seasprite

Mannings Heath site is gone, but all around the upper Parkstone/Bourne valley area are dotted pikey families (in houses!).
Steam Fair is ace ! Almost went for last visit this year (before emigrating).
The proper gypsy family I know actually do lectures for the police, social services etc, in diversity training. Really good, and helps dissolve preconceived ideas and barriers. As you say, they take what they need from the hedgerow (bit of poaching too), but also shop at Tescos. Fair enough though!

ozzieeagle

But whats your view on Gypsies ? Anything other than the Bourkes backyard thread, whch you must have googled after looking at the title of this thread. (which happens to be the only reference to Gypsies on google with relevance to Australia)

Bit of a theme... like your research into Aussie mental health maybe ?

MartinLuther

I'm not sure, given the spirit of the OP's question (i.e. does Aus have the traveller type Gypsy that trashes you local football field), that you can declare Vash to be wrong on this one. In the 2 years that I've been here I've seen nothing like the traveller type Gypsies found in the UK. (I accept that I may have missed them in my travels.)

As for splitting hairs, I accept that there must be Gypsies of all sorts in Aus. I have a friend in Sydney who is of Gypsy decent and your link provides evidence of another - but this does not mean that there is going to be a bus-load of people with whippets on a string turning up on my local reserve.

ozzieeagle

Phucking Oath.... Martin.... tis the only one that he could google....

.

Grayling

The question was...does Australia have gypsies...the answer is yes.

There was also a well publicised murder on an Australian Gypsy site a couple of years ago which was discussed quite a bit on here at the time.

Grayling

I have actually looked quite closely at the Australian MH services...for both personal and academic reasons.

As you so charmingly pointed out about my knowledge earlier....you know **** all about me.

The fact your wife works in one of the australian services does not make her an expert...or you either.

It took us years to change the service in the Uk...and it will take years to improve things in Australia.

phoenixinoz

Firstly, my response to you is in no way personal. You and your moderator friends mean nothing to me nor vice versa. Your little gang pats each other on the back....I find it funny really.....

Secondly, you are a mod. You should know better. But then again I've seen this particular forum degenerate into a kiddies playground for a while now, grown ups being told off for childish things, just about sums up the mentality of moderation on here I suppose....

Thirdly, I previously deleted something I wrote to one of your moderator friends simply because the replies I received were far more vitriolic than anything I could have written. This was a couple of years ago. Seems you bear a grudge for a long time, especially;y when this had absolutely nothing to do with you. This was between me and someone else. I do not for one moment regret a thing. I regret that it degenerated into a circus and some played the victim extremely well, and in true Expat style some jumped on the bandwagon, including yourself. I didn't want to defend myself, in fact I couldn't be arsed at the time and quite frankly I didn't want to do so now. Why should I? Why should I explain myself to you or anyone else for that matter? My deleting a post was certainly not as a result of guilt. It was a result of people responding in the normal gang mentality and childish behaviour....and at the time it was more graceful and respectful to apologise and let the matter drop. Pity you couldn't do the same.....

As for your humble response and the crap about you being banned.

I see through this facade too. Your attempts to manipulate Sue and Paul in this humble fashion is another way to subjugate. It seems you are good at this. Play the victim and watch people feel sorry for you. Lets get this right, however you dress things up, you slated a forum member publicly, and humiliated them publicly. This is not moderator behaviour. And you should know better.

And as you also know. I did report you. I reported you to yourself.

You were bang out of order.

End of story.

phoenixinoz

Cresta has apologised to Vash, then had a go at me for daring to defend another forum member

Cresta has raked up an old argument that occurred about 2 years ago and it wasn't even between me and him, but between another moderator on this very same forum who happens to be his drinking pal.

Sounds like a good way to manage a forum.

jon and alex

Errmm........., Gypsies??!!

232Bar

You don't have to stay

MartinLuther

I think the OP needs to clarify the question they were asking.

The question is set in a context. By taking the question out of that context then it does become ..."does Australia have gypsies?"... However, leaving the question within the context of the original post leads to a different query and a very different answer.

andrew63

What a funny thread! It's like forum rage!

Re: Gypsies, in my close to 2 years here I have never seen any but that does not mean that they don't exist.
With regards to the destructive, thieving, welfare cheats type, they are the scourge of Ireland and England without a doubt.
Personally, I don't blame them. If the laws of the land allow them to go where they want, do what they want, assume as many identities as they want for welfare, not put their kids into education etc. I blame the system and that's one of the reasons why I left the country.
I cannot imagine a fleet of caravans turning up in the parkland near me without police/local laws being enforced on them.

Andrew

BadgeIsBack

You say that Vash's view reflects yours better than Grayling's. (Which I don't have an opinon on).

Well, yours appears to reflects mine to a T. Sounds like life where you are is like mine over here - a fairly 'moderate' experience. Makes a change to the polarised experience most people report.

mumomonty

Agree. they're a product of their environment and get pandered to each day by claiming it offends their culture to do the right thing.

sassenach

brings back old memories ,i lived on the heath for a while before moving to granville road ,parkstone .I remember walking past the old cacker camp there at manningsheath and over the by pass bridge to the heath .And as you say heaps of cackers around alder hills ,parkstone .I dont know for sure but they used to do the old bare knuckle fighting down at Longham years ago .IVe seen a few good stoushis with the kiyers and the locals at some of the pubs in poole and at the monkey house ,and the Retreat pub in ashley raod was a law unto its own untill the police shut it down ,unfrotunately thers a supermarket there now ,but i think a few of the guys still get up the sea view and the branksome .