March 28, 2024, 04:02:34 PM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: NEW CHILD BOARD CREATED IN THE POLITICAL SECTION FOR THE 2016 ELECTION
 
   Home   Help Login Register  
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 »   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Australia by Tibrogargan January 2007 - present and 155216+ views later!  (Read 657615 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #320 on: March 17, 2007, 01:58:18 AM »

BASS STRAIT SHIPPING

     During the 1830s and early 1840s, the days of early European settlement in Victoria, most regular traders were sloops and schooners of around 12 to 25 metres, carrying everything from sheep, cattle, timber and general cargo; and in the early days, all the passengers and mail.

Passenger, mail and important cargo services, were gradually taken over by steamers, and the sailing craft continued carrying timber and lower-value goods across Bass Strait, and also between Tasmanian ports and Bass Strait Islands, until after World War II. Typical of the later, was the 143 gross ton, 33-metre brigantine Woolamai, built in 1876 which carried timber around the southern Australian coastline until being wrecked at Apollo Bay, Victoria on 4 June 1923, fortunately without loss of life.

In 1842 regular steam services between Launceston, Melbourne and Sydney commenced first with Benjamin Boyd's wooden paddle steamer Seahorse, replaced in 1843 by the Hunter River Steam Navigation Company's iron paddle steamer Shamrock. Although under 50 metres in length, these vessels provided reliable transport and soon carried most of the passengers and mail between the colonies. In 1851 the first full-time Bass Strait steam ferry service commenced with the wooden screw steamer City of Melbourne. With the onset of the Gold Rush later in the year, large numbers of steamers arrived from the U.K., many taking up running across Bass Strait.

By the 1950s an increasing number of tourists were travelling to Tasmania, and many wanted to drive their own cars. The Taroona could only carry a small number, laboriously loaded on board by crane. However, in Europe the ferry business was being revolutionised by the introduction of Roll-on/Roll-off ships, into which cars could be driven directly on and off. The Federal Government agreed to built a number of such vessels to service Tasmania, to be operated by their Australian National Line.
After several roll-on roll-off type ferries over the years the current ones are named Spirit of Tasmania, I and II.

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #321 on: March 17, 2007, 02:01:41 AM »

PORT PHILLIP HEADS, THE 'RIP' AND PORT PHILLIP BAY - VICTORIA

The entrance to Port Phillip Bay from Bass Strait is recognized as being capable of becoming one of the most dangerous sections of water in the world. The water depth, changes dramatically between the Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait, and fast flowing tides over the uneven seabed between the deep and shallower water, combined with bad weather can create very dangerous conditions. There is a long list of shipwrecks which have occurred there. Most have come to grief on Corsair Rock, a rock named after the pilot vessel which discovered it about 1853 after a search owing to several large vessels having been damaged or lost. The rock, lies beneath the surface about a kilometre west of Point Nepean, and has less than four meters of water over it at low tide. There has been established, a system of lights at Queenscliff within the bay. Ships coming into the bay keep two lights in at this location in line in order to to keep to the middle of the channel. Tidal flow in and out of Port Phillip Bay is very strong at its peak, between 6 and 9 knots, and combined with gale force winds which occur, particularly on the darkest of nights, this stretch of water is easily turned into a navigational nightmare for those unfamiliar. Ships sailing in or out of the Bay with the tide in their favour, can appear as if to moving really swiftly, while some sailing in or out against the tide can sometimes appear to be not moving. A pilot vessel is based at nearby Queenscliff and transfers pilots to incoming ships and picks them up from outgoing ships. Transfers are made a few miles or so out into Bass Strait. In the second picture, a hill called Arthurs Seat a little over 1,000 feet high, can be seen in the distance in the left. The deeper shipping channel which most ships navigate, heads towards this, and then a sharp turn to port is made (about 90 degrees) before heading for Port Melbourne. (From the Heads to the top of the bay is some 42 nautical miles).   Due to the narrow entrance to Port Phillip Bay, and the huge volume of water it holds, together with the inadequate time the water has to flow in and out to equalise the depths, the bay never achieves the high and low tide variation of Bass Strait. The tide consequently stops flowing, and then changes direction at the heads, when the tide level in Bass Strait is at around half as this is when the water levels in the Bay and Bass Strait are about the same.

Spirit of Tasmania passing through Port Phillip Bay on a calm day :

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #322 on: March 18, 2007, 01:47:50 AM »

SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE CELEBRATES 75th ANNIVERSARY

 Mar 18, 2007

Thousands of people wearing celebratory hats and waving Australian flags walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday to celebrate the "Coathanger's" 75th birthday.
The last time the bridge closed for a public walk in 2000, about a quarter of a million people crossed in support of aboriginal reconciliation.
The aboriginal community again played a leading role on Sunday when a didgeridoo player in traditional dress mounted the bridge's northern gantry to herald the start of the day's diamond jubilee celebrations.
Among the first wave of the good-natured crowd to cross the Coathanger, as locals fondly call the bridge, were De Hampel and Sue Griffiths, two friends from Shellharbour, about 100 kilometres south of Sydney, whose parents were children when the bridge opened.
"It's the biggest party I've ever been to and I'm not one to miss many," said De Hampel, 61, sporting a silver sash proclaiming "Happy Birthday" and a tiara with 75 written on it.
"The bridge is part of our life, it's Sydney. I can't imagine the city without it."
Another walker was Bruce Boddington from Bathurst, about 200 kilometres west of Sydney, who, as a four-year-old, was the youngest person to walk across the bridge at the 1932 opening.
"It's wonderful, seeing the crowd," grinned Boddington, now 79, as he prepared to cross. "They've all got happy looks on their faces."
Organisers were expecting 200,000 walkers, many of them sporting bright green commemorative baseball caps, to cross the bridge's 500-metre-span during the day, serenaded by loudspeakers playing archive recordings of events that have impacted Australia throughout the bridge's history, from World War II to the Bali bombings of 2002.
Waltzing Matilda
There were more light-hearted memories too, including a recording of the 1948 international retirement of Australian cricket legend Donald Bradman, while a medley of songs from Waltzing Matilda to modern Australian pop kept the Sunday strollers' feet moving.
Beneath them, Sydney Harbour filled with a flotilla of boats, including Berrima, a 1940s workboat, two tugs from the 1960s, and rowing boats used by Sydney's lifesavers on the city's beaches.
Formal ceremonies passed with little mishap unlike on March 19, 1932, when a maverick former cavalry officer named Francis de Groot pushed in front of the official opening party to cut the ribbon with his sword.
The ribbon was swiftly retied, de Groot temporarily detained, and around a million people lined Sydney's harbour to enjoy the opening celebrations.
During the preceding 8 years, about 1,500 workers had worked on the bridge's construction, between them hauling more than 50,000 tonnes of steel into place, all held together by six million hand-driven rivets imported from northern England.
Australian engineer John Bradfield oversaw the project, but tension has simmered for three-quarters of a century over whether he was responsible for the detailed design or Ralph Freeman, a consulting engineer retained by Dorman Long, the British engineering firm that built the bridge.
The debate over who really designed the bridge continues between Australia and Britain. The official opening plaque mentions both men.
Living bridge
Although the bridge is firmly fixed in the world's eye for hosting Sydney's annual New Year's Eve celebrations or the dazzling fireworks display that closed the 2000 Olympics, it is an integral part of the city's day-to-day life.
Around 200,000 cars cross in 8 lines of traffic every day and two busy train lines carry office workers into the city from Sydney's northern suburbs, flanked on either side by a foot and and cycle path.
This heavy usage, as well as Australia's fierce sun, means maintenance is a big job, including regular repainting of about 485,000 square metres (5.221 million sq ft) of steelwork - the equivalent in area to 60 football fields.
Among the workers who have given the bridge a lick of paint over the years is Crocodile Dundee Paul Hogan, who worked on the bridge before hitting fame as a TV comic in the 1970s.

SOME OF THE CROWD WALKING ACROSS THE BRIDGE



CLASSIC PICTURE OF THE BRIDGE

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Seamonkey
Scared Monkey
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 494



« Reply #323 on: March 18, 2007, 05:14:47 AM »

That harbor is so pretty Smile As are all the images you are sharing. Such a beautiful place.
Logged
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #324 on: March 19, 2007, 05:45:31 AM »

Seamonkey - Sydney Harbour is magnificent.  I have some more great photos to post at a later date but will post a couple more tonight from the celebrations of the 75th Anniversary of the Bridge.  I have seen reports of from 200,000 to 500,000 people having crossed the bridge - maybe they counted them going and returning to get the higher figure?  However the night scenes are very pretty with the walkers carrying lights and instead of fireworks, which would have been dangerous for all the crowd, they floodlit the bridge by coloured lights.





Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Seamonkey
Scared Monkey
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 494



« Reply #325 on: March 19, 2007, 05:54:06 AM »

WOW!! beautiful !! Hmm you think that viking ship will fit under it?? lol
Logged
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #326 on: March 21, 2007, 04:32:57 AM »

KATOOMBA AND THE BLUE MOUNTAINS, N.S.W

 The Blue Mountains are part of the Great Dividing Range, which stretches from Gippsland region of Victoria in the south to the tropical rainforests of north Queensland.
The range rivals the Rockies in length, but nowhere near in height. Australia's highest mountain is Mount Kosciusko about 500 kilometres south of Sydney. At 2229 metres it is a mere baby by North American and European standards.
Yet the Blue Mountains, peaking at about 1000 metres, proved a heartbreaking challenge until they were conquered by a trio of explorers - Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and Charles Wentworth in 1813. They and four men hacked through dense bush for 18 days to find a route. Sections of the Great Western Highway from Sydney still follow parts of their trail.
The 'mountains', as they are commonly called, stood between the still fledgling settlement at Sydney and the agricultural and grazing country to the west. The conquest of the Blue Mountains opened up the vast grain growing and sheep grazing areas of New South Wales. East of the range the climate was too wet for wheat and sheep, which developed 'footrot', which literally caused their hooves to rot.
The settlement of the western slopes and plains established Australia's fine wool and wheat industries, which created great wealth and are still very important export industries. Australia led the world in the development of the Merino sheep, imported from South Africa. It is still the finest sheep wool in the world, gracing the backs of fashionable men and women from Rome to New York.
The Blue Mountains are so named because, from Sydney, they look blue. They are clad in vast forests of eucalypts (commonly called gum trees), which in the hot sun discharge a fine mist of eucalyptus oil from their leaves. The mist refracts light, which makes the haze look blue at a distance. That same oil makes the Australian bush as volatile as a pine forest in a bush (forest) fire. The vapour explodes, causing the fire to race through the canopy.
The first road was cut into the Blue Mountains by William Cox using a team of 30 convicts and eight guards. Starting at Emu Plains at the foothills in July 1814, they cut an incredible 47 miles to Mount York (past the highest point of the mountains at Mount Victoria - 1064 metres) in just four months. At the end of six months they completed 101 miles of road to Bathurst, which was founded as the major centre for agriculture on the western slopes.
The road was too steep for horse-drawn carriages until another branch was built from Mount Victoria to the historic township of Hartley in 1832. That could be considered the start of tourism to the area.
The first railway into the mountains, from Emu Plains to Wentworth Falls, opened in July 1867. Trains now run to Katoomba and beyond. The first motor car did not cross the Blue Mountains until 1904, and then it had to be hitched to a horse to make the steep incline up Mount Victoria. The advent of the motor coach opened the area to 'mass' tourism in the 1920s.
For most people Katoomba is the true heart of the Blue Mountains. When they think of the Blue Mountains they think of the spectacular views over the Megalong and Jamieson Valleys, the Three Sisters, the Skyway and the Scenic Railway  The area became hugely popular with the establishment of a railway station in 1876. It was first called 'Crushers' but was changed to Katoomba a year later.
It is known that when Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth crossed the mountains they came close to the present town site as one of the members of the expedition clearly marked a tree. The evidence suggests that they camped near the modern-day town site on 25 May 1813. The town's name reputedly comes from a local aboriginal word 'godoomba' meaning 'water tumbling over a hill'.
As early as 1841 George Clarke had discovered coal in the area (the whole Sydney basin has an underlay of coal which rises at Newcastle in the north, around Wollongong in the south and is present at the bottom of the cliffs in the Blue Mountains) and by 1870 kerosene shale had been discovered in Kanimbla Valley. A coal mine opened at Katoomba in 1879 and kerosene shale was being mined by 1885.
Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #327 on: March 21, 2007, 04:37:18 AM »

KATOOMBA TOWNSHIP



KATOOMBA SCENIC RAILWAY



KATOOMA SKYWAY

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #328 on: March 21, 2007, 04:40:47 AM »

BLUE MOUNTAINS



THE THREE SISTERS



KATOOMBA FALLS TAKEN FROM UNUSUAL ANGLE

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #329 on: March 21, 2007, 04:42:38 AM »

MORNING MIST IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS



AND AS THE SUN SINKS SLOWLY IN THE WEST ....

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #330 on: March 21, 2007, 04:44:55 AM »

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #331 on: March 21, 2007, 04:50:22 AM »

The Boss of the RSPCA

(Pictured above)

Brian Williams

March 20, 2007 11:00pm
Article from: The Courier-Mail

RSPCA staff have a rather interesting case on their paws - they are trying to find the owner of a lost and cranky American.

A fine-looking stray cat was caught by a resident in a trap at Carindale on the city's eastside on March 13 and handed in to the Fairfield shelter.  Fairfield is a suburb of Brisbane, Qld.

As usual, staff passed an electronic wand over the cat to see if it had been micro-chipped. It had . . . but the chip was from the US.

Staff named the Bengal cat Bruce – aka singer Bruce Springsteen who had the smash hit Born in the USA.

For the past week, veterinary nurse Shannon Whiting and veterinarian Vickie Lomax have been trying to track down chip details to see if they can locate the owner. Dr Lomax said she had spoken to two chip manufacturers who said the chip would have been issued in either Florida, Maryland or South Carolina.

Ms Whiting and Dr Lomax have since contacted numerous vet surgeries but none have records of a green-eyed cat, such as Bruce, aged about seven.

"It's a bit of a mystery unless he was chipped when he was a kitten and the details were not registered," Dr Lomax said.

"He's such a beautiful-looking animal. I don't think he's been on the streets too long."
Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Seamonkey
Scared Monkey
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 494



« Reply #332 on: March 21, 2007, 05:56:20 AM »

WOW! if ever I have to leave the United States and live somewhere else I am going to Katoomba ! That place looks wonderful !! It is so beautiful !
Logged
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #333 on: March 21, 2007, 05:36:52 PM »

Maleny in the hinterland of Queensland's Sunshine Coast would be my choice of somewhere else to live. Will look for some info on that area for next time.

For browsng through Aussie products available in the US here is a good website.  It was like a trip through our local supermarket for me.  Plenty of Vegemite (5 lb pails to take on Cat's journey) but out of stock of most of the Tim Tams.  BTW Buderim products are tops.  I have never heard of any of the wine labels though.

www.simplyoz.com
Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #334 on: March 22, 2007, 03:23:55 AM »

Now to my favourite area in Queensland :

MALENY AND THE BLACKALL RANGE

The unique rural community of Maleny is perched high above the Sunshine Coast beaches on the Blackall Range between Brisbane and Noosa and also overlooks South-East Queensland's amazing Glasshouse Mountains, so named by Captain Cook who was reminded, by the sun reflecting off the rockfaces, of the glasshouses back in his beloved Yorkshire.
It is an area of spectacular views and stands of lush rain forest. Maleny was initially a timber region with virtually all of the Cedar, Beech & Hoop Pine being felled to provide furniture and construction timber for SE Queensland and the UK. Once clearing had been achieved it quickly became a dairy farming area and supported the surrounding areas for many years with all their milk-based products.
Maleny is now better known for its tourist activities and its diverse population. The area is a craft paradise and is home to many nationally recognised artists and art galleries. It is also an area of extreme interest to the eco-tourist.
Other towns on this strip of range are Montville, Mapleton and Flaxton all of which are tourist attractions in their own right, and the scenic drive along the top of the Range is considered one of the best in Queensland.

Maleny is pronounced Ma-lay-nee.

MALENY TOWNSHIP



MALENY MAIN STREET

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #335 on: March 22, 2007, 03:31:35 AM »

VIEW OF GLASSHOUSE MOUNTAINS FROM MALENY



ANOTHER VIEW OF GLASSHOUSE MOUNTAINS FROM THE RANGE



MALENY COUNTRYSIDE

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #336 on: March 22, 2007, 03:34:32 AM »

BLACKALL RANGES



ROAD ALONG BLACKALL RIDGE

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #337 on: March 22, 2007, 03:36:33 AM »

BUDERIM FALLS



A COOL OASIS

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #338 on: March 22, 2007, 03:40:06 AM »

TWO OF THE MANY TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN THE AREA :

THE BIG PINEAPPLE



TRAIN TAKES TOURISTS THROUGH THE PINEAPPLE FIELDS



GINGER FACTORY TOURIST TRAIN

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #339 on: March 22, 2007, 03:45:16 AM »

KENILWORTH  ON THE EDGE OF THE RAINFOREST



RAINBOW LORIKEETS

Logged



....And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars..  A.B (Banjo) Paterson
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 »   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Use of this web site in any manner signifies unconditional acceptance, without exception, of our terms of use.
Powered by SMF 1.1.13 | SMF © 2006-2011, Simple Machines LLC
 
Page created in 6.237 seconds with 20 queries.