Inarrabri

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Where did you live before you
moved to Narrabri?
I grew up in the upper hunter
valley near Muswellbrook in a
locality called Martindale. My
parents own a block of land that
backs on to Wollemi National
Park. I moved to Armidale to go
to university and then moved
back home for 6 months before
moving to Narrabri for work.
What do you do for work?
I work as a technical officer at the
Australian Cotton Research Insti-
tute as part of a team looking at
the potential for bio-pesticides to
control pests. The team is working
on both fungal products and plant
extracts. Fungal products use
fungus spores in solution that are
then sprayed on the crop to infect
and kill the insect. Plant extract
work involves finding plants that
are not targeted by pests and
trying to isolate molecules from
those plants that can either deter
or kill the pest.
Why did you enter that field?
I grew up surrounded by science
and was always being encouraged
to ask questions, whether it was
identifying plants found while
bushwalking or trying to get dad
to explain physics. I enjoyed sci-
ence at school and went on to do a
science degree at university.
Tell us about your average day:
I get up reasonably early around
6am... make lunch for work (no
canteen and a fair way out of
town), have breakfast, and try
to get something done before
catching the bus out to work at
8am. Get back from work at 5pm,
rest for a bit, do some work in the
garden and maybe go for a bike
ride. I try to do 100km a week. If
it is Tuesday, I will have the scout
meeting from 5:30 to 7:30pm.
What do you like about working
in a regional area like Narrabri?
Growing up in a regional area, I
was keen to continue to live in a
regional area. I enjoy the lack of
traffic; even Tamworth felt way
too busy last time I was there. The
fact that I can easily ride a bike to
do the shopping is a pleasure and
the abundance of natural areas
around Narrabri such as Mount
Kaputar, Pilliga and the Warrum-
bungles is great.
What do you do outside of work?
I enjoy outdoor activities of all
kinds including bushwalking,
mountain biking and rock climb-
ing and am lucky to have met
people with similar interests since
coming to Narrabri.
I have also become involved with
the 1st Narrabri West Scout group
as a leader since February. This
has been a fun experience trying
to get the kids interested in ex-
ploring the natural environment
and learning skills to enable them
to do so. We have had some pretty
cool events in the last six months
including caving (something new
for me), attending state scout
events and various bushwalks. I
am currently very busy organise
the annual Narrabri Raft Race
with 40ish scouts arriving from
around the region on the 27th of
November to build and race rafts
on Narrabri lake.
What’s your 2016 highlights?
There have been many small
highlights in 2016 that I cannot
separate. These include buying a
new car (a 4wd van that I can go
camping in), getting involved with
scouts, going caving and finding a
group of people in Narrabri to go
climbing with.
Who are three people you would
invite to a dinner party and why?
Gerald Durrell, Douglas Adams
and Christopher Hitchens.
They are three people who I find
absolutely fascinating to read.
They have all done interesting
things and I would truly love to
pick their brains about their lives
and the world at the moment.
What would you serve?
Given my guests propensities
one could suggest that copious
amounts of alcohol would be all
that is needed. I think it is hard to
go past a nice roast pork for main
course. Dessert is difficult, too
many choices, but chocolate self
saucing pudding and ice cream
sounds pretty good.
What music would you play?
Tim Minchin, First Aid kit, Fred
Smith. I really like music that tells
a story and appreciate these three
artists because of this.
What would be your go to after
dinner game/entertainment?
With these three minds in the
room I think the entertainment
factor would look after itself. I
would want to just listen to the
discussions.
And the big question... Baked
Beans or Spaghetti?
Baked Beans.
08 | iNarrabri Magazine | November 2016
New to Narrabri
Andrew Woolley
Moving to Narrabri at the start of the year for work, Andrew Woolley
is making the most of our great outdoors and our local Scout group is
thrilled to have him passing on his expertise as a Scout Leader...
photo: John Burgess
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