March 28, 2024, 04:55:30 AM *
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 657471 times)
0 Members and 4 Guests are viewing this topic.
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #580 on: June 24, 2007, 04:13:41 AM »

WRECK'S NEW LEASE OF LIFE

Article from: The Sunday Mail…By Lou Robson …June 24, 2007 12:00am

ONE of Queensland's booming tourist attractions has been labelled an incredible wreck - and that's just the way visitors like it. More than 16,000 dive enthusiasts have plunged into the waters off Mooloolaba to explore the sunken metal carcass of the former guided missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane. The hull, blown up and sent to the ocean floor to create a reef in July 2005, stands upright in more than 20m of water about 10km offshore in what has now been made into a 35.5ha marine conservation park. The ship's gun turrets, smoke stacks and access doors were left intact, providing interesting features to explore, divers say. The ship's engine room, boiler room and sleeping quarters can all be accessed.



The site also is not subject to the strong currents battled by divers at some other wreck locations. And divers are flocking to the wreck from all around the world, according to local tourism operators. "Many divers used to go straight to north Queensland for dives such as the SS Yongala off Townsville," said Tourism Sunshine Coast boss John Fitzgerald. "Now they're coming to Maroochydore and Mooloolaba to see one of the best ship dives available."



Divers, who must be licensed, pay $15 to visit the wreck.
And in the two years since it was opened to the public, takings from divers and operators have contributed $240,000 towards offsetting the cost of sinking the vessel. The Federal Government donated the decommissioned destroyer, which saw action in Vietnam and the first Gulf War, before the State Government paid $3 million to strip the vessel of environmentally hazardous material. Scuba World owner Ian McKinnon said the dive was gaining global acclaim. "The chimneys start 4m below the surface, the main deck is 20m below and the keel is in the sand at 27m," Mr McKinnon said. "It's an amazing dive location."



Mr McKinnon said a recent study found more than 270 species of fish and large invertebrates on and around the wreck such as reef trevally, tropical snapper, sea urchins, sea sponges as well as a host of crustaceans. "In less than two years, the entire wreck has been covered in marine life," he said.

.
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 #581 on: June 24, 2007, 04:23:31 AM »

MARGARET RIVER

The Augusta Margaret River region is blessed with a stunning array of natural attractions worth visiting year round. The spectacular caves, pristine beaches and majestic forests offer something for everyone. The wild,rugged beauty of the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge with its dramatic cliffs and rocks, the tranquil aqua waters of the many protected bays, the local vineyards covered in rising mist in the early morning all contribute to outstanding visual splendour. It’s a photographer’s dream.



Large stingrays grace the waters of Hamelin Bay. There are schools of dolphins, the occasional seal, and on land kangaroos, possums and bird life aplenty. The Blackwood and Margaret Rivers' meandering waterways are visited by pelicans, hundreds of black swans, red necked stints, egrets while onshore blue wrens, silvereyes, magpies and a number of species of cockatoos.  Out at the Leeuwin Cape and along the spectacular beaches view a variety of seabirds including the Yellow nosed Albatross, Great winged Petrel, the Australasian Gannet, and the Flesh-footed Shearwater to name just a few. The Blackwood and Margaret Rivers' also offer abundant water activities, ranging from canoeing to fishing and boating. The Blackwood is also becoming internationally renowned for its favourable kitesufing conditions.


 
In Spring the countryside comes alive with a huge variety of Australian wildflowers which lay a carpet of mesmerising colours through the forests and coastal heath. It’s wonderful for those who like to walk and explore.  The area is a fisherman’s paradise. With its abundance of waterways there’s something for everyone from the professional to the amateur and the family fun day out.


 
Fishing from a boat, the jetty or the riverbank will reward you with Bream, Herring and Yellow Fin Whiting. Blue Manor crabs are found in season, but you may need to get friendly with the locals to find out where. Beach fishing all along the coast is extensive and worth the exploration and effort.  The serene aqua water of Hamelin Bay provides the perfect ambiance for relaxing in the sun, beach combing, swimming, snorkeling or scuba diving out on the shipwrecks. This bay is often graced with the presence of stingrays which can be hand fed. Beach combing in stormy weather will reap many treasures spilled onto the sand by incoming waves.



Built on a history of timber, farming and combined with the areas traditional Aboriginal cultural, the Augusta Margaret River region has an intriguing  and captivating past. From the moment Mathew Flinders first spotted Cape Leeuwin and started mapping the Australian coastline in 1801, the Augusta Margaret River region is as culturally diverse as it has been intriguing.

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 #582 on: June 24, 2007, 04:30:44 AM »

MARGARET RIVER AREA

WARDAN ABORIGINAL CULTURAL CENTRE

The Wardandi people are the traditional custodians of this region and have an affinity with the sea and multitude of local caves. It is through the caves that the afterlife is reached and where the sea spirit Wardandi, is found. The Wardandi people along with the other local Bibbulmum and Noongah Aborigines have a well-defined culture, richly endowed with music, art and legend.




WHERE TWO OCEANS MEET

The historic Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse at Augusta is situated at the most south westerly tip of Australia, standing at the point where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. This famous landmark is over 100 years old and remains an important working lighthouse. Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is situated 10 minutes drive south of Augusta.



LAKE CAVE

Lake Cave is a stunning pristine chamber deep beneath the earth. Inside the cave a tranquil lake reflects delicate formations that will take your breath away. Visitors descend a staircase in time, gazing up at towering karri trees from a primeval lost world, before entering one of the most beautiful limestone caves in Western Australia.



JEWEL CAVE

One of the most spectacular show caves in Australia, Jewel Cave seems to defy nature and dwarf those who enter its lofty chambers. This spectacular recess with its intricate decorations, golden glow and sheer magnitude is home to one of the longest straw stalactites to be found in any tourist cave.



KARRIDALE

Once the hub of the south-west during the timber rush at the turn of the century Karridale is now a quaint little town with a rich history. Boasting the stunning Hamelin Bay and Boranup Forest on its doorstep one shouldn't think that there is little to do or see in this town. Karridale was built on the back of the majestic Karri and Jarrah trees that now border its western edge along the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge, the wood of which once paved the streets of London. Just a short drive along Brockman Highway one will find a rich collection of local artisans and wineries, as well as outstanding galleries nestled amongst the Karris on Caves Road.



For hidden treasures one can search for the few remnants of the bustling town that Karridale was in the late 1800s. Karridale was the original hub centre of the region, fuelled by the demand of the timber industry. However, tragically in 1961 a major bushfire swept through and destroyed the former timber town, thankfully there were no casualties. All that remains today are the chimney visible in the Karridale memorial park on Caves Road. Other points of interest include Arumvale and the old Boranup Mill. Nearby Boranup Maze is also a great way to spend the time for kids and adults alike.

HAMELIN BAY

A glimpse of Karridale's past can also be seen at Hamelin Bay with its remains of the wooden jetty that serviced the sailing ships. However its main claim to fame is that it is one of the most spectacular beaches in the area. With stunning limestone cliffs, white sandy beaches and blue water, Hamelin Bay



BORANUP FOREST

Karridale also boasts the majestic Boranup Forest. The stunning trees that line the roadside make a truly enjoyable scenic drive. Now all 100-year regrowth, the forest was originally milled during the late 1800s timber boom. What makes this point significant is the sheer size of these regrowth timbers, and one can only imagine the size of the giant karris that once grew along this ridge before taken by the timber mills. Scenic pull-off areas along the road make for great photo opportunities.

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 #583 on: June 25, 2007, 03:03:18 AM »

MORE MAILBOXES











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 #584 on: June 25, 2007, 03:13:49 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 #585 on: June 26, 2007, 02:56:01 AM »

WHALE OF A TIME FOR MIGALOO

Article from: The Courier Mail…Martin Philip…June 26, 2007 10:00am

MIGALOO the white whale has sparked a fresh whale-watching frenzy after being spotted frolicking off Heron Island off the central Queensland coast. The elusive albino – believed to be the only pure-white humpback in the world – has been a magnet for whale watchers since his first sighting off the Tweed coast in northern New South Wales in 1991.  Sightings of Migaloo have been so rare that there was once scientific debate about whether he really existed.  Migaloo was not seen again after the initial sightings until 1999, fueling speculation he had died of skin cancer or fallen prey to killer whales.



With more than 50 sightings from Victoria to the Whitsundays since 1991, Migaloo has become a phenomenon in the global whale-watching industry, estimated to be worth more than $1 billion annually.  Long-time Migaloo-watcher David Lloyd, of Lismore’s Southern Cross University Whale Research Centre, has said the white whale is "the one we look for every year. It’s almost become a competition between whale researchers to see who’s the first to spot it,’’ he said.

In August 2003, Migaloo survived a scrape with a yacht near Magnetic Island off Townsville.  The collision holed the trimaran and tore off the boat’s drop-down rudder, which was feared to have lodged in mammal’s back. But Migaloo was soon seen swimming freely in the waters between Magnetic Island and Palm Island, just north of where the incident happened.  A subsequent examination of Migaloo by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service officers revealed only a slight wound, confirming the white whale had taken the collision in its stride.



It wasn’t until 2004 that Migaloo’s sex was confirmed - genetic tests on skins which peeled off the albino humpback showed beyond doubt he was male.  Fears Migaloo could be targeted by international hunters sparked a wave of protests across Australia in 2005, with then federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell claiming the whale ``could well be harpooned’’ that season.  Far north Queenslanders and visitors were later warned to keep their distance from Migaloo, or face fines of more than $12,000.



The latest sighting comes as the annual northern migration of the east coast humpbacks hits full swing, with up to 100 whales swimming past Point Lookout each day.  University of Queensland whale researcher Mike Noad said the local whale population was recovering after years of over-exploitation. "This population of whales is the fastest-growing whale population in the world we know of,’’ Dr Noad said. It is believed there are now 10,000 whales using the east coast migration route from Antarctica as far north as Torres Strait.

.
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 #586 on: June 26, 2007, 03:00:53 AM »

HERON ISLAND

Heron Island is a 8 hectare, densely forested sand cay, on the leeward edge of a flourishing coral reef platform in the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. The island straddles the Tropic of Capricorn and is one of several that make up the Capricorn Bunker group  The dominant vegetation is Pisonia grandis forest which, with the surrounding dunes, provide nesting habitat for many thousands of migrant and resident birds. Heron Island is also a major green turtle nesting site.



Both Captain Cook (1770) and Matthew Flinders (1802) failed to locate Heron Island. It wasn't until January 12, 1843 that the HMS Fly anchored off the island and the ship's naturalist, Joseph Bette Jukes, noting the reef herons, named it after the herons which are part of the rich bird life which inhabits the island. The island is also home to flocks of mutton birds and terns.



It is known that guano miners visited the island but unlike Lady Elliot (which was extensively mined) they moved on. Thus, until 1932, it remained virtually untouched. In that year Captain Christian Poulson was granted a lease over the island. His plan was to develop a tourist resort.



From 1932 to 1977 the Poulson family ran a resort on the cay. In 1943 the entire island was declared a National Park. Four years later (1947) a regular Catalina flying boat service was operating from Brisbane and in 1950 a marine research station was established on the island.



.
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 #587 on: June 27, 2007, 03:47:12 AM »

ROBERT GORDON POTTERY

An Australian family who over three generations has built a tradition of some of the best hand painted and decaled ceramics produced here in Australia.

Following is their History as detailed on their website.... www.robertgordonaustralia.com :

I am presenting this as a screenprint of their history page as I have been unable to copy the photographs in the usual way.






Some of the beautiful designs in their range :

ARMADALE



FRENCH ROOSTER



DOTTY



COUNTRY LIFE

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 #588 on: June 27, 2007, 04:01:02 AM »

MORE ROBERT GORDON DESIGNS

You are welcome to visit their website for more of this delightful and functional pottery.

My thanks go to Robert Gordon Aust and Hannah for their kind permission to feature their ceramics.

CHINOISE



GARDEN PARTY



MOLLY



CREATURE COMFORTS



Some interesting  items for our Nonesuche :

VANILLA BAKERY



TEA PARTY



.
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 #589 on: June 28, 2007, 02:19:24 AM »

GLENELG, SOUTH AUSTRALIA



The area was originally inhabited by the Kaurna Aboriginal Tribe. Being not much more than a pile of sand dunes the area quickly developed into the main seaport for the town of Adelaide and the settlements beyond. Other coastal towns that sprung up in the region include Brighton, Somerton and Queenscliff.



Today the region is a holiday mecca with miles of white beaches and water activities to enjoy in the hot summers. Good transport links are available to the centre of Adelaide, which include the wonderful old vintage 1929 trams (soon to be replaced with modern air conditioned carriages). These transport links encourage thousands of day trippers to come and enjoy even for the day coastal delights.



The official proclamation of South Australia occurred at the 'Old Gum Tree' at Glenelg on 28 December 1836. It was during this ceremony that Governor Hindmarsh named the area Glenelg, after the Secretary of State for the colonies, Lord Glenelg. It had been previously known as 'Patawilya' by the Kaurna Aboriginal people who had inhabited it for thousands of years.



Although Adelaide was chosen by the Surveyor-General, Colonel William Light, as the site for the capital of the new colony Glenelg grew as a seaport town over the years following South Australia's settlement. It also developed as a coastal resort destination for residents of Adelaide.



The foundation stone for the Glenelg Institute was laid in 1875 and the building was officially opened in 1877. It was acquired by the Glenelg Council in 1886-87 and converted to the Glenelg Town Hall.

Logged



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

Posts: 8878



« Reply #590 on: June 28, 2007, 06:03:19 PM »

Tib you got the Robert Gordon up  Very Happy  Very Happy

Those cupcake designs are heaven sent  

I love all this information on the caves and the forests and livestock, and the ocean and beaches are so beautiful. The aquamarine against the white beaches is as pretty as any I've ever seen! The albino whale wow, I hope they can protect him, what a wildlife global treasure he is.

I saw this today and thought I'd post it here, it seems even Koala bears have bad days?  Laughing
http://www.aolvideoblog.com/2007/06/28/koala-slap/

honest I was in on a conference call where one individual acted just like this today  Laughing
Logged

I continue to stand with the girl.
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #591 on: June 29, 2007, 02:50:28 AM »

Nonesuche - that video is priceless!  Yes even Koalas can have their off days.  They are not always the sleepy, sweet cuddly animals they appear and can get quite argumentative and very noisy in their breeding season.  People living in Koala corridors complain about being kept awake by their roaring and growling, which may have been why they were originally called bears.

It will be interesting to see if the albino whale fathers albino calves.  They say he appears to have a girl friend so we may find out soon.

The light here gives such great contrast for photography and the very early settlers who were artists had some difficulty reproducing the light and even current painters find it difficult to depict accurately without a lot of experimentation.

Glad you enjoyed my Robert Gordon effort.  Their designs are beautiful.
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 #592 on: June 29, 2007, 03:01:01 AM »

MACADAMIAS

When the continents of the earth were forming and South America, Africa, India, the Middle East and Australia were loosely joined, a tree evolved as a common ancestor of the family now known as the Proteaceae. The landmass separated into the form we know today and the Proteaceae developed into about 75 families or genera. This occurred by some combination of natural selection, hereditary variation and evolution. About 50,000,000 years ago one variation existed in a form we would today recognize as the genus Macadamia.   In Australia, the layman will see many trees which have a similarity to the Macadamia and it is easy to understand the difficulties in identification, which took almost 100 years to resolve. The genus Macadamia consists of two distinct, but allied groups divided into tropical and subtropical types. The tropical groups are native only to northeast Australia and the Celebes Island and according to current knowledge, consist of the species Macadamia grandus and Macadamia whelani. These are both big trees producing large, inedible fruit. Flowers have a pleasant, sweet smell and are borne on long sprays called racemes which hang from the axils of leaves. The mature racemes vary from 100mm to 300mm in length and carry 100 to 300 flowers. About 10% of these will eventually form ‘nutlets’ and ripen into nuts.



For thousands of years before European settlement the aborigines of eastern Australia feasted on the native nuts which grew in the rainforests of the wet slopes of the Great Dividing Range. One of these nuts was called gyndl or jindilli, which was later corrupted to kindal kindal by early Europeans, while in the southern range of the tree it was known as boombera. We now know it as the macadamia. The high oil content of these nuts was a coveted addition to the indigenous diet. However, they were difficult to harvest in great quantities so probably were not a major staple food. The fallen nuts were collected in dilly bags and taken to feasting grounds. Some coastal, aboriginal middens contain large quantities of bush nut shells along with sea shells, often 15 - 20kms from the nearest trees. Nuts were eaten raw or roasted in hot coals. Many processing stones have been found in eastern rainforests, consisting of a large stone with a delicate incision for holding the nuts and sometimes a smaller, flat stone sits on top which is then struck by a larger ‘hammer’ stone.



Modern technology has not invented a better hand nutcracker than this. The more bitter species, particularly in north Queensland, were ground into a paste and washed in running water to make them edible. There were at least twelve tribes in the region where the trees grew and they were used as an item of trade with other tribes. With the arrival of white settlers nuts were bartered, often with native honey, for rum and tobacco. King Jacky of the Logan River clan, south of Brisbane, was probably the first macadamia nut entrepreneur as he and his tribe have been recorded as regularly collecting and trading them during the 1860’s.  The aborigines would express the oil from the nuts and use it as a binder with ochres and clay for face and body painting. This was a method of preserving clan symbols of the dreaming. The oil was also used neat for skin rejuvenation and as a carrier where it was mixed with other plant extracts to treat ailments.



The first European to discover this nut is now attributed to the explorer Allan Cunningham in 1828. The German explorer Ludwig Leichhardt recorded the tree in 1843 and took a sample to Melbourne which is now in the National Herbarium. However, it was not until 1858 that British botanist Ferdinand von Mueller and the director of the Botanical Gardens in Brisbane, Walter Hill, gave the scientific name Macadamia intergrifolia to the tree - named after von Mueller’s friend Dr.John MacAdam, a noted scientist and secretary to the Philosophical Institute of Australia. Walter Hill, so the story goes, asked a young associate to crack some nuts for germinating. The lad ate some and claimed they were delicious. Hill was under the impression that these bush nuts were poisonous and after a few days, when the boy showed no signs of ill-health, he tasted some himself, proclaiming he had discovered a nut to surpass all others.  These were the first recorded Europeans to eat these amazing nuts.  Hill cultivated the first Macadamia intergrifolia in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens, also in the year 1858. It is still alive and bearing fruit today. Some common names in use were ‘bauple’ or ‘bopple nut’ (after Bauple Mountain near Gympie), ‘bush nut’, Mullumbimby nut’ and ‘Queensland nut’. After plantations were established in Hawaii, the Americans also called it the ‘Hawaiian nut’.



The first commercial orchard of macadamia nuts was planted at Rous Hill, 12km from Lismore, by Charles Staff in the early1880’s. After his death the farm changed hands twice before being bought up by a neighbour, Jens Christian Frederiksen, in 1910.  The Frederiksens main industry was dairying, but an advertisement in a 1932 edition of the local newspaper attests to the commercial viability of macadamia nut production.  The original orchard has recently been replaced by grafted trees, but the 120 year old trees that remain are still producing and the property is still owned by the Frederiksen family. In 1932 Greek migrants, Steve Angus and his brothers Nick and George, moved from Sydney to Murwillumbah and opened a fruit shop known as the Tweed Fruit Exchange. Steve was introduced to a Tweed farmer, John Waldron.  Waldron was cracking the nuts from his small plantation with a hammer, roasting and salting them to sell locally.  After adopting the same methods at the back of the fruit shop, this arduous practice eventually led Steve to tracking down a nut cracking machine from the USA which arrived in Australia in the mid 1940’s. (Hawaiian growers had already established a market in America).  After a few teething problems with the Wiley cracker, Steve began Macadamia Nuts Pty. Ltd. from his garage where his machine was installed. The business grew, although sourcing nuts was a major problem as most of the produce came from backyard trees. The Angus family moved to Brisbane in 1964 and opened Australia’s first purpose-built processing plant at Slacks Creek. In 1970 ill health forced Steve to retire and in 1971 CSR took over the factory. The Angus family had pioneered macadamia nut processing in Australia.  The Industry in Hawaii is based on some seedling nuts imported from Australia in the 1880’s to be used as a wind break for sugar cane. However, it was found that the macadamias also needed protection from wind.



In 1967 Tom Hoult bought 20c. worth of macadamia nuts at a Brisbane department store and was amazed at how few nuts he received. These were very expensive nuts but the taste was superb. He was impressed.  Together with his business partner Mel Braham, Tom began on a journey which now sees them controlling one of the largest macadamia plantations in Australia. Their first plantation at Tuntable Creek proved to be too hilly for mechanised harvesting and the tree stock was successfully moved to a 280Ha property at Dunoon where their company, now called Macadamia Industries Australia Pty. Ltd., now has close to 50,000 trees. The industry has finally come of age so that today we can all enjoy the best nut in the world. The quality and pricing has improved and we don’t have to lift a hammer.



More than any other nut in recent times, the macadamia has found its way into exciting new recipes. Always on the lookout for something new, the world’s chefs have embracedthe Australian nut with enthusiasm.  There is a proliferation of cookies, cakes, confectionery, pastries, spreads, ice-creams and macadamias are also an ingredient in a host of brand foods. Apart from its health benefits, the macadamia has many other attributes. It is an ideal compliment to both sweet and savoury foods, its mellow flavour blends easily with others and it is delicious hot or cold.  The quest to find new ways to use the macadamia has only just begun and its present status as the world’s best is a tribute to the pioneers of the industry and their faith in Australia’s fabulous bush nut.
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 #593 on: June 29, 2007, 03:05:31 AM »

MACADAMIA RECIPES



For a great selection of all types of dishes featuring or including Macadamias this is an ideal website.  Just click on Recipes in the menu under the heading.

www.macadamias.org




.
Logged



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

Posts: 1983



« Reply #594 on: June 29, 2007, 07:20:07 PM »


Here is a wonderful web site Of  Live Web cams Around Australia
 One interesting one to look at is Nobby Beach.. In the beginning of June
there was a horrible storm in Newcaste and a BIG freighter was washed
ashore there is a LIVE cam on the boat  they have been trying last couple nights to get the boat off the beach.. There going to TRY and make Big effort tonight as they are expecting a higher tide

http://www.coastalwatch.com/camera/NobbysBeach.htm
Logged

Joran, Deepak & Satish You F***ers will never be worth anything in your life ever
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #595 on: June 30, 2007, 01:55:16 AM »

Thank you for that link, Sue.
I had wondered if you were keeping up with the story of the aftermath of the storms.
They have only managed to move the vessel a small amount and they keep breaking the cables.  It is a mammoth task for all involved.
I found a couple of still photos and will post them here as it gives you a better idea of the enormous size of this carrier compared to buildings, which does not show on the webcam.

This photo shows how close it is to the lighthouse which is on top of Nobbys cape :



This photo really gives you an idea of the size compared to what looks like a schoolhouse.  They say everyone who has gone down to look have been overwhelmed by the size :

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 #596 on: June 30, 2007, 02:07:45 AM »

NEWCASTLE

Second largest city in New South Wales. Once a major industrial city, now an elegant and attractive destination full of historic buildings and interesting walks.  With a population of over 250 000 Newcastle is the second-largest city in New South Wales and the sixth-largest in Australia. 156 km north of Sydney via the freeway and at sea-level, Newcastle is located at the mouth of the Hunter River. It has the largest export harbour in the Commonwealth, by tonnage, and the second busiest. It is known, quite reasonably, as the 'gateway to the Hunter Valley' and certainly is the commercial, administrative and industrial centre of the region. It has numerous beaches, a rich heritage of Victorian architecture and a fabulous lookout at Mount Sugarloaf.  The Hunter Valley was once occupied by the Awabakal and Worimi Aborigines. Indeed the foreshore area adjacent what is now Newcastle Harbour was once a major campsite. They called the river 'Maiyarn', meaning 'river that comes from the sea'.  When Captain Cook sailed up the east coast in 1770 he noted what is now called Nobbys Head at the mouth of the Hunter River but did not investigate further. In 1797, while pursuing a group of escapees, Lieutenant John Shortland landed in the vicinity, 'discovered' the river, which he named after Governor Hunter (though it was known as Coal River for some time), and reported coal deposits. It was then that the potential of the area was recognised. The following year ships began collecting coal from the riverbanks and selling it in Sydney and in 1799 a shipment of local coal , which was sent to Bengal, was Australia's first export.



In 1801 a convict camp known as King's Town (after Governor King) was established to mine the coal and cut timber. What is thought to be the first coal mine in the Southern Hemisphere was sunk at Colliers Point, below Fort Scratchley, in 1801 and the first shipment of coal (24 tons) dispatched to Sydney (by comparison, in 1997, the 272-metre S.G. Universe carried 148 000 tons of coal to the state capital). However, the settlement was closed less than a year later. Around this time timber cutting also began in the Hunter Valley.

CUSTOMS HOUSE



The real beginning of the town was in 1804 when the administration in Sydney, under Governor King, decided that the site's isolation, combined with the hard manual labour of coalmining, lime-burning, salt-making, timber-cutting and construction work, would make the base for an ideal secondary penal colony for recidivists. The Lower Hunter was then covered in subtropical forest which was rich in cedar, so much so that the tributaries around Newcastle were then known as the Cedar Arms. The only initial source of lime were Aboriginal middens at Stockton while the salt was attained through the evaporation of the highly saline water of the Stockton mangroves.



The penal settlement was placed under the direction of Lieutenant Menzies though he soon resigned and Charles Throsby was in charge from 1805-08. The convict settlement, named Newcastle after the English city, rapidly gained a reputation as a hellhole. The regime was severe and the work arduous. From 1814 it became the major prison in NSW with over a thousand convicts. An early Australian novel, Ralph Rashleigh (written in the 1840s), by ex-convict James Tucker, describes dung-eating, flogging and murder at the penal colony. The settlement remained small but it did start to develop. In 1816 a public school was built at East Newcastle (the oldest public school in Australia) and the following year both a gaol and a hospital were erected, though no buildings survive from this rough-and-ready period.  The convict settlement only lasted for twenty years. The gradual movement of settlers up the coast and inland around the Hawkesbury meant that the original isolation of the 'undesirable elements' disappeared. The convicts were moved further up the coast to Port Macquarie in 1823 as settlement of the Hunter Valley began.

CHRIST CHURCH ANGLICAN COLLEGE



When the town site was surveyed in 1822-23 there were 71 convict homes and 13 government buildings. The government initially managed the mines but the Australian Agricultural Company acquired sole rights to the coal in 1828 and opened the first modern colliery in 1831. By the 1850s the industrial base of the city had been established and the commercial sector began to grow. Demand built up with the growth of Melbourne and the development of the rail system (extended to Maitland in 1857). Newcastle rapidly became a major coal producer, port and railhead. Mining villages such as Stockton, Carrington, Cardiff, Swansea, Charlestown, Minmi, New Lambton, Wallsend, Hamilton, Adamstown, Abermain, Gateshead, Merewether and Waratah began to develop. Some of these names reflected the fact that many early immigrants were coalminers from northern England, Scotland and Wales.



Copper smelting, potteries, shipbuilding, engineering and metal-working diversified the economic base. The extension of the rail system into the Hunter Valley also meant that Newcastle increasingly became a major service centre for the agricultural areas.  The prosperity of the 1870s and 1880s saw a flurry of substantial buildings emerge engendering a strong heritage of Victorian architecture. The population increased eight-fold between 1860 and 1890 and by the turn of the century it exceeded 50 000.   A major moment in Newcastle's history occurred in 1911 when BHP chose the city as the site for its steelworks due to the abundance of coal. It opened in 1915 with the government providing port facilities and roadways. The city was soon reoriented from coal to a predominant emphasis on steel production, iron-smelting and subsidiary industries.   Steel remained the lifeblood of the city but, despite record company profits, BHP, in 1997, announced plans to abandon most aspects of its steelmaking operations in Newcastle in the year 2000. However, the phase-out has been gradual and other aspects of the local manufacturing sector are still strong. Retail trade, health and education are the other major employment sectors.

.
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 #597 on: June 30, 2007, 02:12:48 AM »

HERE IS ONE WAY TO DISCOURAGE UNWANTED BOYFRIENDS :

BINDI SLEEPS WITH SNAKES!

Article from:… The Herald Sun….June 29, 2007 12:00am

AT an age when many girls are still playing with their Barbie dolls, Bindi Irwin has moved on to something a bit more challenging.
"I have Blackie my black-headed python. I also have Corny the corn snake. He sleeps with me at night," the 8-year-old-daughter of the late crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin, says proudly as she rattles off the names of the menagerie she keeps back home in Queensland, Australia.

It's a group she hopes to introduce to the rest of the world through her new television show, "Bindi the Jungle Girl," airing Saturdays on the Discovery Kids Channel.

"I also have Jaffa my koala and Ocker, my favorite cockatoo. And I have other birds that stay with me. And Candy, my pet rat, sometimes stays with me," the blonde-haired, pigtailed bundle of energy continues until her enthusiasm gets the better of her and her words begin to run together, finally tripping over one another in a heap.

"Sorry," she offers with a giggle as she comes up for air.

Then, a moment later, she's on a roll again, passionately recounting the horror stories her father would come home with about the way he saw exotic animals mistreated in shows around the world. He witnessed cobras in India, he told her, that had their teeth yanked out before they were put in baskets for snake charmers with flutes to coax them out of. He saw monkeys that had their young taken away as an incentive to perform.

"They take their babies away until the monkey does the trick, and then they give the baby back," he told her.

"It's terrible what people are doing," she says, her voice rising. "And they're just doing it for a living because they don't know any better. They've just grown up like that. I think we really need to teach all people, big or little, they should all know the message of conservation."

Her effort to teach them is "Bindi The Jungle Girl," which takes viewers around the world to see animals in their natural habitat while Bindi discusses things like the status of those in danger of extinction.

"There are only a few thousand left in the wild and they could all be gone by the time I'm old enough to drive," she says of tigers and cheetahs.

As her father did, she also frequently makes pitches not to use products that result in the needless deaths of animals.

Each show also returns home to Bindi's two-story tree house in Queensland, Australia, where the little girl with the soft Aussie accent interacts naturally with her exotic animals and where, Bindi says, she is always happiest.

"I love it in my tree house. It's the best place to be, pretty much," she says by phone. "I just go there to sleep over sometimes. My brother comes to visit me for a little sleepover as well. He has his own little snake, Basil. Basil is actually a girl. I know, that's a strange name for a girl," she says, letting loose with another giggle.

She also keeps a supply of videos of her father there.

"I'm ever so lucky because I have so much footage of my dad in the tree house with me," she says. Then she adds softly, "Which is very nice to have because some people only have like one or two pictures of their father or the one who died."

She was barely 8 when her father was killed by a stingray while filming an underwater documentary at Australia's Great Barrier Reef last September.

The two already had begun working together on what would become "Bindi The Jungle Girl," and Irwin is featured prominently in early episodes doing things like climbing trees to visit the nests of endangered orangutans. In one comical moment, a nest's startled resident briefly shakes a fist in Irwin's face before deciding he's all right.

Almost from the day Bindi was born, says her mother, Terri Irwin, she has embraced exotic animals with the same passion her father had.

"Steve was so excited," she recalls. "He kept saying, 'I'm really looking forward to the day when Bindi takes over for me and I can just kick back."'

Still, in many ways, she adds, her daughter is just a typical kid, one who keeps busy with school and pesters her family from time to time for a pony to go with Peru the iguana and the other exotic animals.

As for taking up her famous father's legacy at such a tender age, Bindi doesn't see it as a big deal. She began accompanying him on film shoots when she was just 6 days old and learned early on, she says, what her life's work would be.

"I've always wanted to teach people about animal conservation,"

she said. "I want to follow in my father's footsteps. I loved him so very, very much."



.
Logged



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

Posts: 1983



« Reply #598 on: July 01, 2007, 02:58:27 AM »


Tib, I have some prettt amazing pictures of the storm damage
My friend in Sydney sent me..problem is they are in power point and I dont know how to post them.. I have to great shocks of the ship grounded
If someone knows how to post powerpoint pics or knows how to save them just has seperate pictures i will send them
There are must see pics

Sue
Logged

Joran, Deepak & Satish You F***ers will never be worth anything in your life ever
Tibrogargan
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5315



« Reply #599 on: July 01, 2007, 03:07:21 AM »

Sue I do hope someone will help explain how to post those pics as it would be great to include them here.

I am a real amateur with this stuff - Klaas had to help me understand Photobucket and how to post the still pics, and I have not advanced beyond that point  Laughing

I am sure a lot of monkeys as well as myself are ooking forward to seeing your pictures.
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 5.205 seconds with 20 queries.