I takes a special kind of stupid to continue putting your unwanted tat here when clearly the charity bins aren't being emptied. So much for Great British Common Sense.

Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 136. Collection: Alina Deaconu.

 

Geneviève Bujold (1942) is a Canadian actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award in 1970 for her leading role as Anna Boleyn in the historical drama film Anne of the Thousand Days (1969). She has played roles in more than fifty films and played both English- and French-speaking characters. Her other films include The Trojan Women (1971), Earthquake (1974), Obsession (1976), Coma (1978), and Dead Ringers (1988).

 

Geneviève Bujold was born in 1942 in Montreal in Canada. She was the daughter of Laurette (née Cavanagh), a maid, and Joseph Firmin Bujold, a bus driver. After twelve years of strict education in a Catholic convent, she attended the Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal. Her acting training was classically French. She first rose to prominence in French-language cinema in the 1960s. Her Canadian feature film debut was in the psychological horro-fantasy Amanita Pestilens (René Bonnière, 1963). She appeared in several films by Canadian director and cinematographer Michel Brault, a founder of cinéma vérité. In France, she made two films: Philippe de Broca's Le Roi de cœur/King of Hearts (1966), with Alan Bates, and Louis Malle's crime film Le voleur/The Thief of Paris (1967), with Jean-Paul Belmondo. Bujold won the Prix Suzanne as the Discovery of the Year and Elle magazine called her "The Girl of the Day". Despite having established herself in France, however, she returned to Canada. In 1967, Bujold married the eleven years older director Paul Almond and they had a son, Matt Almond. Matt now also works in the film world, but mainly behind the scenes. Bujold was directed several times by her husband in such films as Isabel (1968), Act of the Heart (1970) and Journey (1972). After their divorce in 1973, she continued to play in his films, such as Final Assignment (1980) and The Dance Goes On (1992). Bujold gave birth to her second son in 1980 with her new partner Dennis Hastings.

 

Geneviève Bujold earned a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination for the title role of Anne Boleyn in the British production Anne of the Thousand Days (Charles Jarrott, 1969), with Richard Burton. Producer Hal B. Wallis cast her after seeing her in Isabel. In 1971, she was sued by the studio for US$450,000 in damages after she withdrew her commitment to play in Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (Charles Jarrott, 1971). Instead, she played the role of Cassandra, a Greek prophet, in Michael Cacoyannis's film version of The Trojan Women (1971), opposite Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, and Irene Papas. She settled the lawsuit with Universal, agreeing to a three-picture film contract starting with the disaster film Earthquake (Mark Robson, 1974), starring with Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner. The film is notable for the use of an innovative sound effect called Sensurround, which created the sense of actually experiencing an earthquake in theatres. A year later, Philippe de Broca cast her alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo and Capucine in the comedy L'incorrigible/The Incorrigible (Philippe de Broca, 1975). In 1976 she appeared in Brian De Palma's thriller Obsession opposite Cliff Robertson and alongside Jack Lemmon in Love and Other Crimes. In 1977 she starred in the French Western Un autre homme, une autre chance/Another Man - Another Woman (Claude Lelouch, 1977) with James Caan. She played classic female title roles of stage literature in theatre productions recorded for television, such as Saint Joan in George Bernard Shaw's play of the same name for NBC in 1967, Antigone in Jean Anouilh's adaptation of the Greek tragedy on Broadway in 1974 and Cleopatra in Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra in 1976.

 

Geneviève Bujold attracted attention when she became one of the first women to play a leading role in an action film in the medical thriller Coma (Michael Crichton, 1978), which was a box office hit. Murder by Decree (1979) was a Canadian Sherlock Holmes adaptation starring Christopher Plummer as Holmes and James Mason as Dr. Watson. Bujold appeared alongside Clint Eastwood in the Neo-noir slasher Tightrope (1984) produced by Clint Eastwood and written and directed by Richard Tuggle. She also starred in ambitious independent films including three films by Alan Rudolph, Choose Me (1984), Trouble in Mind (1985) and The Moderns (1988). That year, Bujold also starred in David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers (1988) opposite Jeremy Irons. In the mid-1990s, she left the US TV production Star Trek: Voyager after only a few days of shooting, leaving the leading role to Kate Mulgrew. In the new century, she played a supporting role alongside Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd in Eye of the Beholder (Stephan Elliott, 2000), the US remake of the French thriller Mortelle Randonnée/Deadly Circuit (Claude Miller, 1983) with Michel Serrault and Isabelle Adjani. Another supporting role followed in the Canadian romantic drama La Turbulence des fluides/Chaos and Desire (Manon Briand, 2002) with Pascale Bussières. In 2006 she starred in the Canadian drama Délivrez-moi/Deliver Me (Denis Chouinard, 2006) alongside Céline Bonnier. More recently, Bujold played a woman battling dementia in the sleeper romantic drama Still Mine (Michael McGowan, 2012) with James Cromwell. The Washington Post called her performance "superb" and "remarkably detailed".

 

Sources: Wikipedia (German, Dutch and English), and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

The breeding range includes northwest Africa, most of Europe and extends eastwards across temperate Asia to the Angara River and the southern end of Lake Baikal in Siberia. There are also a number of distinctive subspecies on the Azores, the Canary Islands and the Madeira Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The chaffinch was introduced from Britain into several of its overseas territories in the 19th century. In New Zealand the chaffinch has colonised both the North and South Islands.

Includes teams from Estelline/Hendricks, Chamberlain, Milbank Area, Wall/Kadoka Area/Philip and Sisseton. Permission granted for journalism outlets and educational purposes. Not for commercial use. Must be credited. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

©2021 SDPB

 

Includes teams from Deuel, Hot Springs, Madison, Parkston/Ethan/Hanson/Mt. Vernon. Permission granted for journalism outlets and educational purposes. Not for commercial use. Must be credited. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

©2021 SDPB

 

 

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The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and is known for land speed records at the Bonneville Speedway. Access to the Flats is open to the public.

 

The Flats are about 12 miles (19 km) long and 5 miles (8 km) wide, with a crust almost 5 ft (1.5m) thick at the center and less than one inch (2.5 cm) towards the edges. It is estimated to hold 147 million tons of salt, approximately 90% of which is common table salt.

 

Geologist Grove Karl Gilbert named the area after Benjamin Bonneville, a U.S. Army officer who explored the Intermountain West in the 1830s. In 1907, Bill Rishel and two local businessmen tested the suitability of the salt for driving by taking a Pierce-Arrow onto its surface.

 

A railway line across the Flats was completed in 1910, marking the first permanent crossing. The first land speed record was set there in 1914 by Teddy Tetzlaff.

 

Entertainment filmed at the Flats include portions of Walking with Dinosaurs Special - The Ballad of Big Al, Knight Rider, Warlock, Independence Day (1996) and its sequel, SLC Punk, Cremaster 2 from Cremaster Cycle, The Brown Bunny, The World's Fastest Indian, Gerry, The Tree of Life, Top Gear and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Furthermore, the Pontiac Bonneville (former flagship sedan of the Pontiac motor division), the Triumph Bonneville motorcycle, and the Bonneville International media company are all named for the Flats.

 

The Bonneville Salt Flats hosts the annual US Flight Archery Championships. The goal of flight archery is to shoot arrows from bows at the greatest distance possible without regard to hitting a target, and so the vast flat plane of the flats serves as an ideal location to measure the linear distance traveled by arrows without geographic interference. Both the 1977 (archer Don Brown) and 1982 (archer Alan Webster) world records were set there; while the current world record, achieved in 1987 (archer Don Brown), was set at the salt flats near Smith Creek, Nevada.

 

The thickness of salt crust is a critical factor in racing use of the salt flats. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has undertaken multiple studies on the topic; while a 2007 study determined that there was little change in the crust's thickness from 1988 to 2003, more recent studies have shown a reduction in thickness, especially in the northwest area where racing occurs. The flats' overall area has contracted significantly over the past several decades. The cause or causes of this remain unclear, but many believe adjacent evaporative potash mining is the primary factor.

 

Collaboration between racing organizations, the potash mine, and the BLM led to a pilot program begun in 1998 to release excess brine onto the salt flats during winter. Plans to increase the volume of brine returned to the salt flats are hoped to halt loss of crust thickness, or possibly restore it where it has become too thin to sustain human use.

 

Motorcar racing has taken place at the salt flats since 1914. Racing takes place at part of the Bonneville Salt Flats known as the Bonneville Speedway. There are five major land speed events that take place at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Bonneville "Speed Week" takes place mid-August followed by "World of Speed" in September and the "World Finals" take place early October.

 

These three events welcome cars, trucks, and motorcycles. The "Bub Motorcycle Speed Trials" are for motorcycles only. World records are contested at the Mike Cook ShootOut in September. The Southern California Timing Association and the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association organizes and plans the multi-vehicle events, but all event promoters contribute to prepping and maintaining the salt. "Speed Week" events in August were canceled in 2015 and 2022, due to the poor condition of the salt in certain parts of the flats. The salt flats had been swamped by heavy rains earlier in the year, as usual, but this year the rains also triggered mudslides from surrounding mountains onto a section of the flats used for the land-speed racing courses.

 

Bonneville Speedway (also known as the Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track) is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats northeast of Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed records. The Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

The salt flats were first used for motor sports in 1912, but did not become truly popular until the 1930s when Ab Jenkins and Sir Malcolm Campbell competed to set land speed records.

 

A reduction of available racing surface and salt thickness has led to the cancellation of events at Bonneville, such as Speed Week in 2014 and 2015. Available racing surface is much reduced with just 2.5 miles (4.0 km) available instead of the 9-mile (14 km) courses traditionally used for Speed Week.

 

Historically, the speedway was marked out by the Utah Department of Transportation at the start of each summer. Originally, two tracks were prepared; a 10-mile (16 km) long straightaway for speed trials and an oval or circular track for distance runs, which was typically between 10 and 12 miles (16 and 19 km) long depending on the condition of the salt surface.

 

Since at least the 1990s, track preparations have been the responsibility of the event organizers. Days or weeks in advance, the track preparers identify an area best suited for their track layouts and begin grading the tracks. Surveyors are brought in to survey the timing trap distances. A day before racing begins, the track markers are added.

 

Originally, the straightaway was marked with a broad black line down its center. This was eventually changed to lines down either side, as the center line wore out too quickly. As the costs for painting the lines has gone up, organizations have switched to flags and cones as track markers. The last event to use black lines was Speed Week, August 2009.

 

The number of tracks and the timed sections for each track are set according to what is most beneficial for each event. Large public meets such as Speed Week run as many as four tracks with several timed miles, usually starting with the second mile and running to the fifth mile. Smaller meets that typically only run world record attempts will utilize a single track, with one timed mile and one timed kilometer in the middle of the track. Additional marks and cones indicate the end of the track and the position of timing equipment.

 

The annual Speed Week was cancelled in both 2014 and 2015, as were many land-speed racing events, due to deteriorating track conditions. Heavy rains caused a layer of mud from surrounding mountains to flow onto the flats, covering approximately 6 mi (9.7 km) of the track. Although another section of the flats would normally be used, nearby salt mining operations had reduced the size of the alternative track.

 

The depth of the salt crust at Bonneville has also been decreasing, possibly leaching into a saltwater aquifer. Measured at as much at 3 ft (0.91 m) in the 1940s and 50s, it has been reduced to just 2 in (0.051 m) in 2015.

 

Though recent studies have been made (since 1960), the causes of this deterioration are not clear, although the evidence points toward both local climatic changes and salt mining. Some strategies were devised to revert the decreasing salt surface, such as pumping back salt, though this had no effect.

 

In August, the Southern California Timing Association and Bonneville Nationals Inc. organize Speed Week, the largest meet of the year, which attracts several hundred drivers who compete to set highest speed in a range of categories. Bonneville Speed Week has been taking place since 1949.

 

In late August, the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials are held.

 

In September each year is the World of Speed, (similar to Speed Week) organized by the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association. The USFRA also meet on the first Wednesday of each month throughout the summer.

 

In October, the Southern California Timing Association puts on World Finals, a scaled-down version of Speed Week. This event tends to have cooler weather and often drier salt that Speed Week the prior month. There are less spectators and it tends to draw serious racers, as this event is the last chance to break a land speed record and be in the SCTA record book for that year.

 

Each year, there are usually a few private meets that are not publicized scattered among the larger public meets.

 

Several motor-paced racing speed records have been attempted at Bonneville.

 

In 1985, American cyclist John Howard set a then world record of 244 km/h (152 mph).

 

On 15 October 1995, Dutch cyclist Fred Rompelberg achieved 268.831 km/h (167.044 mph), using a special bicycle behind a dragster with a large shield.

 

In 2016, Denise Mueller-Korenek claimed a women's bicycle land speed record at 147 mph (237 km/h). She was coached by Howard. It is not clear which authority was supervising the record attempt.

 

In 2018, Mueller-Korenek broke her own women's record and the men's record at a speed of 183.9 miles per hour (296.0 km/h).

 

In popular culture

In the 2003 film The Brown Bunny, Bud Clay races his motorcycle at the speedway.

In the 2005 film The World's Fastest Indian, Burt Munro and his highly modified Indian Scout motorcycle sets a world record.

In the 2015 series finale episode of Mad Men, Donald Draper drives a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS muscle car in the races at Bonneville Speedway.

 

Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders Colorado to its east, Wyoming to its northeast, Idaho to its north, Arizona to its south, and Nevada to its west. Utah also touches a corner of New Mexico in the southeast. Of the fifty U.S. states, Utah is the 13th-largest by area; with a population over three million, it is the 30th-most-populous and 11th-least-densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two areas: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which is home to roughly two-thirds of the population and includes the capital city, Salt Lake City; and Washington County in the southwest, with more than 180,000 residents. Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin.

 

Utah has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups such as the ancient Puebloans, Navajo, and Ute. The Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive in the mid-16th century, though the region's difficult geography and harsh climate made it a peripheral part of New Spain and later Mexico. Even while it was Mexican territory, many of Utah's earliest settlers were American, particularly Mormons fleeing marginalization and persecution from the United States via the Mormon Trail. Following the Mexican–American War in 1848, the region was annexed by the U.S., becoming part of the Utah Territory, which included what is now Colorado and Nevada. Disputes between the dominant Mormon community and the federal government delayed Utah's admission as a state; only after the outlawing of polygamy was it admitted in 1896 as the 45th.

 

People from Utah are known as Utahns. Slightly over half of all Utahns are Mormons, the vast majority of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which has its world headquarters in Salt Lake City; Utah is the only state where a majority of the population belongs to a single church. A 2023 paper challenged this perception (claiming only 42% of Utahns are Mormons) however most statistics still show a majority of Utah residents belong to the LDS church; estimates from the LDS church suggests 60.68% of Utah's population belongs to the church whilst some sources put the number as high as 68%. The paper replied that membership count done by the LDS Church is too high for several reasons. The LDS Church greatly influences Utahn culture, politics, and daily life, though since the 1990s the state has become more religiously diverse as well as secular.

 

Utah has a highly diversified economy, with major sectors including transportation, education, information technology and research, government services, mining, multi-level marketing, and tourism. Utah has been one of the fastest growing states since 2000, with the 2020 U.S. census confirming the fastest population growth in the nation since 2010. St. George was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States from 2000 to 2005. Utah ranks among the overall best states in metrics such as healthcare, governance, education, and infrastructure. It has the 12th-highest median average income and the least income inequality of any U.S. state. Over time and influenced by climate change, droughts in Utah have been increasing in frequency and severity, putting a further strain on Utah's water security and impacting the state's economy.

 

The History of Utah is an examination of the human history and social activity within the state of Utah located in the western United States.

 

Archaeological evidence dates the earliest habitation of humans in Utah to about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Paleolithic people lived near the Great Basin's swamps and marshes, which had an abundance of fish, birds, and small game animals. Big game, including bison, mammoths and ground sloths, also were attracted to these water sources. Over the centuries, the mega-fauna died, this population was replaced by the Desert Archaic people, who sheltered in caves near the Great Salt Lake. Relying more on gathering than the previous Utah residents, their diet was mainly composed of cattails and other salt tolerant plants such as pickleweed, burro weed and sedge. Red meat appears to have been more of a luxury, although these people used nets and the atlatl to hunt water fowl, ducks, small animals and antelope. Artifacts include nets woven with plant fibers and rabbit skin, woven sandals, gaming sticks, and animal figures made from split-twigs. About 3,500 years ago, lake levels rose and the population of Desert Archaic people appears to have dramatically decreased. The Great Basin may have been almost unoccupied for 1,000 years.

 

The Fremont culture, named from sites near the Fremont River in Utah, lived in what is now north and western Utah and parts of Nevada, Idaho and Colorado from approximately 600 to 1300 AD. These people lived in areas close to water sources that had been previously occupied by the Desert Archaic people, and may have had some relationship with them. However, their use of new technologies define them as a distinct people. Fremont technologies include:

 

use of the bow and arrow while hunting,

building pithouse shelters,

growing maize and probably beans and squash,

building above ground granaries of adobe or stone,

creating and decorating low-fired pottery ware,

producing art, including jewelry and rock art such as petroglyphs and pictographs.

 

The ancient Puebloan culture, also known as the Anasazi, occupied territory adjacent to the Fremont. The ancestral Puebloan culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the Southwest United States, including the San Juan River region of Utah. Archaeologists debate when this distinct culture emerged, but cultural development seems to date from about the common era, about 500 years before the Fremont appeared. It is generally accepted that the cultural peak of these people was around the 1200 CE. Ancient Puebloan culture is known for well constructed pithouses and more elaborate adobe and masonry dwellings. They were excellent craftsmen, producing turquoise jewelry and fine pottery. The Puebloan culture was based on agriculture, and the people created and cultivated fields of maize, beans, and squash and domesticated turkeys. They designed and produced elaborate field terracing and irrigation systems. They also built structures, some known as kivas, apparently designed solely for cultural and religious rituals.

 

These two later cultures were roughly contemporaneous, and appear to have established trading relationships. They also shared enough cultural traits that archaeologists believe the cultures may have common roots in the early American Southwest. However, each remained culturally distinct throughout most of their existence. These two well established cultures appear to have been severely impacted by climatic change and perhaps by the incursion of new people in about 1200 CE. Over the next two centuries, the Fremont and ancient Pueblo people may have moved into the American southwest, finding new homes and farmlands in the river drainages of Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico.

 

In about 1200, Shoshonean speaking peoples entered Utah territory from the west. They may have originated in southern California and moved into the desert environment due to population pressure along the coast. They were an upland people with a hunting and gathering lifestyle utilizing roots and seeds, including the pinyon nut. They were also skillful fishermen, created pottery and raised some crops. When they first arrived in Utah, they lived as small family groups with little tribal organization. Four main Shoshonean peoples inhabited Utah country. The Shoshone in the north and northeast, the Gosiutes in the northwest, the Utes in the central and eastern parts of the region and the Southern Paiutes in the southwest. Initially, there seems to have been very little conflict between these groups.

 

In the early 16th century, the San Juan River basin in Utah's southeast also saw a new people, the Díne or Navajo, part of a greater group of plains Athabaskan speakers moved into the Southwest from the Great Plains. In addition to the Navajo, this language group contained people that were later known as Apaches, including the Lipan, Jicarilla, and Mescalero Apaches.

 

Athabaskans were a hunting people who initially followed the bison, and were identified in 16th-century Spanish accounts as "dog nomads". The Athabaskans expanded their range throughout the 17th century, occupying areas the Pueblo peoples had abandoned during prior centuries. The Spanish first specifically mention the "Apachu de Nabajo" (Navaho) in the 1620s, referring to the people in the Chama valley region east of the San Juan River, and north west of Santa Fe. By the 1640s, the term Navaho was applied to these same people. Although the Navajo newcomers established a generally peaceful trading and cultural exchange with the some modern Pueblo peoples to the south, they experienced intermittent warfare with the Shoshonean peoples, particularly the Utes in eastern Utah and western Colorado.

 

At the time of European expansion, beginning with Spanish explorers traveling from Mexico, five distinct native peoples occupied territory within the Utah area: the Northern Shoshone, the Goshute, the Ute, the Paiute and the Navajo.

 

The Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado may have crossed into what is now southern Utah in 1540, when he was seeking the legendary Cíbola.

 

A group led by two Spanish Catholic priests—sometimes called the Domínguez–Escalante expedition—left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the California coast. The expedition traveled as far north as Utah Lake and encountered the native residents. All of what is now Utah was claimed by the Spanish Empire from the 1500s to 1821 as part of New Spain (later as the province Alta California); and subsequently claimed by Mexico from 1821 to 1848. However, Spain and Mexico had little permanent presence in, or control of, the region.

 

Fur trappers (also known as mountain men) including Jim Bridger, explored some regions of Utah in the early 19th century. The city of Provo was named for one such man, Étienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825. The city of Ogden, Utah is named for a brigade leader of the Hudson's Bay Company, Peter Skene Ogden who trapped in the Weber Valley. In 1846, a year before the arrival of members from the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, the ill-fated Donner Party crossed through the Salt Lake valley late in the season, deciding not to stay the winter there but to continue forward to California, and beyond.

 

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormon pioneers, first came to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. At the time, the U.S. had already captured the Mexican territories of Alta California and New Mexico in the Mexican–American War and planned to keep them, but those territories, including the future state of Utah, officially became United States territory upon the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. The treaty was ratified by the United States Senate on March 10, 1848.

 

Upon arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormon pioneers found no permanent settlement of Indians. Other areas along the Wasatch Range were occupied at the time of settlement by the Northwestern Shoshone and adjacent areas by other bands of Shoshone such as the Gosiute. The Northwestern Shoshone lived in the valleys on the eastern shore of Great Salt Lake and in adjacent mountain valleys. Some years after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley Mormons, who went on to colonize many other areas of what is now Utah, were petitioned by Indians for recompense for land taken. The response of Heber C. Kimball, first counselor to Brigham Young, was that the land belonged to "our Father in Heaven and we expect to plow and plant it." A 1945 Supreme Court decision found that the land had been treated by the United States as public domain; no aboriginal title by the Northwestern Shoshone had been recognized by the United States or extinguished by treaty with the United States.

 

Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormons had to make a place to live. They created irrigation systems, laid out farms, built houses, churches, and schools. Access to water was crucially important. Almost immediately, Brigham Young set out to identify and claim additional community sites. While it was difficult to find large areas in the Great Basin where water sources were dependable and growing seasons long enough to raise vitally important subsistence crops, satellite communities began to be formed.

 

Shortly after the first company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, the community of Bountiful was settled to the north. In 1848, settlers moved into lands purchased from trapper Miles Goodyear in present-day Ogden. In 1849, Tooele and Provo were founded. Also that year, at the invitation of Ute chief Wakara, settlers moved into the Sanpete Valley in central Utah to establish the community of Manti. Fillmore, Utah, intended to be the capital of the new territory, was established in 1851. In 1855, missionary efforts aimed at western native cultures led to outposts in Fort Lemhi, Idaho, Las Vegas, Nevada and Elk Mountain in east-central Utah.

 

The experiences of returning members of the Mormon Battalion were also important in establishing new communities. On their journey west, the Mormon soldiers had identified dependable rivers and fertile river valleys in Colorado, Arizona and southern California. In addition, as the men traveled to rejoin their families in the Salt Lake Valley, they moved through southern Nevada and the eastern segments of southern Utah. Jefferson Hunt, a senior Mormon officer of the Battalion, actively searched for settlement sites, minerals, and other resources. His report encouraged 1851 settlement efforts in Iron County, near present-day Cedar City. These southern explorations eventually led to Mormon settlements in St. George, Utah, Las Vegas and San Bernardino, California, as well as communities in southern Arizona.

 

Prior to establishment of the Oregon and California trails and Mormon settlement, Indians native to the Salt Lake Valley and adjacent areas lived by hunting buffalo and other game, but also gathered grass seed from the bountiful grass of the area as well as roots such as those of the Indian Camas. By the time of settlement, indeed before 1840, the buffalo were gone from the valley, but hunting by settlers and grazing of cattle severely impacted the Indians in the area, and as settlement expanded into nearby river valleys and oases, indigenous tribes experienced increasing difficulty in gathering sufficient food. Brigham Young's counsel was to feed the hungry tribes, and that was done, but it was often not enough. These tensions formed the background to the Bear River massacre committed by California Militia stationed in Salt Lake City during the Civil War. The site of the massacre is just inside Preston, Idaho, but was generally thought to be within Utah at the time.

 

Statehood was petitioned for in 1849-50 using the name Deseret. The proposed State of Deseret would have been quite large, encompassing all of what is now Utah, and portions of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico and California. The name of Deseret was favored by the LDS leader Brigham Young as a symbol of industry and was derived from a reference in the Book of Mormon. The petition was rejected by Congress and Utah did not become a state until 1896, following the Utah Constitutional Convention of 1895.

 

In 1850, the Utah Territory was created with the Compromise of 1850, and Fillmore (named after President Fillmore) was designated the capital. In 1856, Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the territorial capital.

 

The first group of pioneers brought African slaves with them, making Utah the only place in the western United States to have African slavery. Three slaves, Green Flake, Hark Lay, and Oscar Crosby, came west with this first group in 1847. The settlers also began to purchase Indian slaves in the well-established Indian slave trade, as well as enslaving Indian prisoners of war. In 1850, 26 slaves were counted in Salt Lake County. Slavery didn't become officially recognized until 1852, when the Act in Relation to Service and the Act for the relief of Indian Slaves and Prisoners were passed. Slavery was repealed on June 19, 1862, when Congress prohibited slavery in all US territories.

 

Disputes between the Mormon inhabitants and the federal government intensified after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' practice of polygamy became known. The polygamous practices of the Mormons, which were made public in 1854, would be one of the major reasons Utah was denied statehood until almost 50 years after the Mormons had entered the area.

 

After news of their polygamous practices spread, the members of the LDS Church were quickly viewed by some as un-American and rebellious. In 1857, after news of a possible rebellion spread, President James Buchanan sent troops on the Utah expedition to quell the growing unrest and to replace Brigham Young as territorial governor with Alfred Cumming. The expedition was also known as the Utah War.

 

As fear of invasion grew, Mormon settlers had convinced some Paiute Indians to aid in a Mormon-led attack on 120 immigrants from Arkansas under the guise of Indian aggression. The murder of these settlers became known as the Mountain Meadows massacre. The Mormon leadership had adopted a defensive posture that led to a ban on the selling of grain to outsiders in preparation for an impending war. This chafed pioneers traveling through the region, who were unable to purchase badly needed supplies. A disagreement between some of the Arkansas pioneers and the Mormons in Cedar City led to the secret planning of the massacre by a few Mormon leaders in the area. Some scholars debate the involvement of Brigham Young. Only one man, John D. Lee, was ever convicted of the murders, and he was executed at the massacre site.

 

Express riders had brought the news 1,000 miles from the Missouri River settlements to Salt Lake City within about two weeks of the army's beginning to march west. Fearing the worst as 2,500 troops (roughly 1/3rd of the army then) led by General Albert Sidney Johnston started west, Brigham Young ordered all residents of Salt Lake City and neighboring communities to prepare their homes for burning and evacuate southward to Utah Valley and southern Utah. Young also sent out a few units of the Nauvoo Legion (numbering roughly 8,000–10,000), to delay the army's advance. The majority he sent into the mountains to prepare defenses or south to prepare for a scorched earth retreat. Although some army wagon supply trains were captured and burned and herds of army horses and cattle run off no serious fighting occurred. Starting late and short on supplies, the United States Army camped during the bitter winter of 1857–58 near a burned out Fort Bridger in Wyoming. Through the negotiations between emissary Thomas L. Kane, Young, Cumming and Johnston, control of Utah territory was peacefully transferred to Cumming, who entered an eerily vacant Salt Lake City in the spring of 1858. By agreement with Young, Johnston established the army at Fort Floyd 40 miles away from Salt Lake City, to the southwest.

 

Salt Lake City was the last link of the First Transcontinental Telegraph, between Carson City, Nevada and Omaha, Nebraska completed in October 1861. Brigham Young, who had helped expedite construction, was among the first to send a message, along with Abraham Lincoln and other officials. Soon after the telegraph line was completed, the Deseret Telegraph Company built the Deseret line connecting the settlements in the territory with Salt Lake City and, by extension, the rest of the United States.

 

Because of the American Civil War, federal troops were pulled out of Utah Territory (and their fort auctioned off), leaving the territorial government in federal hands without army backing until General Patrick E. Connor arrived with the 3rd Regiment of California Volunteers in 1862. While in Utah, Connor and his troops soon became discontent with this assignment wanting to head to Virginia where the "real" fighting and glory was occurring. Connor established Fort Douglas just three miles (5 km) east of Salt Lake City and encouraged his bored and often idle soldiers to go out and explore for mineral deposits to bring more non-Mormons into the state. Minerals were discovered in Tooele County, and some miners began to come to the territory. Conner also solved the Shoshone Indian problem in Cache Valley Utah by luring the Shoshone into a midwinter confrontation on January 29, 1863. The armed conflict quickly turned into a rout, discipline among the soldiers broke down, and the Battle of Bear River is today usually referred to by historians as the Bear River Massacre. Between 200 and 400 Shoshone men, women and children were killed, as were 27 soldiers, with over 50 more soldiers wounded or suffering from frostbite.

 

Beginning in 1865, Utah's Black Hawk War developed into the deadliest conflict in the territory's history. Chief Antonga Black Hawk died in 1870, but fights continued to break out until additional federal troops were sent in to suppress the Ghost Dance of 1872. The war is unique among Indian Wars because it was a three-way conflict, with mounted Timpanogos Utes led by Antonga Black Hawk fighting federal and Utah local militia.

 

On May 10, 1869, the First transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake. The railroad brought increasing numbers of people into the state, and several influential businessmen made fortunes in the territory.

 

Main article: Latter Day Saint polygamy in the late-19th century

During the 1870s and 1880s, federal laws were passed and federal marshals assigned to enforce the laws against polygamy. In the 1890 Manifesto, the LDS Church leadership dropped its approval of polygamy citing divine revelation. When Utah applied for statehood again in 1895, it was accepted. Statehood was officially granted on January 4, 1896.

 

The Mormon issue made the situation for women the topic of nationwide controversy. In 1870 the Utah Territory, controlled by Mormons, gave women the right to vote. However, in 1887, Congress disenfranchised Utah women with the Edmunds–Tucker Act. In 1867–96, eastern activists promoted women's suffrage in Utah as an experiment, and as a way to eliminate polygamy. They were Presbyterians and other Protestants convinced that Mormonism was a non-Christian cult that grossly mistreated women. The Mormons promoted woman suffrage to counter the negative image of downtrodden Mormon women. With the 1890 Manifesto clearing the way for statehood, in 1895 Utah adopted a constitution restoring the right of women's suffrage. Congress admitted Utah as a state with that constitution in 1896.

 

Though less numerous than other intermountain states at the time, several lynching murders for alleged misdeeds occurred in Utah territory at the hand of vigilantes. Those documented include the following, with their ethnicity or national origin noted in parentheses if it was provided in the source:

 

William Torrington in Carson City (then a part of Utah territory), 1859

Thomas Coleman (Black man) in Salt Lake City, 1866

3 unidentified men at Wahsatch, winter of 1868

A Black man in Uintah, 1869

Charles A. Benson in Logan, 1873

Ah Sing (Chinese man) in Corinne, 1874

Thomas Forrest in St. George, 1880

William Harvey (Black man) in Salt Lake City, 1883

John Murphy in Park City, 1883

George Segal (Japanese man) in Ogden, 1884

Joseph Fisher in Eureka, 1886

Robert Marshall (Black man) in Castle Gate, 1925

Other lynchings in Utah territory include multiple instances of mass murder of Native American children, women, and men by White settlers including the Battle Creek massacre (1849), Provo River Massacre (1850), Nephi massacre (1853), and Circleville Massacre (1866).

 

Beginning in the early 20th century, with the establishment of such national parks as Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park, Utah began to become known for its natural beauty. Southern Utah became a popular filming spot for arid, rugged scenes, and such natural landmarks as Delicate Arch and "the Mittens" of Monument Valley are instantly recognizable to most national residents. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with the construction of the Interstate highway system, accessibility to the southern scenic areas was made easier.

 

Beginning in 1939, with the establishment of Alta Ski Area, Utah has become world-renowned for its skiing. The dry, powdery snow of the Wasatch Range is considered some of the best skiing in the world. Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995, and this has served as a great boost to the economy. The ski resorts have increased in popularity, and many of the Olympic venues scattered across the Wasatch Front continue to be used for sporting events. This also spurred the development of the light-rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, known as TRAX, and the re-construction of the freeway system around the city.

 

During the late 20th century, the state grew quickly. In the 1970s, growth was phenomenal in the suburbs. Sandy was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country at that time, and West Valley City is the state's 2nd most populous city. Today, many areas of Utah are seeing phenomenal growth. Northern Davis, southern and western Salt Lake, Summit, eastern Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, and Washington counties are all growing very quickly. Transportation and urbanization are major issues in politics as development consumes agricultural land and wilderness areas.

 

In 2012, the State of Utah passed the Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act in an attempt to gain control over a substantial portion of federal land in the state from the federal government, based on language in the Utah Enabling Act of 1894. The State does not intend to use force or assert control by limiting access in an attempt to control the disputed lands, but does intend to use a multi-step process of education, negotiation, legislation, and if necessary, litigation as part of its multi-year effort to gain state or private control over the lands after 2014.

 

Utah families, like most Americans everywhere, did their utmost to assist in the war effort. Tires, meat, butter, sugar, fats, oils, coffee, shoes, boots, gasoline, canned fruits, vegetables, and soups were rationed on a national basis. The school day was shortened and bus routes were reduced to limit the number of resources used stateside and increase what could be sent to soldiers.

 

Geneva Steel was built to increase the steel production for America during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had proposed opening a steel mill in Utah in 1936, but the idea was shelved after a couple of months. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war and the steel plant was put into progress. In April 1944, Geneva shipped its first order, which consisted of over 600 tons of steel plate. Geneva Steel also brought thousands of job opportunities to Utah. The positions were hard to fill as many of Utah's men were overseas fighting. Women began working, filling 25 percent of the jobs.

 

As a result of Utah's and Geneva Steels contribution during the war, several Liberty Ships were named in honor of Utah including the USS Joseph Smith, USS Brigham Young, USS Provo, and the USS Peter Skene Ogden.

 

One of the sectors of the beachhead of Normandy Landings was codenamed Utah Beach, and the amphibious landings at the beach were undertaken by United States Army troops.

 

It is estimated that 1,450 soldiers from Utah were killed in the war.

Includes:

 

Jousting Helmet (NEW)

Horned Plate Armor

Ranger Helm (tan)

Greaves (NEW)

Tower Shield (NEW)

Hammerpick (NEW)

Gladiator Axe

Greatsword

Spiked Mace

Assassin Dagger

 

All items except the Ranger Helm are in the new charcoal color.

 

Also includes a collectors card with front and back printing.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llandudno

  

Llandudno (/θlænˈdɪdnoʊ/ or /lænˈdɪdnoʊ/; Welsh pronunciation: [ɬanˈdɪdnɔ])[1] is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula. In the 2011 UK census, the community, which includes Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, had a population of 20,710.[2] The town's name is derived from its patron saint, Saint Tudno.

 

Llandudno, "Queen of the Welsh Resorts", a title first applied as early as 1864,[3] is now the largest seaside resort in Wales, and lies on a flat isthmus of sand between the Welsh mainland and the Great Orme. Historically a part of Caernarfonshire, Llandudno was formerly in the district of Aberconwy within Gwynedd.

  

History

  

The town of Llandudno developed from Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements over many hundreds of years on the slopes of the limestone headland, known to seafarers as the Great Orme and to landsmen as the Creuddyn Peninsula. The origins in recorded history are with the Manor of Gogarth conveyed by King Edward I to Annan, Bishop of Bangor in 1284. The manor comprised three townships, Y Gogarth in the south-west, Y Cyngreawdr in the north (with the parish church of St Tudno) and Yn Wyddfid in the south-east.

  

Great Orme[edit]

  

Mostly owned by Mostyn Estates. Home to several large herds of wild Kashmiri goats originally descended from several goats given by Queen Victoria to Lord Mostyn. The summit of the Great Orme stands at 679 feet (209 M). The Summit Hotel which is now a tourist attraction was once the home of world middleweight champion boxer Randolph Turpin.

 

A haven for flora and fauna with some rare species such as peregrine falcons and a species of wild cotoneaster (cambricus) which can only be found on the Great Orme. The sheer limestone cliffs of the Great Orme provide ideal nesting conditions for a wide variety of sea birds, including cormorants, shags, guillemots, razorbills, puffins, kittiwakes, fulmars and numerous gulls.

 

This great limestone headland has many attractions including the Great Orme Tramway and a cable car system that takes tourists effortlessly to the summit.

  

Development

  

By 1847 the town had grown to a thousand people, served by the new church of St George, built in 1840. The great majority of the men worked in the copper mines with others employed in fishing and subsistence agriculture.

 

In 1848, Owen Williams, an architect and surveyor from Liverpool, presented Lord Mostyn with plans to develop the marsh lands behind Llandudno Bay as a holiday resort. These were enthusiastically pursued by Lord Mostyn. The influence of the Mostyn Estate and its agents over the years was to become paramount in the development of Llandudno and especially after the appointment of George Felton as surveyor and architect in 1857. During the years 1857 to 1877 much of central Llandudno was developed under Felton's supervision. George Felton also undertook architectural design work including the design and execution of Holy Trinity Church in Mostyn Street.

  

Transport

  

The town is just off the North Wales Coast railway line which was opened as the Chester and Holyhead Railway in 1848, became part of the London and North Western Railway in 1859, and part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. Llandudno was specifically built as a mid-Victorian era holiday destination and is served by a branch railway line opened in 1858 from Llandudno Junction with stations at Deganwy and Llandudno.

  

Present

  

Modern Llandudno takes its name from the ancient parish of Saint Tudno but also encompasses several neighbouring townships and districts including Craig-y-Don, Llanrhos and Penrhyn Bay. Also nearby is the small town and marina of Deganwy and these last four are in the traditional parish of Llanrhos. The ancient geographical boundaries of the Llandudno area are complex. Although they are on the eastern side of the River Conwy (the natural boundary between north-west and north-east Wales), the ancient parishes of Llandudno, Llanrhos and Llangystennin (which includes Llandudno Junction) were in the medieval commote of Creuddyn in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and afterwards part of Caernarfonshire. Today, Deganwy and Llandudno Junction are part of the town community of Conwy even though they are across the river and only linked to Conwy by a causeway and bridge.

  

Attractions

  

Llandudno Bay and the North Shore

 

This wide sweep of sand, shingle and rock extends two miles in a graceful curve between the headlands of the Great Orme and the Little Orme.

 

For most of the length of Llandudno's North Shore there is a wide curving Victorian promenade, open to pedestrians and cyclists, and separated from the roadway by a strip of garden. The road, collectively known as The Parade, has a different name for each block and it is on these parades and crescents that many of Llandudno's hotels are built.

 

Near the centre of the bay is the Venue Cymru. The Llandudno Sailing Club and a roundabout mark the end of this section of The Parade and beyond are more hotels and guest houses but they are in the township of Craig-y-Don.

 

At Nant-y-Gamar Road, the Parade becomes Colwyn Road with the fields of Bodafon Hall Farm on the landward side but with the promenade continuing until it ends in a large paddling pool for children and finally at Craigside on the lower slopes of the Little Orme.

  

Llandudno Pier

  

The award-winning pier is on the North Shore. Built in 1878, at 2,295 feet (700 m) the pier is the longest in Wales and is a Grade II listed building.

 

Looking back towards the town from the end of the pier, on a clear day one can see the mountains of Snowdonia rising over the town. A curious major extension of the pier in 1884 was in a landwards direction along the side of what was the Baths Hotel (now where the Grand Hotel stands) to provide a new entrance with the Llandudno Pier Pavilion Theatre at the North Parade end of the promenade, thus increasing the pier's length to 2,295 feet (700 m). Attractions on the pier include a bar, a cafe, amusement arcades, children's fairground rides and an assortment of shops & kiosks.

 

In the summer, Professor Codman's Punch and Judy show (established in 1860) can be found on the promenade near the entrance to the pier.

  

Happy Valley

  

The Happy Valley, a former quarry, was the gift of Lord Mostyn to the town in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. The area was landscaped and developed as gardens, two miniature golf courses, a putting green, a popular open air theatre and extensive lawns. The ceremonies connected with the Welsh National Eisteddfod were held there in 1896 and again in 1963. In June 1969, the Great Orme Cabin Lift, a modern alternative to the tramway, was opened with its base station adjacent to the open air theatre. The distance to the summit is just over one mile (1.6 km) and the four-seater cabins travel at six m.p.h. on a continuous steel cable over two miles (3 km) long. It is the longest single stage cabin lift in Britain and the longest span between pylons is over 1,000 feet (300 m). The popularity of the 'Happy Valley Entertainers' open air theatre having declined, the theatre closed in 1985 and likewise the two miniature golf courses closed and were converted in 1987 to create a 280 metres (920 ft) artificial ski slope and toboggan run. The gardens were extensively restored as part of the resort's millennium celebrations and remain a major attraction.

  

Marine Drive

  

The first route round the perimeter of the Great Orme was a footpath constructed in 1858 by Reginald Cust, a trustee of the Mostyn Estate. In 1872 the Great Ormes Head Marine Drive Co. Ltd. was formed to turn the path into a carriage road. Following bankruptcy, a second company completed the road in 1878. The contractors for the scheme were Messrs Hughes, Morris, Davies, a consortium led by Richard Hughes of Madoc Street, Llandudno.[4] The road was bought by Llandudno Urban District Council in 1897.[5] The 4 miles (6.4 km) one way drive starts at the foot of the Happy Valley. After about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) a side road leads to St. Tudno's Church, the Great Orme Bronze Age Copper Mine and the summit of the Great Orme. Continuing on the Marine Drive one passes the Great Orme Lighthouse (now a small hotel) and, shortly afterwards on the right, the Rest and Be Thankful Cafe and information centre. Below the Marine Drive at its western end is the site of the wartime Coast Artillery School (1940-1945) now a scheduled ancient monument

  

West Shore

  

The West Shore is the quiet beach on the estuary of the River Conwy. It was here at Pen Morfa that Alice Liddell (of Alice in Wonderland fame) spent the long summer holidays of her childhood from 1862 to 1871. There are a few hotels and quiet residential streets. The West Shore is linked to the North Shore by Gloddaeth Avenue and Gloddaeth Street, a wide dual carriageway.

  

Mostyn Street

  

Running behind the promenade is Mostyn Street leading to Mostyn Broadway and then Mostyn Avenue. These are the main shopping streets of Llandudno and Craig-y-Don. Mostyn Street accommodates the high street shops, the major high street banks and building societies, two churches, amusement arcades and the town's public library. The last is the starting point for the Town Trail,[6] a carefully planned walk that facilitates viewing Llandudno in a historical perspective.

  

Victorian Extravaganza

  

Every year in May bank holiday weekend, Llandudno has a three-day Victorian Carnival[7] and Mostyn Street becomes a funfair. Madoc Street and Gloddaeth Street and the Promenade become part of the route each day of a mid-day carnival parade. The Bodafon Farm fields become the location of a Festival of Transport[8] for the weekend.

  

Venue Cymru

  

The North Wales Theatre, Arena and Conference Centre, built in 1994, extended in 2006 and renamed "Venue Cymru" is located near the centre of the promenade on Penrhyn Crescent. It is noted for its productions of opera, orchestral concerts, ballet, musical theatre, drama, circus, ice shows and pantomimes.

  

landudno Lifeboat

  

Llandudno is unique within the United Kingdom in that its lifeboat station is located inland, allowing it to launch with equal facility from either the West Shore or the North Shore as needed. Llandudno's active volunteer crews are called out more than ever with the rapidly increasing numbers of small pleasure craft sailing in coastal waters. The Llandudno Lifeboat is normally on display on the promenade every Sunday and bank holiday Monday from May until October. 2014 A planning application submitted for a new Lifeboat station, with a larger boat, to be built close to the paddling pool on North Shore.

  

Places of worship

  

The ancient parish church dedicated to Saint Tudno stands in a hollow near the northern point of the Great Orme and two miles (3 km) from the present town. It was established as an oratory by Tudno, a 6th-century monk, but the present church dates from the 12th century and it is still used on summer Sunday mornings. It was the Anglican parish church of Llandudno until that status was transferred first to St George’s (now closed) and later to Holy Trinity Church in Mostyn Street.

 

The principal Christian Churches of Llandudno are members of Cytûn (churches together) and include the Church in Wales (Holy Trinity and also Saint Paul's at Craig-y-Don), the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Saint John’s Methodist Church, Gloddaeth United Church (Presbyterian), Assemblies of God (Pentecostal), Llandudno Baptist Church, St. David's Methodist Church at Craig-y-Don, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Saint Mary and Saint Abasikhiron, and Eglwys Unedig Gymraeg Llandudno (the United Welsh Church of Llandudno).

 

A member of the local Methodist community is the Revd Roger Roberts, now Lord Roberts of Llandudno, Liberal Democrat Spokesman for International Development in the House of Lords.

 

Llandudno is home to a Jewish centre in Church Walks, which serves the local Jewish population - one of few in North Wales. The town also boasts a Coptic church (The Coptic Orthodox Church of St Mary and St Abasikhiron on Trinity Avenue) as well as a Buddhist centre, Kalpa Bhadra, on Mostyn Avenue in Craig-y-Don.

  

Area features

  

Bodysgallen Hall is a manor house nearby to the south near the village of Llanrhos. This listed historical building derives primarily from the 17th century, and has several later additions. Bodysgallen was constructed as a tower house in the Middle Ages to serve as defensive support for nearby Conwy Castle.

  

Links with Wormhout and Mametz

  

Llandudno is twinned with the Flemish town of Wormhout 10 miles (16 km) from Dunkirk. It was there that many members of the Llandudno-based 69th Territorial Regiment were ambushed and taken prisoner. Later, at nearby Esquelbecq on 28 May 1940, the prisoners were shot.[9]

 

The 1st (North Wales) Brigade was Headquartered in Llandudno in December 1914 and included a battalion of the (Royal Welch Fusiliers), which had been raised and trained in Llandudno. During the 1914–18 war this Brigade, a major part of the 38th Welsh Division, took part in the Battle of the Somme and the Brigade was ordered to take Mametz Wood. Two days of fighting brought about the total destruction of Mametz village by shelling. After the war, the people of Llandudno (including returning survivors from the 38th Welsh Division) contributed generously to the fund for the reconstruction of the village of Mametz.

  

Cultural connections

  

Llandudno hosted the Welsh National Eisteddfod in 1864, 1896 and 1963, and from 26–31 May 2008 welcomed the Urdd National Eisteddfod to Gloddaeth Isaf Farm, Penrhyn Bay. The town also hosted the Liverpool Olympic Festival in 1865 and 1866.

 

Matthew Arnold gives a vivid and lengthy description of 1860s Llandudno – and of the ancient tales of Taliesin and Maelgwn Gwynedd that are associated with the local landscape — in the first sections of the preface[11] to On the Study of Celtic Literature (1867).

 

Elisabeth of Wied, the Queen consort of Romania and also known as writer Carmen Sylva, stayed in Llandudno for five weeks in 1890. On taking her leave, she described Wales as "a beautiful haven of peace".[12] Translated into Welsh as "hardd, hafan, hedd" it became the town's official motto.

 

Other famous people with links to Llandudno include the Victorian statesman John Bright and multi-capped Welsh international footballers Neville Southall, Neil Eardley and Joey Jones. Australian ex-Prime Minister Billy Hughes attended school in Llandudno. Gordon Borrie QC (Baron Borrie), Director General of the Office of Fair Trading from 1976 to 1992, was educated at the town's John Bright Grammar School when he lived there as a wartime evacuee.

 

The international art gallery, Oriel Mostyn is situated in Vaughan Street next to the post office. It was built in 1902 to house the art collection of Lady Augusta Mostyn. It was requisitioned in 1914 for use as an army drill hall and later became a warehouse before being returned to use as an art gallery in 1979. Following a major revamp the gallery was renamed simply 'Mostyn' in 2010.

 

In January 1984 Brookside character Petra Taylor (Alexandra Pigg) committed suicide in Llandudno.

This is my list of my favorite 2018 songs.

 

This year I was able to listen to a much broader range of songs than in the past thanks to a great new website (Popnable) that lists the top YouTube listens for an astonishing range of countries (from Kyrgyzstan to Cameroon).

 

Unfortunately, much of the local music throughout the world is the same factory-produced, autotuned, syndrum-drenched crap that dominates American radio, just in more obscure languages. Ultimately, I weeded through 4000-plus songs to come up with this list of just under 100 songs.

 

If anyone wants to actually hear any of the songs on this list, go to Spotify and search on “2018 Snopes Favorites.” That should turn up the entire playlist. Or just go to YouTube and start searching song by song.

 

89 – The Carters – “Apeshit” – It is a sign of the times that President Obama’s year-end best songs list (which was pretty good) includes this song by husband and wife Jay-Z and Beyonce, which includes the line “get off my d**k.” This was an absolutely sex-drenched year in music, and the number of songs about female private parts was astonishing.

 

88 - MC MM, DJ RD – “So Quer Vrau” – This seemingly German oompah band song is actually by Brazilian hardcore rappers.

 

87 - Nickie Minaj “Barbie Dreams” – This song disses a whole bunch of rappers in the filthiest ways imaginable. It’s hilarious.

 

86 - EAZ, Xen, Ledri Vula – “Nasty Girl” – Most of the lyrics to this gentle rap song are in Albanian, but the English chorus seems to be about a female derriere.

 

85 – Poppy – “Girls In Bikinis” – Poppy is a former Rockette from Boston. From Wikipedia, she seems to live a cosplay life. She has recently started the Poppy.Church.

 

84 - Tayna, Don Phenom – “Columbiana” – Another song mostly in Albanian. It seems to be about marijuana. It’s an obvious ripoff of Camila Cabelo’s “Havana,” but it sure sounds good.

 

83 - Yemi Alade – “Bum Bum” – This hooky song by a Nigerian rapper is another about the female derriere, this time about “shaking your bum bum bum.”

 

82 - Pistol Annies - “Got My Name Changed Back” – Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, and Angaleena Presley are the Pistol Annies. Aggressively feminist country music. “Well I've got me an ex that I adored/But he got along good with a couple road whores/Got my name changed back (yeah yeah)/I got my name changed back (yeah yeah)/I don't wanna be a Missus on paper no more/I got my name changed back (yeah yeah) … I broke his heart and took his money….”

 

81 - Ashley McBryde – “Girl Goin' Nowhere” – McBryde is a heavily tattooed Nashville singer-songwriter who’s gotten a lot of critical buzz for her first album. This is a good song, but I’m a little skeptical about her long term potential.

 

80 - Meghan Trainor – “Let You Be Right” – Catchy mainstream pop with cute lyrics:” I don't wanna fight tonight/ I'ma let you be right (let you be right)/We can make up if you just kiss me at the next traffic light”

 

79 - MC Stojan - “La Miami” – This is classical sounding Arabic pop, with a circular rhythm and sinuous guitar lines – but it’s in Serbian. Even using Google Translate, I can’t figure out what this song is about, although I assume Miami has something to do with it.

 

78 - Pasha, RebMoe – “I Don't Speak French” – Goofy and catchy song by a Norwegian rapper.

 

77 – Shenseea – “Body Good” – Shenseea is a Jamaican dancehall performer. This song is a tribute to (in keeping with 2018’s dominant theme) the goodness of female genitalia.

 

76 - Haifa Wehbe – “Touta” – In 2006, Wehbe was on People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People list. Wehbe won the title of Miss South Lebanon at the age of sixteen and was a runner-up at the Miss Lebanon competition, which was revoked after it was discovered that she was ineligible because she had been married and had a child. (I love Wikipedia.)

 

75 – Badshah – “She Move It Like” – Badshah is India’s most popular rapper. Google Translate couldn’t handle the lyrics to this song, but I’m betting it’s about the female derriere.

 

74 - Becky Warren – “Carmen” – Bouncy, upbeat country/Americana love song to Carmen.

 

73 - Richard Thompson – “The Rattle Within” – Wonderful to hear a good new Richard Thompson song. One of the greatest guitarists ever.

 

72 - M3NSA – “God Is Good God Is Good God Is Good” – Ghanaian singer and producer M3NSA savagely mocks the minister of the International Central Gospel Church, who was implicated in a financial scandal.

 

71 – Litany – “Call On Me” – female singer from Harrogate, UK. Smooth and polished request for a one-night stand.

 

70 - 24hrs, Lil Pump – “Lie Detector” – 24 Hours is an Atlanta rapper (is everyone who lives in Atlanta a famous rapper?). The song incorporates a brief tribute to female genitalia.

 

69 - Clay Parker and Jodi James - "Easy, Breeze" – Gillian Welch lives.

 

68 - Lost Frequencies, James Blunt – “Melody” – The sweetest song of the year is from a Belgian DJ.

 

67 - Alice Merton – “Why So Serious” – An old-fashioned anthemic female belter by a German/English singer.

 

66 - Emmanuel Jal, Nyaruach – “Ti Chuong” – Christian Sudanese gospel rapper, formerly a conscript child soldier in the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army.

 

65 - Colin Self - “Story” - Mr. Self’s self-description: “Colin Self was born in 1987 in Portland, Oregon. He lives and works in Berlin and Brooklyn. Self graduated in 2010 with a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A composer, choreographer, and performance artist, Self often works in and with interdisciplinary collectives, using the voice, the body, and digital technologies to explore gender, communication, our relationships to the biological and the technological, the potential for social transformation, and the spaces between and across binaries and boundaries.”

 

64 - Sebongile Kgaila – “Gladys” – From the great compilation album, “I’m Not Here to Hunt Rabbits.” Apparently, Botswanans play guitar differently than everyone else in the world.

 

63 - Rodney Crowell, Mary Karr – “Christmas In Vidor” – I wonder what the Beaumont, Texas suburb of Vidor ever did to piss Rodney Crowell off so bad to warrant this piece of pure venom.

 

62 - Orquesta Akokan – “Mambo Rapidito” – 14-piece mambo band from Havana.

 

61 - Future, Juice WRLD – “Fine China” – Classic trap artist from Atlanta rhymes “fine china, “I remind her,” “I’m a divah,” and “vagina.” Really pretty song.

 

60 - King Princess – “Pu**y Is God” – Brooklynite King Princess is very fond of what the Victorians called pudenda. I hesitate to put a gender label on “King Princess,” but she presents as female.

 

59 – cupcakke – “Duck Duck Goose” – “Easy Bake Oven and this pu**y so similar….” If cupcakke got her mind out of the gutter, she wouldn’t have no mind at all.

 

58 - Courtney Barnett – “Need A Little Time” – Sydney, Australia singer with an irresistible deadpan singing voice. Classic rock and roll. Barnett has three songs on the 2018 list.

 

57 - Janelle Monae – “Make Me Feel” – Monae is probably the best of the big-voiced women who dominate the pop radio charts.

 

56 – Rosalia – “Que No Salga La Luna - Cap.2: Boda” – I’ve long wondered why the distinctive rhythms of Spanish flamenco have not crossed over to the mainstream. It looks like Rosalia might be the first flamenco artist to reach a wider audience. She deserves it, this is gorgeous music.

 

55 - Car Seat Headrest – “My Boy (Twin Fantasy)” – Leesburg, Virginia’s greatest (now in Seattle).

 

54 - Courtney Barnett – “City Looks Pretty” – Buzzy guitars wrap around Pavementesque lyrics like this – “Friends treat you like a stranger and strangers treat you like their best friend, oh well.” Addictive.

 

53 - Thee Oh Sees – “Enrique El Cobrador” – Black Sabbath lives! (and can play their instruments way better than they used to)

 

52 – XXXTENTACION – “Sad!” – Stereotypically, rapper XXXTENTACION’s career got a huge boost (this song has 878 million Spotify streams) when he was gunned down in Deerfield Beach, Florida in June at age 20. Unstereotypically, his music was innovative and interesting (and not exclusively about female genitalia). It’s really too bad.

 

51 – Spiritualized – “The Morning After” – Still spacy after all these years.

 

50 - David Byrne – “ I Dance Like This” – The B-side to “Burning Down the House.”

 

49 - Soccer Mommy – “Your Dog” – A bracing lyric from the rare Nashville native – “I don’t want to be your f**king dog that you drag around, a collar on my neck tied to a pole, leave me in the freezing cold.” Ringing guitars to boot.

 

48 - The Chainsmokers – “Sick Boy” – It is an enduring mystery why the Chainsmokers, who are 100% American, sing in a British accent. But, boy do they sound great.

 

47 - Laura Marling, LUMP, Mike Lindsay – “Curse of the Contemporary” – Eric Burdon meets Heart, with Fleetwood Mac avant-garde garnishes. Maybe the most purely pretty song of 2018.

 

46 - Cardi B – “Get Up 10” – “Look, they gave a bitch two options: strippin' or lose/ Used to dance in a club right across from my school/ I said "dance" not "f**k", don't get it confused/Had to set the record straight 'cause bitches love to assume.”

 

45 - Mary Gauthier - “The War After the War” – Political correctness can be both beautiful and, well, correct.

 

44 - Car Seat Headrest - “Stop Smoking (We Love You)” – The title is the sum total of the lyrics.

 

43 - Mercedes Peon – “Deixaas” – I’m predicting this is by far the best Galician music you’ve ever heard. Driving beat over lovely intertwined female voices … how could you go wrong?

 

42 – Odette – “Lotus Eaters” – Piano and voice from a 20-year old woman from Sydney with a plummy fake accent. It ought to be awful, but it really is not. Not at all.

 

41 - Priscilla Renea – “Gentle Hands” – “I want a strong man with gentle hands.”

 

40 - Rodney Crowell, Brennen Leigh – “Merry Christmas From An Empty Bed” – Rodney Crowell’s “Christmas Everywhere” is the best Christmas album since the 1981 classic “A Christmas Record” on Ze records. This heartbreaker is the best traditional heartbreaker on the album, though not the best song on the album (which has 4 songs on this list).

 

39 - Courtney Barnett – “I'm Not Your Mother I'm Not Your Bitch” – Message delivered with a deluge of feedback.

 

38 - Sofi Tukker – “Batshit” – This duo, who met at Brown University, have a lock in case the Guinness Book of World Records ever decides to add a category of “most times the word ‘batshit’ has been used in a single song.” Autotuned, syndrummed, very polished … and yet really really good.

 

37 - Alec Benjamin – “If We Have Each Other” – A song to tide us over since Ed Sheeran did nothing new this year. And it’s not bad at all. Maybe Ed should be looking over his shoulder.

 

36 - Too $hort – Balance – Another female derriere tribute song, but it rises above the genre. “It must be a challenge, trying to keep your balance, with a ass like that, yeah it’s fat, okay…”

 

35 - Valee, Jeremih – “Womp Womp” – A portion of her physique “tastes like peach cobbler.” Valee is flying a little under the radar because he’s trying to do trap out of Chicago (where it gets way colder than Atlanta, which makes it hard to pull off trap levels of chill). Another very pretty song with extremely sexually explicit lyrics.

 

34 - Otoboke Beaver “anata watashi daita ato yome no meshi” – These Tokyo women don’t just pay tribute to HarDCore, they run straight over HarDCore.

 

33 - Rodney Crowell – “Let's Skip Christmas This Year” – Toni loves to put on Christmas music starting pretty much the day after Thanksgiving, but she doesn’t understand how Spotify works so I’m in charge of the playlist. This Rodney Crowell anti-classic will be added to the short list from now on.

 

32 - Y La Bamba – “Mujeres”– As someone who firmly believes that didacticism and politics are the surest combination for producing terrible music, if you’d have told me that this “Mujeres” is a “battle cry against machismo” by Portland-based Latinx Luz Elena Mendoza I would have confidently predicted a constricted dry monstrosity. ‘Wrong, Moose Breath!,” as Carnak the Magnificent often chastised the magnificently predictable Ed McMahon.

 

31 - Kapil Seshasayee – “The Ballad of Bant Singh” – If you explore the body of work of Glasgow jazzbo Kapil Seshasayee you’ll find way too much unlistenable experimentation, usually at great length. But this three-minute piece about Bant Singh, an Untouchable who was beaten nearly to death for protesting his daughter’s gang rape, is tightly focused and moving.

 

30 - Mountain Man - “Stella” – An acapella piece by an unknown three-woman group from Raleigh, North Carolina should have been easy to delete when assembling this list from a starting conglomeration of 4000-plus songs. It wasn’t.

 

29 - Tal National – “Entente” – For music critics, 2018 was the year of the Tuareg guitarists. The Tuaregs are a Berber tribal group who inhabit the Sahara on the southern fringes of North Africa and northern fringes of sub-Saharan Afria (including portions of Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria). Apparently, Jimi Hendrix’s music was extremely popular among the Tuareg and there are a bunch of Tuareg guitarists who have built on Hendrix to produce a guitar-drenched wall of sound. Toni and I and our friends Carol and Jack saw a great show by Tuaregan guitarist Mdou Mocstar at Drom in the East Village in January. But Mocstar released no new music in 2018 and I couldn’t find any music released in 2018 by Tuareg guitarists that measured up to that show. The closest I found was this song by Tal National, a pan-North African group that includes at least one Tuareg. They’re very different from the Tuareg guitarists, but are worthwhile i their own right (if a touch “World Music-ish”).

 

28 – XXXTENTACION - “Moonlight” – One of the last songs from this 20-year-old is both inspiring and depressing in its intertwining of the beauty of femininity in the moonlight and a “Smith and Wesson” and a “knife in the intestine.”

 

27 - Sebongile Kgaila – “Tika Molamu (Knobkerrie Throw)” – You guitarists out there should try to put aside your preconceptions and really listen to this new way of playing the guitar from Botswana. Fascinating and energetic.

 

26 - A$AP Rocky – “Sundress” – A$AP Rocky moved from Harlem to New Jersey where he has been inspired by his fellow intellectual New Jersey-ites Yo La Tengo and the Feelies.

 

25– Fontaines D.C. – “Chequeless Reckless - Darklands Version” – An idiot is someone who lets their education do all their thinking.

 

24 - Lucy Dacus – “Night Shift” – A song about recovery from breaking up with your first love. “The first time I ever tasted somebody else’s spit, I had a coughing fit. I mistakenly called them by your name.”

 

23 – Wussy – “One Per Customer” – Wussy, a Cincinnati band, is the greatest American band that basically no one has ever heard of (Robert Christgau, the venerable rock critic, is a huge fan, but as he’s almost 80 no one listens to him any more). “Don’t you wish you could have been an astronaut, back when astronauts had more appeal?”

 

22 - 88rising, Joji, Rich Brian, Higher Brothers, AUGUST 08 – “Midsummer Madness” – “Can’t look me in the eyes when you’re sober … last night I lost all my patience … you were f**ked up I was wasted… midsummer madness … I can’t take it … no more.” Beautiful tenor lead and lovely harmonies.

 

21 - Rodney Crowell, Daddy Cool & The Yule – “All For Little Girls & Boys” – Rodney Crowell actually doesn’t sing on the best song on his brilliant Christmas album “Christmas Everywhere.” This piece is almost 1920’s Appalachian in its sensibilities.

 

20 - Ammar 808, Sofiane Saidi – “Kahl el inin” – Tunisian-led bass-heavy trance music band.

 

19 - XXXTENTACION, Rio Santana, Judah, Carlos Andrez – “I don't even speak spanish lol” – A lovely song by the doomed 20-year-old celebrating lust on the dance floor with (for once) no trace of foreboding about his imminent murder. “Dance with me through the night.”

 

18 - Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Charli XCX, Cardi B – “Girls” – Gorgeous autotuned anthem, “Sometimes I just want to kiss girls, girls, girls….”

 

17 – Rosalia – “MALAMENTE - Cap.1: Augurio” – This fairly traditional flamenca song (admittedly heavily syndrummed) has 67 million streams on Spotify. That is definitely progress for this radically underappreciated Spanish music.

 

16 - Saba Andemariam – “Halengaye” – I have probably wildly overrated this song since I’m not really very familiar with Ethiopian and Eritrean music. I might be a note-for-note copy for some other Tigrayan classic, for all I know. But to my ignorant ears, it’s a densely structured, edgy gem.

 

15 - Cole Swindell – “Break up in the End” – Country to the core. “I'll introduce you to my mom and dad/Say ‘I think I love her’ when you leave that room/I'd still not take their advice when I say you're moving in/Even though we break up in the end”

 

14 - Amen Dunes – “Miki Dora” – NYC solo musician backed by a rotating group of musicians, but they make some shamelessly gorgeous music.

 

13 - Pistol Annies – “Milkman” – Second best country music song of the year. “If mama would've loved the milkman/Maybe she wouldn't judge me/If she'd've had a ride in his white van/Up and down Baker Street/On a Monday with her hair down and hand about to slide between his knees/But mama never did love nothin' but daddy and me”

 

12 - 03 Greedo – “Bacc to Jail” – I usually have a visceral reaction against songs that heavily use the n-word (or the n***ah word). But this song is an exception. The word fits the singer’s helpless acceptance that he is being sentenced to many years in prison for the victimless crimes of drug dealing and gun possession.

 

11 - Moon Hooch – “Light It Up” – As far as I can tell, Moon Hooch is by far the best jazz band playing today. Not a trace of ossification here.

 

10 - Kane Brown – “Short Skirt Weather” – Kane Brown is about to take popular country music by storm and it’s tempting to label him the “new Charley Pride” since he’s black. But “Short Skirt Weather” is way better than anything Pride ever did. “Oh my baby's made for short skirt weather/Yeah she makes me wish summer would just go on forever/From them yellow polka dots/From blue jeans to leather/Oh my baby's made for short skirt weather.” Brown is going to transcend color (no pun intended).

 

9 - Janelle Monae, Pharrell Williams – “I Got The Juice” – The title says it all.

 

8 – The Low Anthem – “Give My Body Back” - After a terrible auto accident after a Washington, DC show, the Low Anthem became very introspective … and very interior, without any real concern about what might be commercial. They did a DC show this spring that was one of the most intellectually challenging shows I’ve ever seen. “Give My Body Back,” a song about a cube-shaped salt doll who walks into the ocean to determine who she really is, has to be their most commercially palatable song of their recent work. This is definitely the most pretentious song on this list, but it was also a serious contender for the best song of the year.

 

7 - Ashley Monroe – “Hands On You” – Mainstream country yet the most genuinely erotic song of a year filled with sex-drenched songs. “I wish I would've laid my hands on you/ Shown you a thing or two/I wish I would've pushed you against the wall/Lock the door and bathroom stall, windows and the screen/I wish you would've laid your hands on me/That kind gon' bring me to my knees/I wish I would've let you lay me down/'Cause I wouldn't be here wishing now/ I wish I would've laid my hands on you”

 

6 – Wussy – “Gloria” – “Now he checks the page again/To find the thing he might have missed/Is she a phantom or a memory/Or the girl that you once kissed/So he is typing in her name to prove/That she does not exist/Her name is Gloria”

 

5 - Fuse ODG, KiDi, Kuami Eugene – “New African Girl” – The most hopeful song of the year came from this British-Ghanaian group: “African girl show them…. Aaah show them/ Ghanaian girl show them…/ Aaaahh show them Cameroonian girl, show them… / Aaahh show them Jamaican girl show them… / aaahh show them our skin so smooth/ Like lotion baby girl come wine that thing/ She got a big bum bum/ Bigger than the ocean/ Are you gonna gimme that thing yeah/ I want to be with you for life/ Oh let me take you on a ride/ yeah I give you what you want ooh cia bella/Let your body talk talk/Make your body talk talk/You African girl talk talk (Oh lord of mercy )/ bad gal talk”

 

4 - Priscilla Renea – “Jonjo” – The most genuinely poetic song of the year, about a girl and her brother and a treehouse. Purportedly country music, though I’m skeptical that any of Ms. Renea’s songs will ever crack those unsubtle charts.

 

3 - Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – If videos counted, this would be number 1. But why should Atlanta win everything?

 

2 - girl in red – “i wanna be your girlfriend”- “Oh hannah/I wanna feel you close/Oh hannah/Come lie with my bones”

 

1 - Bastian Baker – “Blame It on Me” – “Driving, the gun’s in the seat between us/It might be loaded, it might be loaded/And someday I won’t have to ask that question/It’s always loaded, it’s always loaded/And it all breaks down when you fire that gun” ---– “I’d have walked away, but the blood is on both of our hands.”

The Queensland Cultural Centre (QCC), located on the south bank of the Brisbane River opposite the central business district, is the state's principal cultural venue and an important example of late 20th century modernist architecture. Constructed between 1976 and 1998, this ambitious complex, a milestone in the history of the arts in Queensland and the evolution of the state, was designed by renowned Queensland architect Robin Gibson in conjunction with the Queensland Department of Public Works, for the people of Queensland.

 

The Cultural Centre includes the Queensland Art Gallery (1982), the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (1984), the Queensland Museum (1986), the State Library and The Fountain Room Restaurant and Auditorium (The Edge in 2015) (1988). The substantially altered State Library and the Gallery of Modern Art are part of the broader cultural precinct but are not included in the heritage register boundary.

 

South Brisbane before the Queensland Cultural Centre (QCC)

 

By the late 1960s, much of South Brisbane, especially along the river, was in economic decline. Prior to European settlement, the whole of the South Brisbane peninsula was known as Kurilpa, an important meeting place for the Yuggera/Jagera people. The tip of the South Brisbane peninsula was a traditional river crossing. After the establishment of the Moreton Bay Penal settlement in 1825, convicts cleared the river flats to grow grain for the settlement and during the 1830s, timber from the south bank was exported to Sydney.

 

From the 1840s, South Brisbane developed as one of Queensland's key location for portside activity, initially advantaged by its more direct access to the Darling Downs and Ipswich. As maritime trade expanded, wharfs and stores were progressively established adjacent to the river. Over time, a range of commercial, light industrial and manufacturing activities also occurred, along with civic and residential land uses. The area prospered in the 1880s and South Brisbane became a municipality in 1888. Along with the development boom, a dry dock was opened in 1881, coal wharves and associated rail links were constructed and South Brisbane was established as the passenger terminus for suburban and country train lines.

 

By the end of the 19th century, the area had evolved into a substantial urban settlement, with Stanley Street a major retail centre and thoroughfare. Such development however, could not arrest a gradual 20th century decline which accelerated after World War II, influenced by the reorientation of economic activity and transport networks in Brisbane. Post-war, wharves, stores and railway sidings closed and were subsequently demolished, with the progressive relocation of shipping downriver. The decline of such a centrally located area in the capital city presented an opportunity for significant urban renewal.

 

Impetus for the Queensland Cultural Centre

 

The pressure to address the lack of adequate cultural facilities in Queensland increased in the 1960s, as public awareness of the importance of the arts to the cultural health of the community was rising. At this time, the Queensland's principal cultural institutions were located in buildings and sites in Brisbane that did not meet their existing or future requirements. The first purpose-built Museum had opened in William Street in 1879 but proved inadequate from the outset. It was converted to the Public Library of Queensland (the State Library from 1971) in 1900-02, after the 1889 Exhibition Building at Bowen Hills was converted for use as a Museum in 1900. From 1895, the Queensland Art Gallery was housed in the Brisbane Town Hall, moving in 1905 to a purpose designed room on the third floor in the new Executive Building overlooking George Street. When the new City Hall was completed in 1930, the Concert Hall at the Museum building was remodelled to house the art gallery.

 

Until the opening of the Queensland Cultural Centre, there were no Queensland government-operated performing arts facilities. Most musical and theatrical performances were initially held in local venues such as schools of arts, church halls or town halls, of varying suitability. Purpose-built facilities were limited and only erected in major centres. By the 1880s, Brisbane had four theatres, with the Opera House (later Her Majesty's Theatre), erected in 1888, the most lavish and prestigious, with seating for 2700. The Exhibition Building was one of the first buildings specifically designed for musical performances and contained a concert hall complete with a four-manual pipe organ. It became the centre for major musical events until the opening of the Brisbane City Hall in 1930.

 

Across Australia, the post-war era saw governments on all tiers commit to large projects related to developing the arts, including standalone and integrated landmark projects for institutions such as libraries, theatres and art galleries. Sites for such projects were often in centrally located areas, where previous uses and activities were in decline, or had become redundant. This type of urban renewal offered a blank slate for development, where the existing layout could be reconfigured and the built environment transformed. The construction of Sydney's Opera House had commenced in 1959; preliminary investigations for Adelaide Festival Centre started in 1964; the National Gallery of Australia was established in 1967; the first stage of the Victorian Arts Centre, the National Gallery of Victoria, was completed in 1969 and Perth's Civic Centre was also developed during the 1960s.

 

In Queensland, an earlier phase of civic construction (mostly town halls and council chambers) occurred in the 1930s, often incorporating spaces for arts and cultural activities. By the early 1950s, architect and town planner Karl Langer was designing civic centre complexes for larger regional centres such as Mackay, Toowoomba and Kingaroy.

 

Several attempts were made to secure stately cultural facilities in Queensland's capital but each came to nothing. Construction of an art gallery and museum near the entrance to the Government Domain, on a site granted in 1863, never eventuated. In the 1890s a major architectural competition for a museum and art gallery on a site in Albert Park sought to address the need for sufficient premises. In 1934, on a nearby site along Wickham Park and Turbot Street, an ambitious urban design proposal to incorporate a public art gallery, library and dental hospital resulted only in the construction of the Brisbane Dental Hospital. Post-WWII plans to incorporate the art gallery in the extensions to the original Supreme Court Building did not eventuate. The Queensland Art Gallery Act 1959 paved the way for a new Board of Trustees to establish a gallery with public funds subsidized by Government. The proposal at that time, for a gallery and performance hall at Gardens Point, to mark Queensland's centenary, was not realised; however, an extension to the State Library proceeded and included an exhibition hall and reading rooms.

 

A proposal for a State Gallery and Centre for Allied Arts, on the former municipal markets site adjacent to the Roma Street Railway station, formed part of a government backed plan for the redevelopment of the Roma Street area. Prepared by Bligh Jessup Bretnall & Partners in 1967, this substantial development over a number of city blocks, inspired by the redevelopment of redundant inner city areas in Europe and new towns in America, incorporated a significant commercial component. The plan was abandoned in 1968 due to conflicting local and state interests, together with the lack of an acceptable tender.

 

The following year, the Treasury Department initiated a formal investigation into a suitable site for an art gallery, led by Treasurer, Deputy Premier and Liberal Party Leader, Gordon Chalk. An expert committee, including Coordinator-General Charles Barton as chair, Under-Secretary of Works David Mercer and Assistant Under-Secretary Roman Pavlyshyn, considered 12 sites, including those from previous proposals. Three sites were shortlisted: The Holy Name Cathedral site in Fortitude Valley; upstream of the Victoria Bridge at South Brisbane; and the BCC Transport Depot in Coronation Drive. The South Brisbane site was preferred, considered to be the most advantageous for the city and the most architecturally suitable. The recommendation was accepted and work on progressing a design commenced.

 

Architectural competition and concept (1289)

 

In April 1973, Robin Gibson and Partners Architects won a two-staged competition to design the new Queensland Art Gallery at South Brisbane, with a sophisticated scheme considered superior in its simplicity and presentation. While this design was never realised, the art gallery that was built as part of the Cultural Centre was in many ways very similar, including the palette of materials and modernist design details inspired by the 1969 Oaklands Museum in California. The original design occupied the block bounded by Melbourne, Grey, Stanley and Peel Streets. Over Stanley Street, a pedestrian walkway connected the gallery to the top of an amphitheatre leading to sculpture gardens along the river.

 

The development of cultural facilities was reconsidered during 1974, evolving into a much more ambitious project. In early November, Deputy Premier Sir Gordon Chalk (who had a real interest and commitment to developing the arts in Queensland) announced as an election policy, a proposal for a $45 million dollar cultural complex. While the development of the Art Gallery had been progressing, Chalk, with the assistance of Under Treasurer Leo Hielscher, had covertly commissioned Robin Gibson to produce a master plan for an integrated complex of buildings which would form the Queensland Cultural Centre (QCC). The plan included an Art Gallery, Museum, Performing Arts Centre, State Library and an auditorium and restaurant. The devastating floods of January, which had further hastened the decline of South Brisbane, provided a timely opportunity to utilise more space adjacent to the river, through resumptions of flood prone land.

 

When the proposal was submitted to Cabinet by Chalk in late November, it was initially opposed by Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. However, the support of Brisbane's Lord Mayor, Clem Jones, (who gifted council-owned allotments on what became the QPAC site); influential public servants Hielscher, Pavlyshyn; Mercer, and Sir David Muir, Director of the Department of Commercial and Industrial Development, helped the project gain momentum. After winning the December 7 election, the proposal was formally adopted by the Bjelke-Petersen government. Muir was appointed chairman of the planning committee and became the first chairman of the QCC Trust.

 

Gibson's November 1974 Cultural Centre master plan differed significantly from his winning competition design for the Gallery and gave Gibson the opportunity to further demonstrate his planning principles for inner city development. Stanley Street was to be diverted under the Victoria Bridge through to Peel Street, with the Art Gallery and Museum occupying one large block. The scheme included building forms with oblique angles to the street grid, to address the main approaches. The Performing Arts building, comprising a single, multi-purpose hall, and the Art Gallery, extending from the Museum to the river's edge, were aligned diagonally around a Melbourne Street axis to address the approach from the Victoria Bridge. Pedestrian bridges provided access across the site over Melbourne Street and to the South Brisbane Railway Station over Grey Street.

 

Gibson's design of the QCC sought to convey a relaxed atmosphere reflective of Queensland's lifestyle. A simple, disciplined palette of materials, and design elements was adopted and rigorously maintained throughout the lengthy construction program to unify the complex: off-white sandblasted concrete; cubic forms with deeply recessed glazing; a constancy of structural elements, fixtures and finishes; repetitive stepped profiles and extensive integrated landscaping.

 

A fundamental conceptual aspect of the Cultural Centre's design was its relationship to the Brisbane River and the natural environment. Gibson saw the Cultural Centre as an opportunity for ‘amalgamating a major public building with the river on the South Bank'. The external landscaping and built form was carefully articulated to ‘step up' from the river. The comparatively low form of the complex was consciously designed so that the profile of the Taylor Range behind would remain visible when viewed from the city.

 

Retaining the approved general placement of the individual buildings, subsequent changes to the complex plan included: the orthogonal realignment of each of the buildings; the duplication of the multipurpose hall to create separate purpose-built facilities for musical and theatrical performances; the extension of an existing diversion in Stanley Street upstream to Peel Street and under the Victoria Bridge, which was bridged by a wide plaza as a forecourt to the Gallery.

 

Robin Gibson & Partners

 

Robin Gibson (1930-2014) attended Yeronga State School and Brisbane State High before studying architecture at the University of Queensland (UQ). After graduating in 1954, Gibson travelled through Europe and worked in London in the offices of architects, Sir Hugh Casson, Neville Conder, and James Cubitt and Partners. Returning to Brisbane in 1957, he set up an architectural practice commencing with residential projects, soon expanding into larger commercial, public and institutional work. Notable Queensland architects employed by his practice included Geoffrey Pie, Don Winsen, Peter Roy, Allan Kirkwood, Bruce Carlyle and Gabriel Poole.

 

Gibson's creative, administrative and diplomatic talents were widely recognised. His buildings were consistently simple, refined, and carefully executed, often comprehensively detailed to include fabrics, finishes and furnishings. Characteristically crisp, logical and smoothly functional, his works employed a limited palette of materials and were carefully integrated into their setting.

 

Robin Gibson & Partners' contribution to Queensland's built environment is significant. Other major architectural projects include: Mayne Hall, University of Queensland (UQ) (1972), Central Library, UQ (1973) Library and Humanities building at Nathan Campus, Griffith University (1975), Post Office Square (1982), Queen Street Mall (1982), Wintergarden building (1984), Colonial Mutual Life (1984) and 111 George Street (1993). Over time, Gibson and his body of work has been highly acclaimed and recognised through numerous awards including: 1968 Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Building of the Year award, Kenmore Church; 1982 RAIA Sir Zelman Cowen Award (for public buildings) QAG; 1982 RAIA Canberra Medallion - Belconnen Library, ACT; 1982 Queenslander of the Year; 1983 Order of Australia; 1986 Honorary Doctorate - Griffith University; 1988 Advance Australia Award; 1989 RAIA Gold Medal for outstanding performance and contributions; 2000, and the 2007 25 year RAIA award for Enduring Architecture.

 

Construction and completion

 

The design development, documentation and the multifaceted construction program for the entire complex was administered by Roman Pavlyshyn, Director of Building, Department of Public Works. Pavlyshyn had previously overseen the selection of the site and had run the competition for the Queensland Art Gallery. The Cultural Centre was to continue the Department of Public Works' tradition in providing buildings of high quality in design, materials and construction throughout the state.

 

The funding of the QCC came entirely from the government-owned Golden Casket. The revenue derived from the Golden Casket was effectively ‘freed up' from health funding after Medicare was introduced by the Whitlam government. The then annual income of $4 million was projected to fund the QCC's construction over 10 years. By the early 1980s, inflationary impacts had blown out the cost to $175 million. Under Hielscher's guidance, Treasury looked at other ways to raise revenue. In response, Instant Scratch-Its and mid-week lotto were introduced to Queensland. This successful increase in gambling revenue enabled the QCC to be built at no extra cost to the state's existing budget and without going into debt.

 

The construction of the Cultural Centre was a complex undertaking and involved a multifaceted program staged over 11 years with a workforce of thousands, from design consultants to onsite labourers. Pavlyshyn guided Stages One, Two and Three to completion and the commencement of Stage Four, before retiring in July 1985. With the number of contractors and suppliers involved, quality control was a critical factor for a successful outcome. For example, the consistent quality of the concrete finish was achieved by securing a guaranteed supply of the principal materials, South Australian white cement, Stradbroke Island sand and Pine River aggregates, for the duration of the project and the strict control of colour and mix for each contract.

 

The program commenced with the construction of the Art Gallery, the most resolved of the building designs. Stage One also included the underground carpark to the Gallery and Museum and the central services plant facility on the corner of Grey and Peel Streets. Contractors, Graham Evans & Co, commenced construction in March 1977 and the Art Gallery was officially opened by Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen on 21 June 1982. When awarding the art gallery the Sir Zelman Cowen Award that year, the RAIA jury declared the art gallery would enrich the fabric of Brisbane for many years to come, praising: the sustained architectural expertise and masterly articulation of space; avoidance of rhetorical gestures and fussy details, noting the building would enrich the fabric of the city for many years to come.

 

A development plan for the largest component of the complex, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), built as Stage Two, was released in 1976. The project architect for the Centre was Allan Kirkwood from Robin Gibson and Partners and contributors to the development and design of the Centre were theatre consultants, Tom Brown and Peter Knowland, the Performing Arts Trust and user committees. Completed in November 1984 by contractors Barclay Bros Pty Ltd, a concert for workers and the first public performance were held in December ahead of the official opening by the Duke and Duchess of Kent on 20 April 1985.

 

The Centre comprised three venues, each specifically designed for particular performance types. The Lyric Theatre and Concert Hall shared an entrance off Melbourne Street with shared and mimicked foyers, bars, circulation and ancillary facilities. The Studio theatre, now the Cremorne, had a separate entrance and foyer off Stanley Street with its own discreet ancillary facilities.

 

The Lyric Theatre, (2200 seats) was designed for large-scale dramatic productions including opera, operettas, musicals, ballets and dance performances. It had an orchestra pit, stalls, two balconies and side aisles. The 1800 seat Concert Hall was designed for orchestral concerts, choral performances, chamber music, recitals, popular entertainment and ceremonies. A Klais Grand Organ, featuring 6500 pipes, was built into the stage area. Its ‘shoe box' form, designed to enhance natural acoustics, incorporated an orchestral pit, stalls, single balcony, side galleries and side aisles. The Studio Theatre was built to accommodate up to 300 seats for dramatic performances and could be configured in 6 different ways, from conventional set-ups to theatre-in-the-round. It had stalls and a balcony level with an internal connection to the other two theatres.

 

Opened in 1986, the Queensland Museum, (Stage Three), was connected to the Art Gallery by a covered walkway and to the Performing Arts Complex by a footbridge over Melbourne Street. The entrance on the Melbourne Street side of the building was accessed from street level and the Melbourne Street footbridge. Built over the Stage One carpark, the six-level Museum building had four floors open to the public, with the two top levels dedicated to offices, laboratories , library and artefact storage. The first floor was designed for a variety of uses, including lecture halls, back of house, preparatory area and workshops. Levels 2 to 4 showcased collections in galleries situated on either side of a central circulation core comprising walkways, stairs, lifts and escalators. The outdoor area contained a geological garden on Grey Street side (in 2014 the Energex Playasaurus Place). Stage Four included the State Library and adjacent restaurant and auditorium building (The Edge) completed in 1988.

 

Public artworks

 

As part of the construction of the QCC, several pieces of public art were commissioned from Australian artists. Five outdoor sculptures were purchased and installed in 1985, the largest commission of public sculpture at one time in Australia. Four were directly commissioned: Anthony Pryor's Approaching Equilibrium (Steel, painted. River plaza-upper deck); Leonard and Kathleen Shillam's Pelicans (Bronze. QAG Water Mall); Ante Dabro's Sisters (Bronze. Melbourne Street plaza) and Rob Robertson-Swann's Leviathan Play (Steel, painted. Melbourne Street plaza). Clement Meadmore's Offshoot (Aluminium, painted. Gallery plaza) was an existing work.

 

Other public artworks commissioned at the time of construction are located at QPAC: Lawrence Daws' large interior mural, Pacific Nexus and Robert Woodward's Cascade Court Fountain.

 

Use and modifications

 

Since opening, the institutions of the QCC have played a dominant role in fostering and enabling cultural and artistic activities of Queensland - through performances, exhibitions, collections and events. The purpose built world class facilities of the complex, with their careful consideration of both front and back of house requirements, have enabled Queensland to host national and international performances, events and exhibitions, and expand and display collections, in a way that was not possible previously. In addition to the QCC's artistic endeavours, the role of the Queensland Museum in science disciplines has also been an important activity. The QCC (as part of the larger Cultural Precinct) is a major visitor destination in Brisbane; millions of people from Queensland and elsewhere have visited the site.

 

The successful development of the Cultural Centre was the catalyst for the broader renewal of South Brisbane along the Brisbane River. In 1983 Queensland won the right to hold the 1988 World Exposition (Expo 88). The site for Expo 88 was directly adjacent to the Cultural Centre and underwent a major transformation to host the event. Robin Gibson designed the Queensland Pavilion. Expo 88 was a highly successful for Brisbane and Queensland. After Expo, the site was again comprehensively redeveloped, opening in 1992 as the South Bank Parklands, now a major public space in Brisbane. More widely, the Cultural Centre's direct relationship with the Brisbane River influenced the way the city has come to engage with its dominant natural feature along its edges.

 

With the exception of The Edge, each of the buildings within the QCC retains its original use. Subsequent modifications to cater for changing requirements have altered the buildings within the complex to varying degrees. The most significant of these changes were the addition of the Playhouse to QPAC and the multimillion dollar Millennium Arts Project, which provided for a refurbishment of the entire complex.

 

QPAC was well utilised from the outset and the need for a mid-sized theatre was soon realised. Plans for Stage Five, a 750-850 seat Playhouse theatre, designed by Gibson, were produced with input from the same committees and advisers as Stage Two. Completed in 1998, the Playhouse, attached at the eastern end of QPAC, incorporated stalls, balcony, mid-stalls and balcony boxes for patron seating. It had a separate entrance off Russell Street and was separated from the rest of the complex by the loading dock. The Playhouse was refurbished between 2011-12.

 

The key features of the Millenium Arts Project (2002-2009) were: the addition of a new Gallery of Modern Art and public plaza; the major redevelopment of the SLQ including the addition of a fifth floor; a new entrance to the QAG, and refurbishment of the QM and QPAC.

 

At the north-western end of the complex, the Gallery of Modern Art, completed in 2006 was built to house Queensland's growing art collection and is linked to the rest of the complex by a public plaza.

 

The major refurbishment of the Library in 2006 included the addition of a fifth storey and substantial alterations to both the interior and exterior. A new entrance and new circulation patterns were established and the stepped terraces were removed, replaced by a large extension toward the river.

New entrances to QAG and QM were designed by Gibson and completed in 2009.

 

The new art gallery entrance provided alternative access from Peel Street and included the partial enclosure of the courtyard, a new staircase, and a lift. At the Museum, in addition to the new entrance provided on the eastern end of the Museum, a café was added to the western end, the internal circulation was rearranged and a new entrance on the Grey Street elevation was created to provide access to the Sciencentre, relocated from George Street to the ground floor of the museum in 2009.

 

In 2009 QPAC was refurbished to meet safety standards and to improve access. A setdown area was added along Grey Street to replace the drop off tunnel which was closed in 2001. Changes to circulation included the installation of lifts and the replacement and reorientation of staircases. The lobby book shop was replaced with a bar and other bars and lobbies were refurbished, removing the salmon colour scheme in higher traffic areas. Brown carpet was installed and the red marble bar finishes were replaced with black in the Lyric Theatre foyer and white in the Concert Hall foyer. Many seats were also replaced in the Lyric and Concert Hall. The Cremorne Theatre remains largely unchanged.

 

The Edge, operated and managed by SLQ, was reopened in 2010 as a new facility containing workshops, spaces for creative activities, events and exhibitions. The dropped restaurant floor was filled and new lifts installed. Wide scale changes were made to interior fit-out and finishes. The auditorium floor was replaced, and new openings were created in the rear and side elevations. The external structure was modified at ground level with changes to access and the loading dock which was made obsolete by changes to SLQ car park entry. The major external change was cosmetic and involved the enclosure of the open verandah with pre-fabricated steel window bays to create riverfront study and meeting spaces.

 

Source: Queensland Heritage Register.

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The Ravenswood Mining Landscape and Chinese Settlement Area is situated south of Elphinstone Creek and to the west of School Street and Kerr Street, in the town of Ravenswood, about 85km south of Townsville and 65km east of Charters Towers. The Ravenswood goldfield was the fifth largest producer of gold in Queensland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its main mining periods, prior to modern open cut operations (1987 onwards), were: alluvial gold and shallow reef mining (1868 - 1872); attempts to extract gold from sulphide ores below the water table (1872 - 1898); the New Ravenswood Company era (1899 - 1917); and small scale mining and re-treatment of old mullock heaps and tailings dumps (1919 - 1960s). In 2016 the Ravenswood Mining Landscape and Chinese Settlement Area contains surface structures from eight mines: the Grand Junction, Little Grand Junction, Sunset No. 1 and Sunset No. 2, Deep, General Grant, Duke of Edinburgh, and Grant and Sunset Extended mines, as well as the mill associated with the Deep mine, and the Mabel Mill tailings treatment plant (most structures dating from the New Ravenswood Company era). It also includes remnants of two treatment plants (Partridge and Ralston’s Mill, and Judge’s Mill) from the 1930s; and the Chinese settlement area (1870s to the early 20th century, covering the first three mining periods at Ravenswood).

 

The place contains important surviving evidence of: ore extraction (from underground shafts) and metallurgical extraction (separation of gold from the ore) conducted on and near the Ravenswood goldfield’s most productive reefs during the boom period of the town’s prosperity (1900 - 1908); later attempts to re-treat the mullock heaps and tailings dumps from these mines; and Ravenswood’s early Chinese community, which made an important contribution to the viability of the isolated settlement and was located along Deighton Street and Elphinstone Creek. The Ravenswood Mining Landscape and Chinese Settlement Area also has the potential to reveal evidence of early alluvial and shallow reef mining, as well as domestic living arrangements on the Ravenswood goldfield. It is an evocative reminder of the precarious and short-lived nature of North Queensland’s mining booms, and has a special association with Archibald Lawrence Wilson, who established the New Ravenswood Company and improved both ore and metallurgical extraction processes on the goldfield.

 

Settlement and mining in North Queensland:

 

European settlement of the Kennedy Land District in North Queensland commenced with the founding of Bowen in 1861, and the spread of pastoralists through the hinterland. Pastoral stations were established up the valley of the Burdekin River, including ‘Ravenswood’ and ‘Merri Merriwa’. Townsville and Cardwell were both established north of Bowen in 1864.

 

However, mining, not pastoralism, proved to be the main catalyst for European settlement of North Queensland. In 1865 the founders of Townsville offered a reward for the discovery of a payable goldfield, and gold rushes occurred in the region from 1866. Mining employed 19.8% of the North Queensland population in 1868, and 50% by 1876, before dropping to 15% in 1911. Although gold mining attracted people to North Queensland, alluvial finds of gold usually led to temporary townships, whereas underground reef mining held the promise of more stable and permanent settlements.

 

Alluvial gold and shallow reef mining (1868 - 1872):

 

Alluvial gold was discovered south of the later site of Ravenswood, in tributaries of Connolly Creek on Merri Merriwa Station, north of the Burdekin River, in late 1868. Prospectors soon established ‘Middle Camp’ (later Donnybrook) on Tucker’s Creek, and ‘Lower Camp’ on Trieste Creek, with about 700 miners on the field by early 1869. Further north, in April 1869, the goldfield’s richest alluvial discoveries were made in three dry creek beds close to the site of Ravenswood: Nolan’s, Jessop’s, and Buchanan’s gullies. Despite these finds, many miners soon left for the rush to the Gilbert River (over 300km west of Townsville).

 

The parent reefs of the alluvial gold found in April were located about the same time as the exodus to the Gilbert – the General Grant being discovered first, followed by the Sunset. Both were visible above ground level, and both reefs would play an important part in the future prosperity of Ravenswood. In the next 40 years, nearly £3 million of gold would come from the reefs ‘in the little triangle between Buchanan’s Gully, just east of Macrossan Street, Jessop’s Gully, southwest of the town, and Elphinstone Creek’.

 

Other reefs were soon found north of Elphinstone Creek, and in Nolan’s Gully; and meanwhile, reefs had been discovered at Middle Camp. However, a lack of water meant that miners did not establish ‘Upper Camp’ (later Ravenswood) near the General Grant and Sunset reefs until October 1869, after a storm temporarily resolved the water issue. By this time, most miners had returned from the Gilbert. The three camps on the goldfield had a population of 600 by January 1870, most in Upper Camp. Work was slowed by a lack of water, until rains in February 1870 enabled panning and sluicing, the results of which confirmed that Ravenswood was the first significant reef mining goldfield in the northern half of Australia.

 

However, the miners needed to crush the quartz ore to extract gold. The first machinery for this purpose, WO Hodkinson’s five stamp crushing battery, the Lady Marion (or Lady Marian) Mill, was operational at Burnt Point (south of Upper Camp) from the 18th of April 1870. The first month’s crushing results caused ‘an even greater “rush” than that … caused by the discovery of the alluvial gold’. A second battery was operational in Upper Camp in August 1870, when the goldfield’s population was about 1200.

 

Official recognition of the goldfield and settlement soon followed. Government Geologist Richard Daintree visited Upper Camp in August 1870, and the Ravenswood goldfield (about 300 square miles) was proclaimed on the 3rd of November 1870. By this time, the goldfield had a population of about 2000, and Upper Camp had 10 ‘public houses’, with six public houses in Middle Camp.

 

The Government Surveyor, John von Stieglitz, arrived in November 1870, but was too late to impose a regular grid pattern on the settlement. Instead he formalised the existing plan, which was centred on the crossing of Elphinstone Creek by the main road (Macrossan Street), with tracks radiating out to the various diggings. Most commercial buildings were located along Macrossan Street. The resulting juxtaposition of mining, habitation and commerce gave the town its distinctive character.

 

The town was proclaimed on the 19th of May 1871, with an area of one square mile (259ha). This was later expanded to four square miles (1036ha) on the 13th of July 1883. Although gold had been discovered on Merri Merriwa Station, the name Ravenswood, after the run located further southeast, downstream on the Burdekin River, was preferred.

 

In 1871 the population of the goldfield was 900, with over half being in Upper Camp/Ravenswood, and by the end of 1871 there were five machines in Ravenswood. Hodgkinson’s mill had been moved into town, to a site just north of Elphinstone Creek, and was renamed the Mabel Mill. In 1871 the town had 30 licensed hotels, although these were referred to as ‘shanties’ and did not offer accommodation.

 

By this time Ravenswood also had a Chinese population, due to an influx of Chinese miners who had been forcefully evicted from the Western Creek diggings near Gilberton in mid-1871. At least three of the hotels of 1871 had Chinese licensees. The first Chinese had arrived in North Queensland in 1867, during the rush to the Cape River, and there were 200 Chinese looking for alluvial gold at Ravenswood in 1871. In January 1872 it was estimated that there were about 1500 Chinese present on the Ravenswood goldfield, and a matching number of Europeans. As the Chinese focussed on alluvial gold, and also provided other services, they were tolerated at Ravenswood, because the Europeans were now focusing on reef mining. The quartz reefs were originally worked at shallow depths by means of a windlass (hand-wound rope and bucket), or a horse-powered whip or whim (using poles, ropes and pulleys) raising the ore from shallow shafts.

 

Extracting gold from sulphide ores (1872 - 1898):

 

Despite its promising start, in 1872 the Ravenswood goldfield entered a ‘period of depression’, as its most important mines reached the water table at about 70ft (21m) deep – starting with the Sunset in 1871, followed by the General Grant, Black Jack, and Melaneur in 1872. Although the oxidised quartz (‘red stone’ or ‘brown stone’ quartz) close to the surface yielded its gold to traditional methods of mechanical crushing, below the water table the gold was in fine particles, which was not easily recovered by mechanical means. It was also mixed with sulphide ores; mainly iron sulphide (pyrite, or ‘mundic’ ore) but also sulphides containing lead, copper, zinc, arsenic, and antimony, which interfered with chemical treatments such as amalgamation (amalgamating the gold with mercury; then heating the resulting amalgam in a retort to vaporise the mercury) and chlorination (exposing roasted, concentrated ore to chlorine gas, and then precipitating gold out of the chloride solution). A process that worked on the ore from one reef might not work for an adjacent reef, due to a varying distribution of different types of sulphides. In addition, even if a process worked on a small scale, it could be uneconomical on a larger scale, given the price of transporting fuel to Ravenswood for smelting, or transporting concentrates for smelting elsewhere.

 

Once the mundic had been struck, ‘mining was "worse than dull" as the field grappled with the realisation that to break below the waterline, the days of the individual miner were over and the time of companies was looming’. The 1870s was a decade of major gold discoveries in Queensland, and miners keen on quick profits had plenty of new goldfields from which to choose. Many miners joined the rushes to Charters Towers (1872) and the Palmer River (1873). Charters Towers soon overtook Ravenswood as the most important inland town in north Queensland; and the Hodgkinson rush (southwest of Port Douglas) in 1876 also drew away miners.

 

However, Ravenswood grew during the 1870s and 1880s, despite the goldfield’s ‘refractory’ ores, and ‘mundic problem’. The goldfield had a population of 950 in 1877 (with 50 Chinese), rising to 1100 in 1880 (including 250 Chinese), and 2000 in 1883 (including 300 Chinese; with 190 working the alluvial, and 10 quartz miners).

 

The 1877 Pugh’s Almanac listed one Chinese hotelkeeper (out of seven hotelkeepers) in Ravenswood, and one Chinese storekeeper. The Chinese, as well as working alluvial claims and operating hotels and stores, were employed as wage labour in some mines; worked as roasters and chlorinators at the Mabel Mill; and operated 24 licensed gardens on the Ravenswood goldfield in 1883. Chinese gardens were vital in providing fresh vegetables to North Queensland’s goldfield populations.

 

For 19th Century diasporic Chinese communities such as Ravenswood’s, the establishment of specific cultural settlement areas, or ‘Chinatowns’, that ‘provided a range of sacred and secular services, including temples, stores, and accommodation’, was an important aspect of community building. Deighton Street, west of Macrossan Street, was the centre of Chinese life in Ravenswood. There were two eating houses close to Macrossan Street’s bridge across Elphinstone Creek, in the 1870s; and market gardens were located between Deighton Street and Elphinstone Creek, as well as north of Elphinstone Creek, interspersed amongst several crushing machine operations. There was also a temple south of Deighton Street. Temples were not just places of religious worship; rather, they were an integral part of a Chinese village. ‘They were places to meet, to check one's horoscope before embarking on a new venture and places where ancestors were venerated’. As well as being a place where the community could worship at any time, major gatherings were held at temples on festival days, with feasts and processions. The Ravenswood temple appears on an 1874 survey plan, making it the earliest known Chinese temple in Queensland. The nearby pig roasting oven is also a rare example of its type, and demonstrates the usual spatial arrangement of temple and oven, for community feasts.

 

Ravenswood continued to develop during the 1880s. By 1885, the Ravenswood goldfield had an estimated population of 2294 Europeans and 227 Chinese, with 1490 Europeans and 148 Chinese located in Ravenswood itself. Ravenswood at this time had four Chinese storekeepers, and two Chinese produce merchants, but all six hotel licensees were European. The Ravenswood National School, which began in late 1873, had an average attendance of 110 students in 1878, and reached its peak enrolment of 390 by 1889.

 

The 1880s were also a period of experimentation in metallurgical (gold extraction) technology. In 1883, the only method for dealing with sulphide ores was stamper mills and rotary buddles (which used water and gravity to separate and concentrate the crushed ores), but later Ravenswood ‘was the first place where the chlorination process and Wilfley tables, developed in 1896, to shake the ore and separate out different sized particles, and were used in Queensland, and probably the first place where the cyanide process (dissolving fine gold in a cyanide solution, and later precipitating the gold out of the solution) for extracting gold was used in Australia’. Other techniques attempted included fine grinding (using ball mills), roasting (burning off the sulphides), and smelting (prohibitively expensive, as it required high temperatures and thus a lot of fuel). By 1888 a new company at One Mile Creek, formed by Duncan and Peter Macintyre, had adapted an abandoned Cassell’s patent plant (a version of the chlorination process which was applied and failed in Ravenswood in 1886), to work on a ‘secret process’ (cyaniding).

 

Ravenswood mining continued to be viable, although only a (fluctuating) percentage of the gold was being recovered from the ore. In the mid-1880s there was even a temporary increase in the goldfield’s production, due to good returns from the Sandy Creek mines on the John Bull reef. For the next eight years, the principal producers of the district were the General Grant, Sunset, New England, Wild Irish Girl, Melaneur, and John Bull reefs, plus the silver lodes of the One Mile (at Totley).

 

Ravenswood’s economy survived the 1880s due to the development of silver mines at Totley, a township established about 2km north of Ravenswood. The silver mines opened circa 1879 - 1880, and Richard King floated the Ravenswood Silver Mining Company Ltd in 1882 – the year of Ravenswood’s lowest gold production between 1878 and 1898. Silver prices were high during the 1880s, and the Totley mines encouraged the Queensland Government to approve a branch railway line (off the Northern Railway between Townsville and Charters Towers) to Ravenswood in 1882, completed in 1884. The railway meant that some gold ores could be crushed, concentrated and sent for treatment at the Aldershot works just north of Maryborough or overseas to Swansea, in Wales. However, all silver mining had stopped by 1891, due to falling silver prices and over-expenditure on treatment plants.

 

Gold mining at Ravenswood continued during the 1880s and 1890s. Hugh Hawthorne Barton, who had operated Brothers Mill on Elphinstone Creek from the late 1870s, took over the General Grant, Sunset, and Black Jack mines, and the Mabel Mill (and later the Melaneur and Duke of Edinburgh mines), and floated the Ravenswood Gold Mining Company in 1887, with £100,000 in capital. From 1884 to 1896 Barton’s group was the largest and most successful operation in Ravenswood, its profitability assisted by the railway, economies of scale, and flexibility in ore-treatment methods. Barton utilised roasting, chlorination (by 1889), and smelting, and employed Chinese workers at the Mabel Mill. Along with their market gardens along Elphinstone Creek, Chinese employment at the Mabel Mill also influenced the location of the Chinese settlement area in Ravenswood. Meanwhile, the landscape was being altered by mining. The need for timber for boilers and for timbering-up mine shafts led to the loss of native trees in the locality, and goats also helped shape the landscape by eating regrowth.

 

By the mid-1890s, Barton was in debt to the Queensland National Bank, and his properties were seized in 1896, with the General Grant, Black Jack, and Mabel Mill being let on tribute (where a party of miners worked a mine, while giving the mine owner a percentage of any results) in 1897. The tributers refused to employ Barton’s experienced Chinese workers at the Mabel Mill, leading to disastrous attempts at chlorination. However, the goldfield’s production was boosted in the late 1890s when work resumed on the Donnybrook reefs for the first time in 20 years, and the Hillsborough (Eight Mile) reefs were taken up.

 

The New Ravenswood Company era (1899 - 1917):

 

Ravenswood’s boom period of gold production (1900 - 1908, with 1905 the year of highest production) is reflected in the town’s surviving mining infrastructure and commercial and public buildings. This boom occurred due to the efforts of Archibald Laurence Wilson (1852 - 1935). After gaining a diploma in mining engineering in Edinburgh, and working in New Zealand and on the Palmer River, Wilson arrived in Ravenswood in 1878. He was publican of the Silver King Hotel in Totley in the 1880s. As manager of the John Bull mine at Sandy Creek in the mid-1890s, he raised capital in London and installed a cyanide plant.

 

Wilson later travelled to London in 1898, where he floated both the Donnybrook Blocks Mining Syndicate and the New Ravenswood Company in 1899. Wilson was the General Manager of both companies, under their London directorates. Until 1917, the New Ravenswood Company was the largest mining operation on the Ravenswood goldfield. Registered with a capital of £50,000, the company purchased the General Grant, Sunset, Black Jack, Melaneur, and Shelmalier mines, and the Mabel Mill, from the Queensland National Bank (and later obtained the Saratoga, Duke of Edinburgh and London North mines), and initiated a new era in ore and metallurgical extraction. Using British capital, Wilson introduced modern machinery to work the mines, and effectively reshaped Ravenswood’s landscape. Wilson was known as ‘the uncrowned king of Ravenswood’. He was also Chairman of the Ravenswood Shire Council for some years, and was later on the Dalrymple Shire Council, until he resigned from poor health in 1934.

 

From 1900, both the Sunset and General Grant (also known as the Grant) mines were redeveloped by Wilson. These became the key earners for the New Ravenswood Company; by 1903 the two mines employed about 205 men, and were ‘the “backbone” of the town’.

 

The Sunset reef, which runs roughly northwest-southeast through the Ravenswood Mining Landscape, was the largest producer on the goldfield (almost a quarter of the total). It produced 14,722oz of gold from 1870 - 1894, and by 1900 it was worked from an underlie (an inclined shaft, following the dip of a reef) branching off from a vertical shaft 130ft (40m) deep. It was stated at this time that the reef had ‘much the same history as the General Grant, the two being generally worked together’. By 1903 the New Ravenswood Company had extended the underlie shaft right up to the surface, where a headframe was constructed to haul ore directly up the slope. The Sunset’s yield of ‘free gold’ (pure gold not combined with other minerals), which could be extracted at the Mabel Mill, peaked in 1904, then fell slowly. In 1905 an average of 170 men were employed at the mine. In 1908 the reef was being worked by the main underlie shaft, 900ft (274m) deep (Sunset No. 1); and a vertical shaft, 556ft (169m) deep (Sunset No. 2). As the Sunset reef was worked in conjunction with the General Grant and the Duke of Edinburgh reefs in the New Ravenswood Company era, its exact total production of gold is hard to calculate; but from 1876 to 1912 the reef probably produced about 177,000oz of gold; and probably most of the 22, 000oz that the company extracted from 1912 - 1917.

 

The General Grant, one of the most productive reefs on the goldfield, running roughly north-south just east of the Sunset reef, was worked almost continuously to the late 1880s, and periodically thereafter. By 1895 returns had diminished, due to the small size of the reef and its highly refractory ore. In 1900, the General Grant had a vertical shaft to 110ft (34m), and then an underlie of 610ft (186m), the bottom of the latter being 450ft (137m) below the level of the shaft mouth; but operations were ‘almost completely suspended’ as the New Ravenswood Company concentrated on the Sunset reef. To 1900 the General Grant had produced 23, 651oz of gold; and after crushing of ore from the mine resumed at the beginning of 1903, it was treated with ore from the Sunset. On average, 40 men were employed on the mine in 1905. In 1908 the powerhouse for both the Sunset and the General Grant mines was situated on the General Grant lease, with three Cornish boilers. By 1912 the General Grant had produced about 36,000oz of gold.

 

To the east of the General Grant was the Duke of Edinburgh reef, running roughly northwest-southeast. This was one of the early reefs discovered on the goldfield; and in 1872 it was identified by Warden TR Hackett as one of the 28 principal reefs. It was worked in several episodes prior to the 1890s, and was re-opened in 1891, producing 1286oz of gold during 1891 - 1895. In 1908 the mine was taken over by the New Ravenswood Company, and was reorganised as an underlie shaft with haulage machinery from the Golden Hill mine, being worked in conjunction with the General Grant until 1917.

 

Along with his modernisation of the goldfield’s best mines, Wilson also abandoned chlorination at the Mabel Mill, increased the mill’s crushing capacity to 30 stamps (by 1904), and introduced the first Wilfley tables to Queensland. Crushing resumed in January 1900. Wilson improved metallurgical extraction by ‘postponing amalgamation of the free gold till the great bulk of the sulphides had been removed by concentration’. The ore was crushed in stampers without using mercury. Then, using the Wilfley tables, the heavier Galena (lead sulphide ore) and free gold was separated from the lighter sulphides. The free gold and galena was then ground in Berdan pans with mercury, while the remaining sulphides (containing iron, zinc and copper) were dispatched to the Aldershot works (near Maryborough) for smelting. In 1902 - 1903, a raff wheel, 14.5m in diameter, was built at the Mabel Mill to lift tailings (post-treatment residue) up to a flume, which carried them over to the south side of Elphinstone Creek, where they could be treated with cyanide. The cyanide works (of which remnants still remain south of Elphinstone Creek) was erected circa 1904. A 21m long girder bridge was constructed across the creek to carry steam water pipes and electric cable from the Mabel Mill to the new works, which eventually comprised two Krupp ball mills and 12 Wilfley’s tables.

 

Due to the New Ravenswood Company’s efforts, the goldfield’s production increased between 1899 and 1905. Gold recovery increased from 18, 016oz in 1899 to 24, 832oz in 1900 and to 42, 465oz in 1905. The New Ravenswood Company paid impressive 50% dividends to its shareholders in 1901, 1902, and 1904; and 75% in 1903.

 

The productivity of Ravenswood’s mines during the New Ravenswood Company era was also reflected in the goldfield’s population, which rose from 3420 in 1901 to its peak of 4707 in 1903. The 1903 population included 215 Chinese, 89 of these being alluvial miners. In 1905 two Chinese were listed as ‘storekeepers and grocers’.

 

The population increase led to a building boom in the first decade of the 20th Century. Hundreds of new houses, the town’s first two brick hotels – the Imperial hotel (1901) and the Railway Hotel (1902) – as well as brick shops such as Thorp’s Building (1903), and the brick Ravenswood Ambulance Station (1904) were constructed in this period; the use of brick being spurred by the threat of fire. The New Ravenswood Company also rebuilt the mining landscape in and around the town, with expansion of the Mabel Mill, and new headframes and winders, magazines, boilers, and brick smokestacks erected beside all the principal shafts.

 

However, not all Wilson’s ventures in this period were successful. In 1902 he floated Deep Mines Ltd, with a capital of £100, 000, to sink a shaft east of the New Ravenswood Company’s leases. This mine (also within the Ravenswood Mining Landscape) was an ambitious attempt to reach a presumed intersection of the General Grant and Sunset reefs at depth. Using the capital raised, Wilson built a model mine and mill. The shaft was started in late 1902-early 1903, and construction work on the buildings and machinery was completed later in 1903. The mine reached 512m, the deepest on the goldfield, with extensive crosscutting and driving, but only about 240oz of gold was recovered. No ore was crushed at all in 1908. By 1910 a new shaft was being sunk ‘near the western boundary’; but the mine was abandoned in 1911, and never worked again. Wilson’s London investors lost at least £65,000.

 

The Deep’s mill, built nearby and operational by 1906, was a smaller version of the Mabel Mill, with gravity stamps, Wilfley tables, and a cyanide plant. Its site, adjacent to the mine, ran counter to the normal practice of siting mills near water courses. With the failure of the Deep mine, it milled ore from other mines until about 1917.

 

Another mine, the Grand Junction, was located north of the New Ravenswood Company’s most productive mines, in the Ravenswood Mining Landscape. The Grand Junction Consolidated Gold Mining Company was formed in 1900, and a shaft was sunk in 1901 (probably the No. 1 shaft on the Grand Junction Lease No. 520). In 1902 another exploration ‘deep shaft’ (No. 2) was sunk at the southwest boundary of the Grand Junction Lease No.503. The Grand Junction mine was another failed attempt to locate a presumed junction of the General Grant and Sunset reefs at depth; by 1908 it was owned by the New Ravenswood Company. Total production was about 425oz of gold.

 

Slightly more successful was the Grant and Sunset Extended mine, at the southern end of the Ravenswood Mining landscape. This was a deep shaft sunk by the Grant and Sunset Extended Gold Mining Company, a Charters Towers-owned company with Wilson as its local director. During the 19th Century, small mines had been operated in the Rob Roy reef, to the southeast. The Grant and Sunset Extended was floated in 1902, the intent being to locate the General Grant and Sunset reefs south of Buck Reef. The plant and buildings of the Yellow Jack mine, southeast of Ravenswood, were re-erected on the site. The shaft was down 70ft (21m) in 1902 and 930ft (283m) by 1908, with 50 men employed at the mine by the later date. The mine closed by 1910, but was worked on tribute until 1917, with about 15,000oz of gold obtained over 1904 - 1918.

 

The boom period at Ravenswood did not last. As well as losing money on the Deep and Grand Junction mines, the New Ravenswood Company faced the closure of the Aldershot works in 1906, and declining yields from 1908 to 1912. Although Wilson experimented with flotation (agitating crushed ore in oil and water, and extracting fine gold particles on the surface of air bubbles) and cyanide processes at the Mabel Mill, it was too late to save his company. The Shelmalier had closed by 1904, the Black Jack in 1909, and the Melaneur in 1910. By that year, the General Grant, Sunset, Duke of Edinburgh, and London North (obtained 1910) were the New Ravenswood Company’s only producing mines.

 

Few new buildings were constructed in Ravenswood after 1905. The hospital closed in 1908. That year the goldfield’s population consisted of 4141 Europeans (including 2625 women and children) and 181 Chinese (including 94 alluvial miners). This dropped to 2581, including 92 Chinese, by 1914.

 

Increased costs and industrial disputes in the 1910s hastened the end of the New Ravenswood Company era. During a miner’s strike between December 1912 and July 1913, over lay-offs, the fresh vegetables and business loans provided by Ravenswood’s Chinese community helped keep the town going. Although the miners won, it was a hollow victory, as the company could only afford to re-employ a few of the men. World War I (1914 - 1918) then increased labour and material costs for the New Ravenswood Company. The London North mine closed in 1915, and on the 24th of March 1917 the New Ravenswood Company ceased operations; ending large-scale mining in Ravenswood for the next 70 years.

 

By 1917, the Ravenswood goldfield had produced over 850, 000oz of gold (nearly a quarter coming from the Sunset mine), and 1, 000, 000oz of silver; making it the fifth largest gold producer in Queensland, after Charters Towers, Mount Morgan, Gympie, and the Palmer Goldfield. Ravenswood was also the second largest producer of reef gold in north Queensland, after Charters Towers.

 

Small scale mining and re-treatment (1919 - 1960s):

 

After 1917 the Ravenswood goldfield entered a period of hibernation, with intermittent small-scale attempts at mining. In 1919, Ravenswood Gold Mines Ltd took over some of Wilson’s leases and renovated the Deep mine’s mill, but obtained poor returns. Ravenswood Gold Mines also worked the Duke of Edinburgh from 1919 to 1930, with good returns reported in 1924. The General Grant and Sunset were also worked on a small scale from 1919 - 1921, while the Mabel Mill continued to provide crushing services for the limited local mining.

 

Consequently, Ravenswood’s population declined and the town shrank physically. In 1921 the town’s population fell below 1000, and by 1923 there were 530 people left, including 8 Chinese. During the 1920s, prior to the closure of the railway branch line to Ravenswood in 1930, hundreds of the town’s timber buildings were dismantled and railed away. By 1927, only the two brick hotels remained operating as hotels. The Ravenswood Shire was abolished in 1929, and by 1934 only 357 people remained in the town.

 

Despite this decline, some gold was still being extracted. There was a small increase in gold production between 1923 and 1927, and due to the gold price rise of the 1930s, some mines were re-worked and efforts were also made to treat the old mullock heaps (waste rock from mining) and tailings dumps with improved cyanide processes. Between 1931 and 1942, 12, 253oz of gold was obtained from the goldfield, the peak year being 1940.

 

A number of companies were active in Ravenswood in the 1930s-early 1940s. In 1933, the North Queensland Gold Mining Development Company took up leases along Buck Reef and reopened the Golden Hill mine, and the following year their operations were taken over by Gold Mines of Australia Ltd. The 1870s Eureka mine (near the Imperial Hotel) was revived by James Judge in 1934. In 1935 the Ravenswood Concentrates Syndicate began re-treating the Grant mullock heaps in the remaining stampers at the Mabel Mill, and dewatering the Sunset No. 2 shaft; while the Sunset Extended Gold Mining Company, with James Judge as manager, dewatered the Grant and Sunset Extended shafts (which connected to the Sunset, General Grant and Duke of Edinburgh shafts), and re-timbered the Grant and Sunset Extended, General Grant, and Sunset underlie (No. 1) shafts. The London North mine was reopened by R J Hedlefs in 1937, and Basque miners were working the Sunset No. 2 shaft at this time.

 

The Little Grand Junction mine, located at the intersection of Siggers Street and School Street, on the old Grand Junction Lease No. 520, was operated from 1937 - 1942 by local miners Henry John Bowrey and John Thomas Blackmore. Five men were employed at the mine in 1940. The shaft had apparently been sunk previously by the Grand Junction Consolidated Gold Mining Company; and Bowrey and Party reconditioned it and extended the existing workings.

 

In 1938, Archibald and Heuir set up a mill on the bank of One Mile Creek to treat mullock dumps, and the Ravenswood Gold Mining Syndicate (formed 1937, with James Judge as manager) began treating the mullock dumps of the Sunset mine in late 1938. The same syndicate also dewatered and reopened part of the Grant and Sunset Extended; and the Grand Junction mine was reopened by Judge circa 1939 - 1942.

 

The Ravenswood Gold Mining Syndicate’s (Judge’s) mill initially consisted of 10 head of stamps obtained from the Mother Lode Mill at Mount Wright (northwest of Ravenswood), powered by a diesel engine. The ore was crushed by the stamper battery, concentrated with Wilfley tables, and then either treated with cyanide or sent to the Chillagoe smelters. Initial success with some rich ore led to enlargement of the mill to 30 stamps in 1939 - 40. A Stirling boiler and a 250hp engine were also obtained from the Burdekin meatworks (Sellheim), and a rock breaker, elevator, and conveyor were installed. However, the upgraded mill proved to be overpowered and required a lot of timber fuel; the brick foundations used for the machinery were not strong enough; and the best ore from the Sunset had already been treated, so the mill closed early in 1942 and the plant was moved to Cloncurry.

 

Also in 1938, Maxwell Partridge and William Ralston installed a new plant south of Elphinstone Creek, to the immediate west of the Mabel Mill’s old cyanide works, to re-treat the old tailings with cyanide. A ball mill, filter, and other plant were purchased from the Golden Mile, Cracow in 1939, while later that year a suction gas engine and flotation machine were also installed. This operation closed circa 1942, and the coloured sands on the site today are residues from the flotation process: the yellow sand is from the floatation of iron pyrites; the grey sands are copper tailings; and the black material is zinc tailings.

 

There was limited activity on the goldfield in the late 1940s to early 1960s. The Empire Gold Mining Syndicate treated mullock dumps from The Irish Girl, London, and Sunset mines from 1946 to 1949, as well as some of the dumps from the Grand Junction (1947). The Duke of Edinburgh mine was briefly reopened by Cuevas and Wilson in 1947, and the Cornish boilers on the site (one with the maker’s mark ‘John Danks & Son Pty Ltd makers Melbourne) may relate to this (unsuccessful) operation. Percy Kean reopened the Great Extended mine at Totley in 1947, and later purchased Partridge’s mill in 1951 to use it as a flotation plant to treat the silver-lead ore from Totley, adding a diesel engine, stonebreaker, Wilfley tables, and classifier. The Totley mines closed in 1954, although the Great Extended mine was briefly sub-leased by Silver Horizons No Liability, in 1964. Partridge’s mill was closed circa 1965.

 

Other attempts were made in the early 1950s to rework old sites. A Townsville syndicate led by Leslie Cook and George Blackmore reopened the Grand Junction mine in 1951, but it soon closed. James Judge also recommenced gold mining at Donnybrook, but closed in 1954; while 900 tons of tailings from the Deep mine’s mill site were taken for re-treatment at Heuir’s cyanide plant in the early 1950s.

 

A new industry:

 

In the 1960 and 1970s, Ravenswood’s population shrank to its nadir of about 70 people. At the same time, there was a growing nostalgic interest in old towns in Australia. In 1968 the landscape of Ravenswood was described in romantic terms: ‘Mute testimonials are the numerous mullock heaps which dot the countryside; the rusty remains of steam engines; stampers which were used to crush stone; and collapsed cyanide vats… Derelict poppet-heads…stand above deep, abandoned shafts. Colossal columns of chimney stacks rise majestically from the entanglement of rubber vines and Chinese apple trees.’ Some locals realised that preserving the town’s surviving historic buildings and structures was necessary to attract tourists and create a new local industry.

 

From this time onwards the town’s mining heritage was seen as an asset. The National Trust of Queensland met with locals in 1974, and a conservation plan for the town was published in 1975. Later, the town sites of Totley and Ravenswood were both entered into the National Trust of Queensland Register. Comments from an International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) trip to northern Australia in 1978 included ‘Ravenswood…is one of the most evocative (gold towns of Australia) and this must be preserved. A policy of “all that is necessary but as little as possible” must be strongly pursued’. The increased population of North Queensland, longer paid holidays, improved roads, and the rise of car ownership after World War II, all increased visitation to Ravenswood, as did the completion of a road past Ravenswood to the Burdekin Dam, in the 1980s. As a result, the town and its mining landscape have been represented in brochures, art, and photography. In particular, the landmark qualities of the tall brick chimneys are a distinctive feature in representations of Ravenswood.

 

Modern operations:

 

However, gold mining recommenced at Ravenswood in the 1980s, due to a rise in the gold price and the efficiencies gained from open cut mining and modern cyanide metallurgical extraction processes. From 1983 - 1986 the Northern Queensland Gold Company Ltd conducted agglomeration heap-leaching (spraying a sodium cyanide solution on previously mined material heaped on a plastic membrane), in the process removing a landmark tailings dump at King’s mine in Totley, and mullock heaps from the Grant and Sunset mines. In 1987 Carpentaria Gold commenced open cut mining of the Buck reef (the Buck Reef West pit) near the old Grant and Sunset mines on the south side of the town. Later, pits were dug further east along the reef. Some underground mining was also undertaken from the Buck Reef West pit until 1993, which broke into the old workings of the General Grant, Sunset, and Duke of Edinburgh mines. The old headframe at the Grant and Sunset Extended was demolished in 1988, and replaced with a new steel headframe, which was used until 1993 and then removed. The Melaneur-Shelmalier-Black Jack-Overlander reef complex, on the north side of the town, was mined as an open cut 1990 - 1991, before being backfilled as a golf course. The Nolan’s Gully open cut commenced in 1993.

 

Although modern mining revived the economy of the town, it did not replicate the building boom of the early 20th century.

 

The heritage significance of Ravenswood’s surviving mining infrastructure was recognised in a 1996 Queensland Mining Heritage Places Study by Jane Lennon & Associates and Howard Pearce; and a 2000 Conservation Management Plan by Peter Bell. In 2006, the population of Ravenswood, the oldest surviving inland town in north Queensland, was 191.

 

By the mid-2010s the population of Ravenswood stood at 255 people.

 

Source: Queensland Heritage Register & Australian Bureau of Statistics.

 

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Kew Gardens is the world's largest collection of living plants. Founded in 1840 from the exotic garden at Kew Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, UK, its living collections include more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, while the herbarium, which is one of the largest in the world, has over seven million preserved plant specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. It is one of London's top tourist attractions. In 2003, the gardens were put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

 

Kew Gardens, together with the botanic gardens at Wakehurst Place in Sussex, are managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (brand name Kew), an internationally important botanical research and education institution that employs 750 staff, and is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

 

The Kew site, which has been dated as formally starting in 1759, though can be traced back to the exotic garden at Kew Park, formed by Lord Capel John of Tewkesbury, consists of 121 hectares (300 acres) of gardens and botanical glasshouses, four Grade I listed buildings and 36 Grade II listed structures, all set in an internationally significant landscape.

 

Kew Gardens has its own police force, Kew Constabulary, which has been in operation since 1847.

 

History

Kew, the area in which Kew Gardens are situated, consists mainly of the gardens themselves and a small surrounding community. Royal residences in the area which would later influence the layout and construction of the gardens began in 1299 when Edward I moved his court to a manor house in neighbouring Richmond (then called Sheen). That manor house was later abandoned; however, Henry V built Sheen Palace in 1501, which, under the name Richmond Palace, became a permanent royal residence for Henry VII. Around the start of the 16th century courtiers attending Richmond Palace settled in Kew and built large houses. Early royal residences at Kew included Mary Tudor's house, which was in existence by 1522 when a driveway was built to connect it to the palace at Richmond. Around 1600, the land that would become the gardens was known as Kew Field, a large field strip farmed by one of the new private estates.

 

The exotic garden at Kew Park, formed by Lord Capel John of Tewkesbury, was enlarged and extended by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales. The origins of Kew Gardens can be traced to the merging of the royal estates of Richmond and Kew in 1772. William Chambers built several garden structures, including the lofty Chinese pagoda built in 1761 which still remains. George III enriched the gardens, aided by William Aiton and Sir Joseph Banks. The old Kew Park (by then renamed the White House), was demolished in 1802. The "Dutch House" adjoining was purchased by George III in 1781 as a nursery for the royal children. It is a plain brick structure now known as Kew Palace.

 

Some early plants came from the walled garden established by William Coys at Stubbers in North Ockendon. The collections grew somewhat haphazardly until the appointment of the first collector, Francis Masson, in 1771. Capability Brown, who became England's most renowned landscape architect, applied for the position of master gardener at Kew, and was rejected.

 

In 1840 the gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden, in large part due to the efforts of the Royal Horticultural Society and its president William Cavendish. Under Kew's director, William Hooker, the gardens were increased to 30 hectares (75 acres) and the pleasure grounds, or arboretum, extended to 109 hectares (270 acres), and later to its present size of 121 hectares (300 acres). The first curator was John Smith.

 

The Palm House was built by architect Decimus Burton and iron-maker Richard Turner between 1844 and 1848, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron. It is considered " the world's most important surviving Victorian glass and iron structure." The structure's panes of glass are all hand-blown. The Temperate House, which is twice as large as the Palm House, followed later in the 19th century. It is now the largest Victorian glasshouse in existence. Kew was the location of the successful effort in the 19th century to propagate rubber trees for cultivation outside South America.

 

In February 1913, the Tea House was burned down by suffragettes Olive Wharry and Lilian Lenton during a series of arson attacks in London.[19] Kew Gardens lost hundreds of trees in the Great Storm of 1987. From 1959 to 2007 Kew Gardens had the tallest flagpole in Britain. Made from a single Douglas-fir from Canada, it was given to mark both the centenary of the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the bicentenary of Kew Gardens. The flagpole was removed after damage by weather and woodpeckers.

 

In July 2003, the gardens were put on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

 

Features

Treetop walkway

A new treetop walkway opened in 2008. This walkway is 18 metres (59 ft) high and 200 metres (660 ft) long and takes visitors into the tree canopy of a woodland glade. Visitors can ascend and descend by stairs or by a lift. The floor of the walkway is made from perforated metal and flexes as it is walked upon. The entire structure sways in the wind.

  

Sackler Crossing

The Sackler Crossing bridge, made of granite and bronze, opened in May 2006. Designed by Buro Happold and John Pawson, it crosses the lake and is named in honour of philanthropists Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler.

 

The minimalist-styled bridge is designed as a sweeping double curve of black granite. The sides of the bridge are formed of bronze posts that give the impression, from certain angles, of forming a solid wall whereas from others, and to those on the bridge, they are clearly individual entities that allow a view of the water beyond.

 

The bridge forms part of a path designed to encourage visitors to visit more of the gardens than had hitherto been popular and connects the two art galleries, via the Temperate and Evolution Houses and the woodland glade, to the Minka House and the Bamboo Garden.

 

The crossing won a special award from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2008.

 

Vehicular tour

Kew Explorer is a service that takes a circular route around the gardens, provided by two 72-seater road trains that are fuelled by Calor Gas to minimise pollution. A commentary is provided by the driver and there are several stops.

   

Compost heap

Kew has one of the largest compost heaps in Europe, made from green and woody waste from the gardens and the manure from the stables of the Household Cavalry. The compost is mainly used in the gardens, but on occasion has been auctioned as part of a fundraising event for the gardens.

 

The compost heap is in an area of the gardens not accessible to the public, but a viewing platform, made of wood which had been illegally traded but seized by Customs officers in HMRC, has been erected to allow visitors to observe the heap as it goes through its cycle.

 

Guided walks

Free tours of the gardens are conducted daily by trained volunteers.

 

Plant houses

 

Alpine House

A narrow semicircular building of glass and steel latticework stands at the right, set amid an area of worked rock with a line of deciduous trees in the rear left, under a blue sky filled with large puffy white clouds. In front of it, curving slightly away to the left, is a wooden platform with benches on it and a thin metal guardrail in front of a low wet area with bright red flowers

 

In March 2006, the Davies Alpine House opened, the third version of an alpine house since 1887. Although only 16 metres (52 ft) long the apex of the roof arch extends to a height of 10 metres (33 ft) in order to allow the natural airflow of a building of this shape to aid in the all-important ventilation required for the type of plants to be housed.

 

The new house features a set of automatically operated blinds that prevent it overheating when the sun is too hot for the plants together with a system that blows a continuous stream of cool air over the plants. The main design aim of the house is to allow maximum light transmission. To this end the glass is of a special low iron type that allows 90 per cent of the ultraviolet light in sunlight to pass. It is attached by high tension steel cables so that no light is obstructed by traditional glazing bars.

 

To conserve energy the cooling air is not refrigerated but is cooled by being passed through a labyrinth of pipes buried under the house at a depth where the temperature remains suitable all year round. The house is designed so that the maximum temperature should not exceed 20 °C (68 °F).

 

Kew's collection of Alpine plants (defined as those that grow above the tree-line in their locale – ground level at the poles rising to over 2,000 metres (6,562 feet)), extends to over 7000. As the Alpine House can only house around 200 at a time the ones on show are regularly rotated.

  

The Nash Conservatory

Originally designed for Buckingham Palace, this was moved to Kew in 1836 by King William IV. With an abundance of natural light, the building is used various exhibitions, weddings, and private events. It is also now used to exhibit the winners of the photography competition.

  

Kew Orangery

The Orangery was designed by Sir William Chambers, and was completed in 1761. It measures 28 by 10 metres (92 by 33 ft). It was found to be too dark for its intended purpose of growing citrus plants and they were moved out in 1841. After many changes of use, it is currently used as a restaurant.

  

The Palm House and Parterre

The Palm House (1844–1848) was the result of cooperation between architect Decimus Burton and iron founder Richard Turner,[28] and continues upon the glass house design principles developed by John Claudius Loudon[29][30] and Joseph Paxton. A space frame of wrought iron arches, held together by horizontal tubular structures containing long prestressed cables,[30][31] supports glass panes which were originally[28] tinted green with copper oxide to reduce the significant heating effect. The 19m high central nave is surrounded by a walkway at 9m height, allowing visitors a closer look upon the palm tree crowns. In front of the Palm House on the east side are the Queen's Beasts, ten statues of animals bearing shields. They are Portland stone replicas of originals done by James Woodford and were placed here in 1958.[32]

  

Princess of Wales Conservatory

Kew's third major conservatory, the Princess of Wales Conservatory, designed by architect Gordon Wilson, was opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales in commemoration of her predecessor Augusta's associations with Kew. In 1989 the conservatory received the Europa Nostra award for conservation.[34] The conservatory houses ten computer-controlled micro-climatic zones, with the bulk of the greenhouse volume composed of Dry Tropics and Wet Tropics plants. Significant numbers of orchids, water lilies, cacti, lithops, carnivorous plants and bromeliads are housed in the various zones. The cactus collection also extends outside the conservatory where some hardier species can be found.

 

The conservatory has an area of 4499 square metres. As it is designed to minimise the amount of energy taken to run it, the cooler zones are grouped around the outside and the more tropical zones are in the central area where heat is conserved. The glass roof extends down to the ground, giving the conservatory a distinctive appearance and helping to maximise the use of the sun's energy.

 

During the construction of the conservatory a time capsule was buried. It contains the seeds of basic crops and endangered plant species and key publications on conservation.

 

Rhizotron

 

The Rhizotron

A rhizotron opened at the same time as the "treetop walkway", giving visitors the opportunity to investigate what happens beneath the ground where trees grow. The rhizotron is essentially a single gallery containing a set of large bronze abstract castings which contain LCD screens that carry repeating loops of information about the life of trees.

 

Temperate House

 

Inside the Temperate House

The Temperate House, currently closed for restoration, is a greenhouse that has twice the floor area of the Palm House and is the world's largest surviving Victorian glass structure. When in use it contained plants and trees from all the temperate regions of the world. It was commissioned in 1859 and designed by architect Decimus Burton and ironfounder Richard Turner. Covering 4880 square metres, it rises to a height of 19 metres. Intended to accommodate Kew's expanding collection of hardy and temperate plants, it took 40 years to construct, during which time costs soared. The building was restored during 2014 - 15 by Donald Insall Associates, based on their conservation management plan.

 

There is a viewing gallery in the central section from which visitors were able to look down on that part of the collection.

 

Waterlily House

The Waterlily House is the hottest and most humid of the houses at Kew and contains a large pond with varieties of water lily, surrounded by a display of economically important heat-loving plants. It closes during the winter months.

 

It was built to house the Victoria amazonica, the largest of the Nymphaeaceae family of water lilies. This plant was originally transported to Kew in phials of clean water and arrived in February 1849, after several prior attempts to transport seeds and roots had failed. Although various other members of the Nymphaeaceae family grew well, the house did not suit the Victoria, purportedly because of a poor ventilation system, and this specimen was moved to another, smaller, house.

 

The ironwork for this project was provided by Richard Turner and the initial construction was completed in 1852. The heat for the house was initially obtained by running a flue from the nearby Palm House but it was later equipped with its own boiler.

 

Ornamental buildings

 

The Pagoda

In the south-east corner of Kew Gardens stands the Great Pagoda (by Sir William Chambers), erected in 1762, from a design in imitation of the Chinese Ta. The lowest of the ten octagonal storeys is 15 m (49 ft) in diameter. From the base to the highest point is 50 m (164 ft).

 

Each storey finishes with a projecting roof, after the Chinese manner, originally covered with ceramic tiles and adorned with large dragons; a story is still propagated that they were made of gold and were reputedly sold by George IV to settle his debts. In fact the dragons were made of wood painted gold, and simply rotted away with the ravages of time. The walls of the building are composed of brick. The staircase, 253 steps, is in the centre of the building. The Pagoda was closed to the public for many years, but was reopened for the summer months of 2006 and is now open permanently. During the Second World War holes were cut in each floor to allow for drop-testing of model bombs.

  

The Japanese Gateway (Chokushi-Mon)

Built for the Japan-British Exhibition (1910) and moved to Kew in 1911, the Chokushi-Mon ("Imperial Envoy's Gateway") is a four-fifths scale replica of the karamon (gateway) of the Nishi Hongan-ji temple in Kyoto. It lies about 140 m west of the Pagoda and is surrounded by a reconstruction of a traditional Japanese garden.

  

The Minka House

Following the Japan 2001 festival, Kew acquired a Japanese wooden house called a minka. It was originally erected in around 1900 in a suburb of Okazaki. Japanese craftsmen reassembled the framework and British builders who had worked on the Globe Theatre added the mud wall panels.

 

Work on the house started on 7 May 2001 and, when the framework was completed on 21 May, a Japanese ceremony was held to mark what was considered an auspicious occasion. Work on the building of the house was completed in November 2001 but the internal artefacts were not all in place until 2006.

 

The Minka house is located within the bamboo collection in the west central part of the gardens.

  

Queen Charlotte's Cottage

Within the conservation area is a cottage that was given to Queen Charlotte as a wedding present on her marriage to George III. It has been restored by Historic Royal Palaces and is separately administered by them.

It is open to the public on weekends and bank holidays during the summer.

 

Kew Palace

Kew Palace is the smallest of the British royal palaces. It was built by Samuel Fortrey, a Dutch merchant in around 1631. It was later purchased by George III. The construction method is known as Flemish bond and involves laying the bricks with long and short sides alternating. This and the gabled front give the construction a Dutch appearance.

To the rear of the building is the "Queen's Garden" which includes a collection of plants believed to have medicinal qualities. Only plants that were extant in England by the 17th century are grown in the garden.

The building underwent significant restoration, with leading conservation architects Donald Insall Associates, before being reopened to the public in 2006.

It is administered separately from Kew Gardens, by Historic Royal Palaces.

In front of the palace is a sundial, which was given to Kew Gardens in 1959 to commemorate a royal visit. It was sculpted by Martin Holden and is based on an earlier sculpture by Thomas Tompion, a celebrated 17th century clockmaker.

 

Galleries and Museums

 

The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanic Art

The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanic Art opened in April 2008, and holds paintings from Kew's and Dr Shirley Sherwood's collections, many of which had never been displayed to the public before. It features paintings by artists such as Georg D. Ehret, the Bauer brothers, Pierre-Joseph Redouté and Walter Hood Fitch. The paintings and drawings are cycled on a six-monthly basis. The gallery is linked to the Marianne North Gallery (see above).

 

Near the Palm House is a building known as "Museum No. 1" (even though it is the only museum on the site), which was designed by Decimus Burton and opened in 1857. Housing Kew's economic botany collections including tools, ornaments, clothing, food and medicines, its aim was to illustrate human dependence on plants. The building was refurbished in 1998. The upper two floors are now an education centre and the ground floor houses the "Plants+People" exhibition which highlights the variety of plants and the ways that people use them.

 

Admission to the galleries and museum is free after paying admission to the gardens. The International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition is an annual event with an indoor display of entries during the summer months.

 

The Marianne North Gallery of Botanic Art

The Marianne North Gallery was built in the 1880s to house the paintings of Marianne North, an MP's daughter who travelled alone to North and South America, South Africa and many parts of Asia, at a time when women rarely did so, to paint plants. The gallery has 832 of her paintings. The paintings were left to Kew by the artist and a condition of the bequest is that the layout of the paintings in the gallery may not be altered.

 

The gallery had suffered considerable structural degradation since its creation and during a period from 2008 to 2009 major restoration and refurbishment took place, with works lead by with leading conservation architects Donald Insall Associates. During the time the gallery was closed the opportunity was also taken to restore the paintings to their original condition. The gallery reopened in October 2009.

 

The gallery originally opened in 1882 and is the only permanent exhibition in Great Britain dedicated to the work of one woman.

 

Plant collections

 

The plant collections include the Aquatic Garden, which is near the Jodrell laboratory. The Aquatic Garden, which celebrated its centenary in 2009, provides conditions for aquatic and marginal plants. The large central pool holds a selection of summer-flowering water lilies and the corner pools contain plants such as reed mace, bulrushes, phragmites and smaller floating aquatic species.

 

The Arboretum, which covers over half of the total area of the site, contains over 14,000 trees of many thousands of varieties. The Bonsai Collection is housed in a dedicated greenhouse near the Jodrell laboratory. The Cacti Collection is housed in and around the Princess of Wales Conservatory. The Carnivorous Plant collection is housed in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. The Grass Garden was created on its current site in the early 1980s to display ornamental and economic grasses; it was redesigned and replanted between 1994 and 1997. It is currently undergoing a further redesign and planting. Over 580 species of grasses are displayed.

 

The Herbaceous Grounds (Order Beds) were devised in the late 1860s by Sir Joseph Hooker, then director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, so that botany students could learn to recognise plants and experience at first hand the diversity of the plant kingdom. The collection is organised into family groups. Its name arose because plant families were known as natural orders in the 19th century. Over the main path is a rose pergola built in 1959 to mark the bicentennial of the Gardens. It supports climber and rambling roses selected for the length and profusion of flowering.

 

The Orchid Collection is housed in two climate zones within the Princess of Wales Conservatory. To maintain an interesting display the plants are changed regularly so that those on view are generally flowering. The Rock Garden, originally built of limestone in 1882, is now constructed of Sussex sandstone from West Hoathly, Sussex. The rock garden is divided into six geographic regions: Europe, Mediterranean and Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, North America, and South America. There are currently 2,480 different "accessions" growing in the garden.

 

The Rose Garden, based upon original designs by William Nesfield, is behind the Palm House, and was replanted between 2009 and 2010 using the original design from 1848. It is intended as an ornamental display rather than a collection of a particularly large number of varieties. Other collections and specialist areas include the rhododendron dell, the azalea garden, the bamboo garden, the juniper collection, the berberis dell, the lilac garden, the magnolia collection, and the fern collection.

  

The Palm House and lake to Victoria Gate

The world's smallest water-lily, Nymphaea thermarum, was saved from extinction when it was grown from seed at Kew, in 2009.

 

Herbarium

The Kew herbarium is one of the largest in the world with approximately 7 million specimens used primarily for taxonomic study. The herbarium is rich in types for all regions of the world, especially the tropics.

 

Library and archives

The library and archives at Kew are one of the world's largest botanical collections, with over half a million items, including books, botanical illustrations, photographs, letters and manuscripts, periodicals, and maps. The Jodrell Library has been merged with the Economic Botany and Mycology Libraries and all are now housed in the Jodrell Laboratory.

 

Forensic horticulture

Kew provides advice and guidance to police forces around the world where plant material may provide important clues or evidence in cases. In one famous case the forensic science department at Kew were able to ascertain that the contents of the stomach of a headless corpse found in the river Thames contained a highly toxic African bean.

 

Economic Botany

 

The Sustainable Uses of Plants group (formerly the Centre for Economic Botany), focus on the uses of plants in the United Kingdom and the world's arid and semi-arid zones. The Centre is also responsible for curation of the Economic Botany Collection, which contains more than 90,000 botanical raw materials and ethnographic artefacts, some of which are on display in the Plants + People exhibit in Museum No. 1. The Centre is now located in the Jodrell Laboratory.

 

Jodrell Laboratory

The original Jodrell laboratory, named after Mr T. J. Phillips Jodrell who funded it, was established in 1877 and consisted of four research rooms and an office. Originally research was conducted into plant physiology but this was gradually superseded by botanical research. In 1934 an artists' studio and photographic darkroom were added, highlighting the importance of botanical illustration. In 1965, following increasing overcrowding, a new building was constructed and research expanded into seed collection for plant conservation. The biochemistry section also expanded to facilitate research into secondary compounds that could be derived from plants for medicinal purposes. In 1994 the centre was expanded again, tripling in size, and a decade later it was further expanded by the addition of the Wolfson Wing.

 

Kew Constabulary

Main article: Kew Constabulary

The gardens have their own police force, Kew Constabulary, which has been in operation since 1847. Formerly known as the Royal Botanic Gardens Constabulary, it is a small, specialised constabulary of two sergeants and 12 officers, who patrol the grounds in a green painted electric buggy. The Kew Constables are attested under section 3 of the Parks Regulation Act 1872, which gives them the same powers as the Metropolitan Police within the land belonging to the gardens.

 

Media

A number of films, documentaries and short videos have been made about Kew Gardens.

 

They include:

 

a short colour film World Garden by cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth in 1942

three series of A Year at Kew (2007), filmed for BBC television and released on DVD

Cruickshank on Kew: The Garden That Changed the World, a 2009 BBC documentary, presented by Dan Cruickshank, exploring the history of the relationship between Kew Gardens and the British Empire

David Attenborough's 2012 Kingdom of Plants 3D

a 2003 episode of the Channel 4 TV series Time Team, presented by Tony Robinson, that searched for the remains of George III's palace

a 2004 episode of the BBC Four series Art of the Garden which looked at the building of the Great Palm House in the 1840s.

"Kew on a Plate", a TV programme showing the kinds of produce grown at Kew Gardens and how they can be prepared in a kitchen.

In 1921 Virginia Woolf published her short story "Kew Gardens", which gives brief descriptions of four groups of people as they pass by a flowerbed.

 

Access and transport

 

Elizabeth Gate

Kew Gardens is accessible by a number of gates. Currently, there are four gates into Kew Gardens that are open to the public: the Elizabeth Gate, which is situated at the west end of Kew Green, and was originally called the Main Gate before being renamed in 2012 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II; the Brentford Gate, which faces the River Thames; the Victoria Gate (named after Queen Victoria), situated in Kew Road, which is also the location of the Visitors' Centre; and the Lion Gate, also situated in Kew Road.

 

Other gates that are not open to the public include Unicorn Gate, Cumberland Gate and Jodrell Gate (all in Kew Road) and Isleworth Gate (facing the Thames).

  

Victoria Gate

Kew Gardens station, a London Underground and National Rail station opened in 1869 and served by both the District line and the London Overground services on the North London Line, is the nearest train station to the gardens – only 400 metres (1,300 ft) along Lichfield Road from the Victoria Gate entrance. Built by the London and South Western Railway, the Historic England listed building is one of the few remaining original 19th-century stations on the North London Line, and the only station on the London Underground with a pub on the platform (though the platform entrance is now closed off). Kew Bridge station, on the other side of the Thames, 800 metres from the Elizabeth Gate entrance via Kew Bridge, is served by South West Trains from Clapham Junction and Waterloo.

 

London Buses route 65, between Ealing Broadway and Kingston, stops near the Lion Gate and Victoria Gate entrances; route 391, between Fulham and Richmond, stops near Kew Gardens station; while routes 237 and 267 stop at Kew Bridge station.

 

London River Services operate from Westminster during the summer, stopping at Kew Pier, 500 metres (1,600 ft) from Elizabeth Gate. Cycle racks are located just inside the Victoria Gate, Elizabeth Gate and Brentford Gate entrances. There is a 300-space car park outside Brentford Gate, reached via Ferry Lane, as well as some free, though restricted, on-street parking on Kew Road.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kew_Gardens

 

Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, 2 miles NW of Simonsbath. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and 55 kilometres (34 mi) of the Bristol Channel coast. The highest point on Exmoor is Dunkery Beacon; at 519 metres (1,703 ft) it is also the highest point in Somerset. The total area of the Exmoor National Park is 692.8 square kilometres (267.5 sq mi), of which 71% is in Somerset and 29% in Devon.

 

Exmoor was designated a National Park in 1954, under the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act. The Exmoor National Park is primarily an upland area with a dispersed population living mainly in small villages and hamlets. The largest settlements are Porlock, Dulverton, Lynton, and Lynmouth, which together contain almost 40% of the park's population. Lynton and Lynmouth are combined into one parish and are connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway.

 

Exmoor has 55 kilometres (34 mi) of coastline, including the highest sea cliffs in England, which reach a height of 314 metres (1,030 ft) at Culbone Hill. However, the crest of this coastal ridge of hills is more than 1.6 km (0.99 mi) from the sea. If a cliff is defined as having a slope greater than 60 degrees, the highest sea cliff on mainland Britain is Great Hangman near Combe Martin at 318 metres (1,043 ft) high, with a cliff face of 250 metres (820 ft). Its sister cliff is the 250 metres (820 ft) Little Hangman, which marks the edge of Exmoor.

 

The scenery of rocky headlands, ravines, waterfalls and towering cliffs gained the Exmoor coast recognition as a heritage coast in 1991. With its huge waterfalls and caves, this dramatic coastline has become an adventure playground for both climbers and explorers. The cliffs provide one of the longest and most isolated seacliff traverses in the UK. The South West Coast Path, at 1,014 kilometres (630 mi) the longest National Trail in England and Wales, starts at Minehead and runs along all of Exmoor's coast. There are small harbours at Lynmouth, Porlock Weir and Combe Martin. Once crucial to coastal trade, the harbours are now primarily used for pleasure; individually owned sail boats and non-commercial fishing boats are often found in the harbours. The Valley of the Rocks beyond Lynton is a deep dry valley that runs parallel to the nearby sea and is capped on the seaward side by large rocks and Sexton's Burrows forms a natural breakwater to the Harbour of Watermouth Bay on the coast.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

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After a few days visit, I have to say that Exmoor national park is a hidden gem on the western coast of England. Stunning scenery and picturesque villages create a lovely combination of a peaceful place that is really worth visiting.

 

There are a lot of trails in the national park, both on the coast and in the hilly interior - and we of course tried a few of those.

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So, let's get one thing straight from the outset.

  

I LOVE CARRION CROW.

  

There, I've said it. Words I use to describe these amazing birds would include stunning, beautiful, bold, magnificent, intelligent and fantastic, loving, tender, victimized.

  

Right now I have a resident pair of Carrion crows who have decided that my garden is theirs, and are playing a game of cat and mouse with a pair of cheeky Magpies (Pica pica) for dominance and food rights. The male crow actually flies in and 'wings' the magpies to make them leave, an incredible sight to witness. It's an honour and a privilege to be able to win their trust and they have given me so much pleasure this year being able to get within a few feet of them, to photograph and feed them, and they have reinforced my already deep admiration for a bird that is brimming with beauty, intelligence, confidence and also surrounded by myths, legend and prejudice.

  

So let's begin with a look back over history.

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm. They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades. Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

Shortly afterwardsds she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me.

  

By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the frames as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

A final observation came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021

  

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty nine metres at 13:45pm on a summer afternoon of sunshine and rain showers on Thursday 3rd June 2021, off Hythe Avenue and Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

Here we see a large adult female Carrion crow (Corvus corone) patrolling a garden and gathering up some bread, a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus Raven (Higher classification: Corvus), which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia.

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length 450mm Shutter speed: 1/500s Aperture f/7.1 iso400 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control enabled on setting 1 Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW Size L (8256 x 5504 Pixels) (14 bit uncompressed) AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. AF-S Priority selection: Focus. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (4780K) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3DG OS HSM SPORTS. Lee SW150 MKI filter holder with MK2 light shield and custom made velcro fitting for the Sigma lens. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch.Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup. Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

    

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.35s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.43s

ALTITUDE: 59.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 90.8MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 37.40MB

    

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

  

The complex includes over 150 stores and restaurants in buildings built in the style of different world seaports such as Cape Town, Amsterdam and Venice, six rides, a slots hall, a 72-room hotel and a casino spanning over 111,500 meter square of area.The theme park gets 40% of its area from reclamation from the sea.

Visitor attractions include:

Tang Dynasty

East Meets West

Vulcania - A 40m tall replica volcano which 'erupts' every evening and inside of which the 'River of Fire' white-water and 'Dragon Quest' roller coaster rides are housed. The exterior of Vulcania includes walkways styled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

 

Aladdin's Fort, an attraction in the style of a middle-eastern fort which is home to a variety of children's funfair rides.

 

Aqua Romanis, a Roman-themed shopping centre.

 

Roman Amphitheatre, an outdoor Colosseum equipped with 2,000 seats, designed as a venue for concerts and other performances .

 

Legend Wharf-A complex of shops, hotels, restaurants and a casino themed on coastal towns including Miami, Cape Town, New Orleans, Amsterdam, Venice, Spain, Portugal and the Italian Riviera.

 

Vasco da Gama Waterworld a performance venue for water-based shows including four jet-ski performances every day.

 

--wikipedia.org

I set off on a road trip that would include driving Shafer Trail and Potash Road through Canyonlands National Park. When I made it back to pavement I raced over to the southern entrance to take in the Needles District and go to the end of the road, with a quick stop at Newspaper Rock.

 

------------------

 

Canyonlands National Park is an American national park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. Legislation creating the park was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on September 12, 1964.

 

The park is divided into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the combined rivers—the Green and Colorado—which carved two large canyons into the Colorado Plateau. While these areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own character. Author Edward Abbey, a frequent visitor, described the Canyonlands as "the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth—there is nothing else like it anywhere."

 

Source: Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canyonlands_National_Park

 

Includes teams from Mitchell, Harrisburg, Watertown, Aberdeen Central. Permission granted for journalism outlets and educational purposes. Not for commercial use. Must be credited. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

©2021 SDPB

 

The Spanish Harrier displaying at RIAT

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Natural environment:

 

Moreton Bay Marine Park protects a vast array of marine habitats, plants and animals. Covering more than 3400km2 of open and sheltered waterways and dotted with islands, Moreton Bay Marine Park includes some of Australia's premier wetlands. Extensive mangroves and tidal flats support and shelter fish, birds and other wildlife. Sandflats provide roosting sites for migratory birds and seagrass beds nurture fish, shellfish, dugong and turtles.

 

Moreton Bay wetlands:

 

In 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar, representatives from 18 nations signed the Convention on Wetlands of International Significance (known as the Ramsar Convention) to stop global loss of wetlands, and to conserve and sustainably manage remaining wetlands. Moreton Bay is one of Australia's largest sites listed under the Ramsar Convention.

 

The wetlands of Moreton Bay are extremely varied and range from perched freshwater lakes and sedge swamps on the offshore islands, to intertidal mudflats, marshes, sandflats and mangroves adjoining the bay's islands and the mainland. This variety in habitats contributes to the bay's biological diversity. The high diversity is also due to the location and climate of the bay; it supports tropical, subtropical and temperate wildlife species.

 

There are 11 declared Fish Habitat Areas (FHAs) in Moreton Bay: Pumicestone Channel, Deception Bay, Kippa-Ring, Hay’s Inlet, Moreton Banks, Myora-Amity Banks, Peel Island, Jumpinpin-Broadwater, Pimpama, Coomera, Coombabah. Queensland’s first FHAs were declared in Moreton Bay in 1969. Declared FHAs protect important fish habitats like mangroves, seagrass, saltmarsh and mudflats from the impacts of coastal development, while still allowing legal fishing.

 

Seagrasses and mangroves:

 

The seagrass beds, mudflats and mangroves of Moreton Bay Marine Park provide food and habitat for a wide variety of marine life.

 

Seagrasses are flowering plants. Their closest relatives are lilies and orchids. Seagrasses need sunlight, clear water and nutrients—often obtained from nearby mangroves—to grow. The seagrasses between Russell Island and North Stradbroke Island and in southern Moreton Bay provide food and habitat for dugong, turtles, fish and crustaceans.

 

Mangroves provide a nursery for fish, prawns and crabs, which form the basis of an important commercial and recreational fishery. Mangrove communities act as stabilisers, helping to reduce excessive sediment flow and decreasing the threat of erosion caused by currents and stream flow. Seven species of mangroves are found in the marine park.

 

Dugong:

 

Dugong, also known as sea cows, can grow to about 3m long and weigh up to 400kg. Adult dugong feed predominantly on seagrass and can consume 30kg per day. As they feed, whole plants are uprooted and a tell-tale feeding trail is left. The female dugong takes up to 17 years to mature and then only produces one young every five years if the conditions are suitable. Dugong are listed as a vulnerable species under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

 

Whales:

 

The humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae is the fifth largest of the great whales. Adult females grow to 15m, slightly longer than males. A mature humpback can weigh 40t. Humpbacks are generally blackish with white underbellies and sides. They are listed as a vulnerable species under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

 

Humpbacks mate and give birth in warmer waters. Each year the east Australian humpback whale population migrates 6000km, from their Antarctic feeding grounds, along the eastern coastline of Australia, to arrive in the lagoons of the Great Barrier Reef in about mid-June. From July, after calving, the humpbacks start to migrate south—back to the Antarctic waters. A proportion of the population stops over in Moreton Bay. Most humpbacks have left Queensland waters by early November.

 

Other species known to visit Moreton Bay Marine Park throughout the year include killer whales Orcinus orca, southern right whales Eubalaena australis, sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus, melon-headed whales Peponocephala electra and minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata.

 

Dolphins:

 

Moreton Bay Marine Park has two resident dolphin species, the bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus and the Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin Sousa chinensis.

 

Bottlenose dolphins are the largest of the beaked dolphins and have a short, stout beak (sometimes described as bottle-shaped) marked with a crease where it meets the forehead. Their average size is about 3m and they feed on invertebrates, bottom-dwelling fish and squid, plus the full range of pelagic fish species. In bays they form small groups of about 15 individuals, while groups offshore may number in the hundreds. A single calf is born after a gestation period of about a year. Bottlenose dolphins have a life span of up to 45 years.

 

Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphins are a coastal species found in tropical and subtropical waters. In Queensland they are found in Moreton Bay and its adjacent waters and in Tin Can Inlet, Great Sandy Strait. Body colour ranges from white to pinkish to grey, with some individuals being heavily spotted. They grow to a length of about 2.7m and the beak is long and cylindrical. Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphins feed in shallow waters and have a varied diet of fish, molluscs and crustaceans. Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphins are listed as rare under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

 

Turtles:

 

The seagrass meadows of Moreton Bay Marine Park provide a vital feeding area for marine turtles. Species commonly seen in Moreton Bay include green turtles Chelonia mydas, loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta and hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricatata. Leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea and flatback turtles Natator depressus are also irregular visitors.

 

Green turtles have an olive-green carapace (shell) and a relatively small head compared with the size of its body. Young green turtles are carnivorous, eating tiny marine animals, yet the adults are thought to be totally herbivorous, feeding on algae, seagrass and mangrove fruits. Females take 30 to 50 years to mature and only breed every two to eight years. Green turtles are listed as vulnerable under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

 

Loggerhead turtles are listed as endangered under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. The carapace is dark brown, sometimes irregularly speckled with a darker brown. They occur in coral reefs, bays and estuaries in tropical and warm temperate waters off the coast of Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia and New South Wales. Loggerhead turtles are carnivorous, feeding mostly on shellfish, crabs, sea urchins and jellyfish.

 

Hawksbill turtles occur in tidal and sub-tidal coral and rocky reef habitats through tropical waters, extending into warm temperate areas as far south as northern New South Wales. The carapace is heart-shaped and olive-green to brown, richly variegated with reddish-brown, dark brown and black. Hawksbill turtles are omnivores, feeding on sponges, seagrasses, algae, soft corals and shellfish. Hawksbill turtles are listed as vulnerable under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

 

Migratory shorebirds:

 

About 32 species of migratory shorebirds including eastern curlews Numenius madagascariensis, grey-tailed tattlers Heteroscelus brevipes, red-necked stints Calidris ruficollis, ruddy turnstones Arenaria interpres, bar-tailed godwits Limosa lapponica and sandpipers visit Moreton Bay Marine Park each September to April.

 

Most of the shorebird species which visit Moreton Bay Marine Park's intertidal flats are migratory species listed under the Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA) or the China Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA).

 

Most migrate from Arctic or sub-Arctic regions at the end of the breeding season, moving to the southern hemisphere and stopping to rest before the next stage of their long journey. When feeding here, migratory shorebirds are storing energy for their return trip north to breed again.

 

The migratory shorebirds prefer four main habitats—muddy intertidal flats with and without seagrass, sandy flats and coral rubble on islands in the middle of the bay. Mirapool sandflat, in the south-east of Moreton Island, is considered a vital roosting and feeding site for waders, particularly eastern curlews.

 

Major roosting and feeding sites for shorebirds include open sandy islands and beaches (mainly on Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island), saltpans and claypans scattered in and behind the mangrove fringe, freshwater marshes and mangroves.

 

Resident shorebirds:

 

Moreton Bay has about 3500 resident shorebirds, representing 10 species. These birds breed in and around Moreton Bay. Some of the most recognisable species include the pied oystercatcher, the bush stone-curlew and the red-capped plover. The beach stone-curlew and the sooty oystercatcher are less common and are of international and national significance because ongoing disturbance has drastically reduced their numbers.

 

When it is time for resident shorebirds to breed, they build their simple nests just above the high-tide line of beaches and rocky shorelines. For this reason they are vulnerable to damage from vehicles driving above high tide lines and from people camping on undisturbed foredunes. Each year, many young shorebirds and some adults are killed due to beach traffic.

 

Source: Queensland Government: Parks & Forests (Department of Environment & Science)

 

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Austin Metro 1.0L (1980-97) Engine 998cc S4 OHV Tr. Production 2,078,218 (includes Rover 100)

Production 2,078,218

Registration Number NTB 795 W (Warrington)

 

AUSTIN ALBUM

 

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623759808208...

 

The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. Introduced the Austin mini Metro. It was intended as a big brother, rather than as a replacement, for the Mini, Some of the Mini's underpinnings were carried over into the Metro, namely the 998 cc and 1275 cc A-Series engines, much of the front-wheel drivetrain and four-speed manual gearbox, and suspension subframes. The Metro used the Hydragas suspension system found on the Allegro but without front to rear interconnection. The hatchback body shell was one of the most spacious of its time and this was a significant factor in its popularity. Initially, the Metro was sold as a three-door hatchback, followed later by the five door model.

 

At the time of its launch, the Metro was sold under the Austin brand. From 1982, MG versions became available. During 1987, the car lost the Austin name, and was sold simply as the Metro. From 1990 until its withdrawal in 1998, the Metro was sold only as a Rover.

 

Diolch am 80,353,897 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mae pob un yn cael ei werthfawrogi'n fawr.

 

Thanks for 80,353,897 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated.

 

Shot 30.05.2021. at Capesthorne Hall car show, Siddington Cheshire 145-042

 

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Beautiful German-born actress Nastassja Kinski (1961) has appeared in more than 60 films. Her starring roles include her Golden Globe Award-winning portrayal of the title character in Tess (1979) and parts in Wim Wenders' films Falsche Bewegung/The Wrong Move (1975), Paris, Texas (1984) and In weiter Ferne, so nah!/Faraway, So Close! (1993).

 

Nastassja Kinski (pronounced as "nas-TAS-ya") was born as Nastassja Aglaia Nakszyński in Berlin in 1961 (some sources say 1964. She is the daughter of the German actor Klaus Kinski from his marriage to actress Ruth Brigitte Tocki. She is a half-sister to actress Pola Kinski and actor Nikolai Kinski. Her parents divorced in 1968 and Kinski rarely saw her father after the age of 10. She and her mother struggled financially and eventually lived in a commune in Munich. Her career began in Germany as a model. The actress Lisa Kreuzer placed her in the role of the dumb Mignon in Wim Wenders' film Falsche Bewegung/The Wrong Move (1975) starring Rüdiger Vogler and Hanna Schygulla. In Great-Britain she featured in the horror film To the Devil a Daughter (Peter Sykes, 1976), starring Christopher Lee and produced by Hammer Film. That year she had her first major role in an episode of the popular German TV crime show Tatort. This episode, Reifezeugnis/For Your Love Only (1977), had a feature film length and was directed by Wolfgang Petersen at the beginning of his career. Years later, after Kinski had become an international star, the TV film was released theatrically in the U.S. In 1976, Kinski was photographed for French Vogue by director Roman Polanski, and the two started a romantic relationship. She was 15 years old at the time and he was 43. In the cinema Kinski also had a May-December romance in Così come sei/Stay As You Are (Alberto Lattuada, 1978) with Marcello Mastroianni. Polanski urged Kinski to study acting with Lee Strasberg in the United States and Great Britain and cast her in the lead part of his film, Tess (1979), based on the classic novel by Thomas Hardy. The film won three Oscars and Kinski won the Golden Globe for best newcomer. However, Derek Armstrong writes at AllMovie: “The quiet, contemplative nature of the film is echoed, although not so skilfully, in the lead performance of Nastassja Kinski. Seemingly cast more for her soulful eyes (and Polanski's budding relationship with her) than her acting, Kinski gives a tentative, one-note performance that is nearly inaudible. Still, it served to deliver her a variety of other projects and bring her limited stardom.”

 

Director Francis Ford Coppola brought Nastassja Kinski to the U.S.A. to act for his new Zoetrope Studios. In 1981, photographer Richard Avedon photographed Kinski. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “Kinski became the dream of male college undergraduates everywhere by posing for a Richard Avedon poster wearing nothing but a large, live python which spiralled around her body. “The first Zoetrope production, One From the Heart (Francis Ford Coppola, 1982), starring Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr and Kinski, failed at the box office and was a major loss for Coppola's new studio. In 1982, she also appeared in the erotic horror film Cat People (Paul Schrader, 1982), which also was not successful commercially. Kinski then split her time between Europe and the United States. In France she filmed La lune dans le caniveau/Moon in the Gutter (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1983) with Gérard Dépardieu. In Germany, she played Clara Wieck in the biography Frühlingssinfonie/Spring Symphony (Peter Schamoni, 1983) opposite Herbert Grönemeyer as composer Robert Schumann. In Italy she co-starred with Rutger Hauer in In una notte di chiaro di luna/ Up to date (Lina Wertmüller, 1989). And in the U.S. she co-starred with Rudolph Nureyev in Exposed (James Toback, 1983), with Rob Lowe and Jodie Foster in The Hotel New Hampshire (Tony Richardson, 1984), with John Savage in Maria's Lovers (Andrey Konchalovskiy, 1984) and with Al Pacino in Revolution (Al Pacino, 1985). Her most acclaimed film was Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) in which she played the estranged wife of Harry Dean Stanton. Mark Deming at AllMovie: “Paris, Texas may be the finest of Wim Wenders' "road movies," a deliberately paced but deeply moving story of a man at the end of his emotional rope who is given an unexpected chance to heal both his scars and those he has inflicted on others. Harry Dean Stanton gives perhaps his finest performance - few actors could pull off a scene like the long monologue he shares with Kinski near the film's conclusion” The film won a César and also three awards in Cannes, and was nominated, however, the film was not widely released in the United States. In the mid-1980s, Kinski met Egyptian filmmaker Ibrahim Moussa. They married in 1984 and they have two children together, son Aljosha (1984) and daughter Sonja Kinski (1986).

 

Nastassja Kinski's luck in Hollywood turned in the 1990s when she appeared opposite Charlie Sheen in the action-comedy Terminal Velocity (Deran Serafian, 1994). After her marriage with Moussa had been dissolved, Kinski lived with musician Quincy Jones till 1995. In 1993, their daughter, Kenya Julia Miambi Sarah Jones, was born. In the cinema, Kinski would tackle serious subject matter in the AIDS drama One Night Stand (Mike Figgis, 1997) with Wesley Snipes, The Lost Son (Chris Menges, 1999), a crime drama revolving around a network of paedophiles, and the Serbian war drama Savior (Predrag Antonijevic, 1998) with Dennis Quaid. Her other film appearances include In weiter Ferne, so nah!/Faraway, So Close (Wim Wenders, 1993) with Bruno Ganz, the comedy of manners Your Friends & Neighbors (Neil LaBute, 1998) with Aaron Eckhardt, and The Claim (Michael Winterbottom, 2000), loosely based on Thomas Hardy's novel Mayor of Casterbridge. The story, filmed in sub-zero Calgary, Canada, tells about a man (Peter Mullan) who sells his wife (Kinski) and daughter (Sarah Polley) for a gold-mining claim. Jason Clark at AllMovie: “Winterbottom subtly draws viewers into this haunting tale of family regained and the power of greed by letting them take in the details through small gestures.” In the following years, Kinski played mainly in B-films and TV movies. Interesting were the French-Canadian Mini-Series Les liaisons dangereuses/Dangerous Liaisons (Josée Dayan, 2003) with Catherine Deneuve and Rupert Everett, and the dark mystery Inland Empire (David Lynch, 2006) with Laura Dern and Jeremy Irons. She co-starred with Julian Sands in the short film Il turno di notte lo fanno le stele/The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars (2012), directed by Edoardo Ponti, son of producer Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren. After a long interval, she was seen on TV in the French crime series Police de Caractères/Typeface (2022). Her daughter with producer Ibrahim Moussa, Sonja Kinski (1986), is a model and actress, and daughter by Quincy Jones, Kenya Kinski-Jones (1993) is also a model.

 

Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Derek Armstrong (AllMovie), Jason Clark (AllMovie), Mark Deming (AllMovie), Wikipedia and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

The Bluebells and Wood Anemones are out in the woods along Spithandle Lane

Red Admiral on a Buddleia, spotted at work.

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Includes teams from Brookings, SF Lincoln, SF Roosevelt, RC Central. Permission granted for journalism outlets and educational purposes. Not for commercial use. Must be credited. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

©2021 SDPB

 

Includes teams from Estelline/Hendricks, Chamberlain, Milbank Area, Wall/Kadoka Area/Philip and Sisseton. Permission granted for journalism outlets and educational purposes. Not for commercial use. Must be credited. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

©2021 SDPB

 

Includes 3 minifigures: Roy, Mucus Millionaire, and Mucus Minion.

 

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11/01/16 #1106. From the flight to Helsinki, the first leg of the journey to Rovaniemi. I'm impressed that my phone knew where I was when I took it, somewhere over Sweden.

...BETTER stay in February. That includes this kind of weather.

 

I was in town when I noticed the skies coming in and sped over to Golden Ponds for some open area to see what would shape up with the weather over the creek with the next storm hit. I still like scenes over the water even when the surface is ice. I have more winter shots here that remain unedited. As you know, changing seasons always drop a new cloak over your favorite venues. The first pond dropped to the level of the remains of the spillway and bridge that were victims of the flood. The ponds have frozen closed and we have been in the deep freeze. We caught a break yesterday when it warmed up to the normal February cold. The snow covers all including the islands that emerged as the pond drained. All, including the fishing dock are blanked and the geese went looking for scarce open water. Snow and ice define the day. Cold, shiver, brrrr!

 

On the other hand if you desire a skiing vacation, you're in great luck. Our Rockies are loaded but beware most areas are on federal forest land and their, not Colorado's, drug laws apply to marijuana smoking.

 

This is another shot that captures and controls a outrageous range of light, just what I like. Lately, they reopened Golden Ponds, the Longmont, Boulder County greenbelt and rec area and I was searching for the shots to come around and define new scenes. I need some more exercise soon. I have posted a lot of this area throughout the seasons. Today, I wanted to look for new possible locations because March will be marching in and waiting out February is hell. I wandered and dragged myself around the green/white space and took some detail shots that were available.

  

A quick snap after a dental check-up. Shadows from trees in the Churchyard cast across the properties in Church Street, Shoreham

From a wander around the gardens at Nymans (NT) today.

Disappointingly English weather for Easter Monday's Piazza Italia event in Horsham

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).[8] The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, and has since spread globally, resulting in the ongoing 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.[9][10] As of 26 April 2020, more than 2.89 million cases have been reported across 185 countries and territories, resulting in more than 203,000 deaths. More than 822,000 people have recovered.[7]

 

Common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath and loss of smell.[5][11][12] While the majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some progress to viral pneumonia, multi-organ failure, or cytokine storm.[13][9][14] More concerning symptoms include difficulty breathing, persistent chest pain, confusion, difficulty waking, and bluish skin.[5] The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is typically around five days but may range from two to fourteen days.[5][15]

 

The virus is primarily spread between people during close contact,[a] often via small droplets produced by coughing,[b] sneezing, or talking.[6][16][18] The droplets usually fall to the ground or onto surfaces rather than remaining in the air over long distances.[6][19][20] People may also become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face.[6][16] In experimental settings, the virus may survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours.[21][22][23] It is most contagious during the first three days after the onset of symptoms, although spread may be possible before symptoms appear and in later stages of the disease.[24] The standard method of diagnosis is by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) from a nasopharyngeal swab.[25] Chest CT imaging may also be helpful for diagnosis in individuals where there is a high suspicion of infection based on symptoms and risk factors; however, guidelines do not recommend using it for routine screening.[26][27]

 

Recommended measures to prevent infection include frequent hand washing, maintaining physical distance from others (especially from those with symptoms), covering coughs, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face.[28][29] In addition, the use of a face covering is recommended for those who suspect they have the virus and their caregivers.[30][31] Recommendations for face covering use by the general public vary, with some authorities recommending against their use, some recommending their use, and others requiring their use.[32][31][33] Currently, there is not enough evidence for or against the use of masks (medical or other) in healthy individuals in the wider community.[6] Also masks purchased by the public may impact availability for health care providers.

 

Currently, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19.[6] Management involves the treatment of symptoms, supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures.[34] The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)[35][36] on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020.[10] Local transmission of the disease has occurred in most countries across all six WHO regions.[37]

 

File:En.Wikipedia-VideoWiki-Coronavirus disease 2019.webm

Video summary (script)

 

Contents

1Signs and symptoms

2Cause

2.1Transmission

2.2Virology

3Pathophysiology

3.1Immunopathology

4Diagnosis

4.1Pathology

5Prevention

6Management

6.1Medications

6.2Protective equipment

6.3Mechanical ventilation

6.4Acute respiratory distress syndrome

6.5Experimental treatment

6.6Information technology

6.7Psychological support

7Prognosis

7.1Reinfection

8History

9Epidemiology

9.1Infection fatality rate

9.2Sex differences

10Society and culture

10.1Name

10.2Misinformation

10.3Protests

11Other animals

12Research

12.1Vaccine

12.2Medications

12.3Anti-cytokine storm

12.4Passive antibodies

13See also

14Notes

15References

16External links

16.1Health agencies

16.2Directories

16.3Medical journals

Signs and symptoms

Symptom[4]Range

Fever83–99%

Cough59–82%

Loss of Appetite40–84%

Fatigue44–70%

Shortness of breath31–40%

Coughing up sputum28–33%

Loss of smell15[38] to 30%[12][39]

Muscle aches and pains11–35%

Fever is the most common symptom, although some older people and those with other health problems experience fever later in the disease.[4][40] In one study, 44% of people had fever when they presented to the hospital, while 89% went on to develop fever at some point during their hospitalization.[4][41]

 

Other common symptoms include cough, loss of appetite, fatigue, shortness of breath, sputum production, and muscle and joint pains.[4][5][42][43] Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea have been observed in varying percentages.[44][45][46] Less common symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, or sore throat.[47]

 

More serious symptoms include difficulty breathing, persistent chest pain or pressure, confusion, difficulty waking, and bluish face or lips. Immediate medical attention is advised if these symptoms are present.[5][48]

 

In some, the disease may progress to pneumonia, multi-organ failure, and death.[9][14] In those who develop severe symptoms, time from symptom onset to needing mechanical ventilation is typically eight days.[4] Some cases in China initially presented with only chest tightness and palpitations.[49]

 

Loss of smell was identified as a common symptom of COVID‑19 in March 2020,[12][39] although perhaps not as common as initially reported.[38] A decreased sense of smell and/or disturbances in taste have also been reported.[50] Estimates for loss of smell range from 15%[38] to 30%.[12][39]

 

As is common with infections, there is a delay between the moment a person is first infected and the time he or she develops symptoms. This is called the incubation period. The incubation period for COVID‑19 is typically five to six days but may range from two to 14 days,[51][52] although 97.5% of people who develop symptoms will do so within 11.5 days of infection.[53]

 

A minority of cases do not develop noticeable symptoms at any point in time.[54][55] These asymptomatic carriers tend not to get tested, and their role in transmission is not yet fully known.[56][57] However, preliminary evidence suggests they may contribute to the spread of the disease.[58][59] In March 2020, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported that 20% of confirmed cases remained asymptomatic during their hospital stay.[59][60]

 

A number of neurological symptoms has been reported including seizures, stroke, encephalitis and Guillain-Barre syndrome.[61] Cardiovascular related complications may include heart failure, irregular electrical activity, blood clots, and heart inflammation.[62]

 

Cause

See also: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Transmission

Cough/sneeze droplets visualised in dark background using Tyndall scattering

Respiratory droplets produced when a man is sneezing visualised using Tyndall scattering

File:COVID19 in numbers- R0, the case fatality rate and why we need to flatten the curve.webm

A video discussing the basic reproduction number and case fatality rate in the context of the pandemic

Some details about how the disease is spread are still being determined.[16][18] The WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say it is primarily spread during close contact and by small droplets produced when people cough, sneeze or talk;[6][16] with close contact being within approximately 1–2 m (3–7 ft).[6][63] Both sputum and saliva can carry large viral loads.[64] Loud talking releases more droplets than normal talking.[65] A study in Singapore found that an uncovered cough can lead to droplets travelling up to 4.5 metres (15 feet).[66] An article published in March 2020 argued that advice on droplet distance might be based on 1930s research which ignored the effects of warm moist exhaled air surrounding the droplets and that an uncovered cough or sneeze can travel up to 8.2 metres (27 feet).[17]

  

Respiratory droplets may also be produced while breathing out, including when talking. Though the virus is not generally airborne,[6][67] the National Academy of Sciences has suggested that bioaerosol transmission may be possible.[68] In one study cited, air collectors positioned in the hallway outside of people's rooms yielded samples positive for viral RNA but finding infectious virus has proven elusive.[68] The droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.[16] Some medical procedures such as intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may cause respiratory secretions to be aerosolised and thus result in an airborne spread.[67] Initial studies suggested a doubling time of the number of infected persons of 6–7 days and a basic reproduction number (R0 ) of 2.2–2.7, but a study published on April 7, 2020, calculated a much higher median R0 value of 5.7 in Wuhan.[69]

 

It may also spread when one touches a contaminated surface, known as fomite transmission, and then touches one's eyes, nose or mouth.[6] While there are concerns it may spread via faeces, this risk is believed to be low.[6][16]

 

The virus is most contagious when people are symptomatic; though spread is may be possible before symptoms emerge and from those who never develop symptoms.[6][70] A portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms.[71] The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says while it is not entirely clear how easily the disease spreads, one person generally infects two or three others.[18]

 

The virus survives for hours to days on surfaces.[6][18] Specifically, the virus was found to be detectable for one day on cardboard, for up to three days on plastic (polypropylene) and stainless steel (AISI 304), and for up to four hours on 99% copper.[21][23] This, however, varies depending on the humidity and temperature.[72][73] Surfaces may be decontaminated with many solutions (with one minute of exposure to the product achieving a 4 or more log reduction (99.99% reduction)), including 78–95% ethanol (alcohol used in spirits), 70–100% 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol), the combination of 45% 2-propanol with 30% 1-propanol, 0.21% sodium hypochlorite (bleach), 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, or 0.23–7.5% povidone-iodine. Soap and detergent are also effective if correctly used; soap products degrade the virus' fatty protective layer, deactivating it, as well as freeing them from the skin and other surfaces.[74] Other solutions, such as benzalkonium chloride and chlorhexidine gluconate (a surgical disinfectant), are less effective.[75]

 

In a Hong Kong study, saliva samples were taken a median of two days after the start of hospitalization. In five of six patients, the first sample showed the highest viral load, and the sixth patient showed the highest viral load on the second day tested.[64]

 

Virology

Main article: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

 

Illustration of SARSr-CoV virion

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, first isolated from three people with pneumonia connected to the cluster of acute respiratory illness cases in Wuhan.[76] All features of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus occur in related coronaviruses in nature.[77] Outside the human body, the virus is killed by household soap, which bursts its protective bubble.[26]

 

SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to the original SARS-CoV.[78] It is thought to have a zoonotic origin. Genetic analysis has revealed that the coronavirus genetically clusters with the genus Betacoronavirus, in subgenus Sarbecovirus (lineage B) together with two bat-derived strains. It is 96% identical at the whole genome level to other bat coronavirus samples (BatCov RaTG13).[47] In February 2020, Chinese researchers found that there is only one amino acid difference in the binding domain of the S protein between the coronaviruses from pangolins and those from humans; however, whole-genome comparison to date found that at most 92% of genetic material was shared between pangolin coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2, which is insufficient to prove pangolins to be the intermediate host.[79]

 

Pathophysiology

The lungs are the organs most affected by COVID‑19 because the virus accesses host cells via the enzyme angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is most abundant in type II alveolar cells of the lungs. The virus uses a special surface glycoprotein called a "spike" (peplomer) to connect to ACE2 and enter the host cell.[80] The density of ACE2 in each tissue correlates with the severity of the disease in that tissue and some have suggested that decreasing ACE2 activity might be protective,[81][82] though another view is that increasing ACE2 using angiotensin II receptor blocker medications could be protective and these hypotheses need to be tested.[83] As the alveolar disease progresses, respiratory failure might develop and death may follow.[82]

 

The virus also affects gastrointestinal organs as ACE2 is abundantly expressed in the glandular cells of gastric, duodenal and rectal epithelium[84] as well as endothelial cells and enterocytes of the small intestine.[85]

 

ACE2 is present in the brain, and there is growing evidence of neurological manifestations in people with COVID‑19. It is not certain if the virus can directly infect the brain by crossing the barriers that separate the circulation of the brain and the general circulation. Other coronaviruses are able to infect the brain via a synaptic route to the respiratory centre in the medulla, through mechanoreceptors like pulmonary stretch receptors and chemoreceptors (primarily central chemoreceptors) within the lungs.[medical citation needed] It is possible that dysfunction within the respiratory centre further worsens the ARDS seen in COVID‑19 patients. Common neurological presentations include a loss of smell, headaches, nausea, and vomiting. Encephalopathy has been noted to occur in some patients (and confirmed with imaging), with some reports of detection of the virus after cerebrospinal fluid assays although the presence of oligoclonal bands seems to be a common denominator in these patients.[86]

 

The virus can cause acute myocardial injury and chronic damage to the cardiovascular system.[87] An acute cardiac injury was found in 12% of infected people admitted to the hospital in Wuhan, China,[88] and is more frequent in severe disease.[89] Rates of cardiovascular symptoms are high, owing to the systemic inflammatory response and immune system disorders during disease progression, but acute myocardial injuries may also be related to ACE2 receptors in the heart.[87] ACE2 receptors are highly expressed in the heart and are involved in heart function.[87][90] A high incidence of thrombosis (31%) and venous thromboembolism (25%) have been found in ICU patients with COVID‑19 infections and may be related to poor prognosis.[91][92] Blood vessel dysfunction and clot formation (as suggested by high D-dimer levels) are thought to play a significant role in mortality, incidences of clots leading to pulmonary embolisms, and ischaemic events within the brain have been noted as complications leading to death in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Infection appears to set off a chain of vasoconstrictive responses within the body, constriction of blood vessels within the pulmonary circulation has also been posited as a mechanism in which oxygenation decreases alongside with the presentation of viral pneumonia.[93]

 

Another common cause of death is complications related to the kidneys[93]—SARS-CoV-2 directly infects kidney cells, as confirmed in post-mortem studies. Acute kidney injury is a common complication and cause of death; this is more significant in patients with already compromised kidney function, especially in people with pre-existing chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes which specifically cause nephropathy in the long run.[94]

 

Autopsies of people who died of COVID‑19 have found diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), and lymphocyte-containing inflammatory infiltrates within the lung.[95]

 

Immunopathology

Although SARS-COV-2 has a tropism for ACE2-expressing epithelial cells of the respiratory tract, patients with severe COVID‑19 have symptoms of systemic hyperinflammation. Clinical laboratory findings of elevated IL-2, IL-7, IL-6, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interferon-γ inducible protein 10 (IP-10), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein 1-α (MIP-1α), and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) indicative of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) suggest an underlying immunopathology.[96]

 

Additionally, people with COVID‑19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have classical serum biomarkers of CRS, including elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), D-dimer, and ferritin.[97]

 

Systemic inflammation results in vasodilation, allowing inflammatory lymphocytic and monocytic infiltration of the lung and the heart. In particular, pathogenic GM-CSF-secreting T-cells were shown to correlate with the recruitment of inflammatory IL-6-secreting monocytes and severe lung pathology in COVID‑19 patients.[98] Lymphocytic infiltrates have also been reported at autopsy.[95]

 

Diagnosis

Main article: COVID-19 testing

 

Demonstration of a nasopharyngeal swab for COVID-19 testing

 

CDC rRT-PCR test kit for COVID-19[99]

The WHO has published several testing protocols for the disease.[100] The standard method of testing is real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR).[101] The test is typically done on respiratory samples obtained by a nasopharyngeal swab; however, a nasal swab or sputum sample may also be used.[25][102] Results are generally available within a few hours to two days.[103][104] Blood tests can be used, but these require two blood samples taken two weeks apart, and the results have little immediate value.[105] Chinese scientists were able to isolate a strain of the coronavirus and publish the genetic sequence so laboratories across the world could independently develop polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to detect infection by the virus.[9][106][107] As of 4 April 2020, antibody tests (which may detect active infections and whether a person had been infected in the past) were in development, but not yet widely used.[108][109][110] The Chinese experience with testing has shown the accuracy is only 60 to 70%.[111] The FDA in the United States approved the first point-of-care test on 21 March 2020 for use at the end of that month.[112]

 

Diagnostic guidelines released by Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University suggested methods for detecting infections based upon clinical features and epidemiological risk. These involved identifying people who had at least two of the following symptoms in addition to a history of travel to Wuhan or contact with other infected people: fever, imaging features of pneumonia, normal or reduced white blood cell count, or reduced lymphocyte count.[113]

 

A study asked hospitalised COVID‑19 patients to cough into a sterile container, thus producing a saliva sample, and detected the virus in eleven of twelve patients using RT-PCR. This technique has the potential of being quicker than a swab and involving less risk to health care workers (collection at home or in the car).[64]

 

Along with laboratory testing, chest CT scans may be helpful to diagnose COVID-19 in individuals with a high clinical suspicion of infection but are not recommended for routine screening.[26][27] Bilateral multilobar ground-glass opacities with a peripheral, asymmetric, and posterior distribution are common in early infection.[26] Subpleural dominance, crazy paving (lobular septal thickening with variable alveolar filling), and consolidation may appear as the disease progresses.[26][114]

 

In late 2019, WHO assigned the emergency ICD-10 disease codes U07.1 for deaths from lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and U07.2 for deaths from clinically or epidemiologically diagnosed COVID‑19 without lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.[115]

  

Typical CT imaging findings

 

CT imaging of rapid progression stage

Pathology

Few data are available about microscopic lesions and the pathophysiology of COVID‑19.[116][117] The main pathological findings at autopsy are:

 

Macroscopy: pleurisy, pericarditis, lung consolidation and pulmonary oedema

Four types of severity of viral pneumonia can be observed:

minor pneumonia: minor serous exudation, minor fibrin exudation

mild pneumonia: pulmonary oedema, pneumocyte hyperplasia, large atypical pneumocytes, interstitial inflammation with lymphocytic infiltration and multinucleated giant cell formation

severe pneumonia: diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) with diffuse alveolar exudates. DAD is the cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and severe hypoxemia.

healing pneumonia: organisation of exudates in alveolar cavities and pulmonary interstitial fibrosis

plasmocytosis in BAL[118]

Blood: disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC);[119] leukoerythroblastic reaction[120]

Liver: microvesicular steatosis

Prevention

See also: 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic § Prevention, flatten the curve, and workplace hazard controls for COVID-19

 

Progressively stronger mitigation efforts to reduce the number of active cases at any given time—known as "flattening the curve"—allows healthcare services to better manage the same volume of patients.[121][122][123] Likewise, progressively greater increases in healthcare capacity—called raising the line—such as by increasing bed count, personnel, and equipment, helps to meet increased demand.[124]

 

Mitigation attempts that are inadequate in strictness or duration—such as premature relaxation of distancing rules or stay-at-home orders—can allow a resurgence after the initial surge and mitigation.[122][125]

Preventive measures to reduce the chances of infection include staying at home, avoiding crowded places, keeping distance from others, washing hands with soap and water often and for at least 20 seconds, practising good respiratory hygiene, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.[126][127][128] The CDC recommends covering the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and recommends using the inside of the elbow if no tissue is available.[126] Proper hand hygiene after any cough or sneeze is encouraged.[126] The CDC has recommended the use of cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, in part to limit transmission by asymptomatic individuals.[129] The U.S. National Institutes of Health guidelines do not recommend any medication for prevention of COVID‑19, before or after exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, outside of the setting of a clinical trial.[130]

 

Social distancing strategies aim to reduce contact of infected persons with large groups by closing schools and workplaces, restricting travel, and cancelling large public gatherings.[131] Distancing guidelines also include that people stay at least 6 feet (1.8 m) apart.[132] There is no medication known to be effective at preventing COVID‑19.[133] After the implementation of social distancing and stay-at-home orders, many regions have been able to sustain an effective transmission rate ("Rt") of less than one, meaning the disease is in remission in those areas.[134]

 

As a vaccine is not expected until 2021 at the earliest,[135] a key part of managing COVID‑19 is trying to decrease the epidemic peak, known as "flattening the curve".[122] This is done by slowing the infection rate to decrease the risk of health services being overwhelmed, allowing for better treatment of current cases, and delaying additional cases until effective treatments or a vaccine become available.[122][125]

 

According to the WHO, the use of masks is recommended only if a person is coughing or sneezing or when one is taking care of someone with a suspected infection.[136] For the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) face masks "... could be considered especially when visiting busy closed spaces ..." but "... only as a complementary measure ..."[137] Several countries have recommended that healthy individuals wear face masks or cloth face coverings (like scarves or bandanas) at least in certain public settings, including China,[138] Hong Kong,[139] Spain,[140] Italy (Lombardy region),[141] and the United States.[129]

 

Those diagnosed with COVID‑19 or who believe they may be infected are advised by the CDC to stay home except to get medical care, call ahead before visiting a healthcare provider, wear a face mask before entering the healthcare provider's office and when in any room or vehicle with another person, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, regularly wash hands with soap and water and avoid sharing personal household items.[30][142] The CDC also recommends that individuals wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the toilet or when hands are visibly dirty, before eating and after blowing one's nose, coughing or sneezing. It further recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol, but only when soap and water are not readily available.[126]

 

For areas where commercial hand sanitisers are not readily available, the WHO provides two formulations for local production. In these formulations, the antimicrobial activity arises from ethanol or isopropanol. Hydrogen peroxide is used to help eliminate bacterial spores in the alcohol; it is "not an active substance for hand antisepsis". Glycerol is added as a humectant.[143]

  

Prevention efforts are multiplicative, with effects far beyond that of a single spread. Each avoided case leads to more avoided cases down the line, which in turn can stop the outbreak in its tracks.

 

File:COVID19 W ENG.ogv

Handwashing instructions

Management

People are managed with supportive care, which may include fluid therapy, oxygen support, and supporting other affected vital organs.[144][145][146] The CDC recommends that those who suspect they carry the virus wear a simple face mask.[30] Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used to address the issue of respiratory failure, but its benefits are still under consideration.[41][147] Personal hygiene and a healthy lifestyle and diet have been recommended to improve immunity.[148] Supportive treatments may be useful in those with mild symptoms at the early stage of infection.[149]

 

The WHO, the Chinese National Health Commission, and the United States' National Institutes of Health have published recommendations for taking care of people who are hospitalised with COVID‑19.[130][150][151] Intensivists and pulmonologists in the U.S. have compiled treatment recommendations from various agencies into a free resource, the IBCC.[152][153]

 

Medications

See also: Coronavirus disease 2019 § Research

As of April 2020, there is no specific treatment for COVID‑19.[6][133] Research is, however, ongoing. For symptoms, some medical professionals recommend paracetamol (acetaminophen) over ibuprofen for first-line use.[154][155][156] The WHO and NIH do not oppose the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen for symptoms,[130][157] and the FDA says currently there is no evidence that NSAIDs worsen COVID‑19 symptoms.[158]

 

While theoretical concerns have been raised about ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers, as of 19 March 2020, these are not sufficient to justify stopping these medications.[130][159][160][161] Steroids, such as methylprednisolone, are not recommended unless the disease is complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome.[162][163]

 

Medications to prevent blood clotting have been suggested for treatment,[91] and anticoagulant therapy with low molecular weight heparin appears to be associated with better outcomes in severe COVID‐19 showing signs of coagulopathy (elevated D-dimer).[164]

 

Protective equipment

See also: COVID-19 related shortages

 

The CDC recommends four steps to putting on personal protective equipment (PPE).[165]

Precautions must be taken to minimise the risk of virus transmission, especially in healthcare settings when performing procedures that can generate aerosols, such as intubation or hand ventilation.[166] For healthcare professionals caring for people with COVID‑19, the CDC recommends placing the person in an Airborne Infection Isolation Room (AIIR) in addition to using standard precautions, contact precautions, and airborne precautions.[167]

 

The CDC outlines the guidelines for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic. The recommended gear is a PPE gown, respirator or facemask, eye protection, and medical gloves.[168][169]

 

When available, respirators (instead of facemasks) are preferred.[170] N95 respirators are approved for industrial settings but the FDA has authorised the masks for use under an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA). They are designed to protect from airborne particles like dust but effectiveness against a specific biological agent is not guaranteed for off-label uses.[171] When masks are not available, the CDC recommends using face shields or, as a last resort, homemade masks.[172]

 

Mechanical ventilation

Most cases of COVID‑19 are not severe enough to require mechanical ventilation or alternatives, but a percentage of cases are.[173][174] The type of respiratory support for individuals with COVID‑19 related respiratory failure is being actively studied for people in the hospital, with some evidence that intubation can be avoided with a high flow nasal cannula or bi-level positive airway pressure.[175] Whether either of these two leads to the same benefit for people who are critically ill is not known.[176] Some doctors prefer staying with invasive mechanical ventilation when available because this technique limits the spread of aerosol particles compared to a high flow nasal cannula.[173]

 

Severe cases are most common in older adults (those older than 60 years,[173] and especially those older than 80 years).[177] Many developed countries do not have enough hospital beds per capita, which limits a health system's capacity to handle a sudden spike in the number of COVID‑19 cases severe enough to require hospitalisation.[178] This limited capacity is a significant driver behind calls to flatten the curve.[178] One study in China found 5% were admitted to intensive care units, 2.3% needed mechanical support of ventilation, and 1.4% died.[41] In China, approximately 30% of people in hospital with COVID‑19 are eventually admitted to ICU.[4]

 

Acute respiratory distress syndrome

Main article: Acute respiratory distress syndrome

Mechanical ventilation becomes more complex as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) develops in COVID‑19 and oxygenation becomes increasingly difficult.[179] Ventilators capable of pressure control modes and high PEEP[180] are needed to maximise oxygen delivery while minimising the risk of ventilator-associated lung injury and pneumothorax.[181] High PEEP may not be available on older ventilators.

 

Options for ARDS[179]

TherapyRecommendations

High-flow nasal oxygenFor SpO2 <93%. May prevent the need for intubation and ventilation

Tidal volume6mL per kg and can be reduced to 4mL/kg

Plateau airway pressureKeep below 30 cmH2O if possible (high respiratory rate (35 per minute) may be required)

Positive end-expiratory pressureModerate to high levels

Prone positioningFor worsening oxygenation

Fluid managementGoal is a negative balance of 0.5–1.0L per day

AntibioticsFor secondary bacterial infections

GlucocorticoidsNot recommended

Experimental treatment

See also: § Research

Research into potential treatments started in January 2020,[182] and several antiviral drugs are in clinical trials.[183][184] Remdesivir appears to be the most promising.[133] Although new medications may take until 2021 to develop,[185] several of the medications being tested are already approved for other uses or are already in advanced testing.[186] Antiviral medication may be tried in people with severe disease.[144] The WHO recommended volunteers take part in trials of the effectiveness and safety of potential treatments.[187]

 

The FDA has granted temporary authorisation to convalescent plasma as an experimental treatment in cases where the person's life is seriously or immediately threatened. It has not undergone the clinical studies needed to show it is safe and effective for the disease.[188][189][190]

 

Information technology

See also: Contact tracing and Government by algorithm

In February 2020, China launched a mobile app to deal with the disease outbreak.[191] Users are asked to enter their name and ID number. The app can detect 'close contact' using surveillance data and therefore a potential risk of infection. Every user can also check the status of three other users. If a potential risk is detected, the app not only recommends self-quarantine, it also alerts local health officials.[192]

 

Big data analytics on cellphone data, facial recognition technology, mobile phone tracking, and artificial intelligence are used to track infected people and people whom they contacted in South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.[193][194] In March 2020, the Israeli government enabled security agencies to track mobile phone data of people supposed to have coronavirus. The measure was taken to enforce quarantine and protect those who may come into contact with infected citizens.[195] Also in March 2020, Deutsche Telekom shared aggregated phone location data with the German federal government agency, Robert Koch Institute, to research and prevent the spread of the virus.[196] Russia deployed facial recognition technology to detect quarantine breakers.[197] Italian regional health commissioner Giulio Gallera said he has been informed by mobile phone operators that "40% of people are continuing to move around anyway".[198] German government conducted a 48 hours weekend hackathon with more than 42.000 participants.[199][200] Two million people in the UK used an app developed in March 2020 by King's College London and Zoe to track people with COVID‑19 symptoms.[201] Also, the president of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid, made a global call for creative solutions against the spread of coronavirus.[202]

 

Psychological support

See also: Mental health during the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

Individuals may experience distress from quarantine, travel restrictions, side effects of treatment, or fear of the infection itself. To address these concerns, the National Health Commission of China published a national guideline for psychological crisis intervention on 27 January 2020.[203][204]

 

The Lancet published a 14-page call for action focusing on the UK and stated conditions were such that a range of mental health issues was likely to become more common. BBC quoted Rory O'Connor in saying, "Increased social isolation, loneliness, health anxiety, stress and an economic downturn are a perfect storm to harm people's mental health and wellbeing."[205][206]

 

Prognosis

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The severity of diagnosed cases in China

The severity of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in China[207]

Case fatality rates for COVID-19 by age by country.

Case fatality rates by age group:

China, as of 11 February 2020[208]

South Korea, as of 15 April 2020[209]

Spain, as of 24 April 2020[210]

Italy, as of 23 April 2020[211]

Case fatality rate depending on other health problems

Case fatality rate in China depending on other health problems. Data through 11 February 2020.[208]

Case fatality rate by country and number of cases

The number of deaths vs total cases by country and approximate case fatality rate[212]

The severity of COVID‑19 varies. The disease may take a mild course with few or no symptoms, resembling other common upper respiratory diseases such as the common cold. Mild cases typically recover within two weeks, while those with severe or critical diseases may take three to six weeks to recover. Among those who have died, the time from symptom onset to death has ranged from two to eight weeks.[47]

 

Children make up a small proportion of reported cases, with about 1% of cases being under 10 years, and 4% aged 10-19 years.[22] They are likely to have milder symptoms and a lower chance of severe disease than adults; in those younger than 50 years, the risk of death is less than 0.5%, while in those older than 70 it is more than 8%.[213][214][215] Pregnant women may be at higher risk for severe infection with COVID-19 based on data from other similar viruses, like SARS and MERS, but data for COVID-19 is lacking.[216][217] In China, children acquired infections mainly through close contact with their parents or other family members who lived in Wuhan or had traveled there.[213]

 

In some people, COVID‑19 may affect the lungs causing pneumonia. In those most severely affected, COVID-19 may rapidly progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) causing respiratory failure, septic shock, or multi-organ failure.[218][219] Complications associated with COVID‑19 include sepsis, abnormal clotting, and damage to the heart, kidneys, and liver. Clotting abnormalities, specifically an increase in prothrombin time, have been described in 6% of those admitted to hospital with COVID-19, while abnormal kidney function is seen in 4% of this group.[220] Approximately 20-30% of people who present with COVID‑19 demonstrate elevated liver enzymes (transaminases).[133] Liver injury as shown by blood markers of liver damage is frequently seen in severe cases.[221]

 

Some studies have found that the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may be helpful in early screening for severe illness.[222]

 

Most of those who die of COVID‑19 have pre-existing (underlying) conditions, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease.[223] The Istituto Superiore di Sanità reported that out of 8.8% of deaths where medical charts were available for review, 97.2% of sampled patients had at least one comorbidity with the average patient having 2.7 diseases.[224] According to the same report, the median time between the onset of symptoms and death was ten days, with five being spent hospitalised. However, patients transferred to an ICU had a median time of seven days between hospitalisation and death.[224] In a study of early cases, the median time from exhibiting initial symptoms to death was 14 days, with a full range of six to 41 days.[225] In a study by the National Health Commission (NHC) of China, men had a death rate of 2.8% while women had a death rate of 1.7%.[226] Histopathological examinations of post-mortem lung samples show diffuse alveolar damage with cellular fibromyxoid exudates in both lungs. Viral cytopathic changes were observed in the pneumocytes. The lung picture resembled acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).[47] In 11.8% of the deaths reported by the National Health Commission of China, heart damage was noted by elevated levels of troponin or cardiac arrest.[49] According to March data from the United States, 89% of those hospitalised had preexisting conditions.[227]

 

The availability of medical resources and the socioeconomics of a region may also affect mortality.[228] Estimates of the mortality from the condition vary because of those regional differences,[229] but also because of methodological difficulties. The under-counting of mild cases can cause the mortality rate to be overestimated.[230] However, the fact that deaths are the result of cases contracted in the past can mean the current mortality rate is underestimated.[231][232] Smokers were 1.4 times more likely to have severe symptoms of COVID‑19 and approximately 2.4 times more likely to require intensive care or die compared to non-smokers.[233]

 

Concerns have been raised about long-term sequelae of the disease. The Hong Kong Hospital Authority found a drop of 20% to 30% in lung capacity in some people who recovered from the disease, and lung scans suggested organ damage.[234] This may also lead to post-intensive care syndrome following recovery.[235]

 

Case fatality rates (%) by age and country

Age0–910–1920–2930–3940–4950–5960–6970–7980-8990+

China as of 11 February[208]0.00.20.20.20.41.33.68.014.8

Denmark as of 25 April[236]0.24.515.524.940.7

Italy as of 23 April[211]0.20.00.10.40.92.610.024.930.826.1

Netherlands as of 17 April[237]0.00.30.10.20.51.57.623.230.029.3

Portugal as of 24 April[238]0.00.00.00.00.30.62.88.516.5

S. Korea as of 15 April[209]0.00.00.00.10.20.72.59.722.2

Spain as of 24 April[210]0.30.40.30.30.61.34.413.220.320.1

Switzerland as of 25 April[239]0.90.00.00.10.00.52.710.124.0

Case fatality rates (%) by age in the United States

Age0–1920–4445–5455–6465–7475–8485+

United States as of 16 March[240]0.00.1–0.20.5–0.81.4–2.62.7–4.94.3–10.510.4–27.3

Note: The lower bound includes all cases. The upper bound excludes cases that were missing data.

Estimate of infection fatality rates and probability of severe disease course (%) by age based on cases from China[241]

0–910–1920–2930–3940–4950–5960–6970–7980+

Severe disease0.0

(0.0–0.0)0.04

(0.02–0.08)1.0

(0.62–2.1)3.4

(2.0–7.0)4.3

(2.5–8.7)8.2

(4.9–17)11

(7.0–24)17

(9.9–34)18

(11–38)

Death0.0016

(0.00016–0.025)0.0070

(0.0015–0.050)0.031

(0.014–0.092)0.084

(0.041–0.19)0.16

(0.076–0.32)0.60

(0.34–1.3)1.9

(1.1–3.9)4.3

(2.5–8.4)7.8

(3.8–13)

Total infection fatality rate is estimated to be 0.66% (0.39–1.3). Infection fatality rate is fatality per all infected individuals, regardless of whether they were diagnosed or had any symptoms. Numbers in parentheses are 95% credible intervals for the estimates.

Reinfection

As of March 2020, it was unknown if past infection provides effective and long-term immunity in people who recover from the disease.[242] Immunity is seen as likely, based on the behaviour of other coronaviruses,[243] but cases in which recovery from COVID‑19 have been followed by positive tests for coronavirus at a later date have been reported.[244][245][246][247] These cases are believed to be worsening of a lingering infection rather than re-infection.[247]

 

History

Main article: Timeline of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

The virus is thought to be natural and has an animal origin,[77] through spillover infection.[248] The actual origin is unknown, but by December 2019 the spread of infection was almost entirely driven by human-to-human transmission.[208][249] A study of the first 41 cases of confirmed COVID‑19, published in January 2020 in The Lancet, revealed the earliest date of onset of symptoms as 1 December 2019.[250][251][252] Official publications from the WHO reported the earliest onset of symptoms as 8 December 2019.[253] Human-to-human transmission was confirmed by the WHO and Chinese authorities by 20 January 2020.[254][255]

 

Epidemiology

Main article: 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

Several measures are commonly used to quantify mortality.[256] These numbers vary by region and over time and are influenced by the volume of testing, healthcare system quality, treatment options, time since the initial outbreak, and population characteristics such as age, sex, and overall health.[257]

 

The death-to-case ratio reflects the number of deaths divided by the number of diagnosed cases within a given time interval. Based on Johns Hopkins University statistics, the global death-to-case ratio is 7.0% (203,044/2,899,830) as of 26 April 2020.[7] The number varies by region.[258]

 

Other measures include the case fatality rate (CFR), which reflects the percent of diagnosed individuals who die from a disease, and the infection fatality rate (IFR), which reflects the percent of infected individuals (diagnosed and undiagnosed) who die from a disease. These statistics are not time-bound and follow a specific population from infection through case resolution. Many academics have attempted to calculate these numbers for specific populations.[259]

  

Total confirmed cases over time

 

Total deaths over time

 

Total confirmed cases of COVID‑19 per million people, 10 April 2020[260]

 

Total confirmed deaths due to COVID‑19 per million people, 10 April 2020[261]

Infection fatality rate

Our World in Data states that as of March 25, 2020, the infection fatality rate (IFR) cannot be accurately calculated.[262] In February, the World Health Organization estimated the IFR at 0.94%, with a confidence interval between 0.37 percent to 2.9 percent.[263] The University of Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) estimated a global CFR of 0.72 percent and IFR of 0.1 percent to 0.36 percent.[264] According to CEBM, random antibody testing in Germany suggested an IFR of 0.37 percent there.[264] Firm lower limits to local infection fatality rates were established, such as in Bergamo province, where 0.57% of the population has died, leading to a minimum IFR of 0.57% in the province. This population fatality rate (PFR) minimum increases as more people get infected and run through their disease.[265][266] Similarly, as of April 22 in the New York City area, there were 15,411 deaths confirmed from COVID-19, and 19,200 excess deaths.[267] Very recently, the first results of antibody testing have come in, but there are no valid scientific reports based on them available yet. A Bloomberg Opinion piece provides a survey.[268][269]

 

Sex differences

Main article: Gendered impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

The impact of the pandemic and its mortality rate are different for men and women.[270] Mortality is higher in men in studies conducted in China and Italy.[271][272][273] The highest risk for men is in their 50s, with the gap between men and women closing only at 90.[273] In China, the death rate was 2.8 percent for men and 1.7 percent for women.[273] The exact reasons for this sex-difference are not known, but genetic and behavioural factors could be a reason.[270] Sex-based immunological differences, a lower prevalence of smoking in women, and men developing co-morbid conditions such as hypertension at a younger age than women could have contributed to the higher mortality in men.[273] In Europe, of those infected with COVID‑19, 57% were men; of those infected with COVID‑19 who also died, 72% were men.[274] As of April 2020, the U.S. government is not tracking sex-related data of COVID‑19 infections.[275] Research has shown that viral illnesses like Ebola, HIV, influenza, and SARS affect men and women differently.[275] A higher percentage of health workers, particularly nurses, are women, and they have a higher chance of being exposed to the virus.[276] School closures, lockdowns, and reduced access to healthcare following the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic may differentially affect the genders and possibly exaggerate existing gender disparity.[270][277]

 

Society and culture

Name

During the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, the virus and disease were commonly referred to as "coronavirus" and "Wuhan coronavirus",[278][279][280] with the disease sometimes called "Wuhan pneumonia".[281][282] In the past, many diseases have been named after geographical locations, such as the Spanish flu,[283] Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, and Zika virus.[284]

 

In January 2020, the World Health Organisation recommended 2019-nCov[285] and 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease[286] as interim names for the virus and disease per 2015 guidance and international guidelines against using geographical locations (e.g. Wuhan, China), animal species or groups of people in disease and virus names to prevent social stigma.[287][288][289]

 

The official names COVID‑19 and SARS-CoV-2 were issued by the WHO on 11 February 2020.[290] WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained: CO for corona, VI for virus, D for disease and 19 for when the outbreak was first identified (31 December 2019).[291] The WHO additionally uses "the COVID‑19 virus" and "the virus responsible for COVID‑19" in public communications.[290] Both the disease and virus are commonly referred to as "coronavirus" in the media and public discourse.

 

Misinformation

Main article: Misinformation related to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

After the initial outbreak of COVID‑19, conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation emerged regarding the origin, scale, prevention, treatment, and other aspects of the disease and rapidly spread online.[292][293][294][295]

 

Protests

Beginning April 17, 2020, news media began reporting on a wave of demonstrations protesting against state-mandated quarantine restrictions in in Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky.[296][297]

 

Other animals

Humans appear to be capable of spreading the virus to some other animals. A domestic cat in Liège, Belgium, tested positive after it started showing symptoms (diarrhoea, vomiting, shortness of breath) a week later than its owner, who was also positive.[298] Tigers at the Bronx Zoo in New York, United States, tested positive for the virus and showed symptoms of COVID‑19, including a dry cough and loss of appetite.[299]

 

A study on domesticated animals inoculated with the virus found that cats and ferrets appear to be "highly susceptible" to the disease, while dogs appear to be less susceptible, with lower levels of viral replication. The study failed to find evidence of viral replication in pigs, ducks, and chickens.[300]

 

Research

Main article: COVID-19 drug development

No medication or vaccine is approved to treat the disease.[186] International research on vaccines and medicines in COVID‑19 is underway by government organisations, academic groups, and industry researchers.[301][302] In March, the World Health Organisation initiated the "SOLIDARITY Trial" to assess the treatment effects of four existing antiviral compounds with the most promise of efficacy.[303]

 

Vaccine

Main article: COVID-19 vaccine

There is no available vaccine, but various agencies are actively developing vaccine candidates. Previous work on SARS-CoV is being used because both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 use the ACE2 receptor to enter human cells.[304] Three vaccination strategies are being investigated. First, researchers aim to build a whole virus vaccine. The use of such a virus, be it inactive or dead, aims to elicit a prompt immune response of the human body to a new infection with COVID‑19. A second strategy, subunit vaccines, aims to create a vaccine that sensitises the immune system to certain subunits of the virus. In the case of SARS-CoV-2, such research focuses on the S-spike protein that helps the virus intrude the ACE2 enzyme receptor. A third strategy is that of the nucleic acid vaccines (DNA or RNA vaccines, a novel technique for creating a vaccination). Experimental vaccines from any of these strategies would have to be tested for safety and efficacy.[305]

 

On 16 March 2020, the first clinical trial of a vaccine started with four volunteers in Seattle, United States. The vaccine contains a harmless genetic code copied from the virus that causes the disease.[306]

 

Antibody-dependent enhancement has been suggested as a potential challenge for vaccine development for SARS-COV-2, but this is controversial.[307]

 

Medications

Main article: COVID-19 drug repurposing research

At least 29 phase II–IV efficacy trials in COVID‑19 were concluded in March 2020 or scheduled to provide results in April from hospitals in China.[308][309] There are more than 300 active clinical trials underway as of April 2020.[133] Seven trials were evaluating already approved treatments, including four studies on hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine.[309] Repurposed antiviral drugs make up most of the Chinese research, with nine phase III trials on remdesivir across several countries due to report by the end of April.[308][309] Other candidates in trials include vasodilators, corticosteroids, immune therapies, lipoic acid, bevacizumab, and recombinant angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.[309]

 

The COVID‑19 Clinical Research Coalition has goals to 1) facilitate rapid reviews of clinical trial proposals by ethics committees and national regulatory agencies, 2) fast-track approvals for the candidate therapeutic compounds, 3) ensure standardised and rapid analysis of emerging efficacy and safety data and 4) facilitate sharing of clinical trial outcomes before publication.[310][311]

 

Several existing medications are being evaluated for the treatment of COVID‑19,[186] including remdesivir, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, and lopinavir/ritonavir combined with interferon beta.[303][312] There is tentative evidence for efficacy by remdesivir, as of March 2020.[313][314] Clinical improvement was observed in patients treated with compassionate-use remdesivir.[315] Remdesivir inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.[316] Phase III clinical trials are underway in the U.S., China, and Italy.[186][308][317]

 

In 2020, a trial found that lopinavir/ritonavir was ineffective in the treatment of severe illness.[318] Nitazoxanide has been recommended for further in vivo study after demonstrating low concentration inhibition of SARS-CoV-2.[316]

 

There are mixed results as of 3 April 2020 as to the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID‑19, with some studies showing little or no improvement.[319][320] The studies of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin have major limitations that have prevented the medical community from embracing these therapies without further study.[133]

 

Oseltamivir does not inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and has no known role in COVID‑19 treatment.[133]

 

Anti-cytokine storm

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) can be a complication in the later stages of severe COVID‑19. There is preliminary evidence that hydroxychloroquine may have anti-cytokine storm properties.[321]

 

Tocilizumab has been included in treatment guidelines by China's National Health Commission after a small study was completed.[322][323] It is undergoing a phase 2 non-randomised trial at the national level in Italy after showing positive results in people with severe disease.[324][325] Combined with a serum ferritin blood test to identify cytokine storms, it is meant to counter such developments, which are thought to be the cause of death in some affected people.[326][327][328] The interleukin-6 receptor antagonist was approved by the FDA to undergo a phase III clinical trial assessing the medication's impact on COVID‑19 based on retrospective case studies for the treatment of steroid-refractory cytokine release syndrome induced by a different cause, CAR T cell therapy, in 2017.[329] To date, there is no randomised, controlled evidence that tocilizumab is an efficacious treatment for CRS. Prophylactic tocilizumab has been shown to increase serum IL-6 levels by saturating the IL-6R, driving IL-6 across the blood-brain barrier, and exacerbating neurotoxicity while having no impact on the incidence of CRS.[330]

 

Lenzilumab, an anti-GM-CSF monoclonal antibody, is protective in murine models for CAR T cell-induced CRS and neurotoxicity and is a viable therapeutic option due to the observed increase of pathogenic GM-CSF secreting T-cells in hospitalised patients with COVID‑19.[331]

 

The Feinstein Institute of Northwell Health announced in March a study on "a human antibody that may prevent the activity" of IL-6.[332]

 

Passive antibodies

Transferring purified and concentrated antibodies produced by the immune systems of those who have recovered from COVID‑19 to people who need them is being investigated as a non-vaccine method of passive immunisation.[333] This strategy was tried for SARS with inconclusive results.[333] Viral neutralisation is the anticipated mechanism of action by which passive antibody therapy can mediate defence against SARS-CoV-2. Other mechanisms, however, such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and/or phagocytosis, may be possible.[333] Other forms of passive antibody therapy, for example, using manufactured monoclonal antibodies, are in development.[333] Production of convalescent serum, which consists of the liquid portion of the blood from recovered patients and contains antibodies specific to this virus, could be increased for quicker deployment.[334]

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus_disease_2019

Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks.

 

Caesars Palace was founded in 1966 by Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin, who sought to create an opulent facility that gave guests a sense of life during the Roman Empire. It contains many statues, columns and iconography typical of Hollywood Roman period productions including a 20-foot (6.1 m) statue of Augustus Caesar near the entrance. Caesars Palace is now owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. As of July 2016, the hotel has 3,960 rooms and suites in six towers and a convention facility of over 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2).

 

The hotel has a large range of restaurants. Among them are several which serve authentic Chinese cuisine to cater to wealthy East Asian gamblers. From the outset, Caesars Palace has been oriented towards attracting high rollers. The modern casino facilities include table games such as blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, Spanish 21, mini-baccarat, Pai Gow and Pai Gow poker. The casino also features a 4,500-square-foot (420 m2) 24-hour poker room; and many slot machines and video poker machines.

 

The hotel has operated as a host venue for live music and sports entertainment. In addition to holding boxing matches since the late 1970s, Caesars also hosted the Caesars Palace Grand Prix from 1981 to 1982. Notable entertainers who have performed at Caesars Palace include Frank Sinatra, Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Teresa Teng, Count Basie, Dean Martin, Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, The Moody Blues, Celine Dion, Ike & Tina Turner, Shania Twain, Bette Midler, Cher, Elton John, Liberace, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Julio Iglesias, Ann-Margret, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Gloria Estefan, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Matt Goss and Deana Martin.

 

The main performance venue is The Colosseum. The theatre seats 4,296 people and contains a 22,450-square-foot (2,086 m2) stage. The stage was a special construction for Celine Dion's show, A New Day..., in 2003. After departing in 2007, Dion returned to the Colosseum with her new show entitled "Celine" on March 15, 2011, which was under contract through June 9, 2018 for 65 shows per year.

 

History

 

Early history

 

In 1962, cabana motel owners Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin applied for a $10.6 million loan from the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. He began plans to build a hotel on land owned by Kirk Kerkorian. Sarno would later act as designer of the hotel he planned to construct. His vision was to emulate life under the Roman Empire. The objective of the palace was to ensure an atmosphere in which everybody staying at the hotel would feel like a Caesar; this is why the name "Caesars Palace" lacks an apostrophe, making "Caesars" a plural instead of possessive noun. Caesars Palace was instrumental in beginning a new era of lavish casinos from the late 1960s onward. Architectural writer, Alan Hess, stated: "Caesars Palace needed only a sumptuous array of Classical statuary and a host of marble-white columns to establish its theme. The visitor's imagination, in league with well-placed publicity, filled in the opulence". Jefferson Graham wrote that the result was "the gaudiest, weirdest, most elaborate, and most talked about resort Vegas had ever seen. [Its] emblem was a chesty female dipping grapes into the waiting mouth of a recumbent Roman, fitted out in toga, laurel wreath, and phallic dagger".

 

The inauguration ceremony was held on August 5, 1966. Sarno and his partner, Nate Jacobsen, spent one million dollars on the event. The cost included "the largest order of Ukrainian caviar ever placed by a private organization", two tons of filet mignon, 300 pounds (140 kg) of Maryland crabmeat and 50,000 glasses of champagne. Cocktail waitresses in Greco-Roman wigs would greet guests and say "Welcome to Caesars Palace, I am your slave". Among the performers at the opening were Andy Williams and Phil Richards. According to author Ovid Demaris, Caesars Palace was "a mob-controlled casino from the day it opened its doors". By the time it opened, the significant publicity of the new hotel had generated $42 million in advanced bookings.

 

On December 31, 1967, stunt performer Evel Knievel arrived at the hotel to watch a boxing match and convinced Sarno that he could jump over the distance of 140 feet (43 m) over the fountains. ABC came in to film the jump, in which Knievel hit the top of the safety ramp after the jump and flew over his handlebars into the parking lot of neighbouring Dunes. Fracturing his pelvis, several bones and suffering a concussion, he lay in a hospital unconscious for 29 days in a coma before recovering. On April 14, 1989, Knievel's son Robbie successfully completed the jump.

 

The first casino at the hotel was named Circus Circus. It was intended to be the world's liveliest and most expensive casino, attracting elite gamblers from around the world. In 1969, a Federal Organized Crime Task Force accused the casino's financial manager, Jerome Zarowitz, of having ties with organized-crime figures in New York and New England. Although Zarowitz was never tried, the task force pressured Sarno and his other investors to sell the casino, which led to it being acquired by Lum's restaurant chain owners Stuart and Clifford S. Perlman for $60 million. The company soon shed its restaurant operations and changed its name to Caesars World. On July 15 of that year, executives lay ground on an expansion area of the hotel, and they buried a time capsule in the area.

 

Frank Sinatra began performing at Caesars Palace in 1967, after a fallout with Howard Hughes and Carl Cohen at The Sands. He signed a three-year contract. In the early morning hours of September 6, 1970, Sinatra was playing a high stakes baccarat at the casino, where he was performing at the time. Normal limits for the game are US$2,000 per hand; Sinatra had been playing for US$8,000 and wanted the stakes to be raised to US$16,000. When Sinatra began shouting after his request was denied, hotel executive Sanford Waterman came to talk with him. Witnesses to the incident said the two men both made threats, with Waterman producing a gun and pointing it at Sinatra. Sinatra walked out of the casino and returned to his Palm Springs home without fulfilling the rest of his three-week engagement there. Waterman was booked on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, but was released without bail. The local district attorney's office declined to file charges against Waterman for pulling the gun, stating that Sinatra had refused to make a statement regarding the incident. Despite swearing to never perform at Caesars again, Sinatra returned after his retirement in January 1974, and became a frequent performer at Caesars Palace throughout the decade. He was performing at Caesars when his mother Dolly died in a plane crash in January 1977, and in 1979 he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award in a party at the hotel, while celebrating 40 years in show business and his 64th birthday. When Sinatra was given back his gaming license by the Nevada Gaming Commission in 1981, he became an entertainment-public relations consultant at the casino for $20,000 a week.

 

In 1971, some 1,500 African American rights activists stormed the hotel in a protest. The National Welfare Rights Organization was involved with a "coalition of welfare mothers, Legal Services lawyers, radical priests and nuns, civil rights leaders, movie stars and housewives". Five years later in the spring of 1976, hundreds of African American workers went on strike at the hotel in the first major strike in Las Vegas history. The entrances to the hotel and casino were blocked, and the hotel lost several million dollars from the strike, including one cancellation worth $500,000. In 1973, the Del Webb corporation was contracted to build a $8 million 16-story building adjacent to the Palace.

 

In 1981, a fire broke out at the hotel, hospitalizing 16 people. The Perlmans sold their shares in Caesars World that year after trying to get a gaming license for a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The New Jersey Casino Control Commission accused the brothers of doing business with people who had organized-crime connections.

 

Later history

 

In 1986, the annual Teamsters convention was held at Caesars with a $650,000 party. The lavish feast included caviar, crab claws, roast beef and a range of 15 different desserts. In 1991, Sheila King won a $250,000 jackpot in the casino at Caesars Palace on a $500 machine and won $50,000 twice soon afterward. Over three years she won $200 million on the machines but kept pumping the money back into the machines. Despite her luck, in 1994 her winnings fell to $500,000, and she spent much of her time over the next four years in the law courts claiming that the casino operators had tampered with her machines and deceived her to keep her winning.

 

In the 1990s, the hotel's management sought to create more elaborate features to compete with the other modern Las Vegas developments. The Forum Shops at Caesars opened in 1992; it was one of the first venues in the city where shopping, particularly at high-end fashion house stores, was an attraction in itself. A new redevelopment opened on October 22, 2004.

 

In June 2005, Harrah's Entertainment acquired Caesars Entertainment, Inc. and became the owner of Caesars Palace. Harrah's changed its own name to Caesars Entertainment in 2010, to capitalize on the prestige of the Caesars brand.

 

In 2010, Caesars Palace was fined $250,000 by the Nevada Gaming Commission for permitting a high-limit baccarat player to dance on the card table while the game was underway. In September 2015, Caesars Palace agreed to pay the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network an $8 million civil money penalty for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

 

In October 2017, ownership of Caesars Palace was transferred to Vici Properties as part of a corporate spin-off; Vici leased the property back to Caesars Entertainment at an initial annual rent of $165 million.

 

Architecture

 

Jeff Campbell of Lonely Planet refers to the hotel as "quintessentially Las Vegas", a "Greco-Roman fantasyland featuring marble reproductions of classical statuary". The art deco style fused with clear influences from Hollywood epic productions dominate. Construction of the 14-story Caesars Palace hotel on the 34-acre (14 ha) site began in 1962, and it opened in 1966. It lay next to Dunes Hotel and opposite the Desert Inn. The original hotel featured lanes of cypresses and marble columns as part of a 900 feet (270 m) frontage, with the hotel set back 475 feet (145 m) . The car park could accommodate up to 1300 cars.

 

Water is heavily used for at least 18 fountains throughout—the casino resort uses over 240 million gallons a year. A 20 feet (6.1 m) high statue of Julius Caesar hailing a taxi lies in the driveway leading to the entrance, and there are replicas of Rape of the Sabine Women and statues of Venus and David which greet guests as they arrive. Near the entrance is a four-faced, eight-handed Brahma shrine which weighs four tons. It was made in Bangkok, Thailand, with a casting ceremony on November 25, 1983, according to the inscription on it. A multimillion-dollar renovation of the main entrance began in July 2021, and was finished seven months later. It includes a domed ceiling and a 15-foot statue of Augustus.

 

Exterior

 

A $75 million renovation of the hotel's original Roman Tower, built in 1966 and extended in 1974, was completed in January 2016. The 14-story Tower, last renovated in 2001, will have 20 rooms added for a total of 587 rooms and suites, and will be renamed the Julius Tower. Entertainment Close-Up wrote that the Julius Tower is the "latest piece of a $1 billion investment to cement Caesars Palace as the premier resort at the center of the Las Vegas Strip". Nobu Tower (formerly Centurion Tower) is a 14-story tower that was completed in 1970 at a cost of $4.2 million. In 2011 it was announced that the tower would be renovated and be renamed to Nobu, and to operate as the first Nobu Hotel with a restaurant. A remodeling of the Nobu Hotel took place during 2021.

 

Rooms in the Forum Tower opened in 1979. The Palace Tower opened in 1998 and mirrors the Greco-Roman theme of the hotel with fluted columns and Corinthian columns and pediments on its facade and fountains and statues scattered around its interior space.

 

Plans for the Augustus Tower began in 2003 and were consolidated in 2004 with the architects Bergman Walls Associates. The expansion at a cost of $289 million US included a 26-story, 345-foot-tall tower, as well as an addition of new convention and meeting facilities at the resort. The Augustus opened in 2005 with 949 rooms, which were designed for more upscale luxury and service than the other parts of the resort. The Octavius Tower opened in January 2012. The 668-room tower was added as part of a $860-million expansion. The tower shares a lobby with the Augustus Tower. The pools at Caesars Palace are modeled after the Roman baths.

 

Entertainment

 

Many international performers have performed at the hotel, including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Rod Stewart, Celine Dion, Cher, Bette Midler, Liberace, Liza Minnelli, Elton John, George Burns, Pat Cooper, Diana Ross, Teresa Teng, Paul Anka, Julio Iglesias, Judy Garland, David Copperfield, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Tony Bennett, Gloria Estefan, Phyllis Diller, Luis Miguel, Ike & Tina Turner, Janet Jackson, Shania Twain, Jerry Seinfeld, Harry Belafonte, Louie Anderson, Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey, Deana Martin, B.B. King, The Moody Blues, Pilita Corrales and Matt Goss. In mid-1996, a new venue known as "Caesars Magical Empire" was created on the property, showcasing magicians such as Michael Ammar, Jon Armstrong, Lee Asher, Whit Haydn, Jeff "Magnus" McBride, and Alain Nu. The "Empire" was closed on November 30, 2002, after which the structure was razed to make room for a large concert hall created for singer Celine Dion. The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is a 4,296-seat entertainment venue with a 22,450 square feet (2,086 m2) stage, which was originally built at a cost of $95-million for Celine Dion's show, A New Day..., in 2003. A success, the Colosseum show earned almost $175,000 on average per night and grossed $500 million in four years. The venue has since hosted performances by numerous other artists. Gloria Estefan performed a special seven-day concert in October 2003 for the launch of her album Unwrapped, titled Live & Unwrapped. In May 2007, Bette Midler was announced as Dion's formal replacement, performing 100 shows a year, with Elton John continuing to perform his popular Red Piano show 50 nights a year while Midler was on hiatus. After taking a three-year hiatus, Cher, following her Farewell Tour, returned to Caesars Palace with a three-year contract, performing 200 shows beginning May 6, 2008.

 

On May 26, 2009, U.S President Barack Obama performed in the Colosseum in the one-night show A Good Fight alongside Sheryl Crow, Bette Midler and Rita Rudner to fundraise for Nevada's senator Harry Reid re-election campaign. Several streets were closed and the Augustus tower was blocked as security precautions by the Secret Service during the visit. In March 2011, Celine Dion returned to The Colosseum with her new show entitled "Celine", which is under contract for 70 shows per year, through 2017. In 2015, Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn began a concert residency at the Colosseum titled Together in Vegas. Absinthe is a live show that premiered on April 1, 2011, on the forecourt of the hotel. The show is hosted by The Gazillionaire, played by actor and former Cirque du Soleil clown Voki Kalfayan and his assistant, Penny Pibbets, portrayed by actress Anais Thomassian. The show is performed outside in a Spiegeltent on a 9 feet (2.7 m) diameter stage. The tent accommodates 600 persons who are seated on folding chairs circled around the stage.

 

The Pussycat Dolls Lounge, an adjunct of the Pure Nightclub, opened at Caesars Palace in 2005. The lounge was patterned after a vintage strip club. The club's center was a stage where dancers called the Pussycat Girls clad in fishnet hose and corsets, began a new dance show every half hour. Celebrities like Paris Hilton and Christina Aguilera occasionally danced as "guest pussycats". In 2007, Caesars Palace opened a Pussycat Dolls Casino directly across from the Pussycat Dolls Lounge. It had an oval pit at the casino's center, where two go-go dancers in cages performed in response to the music. At the end of February 2010, the Pussycat Dolls left the Pure nightclub for a new lounge at the Chateau nightclub, which is part of Paris Las Vegas.

 

The Omnia (Latin for "[the sum of] all things") nightclub, opened in March 2015, replacing the Pure nightclub which operated there for over a decade. The $107 million expansion and redesign incorporates both the 34,000 square feet (3,200 m2) Pure facility and the adjacent World of Poker tournament room to create a 75,000 square feet (7,000 m2) space that can accommodate 3,500 people. Designed by the Rockwell Group, the club is outfitted with theatrical lighting, sound, and climate-control systems, along with rigging and catwalks for aerial performers. It is operated by the Hakkasan Group.

 

The replica of Cleopatra's Barge houses a bar and lounge that opened at Caesars Palace in 1970. Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin often visited the Barge, with Sinatra occasionally singing there after his own shows.

 

Sports

 

The New Yorker writes that Caesars Palace was "dubbed the Home of Champions after hosting decades of events like boxing matches, auto races, and volleyball tournaments". The Caesars Palace Grand Prix car race (a Formula One World Championship event) was held at the car park of Caesars Palace in 1981 and 1982. The new race proved to be a financial disaster, and was not popular among the drivers, primarily because of the desert heat and its counter-clockwise direction, which put a tremendous strain on the drivers' necks. When Nelson Piquet clinched his first World Championship by finishing fifth in 1981, it took him fifteen minutes to recover from heat exhaustion. The 1982 race was won by Michele Alboreto in a Tyrrell, but the race was not renewed for the following season due to poor attendance. The following two years a CART (IndyCar) event was run, with Mario Andretti and Tom Sneva winning, before the open-wheel event was permanently dropped. In 2013 it hosted a round of the Stadium Super Trucks.

 

Many boxing matches have been held in Caesars Outdoor Arena and at its since demolished Sports Pavilion (an indoor sports arena) since the late 1970s. The hotel has hosted fights between George Foreman and Ron Lyle in January 1976, Roberto Durán and Esteban de Jesús in January 1978, Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali in October 1980, Holmes and Gerry Cooney in June 1982 as well as Wilfredo Gómez versus Juan Antonio Lopez at the same date; Gómez's bout with Salvador Sánchez on August 21, 1981, Marvin Hagler vs. Roberto Durán and a world championship fight between Shane Mosley and Shannan Taylor. In April 1987, the 15,356-seat arena at Caesars Palace hosted "The Super Fight" boxing match between Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler. Two bouts between Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe were contested here, including Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe in November 1992, and a revenge match a year later in which Holyfield took the title, and he fought with Michael Moorer at Caesars Palace, including Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer in April 1994 for the WBA, IBF and Lineal Heavyweight Championships. In 2004 boxing returned to the Palace, when Wladimir Klitschko and former Olympian Jeff Lacy headlined a card televised on Showtime at the Palace's new outdoor amphitheatre.

 

Caesars Palace has played host to a number of professional wrestling events throughout the 1990s, the most notable of which is WWE's WrestleMania IX in April 1993 which capitalized on the Roman theme of the venue. Billed as the "Worlds Largest Toga Party" it remains to this day the only WrestleMania with a particular theme. World Championship Wrestling also held a series of events at Caesars Palace, including Clash of the Champions XXX in January 1995 as well as Clash of the Champions XXXII and an episode of WCW Monday Nitro, each in January 1996.

 

On September 27, 1991, a National Hockey League preseason game between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers was held on an outdoor rink built in the Caesars Palace parking lot. Behind a goal from Wayne Gretzky, the Kings came back from a 2–0 deficit to win 5–2. The game served as a prelude to "Frozen Fury", an annual series of preseason games in Las Vegas played primarily against the Colorado Avalanche at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and eventually the establishment of an expansion team in Las Vegas, the Vegas Golden Knights, for the 2017–18 NHL season.

 

In popular culture

 

Caesars Palace has been a location in numerous films. It has appeared in films such as Hells Angels on Wheels (1967), Where It's At (1969),[196] The Only Game in Town (1970), The Electric Horseman (1979), Rocky III (1982), Oh, God! You Devil (1984), You Ruined My Life (1987), Rain Man (1988), Hearts Are Wild (1992), Fools Rush In (1997), Ocean's Eleven (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Dreamgirls (2006), Iron Man (2008), The Hangover (2009), 2012 (2009), The Hangover Part III (2013) and Step Up: All In (2014).

 

In television it has appeared in series such as The Partridge Family, the "Viva Ned Flanders" episode of The Simpsons, The Sopranos, Friends, The Strip (1999), and Keeping Up With the Kardashians. It also appeared in the season 12 premiere of America's Next Top Model. The short-lived 1990s game show Caesars Challenge taped in the casino's theatre and pulled contestants from the audience; losing players were given tickets to Caesars shows and dinner as a consolation prize, while an audience game played at the end offered audience members the chance to get casino chips and chocolate coins.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Das Caesars Palace ist ein Hotel in Paradise im Großraum Las Vegas im US-Bundesstaat Nevada. Es ist im Stil eines antiken römischen Palastes errichtet; der Name leitet sich von Gaius Iulius Caesar her, dem Herrscher des antiken Rom, und soll dessen Pracht widerspiegeln.

 

Das Hotel am Las Vegas Boulevard besitzt 3.960 Gästezimmer und Suiten in sechs Zimmertürmen. Säulen, Statuen und Wasser-Fontänen prägen das Erscheinungsbild der Anlage. Das im Hotel integrierte Spielkasino belegt eine Fläche von etwa 15.000 Quadratmetern. Die Forum Shops, ein großes Einkaufszentrum mit exklusiven Geschäften sowie ein weitläufiger Pool- und Gartenbereich gehören ebenso zu dem Komplex.

 

Geschichte

 

1962 erhielt Jay Sarno einen Kredit über 10,6 Mio. US$ aus dem Central States Pension Fund der Teamsters und errichtete von 1962 bis 1965 ein Hotel mit angeschlossenem Kasino. Es wurde am 5. August 1966 eröffnet. Ein Jahr nach der Eröffnung des Hotels erlangte das Hotel durch den Motorradstuntman Evel Knievel großes Aufsehen, als dieser sich schwer verletzte, nachdem er im Beisein zahlreicher Zuschauer über die Brunnenanlage entlang der Vorfahrt des Caesars Palace gesprungen war, jedoch bei der Landung stürzte.

 

1962 begann der Bau des Roman Towers, dem ersten Hotelturm der Anlage mit 680 Zimmern in 14 Geschossen. Das halbkreisförmige Gebäude wurde zentriert hinter dem Haupteingang und der von Springbrunnen gesäumten Vorfahrt angelegt. 1970 wurde das Hotel durch den rechteckigen, erneut 14-stöckigen, Centurion Tower mit 222 Zimmern erweitert. Der abgerundete Roman Tower wurde später um eine entgegengesetzt-gekrümmte Kurve verlängert. Der Forum Tower mit 22 Geschossen kam 1979 hinzu. Am 17. Oktober 1981 und am 25. September 1982 fand auf dem Parkplatzgelände der Große Preis von Las Vegas statt. Sieger der Formel-1-Rennen waren Alan Jones (1981) sowie Michele Alboreto (1982). Da die Rennstrecke auf den Parkplätzen des Caesars Palace sehr uneben war, fand der Grand Prix nur zweimal im Großraum Las Vegas statt.

 

Das Caesars Palace war in den 1980er Jahren Austragungsort vieler berühmter Box-Kämpfe, bevor es in den 1990er Jahren von einem reinen Casino-Hotel zu einem familienfreundlichen Unterhaltungskomplex umgebaut wurde. Diese Änderung haben alle großen Hotels im Großraum Las Vegas vollzogen. Auch heute finden allerdings noch Boxkämpfe statt, vor allem in der Außenanlage „Thomas and Mack Arena“. 1987 wurden Szenen des 1988 erschienenen oscarprämierten Kinofilms Rain Man mit Tom Cruise und Dustin Hoffman in den Hauptrollen im Caesars Palace gedreht.

 

1997 wurde der Palace Tower errichtet. Erstmals wurde dessen Fassade im römisch inspirierten Stil gestaltet. Die bis dahin errichteten Hoteltürme kamen ohne ebensolchen aus. Im selben Jahr wurden auch die 1992 eröffneten Forum Shops, wie auch die Casino- und Konferenzflächen erweitert und die ebenso römisch gestaltete Pool- und Gartenanlage errichtet. Im Jahr 2000 wurden nun an allen früher errichteten Bauteilen antike Stilelemente nachgerüstet um sie den neu gebauten Hotelteilen anzugleichen.

 

2003 wurde das Colosseum eröffnet, ein modernes Theatergebäude mit über 4000 Sitzplätzen, das äußerlich dem antiken Kolosseum in Rom nachempfunden ist. Viele Künstler haben im Laufe der Jahre im Caesars Palace gastiert, beispielsweise Frank Sinatra, Liberace und David Copperfield. Seit März 2003 stehen abwechselnd unter anderen Cher, Céline Dion, Elton John und Shania Twain auf der Bühne des Colosseum. Für die Pussycat Dolls wurde darüber hinaus die „Pussycat Dolls Lounge“ eröffnet, in der sie auch auftraten.

 

Im Jahr 2004 wurden die Forum Shops mit einer dem Strip zugewandten dreistöckigen Ausbaustufe auf die heutige Größe ausgebaut. In diesem Gebäudeteil befinden sich auch die bekannten spiralförmigen Rolltreppen. Im Jahr 2005 wurden der Augustus Tower (35 Geschosse, 949 Zimmer) und die neue Hotellobby ihrer Bestimmung übergeben. Im selben Jahr hat der französische 3-Sterne-Koch Guy Savoy ein Restaurant im Caesars Palace eröffnet.

 

2008 diente das Casino als Filmset für den Kinohit Hangover. In diesem fragt Alan (Zach Galifianakis) die Rezeptionistin, ob Caesar wirklich im Caesars Palace gelebt habe. 2013 wurde das Hotel erneut als Filmset in Hangover 3 genutzt.

 

Der bisher letzte Neubau des Hotels ist der Octavius Tower und wurde 2011 eröffnet. Das Caesars ist damit eines der wenigen Hotels im Großraum Las Vegas, das seit seiner Eröffnung keine Gebäudeteile abgerissen bzw. (wie dort üblich) gesprengt hat, sondern stattdessen immer wieder erweitert und umgebaut wurde.

 

Seit 2013 befindet sich im ehemaligen Centurion Tower des Caesars das eigenständig betriebene Boutique-Hotel Nobu Hotel.

 

Besitzverhältnisse

 

Nach mehreren Besitzerwechseln gehört das Caesars Palace seit 2005 zur Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. Die Harrah’s Gruppe hat Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (bis 2003 Park Place Entertainment Corporation), einem Konzern mit 55.000 Mitarbeitern, der knapp 30 Hotel-Kasinos weltweit unterhält, übernommen. Seit 2010 tritt nun das gesamte Unternehmen wieder als Caesars Entertainment auf.

 

In Las Vegas gehören unter anderem die Hotels Bally’s, Flamingo und Paris zur Gruppe. Es gibt weitere Caesars Hotels in den Vereinigten Staaten, beispielsweise in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

 

(Wikipedia)

Lamington National Park includes a series of densely forested valleys and ranges rising to more than 1,100m on the crest of the McPherson Range, which marks the New South Wales--Queensland border. The park lies on the southern edge of the Scenic Rim, a chain of mountains stretching from the Gold Coast hinterland to Mount Mistake and is joined by parks, such as the Border Rangers National Park, in New South Wales.

 

First Nations people lived in this area, carefully managing and using its rich natural resources for thousands of years. Known as ‘Woonoongoora’ in the Yugambeh language, the mountains of Lamington National Park are sacred and spiritual, places to be nurtured and respected.

 

The Yugambeh family groups are identified as the Wangerriburra, Birinburra, Gugingin, Migunberri, Mununjali, Bollongin, Minjungbal and Kombumerri. They shared language, ceremonies, celebrations and economic exchange.

 

This kinship group used both the open forest and rainforest. Evidence of their occupation has been found in various parts of the park, including the ‘Kweebani’ (cooking) cave near Binna Burra. It is believed a traditional pathway passed through the southern section of Lamington National Park.

 

Lamington National Park is born—the Gazettal:

 

Lamington National Park has found a place in the hearts of many that have visited over the last 100 years. The campaign to preserve the resource-rich, mountainous land as national park began in the 1890s with a particularly passionate grazier Robert Collins, who, while travelling overseas, learned about the world’s first national park, Yellowstone, in the United States.

 

‘… within sight of Brisbane there is a fine area with a climate more equable than any New Zealand town enjoys, volcanic soil of surpassing richness, deep shady forests and scrubs, cool running streams, and splendid, bold mountain scenery.’

 

Mr Collins was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1896 and campaigned to have the area declared a national park. While New South Wales and Victoria had successfully declared national parks by 1900, many in Queensland still saw the land as a timber supply or potential dairy farm, and opposition remained strong. Attitudes began to shift by 1906 when the Queensland Parliament passed the State Forests and National Parks Act 1906. This led to the state’s first national park, Witches Falls (Tamborine Mountain), being declared in March 1908.

 

In 1911, Romeo Lahey, the engineer son of a Canungra sawmiller, joined the campaign and continued the fight after Collins’ death in 1913. Lahey argued that an even larger parcel of land should be protected, and drummed up support from locals with ‘lantern lectures’ (slide shows) and door-knocking.

 

In July 1915, 19,035ha of mountainous, forested land was declared Lamington National Park, in honour of the past Queensland Governor Lord Lamington. It was the state’s ninth national park, accomplished by a 20-year campaign.

 

Lahey and Lamington:

 

For Romeo Lahey, the campaign to protect the area that would become Lamington National Park would be a life-long passion that would last long after gazettal. The son of a timber-getter and Canungra sawmill operator, Lahey would often explore the surrounding region. In 1911, while studying an engineering degree at Sydney University, he returned to South East Queensland with a friend, William Potts, and documented their journey up the Coomera River to the border (McPherson Range). The article set in train his concept of a larger national park on the Queensland side of the McPherson Range.

 

‘…it is a land of mountains, waterfalls, valleys, rivers, scrubs, forests, magnificent panorama and charming spots teeming with native animals and plant life. Its mountains run up to 4000ft. high, and its waterfalls are not equalled outside the State. Within a five mile radius of the head of the Coomera River, there are fifty falls from 20ft to 600ft high, some of them the finest I have ever seen’.

 

Later that year, Lahey made his first approach to the Queensland Government for a large national park in a letter to Hon. E.H. Macartney, Minister for Lands.

 

‘This country contains some of the most beautiful country scenery I have ever seen…and culminates in the McPherson range in peaks over 4000ft high, from which an unsurpassed panorama is obtained over NSW and SE Queensland, including Brisbane. It is an ideal place in every way for a National Park… It will make a splendid preserve for game; at present it teems with all forms of native animal and bird life, many forms of which (e.g. lyre bird) are becoming extinct.’

 

In 1913, Lahey continued to write letters promoting the area of the McPherson Range for consideration as a national park to the Lands Department and copied letters to the shire councils of Tamborine and Beaudesert and then Premier Hon. D.F. Denham. He emphasised the economic and national importance of leaving scrub in rough country and articulated the responsibility of his generation in handing down to the next the ‘great heritage’ that had been handed to them.

 

‘I implore you in the name of, and for the sake of generations yet unborn, to vote for the immediate and total reservation of that area.’

 

The Beaudesert and Tamborine councils responded favourably to the idea, with the Tamborine Council supportive of the whole area being national park while the Beaudesert Council was agreeable to setting aside around 400ha for national park.

 

When World War I (WW1) broke out in August 1914, focus shifted away from the national park proposition. Undeterred, Lahey continued the campaign and in April 1915 he wrote to the Lands Minister, Hon. James Tolmie about his exploration of the McPherson Range. By May he had used lantern lectures (slide shows) and canvassed residents around the area of the proposed park for signatures on a petition in favour of the national park. He then wrote to the Minister of Lands Department advising that 521 residents of the district, a clear majority, had signed a petition in favour. He included an 11 page letter setting out 10 reasons for reserving the proposed national park; including the health benefits, the economic benefits, and the benefit to flora and fauna species preservation.

 

‘The reserve should be set apart for ever for the use and benefit of our people as a whole and not sacrificed to the short-sighted greed of a few.’

 

Following the state election and the new TJ Ryan Labor Government in May 1915, Lahey appealed to the newly appointed Minister for Lands, Hon. John Hunter, with a letter, photographs and signed petition. On 30 July 1915, the park was proclaimed and gazetted as Lamington National Park in honour of Lord Lamington.

 

After the area was proclaimed and gazetted as Lamington National Park, Lahey continued to fight for the national park ideal. In October 1915, he delivered a lecture to the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia Queensland Branch titled ‘Some reasons why national parks should be established in Queensland, with special reference to Lamington National Park’, and called for other large areas to be reserved as national parks as well as an extension of the state forest system. While enlisted in WW1 with the 11th Field Company Engineers AIF, Lahey continued to steer discussion about the park’s management, protection of all species, its access and the naming of locations (he suggested Aboriginal words be used as placenames).

 

‘There is only one way to “improve” a national park and this is to leave it absolutely alone.’

 

Hon. J. Hunter responded:

 

‘I could wish that you were here to help with your advice and other ways on this great matter which although to-day is not of much consequence will to come generations be of the greatest moment because the preservation and value of these creations cannot be overestimated. …One thing I am quite determined upon and that is the preservation of the park—an heirloom to the State as nature left it.’

 

By September 1919, Lahey had returned to Australia and was available to act as guide for Mr J. Hunter (now Queensland Agent General elect.) on his first visit to Lamington.

 

Rangers of Lamington:

 

When Lamington National Park was first gazetted in 1915, the park was barely surveyed, and there was no protection against illegal logging and poaching. In July 1918, Lamington National Park was declared a ‘reserve for the protection and preservation of native birds and native animals’. In December that year, the Queensland Naturalists explored, collected and recorded the flora and fauna found in the remote wilderness areas of Lamington National Park. New plant species were collected and the name ‘Green Mountains’ was coined as a result of their visit.

 

The park remained largely unpatrolled apart from scientists and government surveyors, until early 1919, when the O’Reilly brothers and cousins, along with Mr George Rankin were appointed unpaid honorary rangers under The Native Animals Protection Act 1906. Later that year, Mick O’Reilly was made the first paid park ranger, for £4 a week, an above average wage for the time (the average wage then was about £3 18s 7d a week (3 pounds and 18 shillings 7 pennies)). Mick O’Reilly had recently returned from the WWI Middle East campaign and was charged with protecting the park boundaries against illegal logging and poaching and eventually commencing the access tracks to scenic locations.

 

In 1937, the Forestry Sub-Department employed Lamington’s first forest ranger, Jack Gresty, and Gus Kouskos was appointed first track sub-foreman. An official full-time national park ranger for South Queensland, George Gentry, had also been appointed. Despite the Great Depression (1929–1939), government funding was approved for construction of tracks and other facilities beginning in July 1937. With the use of relief workers, groups of up to 50 men were employed to build a large portion of the track system, much of which is still open today. It is during this time that the Main Border Track was constructed. Built in two sections; one track crew from O’Reilly’s cut their way towards a second track crew working from Binna Burra, the 21.4km Border Track cost £1080 (approx. $90,300 today) and took 17 months to construct.

 

Construction crews lived in tent-like accommodation and spent their days clearing trees, shifting large rocks and excavating and benching slopes by hand along the surveyed route.

 

Many of the techniques, such as rock wall pitching and the construction of stone inverts, are still used in track building and maintenance today.

 

Today, Lamington is the second-largest national park on the Scenic Rim, and is internationally renowned for its ecological importance and inherent beauty.

 

In 1994, Lamington was World Heritage-listed and is now part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area that was previously known as the Central Eastern Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area.

 

QPWS rangers continue the role of protecting and presenting this World Heritage-listed park while managing increased visitation and the demand on facilities and park infrastructure.

 

Source: Queensland Government: Parks & Forests (Department of Environment & Science)

Includes teams from Mitchell, Harrisburg, Watertown, Aberdeen Central. Permission granted for journalism outlets and educational purposes. Not for commercial use. Must be credited. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

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