Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dragon’s Paradise Lost – Varanus komodoensis

Posted on June 20, 2019 by ianburnet

I have always been curious whether the Komodo Dragon found on the island of Komodo, located between Sumbawa and Flores, is a large goanna (lizard) caused by island gigantisism or the last of the Australian megafauna, which we know from … Continue reading →

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In Search of the Wallace hut on the island of Waigio

Posted on May 28, 2019 by ianburnet

In June and July 1860, Alfred Russel Wallace sailed north from the island of Ceram in Maluku to the island of Mysool and then to the south coast of the island of Waigio near Papua in search of Birds of … Continue reading →

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Banda Island and the Banda Sea marine gardens

Posted on April 11, 2019 by ianburnet

The Banda volcano (Gunung Api or Fire Mountain) is a perfectly conical mountain that rises 656 meters above sea level, and is about 3 kilometres wide. The nutmeg island of Banda has been a key location in the spice trade … Continue reading →

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Alfred Russel Wallace’s publication of ‘The Malay Archipelago’

Posted on March 4, 2019 by ianburnet

This week we celebrate the 150 year anniversary of the publication of Alfred Russel Wallace’s book, The Malay Archipelago. This wonderful book is an account of the eight years he spent in British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies collecting … Continue reading →

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Swimming with Whale Sharks in Papua

Posted on February 13, 2019 by ianburnet

The map below shows our October 2018 voyage with Coral Expeditions from Biak to Darwin. There is no doubt that the highlight  of the voyage was swimming with whale sharks in Cenderawasih Bay in Papua.   The whale shark is … Continue reading →

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Ian Burnet talking at ‘Better Read than Dead’

Posted on January 21, 2019 by ianburnet

 

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Where Australia Collides with Asia – the latest book review

Posted on January 6, 2019 by ianburnet

Ian Burnet, with his thirty years’ personal experience in the culture and history of the area, gives competent, intelligent and entertaining accounts of the voyages of the three main protagonists whose discoveries transformed our understanding of the processes of evolution … Continue reading →

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‘Friends in Australia’ – a message from Sutan Sjahir, the Prime Minister of the newly declared Republic of Indonesia, November 1945.

Posted on November 25, 2018 by ianburnet

On 17 August 1945 and two days after the Japanese surrender, Soekarno and Hatta unilaterally declared Indonesia’s Independence and became the first President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia.   Brothers and Sisters All! I have asked you … Continue reading →

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The Dukono Volcano on Halmahera

Posted on November 13, 2018 by ianburnet

When our Coral Expeditions cruise arrived in the town of Tobelo on the northwestern arm of the island of Halmahera in October 2018, the Dukono volcano was erupting ash. This should not have been a surprise since research shows that … Continue reading →

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Lest We Forget – The Balibo Five

Posted on October 17, 2018 by ianburnet

This is the forty third anniversary of the death of the Balibo Five in Portuguese East Timor – can it have been that long ago? Here is an excerpt from my book ‘Archipelago – A Journey Across Indonesia’. On October … Continue reading →

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