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See this train in the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0vv1KGBt80
Seen racing through Ashford International with Train 9O20 from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord is Belgian based Eurostar Class 373, 373108.
Today's primary mode of international train travel between Britain and the rest of Europe (and by rest of Europe just Paris and Brussels), the Class 373 Trans-Manche Super Train (TMST) sets, better known to you and I as the Eurostar.
When plans were forwarded for the construction of the Tunnel, it was intended that a specific set of trains would be built to work services between Continental Europe and Britain, and thus the Class 373 Eurostar sets and the Class 9 Le Shuttle car carrying trains were put into development. The idea was for a high capacity version of France's iconic and incredibly reliable TGV Sud-Est set, together with a set of shorter units to work the proposed Regional Eurostar services within the United Kingdom. However, this was not without various problems.
When planning the Channel Tunnel, intentions were to build a High Speed Line on this side of the Channel in a similar fashion to what France was doing with the LGV Nord from Paris to Calais. Originally the route was intended to go to London Victoria, but was later changed to possibly going to London St Pancras with the hopes of having connections to routes to the north, what we now call High Speed Two. However, all these plans were sunk with the passing of the 1987 High Speed Railways Act, which prohibited the construction of any High Speed Lines this side of the Tunnel. This was also combined by the construction of a beautiful, yet completely pointless international station at Waterloo. As such, the Eurostar would have to be built to a lower British loading gauge in order to work the regular commuter routes into London, which also meant that these sets would only ever attain a top speed of about 90mph on British tracks, and would be constantly fighting for priority against regular Network SouthEast passenger trains.
Additionally, legislation regarding what trains can use the Channel Tunnel meant the train's length had to be very specific. Spacing of fire exits inside the Tunnel are at 375m intervals, and the Tunnel legislation required trains to be this length so that at least one part of the train would be near an exit. As such, the Class 373 sets were built to be this long, consisting of 18-cars, which made them phenomenally long and pretty much useless at any other station. The legislation has since meant that the rolling stock of other operators, be they French TGV's or German ICE trains, are not allowed to use the tunnel. Legislation also required that the trains be half-sets, so that if the train happens to catch fire or something, half the set can be detached and run out of the tunnel to safety, even though chances are in a fire the power will have gone off!
With the class now designed, construction was left up to French builder GEC-Alstom at their Belfort factory, and the first sets were released into testing in 1992. Designated PS1 (Pre-set 1), several units were tested in the Strasbourg area, while a small number were sent over to Britain for testing on the 3rd Rail network. In all, 42 half-sets were built, which combined to make 21 full 18-car sets, the ownership of which was split between the triparty shareholders of Eurostar. 22 sets were delivered to British Rail, 8 to the Belgian railway operator SNCB, and 32 to the French railway operator SNCF, who also retained a fleet of three sets for use on their own Regional services between Paris and Lille.
The Channel Tunnel opened in May 1994, and Eurostar began operations between London Waterloo, Paris Gare du Nord and Brussels Midi on November 14th 1994. At the same time, plans were in motion for the 'Regional Eurostar' services that would work from London Waterloo to destinations in the north of England and Scotland, including Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Birmingham. Initially in 1995, sets of Class 43 HST's were employed working out of Waterloo, and running along the West London Line to Willesden, where they joined the West Coast Mainline and continued north to their respective destination. However, the reason why 'Regional Eurostar' was simply dead on arrival was due to the fact that there was no regional High Speed Line to allow for any reduced journey times. If anything, running trains out of Waterloo and then through the suburbs of West London was much longer than just catching an Underground train to King's Cross or Euston and proceeding via regular InterCity trains. Because of this, the trailblazer Regional Eurostar HST sets were more often than not running empty, not making any of their money back.
But British Rail continued to push the whole idea forward, and developed a fleet of seven 14-car Class 373 sets to work the service. Testing of these units took place between London and Manchester, although Eurostar sets did find their way to Glasgow at some point. This was also added to by the construction of a mulit-million Pound Eurostar depot at Longsight in Manchester, built to accommodate the 14-car trains. However, lack of demand due to the ineffective nature of the services meant that the Regional Eurostar idea simply died the death, and by 1998 all testing had ceased and the trains were put in storage, with the huge Longsight Depot only ever seeing one Eurostar set before closing completely, having never reopened since.
However, East Coast Mainline operator GNER saw potential in these units, and thus took them under their wing to work a new service known as the 'White Rose' between London, York and Leeds from May 2000 onwards. Painted into a very attractive dark blue with orange waistband, the 'White Rose' sets were indeed popular, although their sheer size was something of a constraint, being restricted to only 110mph and not being allowed on certain sections of the route due to the huge amounts of power they drew. The 'White Rose' services lasted until 2005 when GNER's lease on the sets ran out and the trains were put back into storage, but have since been sent to France to work Regional services there, although these sets are now destined for the scrapyard.
As for the Cross-Channel sets, the construction of High Speed One in 2007 did finally allow these trains to travel at the speeds they were built for, now running at an almost uninterrupted 186mph from London to Paris and Brussels with the exception of the 100mph speed limit inside the Tunnel itself. Today all sets are in use and are proposed for a second refurbishment to see them in operation until 2020, being complimented by the new Class 374 e320 sets being built by Siemens of Germany.
At the moment only a handful of powercars have been refurbished with updated equipment and traction motors, whilst the passenger cars are still in their mid-life configuration that was updated in 2004. Although the intention is to get round to this eventually, there is talk that Eurostar isn't going to bother refurbishing the passenger cars due to the introduction of the Class 374's, which can be understood seeing as if they're going to be taken out of service there's no point giving them a refresh, but they're not going to be replaced for a good few years yet!
Overall, I'm sad to say that the Class 373's, as good and reliable as they are, have been prime examples of how not to run a railway. Trains with so much potential to give Britain and Europe greater connections both economically and socially have been so bafflingly underutilised that you find yourself wondering why they even bothered to begin with! The Regional Eurostar concept is a classic example of how to get an internal high speed railway concept completely and 100% wrong, with these £5 million trains being so heavily underused that again you have to question why anyone ever built them. In fact, one of the seven Regional sets has never actually worked a day in its entire life, and now, only 20 years later, is going to the scrap heap having carried pretty much nobody!
Destination: Cagayan de Oro City
Bus model: Crius FF1J
Bus operator: RURAL TRANSIT (MINDANAO) INC.
Bus manufacturer: Vallacar Transit Inc.- TEBBAP
Seating configuration: 2x3
Sitting capacity: 56
Standing capacity: 30
Total passenger capacity: 86
Route: CAGAYAN-OZAMIZ-DIPOLOG
(Specifications are subjected to verification and may be changed without prior notice)
Location: Iligan Integrated Bus and Jeepney Terminal, Tambo, Brgy. Hinaplanon, Iligan City
The Basilica Cistern is a giant ancient cistern under the city of Istanbul, close to the Hagia Sophia. It was built in the 6th century and has the capacity to store 100000 tons of water. The ceiling is supported by 336 marble columns, each 9 metres (30 ft) high, spread out over 10000 square meters. Due to a combination of a dodgy, borrowed tripod and difficulty to position it I am not totally happy with the composition, but it should still give you an idea of the place.
Gwynfor Coaches LK04NMX is seen parked up in Llanberis whilst resting between duties on a Snowdon Sherpa S2 Service
April 1, 2011
NASA technicians spun the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite up to just over 10 RPM in Goddard Space Flight Center’s High-Capacity Centrifuge facility March 31. At that speed, the spin exerted a lateral pressure of 2.4 G’s, or 2.4 times the force of gravity on the satellite.
Spin tests such as these are used to determine whether the forces of launch could adversely affect hardware we put into space, and to test spacecraft chassis design.
In this case, a combination of flight hardware parts and the so-called mass model were spun. The mass model simulates the final size, shape and weight distribution of the satellite and it’s component sensors, fuel, maneuvering thrusters, processing and control equipment.
GPM will study global rain, snow and ice to better understand our climate, weather, and hydrometeorological processes. For more on the GPM mission, visit gpm.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
Goddard’s 120-foot-diameter centrifuge can accelerate a 2.5-ton payload up to 30 Gs, well beyond the force experienced in a launch. The most intense roller-coasters in the world top out at about 5 Gs, and then only for brief moments. The 2.4 Gs experienced by GPM would be sufficient to prevent blood from flowing up into a person’s brain, inducing blackout if sustained.
Karl B. Hille
Photo Credit: NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth
To learn more about GPM go to: gpm.gsfc.nasa.gov/
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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I took this photo at a BBW cookoff in Houston. It was rocking at the time, so I was lucky to get an unblurred shot.
The Great Theatre, capable of holding 25,000 spectators, was used initially for drama, but during later Roman times gladiatorial combats were also held on its stage.
Ephesus, Turkey (Wednesday 22 October 2014)
Capacity: 3179 cm³
Output: 184 kW (250 PS) @ 6200/min
Torque: 300 Nm @ 4800/min
Top speed: > 250 km/h
0–100 km/h: 6,3 s
Powertrain: Alfa Romeo Arese V6
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The CAC Sabre, sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CA-27, was an Australian variant of the North American Aviation F-86F Sabre fighter aircraft. In 1951, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation obtained a license agreement to build the F-86F Sabre. In a major departure from the North American blueprint, it was decided that the CA-27 would be powered by a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Avon R.A.7, rather than the General Electric J47. In theory, the Avon was capable of more than double the maximum thrust and double the thrust-to-weight ratio of the US engine. This necessitated a re-design of the fuselage, as the Avon was shorter, wider and lighter than the J47.
To accommodate the Avon, over 60 percent of the fuselage was altered and there was a 25 percent increase in the size of the air intake. Another major revision was in replacing the F-86F's six machine guns with two 30mm ADEN cannon, while other changes were also made to the cockpit and to provide an increased fuel capacity.
The prototype aircraft first flew on 3 August 1953. The production aircrafts' first deliveries to the Royal Australian Air Force began in 1954. The first batch of aircraft were powered by the Avon 20 engine and were designated the Sabre Mk 30. Between 1957 and 1958 this batch had the wing slats removed and were re-designated Sabre Mk 31. These Sabres were supplemented by 20 new-built aircraft. The last batch of aircraft were designated Sabre Mk 32 and used the Avon 26 engine, of which 69 were built up to 1961.
Beyond these land-based versions, an indigenous version for carrier operations had been developed and built in small numbers, too, the Sea Sabre Mk 40 and 41. The roots of this aircraft, which was rather a prestigious idea than a sensible project, could be traced back to the immediate post WWII era. A review by the Australian Government's Defence Committee recommended that the post-war forces of the RAN be structured around a Task Force incorporating multiple aircraft carriers. Initial plans were for three carriers, with two active and a third in reserve, although funding cuts led to the purchase of only two carriers in June 1947: Majestic and sister ship HMS Terrible, for the combined cost of AU£2.75 million, plus stores, fuel, and ammunition. As Terrible was the closer of the two ships to completion, she was finished without modification, and was commissioned into the RAN on 16 December 1948 as HMAS Sydney. Work progressed on Majestic at a slower rate, as she was upgraded with the latest technology and equipment. To cover Majestic's absence, the Colossus-class carrier HMS Vengeance was loaned to the RAN from 13 November 1952 until 12 August 1955.
Labour difficulties, late delivery of equipment, additional requirements for Australian operations, and the prioritization of merchant ships over naval construction delayed the completion of Majestic. Incorporation of new systems and enhancements caused the cost of the RAN carrier acquisition program to increase to AU£8.3 million. Construction and fitting out did not finish until October 1955. As the carrier neared completion, a commissioning crew was formed in Australia and first used to return Vengeance to the United Kingdom.
The completed carrier was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Majestic on 26 October 1955, but only two days later, the ship was renamed Melbourne and recommissioned.
In the meantime, the rather political decision had been made to equip Melbourne with an indigenous jet-powered aircraft, replacing the piston-driven Hawker Fury that had been successfully operated from HMAS Sydney and HMAS Vengeance, so that the "new jet age" was even more recognizable. The choice fell on the CAC Sabre, certainly inspired by North American's successful contemporary development of the navalized FJ-2 Fury from the land-based F-86 Sabre. The CAC 27 was already a proven design, and with its more powerful Avon engine it even offered a better suitability for carrier operations than the FJ-2 with its rather weak J47 engine.
Work on this project, which was initially simply designated Sabre Mk 40, started in 1954, just when the first CAC 27's were delivered to operative RAAF units. While the navalized Avon Sabre differed outwardly only little from its land-based brethren, many details were changed and locally developed. Therefore, there was also, beyond the general outlines, little in common with the North American FJ-2 an -3 Fury.
Externally, a completely new wing with a folding mechanism was fitted. It was based on the F-86's so-called "6-3" wing, with a leading edge that was extended 6 inches at the root and 3 inches at the tip. This modification enhanced maneuverability at the expense of a small increase in landing speed due to deletion of the leading edge slats, a detail that was later introduced on the Sabre Mk 31, too. As a side benefit, the new wing leading edges without the slat mechanisms held extra fuel. However, the Mk 40's wing was different as camber was applied to the underside of the leading edge to improve low-speed handling for carrier operations. The wings were provided with four stations outboard of the landing gear wells for up to 1000 lb external loads on the inboard stations and 500 lb on the outboard stations.
Slightly larger stabilizers were fitted and the landing gear was strengthened, including a longer front wheel strut. The latter necessitated an enlarged front wheel well, so that the front leg’s attachment point had to be moved forward. A ventral launch cable hook was added under the wing roots and an external massive arrester hook under the rear fuselage.
Internally, systems were protected against salt and humidity and a Rolls-Royce Avon 211 turbojet was fitted, a downrated variant of the already navalized Avon 208 from the British DH Sea Vixen, but adapted to the different CAC 27 airframe and delivering 8.000 lbf (35.5 kN) thrust – slightly more than the engines of the land-based CAC Sabres, but also without an afterburner.
A single Mk 40 prototype was built from a new CAC 27 airframe taken directly from the production line in early 1955 and made its maiden flight on August 20th of the same year. In order to reflect its naval nature and its ancestry, this new CAC 27 variant was officially christened “Sea Sabre”.
Even though the modified machine handled well, and the new, cambered wing proved to be effective, many minor technical flaws were discovered and delayed the aircraft's development until 1957. These included the wing folding mechanism and the respective fuel plumbing connections, the landing gear, which had to be beefed up even more for hard carrier landings and the airframe’s structural strength for catapult launches, esp. around the ventral launch hook.
In the meantime, work on the land-based CAC 27 progressed in parallel, too, and innovations that led to the Mk 31 and 32 were also incorporated into the naval Mk 40, leading to the Sea Sabre Mk 41, which became the effective production aircraft. These updates included, among others, a detachable (but fixed) refueling probe under the starboard wing, two more pylons for light loads located under the wing roots and the capability to carry and deploy IR-guided AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, what significantly increased the Mk 41's efficiency as day fighter. With all these constant changes it took until April 1958 that the Sabre Mk 41, after a second prototype had been directly built to the new standard, was finally approved and cleared for production. Upon delivery, the RAN Sea Sabres carried a standard NATO paint scheme with Extra Dark Sea Grey upper surfaces and Sky undersides.
In the meantime, the political enthusiasm concerning the Australian carrier fleet had waned, so that only twenty-two aircraft were ordered. The reason behind this decision was that Australia’s carrier fleet and its capacity had become severely reduced: Following the first decommissioning of HMAS Sydney in 1958, Melbourne became the only aircraft carrier in Australian service, and she was unavailable to provide air cover for the RAN for up to four months in every year; this time was required for refits, refueling, personnel leave, and non-carrier duties, such as the transportation of troops or aircraft. Although one of the largest ships to serve in the RAN, Melbourne was one of the smallest carriers to operate in the post-World War II period, so that its contribution to military actions was rather limited. To make matters worse, a decision was made in 1959 to restrict Melbourne's role to helicopter operations only, rendering any carrier-based aircraft in Australian service obsolete. However, this decision was reversed shortly before its planned 1963 implementation, but Australia’s fleet of carrier-borne fixed-wing aircraft would not grow to proportions envisioned 10 years ago.
Nevertheless, on 10 November 1964, an AU£212 million increase in defense spending included the purchase of new aircraft for Melbourne. The RAN planned to acquire 14 Grumman S-2E Tracker anti-submarine aircraft and to modernize Melbourne to operate these. The acquisition of 18 new fighter-bombers was suggested (either Sea Sabre Mk 41s or the American Douglas A-4 Skyhawk), too, but these were dropped from the initial plan. A separate proposal to order 10 A-4G Skyhawks, a variant of the Skyhawk designed specifically for the RAN and optimized for air defense, was approved in 1965, but the new aircraft did not fly from Melbourne until the conclusion of her refit in 1969. This move, however, precluded the production of any new and further Sea Sabre.
At that time, the RAN Sea Sabres received a new livery in US Navy style, with upper surfaces in Light Gull Gray with white undersides. The CAC Sea Sabres remained the main day fighter and attack aircraft for the RAN, after the vintage Sea Furies had been retired in 1962. The other contemporary RAN fighter type in service, the Sea Venom FAW.53 all-weather fighter that had replaced the Furies, already showed its obsolescence.
In 1969, the RAN purchased another ten A-4G Skyhawks, primarily in order to replace the Sea Venoms on the carriers, instead of the proposed seventh and eighth Oberon-class submarines. These were operated together with the Sea Sabres in mixed units on board of Melbourne and from land bases, e.g. from NAS Nowra in New South Wales, where a number of Sea Sabres were also allocated to 724 Squadron for operational training.
Around 1970, Melbourne operated a standard air group of four jet aircraft, six Trackers, and ten Wessex helicopters until 1972, when the Wessexes were replaced with ten Westland Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopters and the number of jet fighters doubled. Even though the A-4G’s more and more took over the operational duties on board of Melbourne, the Sea Sabres were still frequently deployed on the carrier, too, until the early Eighties, when both the Skyhawks and the Sea Sabres received once more a new camouflage, this time a wraparound scheme in two shades of grey, reflecting their primary airspace defense mission.
The CAC 27 Mk 41s’ last carrier operations took place in 1981 in the course of Melbourne’s involvements in two major exercises, Sea Hawk and Kangaroo 81, the ship’s final missions at sea. After Melbourne was decommissioned in 1984, the Fleet Air Arm ceased fixed-wing combat aircraft operation. This was the operational end of the Sabre Mk 41, which had reached the end of their airframe lifetime, and the Sea Sabre fleet had, during its career, severely suffered from accidents and losses: upon retirement, only eight of the original twenty-two aircraft still existed in flightworthy condition, so that the aircraft were all scrapped. The younger RAN A-4Gs were eventually sold to New Zealand, where they were kept in service until 2002.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Wingspan: 37 ft 1 in (11.3 m)
Height: 14 ft 5 in (4.39 m)
Wing area: 302.3 sq ft (28.1 m²)
Empty weight: 12,000 lb (5,443 kg)
Loaded weight: 16,000 lb (7,256 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 21,210 lb (9,621 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls-Royce Avon 208A turbojet engine with 8,200 lbf (36.44 kN)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 700 mph (1,100 km/h) (605 knots)
Range: 1,153 mi, (1,000 NM, 1,850 km)
Service ceiling: 52,000 ft (15,850 m)
Rate of climb: 12,000 ft/min at sea level (61 m/s)
Armament:
2× 30 mm ADEN cannons with 150 rounds per gun
5,300 lb (2,400 kg) of payload on six external hardpoints;
Bombs were usually mounted on outer two pylons as the mid pair were wet-plumbed pylons for
2× 200 gallons drop tanks, while the inner pair was usually occupied by a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinder
AAMs
A wide variety of bombs could be carried with maximum standard loadout being 2x 1,000 lb bombs
or 2x Matra pods with unguided SURA missiles plus 2 drop tanks for ground attacks, or 2x AIM-9 plus
two drop tanks as day fighter
The kit and its assembly:
This project was initially inspired by a set of decals from an ESCI A-4G which I had bought in a lot – I wondered if I could use it for a submission to the “In the navy” group build at whatifmodelers.com in early 2020. I considered an FJ-3M in Australian colors on this basis and had stashed away a Sword kit of that aircraft for this purpose. However, I had already built an FJ variant for the GB (a kitbashed mix of an F-86D and an FJ-4B in USMC colors), and was reluctant to add another Fury.
This spontaneously changed after (thanks to Corona virus quarantine…) I cleaned up one of my kit hoards and found a conversion set for a 1:72 CAC 27 from JAYS Model Kits which I had bought eons ago without a concrete plan. That was the eventual trigger to spin the RAN Fury idea further – why not a navalized version of the Avon Sabre for HMAS Melbourne?
The result is either another kitbash or a highly modified FJ-3M from Sword. The JAYS Model Kits set comes with a THICK sprue that carries two fuselage halves and an air intake, and it also offers a vacu canopy as a thin fallback option because the set is actually intended to be used together with a Hobby Craft F-86F.
While the parts, molded in a somewhat waxy and brittle styrene, look crude on the massive sprue, the fuselage halves come with very fine recessed engravings. And once you have cleaned the parts (NOTHING for people faint at heart, a mini drill with a saw blade is highly recommended), their fit is surprisingly good. The air intake was so exact that no putty was needed to blend it with the rest of the fuselage.
The rest came from the Sword kit and integrating the parts into the CAC 27 fuselage went more smoothly than expected. For instance, the FJ-3M comes with a nice cockpit tub that also holds a full air intake duct. Thanks to the slightly wider fuselage of the CAC 27, it could be mounted into the new fuselage halves without problems and the intake duct almost perfectly matches the intake frame from the conversion set. The tailpipe could be easily integrated without any mods, too. The fins had to be glued directly to the fuselage – but this is the way how the Sword kit is actually constructed! Even the FJ-3M’s wings match the different fuselage perfectly. The only modifications I had to make is a slight enlargement of the ventral wing opening at the front and at the read in order to take the deeper wing element from the Sword kit, but that was an easy task. Once in place, the parts blend almost perfectly into each other, just minor PSR was necessary to hide the seams!
Other mods include an extended front wheel well for the longer leg from the FJ-3M and a scratched arrester hook installation, made from wire, which is on purpose different from the Y-shaped hook of the Furies.
For the canopy I relied on the vacu piece that came with the JAYS set. Fitting it was not easy, though, it took some PSR to blend the windscreen into the rest of the fuselage. Not perfect, but O.K. for such a solution from a conversion set.
The underwing pylons were taken from the Sword kit, including the early Sidewinders. I just replaced the drop tanks – the OOB tanks are very wide, and even though they might be authentic for the FJ-3, I was skeptical if they fit at all under the wings with the landing gear extended? In order to avoid trouble and for a more modern look, I replaced them outright with more slender tanks, which were to mimic A-4 tanks (USN FJ-4s frequently carried Skyhawk tanks). They actually come from a Revell F-16 kit, with modified fins. The refueling probe comes from the Sword kit.
A last word about the Sword kit: much light, but also much shadow. While I appreciate the fine surface engravings, the recognizably cambered wings, a detailed cockpit with a two-piece resin seat and a pretty landing gear as well as the long air intake, I wonder why the creators totally failed to provide ANY detail of the arrester hook (there is literally nothing, as if this was a land-based Sabre variant!?) or went for doubtful solutions like a front landing gear that consists of five(!) single, tiny parts? Sadism? The resin seat was also broken (despite being packed in a seperate bag), and it did not fit into the cockpit tub at all. Meh!
Painting and markings:
From the start I planned to give the model the late RAN A-4Gs’ unique air superiority paint scheme, which was AFAIK introduced in the late Seventies: a two-tone wraparound scheme consisting of “Light Admiralty Grey” (BS381C 697) and “Aircraft Grey” (BS 381C 693). Quite simple, but finding suitable paints was not an easy task, and I based my choice on pictures of the real aircraft (esp. from "buzz" number 880 at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, you find pics of it with very good light condition) rather than rely on (pretty doubtful if not contradictive) recommendations in various painting instructions from models or decal sets.
I wanted to keep things simple and settled upon Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231) and Light Blue (FS 35414), both enamel colors from Modelmaster, since both are rather dull interpretations of these tones. Esp. the Light Blue comes quite close to Light Admiralty Grey, even though it should be lighter for more contrast to the darker grey tone. But it has that subtle greenish touch of the original BS tone, and I did not want to mix the colors.
The pattern was adapted from the late A-4Gs’ scheme, and the colors were dulled down even more through a light black ink wash. Some post-shading with lighter tones emphasized the contrast between the two colors again. And while it is not an exact representation of the unique RAN air superiority scheme, I think that the overall impression is there.
The cockpit interior was painted in very dark grey, while the landing gear, its wells and the inside of the air intake became white. A red rim was painted around the front opening, and the landing gear covers received a red outline, too. The white drop tanks are a detail I took from real world RAN A-4Gs - in the early days of the air superiority scheme, the tanks were frequently still finished in the old USN style livery, hence the white body but fins and tail section already in the updated colors.
The decals became a fight, though. As mentioned above, the came from an ESCI kit – and, as expected, the were brittle. All decals with a clear carrier film disintegrated while soaking in water, only those with a fully printed carrier film were more or less usable. One roundel broke and had to be repaired, and the checkered fin flash was a very delicate affair that broke several times, even though I tried to save and repair it with paint. But you can unfortunately see the damage.
Most stencils and some replacements (e. g. the “Navy” tag) come from the Sword FJ-3. While these decals are crisply printed, their carrier film is utterly thin, so thin that applying esp. the larger decals turned out to be hazardous and complicated. Another point that did not really convince me about the Sword kit.
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and some soot stains were added around the exhaust and the gun ports with graphite.
In the end, this build looks, despite the troubles and the rather exotic ingredients like a relatively simple Sabre with Australian markings, just with a different Navy livery. You neither immediately recognize the FJ-3 behind it, nor the Avon Sabre’s bigger fuselage, unless you take a close and probably educated look. Very subtle, though.
The RAN air superiority scheme from the late Skyhawks suits the Sabre/Fury-thing well – I like the fact that it is a modern fighter scheme, but, thanks to the tones and the colorful other markings, not as dull and boring like many others, e. g. the contemporary USN "Ghost" scheme. Made me wonder about an early RAAF F-18 in this livery - should look very pretty, too?
Registration V892EJU
Make HYUNDAI
Model ACCENT
Date of first registration 14 December 1999
Cylinder capacity 1341cc - PETROL
Vehicle status Tax not due - Due 01 March 2016
MOT - Expires: 25 April 2016
Vehicle colour RED
Legoland Windsor Resort, styled and also known as Legoland Windsor, is a theme park and resort in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego brand. The park opened on 17 March 1996 and is currently operated by Merlin Entertainments. The park's attractions consist of a mixture of Lego-themed rides, models, and building workshops targeted at children between three and twelve.
In 2019, the park had 2.43 million visitors, making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. However, in 2020 the park had a very limited operating season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and limited capacity. As a result of this Legoland Windsor had a huge drop in attendance and was the fourth-most visited park in the UK in 2020. Overall, attendance has steadily risen since 2005. Legoland Windsor regularly draws more attendees than the original Legoland Billund Resort in Denmark; in 2011, it became the tenth-most popular theme park in Europe, a position it has held every year since. Legoland Windsor typically opens from March to January, with closures on some days.
History
In 1989, The Lego Group began research for the development of a second Legoland park after Legoland Billund with over 1000 sites considered. In January 1992, Windsor Safari Park went into receivership and the 150-acre (0.61 km2) site was chosen for the second development. Between 1992 and 1994, planning, design, site preparation and the design and construction of models began. New accommodations were created for the safari animals and services, foundations and infrastructures were installed at the park. In 1995, a scale replica of Big Ben was installed in Miniland whilst other buildings and attractions were becoming established. In September, advance bookings were opened for entrance tickets. Final installations were completed by the beginning of 1996 and at this point, the Legoland Windsor staff-base was recruited. Legoland Windsor opened on 17 March 1996. During its first season, the park attracted over 1.4 million visitors.
In April 2005, The Lego Group decided to sell Legoland parks following losses across the company. On 13 July 2005, Legoland was acquired by the Blackstone Group and control of the parks passed to Merlin Entertainments.
During the 2020 season, the resort closed on 20 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened on 4 July 2020 following a lockdown in the UK. The resort remained open until 5 November when due to government guidance it was forced to close. It reopened for a shortened period over the Christmas period on 4 December 2020 however was again forced to close when the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, where the resort is located, was placed in Tier 4 restrictions on 19 December 2020 under which theme parks could not open.
The resort announced in January 2021 that the resort would not hold its "Brick Week" event in February due to the continuing lockdown in England. It then was announced in February 2021 the resort would open on 12 April 2021 when lockdown restrictions in England allowed theme parks to open. However, it announced its indoor rides and attractions would open later in the year due to government guidelines.
In May 2021, the resort opened a new land titled Lego Mythica: World of Mythical Creatures which includes the United Kingdom's first flying theater ride, called Flight of the Sky Lion. Mythica is the first time a Legoland resort has launched a Lego intellectual property not first released as a Lego set. Also included in the land is a drop tower ride called Fire and Ice Freefall and the rebranded Hydra's Challenge previously known as S.Q.U.I.D Surfer. This land saw the Adventure Land name discontinued for this area of the resort.
In September 2022, the resort opened a new event titled Brick or Treat's Halloween Party. It included a 4D movie, The Great Monster Chase!, and ran until the end of the 2022 Halloween season.
On the 25th September 2023, the Viking River Splash river rapids ride permanently closed after 16 years of operation.
Areas
The park is split into 11 themed lands, incorporating various attractions, restaurants and shops: The Beginning, Duplo Valley, Knight's Kingdom, Lego City, Miniland, Lego Ninjago World, Pirate Shores, Heartlake City, Kingdom of the Pharaohs, Bricktopia, and Lego Mythica: World of Mythical Creatures.
The Beginning
The Beginning is the entrance area to the park. It is composed of a plaza area containing entrance turnstiles, ticket sales, and toilets and stretches to contain a small part of the resort at the bottom of the funicular railway. It has a view of the area surrounding the resort including the nearby town of Windsor, Heathrow Airport, and parts of London.
The main resort shop, The BIG Shop, is located at The Beginning and is the largest Lego store in the UK. Picsolve operates the Photo Shop, which sells photographs of visitors aboard rides and attractions in the resort.
Food and beverage outlets located at The Beginning include the Hill Top Cafe, a coffee outlet, and the Sweet Stop.
The only ride located in The Beginning is the Hill Train, a 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge funicular railway down a curved slope. It is the only ride or attraction to be retained from Windsor Safari Park, being refurbished when the park opened with stained glass windows made from translucent Lego bricks by local school children. It travels 300 metres (980 ft) between two stations, with a height difference between the top and bottom stations of approximately 27 metres (89 ft).
The Creation Centre opened at The Beginning in 2000. The building has housed a number of attractions since it has opened; the first main attraction it contained was Lego Racers in which customers created virtual Lego vehicles and raced them against others. The attraction suffered from reliability issues and closed at the end of 2004. It was revived in 2009 by members of the original team under the new name of Rocket Racers. Reliability issues remained and it closed at the end of the weekend of 8–9 October 2011. In 2012 the attraction space was repurposed for Star Wars Miniland which was based on the Star Wars franchise. Unlike Lego Racers and Rocket Racers, it was classed as a walkthrough attraction with no queue. In 2016, a large model of the Death Star was installed as the centrepiece of the attraction. Following the end of a licensing deal between Lucasfilm and Merlin Entertainments, the attraction closed on 31 December 2019.
The Creation Centre is also home to Legoland Windsor's model makers who display busts of famous figures as well as a view of their studio in a space on the second floor of the centre. On the ground floor of the centre is Apocalypseburg which was part of the Lego Movie 2 set.
Duplo Valley
Duplo Valley is a land aimed at smaller children based on the Duplo toy bricks, with the majority of rides being family rides. Since the resort's opening the land has rotated through a number of different names including Explore Land, Duplo Gardens, and Duplo Land.
At the beginning of the 2020 season, Duplo Valley was reopened following a refurbishment and the construction of a new ride, the Duplo Dino Coaster. The ride, originally planned to be called the Duplo Dream Coaster, became the resort's third rollercoaster after The Dragon and the Dragon's Apprentice. Aimed to be a "my first coaster" it saw a soft opening before the park's temporary closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was designed by Mack Rides and manufactured by ART Engineering GmbH. Alongside the opening of the new ride was the re-theming of three rides and attractions: Duplo Express (previously Duplo Train), Duplo Airport (previously Duplo Valley Airport, Chopper Squadron, and Whirly Birds) and Duplo Playtown (previously Brickville). Also located in Duplo Valley is Fairy Tale Brook, a boat ride which takes visitors on a course containing models of fairy tale characters.
Duplo Valley is home to the resort's water park which consists of two separate rides and attractions: Drench Towers and Splash Safari. Drench Towers is a water splash area with multiple slides which was placed on land previously occupied by Mole-in-One Mini Golf. Splash Safari is a smaller splash area for toddlers which consists of water features made of Duplo models and is located below Drench Towers.
The Duplo Valley Theatre, a puppet theatre showing classic fairy tales, is located in the valley adjacent to Fairy Tale Brook. A family restaurant, Farmer's Joe Chicken Company, is located opposite the theatre.
Knights' Kingdom
Knight's' Kingdom (originally Castleland and previously NEXO Knight's Kingdom) features The Dragon roller coaster, which starts inside the castle themed station, passing Lego tableaux, before travelling outside reaching a speed of around 30 mph (48 km/h). Other rides in the land are the flat carousel ride Merlin's Challenge (previously known as Knight's Quest) and Dragon's Apprentice, a smaller rollercoaster acting as an alternative for shorter visitors not permitted to ride The Dragon.
In previous years, the land has assumed a role as Christmas Kingdom when open in the winter months and houses a grotto in the ride area of The Dragon.
Lego City
Lego City (formerly known as Traffic), is themed around transport. It features the Balloon School (a simulated hot air balloon ride), Coastguard HQ (a boat school ride for children), Fire Academy, L-Drivers (driving school for children aged 3–5) and City Driving School (driving school for children over 1.1 metres (3 ft 7 in). In 2019, a Vekoma "mad-house" attraction called Haunted House Monster Party was added to the area and in 2020, Atlantis Submarine Voyage by Sea Life (which features "submarine" vehicles used to travel through the tank) was rethemed to become Lego City Deep Sea Adventure.
Miniland
Miniland is a miniature park in Lego form, depicting towns and cities from around the world, using nearly 40 million Lego bricks. The area features a number of animated models interacting with each other. Motor vehicles use cables under the paths emitting radio wave signals to steer and allow charging when required. The train system runs on tracks, slowing for stations using slow-down bars, and the boats use underwater motor-driven rubber loops as well as sensors to operate bridges and locks. The system, with lights and sounds, is run by 14 computers using 300 kilometres (190 mi) of underground cabling.
The land is divided into different areas as they are depicted, including the UK and mainland Europe. In 2018, Miniland saw an expansion called "Explore the World" which added more Lego models of global sites including the Sydney Opera House, Forbidden Palace, and Saint Basil's Cathedral. The same year various site from the USA were added.
Lego Ninjago World
Lego Ninjago World opened in May 2017 based upon the Ninjago TV series. The centrepiece attraction is a 4D interactive ride, Ninjago: The Ride manufactured by Triotech. The zone features the relocated and rebranded ride Destiny's Bounty, a Rockin' Tug ride based on the ship in the TV series. The ride was previously known as Longboat Invader, and opened in 2008.
Pirate Shores
Pirate Shores features a log flume, Pirate Falls, a play area, a pirate ship ride named the Jolly Rocker and the Spinning Spider (a teacups-style ride where visitors ride in log-style gondolas as an animatronic Lego spider gnashes its jaws and breathes smoke on a web above).. From 1996 to 2010, this area was known as Wild Woods.
Heartlake City
Heartlake City (formerly Lego City until redecoration in 2015), based on the Lego Friends product range, includes two rides: The Legoland Express (a railway ride around Kingdom of the Pharaohs), and a Disk'O coaster called Mia's Riding Adventure. Return to Skeleton Bay (a pirate stunt show) and Lego Friends to the Rescue (a live music concert) take place around the harbour performed by the Lego Friends.
The Kingdom of the Pharaohs
The Kingdom of the Pharaohs contains Laser Raiders, an interactive dark ride through an Egyptian tomb where visitors shoot targets to gain points. Also in this area are Scarab Bouncers, Aero Nomad, Desert Chase, and Thunder Blazer. The latter three rides are fairground based attractions such as a carousel, a Ferris wheel and a chair-o-planes rides.
Bricktopia
Bricktopia (previously called Imagination and Imagination Centre) is an area themed around education through Lego. The centre piece is the Legoland Learning Academy (previously Lego Education Centre) which offers National Curriculum workshops. In 2019 the academy was awarded Best Venue for STEM Learning.
The only ride in Bricktopia is Sky Rider, which is an elevated track ride opened in March 1996 and refurbished between the 2001 and 2002 seasons.[50] The ride gives visitors views of Miniland.
Bricktopia includes Lego Studios 4D (previously known as the Imagination Theatre) which shows Lego-themed films. In the 2020 season, these were Lego City 4D – Officer in Pursuit, Lego Ninjago – Master of the 4th Dimension, and Lego Dreamzzz 4D - Z-Blob Rescue Rush.
In 2023, the Lego Reef was replaced with LEGO Ferrari Build and Race.
Lego Mythica: World of Mythical Creatures
Opening in 2021, Mythica is a land based where Adventure Land was previously located. The centrepiece is Flight of the Sky Lion, a flying theatre ride. Also in the land are two drop towers and the re-themed S.Q.U.I.D. Surfer ride known as Hydra's Challenge.
Annual attendance at Legoland Windsor
YearAttendanceRef
20051,400,000
20061,480,000
20071,650,000
20081,815,000
20091,900,000
20101,900,000
2011 1,900,000
20122,000,000
20132,050,000
20142,200,000
20152,250,000
20162,183,000
20172,200,000
20182,315,000
20192,430,000
Resort hotels
Legoland Windsor Resort currently has two hotels.
Legoland Hotel
The Legoland Hotel opened in March 2012. it is located at the back of the park, in the Adventure land section, on the old site of the Jungle Coaster. Visitors enter the hotel on the ground floor but enter the park on the second floor. The hotel is home to the Bricks Restaurant (a buffet) and the Skyline Bar, both on the second floor. The resort has featured various Lego themed rooms. Customers of the hotels have access to the pirate-themed indoor pool and fitness facility (located at the Legoland Hotel), a treasure hunt in each room, and access to select park attractions before the general public enters the park. The second floor includes a loft where Lego video games can be played on PlayStation 4 consoles. The ground floor features a Lego store and bins of bricks for building.
Castle Hotel
The Legoland Castle Hotel opened on 1 July 2017. The hotel was opened by competition winner James Waine who designed a model that was built by professional model makers and put outside the hotel. The hotel offers wizard- and knight-themed rooms. The hotel is only accessible from the park; visitors must check-in at the Legoland Hotel and travel through the hotel and the park to reach the Castle Hotel. The Castle Hotel is located next to the Legoland Hotel, and includes the Tournament Tavern restaurant.
Woodland Village
In Legoland Windsor's ten-year plan, the park expressed interest in building a holiday village of 450 lodges ranging from barrel-style glamping to large family lodges. This idea culminated in the Woodland Village. Opening on the 24th May 2024, will be "a haven to retreat to after a busy day at the Park". According to the official website, it will feature 150 lodges (much less than the planned 450), a Clubhouse with a restaurant, bar and live entertainment and the chance to become a LEGOLAND ranger. What the latter will involve is unknown at time of writing.
As day breaks, an empty unit coal train heads west near Trafford on the Pittsburgh Line, toward the Monongahela coal fields of southwestern Pennsylvania.
Also, my first posted image created with my new D90. My D70 finally gave up the ghost after serving me faithfully for five years.
Third High-Level Capacity Development Dialogue on “Navigating the Economic Obstacle Course while Addressing Long-Term Challenges: The Role of IMF Capacity Development", chaired by IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath, at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Joshua Roberts
28 April 2022
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: _JR13141.jpg
The lack of capacity through the centre of Manchester (via Castlefield), and the root cause of the May 2018 timetable catastrophe is plain for all to see at Manchester Oxford Road; trying to run a mixed-traffic service like a metro simply doesn't work.
Working 2F31, the 0916 all-stations service from Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street, Northern no. 323237 warbles out of Oxford Road P2, heading towards Deansgate (visible in the distance), while 150133 & 150131 wait to leave Deansgate to stop in Oxford Road P4 (working 2K84, the 0950 service from Wigan North Western to Alderley Edge).
Capacity: 3179 cm³
Output: 184 kW (250 PS) @ 6200/min
Torque: 300 Nm @ 4800/min
Top speed: > 250 km/h
0–100 km/h: 6,3 s
Powertrain: Alfa Romeo Arese V6
Deputy Governor, Bank of Uganda, Michael Atingi-Ego, Deputy Division Chief, IMF Monetary and Capital Markets Department, Veronica Bacalu, Governor, National Bank of Georgia, Koba Gvenetadze, and Deputy Division Chief, IMF Monetary and Capital Markets Department Sipho Makamba present Capacity Development Talk on Supporting Financial Sector Resilience Through Disruption and Change: the IMF's 2022-2025 Monetary and Capital Markets Capacity Development during the 2022 Annual Meetings at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Joshua Roberts
12 October 2022
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: _JR34260.ARW
Capacity 200
Famous for Sea Food from Coast to Coast
"The Most Talked Restaurant in Jackson"
Guests Invited to Visit our Glassed in, Stainless Steel Kitchen
Ample Parking
740 East Silas Brown Street
Jackson, Mississippi
Business Aids
Dexter Press
59212-B
CAPA-
capacity, a 300+ page graphic novel by theo ellsworth (he even signed it and drew a little robot for me!!), society for scientific inquiry of paranormal atmospheric and cosmic anomalies, a 50 page zine about UFOs, milk and moo, a 32 page comic about 2 cats who live in a forest and keep watch over existence, and play overlord a 40 page comic with 3 different collaborating artists who illustrated each page in what sounds like a sort of "exquisite corpse" type-game.
Port of Makassar, also known as Port of Soekarno-Hatta, is a seaport in Makassar, Indonesia. It has the highest passenger traffic among Indonesian ports and the largest cargo traffic in Sulawesi. It is considered a primary port (Pelabuhan Kelas Utama) by the Indonesian Government, along with the Port of Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Port of Tanjung Perak (Surabaya), and Port of Belawan (Medan).
An expansion to the port, dubbed New Port Makassar, is under construction with an expected additional capacity of 1.5 million TEUs in its first phase. The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation has expressed a desire to designate the port as hub for the rest of Eastern Indonesia, in accordance to the current government's maritime axis program.
Makassar (Buginese-Makassarese: ᨀᨚᨈ ᨆᨀᨔᨑ; historically spelled Macassar) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth largest urban centre after Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Medan. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named after one of its subdistricts, Ujung Pandang. The city is located on the southwest coast of the island of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar Strait.
Throughout its history, Makassar has been an important trading port, hosting the center of the Gowa Sultanate and a Portuguese naval base before its conquest by the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century. It remained an important port in the Dutch East Indies, serving Eastern Indonesian regions with Makassarese fishermen going as far south as the Australian coast. For a brief period after Indonesian independence, Makassar became the capital of the State of East Indonesia, during which an uprising occurred.
The city's area is 199.3 square kilometres and it had a population of around 1.6 million in 2013. Its built-up (or metro) area has 1,976,168 inhabitants covering Makassar City and 15 districts. Its official metropolitan area, known as Mamminasata, with 17 additional districts, covers an area of 2,548 square kilometres and had a population of around 2.4 million according to 2010 Census. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Makassar is one of the four main central cities of Indonesia, alongside Medan, Jakarta, and Surabaya. According to Bank Indonesia, Makassar has the second-highest commercial property values in Indonesia, after Greater Jakarta.
HISTORY
The trade in spices figured prominently in the history of Sulawesi, which involved frequent struggles between rival native and foreign powers for control of the lucrative trade during the pre-colonial and colonial period, when spices from the region were in high demand in the West. Much of South Sulawesi's early history was written in old texts that can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries.
Makassar is mentioned in the Nagarakretagama, a Javanese eulogy composed in 14th century during the reign of Majapahit king Hayam Wuruk. In the text, Makassar is mentioned as an island under Majapahit dominance, alongside Butun, Salaya and Banggawi.
MAKASSARESE KINGDOM
The 9th King of Gowa Tumaparisi Kallonna (1512-1546) is described in the royal chronicle as the first Gowa ruler to ally with the nearby trade-oriented polity of Tallo, a partnership which endured throughout Makassar's apogee as an independent kingdom. The centre of the dual kingdom was at Sombaopu, near the then mouth of the Jeneberang River about 10 km south of the present city centre, where, where an international port and a fortress were gradually developed. First Malay traders (expelled from their Melaka metropolis by the Portuguese in 1511), then Portuguese from at least the 1540s, began to make this port their base for trading to the Spice Islands' (Maluku), further east.
The growth of Dutch maritime power over the spice trade after 1600 made Makassar more vital as an alternative port open to all traders, as well as a source of rice to trade with rice-deficient Maluku. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) sought a monopoly of Malukan nutmeg and cloves, and came close to succeeding at the expense of English, Portuguese and Muslims from the 1620s. The Makassar kings maintained a policy of free trade, insisting on the right of any visitor to do business in the city, and rejecting the attempts of the Dutch to establish a monopoly.
Makassar depended particularly on the Muslim Malay and Catholic Portuguese sailors communities as its two crucial economic assets. However the English East India Company also established a post there in 1613, the Danish Company arrived in 1618, and Chinese, Spanish and Indian traders were all important. When the Dutch conquered Portuguese Melaka in 1641, Makassar became the largest Portuguese base in Southeast Asia. The Portuguese population had been in the hundreds, but rose to several thousand, served by churches of the Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits as well as the regular clergy. By the 16th century, Makassar had become Sulawesi's major port and centre of the powerful Gowa and Tallo sultanates which between them had a series of 11 fortresses and strongholds and a fortified sea wall that extended along the coast. Portuguese rulers called the city Macáçar.
Makassar was very ably led in the first half of the 17th century, when it effectively resisted Dutch pressure to close down its trade to Maluku, and made allies rather than enemies of the neighbouring Bugis states. Karaeng Matoaya (c.1573-1636) was ruler of Tallo from 1593, as well as Chancellor or Chief Minister (Tuma'bicara-butta) of the partner kingdom of Gowa. He managed the succession to the Gowa throne in 1593 of the 7-year-old boy later known as Sultan Alaud-din, and guided him through the acceptance of Islam in 1603, numerous modernizations in military and civil governance, and cordial relations with the foreign traders. The conversion of the citizens to Islam was followed by the first official Friday Prayer in the city, traditionally dated to 9 November 1607, which is celebrated today as the city's official anniversary. John Jourdain called Makassar in his day "the kindest people in all the Indias to strangers". Matoaya's eldest son succeeded him on the throne of Tallo, but as Chancellor he had evidently groomed his brilliant second son, Karaeng Pattingalloang (1600-54), who exercised that position from 1639 until his death. Pattingalloang must have been partly educated by Portuguese, since as an adult he spoke Portuguese "as fluently as people from Lisbon itself", and avidly read all the books that came his way in Portuguese, Spanish or Latin. French Jesuit Alexandre de Rhodes described his passion for mathematics and astronomy, on which he pestered the priest endlessly, while even one of his Dutch adversaries conceded he was "a man of great knowledge, science and understanding."
DUTCH COLONIAL PERIOD
After Pattingalloang's death in 1654, a new king of Gowa, Sultan Hasanuddin, rejected the alliance with Tallo by declaring he would be his own Chancellor. Conflicts within the kingdom quickly escalated, the Bugis rebelled under the leadership of Bone, and the Dutch VOC seized its long-awaited chance to conquer Makassar with the help of the Bugis (1667-9). Their first conquest in 1667 was the northern Makassar fort of Ujung Pandang, while in 1669 they conquered and destroyed Sombaopu in one of the greatest battles of 17th century Indonesia. The VOC moved the city centre northward, around the Ujung Pandang fort they rebuilt and renamed Fort Rotterdam. From this base they managed to destroy the strongholds of the Sultan of Gowa who was then forced to live on the outskirts of Makassar. Following the Java War (1825–30), Prince Diponegoro was exiled to Fort Rotterdam until his death in 1855.
After the arrival of the Dutch, there was an important Portuguese community, also call a bandel, that received the name of Borrobos. Around 1660 the leader of this community, which today would be equivalent to a neighborhood, was the Portuguese Francisco Vieira de Figueiredo.
The character of this old trading center changed as a walled city known as Vlaardingen grew. Gradually, in defiance of the Dutch, the Arabs, Malays and Buddhist returned to trade outside the fortress walls, and were joined later by the Chinese.
The town again became a collecting point for the produce of eastern Indonesia – the copra, rattan, Pearls, trepang and sandalwood and the famous oil made from bado nuts used in Europe as men's hair dressing – hence the anti-macassars (embroidered cloths protecting the head-rests of upholstered chairs).
Although the Dutch controlled the coast, it was not until the early 20th century that they gained power over the southern interior through a series of treaties with local rulers. Meanwhile, Dutch missionaries converted many of the Toraja people to Christianity. By 1938, the population of Makassar had reached around 84,000 – a town described by writer Joseph Conrad as "the prettiest and perhaps, cleanest looking of all the towns in the islands".
In World War II the Makassar area was defended by approximately 1000 men of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army commanded by Colonel M. Vooren. He decided that he could not defend the coast, and was planning to fight a guerrilla war inland. The Japanese landed near Makassar on 9 February 1942. The defenders retreated but were soon overtaken and captured.
AFTER INDEPENDENCE
In 1945 came the Indonesian declaration of Independence, and in 1946, Makassar became the capital of the State of East Indonesia, part of the United States of Indonesia. In 1950, it was the site of fighting between pro-Federalist forces under Captain Abdul Assiz and Republican forces under Colonel Sunkono during the Makassar uprising. By the 1950s, the population had increased to such a degree that many of the historic sites gave way to modern development, and today one needs to look very carefully to find the few remains of the city's once grand history.
CONNECTION WITH AUSTRALIA
Makassar is also a major fishing center in Sulawesi. One of its major industries is the trepang (sea-cucumber) industry. Trepang fishing brought the Makassan people into contact with Indigenous Australian peoples of northern Australia, long before European settlement (from 1788).
C. C. MacKnight in his 1976 work entitled Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia has shown that they began frequenting the north of Australia around 1700 in search of trepang (sea-slug, sea cucumber, Beche-de-mer), an edible Holothurian. They left their waters during the Northwest Monsoon in December or January for what is now Arnhem Land, Marriage or Marega and the Kimberley region or Kayu Djawa. They returned home with the south-east trade winds in April.
A fleet of between 24 and 26 Macassan perahus was seen in 1803 by French explorers under Nicolas Baudin on the Holothuria Banks in the Timor Sea. In February 1803, Matthew Flinders in the Investigator met six perahus with 20–25 men each on board and was told by the fleet's chief Pobasso, that there were 60 perahus then on the north Australian coast. They were fishing for trepang and appeared to have only a small compass as a navigation aid. In June 1818 Macassan trepang fishing was noted by Phillip Parker King in the vicinity of Port Essington in the Arafura Sea. In 1865 R.J. Sholl, then Government Resident for the British settlement at Camden Sound (near Augustus Island in the Kimberley region) observed seven 'Macassan' perahus with a total of around 300 men on board. He believed that they made kidnapping raids and ranged as far south as Roebuck Bay (later Broome) where 'quite a fleet' was seen around 1866. Sholl believed that they did not venture south into other areas such as Nickol Bay (where the European pearling industry commenced around 1865) due to the absence of trepang in those waters. The Macassan voyages appear to have ceased sometime in the late nineteenth century, and their place was taken by other sailors operating from elsewhere in the Indonesian Archipelago.
ECONOMY
The city is southern Sulawesi's primary port, with regular domestic and international shipping connections. It is nationally famous as an important port of call for the pinisi boats, sailing ships which are among the last in use for regular long-distance trade.
During the colonial era, the city was widely known as the namesake of Makassar oil, which it exported in great quantity. Makassar ebony is a warm black hue, streaked with tan or brown tones, and highly prized for use in making fine cabinetry and veneers.
Nowadays, as the largest city in Sulawesi Island and Eastern Indonesia, the city's economy depends highly on the service sector, which makes up approximately 70% of activity. Restaurant and hotel services are the largest contributor (29.14%), followed by transportation and communication (14.86%), trading (14.86), and finance (10.58%). Industrial activity is next most important after the service sector, with 21.34% of overall activity.
TRANSPORTATION
Makassar has a public transportation system called pete-pete. A pete-pete (known elsewhere in Indonesia as an angkot) is a minibus that has been modified to carry passengers. The route of Makassar's pete-petes is denoted by the letter on the windshield. Makassar is also known for its becak (pedicabs), which are smaller than the "becak" in the island of Java. In Makassar, people who drive pedicabs are called Daeng. In addition to becak and pete-pete, the city has a government-run bus system, and taxis.
A bus rapid transit (BRT), which is known as "Trans Mamminasata" was started in 2014. It has some routes through Makassar to cities around Makassar region such as Maros, Takallar, and Gowa. Run by Indonesian Transportation Department, each bus has 20 seats and space for 20 standing passengers.
A 35-kilometer monorail in the areas of Makassar, Maros Regency, Sungguminasa (Gowa Regency), and Takalar Regency (the Mamminasata region) was proposed in 2011, with operations commencing in 2014, at a predicted cost of Rp.4 trillion ($468 million). The memorandum of understanding was signed on 25 July 2011 by Makassar city, Maros Regency and Gowa Regency. In 2014, the project was officially abandoned, citing insufficient ridership and a lack of financial feasibility.
The city of Makassar, its outlying districts, and the South Sulawesi Province are served by Hasanuddin International Airport. The airport is located outside the Makassar city administration area, being situated in the nearby Maros Regency.
The city is served by Soekarno-Hatta Sea Port. In January 2012 it was announced that due to limited capacity of the current dock at Soekarno-Hatta sea port, it will be expanded to 150x30 square meters to avoid the need for at least two ships to queue every day.
ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNANCE
The executive head of the city is the mayor, who is elected by direct vote for a period of five years. The mayor is assisted by a deputy-mayor, who is also an elected person. There is a legislative assembly for the city, members of which are also elected for a period of five years. Makassar City is divided into 15 administrative districts and 153 urban villages. Districts in Makassar city are Biringkanaya, Bontoala, Sangkarang Islands, Makassar, Mamajang, Manggala, Mariso, Panakkukang, Rappocini, Tallo, Tamalanrea, Tamalate, Ujung Pandang, Ujung Tanah and Wajo.
GEOGRAPHY
This official metropolitan area covers 2.689,89 km2 and had a population of 2.696.242 (2017). The metropolitan area of Makassar (Mamminasata) extends over 47 administrative districts (kecamatan), consisting of all 15 districts within the city, all 9 districts of Takalar Regency, 11 (out of 18) districts of Gowa Regency and 12 (out of 14) districts of Maros Regency.
Districts of Takalar Regency which included in the metro area are, Mangara Bombang, Mappakasunggu, Sanrobone, Polombangkeng Selatan, Pattallassang, Polombangkeng Utara, Galesong Selatan, Galesong and Galesong Utara. Districts of Gowa Regency which included in the metro area are, Somba Opu, Bontomarannu, Pallangga, Bajeng, Bajeng Barat, Barombong, Manuju, Pattallassang, Parangloe, Bontonompo and Bontonompo Selatan. Districts of Maros Regency which included in the metro area are, Maros Baru, Turikale, Marusu, Mandai, Moncongloe, Bontoa, Lau, Tanralili, Tompo Bulu, Bantimurung, Simbang and Cenrana.
CLIMATE
Makassar has a tropical monsoon climate. The average temperature for the year in Makassar is 27.5 °C, with little variation due to its near-equatorial latitude: the average high is around 32.5 °C and the average low around 22.5 °C all year long. In contrast to the virtually consistent temperature, rainfall shows wide variation between months in Makassar due to movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Makassar averages around 3,137 millimetres of rain on 187 days during the year, but during the month with least rainfall – August – only 15 millimetres on two days of rain can be expected. In contrast, during its very wet wet season, Makassar can expect over 530 millimetres per month between December and February. During the wettest month of January, 734 millimetres can be expected to fall on twenty-seven rainy days.
MAIN SIGHTS
Makassar is home to several prominent landmarks including:
- the 17th century Dutch fort Fort Rotterdam
- the Trans Studio Makassar—the third largest indoor theme park in the world
- the Karebosi Link—the first underground shopping center in Indonesia
- the floating mosque located at Losari Beach.
- the Nusantara
- the Bantimurung - Bulusaraung National Park well-known karst area, famous for the remarkable collection of butterflies in the local area, is nearby to Makassar (around 40 km to the north).
DEMOGRAPHICS
Makassar is a multi-ethnic city, populated mostly by Makassarese and Buginese. The remainder are Torajans, Mandarese, Butonese, Chinese and Javanese. The current population is approximately 1.5 million, with a Metropolitan total of 2.2 million.
EDUCATION
State University of Makassar
Hasanuddin University
Alauddin Islamic State University
Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar
Universitas Muslim Indonesia
By 2007 the city government began requiring all skirts of schoolgirls be below the knee.
TRADITIONAL FOOD
Makassar has several famous traditional foods. The most famous is Coto Makassar. It is a stew made from the mixture of nuts, spices, and selected offal which may include beef brain, tongue and intestine. Konro rib dish is also a popular traditional food in Makassar. Both Coto Makassar and Konro are usually eaten with Burasa or Ketupat, a glutinous rice cake. Another famous cuisine from Makassar is Ayam Goreng Sulawesi (Celebes fried chicken); the chicken is marinated with a traditional soy sauce recipe for up to 24 hours before being fried to a golden colour. The dish is usually served with chicken broth, rice and special sambal (chilli sauce).
In addition, Makassar is the home of Pisang Epe (pressed banana), as well as Pisang Ijo (green banana). Pisang Epe is a banana which is pressed, grilled, and covered with palm sugar sauce and sometimes eaten with Durian. Many street vendors sell Pisang Epe, especially around the area of Losari beach. Pisang Ijo is a banana covered with green colored flours, coconut milk, and syrup. Pisang Ijo is sometimes served iced, and often eaten during Ramadan.
WIKIPEDIA
I've found Brewers fans to be fiercely loyal (probably the highest percentage of licensed-goods wearers in MLB) and extremely cordial. It might have been something due today with my Brewers cap from a long-ago giveaway.
Director General of Revenue of Somalia Jafar Mohamed Ahmed, Director General of Somalia National Bureau of Statistics Sharmarke Farah, Senior Economist Vincent de Paul Koukpaizan, and Deputy Division Chief of the IMF Statistics Department Zaijin Zhan participate in a Capacity Development Talk titled Building Capacity in Fragile States moderated by Noha El-Gebaly at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Cory Hancock
12 April 2022
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: CH220412072.arw
The black pot on the left was found in Mexico.
Japanese metal incense burner with a black patina, identical to another that I have with a green patina. This one is raised on a Chinese wooden base. At the bottom right corner is a cherry wood covered box which holds one of my old pocket watches.
Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burned. The term refers to the material itself, rather than to the aroma that it produces. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, and in therapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be used as a simple deodorant or insectifuge.
Incense is composed of aromatic plant materials, often combined with essential oils. The forms taken by incense differ with the underlying culture, and have changed with advances in technology and increasing number of uses.
Incense can generally be separated into two main types: "indirect-burning" and "direct-burning". Indirect-burning incense (or "non-combustible incense") is not capable of burning on its own, and requires a separate heat source. Direct-burning incense (or "combustible incense") is lit directly by a flame and then fanned or blown out, leaving a glowing ember that smoulders and releases a smoky fragrance. Direct-burning incense is either a paste formed around a bamboo stick, or a paste that is extruded into a stick or cone shape.
HISTORY:
The word incense comes from Latin incendere meaning "to burn".
Combustible bouquets were used by the ancient Egyptians, who employed incense in both pragmatic and mystical capacities. Incense was burnt to counteract or obscure malodorous products of human habitation, but was widely perceived to also deter malevolent demons and appease the gods with its pleasant aroma. Resin balls were found in many prehistoric Egyptian tombs in El Mahasna, giving evidence for the prominence of incense and related compounds in Egyptian antiquity. One of the oldest extant incense burners originates from the 5th dynasty. The Temple of Deir-el-Bahari in Egypt contains a series of carvings that depict an expedition for incense.
The Babylonians used incense while offering prayers to divining oracles. Incense spread from there to Greece and Rome.
Incense burners have been found in the Indus Civilization (3300–1300 BCE). Evidence suggests oils were used mainly for their aroma. India also adopted techniques from East Asia, adapting the formulation to encompass aromatic roots and other indigenous flora. This was the first usage of subterranean plant parts in incense. New herbs like Sarsaparilla seeds, frankincense, and cypress were used by Indians.
At around 2000 BCE, Ancient China began the use of incense in the religious sense, namely for worship. Incense was used by Chinese cultures from Neolithic times and became more widespread in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. The earliest documented use of incense comes from the ancient Chinese, who employed incense composed of herbs and plant products (such as cassia, cinnamon, styrax, and sandalwood) as a component of numerous formalized ceremonial rites. Incense usage reached its peak during the Song dynasty with numerous buildings erected specifically for incense ceremonies.
Brought to Japan in the 6th century by Korean Buddhist monks, who used the mystical aromas in their purification rites, the delicate scents of Koh (high-quality Japanese incense) became a source of amusement and entertainment with nobles in the Imperial Court during the Heian Era 200 years later. During the 14th-century Ashikaga shogunate, a samurai warrior might perfume his helmet and armor with incense to achieve an aura of invincibility (as well as to make a noble gesture to whoever might take his head in battle). It wasn't until the Muromachi period during the 15th and 16th century that incense appreciation (kōdō) spread to the upper and middle classes of Japanese society.
COMPOSITION:
A variety of materials have been used in making incense. Historically there has been a preference for using locally available ingredients. For example, sage and cedar were used by the indigenous peoples of North America. Trading in incense materials comprised a major part of commerce along the Silk Road and other trade routes, one notably called the Incense Route.
Local knowledge and tools were extremely influential on the style, but methods were also influenced by migrations of foreigners, such as clergy and physicians.
COMBUSTIBLE BASE:
The combustible base of a direct burning incense mixture not only binds the fragrant material together but also allows the produced incense to burn with a self-sustained ember, which propagates slowly and evenly through an entire piece of incense with such regularity that it can be used to mark time. The base is chosen such that it does not produce a perceptible smell. Commercially, two types of incense base predominate:
Fuel and oxidizer mixtures: Charcoal or wood powder provides the fuel for combustion while an oxidizer such as sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate sustains the burning of the incense. Fragrant materials are added to the base prior to shaping, as in the case of powdered incense materials, or after, as in the case of essential oils. The formula for charcoal-based incense is superficially similar to black powder, though it lacks the sulfur.
Natural plant-based binders: Gums such as Gum Arabic or Gum Tragacanth are used to bind the mixture together. Mucilaginous material, which can be derived from many botanical sources, is mixed with fragrant materials and water. The mucilage from the wet binding powder holds the fragrant material together while the cellulose in the powder combusts to form a stable ember when lit. The dry binding powder usually comprises about 10% of the dry weight in the finished incense. These include:
Makko (incense powder) made from the bark of various trees in the genus Persea (such as Persea thunbergii) Xiangnan pi (made from the bark of trees of genus Phoebe such as Phoebe nanmu or Persea zuihoensis.
Jigit: a resin based binder used in India
Laha or Dar: bark based powders used in Nepal, Tibet, and other East Asian countries.
Typical compositions burn at a temperature between 220 °C and 260 °C.
TYPES:
Incense is available in various forms and degrees of processing. They can generally be separated into "direct-burning" and "indirect-burning" types. Preference for one form or another varies with culture, tradition, and personal taste. The two differ in their composition due to the former's requirement for even, stable, and sustained burning.
INDIRECT-BURNING:
Indirect-burning incense, also called "non-combustible incense", is an aromatic material or combination of materials, such as resins, that does not contain combustible material and so requires a separate heat source. Finer forms tend to burn more rapidly, while coarsely ground or whole chunks may be consumed very gradually, having less surface area. Heat is traditionally provided by charcoal or glowing embers. In the West, the best known incense materials of this type are the resins frankincense and myrrh, likely due to their numerous mentions in the Bible. Frankincense means "pure incense", though in common usage refers specifically to the resin of the boswellia tree.
Whole: The incense material is burned directly in raw form on top of coal embers.
Powdered or granulated: Incense broken into smaller pieces burns quickly and provides brief but intense odor.
Paste: Powdered or granulated incense material is mixed with a sticky incombustible binder, such as dried fruit, honey, or a soft resin and then formed to balls or small pastilles. These may then be allowed to mature in a controlled environment where the fragrances can commingle and unite. Much Arabian incense, also called "Bukhoor" or "Bakhoor", is of this type, and Japan has a history of kneaded incense, called nerikō or awasekō, made using this method. Within the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, raw frankincense is ground into a fine powder and then mixed with various sweet-smelling essential oils.
DIRECT-BURNING:
Direct-burning incense, also called "combustible incense", is lit directly by a flame. The glowing ember on the incense will continue to smoulder and burn the rest of the incense without further application of external heat or flame. Direct-burning incense is either extruded, pressed into forms, or coated onto a supporting material. This class of incense is made from a moldable substrate of fragrant finely ground (or liquid) incense materials and odourless binder. The composition must be adjusted to provide fragrance in the proper concentration and to ensure even burning. The following types are commonly encountered, though direct-burning incense can take nearly any form, whether for expedience or whimsy.
Coil: Extruded and shaped into a coil without a core, coil incense can burn for an extended period, from hours to days, and is commonly produced and used in Chinese cultures.
Cone: Incense in this form burns relatively quickly. Incense cones were invented in Japan in the 1800s.
Cored stick: A supporting core of bamboo is coated with a thick layer of incense material that burns away with the core. Higher-quality variations have fragrant sandalwood cores. This type of incense is commonly produced in India and China. When used in Chinese folk religion, these are sometimes known as "joss sticks".
Dhoop or solid stick: With no bamboo core, dhoop incense is easily broken for portion control. This is the most commonly produced form of incense in Japan and Tibet.
Powder: The loose incense powder used for making indirect burning incense is sometimes burned without further processing. Powder incense is typically packed into long trails on top of wood ash using a stencil and burned in special censers or incense clocks.
Paper: Paper infused with incense, folded accordion style, is lit and blown out. Examples include Carta d'Armenia and Papier d'Arménie.
Rope: The incense powder is rolled into paper sheets, which are then rolled into ropes, twisted tightly, then doubled over and twisted again, yielding a two-strand rope. The larger end is the bight, and may be stood vertically, in a shallow dish of sand or pebbles. The smaller (pointed) end is lit. This type of incense is easily transported and stays fresh for extremely long periods. It has been used for centuries in Tibet and Nepal.
Moxa tablets, which are disks of powdered mugwort used in Traditional Chinese medicine for moxibustion, are not incenses; the treatment is by heat rather than fragrance.
Incense sticks may be termed joss sticks, especially in parts of East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Among ethnic Chinese and Chinese-influenced communities these are traditionally burned at temples, before the threshold of a home or business, before an image of a religious divinity or local spirit, or in shrines, large and small, found at the main entrance of every village. Here the earth god is propitiated in the hope of bringing wealth and health to the village. They can also be burned in front of a door or open window as an offering to heaven, or the devas. The word "joss" is derived from the Latin deus (god) via the Portuguese deos through the Javanese dejos, through Chinese pidgin English.
PRODUCTION:
The raw materials are powdered and then mixed together with a binder to form a paste, which, for direct burning incense, is then cut and dried into pellets. Incense of the Athonite Orthodox Christian tradition is made by powdering frankincense or fir resin, mixing it with essential oils. Floral fragrances are the most common, but citrus such as lemon is not uncommon. The incense mixture is then rolled out into a slab approximately 1 cm thick and left until the slab has firmed. It is then cut into small cubes, coated with clay powder to prevent adhesion, and allowed to fully harden and dry. In Greece this rolled incense resin is called 'Moskolibano', and generally comes in either a pink or green colour denoting the fragrance, with pink being rose and green being jasmine.
Certain proportions are necessary for direct-burning incense:
Oil content: an excess of oils may prevent incense from smoldering effectively. Resinous materials such as myrrh and frankincense are typically balanced with "dry" materials such as wood, bark and leaf powders.
Oxidizer quantity: Too little oxidizer in gum-bound incense may prevent the incense from igniting, while too much will cause the incense to burn too quickly, without producing fragrant smoke.
Binder: Water-soluble binders such as "makko" ensure that the incense mixture does not crumble when dry, dilute the mixture.
Mixture density: Incense mixtures made with natural binders must not be combined with too much water in mixing, or over-compressed while being formed, which would result in either uneven air distribution or undesirable density in the mixture, causing the incense to burn unevenly, too slowly, or too quickly.
Particulate size: The incense mixture has to be well pulverized with similarly sized particulates. Uneven and large particulates result in uneven burning and inconsistent aroma production when burned.
"Dipped" or "hand-dipped" direct-burning incense is created by dipping "incense blanks" made of unscented combustible dust into any suitable kind of essential or fragrance oil. These are often sold in the United States by flea-market and sidewalk vendors who have developed their own styles. This form of incense requires the least skill and equipment to manufacture, since the blanks are pre-formed in China or South East Asia.
Incense mixtures can be extruded or pressed into shapes. Small quantities of water are combined with the fragrance and incense base mixture and kneaded into a hard dough. The incense dough is then pressed into shaped forms to create cone and smaller coiled incense, or forced through a hydraulic press for solid stick incense. The formed incense is then trimmed and slowly dried. Incense produced in this fashion has a tendency to warp or become misshapen when improperly dried, and as such must be placed in climate-controlled rooms and rotated several times through the drying process.
Traditionally, the bamboo core of cored stick incense is prepared by hand from Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. pubescens since this species produces thick wood and easily burns to ashes in the incense stick. In a process known as "splitting the foot of the incense stick", the bamboo is trimmed to length, soaked, peeled, and split in halves until the thin sticks of bamboo have square cross sections of less than 3mm. This process has been largely replaced by machines in modern incense production.
In the case of cored incensed sticks, several methods are employed to coat the sticks cores with incense mixture:
Paste rolling: A wet, malleable paste of incense mixture is first rolled into a long, thin coil, using a paddle. Then, a thin stick is put next to the coil and the stick and paste are rolled together until the stick is centered in the mixture and the desired thickness is achieved. The stick is then cut to the desired length and dried.
Powder-coating: Powder-coating is used mainly to produce cored incense of either larger coil (up to 1 meter in diameter) or cored stick forms. A bundle of the supporting material (typically thin bamboo or sandalwood slivers) is soaked in water or a thin water/glue mixture for a short time. The thin sticks are evenly separated, then dipped into a tray of incense powder consisting of fragrance materials and occasionally a plant-based binder. The dry incense powder is then tossed and piled over the sticks while they are spread apart. The sticks are then gently rolled and packed to maintain roundness while more incense powder is repeatedly tossed onto the sticks. Three to four layers of powder are coated onto the sticks, forming a 2 mm thick layer of incense material on the stick. The coated incense is then allowed to dry in open air. Additional coatings of incense mixture can be applied after each period of successive drying. Incense sticks produced in this fashion and burned in temples of Chinese folk religion can have a thickness between 2 and 4 millimeters.
Compression: A damp powder is mechanically formed around a cored stick by compression, similar to the way uncored sticks are formed. This form is becoming more common due to the higher labor cost of producing powder-coated or paste-rolled sticks.
BURNING INCENSE:
Indirect-burning incense burned directly on top of a heat source or on a hot metal plate in a censer or thurible.
In Japan a similar censer called a egōro (柄香炉) is used by several Buddhist sects. The egōro is usually made of brass, with a long handle and no chain. Instead of charcoal, makkō powder is poured into a depression made in a bed of ash. The makkō is lit and the incense mixture is burned on top. This method is known as sonae-kō (religious burning).
For direct-burning incense, the tip or end of the incense is ignited with a flame or other heat source until the incense begins to turn into ash at the burning end. The flame is then fanned or blown out, leaving the incense to smolder.
CULTURAL VARIATIONS:
ARABIAN:
In most Arab countries, incense is burned in the form of scented chips or blocks called bakhoor (Arabic: بخور [bɑˈxuːɾ, bʊ-]. Incense is used on special occasions like weddings or on Fridays or generally to perfume the house. The bakhoor is usually burned in a mabkhara, a traditional incense burner (censer) similar to the Somali Dabqaad. It is customary in many Arab countries to pass bakhoor among the guests in the majlis ('congregation'). This is done as a gesture of hospitality.
CHINESE:
For over two thousand years, the Chinese have used incense in religious ceremonies, ancestor veneration, Traditional Chinese medicine, and daily life. Agarwood (chénxiāng) and sandalwood (tánxiāng) are the two most important ingredients in Chinese incense.
Along with the introduction of Buddhism in China came calibrated incense sticks and incense clocks. The first known record is by poet Yu Jianwu (487-551): "By burning incense we know the o'clock of the night, With graduated candles we confirm the tally of the watches." The use of these incense timekeeping devices spread from Buddhist monasteries into Chinese secular society.
Incense-stick burning is an everyday practice in traditional Chinese religion. There are many different types of stick used for different purposes or on different festive days. Many of them are long and thin. Sticks are mostly coloured yellow, red, or more rarely, black. Thick sticks are used for special ceremonies, such as funerals. Spiral incense, with exceedingly long burn times, is often hung from temple ceilings. In some states, such as Taiwan,
Singapore, or Malaysia, where they celebrate the Ghost Festival, large, pillar-like dragon incense sticks are sometimes used. These generate so much smoke and heat that they are only burned outside.
Chinese incense sticks for use in popular religion are generally odorless or only use the slightest trace of jasmine or rose, since it is the smoke, not the scent, which is important in conveying the prayers of the faithful to heaven. They are composed of the dried powdered bark of a non-scented species of cinnamon native to Cambodia, Cinnamomum cambodianum. Inexpensive packs of 300 are often found for sale in Chinese supermarkets. Though they contain no sandalwood, they often include the Chinese character for sandalwood on the label, as a generic term for incense.
Highly scented Chinese incense sticks are used by some Buddhists. These are often quite expensive due to the use of large amounts of sandalwood, agarwood, or floral scents used. The sandalwood used in Chinese incenses does not come from India, its native home, but rather from groves planted within Chinese territory. Sites belonging to Tzu Chi, Chung Tai Shan, Dharma Drum Mountain, Xingtian Temple, or City of Ten Thousand Buddhas do not use incense.
INDIAN:
Incense sticks, also known as agarbathi (or agarbatti) and joss sticks, in which an incense paste is rolled or moulded around a bamboo stick, are the main forms of incense in India. The bamboo method originated in India, and is distinct from the Nepali/Tibetan and Japanese methods of stick making without bamboo cores. Though the method is also used in the west, it is strongly associated with India.
The basic ingredients are the bamboo stick, the paste (generally made of charcoal dust and joss/jiggit/gum/tabu powder – an adhesive made from the bark of litsea glutinosa and other trees), and the perfume ingredients - which would be a masala (spice mix) powder of ground ingredients into which the stick would be rolled, or a perfume liquid sometimes consisting of synthetic
ingredients into which the stick would be dipped. Perfume is sometimes sprayed on the coated sticks. Stick machines are sometimes used, which coat the stick with paste and perfume, though the bulk of production is done by hand rolling at home. There are about 5,000 incense companies in India that take raw unperfumed sticks hand-rolled by approximately 200,000 women working part-time at home, and then apply their own brand of perfume, and package the sticks for sale. An experienced home-worker can produce 4,000 raw sticks a day. There are about 50 large companies that together account for up to 30% of the market, and around 500 of the companies, including a significant number of the main ones, including Moksh Agarbatti and Cycle Pure, are based in Mysore.
JEWISH TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM:
KETORET:
Ketoret was the incense offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and is stated in the Book of Exodus to be a mixture of stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense.
TIBETAN:
Tibetan incense refers to a common style of incense found in Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. These incenses have a characteristic "earthy" scent to them. Ingredients vary from cinnamon, clove, and juniper, to kusum flower, ashvagandha, and sahi jeera.
Many Tibetan incenses are thought to have medicinal properties. Their recipes come from ancient Vedic texts that are based on even older Ayurvedic medical texts. The recipes have remained unchanged for centuries.
JAPANESE:
In Japan incense appreciation folklore includes art, culture, history, and ceremony. It can be compared to and has some of the same qualities as music, art, or literature. Incense burning may occasionally take place within the tea ceremony, just like calligraphy, ikebana, and scroll arrangement. The art of incense appreciation, or koh-do, is generally practiced as a separate art form from the tea ceremony, and usually within a tea room of traditional Zen design.
Agarwood (沈香 Jinkō) and sandalwood (白檀 byakudan) are the two most important ingredients in Japanese incense. Agarwood is known as "jinkō" in Japan, which translates as "incense that sinks in water", due to the weight of the resin in the wood. Sandalwood is one of the most calming incense ingredients and lends itself well to meditation. It is also used in the Japanese tea ceremony. The most valued Sandalwood comes from Mysore in the state of Karnataka in India.
Another important ingredient in Japanese incense is kyara (伽羅). Kyara is one kind of agarwood (Japanese incense companies divide agarwood into 6 categories depending on the region obtained and properties of the agarwood). Kyara is currently worth more than its weight in gold.
Some terms used in Japanese incense culture include:
Incense arts: [香道, kodo]
Agarwood: [ 沈香 ] – from heartwood from Aquilaria trees, unique, the incense wood most used in incense ceremony, other names are: lignum aloes or aloeswood, gaharu, jinko, or oud.
Censer/Incense burner: [香爐] – usually small and used for heating incense not burning, or larger and used for burning
Charcoal: [木炭] – only the odorless kind is used.
Incense woods: [ 香木 ] – a naturally fragrant resinous wood.
USAGE:
PRACTICAL:
Incense fragrances can be of such great strength that they obscure other less desirable odours. This utility led to the use of incense in funerary ceremonies because the incense could smother the scent of decay. An example, as well as of religious use, is the giant Botafumeiro thurible that swings from the ceiling of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It is used in part to mask the scent of the many tired, unwashed pilgrims huddled together in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
A similar utilitarian use of incense can be found in the post-Reformation Church of England. Although the ceremonial use of incense was abandoned until the Oxford Movement, it was common to have incense (typically frankincense) burned before grand occasions, when the church would be crowded. The frankincense was carried about by a member of the vestry before the service in a vessel called a 'perfuming pan'. In iconography of the day, this vessel is shown to be elongated and flat, with a single long handle on one side. The perfuming pan was used instead of the thurible, as the latter would have likely offended the Protestant sensibilities of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The regular burning of direct-burning incense has been used for chronological measurement in incense clocks. These devices can range from a simple trail of incense material calibrated to burn in a specific time period, to elaborate and ornate instruments with bells or gongs, designed to involve multiple senses.
Incense made from materials such as citronella can repel mosquitoes and other irritating, distracting, or pestilential insects. This use has been deployed in concert with religious uses by Zen Buddhists who claim that the incense that is part of their meditative practice is designed to keep bothersome insects from distracting the practitioner. Currently, more effective pyrethroid-based mosquito repellent incense is widely available in Asia.
Papier d'Arménie was originally sold as a disinfectant as well as for the fragrance.
Incense is also used often by people who smoke indoors and do not want the smell to linger.
AESTHETIC:
Many people burn incense to appreciate its smell, without assigning any other specific significance to it, in the same way that the foregoing items can be produced or consumed solely for the contemplation or enjoyment of the aroma. An example is the kōdō (香道), where (frequently costly) raw incense materials such as agarwood are appreciated in a formal setting.
RELIGIOUS:
Religious use of incense is prevalent in many cultures and may have roots in the practical and aesthetic uses, considering that many of these religions have little else in common. One common motif is incense as a form of sacrificial offering to a deity. Such use was common in Judaic worship and remains in use for example in the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches, Taoist and Buddhist Chinese jingxiang (敬香 "offer incense), etc.
Aphrodisiac Incense has been used as an aphrodisiac in some cultures. Both ancient Greek and ancient Egyptian mythology suggest the usage of incense by goddesses and nymphs. Incense is thought to heighten sexual desires and sexual attraction.
Time-keeper Incense clocks are used to time social, medical and religious practices in parts of eastern Asia. They are primarily used in Buddhism as a timer of mediation and prayer. Different types of incense burn at different rates; therefore, different incense are used for different practices. The duration of burning ranges from minutes to months.
Healing stone cleanser Incense is claimed to cleanse and restore energy in healing stones. The technique used is called “smudging” and is done by holding a healing stone over the smoke of burning incense for 20 to 30 seconds. Some people believe that this process not only restores energy but eliminates negative energy.
HEALTH RISK FROM INCENSE SMOKE:
Incense smoke contains various contaminants including gaseous pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and adsorbed toxic pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and toxic metals). The solid particles range between ~10 and 500 nm. In a comparison, Indian sandalwood was found to have the highest emission rate, followed by Japanese aloeswood, then Taiwanese aloeswood, while Chinese smokeless sandalwood had the least.
Research carried out in Taiwan in 2001 linked the burning of incense sticks to the slow accumulation of potential carcinogens in a poorly ventilated environment by measuring the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (including benzopyrene) within Buddhist temples. The study found gaseous aliphatic aldehydes, which are carcinogenic and mutagenic, in incense smoke.
A survey of risk factors for lung cancer, also conducted in Taiwan, noted an inverse association between incense burning and adenocarcinoma of the lung, though the finding was not deemed significant.
In contrast, epidemiologists at the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, Aichi Cancer Center in Nagoya, and several other centers found: "No association was found between exposure to incense burning and respiratory symptoms like chronic cough, chronic sputum, chronic bronchitis, runny nose, wheezing, asthma, allergic rhinitis, or pneumonia among the three populations studied: i.e. primary school children, their non-smoking mothers, or a group of older non-smoking female controls. Incense burning did not affect lung cancer risk among non-smokers, but it significantly reduced risk among smokers, even after adjusting for lifetime smoking amount." However, the researchers qualified their findings by noting that incense burning in the studied population was associated with certain low-cancer-risk dietary habits, and concluded that "diet can be a significant confounder of epidemiological studies on air pollution and respiratory health."
Although several studies have not shown a link between incense and lung cancer, many other types of cancer have been directly linked to burning incense. A study published in 2008 in the medical journal Cancer found that incense use is associated with a statistically significant higher risk of cancers of the upper respiratory tract, with the exception of nasopharyngeal cancer. Those who used incense heavily also were 80% more likely to develop squamous-cell carcinomas. The link between incense use and increased cancer risk held when the researchers weighed other factors, including cigarette smoking, diet and drinking habits. The research team noted that "This association is consistent with a large number of studies identifying carcinogens in incense smoke, and given the widespread and sometimes involuntary exposure to smoke from burning incense, these findings carry significant public health implications."
In 2015, the South China University of Technology found toxicity of incense to Chinese hamsters' ovarian cells to be even higher than cigarettes.
Incensole acetate, a component of Frankincense, has been shown to have anxiolytic-like and antidepressive-like effects in mice, mediated by activation of poorly-understood TRPV3 ion channels in the brain.
The Kitabi Tea Processing Facility in Kitabi, Rwanda has a capacity of 48 000 tons of green leaf per day. The facility employs 200 people during its peak season and about 70 during the rest of the year. Photo: A'Melody Lee / World Bank
Port of Makassar, also known as Port of Soekarno-Hatta, is a seaport in Makassar, Indonesia. It has the highest passenger traffic among Indonesian ports and the largest cargo traffic in Sulawesi. It is considered a primary port (Pelabuhan Kelas Utama) by the Indonesian Government, along with the Port of Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Port of Tanjung Perak (Surabaya), and Port of Belawan (Medan).
An expansion to the port, dubbed New Port Makassar, is under construction with an expected additional capacity of 1.5 million TEUs in its first phase. The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation has expressed a desire to designate the port as hub for the rest of Eastern Indonesia, in accordance to the current government's maritime axis program.
Makassar (Buginese-Makassarese: ᨀᨚᨈ ᨆᨀᨔᨑ; historically spelled Macassar) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth largest urban centre after Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Medan. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named after one of its subdistricts, Ujung Pandang. The city is located on the southwest coast of the island of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar Strait.
Throughout its history, Makassar has been an important trading port, hosting the center of the Gowa Sultanate and a Portuguese naval base before its conquest by the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century. It remained an important port in the Dutch East Indies, serving Eastern Indonesian regions with Makassarese fishermen going as far south as the Australian coast. For a brief period after Indonesian independence, Makassar became the capital of the State of East Indonesia, during which an uprising occurred.
The city's area is 199.3 square kilometres and it had a population of around 1.6 million in 2013. Its built-up (or metro) area has 1,976,168 inhabitants covering Makassar City and 15 districts. Its official metropolitan area, known as Mamminasata, with 17 additional districts, covers an area of 2,548 square kilometres and had a population of around 2.4 million according to 2010 Census. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Makassar is one of the four main central cities of Indonesia, alongside Medan, Jakarta, and Surabaya. According to Bank Indonesia, Makassar has the second-highest commercial property values in Indonesia, after Greater Jakarta.
HISTORY
The trade in spices figured prominently in the history of Sulawesi, which involved frequent struggles between rival native and foreign powers for control of the lucrative trade during the pre-colonial and colonial period, when spices from the region were in high demand in the West. Much of South Sulawesi's early history was written in old texts that can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries.
Makassar is mentioned in the Nagarakretagama, a Javanese eulogy composed in 14th century during the reign of Majapahit king Hayam Wuruk. In the text, Makassar is mentioned as an island under Majapahit dominance, alongside Butun, Salaya and Banggawi.
MAKASSARESE KINGDOM
The 9th King of Gowa Tumaparisi Kallonna (1512-1546) is described in the royal chronicle as the first Gowa ruler to ally with the nearby trade-oriented polity of Tallo, a partnership which endured throughout Makassar's apogee as an independent kingdom. The centre of the dual kingdom was at Sombaopu, near the then mouth of the Jeneberang River about 10 km south of the present city centre, where, where an international port and a fortress were gradually developed. First Malay traders (expelled from their Melaka metropolis by the Portuguese in 1511), then Portuguese from at least the 1540s, began to make this port their base for trading to the Spice Islands' (Maluku), further east.
The growth of Dutch maritime power over the spice trade after 1600 made Makassar more vital as an alternative port open to all traders, as well as a source of rice to trade with rice-deficient Maluku. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) sought a monopoly of Malukan nutmeg and cloves, and came close to succeeding at the expense of English, Portuguese and Muslims from the 1620s. The Makassar kings maintained a policy of free trade, insisting on the right of any visitor to do business in the city, and rejecting the attempts of the Dutch to establish a monopoly.
Makassar depended particularly on the Muslim Malay and Catholic Portuguese sailors communities as its two crucial economic assets. However the English East India Company also established a post there in 1613, the Danish Company arrived in 1618, and Chinese, Spanish and Indian traders were all important. When the Dutch conquered Portuguese Melaka in 1641, Makassar became the largest Portuguese base in Southeast Asia. The Portuguese population had been in the hundreds, but rose to several thousand, served by churches of the Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits as well as the regular clergy. By the 16th century, Makassar had become Sulawesi's major port and centre of the powerful Gowa and Tallo sultanates which between them had a series of 11 fortresses and strongholds and a fortified sea wall that extended along the coast. Portuguese rulers called the city Macáçar.
Makassar was very ably led in the first half of the 17th century, when it effectively resisted Dutch pressure to close down its trade to Maluku, and made allies rather than enemies of the neighbouring Bugis states. Karaeng Matoaya (c.1573-1636) was ruler of Tallo from 1593, as well as Chancellor or Chief Minister (Tuma'bicara-butta) of the partner kingdom of Gowa. He managed the succession to the Gowa throne in 1593 of the 7-year-old boy later known as Sultan Alaud-din, and guided him through the acceptance of Islam in 1603, numerous modernizations in military and civil governance, and cordial relations with the foreign traders. The conversion of the citizens to Islam was followed by the first official Friday Prayer in the city, traditionally dated to 9 November 1607, which is celebrated today as the city's official anniversary. John Jourdain called Makassar in his day "the kindest people in all the Indias to strangers". Matoaya's eldest son succeeded him on the throne of Tallo, but as Chancellor he had evidently groomed his brilliant second son, Karaeng Pattingalloang (1600-54), who exercised that position from 1639 until his death. Pattingalloang must have been partly educated by Portuguese, since as an adult he spoke Portuguese "as fluently as people from Lisbon itself", and avidly read all the books that came his way in Portuguese, Spanish or Latin. French Jesuit Alexandre de Rhodes described his passion for mathematics and astronomy, on which he pestered the priest endlessly, while even one of his Dutch adversaries conceded he was "a man of great knowledge, science and understanding."
DUTCH COLONIAL PERIOD
After Pattingalloang's death in 1654, a new king of Gowa, Sultan Hasanuddin, rejected the alliance with Tallo by declaring he would be his own Chancellor. Conflicts within the kingdom quickly escalated, the Bugis rebelled under the leadership of Bone, and the Dutch VOC seized its long-awaited chance to conquer Makassar with the help of the Bugis (1667-9). Their first conquest in 1667 was the northern Makassar fort of Ujung Pandang, while in 1669 they conquered and destroyed Sombaopu in one of the greatest battles of 17th century Indonesia. The VOC moved the city centre northward, around the Ujung Pandang fort they rebuilt and renamed Fort Rotterdam. From this base they managed to destroy the strongholds of the Sultan of Gowa who was then forced to live on the outskirts of Makassar. Following the Java War (1825–30), Prince Diponegoro was exiled to Fort Rotterdam until his death in 1855.
After the arrival of the Dutch, there was an important Portuguese community, also call a bandel, that received the name of Borrobos. Around 1660 the leader of this community, which today would be equivalent to a neighborhood, was the Portuguese Francisco Vieira de Figueiredo.
The character of this old trading center changed as a walled city known as Vlaardingen grew. Gradually, in defiance of the Dutch, the Arabs, Malays and Buddhist returned to trade outside the fortress walls, and were joined later by the Chinese.
The town again became a collecting point for the produce of eastern Indonesia – the copra, rattan, Pearls, trepang and sandalwood and the famous oil made from bado nuts used in Europe as men's hair dressing – hence the anti-macassars (embroidered cloths protecting the head-rests of upholstered chairs).
Although the Dutch controlled the coast, it was not until the early 20th century that they gained power over the southern interior through a series of treaties with local rulers. Meanwhile, Dutch missionaries converted many of the Toraja people to Christianity. By 1938, the population of Makassar had reached around 84,000 – a town described by writer Joseph Conrad as "the prettiest and perhaps, cleanest looking of all the towns in the islands".
In World War II the Makassar area was defended by approximately 1000 men of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army commanded by Colonel M. Vooren. He decided that he could not defend the coast, and was planning to fight a guerrilla war inland. The Japanese landed near Makassar on 9 February 1942. The defenders retreated but were soon overtaken and captured.
AFTER INDEPENDENCE
In 1945 came the Indonesian declaration of Independence, and in 1946, Makassar became the capital of the State of East Indonesia, part of the United States of Indonesia. In 1950, it was the site of fighting between pro-Federalist forces under Captain Abdul Assiz and Republican forces under Colonel Sunkono during the Makassar uprising. By the 1950s, the population had increased to such a degree that many of the historic sites gave way to modern development, and today one needs to look very carefully to find the few remains of the city's once grand history.
CONNECTION WITH AUSTRALIA
Makassar is also a major fishing center in Sulawesi. One of its major industries is the trepang (sea-cucumber) industry. Trepang fishing brought the Makassan people into contact with Indigenous Australian peoples of northern Australia, long before European settlement (from 1788).
C. C. MacKnight in his 1976 work entitled Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia has shown that they began frequenting the north of Australia around 1700 in search of trepang (sea-slug, sea cucumber, Beche-de-mer), an edible Holothurian. They left their waters during the Northwest Monsoon in December or January for what is now Arnhem Land, Marriage or Marega and the Kimberley region or Kayu Djawa. They returned home with the south-east trade winds in April.
A fleet of between 24 and 26 Macassan perahus was seen in 1803 by French explorers under Nicolas Baudin on the Holothuria Banks in the Timor Sea. In February 1803, Matthew Flinders in the Investigator met six perahus with 20–25 men each on board and was told by the fleet's chief Pobasso, that there were 60 perahus then on the north Australian coast. They were fishing for trepang and appeared to have only a small compass as a navigation aid. In June 1818 Macassan trepang fishing was noted by Phillip Parker King in the vicinity of Port Essington in the Arafura Sea. In 1865 R.J. Sholl, then Government Resident for the British settlement at Camden Sound (near Augustus Island in the Kimberley region) observed seven 'Macassan' perahus with a total of around 300 men on board. He believed that they made kidnapping raids and ranged as far south as Roebuck Bay (later Broome) where 'quite a fleet' was seen around 1866. Sholl believed that they did not venture south into other areas such as Nickol Bay (where the European pearling industry commenced around 1865) due to the absence of trepang in those waters. The Macassan voyages appear to have ceased sometime in the late nineteenth century, and their place was taken by other sailors operating from elsewhere in the Indonesian Archipelago.
ECONOMY
The city is southern Sulawesi's primary port, with regular domestic and international shipping connections. It is nationally famous as an important port of call for the pinisi boats, sailing ships which are among the last in use for regular long-distance trade.
During the colonial era, the city was widely known as the namesake of Makassar oil, which it exported in great quantity. Makassar ebony is a warm black hue, streaked with tan or brown tones, and highly prized for use in making fine cabinetry and veneers.
Nowadays, as the largest city in Sulawesi Island and Eastern Indonesia, the city's economy depends highly on the service sector, which makes up approximately 70% of activity. Restaurant and hotel services are the largest contributor (29.14%), followed by transportation and communication (14.86%), trading (14.86), and finance (10.58%). Industrial activity is next most important after the service sector, with 21.34% of overall activity.
TRANSPORTATION
Makassar has a public transportation system called pete-pete. A pete-pete (known elsewhere in Indonesia as an angkot) is a minibus that has been modified to carry passengers. The route of Makassar's pete-petes is denoted by the letter on the windshield. Makassar is also known for its becak (pedicabs), which are smaller than the "becak" in the island of Java. In Makassar, people who drive pedicabs are called Daeng. In addition to becak and pete-pete, the city has a government-run bus system, and taxis.
A bus rapid transit (BRT), which is known as "Trans Mamminasata" was started in 2014. It has some routes through Makassar to cities around Makassar region such as Maros, Takallar, and Gowa. Run by Indonesian Transportation Department, each bus has 20 seats and space for 20 standing passengers.
A 35-kilometer monorail in the areas of Makassar, Maros Regency, Sungguminasa (Gowa Regency), and Takalar Regency (the Mamminasata region) was proposed in 2011, with operations commencing in 2014, at a predicted cost of Rp.4 trillion ($468 million). The memorandum of understanding was signed on 25 July 2011 by Makassar city, Maros Regency and Gowa Regency. In 2014, the project was officially abandoned, citing insufficient ridership and a lack of financial feasibility.
The city of Makassar, its outlying districts, and the South Sulawesi Province are served by Hasanuddin International Airport. The airport is located outside the Makassar city administration area, being situated in the nearby Maros Regency.
The city is served by Soekarno-Hatta Sea Port. In January 2012 it was announced that due to limited capacity of the current dock at Soekarno-Hatta sea port, it will be expanded to 150x30 square meters to avoid the need for at least two ships to queue every day.
ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNANCE
The executive head of the city is the mayor, who is elected by direct vote for a period of five years. The mayor is assisted by a deputy-mayor, who is also an elected person. There is a legislative assembly for the city, members of which are also elected for a period of five years. Makassar City is divided into 15 administrative districts and 153 urban villages. Districts in Makassar city are Biringkanaya, Bontoala, Sangkarang Islands, Makassar, Mamajang, Manggala, Mariso, Panakkukang, Rappocini, Tallo, Tamalanrea, Tamalate, Ujung Pandang, Ujung Tanah and Wajo.
GEOGRAPHY
This official metropolitan area covers 2.689,89 km2 and had a population of 2.696.242 (2017). The metropolitan area of Makassar (Mamminasata) extends over 47 administrative districts (kecamatan), consisting of all 15 districts within the city, all 9 districts of Takalar Regency, 11 (out of 18) districts of Gowa Regency and 12 (out of 14) districts of Maros Regency.
Districts of Takalar Regency which included in the metro area are, Mangara Bombang, Mappakasunggu, Sanrobone, Polombangkeng Selatan, Pattallassang, Polombangkeng Utara, Galesong Selatan, Galesong and Galesong Utara. Districts of Gowa Regency which included in the metro area are, Somba Opu, Bontomarannu, Pallangga, Bajeng, Bajeng Barat, Barombong, Manuju, Pattallassang, Parangloe, Bontonompo and Bontonompo Selatan. Districts of Maros Regency which included in the metro area are, Maros Baru, Turikale, Marusu, Mandai, Moncongloe, Bontoa, Lau, Tanralili, Tompo Bulu, Bantimurung, Simbang and Cenrana.
CLIMATE
Makassar has a tropical monsoon climate. The average temperature for the year in Makassar is 27.5 °C, with little variation due to its near-equatorial latitude: the average high is around 32.5 °C and the average low around 22.5 °C all year long. In contrast to the virtually consistent temperature, rainfall shows wide variation between months in Makassar due to movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Makassar averages around 3,137 millimetres of rain on 187 days during the year, but during the month with least rainfall – August – only 15 millimetres on two days of rain can be expected. In contrast, during its very wet wet season, Makassar can expect over 530 millimetres per month between December and February. During the wettest month of January, 734 millimetres can be expected to fall on twenty-seven rainy days.
MAIN SIGHTS
Makassar is home to several prominent landmarks including:
- the 17th century Dutch fort Fort Rotterdam
- the Trans Studio Makassar—the third largest indoor theme park in the world
- the Karebosi Link—the first underground shopping center in Indonesia
- the floating mosque located at Losari Beach.
- the Nusantara
- the Bantimurung - Bulusaraung National Park well-known karst area, famous for the remarkable collection of butterflies in the local area, is nearby to Makassar (around 40 km to the north).
DEMOGRAPHICS
Makassar is a multi-ethnic city, populated mostly by Makassarese and Buginese. The remainder are Torajans, Mandarese, Butonese, Chinese and Javanese. The current population is approximately 1.5 million, with a Metropolitan total of 2.2 million.
EDUCATION
State University of Makassar
Hasanuddin University
Alauddin Islamic State University
Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar
Universitas Muslim Indonesia
By 2007 the city government began requiring all skirts of schoolgirls be below the knee.
TRADITIONAL FOOD
Makassar has several famous traditional foods. The most famous is Coto Makassar. It is a stew made from the mixture of nuts, spices, and selected offal which may include beef brain, tongue and intestine. Konro rib dish is also a popular traditional food in Makassar. Both Coto Makassar and Konro are usually eaten with Burasa or Ketupat, a glutinous rice cake. Another famous cuisine from Makassar is Ayam Goreng Sulawesi (Celebes fried chicken); the chicken is marinated with a traditional soy sauce recipe for up to 24 hours before being fried to a golden colour. The dish is usually served with chicken broth, rice and special sambal (chilli sauce).
In addition, Makassar is the home of Pisang Epe (pressed banana), as well as Pisang Ijo (green banana). Pisang Epe is a banana which is pressed, grilled, and covered with palm sugar sauce and sometimes eaten with Durian. Many street vendors sell Pisang Epe, especially around the area of Losari beach. Pisang Ijo is a banana covered with green colored flours, coconut milk, and syrup. Pisang Ijo is sometimes served iced, and often eaten during Ramadan.
WIKIPEDIA
Port of Makassar, also known as Port of Soekarno-Hatta, is a seaport in Makassar, Indonesia. It has the highest passenger traffic among Indonesian ports and the largest cargo traffic in Sulawesi. It is considered a primary port (Pelabuhan Kelas Utama) by the Indonesian Government, along with the Port of Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Port of Tanjung Perak (Surabaya), and Port of Belawan (Medan).
An expansion to the port, dubbed New Port Makassar, is under construction with an expected additional capacity of 1.5 million TEUs in its first phase. The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation has expressed a desire to designate the port as hub for the rest of Eastern Indonesia, in accordance to the current government's maritime axis program.
Makassar (Buginese-Makassarese: ᨀᨚᨈ ᨆᨀᨔᨑ; historically spelled Macassar) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth largest urban centre after Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Medan. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named after one of its subdistricts, Ujung Pandang. The city is located on the southwest coast of the island of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar Strait.
Throughout its history, Makassar has been an important trading port, hosting the center of the Gowa Sultanate and a Portuguese naval base before its conquest by the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century. It remained an important port in the Dutch East Indies, serving Eastern Indonesian regions with Makassarese fishermen going as far south as the Australian coast. For a brief period after Indonesian independence, Makassar became the capital of the State of East Indonesia, during which an uprising occurred.
The city's area is 199.3 square kilometres and it had a population of around 1.6 million in 2013. Its built-up (or metro) area has 1,976,168 inhabitants covering Makassar City and 15 districts. Its official metropolitan area, known as Mamminasata, with 17 additional districts, covers an area of 2,548 square kilometres and had a population of around 2.4 million according to 2010 Census. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Makassar is one of the four main central cities of Indonesia, alongside Medan, Jakarta, and Surabaya. According to Bank Indonesia, Makassar has the second-highest commercial property values in Indonesia, after Greater Jakarta.
HISTORY
The trade in spices figured prominently in the history of Sulawesi, which involved frequent struggles between rival native and foreign powers for control of the lucrative trade during the pre-colonial and colonial period, when spices from the region were in high demand in the West. Much of South Sulawesi's early history was written in old texts that can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries.
Makassar is mentioned in the Nagarakretagama, a Javanese eulogy composed in 14th century during the reign of Majapahit king Hayam Wuruk. In the text, Makassar is mentioned as an island under Majapahit dominance, alongside Butun, Salaya and Banggawi.
MAKASSARESE KINGDOM
The 9th King of Gowa Tumaparisi Kallonna (1512-1546) is described in the royal chronicle as the first Gowa ruler to ally with the nearby trade-oriented polity of Tallo, a partnership which endured throughout Makassar's apogee as an independent kingdom. The centre of the dual kingdom was at Sombaopu, near the then mouth of the Jeneberang River about 10 km south of the present city centre, where, where an international port and a fortress were gradually developed. First Malay traders (expelled from their Melaka metropolis by the Portuguese in 1511), then Portuguese from at least the 1540s, began to make this port their base for trading to the Spice Islands' (Maluku), further east.
The growth of Dutch maritime power over the spice trade after 1600 made Makassar more vital as an alternative port open to all traders, as well as a source of rice to trade with rice-deficient Maluku. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) sought a monopoly of Malukan nutmeg and cloves, and came close to succeeding at the expense of English, Portuguese and Muslims from the 1620s. The Makassar kings maintained a policy of free trade, insisting on the right of any visitor to do business in the city, and rejecting the attempts of the Dutch to establish a monopoly.
Makassar depended particularly on the Muslim Malay and Catholic Portuguese sailors communities as its two crucial economic assets. However the English East India Company also established a post there in 1613, the Danish Company arrived in 1618, and Chinese, Spanish and Indian traders were all important. When the Dutch conquered Portuguese Melaka in 1641, Makassar became the largest Portuguese base in Southeast Asia. The Portuguese population had been in the hundreds, but rose to several thousand, served by churches of the Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits as well as the regular clergy. By the 16th century, Makassar had become Sulawesi's major port and centre of the powerful Gowa and Tallo sultanates which between them had a series of 11 fortresses and strongholds and a fortified sea wall that extended along the coast. Portuguese rulers called the city Macáçar.
Makassar was very ably led in the first half of the 17th century, when it effectively resisted Dutch pressure to close down its trade to Maluku, and made allies rather than enemies of the neighbouring Bugis states. Karaeng Matoaya (c.1573-1636) was ruler of Tallo from 1593, as well as Chancellor or Chief Minister (Tuma'bicara-butta) of the partner kingdom of Gowa. He managed the succession to the Gowa throne in 1593 of the 7-year-old boy later known as Sultan Alaud-din, and guided him through the acceptance of Islam in 1603, numerous modernizations in military and civil governance, and cordial relations with the foreign traders. The conversion of the citizens to Islam was followed by the first official Friday Prayer in the city, traditionally dated to 9 November 1607, which is celebrated today as the city's official anniversary. John Jourdain called Makassar in his day "the kindest people in all the Indias to strangers". Matoaya's eldest son succeeded him on the throne of Tallo, but as Chancellor he had evidently groomed his brilliant second son, Karaeng Pattingalloang (1600-54), who exercised that position from 1639 until his death. Pattingalloang must have been partly educated by Portuguese, since as an adult he spoke Portuguese "as fluently as people from Lisbon itself", and avidly read all the books that came his way in Portuguese, Spanish or Latin. French Jesuit Alexandre de Rhodes described his passion for mathematics and astronomy, on which he pestered the priest endlessly, while even one of his Dutch adversaries conceded he was "a man of great knowledge, science and understanding."
DUTCH COLONIAL PERIOD
After Pattingalloang's death in 1654, a new king of Gowa, Sultan Hasanuddin, rejected the alliance with Tallo by declaring he would be his own Chancellor. Conflicts within the kingdom quickly escalated, the Bugis rebelled under the leadership of Bone, and the Dutch VOC seized its long-awaited chance to conquer Makassar with the help of the Bugis (1667-9). Their first conquest in 1667 was the northern Makassar fort of Ujung Pandang, while in 1669 they conquered and destroyed Sombaopu in one of the greatest battles of 17th century Indonesia. The VOC moved the city centre northward, around the Ujung Pandang fort they rebuilt and renamed Fort Rotterdam. From this base they managed to destroy the strongholds of the Sultan of Gowa who was then forced to live on the outskirts of Makassar. Following the Java War (1825–30), Prince Diponegoro was exiled to Fort Rotterdam until his death in 1855.
After the arrival of the Dutch, there was an important Portuguese community, also call a bandel, that received the name of Borrobos. Around 1660 the leader of this community, which today would be equivalent to a neighborhood, was the Portuguese Francisco Vieira de Figueiredo.
The character of this old trading center changed as a walled city known as Vlaardingen grew. Gradually, in defiance of the Dutch, the Arabs, Malays and Buddhist returned to trade outside the fortress walls, and were joined later by the Chinese.
The town again became a collecting point for the produce of eastern Indonesia – the copra, rattan, Pearls, trepang and sandalwood and the famous oil made from bado nuts used in Europe as men's hair dressing – hence the anti-macassars (embroidered cloths protecting the head-rests of upholstered chairs).
Although the Dutch controlled the coast, it was not until the early 20th century that they gained power over the southern interior through a series of treaties with local rulers. Meanwhile, Dutch missionaries converted many of the Toraja people to Christianity. By 1938, the population of Makassar had reached around 84,000 – a town described by writer Joseph Conrad as "the prettiest and perhaps, cleanest looking of all the towns in the islands".
In World War II the Makassar area was defended by approximately 1000 men of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army commanded by Colonel M. Vooren. He decided that he could not defend the coast, and was planning to fight a guerrilla war inland. The Japanese landed near Makassar on 9 February 1942. The defenders retreated but were soon overtaken and captured.
AFTER INDEPENDENCE
In 1945 came the Indonesian declaration of Independence, and in 1946, Makassar became the capital of the State of East Indonesia, part of the United States of Indonesia. In 1950, it was the site of fighting between pro-Federalist forces under Captain Abdul Assiz and Republican forces under Colonel Sunkono during the Makassar uprising. By the 1950s, the population had increased to such a degree that many of the historic sites gave way to modern development, and today one needs to look very carefully to find the few remains of the city's once grand history.
CONNECTION WITH AUSTRALIA
Makassar is also a major fishing center in Sulawesi. One of its major industries is the trepang (sea-cucumber) industry. Trepang fishing brought the Makassan people into contact with Indigenous Australian peoples of northern Australia, long before European settlement (from 1788).
C. C. MacKnight in his 1976 work entitled Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia has shown that they began frequenting the north of Australia around 1700 in search of trepang (sea-slug, sea cucumber, Beche-de-mer), an edible Holothurian. They left their waters during the Northwest Monsoon in December or January for what is now Arnhem Land, Marriage or Marega and the Kimberley region or Kayu Djawa. They returned home with the south-east trade winds in April.
A fleet of between 24 and 26 Macassan perahus was seen in 1803 by French explorers under Nicolas Baudin on the Holothuria Banks in the Timor Sea. In February 1803, Matthew Flinders in the Investigator met six perahus with 20–25 men each on board and was told by the fleet's chief Pobasso, that there were 60 perahus then on the north Australian coast. They were fishing for trepang and appeared to have only a small compass as a navigation aid. In June 1818 Macassan trepang fishing was noted by Phillip Parker King in the vicinity of Port Essington in the Arafura Sea. In 1865 R.J. Sholl, then Government Resident for the British settlement at Camden Sound (near Augustus Island in the Kimberley region) observed seven 'Macassan' perahus with a total of around 300 men on board. He believed that they made kidnapping raids and ranged as far south as Roebuck Bay (later Broome) where 'quite a fleet' was seen around 1866. Sholl believed that they did not venture south into other areas such as Nickol Bay (where the European pearling industry commenced around 1865) due to the absence of trepang in those waters. The Macassan voyages appear to have ceased sometime in the late nineteenth century, and their place was taken by other sailors operating from elsewhere in the Indonesian Archipelago.
ECONOMY
The city is southern Sulawesi's primary port, with regular domestic and international shipping connections. It is nationally famous as an important port of call for the pinisi boats, sailing ships which are among the last in use for regular long-distance trade.
During the colonial era, the city was widely known as the namesake of Makassar oil, which it exported in great quantity. Makassar ebony is a warm black hue, streaked with tan or brown tones, and highly prized for use in making fine cabinetry and veneers.
Nowadays, as the largest city in Sulawesi Island and Eastern Indonesia, the city's economy depends highly on the service sector, which makes up approximately 70% of activity. Restaurant and hotel services are the largest contributor (29.14%), followed by transportation and communication (14.86%), trading (14.86), and finance (10.58%). Industrial activity is next most important after the service sector, with 21.34% of overall activity.
TRANSPORTATION
Makassar has a public transportation system called pete-pete. A pete-pete (known elsewhere in Indonesia as an angkot) is a minibus that has been modified to carry passengers. The route of Makassar's pete-petes is denoted by the letter on the windshield. Makassar is also known for its becak (pedicabs), which are smaller than the "becak" in the island of Java. In Makassar, people who drive pedicabs are called Daeng. In addition to becak and pete-pete, the city has a government-run bus system, and taxis.
A bus rapid transit (BRT), which is known as "Trans Mamminasata" was started in 2014. It has some routes through Makassar to cities around Makassar region such as Maros, Takallar, and Gowa. Run by Indonesian Transportation Department, each bus has 20 seats and space for 20 standing passengers.
A 35-kilometer monorail in the areas of Makassar, Maros Regency, Sungguminasa (Gowa Regency), and Takalar Regency (the Mamminasata region) was proposed in 2011, with operations commencing in 2014, at a predicted cost of Rp.4 trillion ($468 million). The memorandum of understanding was signed on 25 July 2011 by Makassar city, Maros Regency and Gowa Regency. In 2014, the project was officially abandoned, citing insufficient ridership and a lack of financial feasibility.
The city of Makassar, its outlying districts, and the South Sulawesi Province are served by Hasanuddin International Airport. The airport is located outside the Makassar city administration area, being situated in the nearby Maros Regency.
The city is served by Soekarno-Hatta Sea Port. In January 2012 it was announced that due to limited capacity of the current dock at Soekarno-Hatta sea port, it will be expanded to 150x30 square meters to avoid the need for at least two ships to queue every day.
ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNANCE
The executive head of the city is the mayor, who is elected by direct vote for a period of five years. The mayor is assisted by a deputy-mayor, who is also an elected person. There is a legislative assembly for the city, members of which are also elected for a period of five years. Makassar City is divided into 15 administrative districts and 153 urban villages. Districts in Makassar city are Biringkanaya, Bontoala, Sangkarang Islands, Makassar, Mamajang, Manggala, Mariso, Panakkukang, Rappocini, Tallo, Tamalanrea, Tamalate, Ujung Pandang, Ujung Tanah and Wajo.
GEOGRAPHY
This official metropolitan area covers 2.689,89 km2 and had a population of 2.696.242 (2017). The metropolitan area of Makassar (Mamminasata) extends over 47 administrative districts (kecamatan), consisting of all 15 districts within the city, all 9 districts of Takalar Regency, 11 (out of 18) districts of Gowa Regency and 12 (out of 14) districts of Maros Regency.
Districts of Takalar Regency which included in the metro area are, Mangara Bombang, Mappakasunggu, Sanrobone, Polombangkeng Selatan, Pattallassang, Polombangkeng Utara, Galesong Selatan, Galesong and Galesong Utara. Districts of Gowa Regency which included in the metro area are, Somba Opu, Bontomarannu, Pallangga, Bajeng, Bajeng Barat, Barombong, Manuju, Pattallassang, Parangloe, Bontonompo and Bontonompo Selatan. Districts of Maros Regency which included in the metro area are, Maros Baru, Turikale, Marusu, Mandai, Moncongloe, Bontoa, Lau, Tanralili, Tompo Bulu, Bantimurung, Simbang and Cenrana.
CLIMATE
Makassar has a tropical monsoon climate. The average temperature for the year in Makassar is 27.5 °C, with little variation due to its near-equatorial latitude: the average high is around 32.5 °C and the average low around 22.5 °C all year long. In contrast to the virtually consistent temperature, rainfall shows wide variation between months in Makassar due to movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Makassar averages around 3,137 millimetres of rain on 187 days during the year, but during the month with least rainfall – August – only 15 millimetres on two days of rain can be expected. In contrast, during its very wet wet season, Makassar can expect over 530 millimetres per month between December and February. During the wettest month of January, 734 millimetres can be expected to fall on twenty-seven rainy days.
MAIN SIGHTS
Makassar is home to several prominent landmarks including:
- the 17th century Dutch fort Fort Rotterdam
- the Trans Studio Makassar—the third largest indoor theme park in the world
- the Karebosi Link—the first underground shopping center in Indonesia
- the floating mosque located at Losari Beach.
- the Nusantara
- the Bantimurung - Bulusaraung National Park well-known karst area, famous for the remarkable collection of butterflies in the local area, is nearby to Makassar (around 40 km to the north).
DEMOGRAPHICS
Makassar is a multi-ethnic city, populated mostly by Makassarese and Buginese. The remainder are Torajans, Mandarese, Butonese, Chinese and Javanese. The current population is approximately 1.5 million, with a Metropolitan total of 2.2 million.
EDUCATION
State University of Makassar
Hasanuddin University
Alauddin Islamic State University
Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar
Universitas Muslim Indonesia
By 2007 the city government began requiring all skirts of schoolgirls be below the knee.
TRADITIONAL FOOD
Makassar has several famous traditional foods. The most famous is Coto Makassar. It is a stew made from the mixture of nuts, spices, and selected offal which may include beef brain, tongue and intestine. Konro rib dish is also a popular traditional food in Makassar. Both Coto Makassar and Konro are usually eaten with Burasa or Ketupat, a glutinous rice cake. Another famous cuisine from Makassar is Ayam Goreng Sulawesi (Celebes fried chicken); the chicken is marinated with a traditional soy sauce recipe for up to 24 hours before being fried to a golden colour. The dish is usually served with chicken broth, rice and special sambal (chilli sauce).
In addition, Makassar is the home of Pisang Epe (pressed banana), as well as Pisang Ijo (green banana). Pisang Epe is a banana which is pressed, grilled, and covered with palm sugar sauce and sometimes eaten with Durian. Many street vendors sell Pisang Epe, especially around the area of Losari beach. Pisang Ijo is a banana covered with green colored flours, coconut milk, and syrup. Pisang Ijo is sometimes served iced, and often eaten during Ramadan.
WIKIPEDIA
It was one of those rare cases when “everybody was there”. Indeed, those who still weren’t would not have been able to fit into a Juba Stadium filled to capacity to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the United Nations.
“I suspect that most of you are really here for a football match,” said David Shearer, head of the UN in South Sudan, demonstrating the former politician’s uncanny knack for picking up the vibes of an expectant audience.
And right he was. Impressive as they were, the efforts of the UN family to showcase its contributions to peace, livelihoods and the wellbeing of the people of South Sudan paled in comparison with the astonishing spectacle to be delivered by South Sudanese football players and their adoring fans.
They produced scenes to behold, cherish and possibly tell grandchildren about.
But protocols first. This was the UN, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and a multitude of UN agencies, funds and programmes alike, at its best. Here they were, united for peace, yet showing strength in numbers as well as diversity.
A walk around the perimeter of the dilapidated stadium’s football pitch was proof that there was something for everyone being offered.
There was UNMAS, the United Nations Mine Action Service, displaying a prodigious array of unexploded ordnances.
Alas, there was no sign of explosives-detecting canines. The UNMAS staffer manning the stand explained that the day was too hot for the furry ones. Thus, the usage of the phrase “a dog’s life” in a derogatory manner is no longer applicable.
Those with a sweet tooth may, however, apply the advice given by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization, FAO, when it comes to constructing somewhat coffin-like beehives. More into marine life? Fear not: instructions on how to chill, salt, dry and smoke fish were also readily available, as were tips for farmers grappling with marauding fall armyworms.
The World Health Organization, WHO, proved that taking can be as benign as giving, as its staff, joined by the International Committee of the Red Cross, were asking for lifesaving blood donations. Hopefully, the precision-demanding needle-pricking was not detrimentally affected by the continuously ongoing soundtrack of hooting vuvuzelas, omnipresent already an hour before the highly anticipated game.
Some of the incessant outbursts of positive emotions were probably linked with the performance of South Sudanese singer/rapper Irene Toss, and with a completely different game taking place on the field. Young girls, aged 12 and above, were engaged in a rousing match of boruboru, a traditional South Sudanese, dodgeball-like game experiencing a massive revival after years of being dormant.
There was much to be applauded, as girls trying to dodge fast-approaching balls from left, right and center used all sorts of agile acrobatics to prove their prowess. Aiming for the mid-riff, however, seemed to be an effective tactic, which was quite likely relayed during the huddles formed for intense pre-game team talks.
“Boruboru is good. Girls like it because they feel united, and the game keeps them fit,” explained Leya Onesimo, who has been coaching her team, called “Peace” or “Bright” depending on whom one talked to.
“I like the UN very much,” Leya added. “They support us by giving us dignity kits and other things that we girls need, at home and at school.”
Peace/Bright were up against the toughest possible of opponents, as Paul Samuel, coaching the girls in red declared his team to be “the national team of boruboru”, yet to be defeated in any of the international battles they hope will be on their future fixture list.
“Free HIV [by the UN Population Fund, UNFPA] and malaria [by the UN Children Fund, Unicef] testing are the best things I have seen here today. Handing out free condoms [UNFPA] is another great initiative,” Paul said.
Numerous men and women seemed to agree, as the lines of test-keen attendees kept growing longer.
“The rapid malaria test takes just two minutes, and for those who have the disease we offer free medications for treatment,” a Unicef nurse said. At that point of the afternoon, some ten persons had been found to carry the infection.
Some were positively giggling as, upon approaching a combined UNFPA and Juba Teaching Hospital tent, they discerned the unmistakable shapes of male and female genitalia, indispensable for realistic training on how to correctly use the male and female condoms distributed en masse.
The fruits, or at least the seedlings, of nature’s non-condomized couplings, were generously given away visitors in the tent of the UN Environmental Programme, UNEP.
“Normally they cost a bit of money, but here you can pick them up for free,” UNEP staffers Susan William and Peter Chol said, pointing to what was left of a total of 500 seedlings of mango, avocado, guava, lemon and other goodies brought to the event.
As the scorching afternoon progressed and the interactive warm-up to the Game drew to a close, Juba Stadium kept filling up, with curious latecomers having to settle for the few remaining free spots on the perimeter wall.
After three weeks of five university teams grinding out results against each other, the time had come for the climactic main course: the final of the Inter University Football Peace Tournament, to be played between the University of Juba and the Starford International University.
Expressing his appreciation of the “huge and diverse crowd” present at the stadium, David Shearer, in his pre-final remarks, stressed unity as the way forward.
“We are strongest when we are unified by our common values, regardless of whether we are women or men, or where in the world we are from, or what race, religion, tribe, sexual orientation, or age we are. That is, in the UN we recognize that our diversity is our strength.”
Paul Mayom Akech, Minister of Trade, Commerce and East African Development, the government’s guest of honour, also recognized the importance of joining hands and efforts.
“We are united for peace, and for making peace a reality for all. The government has been working hand in hand with the UN to achieve this in South Sudan, the region and in the whole world,” the minister said.
Now, there is a time for harmony and friendliness and there is a time for fierce competition, accompanied by Arabic, high-speed, constantly on-the-verge-of-ecstasy commentary, and at this juncture the latter took over.
Players of the University of Juba and the Starford International University went at each other, with gusto, from the get-go in a high-intensity, thrilling game.
Goal-scoring opportunities came fast and thick, as did the medical team on hand, to treat footballers having been flattened by opponents.
On one side of the pitch, the team of referees heeded heat-related (WHO?) advice and used two linesmen. Listening to their inner voices of common sense, for the most part the pair stayed glued to the half line as the fast-paced game flowed across the field. If, that is, they could hear anything at all as hyper enthusiastic, jumping, flag-waving, vuvuzela-hooting spectators produced an almightily loud soundtrack.
There was, however, no preventing the University of Juba from scoring one match-clinching goal against a Starford team which, for no lack of fighting spirit or trying, failed to deliver the net-rattling goods.
At the final whistle, the expected rejoicing did not happen. Instead, positive mayhem ensued, as hundreds of euphoric fans climbed a fence and invaded the pitch to celebrate with their footballing heroes.
There was jumping. There was dancing, grass-diving, cart-wheeling, singing, laughing, intense embracing of whoever happened to be nearest, and mad running about in all directions.
These were not your typical scenes of a university team winning against another. These were, without exaggeration, the kind of scenes that break out after winning the Champions League, or when a small country unexpectedly qualifies for the World Cup.
Therefore, these were also the poignant scenes of the release of long pent-up joy in a people sadly, unjustly, routinely and persistently starved of happiness.
“I have seen the devastation that war, hatred and cruelty can bring,” Mr. Shearer said before the game.
So, too, have the players and the multi-thousand-strong crowd at Juba Stadium. Not only that. They live it.
Photo: UNMISS / Eric Kanalstein
Registration BNR527K
Make / Model FORD D SERIES
Date of Liability 01 07 2014
Date of First Registration 10 12 1971
Year of Manufacture 1971
Cylinder Capacity (cc) Not Available
CO₂ Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type HEAVY OIL
Export Marker NO
Vehicle Status Licence Not Due
Vehicle Colour RED
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The OA-1E was a response to the 1963 "tri-service" specification for the Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft (LARA) for U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army. The LARA requirement was based on a perceived need for a new type of "jungle fighting" versatile light attack and observation aircraft. Existing military aircraft in the observation role, such as the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and Cessna O-2 Skymaster, were perceived as obsolescent, with too slow a speed and too small a load capacity for this flexible role.
A total of eleven proposals were submitted, among them were the Grumman Model 134R (a tandem-seat version of the already fielded U.S. Army's OV-1 Mohawk), the Convair Model 48 Charger, the Helio 1320, the Lockheed CL-760, a Martin design, and the North American/Rockwell NA-300. The LARA competition raged on until mid-1964, and it eventually spawned the successful OV-10 Bronco, which made its maiden flight in 1965 and eventually entered frontline service in Vietnam in 1968.
Douglas had proposed the D-885 design to the LARA competition, but had already been working on a concept for an armed military observation and attack aircraft, designed for battlefield surveillance and strike capabilities, in all weather conditions, day and night. This had been a private venture proposal, and USN and USMC approved it under the condition that it would be a cheap solution, being ready for front line tests in mid-1965 – much quicker than the OV-10, which also lacked the all-weather capability at that time.
Since time was pressing, the aircraft was based on the AD/A-1 Skyraider airframe and the program christened "Low Altitude Gunship and Obeservation System" (LAGOS). The resulting YOA-1E was based on the "Flying Dumptruck", the A-1E (AD-5) airframe with side-by-side seating and a spacious cockpit which had become necessary for the crew of three: a pilot, a co-pilot/navigator and an observer/gunman, combined with state-of-the-art sensor and weapon equipment plus the technical infrastructure for both.
The YOA-1E's special equipment included a relatively compact, turreted forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensor ball under the fuselage, combined with a laser target designator, a highly innovative feature at the time. The respective ‘Paveway’ series of laser-guided bombs had just been developed by Texas Instruments, starting in 1964, and the LAGOS YOA-1E had been one of the first operational aircraft that could illuminate and deploy laser-guided smart weapons. Other sensors included low-light cameras and an array of IR sensors that were installed in a bulged faring on port side. Several passive radar and IR warning sensors completed the package.
Tactically, the idea was to identify a ground target, lock onto it with the sensors and either mark the target with the laser for other aircraft that would deploy laser-guided ordnance, or circle around the target at maximum cannon range (which was outside of typical small arms fire) at an altitude of 6.000-8.000 feet and suppress or destroy the target with gun fire.
The OA-1E would not carry laser-guided bombs, though, since it lacked proper speed to deploy them effectively, and laser-guided missiles were still far beyond the horizon (the light AGM-114 Hellfire's development started in 1974, and the laser-guided AGM-65C Maverick would enter testing in 1978!).
But the agile and stable aircraft had other benefits: One special feature of the YOA-1E was a turreted, three-barreled 20 mm (.79 in) XM197 gun under the rear fuselage. This gatling gun, also a new development, originally for the AH-1 attack helicopter, was slaved to the FLIR aimpoint and could cover almost the complete lower hemisphere. Using a gun turret instead of fixed armament was expected to improve versatility, esp. against small, mobile targets and at very low altitude. The gun could also fire directly backwards, so that a limited rear defense was provided, too.
The XM197 was supplied from a massive magazine of 1.500 linked rounds that occupied much of the cabin’s rear, with a total capacity including feeder system of 1.600 rounds. This early XM 197 had a cyclic rate of fire of 650 RPM, at a muzzle velocity of 1.030 m/sec. This resulted in a potential constant fire of almost 3 min., even though standard practice was to fire the cannon in 30 to 50 round bursts, in order to save ammunition and to prevent overheating problems.
As a weight compensation measure, two of the A-1E’s original wing-mounted cannons were deleted, as well as the central underfuselage pylon which made way for the sensor/gun installation. The rest of the underwings hardpoints were retained, though, even though offensive ordnance was rarely carried.
In the course of the LAGOS program a total of four A-1E aircraft were modified, and three of them outfited for field testing of equipment and tactics. All of these machines were ready for service in late 1966. The operational trio was immediately transferred to East Asia in order to support the USMC troops, which had been sent to the Vietnam war theatre since March.
The three operational YOA-1Es were attached to the US Navy’s VA-33, 'Ironhides'. This was a short-lived Attack Squadron, originally based at Naval Station Sangley Point, Philippines, but deployed to Cam Ranh Air Base. There, the Skyraider squadron flew missions next to VAH-21 'Roadrunners', another special unit that operated four highly modfied AP-2H night surveillance and attack versions of the Lockheed P-2 Neptune aircraft. VAH-21 also had a field test task, because the squadron carried out night interdiction and electronic surveillance missions, as part of the USN’s Project TRIM (Trails Roads Interdiction Multi-Sensor).
Flying covert operations, the YOA-1E trio helped a lot in technical development, and the front line test revealed several flaws and problems of the overall concept. Primarily, the early FLIR and laser designator were not reliable under the humid climate of Vietnam.
The XM 197 cannon was troublesome, too. The gun itself worked well, but the ammunition feeding system was prone to jamming – a flaw that kept haunting later, helicopter-mounted variants, too. Anyway, the massive firepower earned the YOA-1E the nickname “The Ewer” and the gun turret turned out to be highly effective.
The OA-1Es even scored a single, documented air victory: an unsuspecting Vietnamese MiG-17PF night fighter was shot down with the XM197 in early 1970, when VA-33's OA-1E ‘01’, 'Pluto', dodged a surprise attack from behind and the gunner instinctively opened defensive fire - not an aimed counterattack, but neverthless successful!
The three OA-1Es were frequently deployed in a wide range of tasks and missions. These started in 1967 with reconnaissance missions at night, but with more and more experience withz the machines, their capabilities and their maintenance, a multitude of assignments were tried and accomplished.
One very successful role was the OA-1E’s use as mini gunships during “Sandy” (pilot recovery) missions, in which they escorted CH-53 rescue helicopters, suppressed enemy fire or supported other escorting A-1s, guiding them to hidden targets.
The LAGOS Skyraiders were also tested in pathfinder missions for faster aircraft, which would deploy their laser-guided Paveway bombs in a more effective fashion from a safe distance and from higher altitudes.
Another field in which the OA-1Es helped to gather tactical information for the later OV-10 was FAC duty. The Skyraider’s high loitering time proved to be very valuable, as well as its rigidity and its sophisticated sensor array.
Furthermore, the three Ewers accomplished aerial radiological reconnaissance, tactical air observation, artillery and naval gunfire spotting, airborne control of tactical air support operations as well as front line, low-level aerial photography. One of the machines (‘03’, 'Journey's End') was even provisionally modified to lay smoke screens, and it was extremely successful.
The aircraft was kept in service by its evaluators for several months and only reluctantly released. The smoke screen system did not catch on, though, due to a perceived lack of missions.
Racked armament in the Vietnam War was usually light. Beyond drop tanks to extend loitering time, typical loads were seven- and nineteen-shot 2.75 in (70 mm) LAU rocket pods with white phosphorus marker rounds or high-explosive rockets or 5” (127 mm) four-shot Zuni rocket pods. Bombs, ADSIDS air-delivered seismic sensors, Mk-6 battlefield illumination flares, and other stores were carried as well.
But the heavy equipment load and the XM197’s ammunition (the rounds themselves weighed more than 3.500 lb (1.600 kg)!) naturally limited the external ordnance stores’ volume and made the aircraft rather sluggish.
The LAGOS OA-1E proved to be too heavy and limited for a COIN aircraft, even though it was popular among the crews and basically performed well. The Skyraider airframe could take a lot of punishment and still make it home, and the low speed/low altitude handling was very good, despite the ponderous special equipment. But the aircraft could only be safely deployed in total air superiority conditions, and in the end the modern technology could not make up the old airframe’s weaknesses.
Consequently, the field tests were stopped in late 1970, the three machines taken back to the US and Douglas and further development of the LAGOS concept was halted, even though the insights were transferred to other developments like the OV-10D NOGS for the USMC and the AC-130 gunships for the USAF.
General characteristics:
Crew: Three
Length: 38 ft 10 in (11.84 m)
Wingspan: 50 ft 0¼ in (15.25 m)
Height: 15 ft 8¼ in (4.78 m)
Wing area: 400.3 ft² (37.19 m²)
Empty weight: 11,968 lb (5,429 kg)
Loaded weight: 18,106 lb (8,213 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 25,000 lb (11,340 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Wright R-3350-26WA radial engine, 2,700 hp (2,000 kW)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 322 mph (280 kn, 518 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
Cruise speed: 198 mph (172 kn, 319 km/h)
Range: 1,316 mi (1,144 nmi, 2,115 km)
Service ceiling: 28,500 ft (8,685 m)
Rate of climb: 2,850 ft/min (14.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 45 lb/ft² (220 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (250 W/kg)
Armament:
2× M2 20mm (0.79 in) cannon in the wings
1× XM 197 20mm (0.79 in) cannon in a ventral turret
15 hardpoints for theoretically up to 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) of external ordnance, but rarely used due to the massive ammunition magazine of the XM 197
The kit and its assembly:
This has been on my whif agenda for long, and was initially inspired by the OV-10D NOGS project – a Bronco with night vision sensors and a turreted cannon under its belly. I wondered if this concept could not have been tested a few years earlier, during the Vietnam conflict? The technology underwent initial field tests at that time, e. g. in form of the AP-2H or the B-57G “Tropic Moon”. Gunships like the AC-47 or AC-119 were also a proven concept – so why not meld everything into a compact aircraft?
The A-1E seemed a good basis, with its spacious fuselage, and the basis for this modification is the Monogram kit from the late 60ies, in this case a Revell re-boxing.
The kit is rather simple and has some weak points, e.g. the crude landing gear and engine, or massive ejector pin markings under the stabilizer. I only changed what I deemed necessary, as this was to become a prototype on the basis of a stock A-1E. Hence, I only changed the interior layout with a massive box (the ammunition depot, actually a Revell Me 262 cockpit tub turned upseide down…) and a work station for the observer/gunner behind the pilots’ cabin with a seat and a screen.
The sensor and turret balls were scratched – these are actually shoulder joints from a Dorvack PA mecha kit, fitted in matching holes in the fuselage. As a side effect, the things can be moved and the shoulder fulcrum was used to mount the cannon, so that this became moveable, too. The space between the turrets was faired as good as possible.
On the hull, several antennae and bumps were added, and different main wheels (IIRC from an Italeri MiG-29!) were used. The flaps were lowered, too, for a more lively look. As ordnance, two drop tanks (smaller than those that come with the kit, from an Italeri BAe Hawk), a single pair of LAU rocket launchers on the outer wing stations (from an Italeri A-4M, IIRC) and two first generation ECM pods (an ALQ-81 and ALQ-101, from a Hasegawa aircraft weapon set) were added.
Painting and markings:
The wrap-around paint scheme was another important factor to build this whif kit - it looks pretty cool and popped up several times in the late 60ies and the 70ies, e. g. on the USMC’s OV-10D prototypes, and on the US Navy’s AP-2Hs from VAH-21 in Vietnam.
The scheme was, AFAIK, made from three grey tones: FS 36118 (Gunship Grey), FS 36231 (Dark Gull Grey) and FS 36440 (Light Gull Grey), and these colors were prone to weathering and bleaching under the tropical East Asia climate, so that the Light Gull Grey appears almost like white. This was simulated with some black ink wash and dry-brushing all over the hull.
The interior was painted in Neutral Grey (FS 36173), while the landing gear was kept all-white.
The decals were puzzled together, but mostly from the Revell kit's decal sheet that offers a USAF machine and two USN machines, a blue and a grey one.
IMHO, the result was worth the effort - the paint scheme looks very good on the bulky Skyraider, and the changes with the weapon/sensor gondola is rather subtle, it's only obvious at second glance and it IMHO even looks plausible in this position and arrangement?
"In loving memory of Thomas husband of Emma Thompson of Airedale, Linthorpe died March 19th 1948 aged 84 years. Also the above Emma died August 2nd 1950 aged 86 years. Also Tom eldest son of the above of Cleveden, Linthorpe died September 17th 1911 aged 20 years."
Thomas Thompson Snr was a native of Hartlepool and a cinema proprietor.
from www,bugandflea.com
"Cinemas
In any consideration of Thompson’s career it is important to look at the cinemas he had in his base of Middlesbrough. His acquisition or construction of cinemas in Middlesbrough having started in 1908 with the Cleveland Hall, continued both in the town and its surroundings through to and beyond the sale of the bulk of his venues in 1928. Thompson was also involved in the purchase of three more rural venues just outside Middlesbrough, two with local managers.
Thompson’s commercial activity in 1910 shows just how quickly he had made a success of the Cleveland Hall. In February 1910 he bought the Hippodrome in Wilson Street, Middlesbrough. The Hippodrome had only been opened as a theatre in 1908 at a cost of £23,000 but had only lasted for eighteen months before being in serious financial difficulties. The cost of purchase as stated by Thompson4 was £13,000, around £800,000 in modern money. Given that he had started from nothing in 1908, it is remarkable that within two years he could buy the freehold of the Cleveland Hall and now buy the Hippodrome. Of course we do not know how much, if anything, he had to borrow but obviously if he needed to borrow he was regarded as a good risk. Compared with the cost of construction, he acquired the Hippodrome at a knockdown price. Since he wrote his diary entry on the day the Hippodrome reopened, the “cost” is most likely to include significant extra expenditure to comply with the new stringent safety requirements recently imposed under the Cinematograph Act 1908 which required, inter alia, sealed projection booths and extra exits because of the flammable and unstable nature of nitrate film stock. The Hippodrome had a seating capacity of 3,000, which was particularly high for the time. Indeed there were only one hundred and fifty cinemas in the country at the time with a capacity of over 2,000.
An article in the North-Eastern Daily Gazette on the day of the Hippodrome’s opening describes its construction and fit out:
Externally it is a building of brick, faced with buff terracotta, handsomely carved. The entrance is sheltered by a porch of glass. One great advantage possessed by the hall lies in the fact that waiting rooms have been provided for gathering audiences for every part of the house … … … The whole hall has a light and cheerful appearance, and general admiration is expressed at the effective plastic decorations which have been done in the style of Louis XV., in gold, white, and cream, relieved with grey and blue. 6
It was the complete opposite of the Cleveland Hall with its benches and bare boards and while both were located in the centre of Middlesbrough, albeit near to different areas of housing, they were clearly designed to appeal to very different audiences. Further differentiation is shown from the fact that the musical accompaniment at the Cleveland Hall was provided by a pianist while the Hippodrome came with a full-time eighteen piece orchestra.
The low-cost no-frills formula obviously appealed to those who could afford nothing better, but because they were from the poorest parts of Middlesbrough society with associated bad housing and sanitary conditions it is, perhaps, no surprise that the Cleveland Hall became affectionately known as “the Bug and Flea”.
Thompson’s next project was the building of Middlesbrough’s first purpose-built cinema, the Pavilion Picture Palace. It was opened in July 1913. It followed Thompson’s plan to bring cinemas to the people, but long-term was not his biggest success among the local population, largely because it was pretty much a rectangular box, with a capacity of 900, built before the bravery and confidence in the industry allowed it to create extravagant and plush surroundings.
In terms of acquisitions or disposals in Middlesbrough, Thompson appears to have been content with his dominant market position for the next few years, or perhaps was simply accepting the grim economic situation of the time. However in 1924 he bought the Grand Opera House and installed his surviving son, Billy, as manager. It dated from the early 1900s and had been built at a cost of £38,000 (some £2.3m in modern money) indicating its size and lavish fit out. It was a large venue and even though it had a cinematographic licence in 1914, it provided a programme of mainly opera and theatre before its sale. That does not seem to have been enough for financial success.
A factor in its failure may well have been the economic depression and so for the same reason it was brave of Thompson to take on another venue at that time, but he must have seen the price as a bargain and have known his local market so well that he knew what he was doing.
In view of the depression it is perhaps even more surprising that only a year later he went on to buy the Theatre Royal, also in difficulties, bringing the number of venues he owned in Middlesbrough up to five, out of a total of eleven cinemas in the town, some of which were very small or not permanent. He was truly the dominant exhibitor.
Although he sold all five of his Middlesbrough cinemas to Denman in 1928, he had already started the construction of a new venue in Middlesbrough before the sale had been completed. The Palladium was to be a new 780 seat cinema set in a parade of shops in a major new expansion of 700 homes to the south of Middlesbrough to be known as Grove Hill. Once again Thompson was taking cinema to the people and in this case he may even have got there before them. It was also the first of his cinemas to have on-site car parking, It is not known whether Thompson always wanted to keep this venue or whether Denman simply did not want to be involved in a construction project already started, given that they were probably taking on enough in acquiring so many cinemas in such a short time. The Palladium was only a short drive from Thompson’s home so maybe that played a part in its retention.
Programmes
No look at Thompson’s different sites within Middlesbrough would be complete without a look at what the programmes offered to the public. Information on what was shown at his cinemas, or what else they were used for, is sketchy but some information is available from newspaper advertisements and reviews.
Advert for the first show at Cleveland Hall
The advertisement for the first show at the Cleveland Hall shows what was on offer:
The following week what must have been an amazing spectacle and novelty for the audience was “FOOTBALL FINAL FOR ASSOCIATION CUP Newcastle United v Wolves. At the Crystal Palace, 25th April 1908”.
Apart from occasional early advertisements, it seems that Thompson relied solely on word of mouth or repeat business for the Cleveland Hall so we have no insight into what was shown there. Contemporary accounts confirm that the cinema was always busy and had a loyal clientele who could probably not afford to go to a more expensive location. For a venue such as the Cleveland Hall at that time one would have expected the programme to be continuous10, but the advertisement shows that two programmes a night were on offer at the start. This was very unusual as, at the time, films were never more than a few minutes long and profits were made by, say, showing the same one hour programme up to eight times a day and charging 2d to 3d for tickets. However as we have seen, in the early days Thompson just needed customers, so may have felt that a two show programme with fixed start times would be the most appealing to his target audience. We know that the Cleveland Hall was quickly a success and also that in January 1909 he was still offering two shows a night, so it looks as though it was more than an initial practice.Two shows a night became the norm in the industry as films became longer and it is once again clear that by 1922 Thompson was definitely operating on such as basis with matinees on Monday and Saturday at the Cleveland Hall.
We do not know if, in the early days, he showed the same films at more than one of his venues in Middlesbrough either at the same time or consecutively. As a good businessman he knew one of the advantages of having a number of venues was the ability to share films, to make the most of the rental paid. It may particularly have helped in the early days in Middlesbrough, when he just owned the Cleveland Hall and the Hippodrome. Although the prices at the Cleveland Hall were lower than at the Hippodrome, given the different facilities there would have been little likelihood of its customers being attracted by the lower prices at the “Bug and Flea”.
The Hippodrome, or “Hip” as it was popularly known, provided a more up-market show combining variety with films. However with its huge capacity it had to attract a wide audience and according to the reminiscences of one of Thompson’s employees, there were always queues to get in.
Film, variety and theatre were not the only uses for cinema buildings. Thompson was an active Liberal so it is no surprise that he should offer the use of the big capacity Hippodrome to Lloyd George for a public meeting to be held on the weekend of 7th – 9th November 1913.
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 10th November 1913 - Reproduced with the kind permission of the Evening Gazette (Gazette Media Company) Middlesbrough
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 10th November 1913 – Reproduced with the kind permission of the Evening Gazette (Gazette Media Company) Middlesbrough
We have already seen that the Pavilion Picture Palace was a basic venue. It is therefore revealing to note the similarity in films offered between it and the more up-market Hippodrome. The What Happened to Mary? series was being shown at the Hippodrome in September 191315 and only three months later a linked series, Who Will Marry Mary? was on show at the Pavilion Picture Palace.16 It is interesting to see what the accompanying programme was at each venue, in case this enables us to differentiate between the venues and their audiences. The Hippodrome offered “Edna Latonne, the popular dashing male impersonator” and “Harry Edson, with his droll musical dog comedian, ‘Doc.’” The Pavilion had “The 9 Quicks, in exquisite singing, harmony, and dancing”. Perhaps unsurprisingly these could probably both be described as music hall entertainment aimed at similar audiences.
The suspected link between what was shown at Thompson’s Middlesbrough cinemas is proved in January 1920 with the Hippodrome showing When Woman Wars, and Hell Morgan’s Girl on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Fight for Millions and Arizona on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. At the Pavilion the programme was the same except that the films were shown in the opposite order.19 The films were being shown at two venues a night and Thompson was clearly maximising the use of films rented for the week. There is every likelihood that he also did this with his other venues.
Being the leading local exhibitor, it is not surprising that Thompson could secure the best or most popular films. 28th August 1916 saw the Hippodrome showing what was a most significant film in a number of ways.The Battle of the Somme (1916) is widely credited with starting a change in the class profile of cinema audiences. Up to two thirds of the population of the country are said to have seen the film and for many of the middle class it was the first time they had been to the cinema. Looking at the papers of the day it is easy to see why. For months every paper had daily news from the Somme. In Middlesbrough, Thompson advertised it enthusiastically:
• “An exact depiction of the greatest battle in the history of the world”
• “Absolutely the Greatest War Picture Ever Shown”
While it did include re-enacted scenes, it was largely real soldiers and action that was shown, so people saw this as an opportunity to find out what their family members, loved ones and friends were experiencing. While there had been film of the Boer War, that had been almost exclusively re-enacted, but this claimed to be, and largely was, the real thing.
The local paper was both patriotic and effusive in its coverage of the film.
In the pictures of the British participation in the battle of the Somme, part one opens with the preparatory action, and very soon we were watching the scenes at Bray ….
The handling of the ammunition is shown in practically all its forms, and the vast supplies indicate how tremendous has been the response of the munitions workers to the appeals of our brave lads at the front.
Having experienced cinema, the middle class gradually made up an increasing proportion of audiences nationally and there is no reason why the same would not have happened in Middlesbrough. We know that the film was popular there because it was back again at the Hippodrome in the middle of October.21
Thompson’s bravery in taking on two big new venues in Middlesbrough, the Grand Opera House and the Theatre Royal, at the height of the depression has already been mentioned but he may have regarded them as being opportunities he could not refuse, and having twenty five cinemas already he must have had a good idea what venues would work in what locations and what programmes they should offer. Presumably also these venues appealed to people slightly further up the social ladder, now making up an increasing proportion of the audience, rather than to those most directly affected by the depression.
Shortly after its acquisition by Thompson, the Grand Opera House’s programme still consisted substantially of plays and light and classical opera but now included films.22 While there is little information on what films were shown there, advertisements for their theatrical shows reveal that the programme included serious plays and comedies but none of the “turns” popular at the other venues.
Management
Being a pioneer, Thompson had no model of management to follow but he obviously learnt a lot very quickly. Initially at the Cleveland Hall he simply used a black bag as the “box office” and the show was delivered by a hand-cranked projector, sometimes operated by himself, with accompaniment from a piano.23 He later recalled the early difficulties:
I did not make any money out of the place for the first 13 weeks and I can remember how, after each performance, I used to go in front of the screen and ask those present if they enjoyed themselves – if so to send their friends along.24
The flammability of the nitrate stock used at the time meant that fires were not an uncommon event. Thompson’s own diary records in 1908 “Film fired at Cleveland Hall, Mbro’ Audience stampeded”.25 The local paper gave a fuller account and mentioned that the audience could make a rapid exit because of the wide staircase.26 This safety advantage of the hall was in many other ways a disadvantage, as there were thirty-nine steps to climb to enter the building. It was therefore at the bottom of the stairs that Thompson attracted his audience. Reminiscing in the local paper years later he recalled how “helpful” the fire had been.
It was a fire I had shortly after I had opened that marked the turning point in the success of my venture….Remarkably enough, from then onwards the hall became very popular…27
However there was a serious side to the ever-present risk of fire. A description of the purpose-built Pavilion in 1913 made it clear that safety was a serious issue:
Adequate arrangements have been made for dealing with fire, and there are eight exits.28
An interview with “Mrs D”, who had worked for Thompson, is useful in that it provides some information about how Thompson ran his circuit:
We got films from a distributor in Newcastle, that was full of distributors, and then we would book them out to all these little places with a variety act.29
Another essential management issue was the cost of entry. Charges will have reflected, inter alia, the programme on offer, the facilities of the venue, its location, its size and staff costs. The earliest date that we can compare the costs charged at Thompson’s Middlesbrough sites is 1926.30 The cheapest seats at the Cleveland Hall, the Hippodrome, the Pavilion Picture Palace, the Grand Opera House and the Theatre Royal were, respectively, 3d, 4d, 3d, 4d and 3d. If one considers the likely differences between the facilities and comfort of the venues, one might have expected a bigger price differentiation. Were the cheapest parts of the Theatre Royal really not worth more than the cheapest, probably standing space in the “Bug and Flea” (the Cleveland Hall)? A more marked, but not unexpected, difference was with the most expensive seats, where the rates were respectively, 6d, 1s 3d, 9d, 1s 8d and 1s 6d. There simply was not the variety of seats available at the Cleveland Hall and the Pavilion Picture Palace as there was at the other cinemas with their balconies and boxes. Presumably the theatrical kudos and more up-market programmes attaching to the Grand Opera House and the Theatre Royal explains the highest prices at those venues.
Footnotes
Robert Carson, A Short History of Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough: Middlesbrough Borough Council, 1977). ↩
Lady Bell, “At the Works (1907)” quoted in Robert Carson, A Short History of Middlesbrough, p. 43. ↩
J W Saunders, Cinema in Middlesbrough, p. 4. ↩
Thomas Thompson’s Diary entry for Monday 5th December 1910. ↩
Nick Hiley, ‘Let’s go to the pictures’, p. 41. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 17th August 1908, p. 3. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 1st April 1924, p. 4. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 6 May 1908, p. 2 ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 11th May 1908, p. 2. ↩
Nick Hiley, “ ‘At the Picture Palace’: The British Cinema Audience, 1895-1920”, from John Fullerton, ed., Celebrating 1895 (London: John Libbey, 1998) pp. 98-99. ↩
Nick Hiley, “The British Cinema Auditorium”, p. 166. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 21st January 1909, p. 2. ↩
Ann Pyle, Cinema in Middlesbrough, p 116. ↩
Given Thompson’s support for the Liberals it seems inevitable that he would have met Lloyd-George on this occasion, at least. This gives credence to family recollection that Lloyd-George offered Thompson an earldom, a famous way of Lloyd-George raising money, but that Thompson declined to pay the required sum of £10,000. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 20th September 1913, p. 4. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 22nd December 1913, p.4. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 20th September 1913, p. 4. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 22nd December 1913, p. 4. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 6th January 1920, p. 4. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 28th August 1916, p. 1. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 14th October 1916, p. 4. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 3rd June 1924, p. 5. ↩
J W Saunders Cinema in Middlesbrough, p. 4. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 7th April 1920. ↩
Thomas Thompson’s Diary entry for Tuesday 14th July 1908. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 15th July 1908, p. 5. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 7th April 1920. ↩
North-Eastern Daily Gazette, 4th March 1913, p. 5. ↩
Ann Pyle, Cinema in Middlesbrough, p 115. ↩
For the Pavilion the nearest figures are for 1921. These are used, as prices in the depressed 1920s were unlikely to have changed or if they did, the cheapest seats might have gone down in price following the removal of Entertainment Tax on seats under 6d in 1924. "