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Origin of the term 'Underdog'

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  A Hike in Sawpit Gully area of the Creswick Forest  initiated a discussion about Sawpits and the origin of the term 'Underdog' A quick online search for the origin of the term  brings up several different options.  Love the underdog Australians love the underdog, the person expected to lose a contest, game or struggle. We identify with the dogged determination of the humble triumphing over the over-hyped and spoilt favourite. Both sides of politics claim to be the underdog leading up to an election because they fear that being favourite will lose them votes. With Australian international sport in its current poor state (this was written in 2013), our sportsmen now have the consolation of being the underdogs to the arrogant, un-gentlemanly (according to Geoffrey Boycott) English cricketers and to the rampaging, arrogant  All Blacks . We all know the meaning of the word but its origin is contested. I was reminded of the word when reading the background chapter of a renovation b
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Vale Mark Bevelander

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  PHOTO: Ken Dickson 2019 On Sunday morning 31st December 2023, our much loved hiking mate, Mark Bevelander, passed away after a short battle with cancer. He will be greatly missed by us all. Mark joined the group at the start of 2017, only a few months after we began. He last hiked with us on 27th July 2023 and appeared to be in good health. (See the blog) Thanks Mark for so many memories beautifully captured in his photos. I am now looking out for a new partner to be enthused as I am when we spot an orchid on our hikes. Lyn Hooper So sad.   A very special person.  Thoughts and prayers to all his family and friends   Karen Cotter  ....sad news.. ....he will be warmly remembered....    Joan Brick Very sad to get this news. I was in Mark's photography class as well as the hikers. He was a great guy.  Tim Bosher Oh how sad. That is awful news. My condolences to his family.  He was a very good person. I always admired his consistent and positive nature. Always. Dick Patterson Sorry to
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Why I edit the map

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By Andrew Parker, Leader, U3A Ballarat Hiking Group  ‘OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. The geodata underlying the map is considered the primary output of the project. The creation and growth of OSM has been motivated by restrictions on use or availability of map data across much of the world, and the advent of inexpensive portable satellite navigation devices.’   Think of it as the Wikipedia of the mapping world, only far more accurate!   After every hike I edit the OpenStreetMap data with any  inaccuracies or add places of interest  I find along the way.    Updated March 2024 At the start of this year my co leader, Gordon was  researching  hikes in the area between  Smythesdale , Scarsdale and Ross Creek. When I looked at this area on OpenStreetMap it was almost completely devoid of detail. As pictured here   And after editing:   A Link to this on OpenStreetMap is at the end of the blog! Gordon also had a future hike planned north of
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