1. A condensed version of this chapter is published elsewhere (St John 1999).

2. Believing that we are 'in the midst of an unprecedented, anthropogenic extinction crisis' (Taylor 1995a:16), Earth First! is an environmental apocalyptic movement consisting of a network of quasi-militant autonomous affinity groups practising 'primal spirituality' (Taylor 1995b:151; 1997:191). Earth First!ers are influenced by deep ecology and bioregionalism, and were originally inspired by the writing of Edward Abbey (1975).

3. The Dongas Tribe, 'the nomadic indigenous peoples of Britain', emerged to oppose the extension of the M3 Motorway at Twyford Down in Hampshire in 1992 (Donga Alex, in McKay 1996:137; cf. Lowe and Shaw 1993:112-24). The Flower Pot Tribe are a 'collection of nomadic Earth defenders' who emerged in 1993 to defend the habitat of Newcastle's Jesmende Dene from the destructive Cradlewell bypass (Earth First! 1993:13). Dragon Environmental Group are a more recent Pagan inspired collective combining environmental work with eco-magic' (Harris 1996:154).

4. Other labels have included 'new age hippie', 'bush punk', 'eco-warrior' and 'crusty'. According to 'Meri' (actually Neri - Nerida Blanpain - from the band-collective Earth Reggae), the label 'rat people' preceded that of 'feral' (Murray 1994:54).

5. 'Feral - a person who espouses environmentalism to the point of living close to nature in more or less primitive conditions and who deliberately shuns the normal code of society with regard to dress, habitat, hygiene, etc' (The Macquarie Dictionary, 3rd edn 1997).

6. While there are variations in personal codes of conduct, a 'green' ethos is conveyed via certain forms of avoidance - or anticonsumption - practices. These include avoiding: products derived from the slaughter of, or cruelty to, animals (e.g. meat, leather, cosmetics); products made from rainforest species; inorganic produce (dependent on chemical fertilisers and pesticides); disposable non-biodegradable packaging; non-separated garbage disposal; and the overconsumption of and dependence on non-renewable energy sources. Avoidance also takes the form of 'boycotting' the products of corporate eco-vandals.

7. Including the rights of indigenous land claimants, especially when regions under claim are the sites of current or potential ecological crises (e.g. Jabiluka).

8. The Youth International Party of Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman ushered in the youth protest movement of the late 1960s.

9. Which was funded $1,000 for hardware by DTE for a village at Gum Lodge II.

10. Om Shalom, inspired by the Baringa period of ConFests, was the location for the first Australian Rainbow Gathering in November 1996, where I noted there were probably more ferals gathered, and tipis erected (about 50), than had ever been seen in one place in Australia.

11. While Earth First! have inspired local wilderness activist groups like RAG (Rainforest Action Group) and GECO, the Australian movement's successes provided early inspiration for demonstrations in the US (Zakin 1993:249-50). In 1982, John Seed allied the local movement (including groups such as NAG: Nightcap Action Group) with Earth First! In 1983 Earth First! supported the Australian Rainforest Campaign (Lee 1995:70,80-1).

12. I wish to avoid a fixed image of ferals as incontrovertibly heroic. Hitting the road, many youths have taken their drug addictions (including heroin) with them. And since 'its harder to get drugs on the road' (Cedar), some were headed for dereliction. Addicts at the fringes of festivals and blockades have been a persistent problem. Om Shalom is itself renowned for its population of heroin users.

13. For informative accounts, see Woodford (1994), Hill (1996), Sheil (1999), and the incisive documentary Going Tribal (produced by M.Murray) first broadcast on SBS TV in May 1995.

14. Varnished productions, which have arraigned ferals as fleeting and infantile and have aligned them with the now pejorative (commoditised and quiescent) 'New Age', have resulted in a detectable wariness of, and disassociation from, the 'feral' label.

15. 'Feral Cheryl', complete with oregano stash, pierced naval, pubic hair, tattoos, string bag, nose ring, joint, dog and dreadlocks with feather (McCullagh 1995:13), and 'Feral Faeries', original designs described as 'a new generation of ancient peoples' available in greeting cards, stickers and T-shirts (from promotion in DTENEA Sep 1996:17), may represent exceptions, though marketing strategies are moderate to say the least.

16. In 1996/97 Ross Mining Co began developing a gold mine on northeast NSW's Timbarra Plateau, an area of 'outstanding and unique conservation value'. According to the Timbarra Protection Coalition, the mining project threatens clean water systems, endangers wildlife and flora species, and imposes rigid restrictions on local Bunjalung from accessing sacred sites (Tribe 1997:12).

17. There is a certain extropian edge to these postcolonial primitivists. As Doyle (Feril Peril 1995) says, 'ferals may run from modern Australia, but they aren't running from the modern era: life is a paradoxical blend of savage-meets-silicon'. The passion for electronic music, especially at forest raves, provides clear evidence of this curious alliance. One group, Electric Tipi - who travel to various alternative communities holding dance parties and sound and light shows - are depicted as 'a tribe sustained by a mix of [techno] music and Mother Nature' (Leser 1994:60). Although mixed feelings prevail, 'trancing out' to a persistent electronic beat in the bush does not ordinarily compromise respect for nature.

18. Often the indigenes worthy of 'kinship' and support are conceptualised as noble-environmentalists, who, essentialised as such, are potential sources of 'ecological salvation' (cf. Sackett 1991; Jacobs 1994:313). Practically legitimating the occupation of an essentialised other, late 'black hippy' Burnam Burnam, once held the view that some white environmentalists, like those protesting uranium mining in Kakadu, 'are more Aboriginal than most urban Aboriginals in their treatment of, and respect for, mother earth - and in their personal relationship with her' (Burnam Burnam 1987:96-7). Voicing a similarly perilous sentiment, though seemingly with greater awareness of the inevitable paradox, at the Australian Rainbow Gathering held at Om Shalom in November 1996 human-sculpture activist Benny Zable had it that many feral activists were 'non-Aboriginal Aboriginals'!

19. An 'unstructured protest group of the mid-Nineties without the leadership of a conventional organization': from the Guardian's 'Glossary of the Nineties' (McKay 1996:176).

20. Strategies included tripods, mono-poles, cantilevers, treesits and 'lock-ons' (invariably attachment to bulldozers using chains, kryptonite bike locks and home made devices).

21. For example, during the Daintree Skyrail protests of 1991, one dedicated activist was said to have 'superglued his testes to a bulldozer blade' (Doyle 1995). Perhaps a prime candidate for the title of 'ego-warrior'.