Tour of Bucketty
Australia
We operate from Australia, the big island Down Under. Our country is roughly as big as Western Europe or the USA, but there are only 18 million people living here. More than 70% of the country is arid land, and so, while it is a stunning place to visit, it cannot sustain a large resident population.
It is estimated that the Aboriginal people of the country have lived here for most probably over 100,000 years. This makes these people the longest-surviving race on earth. They have a fascinating culture and very strong links with the land. While European and Asian people visited this continent over the centuries, it was not actually settled until 1788, when Captain Arthur Phillip sailed from England with a small flotilla of ships and formed a penal colony in what is now Sydney.
A massive immigration project was launched after World War II and currently one-third of the population was born elsewhere. This makes Australia one of the most multicultural countries in the world. I moved from the Netherlands to Australia in 1983, with my family - my wife, Louise, and three children. The lifestyle here is fantastic, the weather is great and the business climate very friendly.
Bucketty
Bucketty is a very small community hidden in the Australian bush. There are approximately 150 people living in an area 20km long and 5km wide. It is 100km north of Sydney, in the Lower Hunter Valley, 50km inland. The Hunter Valley is one of Australia's most famous wine-growing areas. We are also actively involved in a range of local activities, such as the Tidy Bush Community, the local Bush Fire Brigade, the Bushacappella group and the Convict Trail Project. This last project, of which I am chairman, is very exciting. The aim is to restore, maintain and promote a 220km-long convict built Great North Road (1828-1836) north of Sydney.
More information on Bucketty, its history and inhabitants, is available now in 'The Bucketty Book.'
A view of the Bucketty region can be found on Google Earth at 33 07.00’ S, 151 09.01’ E.
The BuddeComm office is situated at a T-intersection in Bucketty. The bare patch below it is the so-called Bucketty Paddock, and this is where the helicopters land when people come to interview me.
To the north-east is Mount Warrawolong; it was from here that the Surveyor General, Sir Thomas Mitchell, plotted the Great North in 1828.
The Great North Road is clearly visible, heading south-west from Mount McQuoid towards St Albans.
Another striking local feature is Mount Manning, where the most stunning aboriginal caves are to be found - some with beautiful rock paintings.
We are surrounded by national parks and state forests (Yengo National Park, Dharug National Park and the Watagan State Forest). Our office is built so that we face Mt Yengo - a 650 metres high, 60 million-year-old volcano vent (32 59.02’S. 150 51.28’ E). This mountain is of great significance to the Darkinjung Aboriginal people who once inhabited this area. Their deity, Daramulan, stepped onto this mountain when he came down from the heavens to shape the land.
There are numerous Aboriginal sacred sites in the area.
We at BuddeComm acknowledge that we live and work in Darkinjung country.
CEN (Community Environment Network) assessment of BuddeComm property.
This property is dry sclerophyll bushland and has great connectivity with Wollomi National Park. There are a number of habitat values to be found on this property, including hollows. Spotted fauna includes: Swamp wallabies, Goanna, black cockatoos, bandicoots, echidna, Lyrebirds.
This property is in excellent condition, the native vegetation structure is in place and wildlife habitat is excellent.
The habitat components on this property are excellent, there are plenty of logs and rocks on the ground and the density of the bush is great for little birds such as wrens. There are also some great old growth trees, providing habitat for arboreal species such as possums and birds.
Paul Budde Communication
Our house and office are on an eleven hectare property, 300 metres above sea level, overlooking beautiful bushland.
At the office we are regularly visited by kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, goannas, possums and a range of parrots and other beautiful birds. King parrots and rosellas are fed on the verandah of our office and smaller birds use a big flower pot full of water for their bath during our hot summers. In the spring (September) the bush in Bucketty is ablaze with wildflowers. The highlight of our office day is around 11am, when we then have coffee (espressos and cappuccinos) in the sun on our verandah.
Most of our staff live in the area, but some are in Sydney and others are scattered around the globe. We have a network of 45 top independent consultants, all linked to our office by e-mail, fax, telephone and snail mail. They live in the USA, UK, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Chile, India, New Zealand, Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Africa, Belgium and elsewhere in Australia. These consultants form the basis of our virtual consultancy network. We are currently expanding this network to establish more people on the ground in the countries we cover in our research.
Please allow me to introduce the home team to you:
Louise, Sue, Chris, Alan, Genny and Julie.
We operate as a team and each of us is committed to providing a service that should exceed your expectations. If we fail to do this, please let us know. Many of our clients have contributed to our business over the years. With them we have developed our service into what it is today.
We value your business and hope you have enjoyed this short visit to Bucketty.
Paul Budde