Australia

UPPER BEACONSFIELD

Upper Beaconsfield is located 53 kms (33 miles) south-east of Melbourne in

the Dandenong Ranges on the southern foothills of the Great Dividing Range.

Upper Beaconsfield retains much of its rural heritage and atmosphere with

tree lined streets, varied eucalyptus forests, wet-lands, fern gullies and

secluded creeks.

THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD

The Great Ocean Road starts at Torquay (about 100kms from Melbourne) and

winds its way for 180 kms along the south-western coast of Victoria ,

Australia.

It is one of the most spectacular coastal drives in the world. It winds its

ways around ragged cliffs, windswept beaches, and tall buffs and passes

through lush mountain rainforest and towering eucalyptus.

The Great Ocean Road was started in 1918 and completed during the Great

Depression as a public works project to give returned soldiers and

unemployed people work.

Some of the sights along the way are:

. Bells Beach - a great place to go surfing and where the Bells Surfing

Classic is held each Easter.

. Shipwreck Coast - where the wrecks of over 80 ships lie on the ocean

floor. Many ships carrying immigrants to the gold fields of Victoria

floundered in the treacherous seas.

. Lorne - a popular sea side resort in Apollo Bay.

. Port Campbell National Park - One of the most photographed sections of

the road where shear golden limestone cliffs and rock formations

withstand the buffeting of fierce seas.

o Twelve Apostles -

(there are only 10 left!)

o London Bridge

(This is what it looked like before one of its spans collapsed)

o Loch Ard Gorge - where in 1878 the clipper Loch Ard was driven

into rocks during a storm with the loss of 52 lives.

. Otway National Park

. Port Fairy - a well preserved fishing village which was settled by

sealers and whalers back in the 1820s.

THE LOCH ARD DISASTER

The 18 passengers and 36 crew on the iron-hulled clipper Loch Ard had a

party on the night of March 31, 1878, to celebrate their arrival in

Melbourne the next day after a three month voyage from England. But Captain

Gibb stayed on deck all night, worried by the thick mist that obscured the

horizon and Cape Otway light. At 4am the mist lifted and the lookout cried:

"Breakers ahead." Despite desperate attempts to turn the ship away -- and

then to hold it with its anchors -- it struck rocks. water flooded in, the

masts flailed against the high cliff face before crashing down and waves

swept across the decks, hampering attempts to get the lifeboats into the

water. Only two survived -- ship's apprentice Tom Pearce and Eva

Carmichael, both aged 18. Eva's parents and five siblings were lost. Tom

drifted into the gorge where he saw passenger Eva clinging to a mast -- he

swam out, pulled her into a cave and found some brandy in the wreckage to

revive her. He climbed out of the gorge and came upon two stockmen, and a

rescue party was organised. But only four bodies -- including Eva's mother

and sister, were able to be recovered from the treacherous seas and most of

the ship's valuable cargo was lost or looted. Tom Pearce became a national

hero for his rescue of Eva, who soon returned to Ireland.

A few days after the disaster a packing case washed up in the gorge. It

contained a life-sized Minton pottery peacock destined for the Melbourne

Great Exhibition of 1880

The Outback is the arid sparsely populated interior of Australia.

It makes up almost 85% of Australian landmass. Very few humans live out

there.

It is also sometimes called "Beyond the Black Stump".

The Australian Outback is both harsh and breathtakingly beautiful. It's

like nothing else anywhere else in the world.

A ROAD TO NEVER-NEVER

In the outback you can travel for days without meeting anyone. This is why

it is sometimes called the Never-Never: the never ending landscape; the

never ending horizon.

The land is unforgiving to the careless and foolhardy. You can die of

dehydration within hours if you are not careful.

A STATION

Yes people actually do live in the outback.

Cattle and sheep are grazed on huge tracts of land called Stations (what

might be called a ranch in the USA). There are Stations in the outback that

occupy more land than some countries. Helicopters and small planes are

usually used to round up stock (the sheep and cattle) and to check fences

(dingo and rabbit fences).

A person who rounds up stock is called a Stockman.

A person who works at a Station is called a Stationhand.

The owner is called a Station-Manager

THE PEOPLE

The vast distances have forced people to adapt to their isolation (some

people being more than a day's drive from their nearest neighbor). A two-

way radio and an airstrip are vital to any outback station.

Because of the great distances some children in the outback cannot attend

regular school. They learn from the School of the Air which is a special

school where the teacher and student interact via a two-way radio.

Here is a fascinating school in the outback run by the Mupuru aboriginal

community . Its really worth a visit: The Mapuru Homeland Leaning Centre

The Royal Flying Doctor Service operates a fleet of airplanes outfitted as

flying ambulances and clinics. They visit these remote locations to provide

medical services. They also provides advice over the two-way radio.

ULURU

Uluru: Is a huge rock (called a monolith) that sticks out in the middle of

the flat desert. From a distance it looks like an impregnable fortress

built eons ago by some mythical warlord.

Uluru is over nine kilometres (6 miles) around and over 348 metres (1000ft)

high. It is believed to be about 600 million years old and was once part of

a huge mountain range. The mountain range has long since disappeared -

eroded away by rain and wind.

With each passing hour as the sun moves across the sky the rock changes

colour - changing from delicate mauve, blues, pinks, browns to fiery red.

It is a sacred place to the Pitjanjara Aboriginal tribe.

DEVILS MARBLES

Devils Marbles: These massive boulders are scattered along the Stuart

Highway near Alice Springs. They glow red in the sunset. Aborigines believe

they were left by the Rainbow Serpent of the Dreamtime.

WAVE ROCK

Wave Rock: Is a huge granite rock that looks like a huge wave that has been

frozen in time and turned into stone. It has been made this way by the wind

and rain water running down its sides.

KATHERINE GORGE

Katherine Gorge: Is one of 13 gorges in Nitmiluk National Park. They began

forming about 23 million years ago as torrents of water flowing through

tiny cracks in the earth slowly eroded away the earth and rock creating

these huge gorges.

It is rich in Aboriginal art, with rock paintings representing the

spiritual 'dreaming' of the Jawoyn people, the traditional owners of the

land.

Apart from boat rides through the Gorge, with its sheer towering walls,

there are also over 100 kilometres of walking tracks and numerous

aboriginal rock paintings to visit

THE OLGAS

The Olgas: Are enormous domes of red rock located about 32 kms from Uluru.

You can walk into valleys and gorges between the 36 rock domes and feel the

eerie mystery around you. The Aborigines call it 'Kata Tjuta'. It has great

spiritual significance to them.

The Peoples of Australia

We came from all over the world.

Australians are a very friendly open sort of people. We love our sports,

our family barbecues and the beach. We are very urbanised - most of us

living in the larger cities along the coast. Almost 94% of the population

are of European decent and as a result we have a western outlook and

culture. In general Australians are very tolerant of other people and their

customs.

WORK

Australians are one of the most urbanised societies in the world. Almost

80% of the workforce are employed in service industries such as: offices,

banks, etc in the major cities.

About 16% work in manufacturing

About 3% are farmers or graziers.

Wool is one of Australia's major exports. Wool shearing is hard work.

Australia is rich in mineral deposits. We mine and export alumina, iron,

coal, copper,gold, uranium, etc all over the world.

About 1% work in the mining industry

SPORTS

During winter we play Australian Rules Football which is played with an

oval ball on an oval field with eighteen players on each team. We also play

Rugby.

In the summer we play cricket. Cricket is played with a flat bat and a

round leather covered ball. Each team has 11 players. The objective of the

game is to hit the ball as far as possible without getting "caught out" or

without having the ball come in contact with your body or hitting the

stumps (3 short poles behind the batsman). The next Olympic games will be

held in Sydney Australia in the year 2000.

LEISURE

Almost 85% of Australians live within a few hours drive of the coast

Most major cities have bicycle tracks.

We love to race almost anything: horses, camels, goats, cockroaches and

even earth worms.

Australia has lots of wide open spaces and parks.

Upper Beaconsfield

Upper Beaconsfield is located 53 kms (33 miles) south-east of Melbourne in

the Dandenong Ranges on the southern foothills of the Great Dividing Range.

Upper Beaconsfield retains much of its rural heritage and atmosphere with

tree lined streets, varied eucalyptus forests, wet-lands, fern gullies and

secluded creeks. The large residential blocks blend well with the

surrounding environment. There are strict laws protecting the local flora

and fauna

STONEY CREEK

We go to Stony Creek on hikes, to catch yabbies and fish. It's lots of fun.

It isn't usually misty like in this picture.

There are lots of native ferns and gum trees around the creek.

There are Platypuses in the creek but they are very shy and hide when us

kids come by.

ASH WEDNESDAY BUSHFIRE

There was a terrible bushfire in Upper Beaconsfield in 1983.

We didn't live here then. The fire burned right through the land on which

our house is now. We can still see the burn marks on some of the trees in

our garden. Lots of houses burnt down and lots of animals and some people

died too. We are all more careful now.

ELEPHANT ROCK

Elephant Rock is located on the Beaconsfield-Emerald Road . Kids paint it

in all sorts of colours. There is a good lookout from where you can see

Cardinia Dam. There are also good walking tracks there.

Waltzing Matilda

Waltzing Matilda is an Australian icon.

It is quite likely that more Australians know the words to this song than

the national anthem.

There is probably no other song that is more easily recognised by a

populace: young or old: ocker or a newly arrived immigrant.

|Once a jolly swagman camped by a |[pic] |Swagman - a drifter,|

|billabong, | |a hobo, an itinerant|

|Under the shade of a coolibah tree,| |shearer who carried |

| | |all his belongings |

|And he sang as he watched and | |wrapped up in a |

|waited 'til his billy boiled | |blanket or cloth |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | |called a swag. |

|with me?" | |Billabong - a |

| Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda| |waterhole near a |

| | |river |

|Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | |Coolibah - a |

|with me | |eucalyptus tree |

|And he sang as he watched and | |Billy- a tin can |

|waited 'til his billy boiled, | |with a wire handle |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | |used to boil water |

|with me?" | |in |

| |[pic] |Jumbuck - a sheep |

|Along came a jumbuck to drink at | |Tucker Bag - a bag |

|the billabong, | |for keeping food in |

|Up jumped the swagman and grabbed | | |

|him with glee, | | |

|And he sang as he stowed that | | |

|jumbuck in his tucker bag, | | |

|"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me". | | |

| | | |

|Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda | | |

|Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me | | |

|And he sang as he watched and | | |

|waited 'til his billy boiled, | | |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me?". | | |

| |[pic] |Squatter - a wealthy|

|Up rode the squatter, mounted on | |landowner. |

|his thoroughbred, | |Trooper - a |

|Down came the troopers, one, two, | |policeman, a mounted|

|three, | |militia-man. |

|"Whose is that jumbuck you've got | | |

|in your tucker bag?" | | |

|"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me". | | |

| | | |

|Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda | | |

|Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me | | |

|And he sang as he watched and | | |

|waited 'til his billy boiled, | | |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me?". | | |

| |[pic] | |

|Up jumped the swagman, leapt into | | |

|the billabong, | | |

|"You'll never catch me alive," said| | |

|he, | | |

|And his ghost may be heard as you | | |

|pass by the billabong, | | |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me". | | |

| | | |

|Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda | | |

|Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me | | |

|And he sang as he watched and | | |

|waited 'til his billy boiled, | | |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me?" | | |

What does Waltzing Matilda mean?

The phrase Waltzing Matilda is believed to have originated with German

immigrants who settled in Australia.

Waltzing is derived from the German term auf der walz which meant to travel

while learning a trade. Young apprentices in those days travelled the

country working under a master craftsman earning their living as they went

- sleeping where they could.

Matilda has Teutonic origins and means Mighty Battle Maiden. It is believed

to have been given to female camp followers who accompanied soldiers during

the Thirty Year wars in Europe. This came to mean "to be kept warm at

night" and later to mean the great army coats or blankets that soldiers

wrapped themselves with. These were rolled into a swag tossed over their

shoulder while marching.

So the phrase Waltzing Matilda came to mean: to travel from place to place

in search of work with all one's belongings on one's back wrapped in a

blanket or cloth. This is what Swagmen did in outback Australia.

How Did the Song Originate?

Andrew Barton (Banjo) Patterson [1864-1941] was a solicitor (lawyer) by

profession and lived and worked in Sydney, Australia.

In 1895 Banjo and his fiancee, Sarah Riley, visited the Dagworth Homestead

a station in outback Queensland. This station was owned by the family of

one of Sarah's school friends: Christina Macpherson. While at the station

Banjo heard Christina play a tune called the "Craigeelee" on an autoharp.

Banjo liked the "whimsicality and dreaminess" of the tune and thought it

would be nice to set some words to it.

During his stay Bob Macpherson took Banjo around the station where they

stopped at the Combo Waterhole where they found the skin of a newly killed

sheep. Obviously someone had made a meal of it. Bob Macpherson may also

have told Banjo of the sheep shearers strike of September 1894 when

shearers had set fire to the Dagworth woolshed killing over a hundred

sheep. Macpherson and three policeman had given chase and one of them, a

man named Hoffmeister, shot and killed himself rather than be captured.

So it appears that Banjo linked up all these events to conjure up "Waltzing

Matilda. Christina wrote up the score. It was first sung publicly at a

banquet for the Premier of Queensland and was an instant hit. The song was

then picked up by the "Billy Tea" company to advertise their product.

Paterson sold the rights to Waltzing Matilda and "some other pieces" to

Angus & Robertson Publishers for "five quid".

By World War 1 it was Australia's favorite song and has been ever since.

Some great poems by Banjo Patterson:

. Mulga's Bill's Bicycle Kids and adults alike will love it.

. The Man from Snowy River acclaimed as Australia's greatest poem.

Clancy of The Overflow a city folk's yearning for the wide open spaces

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital of the state of Victoria in Australia. It is the

second largest city in Australia.

It was voted the worlds' most livable city in 1994.

And the least polluted for a city of its size.

THE CITY

Melbourne is renowned for its parks, fickle weather, clanging trams, upside-

down river, football and its cosmopolitan outlook. It is also the financial

capital of Australia.

It is a relatively safe city with a very low crime rate.

About 3.2 million people live in the greater Melbourne area.

The people of Melbourne came from all over the world.

YARRA RIVER

The Yarra River flows right by the city. It is sometimes called "the river

that flows upside down" because of its muddy colour. The reason for this

colour is because mud particles stay suspended in the water and don't

settle to the bottom like in most rivers. It is a very clean river (now).

During the warmer months people like to walk along the river, visit the

parks and sunbathe (ouch) along the banks.

The Moomba festival also has a lot of events on the river. I love the

birdman competition where they try to see who can fly the furthest after

jumping off a bridge. Its very funny.

TRAMS

Melbourne loves its electric trams. It is the only city in Australia which

still has them as part of its public transport system. We paint some of

them with interesting designs and motifs. There is even a tram restaurant

where you can dine while trundling past interesting city sites. Trams have

right of way on our roads and also make us do unusual right hand turns at

city intersections.

ARTS CENTRE

The Arts Centre is a short walk across Princes Bridge on St Kilda Road and

is now a part of the larger Southgate entertainment complex.

It consists of the:

. National Gallery of Victoria with its large collection of works by

local and overseas artists.

. Melbourne Concert Hall which can seat 2600 people and has fantastic

acoustics.

. State Theaters home of the Australian Ballet and Opera Companies.

The Art Centre's lattice work spire glows a light purple colour at night

and can be seen from miles around.

The water wall at the museum is very popular with young kids.

BOTANICAL GARDENS

. Melbourne has many public parks and gardens within walking distance of

the city centre: Botanical Gardens was created in the English

landscape tradition and extends for 36 hectares along the Yarra River.

. Flagstaff Gardens the city's first public gardens.

. Fitzroy Gardens has Captain Cooks Cottage, the Fairy Tree carved with

tiny figures and a model Tudor village.

. Treasury Gardens is close to the state government offices.

. Carlton Gardens where the Exhibition Buildings are situated.

Kings Domain contains the Shrine of Remembrance, La Trobe's Cottage and the

Myer Music Bowl

GOVERNMENT HOUSE

Government House is the official residence of the Governor of Victoria. It

is located in the precincts of the Botanical Gardens. This is where the

Queen of England stays when she visits Melbourne.

It is said to be the grandest house in Victoria (some say even all of

Australia) It was built during the gold rush when Melbourne was flush with

money and was intent on outdoing everyone else.

LUNA PARK

Luna Park has lots of entertainment for kids and adults alike. It is

located in St Kilda not far from the city.

WESTGATE BRIDGE

The Westgate Bridge is the longest bridge in Australia. It is over 2.6 kms

long and soars over the Yarra River and the harbour. It offers a panoramic

view of the harbour and the city.

This is a view of Melbourne taken from across the bay at Williamstown. Yes

these Black Swans really do live there.

HISTORY OF MELBOURNE

Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman and a group of businessmen who

bought land from the local Aborigines for some trinkets.

It was named, in 1837, after the British Prime Minister at the time: Lord

Melbourne.

Sydney

THE CITY

Sydney is Australia's oldest and largest city. About 3.8 million people

live in the greater Sydney area. The defining symbols of Sydney are its

Opera House and "coat hanger bridge".

Sydney is the commercial capital of Australia.

The people of Sydney came from all over the world.

OPERA HOUSE

The Opera House, situated at Bennelong Point, is an absolutely exquisite

building. Its roof-line is meant to symbolise the bellowing "sails" of

sailing ships of a bygone era and the spinnakers of the racing yachts that

ply the harbour today.

The Sydney Opera House:

. Took 14 years to build and cost $102,000,0000 when completed in 1973.

. Was designed by the Danish architect Jorn Utzon.

. Covers 1.8 hectares (4.5 acres).

. Is 185 metres (611 feet) long, 120 metres (380 feet) wide and the tip

of its highest arch is 67 metres (221 feet) above sea level.

. Roofs are made up of 2,194 pre-cast concert sections held together by

350 kilometres (217 miles) of steel cable.

. Roofs are covered with over 1,056,000 tiles.

. Hosts over 3000 events each year with audiences of around 2 million

people.

. Has nearly 200,000 visitors on guided tours each year.

THE HARBOUR BRIDGE

The Sydney Harbour Bridge took seven years to build and was opened in 1932.

. The steel used for the bridge weights over 52,800 tonnes.

. There are over 6 million steel rivets in the bridge.

. It took till 1988 to finally pay off the cost of building the bridge.

. It takes 30,00 0 lifers of paint to paint the bridge.

HISTORY OF SYDNEY

The Aboriginal people lived around the area that is now Sydney for

thousands of years before the first european settlers arrived in the

1770's.

The area that is now Sydney was named Port Jackson by captain James Cook

when he visited the east coast of Australia in 1770. Port Jackson was

selected by Captain Arthur Phillip as the most suitable site for the first

european settlement in Australia in 1788. He named the place after the

British Prime Minister at the time: Lord Sydney.

The colony faced many hardships and near starvation trying to grow crops in

this new land. After the initial difficulties however the colony grew

rapidly as new migrates arrived in larger numbers.

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