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Australia

Wildy said:
Meh, I don't think he cares. I guess it's perfectly fine for him to apply his own country's morals and racial stereotypes on others, but should someone else to it to an American? How dare they.
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That was pretty much my take - he seems like that on most topics. He has however given us a purpose to 'bump' and chat briefly about golliwogs.
I loved mine until it could be loved no more. :)
 
The closest I ever got to a gollywog as a kid was reading an old copy of a Noddy book which had a gollywog in one of the stories.
 
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Bondi.jpg




Bondi Beach is one of Australia's most famous beaches and among the world's most well-known beaches. The beach is roughly a kilometre long and is patrolled by lifesavers who make swimmers stay between the yellow and red flags. Especially Hawaiians.

"Bondi" or "Boondi" is an aboriginal word meaning "water breaking over rocks" or "noise of water breaking over rocks."


Bondi1.jpg

Bondi Panorama
© Bondi Village.com​



Between 1855 and 1877 Francis O'Brien of the Bondi Estate made the beach and the surrounding land available to the public as a picnic ground and pleasure resort, but for many years threatened to stop public access to the beach. In 1859 the Municipal Council asked the Government to establish an area at the beach as a public reserve but without success. It was not until June 1882 that the Government acted and Bondi Beach opened to the public.



Bondi4.jpg

Bondi - Circa 1900
© Powerhouse Museum​



Bondi Beach was a working class suburb throughout most of the twentieth century. Following World War II, Bondi Beach and the Eastern Suburbs became home for Jewish migrants from Poland, Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Germany, while a steady stream of Jewish immigration continues into the 21st century mainly from South Africa, Russia and Israel, and the area has a number of synagogues, a kosher butcher and the Hakoah Club. Bondi is also occasionally referred to as the westernmost suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.

An ordnance governing the decency of swimming costumes was in force between 1935 and 1961, and resulted in public controversy as the two-piece "bikini" became popular after World War II. Waverley Council's beach inspectors, including the legendary Aub Laidlaw, were responsible for enforcing the law and were required to measure the dimensions of swimwear and order offenders against public decency off the beach. The rule became increasingly anachronistic during the 1950's and was replaced in 1961 with one requiring bathers be "clad in a proper and adequate bathing costume", allowing for more subjective judgement of decency. By the 1980s topless bathing had become common at Bondi Beach, especially at the southern end


Bondi2.jpg

Ooh, nice!
© Bondi Village.com​



There is an underwater shark net shared, during the summer months, with other beaches along the southern part of the coast. Pods of whales and dolphins have been sighted in the bay during the months of migration. Fairy penguins, while uncommon, are sometimes also seen swimming close to shore.

Bondi Beach was added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2008


Bondi3.jpg

Not so nice in Winter
© Bondi Village.com​



Fun Fact:

In 2007, the Guinness World Record for the largest swimsuit photo shoot was set at Bondi Beach, with 1,010 women wearing bikinis taking part.

Yes, of course there are pictures​






Sources:​


 
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I read about gambusia a short while ago. Is it just me or is Australia a magnet for invasive species? First the toads, now the (non)mosquitofish...
 
Moss said:
I read about gambusia a short while ago. Is it just me or is Australia a magnet for invasive species? First the toads, now the (non)mosquitofish...
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The reasons are, as you'd expect, fairly complex, but a big factor would be a relative dearth of predatory species to sort out the invaders.

Our susceptibility is the major reason for us having incredibly strict quarantine laws, as is also the case over the ditch in Aotearoa.

I'll research and prepare an article on it.


Good subject, Cobber, and I thank you for it.

:)
 
Akhenaten said:
The reasons are, as you'd expect, fairly complex, but a big factor would be a relative dearth of predatory species to sort out the invaders.

Our susceptibility is the major reason for us having incredibly strict quarantine laws, as is also the case over the ditch in Aotearoa.

I'll research and prepare an article on it.


Good subject, Cobber, and I thank you for it.

:)
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I thought everything in Australia was deadly.
 
Lolly said:
Nope, we've got some lovely harmless little animals, like geckos. They come into your house and sit on the windows and eat some flies for you. If you try to grab them, say if you want to put one outside, their tails fall off so you can't grab them. They grow back later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecko
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Hmm, if that's the case, I think that Akhenaten, Alfie and some of the others have been fibbing (principally in the Yowie thread, IIRC). Next I bet you're gonna tell me that koalas and little blue penguins aren't man-eaters.
 
No, koalas will bite and scratch you, they aren't for cuddling really (although they have pretty tame ones at wildlife parks that'll let you hold them). Dunno about penguins, we don't have those over here. A lot of the wildlife just wants you to let it do its thing and not bother it. Don't bother it, and it won't bother you. Then we get on famously.
 
Yup. Lolly has that nailed pretty well.

We may have exaggerated a few things in that Yowie thread because it was just plain silly, but by-and-large, it's a good idea to watch where you're putting your feet and hands and pretty much anything else you feel like keeping.

The worst things are in the sea, so it's pretty easy to stay safe if you're too worried about being breakfast.

Lolly is spot-on about the Koalas. I've had lots of encounters with them out in the bush, and I'd have to say, if I had the choice of being attacked by a Koala or say, a Dingo, I'd take the Dingo. Koalas are all muscle, despite appearances, they have claws that a raptor would be proud of, and as mentioned, they'll bite you if they get the chance.

Having said all that though, they aren't normally aggressive, save for larger males who like to defend their patch, but you certainly wouldn't want to try and corner one. I guarantee it will get out of the corner, one way or another.
 
Thanks for the Bondi post. Brought back many very good memories, I virtually grew up there. What is interesting is that many beachside suburbs, not only Bondi but including Coogee, Cronulla and Maroobra were proudly working class (the northern beaches not so). I lot of my friends lived in very modest houses and their families struggled.

Today, of course, James Packer lives there and any hovel with an ocean view goes for millions. I liked the old Bondi better.

ETA, I used to know the Beach Inspector, Aub Laidlaw. He was a member of the Bondi Surf Club, and was not the orge he was made out to be. He was just enforcing the council bylaws.
 
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Akhenaten said:
Yup. Lolly has that nailed pretty well.

We may have exaggerated a few things in that Yowie thread because it was just plain silly, but by-and-large, it's a good idea to watch where you're putting your feet and hands and pretty much anything else you feel like keeping.

The worst things are in the sea, so it's pretty easy to stay safe if you're too worried about being breakfast.

Lolly is spot-on about the Koalas. I've had lots of encounters with them out in the bush, and I'd have to say, if I had the choice of being attacked by a Koala or say, a Dingo, I'd take the Dingo. Koalas are all muscle, despite appearances, they have claws that a raptor would be proud of, and as mentioned, they'll bite you if they get the chance.

Having said all that though, they aren't normally aggressive, save for larger males who like to defend their patch, but you certainly wouldn't want to try and corner one. I guarantee it will get out of the corner, one way or another.
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I understand that wild animals are best left to their own devices. I was just trying to think of the least ferocious-looking Australian critters. I also realized there was a touch of hyperbole in the Yowie thread.

Sigh. Light-hearted humorous post not so humorous.
 
lionking said:
Thanks for the Bondi post. Brought back many very good memories, I virtually grew up there. What is interesting is that many beachside suburbs, not only Bondi but including Coogee, Cronulla and Maroobra were proudly working class (the northern beaches not so). I lot of my friends lived in very modest houses and their families struggled.

Today, of course, James Packer lives there and any hovel with an ocean view goes for millions. I liked the old Bondi better.

ETA, I used to know the Beach Inspector, Aub Laidlaw. He was a member of the Bondi Surf Club, and was not the orge he was made out to be. He was just enforcing the council bylaws.
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Don't worry, Cronulla's still pretty working class.

Though perhaps racist bludger class who blame the Lebs for everything would be a better description.
 
Lucian said:
I understand that wild animals are best left to their own devices. I was just trying to think of the least ferocious-looking Australian critters. I also realized there was a touch of hyperbole in the Yowie thread.

Sigh. Light-hearted humorous post not so humorous.
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Not at all, mate. I take myself too seriously in this thread sometimes. I'll do more gooderer next time.

:)
 
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