberra. The winners will be announced at  6.30pm during the opening, which is from 6pm Friday 28 March at the Bungendore Woodworks Gallery, Malbon Street, Bungendore NSW

Pleaese note: Entry for the exhibiotn has been extended until 14 March. Information and entry forms are avaiable at http://www.weereewafestival.org/  Go to the "Works on Paer Prize" in the content menu.

On Saturday 28 March between 5 and 6pm  Awards for the Weereewa Festival Short Story Com[petition will be announced. The awards include the Milton Sims medal, which is named in honour of Milton Simms, a former Australian National University librarian. Also a long-time Bungendore resident, Sims lobbied in his position as Yarrowlumla deputy mayor to secure funds to build the Bungendore Library and school hall. The medal for the open section will be of silver and designed by X Gallery’s Xanthe Gay. There are awards in the other two sections for stories by Junior primary school children and Intermediate primary school children.

The theme for the Open Section, is “Shoreline” – a beginning or ending of place: scope, extent, and story?

The theme for school-aged entrants is: "Secrets of the Lake", as Weereewa or Lake George as many people still call it, is renown for its many so-called secrets.