Australia

[MG1962]

My favourite Aussie astronomer at the moment is Robert McNaught, though I don't know much about him, other than his discovery of 50 or so comets:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._McNaught

He used to appear on the ABC radio a lot. Brilliant mind, I met him in Sydney years ago. Charming to a fault, always happy to answer a question from the general public, no matter how insane it was

 

[MG1962]

Oh, and I was just reading this today (unrelated to astronomy):

"In 1869, the 14-year-old Ned Kelly was arrested for assaulting a Chinese pig farmer named ..."

Click here to find out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Kelly#Rise_to_notoriety

And the world wonders why we love being Australian so much lol

 

[Damien Evans]

A second place for Mark Renshaw from Bathurst in the Tour tonight, hopefully a sign of good things to come for the record 11 Aussies in this years tour, including of course our overall contenders, Michael Rogers and Cadel Evans.

 

[MG1962]

A second place for Mark Renshaw from Bathurst in the Tour tonight, hopefully a sign of good things to come for the record 11 Aussies in this years tour, including of course our overall contenders, Michael Rogers and Cadel Evans.

And I am stuck in America with exactly zippo coverage

 

[Akhenaten]

A second place for Mark Renshaw from Bathurst in the Tour tonight, hopefully a sign of good things to come for the record 11 Aussies in this years tour, including of course our overall contenders, Michael Rogers and Cadel Evans.

He did really well, not least in that he managed to stay out of all the crashes. Talk about mayhem.

And I am stuck in America with exactly zippo coverage

We'll try and talk about it only when you're out of earshot, Cobber.

No coverage sounds pretty piss-poor. I hate sport on telly, but I wouldn't miss le Tour for anything. The racing is great, of course, but the travelogue that goes with it is to die for.

I'll try and post a snapshot of the day here for you, at least.

 

[Damien Evans]

And I am stuck in America with exactly zippo coverage

I think SBS stream it live if you can access it over there.

 

[Akhenaten]

This is pretty good link for now, mg.


Click on the 'video' tab for today's highlights. (There's just one short ad)

 

[MG1962]

Thanks guys - I dont know what it is - Lance Armstrong etc etc, and these blighters still wont watch the race

With Phil Liggots coverage and the French countryside you probably have the most watchable sports event of TV....but no, we get college level lacross instead

 

[Damien Evans]

Hey, LaCrosse is pretty cool. One of my brothers is pretty good at it.

 

[MG1962]

Hey, LaCrosse is pretty cool. One of my brothers is pretty good at it.

Oh definately I watch it myself. My mother when growing up in Victoria was quiet an accomplished player

But seriously - watching the University of Boise Vs University of Kansas, when the Tour is on. I just dont have the same punch lol

 

[Orphia Nay]

He used to appear on the ABC radio a lot. Brilliant mind, I met him in Sydney years ago. Charming to a fault, always happy to answer a question from the general public, no matter how insane it was

Very cool! Cool that you met him, and cool that he's cool.

And the world wonders why we love being Australian so much lol

 

[lionking]

I just found my grandfather's name on the Australian Imperial Force Nominal Roll together with his age (19), date of joining (22/7/15) and so on. Number 7821 on the list. I didn't know such records exist - look it up if you have any relatives who served.

http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/AWM8/13_33_1/PDF/0018.pdf

 

[Akhenaten]

Since February this year there has been a game thread running in The Forum Community section entitled 'Identify the place'. The object of the game is fairly simple - post a picture and everyone tries to figure out where the place is, with the winner posting the next picture. For most of the thread's life I've been the only 'Strayan playing and I've tried, for the most part, to make my pictures of fairly iconic Australian places.

Given the transient nature of FC threads, their invisibility to non-members and the lack of opportunity to present much information about the places featured in the pictures, I thought it might not be a bad idea to present them here as a collection.

I've used the spoiler taġs to preserve the 'guessing game' aspect of the original thread, so have a go and see how many places you can recognise without peeking. Some will be really easy - others, not so much.

Places will be posted in groups of five or six, mainly because they're a nightmare to format.


Cheers, Cobbers and Cobberettes

​

Identify the Place - Part 1

Karlu Karlu - Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve, Northern Territory

The Devils Marbles or Karlu Karlu is a living cultural landscape and the traditional country for the Warumungu, Kaytetye, Alyawarra and Warlpiri people, who believe that the 'marbles' are the eggs of the Rainbow Serpent.

Karlu Karlu, literally translated as ‘round boulders’ are a collection of gigantic rounded granite boulders, many of which are precariously balanced on top of one another. Scattered heaps of these ‘marbles’ occur across the wide, shallow valley that makes up the Reserve.

In an historic ceremony held here on the 27th October 2008, ownership of the Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve was officially given back to the site’s Traditional Owners. The Reserve has since been leased back to the Northern Territory Government under a 99 year agreement and is now jointly managed by the Traditional Owners and Park Rangers.​

Download a fact sheet

Bullocks Flat, New South Wales

Bullocks Flat (or Bullock's Flat) is a flat portion of the Thredbo Valley adjacent to the Thredbo River, in New South Wales, Australia.

The flat is the site of the lower terminus of the Skitube Alpine Railway, a traction rack railway that takes skiers from beside the Alpine Way below Thredbo, through a steeply inclined railway tunnel, into the Kosciuszko National Park at Perisher Valley and the associated ski resort of Blue Cow Mountain. ("Perisher Blue")

The area was originally inhabited by the Ngarigo people , however, their lifestyle was disrupted in the 1930s when Europeans first began summer alpine grazing of sheep and cattle.

In the 1850s, gold was discovered on the Thredbo River (then known as the Crackenback River) although finds were not extensive.

Early in the 1900s, Eucalyptus delegatensis (alpine ash) trees were logged in this area, the logs brought to a steam powered mill on the western side of the river by bullock teams (whence the current name originated).

Also in the early 1900s, trout were introduced into the local streams for sport fishing and this remains a popular pastime and tourist activity for the area.​

More informations

Seacliff Bridge, New South Wales

The award-winning, off-shore and parallel-to-the-coast Sea Cliff Bridge forms part of the Grand Pacific Drive and is located on scenic Lawrence Hargrave Drive, 60 km (40 mi) South from central Sydney (or 23 km north of Wollongong). It was opened on December 11, 2005, at a total cost of A$52 million.​

More Stuff

Webcam (may require the 'AXIS Media Control' add-on to be installed. Takes but a second and is perfectly safe)

Walter Taylor Bridge, Indooroopilly (Brisbane), Queensland

The Walter Taylor Bridge is a suspensıon bridge crossing the Brisbane River between Indooroopilly and Chelmer in Brisbane, Queensland. It is shared by motor traffic and pedestrians.

The bridge is unique among Brisbane bridges in that the two towers of the bridge house residential accommodation, which are still occupied. The Chelmer side of the bridge is bounded by a council park, including a pontoon. The Walter Taylor Bridge is one of four bridges in close proximity to each other.

The bridge is a suspensıon bridge and the support cables were actually surplus support cables used to hold up the incomplete halves of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during its construction. When the bridge opened it had the longest span of any suspensıon bridge in Australia.​

Get over it

The National Carillon, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

The National Carillon is situated on Aspen Island in central Canberra and is a large carillon managed and maintained by the National Capital Authority on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The carillon was a gift from the British government to the people of Australia to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the National Capital. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the National Carillon on 26 April 1970. The 50 metre tall tower was designed by Western Australian architects Cameron, Chisholm & Nicol. The concept initially came from architect Mr Don Ho, who worked for Cameron Chisholm & Nicol in 1968.

In 2004 the carillon underwent refurbishment including renovations of interior function facilities and the addition of two extra bells (bringing the total number to 55). Each bell weighs between seven kilograms and six tonnes and they span four and a half octaves chromatically.

Although not large, the carillon features function facilities for small gatherings offering wonderful views over Lake Burley Griffin and central Canberra.

The carillon is in regular use, chiming every quarter hour and playing a short tune on the hour along with tours and recitals on many days. The best place to listen to the carillon is suggested to be within 100 metres of the building, though the sound can usually be heard much further away in the Parliamentary Triangle, Kingston and Civic.​

The bells! The bells!

Fort Denison, Sydney, New South Wales

One of the last Martello Towers to be built in the world after the design's defensive capabilities had been proven by the English at Cape Mortella, Corsica in 1794. The fort was built to defend Sydney against possible attack by Russian warships. Built from 8000 tonnes of sandstone quarried near Kurraba Point at Neutral Bay, the fort was named after Sir William Denison, the then Governor of New South Wales.

Fort Dension was once little more than a rocky outcrop and was a prison island for Sydney's worst prisoners from 1841 to 1857 and was often known as Pinchgut. The local Aborigines referred to the island as Mattewai or Mattenways before white settlement. The fort is used today as a tide gauge station.

A number of tours of the island are available every day (arrival and departure by ferry only). Munchies are available at the cafe or take a picnic lunch.​

Fort Wikison

 

[MG1962]

I got four of them

 

[Akhenaten]

The two bridges would trick most people, I think, and possibly the one in the snow.

I'll have the next lot ready in a little while.

 

[lionking]

I know five of them I think. The snow baffles me, but looking at the gauge I think I have it.

1&2 The Olgas
3. Puffing Billy station, Belgrave?
4. The bridge south of Sydney (starting at Stanwell Park?) on the way to Wollongong.
5.&6. A bridge over the Brisbane River, south of Brisbane, don't know the name
7. The Carrillion in Canberra
8. Fort Denison, or Pinchgut, Sydney Harbour

 

[Damien Evans]

The two bridges would trick most people, I think, and possibly the one in the snow.

I'll have the next lot ready in a little while.

I had the bridge pegged as the Storey, so I wasn't far off.

 

[Akhenaten]

I know five of them I think. The snow baffles me, but looking at the gauge I think I have it.

1&2 The Olgas
3. Puffing Billy station, Belgrave?
4. The bridge south of Sydney (starting at Stanwell Park?) on the way to Wollongong.
5.&6. A bridge over the Brisbane River, south of Brisbane, don't know the name
7. The Carrillion in Canberra
8. Fort Denison, or Pinchgut, Sydney Harbour

Close, mate. The answers are in the spoilers under the pictures, BTW

I saw your earlier answer guessing about the railway picture. You did well to spot that it wasn't the good old broad gauge (5' 3"), but it's not quite as narrow as Puffing Billy's (2' 6") either. It's in fact Standard Gauge (4' 8½") but is probably deceptive because of the gear-toothed 'rack' between the rails.

 

[lionking]

Close, mate. The answers are in the spoilers under the pictures, BTW

I saw your earlier answer guessing about the railway picture. You did well to spot that it wasn't the good old broad gauge (5' 3"), but it's not quite as narrow as Puffing Billy's (2' 6") either. It's in fact Standard Gauge (4' 8½") but is probably deceptive because of the gear-toothed 'rack' between the rails.

Ah, I missed the spoilers, and glad I did, or I might have cheated. The bridge in photo 4 is well worth the detour.

 

[Akhenaten]

Ah, I missed the spoilers, and glad I did, or I might have cheated. The bridge in photo 4 is well worth the detour.

It certainly is, although it was a quick trip for me the day I took the photo. The bridge is only about 15 minutes from my Mum's place and we just happened to go over it on our way out for a countery at Thirroul. I refuse to ride my bike along there though.