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After processing this photo, on a whim I Googled "Dawn Light Midland"...
Dawn Light was built in 1891 in Toledo, Ohio, originally a yacht named Leroy Brooks. Sold into Canadian ownership in 1910 and rebuilt as a tugboat, she went through various names, ownerships, and rebuilds. Since 1981, Dawn Light has served as a diving boat on Georgian Bay. Currently owned by Robert Daniel Welsh operating out of Tobermory, she is "likely the oldest operating vessel afloat on the Great Lakes."
gltugs.wordpress.com/dawn-light/
You never know what you'll find.
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Just had two of my recipes published today, and an article, in Edible Boston and The Boston Globe! I am not bragging, just happy! ;-)
Story here on my blog La Tartine Gourmande
This is the 30 unit assembly of the lovely Rocca kusudama designed by Maria Sinayskaya and published in her book "Zen Origami". 30 units, 7.5 cm squares, no glue. Paper from the packs which came with the book.
All Rights Reserved !!!!!
No parts of this material can be published, copied, downloaded or sold without a permission from me. PLEASE ask me before you post this material in a blog or on your page ! Please respect these rules !!!!
Motorbikers from @NightWolvesAustralia / NightWolve Clan Community
HEADPIECES: Marina Vexler at Cupids Millinery Melbourne
STAGING AND STYLING: crew's collective efforts
MUAH: Monika Hodkinson at Monika Hodkinson Makeup Artist
ORGANISING: Natasha Marchev at Bohemian Rhapsody Club and Magazine
LOCATION: Yarraville, Victoria, Australia
Motorbikes featured: Harley-Davidson / Harley-Davidson Australia
Dogs featured: Honey and Frank / o. Terry
Original Idea: Marina Vexler and addition of the wedding dresses Monika Hodkinson
PHOTOGRAPHER: Rouben Dickranian at www.sixstarphotography.com.au/
This photo is published under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike Licence, means you are free to use this photo with attribution under same licence. When giving attribution, please use following;
Owner: Thai National Parks
Link: www.thainationalparks.com/tarutao-national-marine-park
Scanned Photo Postcard
Scan is presented for historical/archival purposes
No copyright is claimed or intended
From the back of the card:
"A drooping, furled green flag, denoting a following section of the same train, is bracketed just outside the fireman's front window of Southern Pacific's train No. 1-671 (first section of regular train No. 671). It is 1947 and a warm, quiet summer morning, except for the steaming chatter set up by AC-8 # 4177 as the big 4-8-8-2 nears McCredie Springs, Oregon, hauling lumber up the 1.8 percent grade from Eugene, Oregon, toward Cascade Summit, thirty-five miles away. Two more cab-forward locomotives were added as helpers near the rear of this Second Class Timetable Train nine miles back down the grade Oakridge...
Southern Pacific"
The post card was published by Vanishing Vistas of Sacramento, CA in 1972. The photo is courtesy Southern Pacific Railroad, the text is by Howard W. Bull.
My letter to the editor ("Cleverland Rocks, right side of the image) was published by the Globe and Mail today! :D
It's become a national sport (or complaint) in recent months to talk about the crazily exuberant housing market in Canada (and many countries around the world). To give you an example, the very home that I'm writing this from now, the price in 2021 is six to seven times that of 1999. Yep, in just 22 years. A 20% downpayment in 2021 is more money than the entire house back in 1999. Despite that, I, for one, is no fan of this real estate craze. But I digress. The other day, a business news columnist has suggested that Canadians look to the U.S. for affordable homes.
I've been saying that many American cities not far from Toronto are actually quite attractive places to live. Of course, for Canadians moving to the U.S. isn't anything like a Frenchman moving to Italy or a Spaniard moving to Denmark. The Canada-USA-Mexico free trade agreement doesn't allow free movement of people and there is no open border. A formal immigration application and approval is required; finding a job in the USA as a Canadian is not easy; and the lack of state-funded healthcare in the U.S. is a major deterrent to any Canadian not used to having to "pay" for a visit to the doctor.
The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that was published by the Photochrom Co. Ltd. The card, which has a divided back, was printed in Great Britain.
The aircraft in the photograph was a British four-engined 39-seat biplane airliner designed and built by Short Brothers at the request of Imperial Airways. Two of them were ordered in 1933, 'Scylla' (G-ACJJ) and 'Syrinx' (G-ACJK).
Scylla, which is in the photograph, first flew for Imperial Airways on the 26th. March 1934.
Imperial Airways used the Scylla for scheduled flights from London to Paris and other European cities. Both aircraft served with Imperial Airways until its merger into BOAC in 1939, when both were taken out of service the following year, Scylla after being wrecked and Syrinx being scrapped.
The Photochrom Co. Ltd.
The Photochrom Co. Ltd. of London and Royal Tunbridge Wells originally produced Christmas cards before becoming a major publisher and printer of tourist albums, guide books, and postcards.
These mainly captured worldwide views as real photos, or were printed in black & white, monochrome, and color.
They also published many advertising, comic, silhouette, novelty, panoramic, and notable artist-signed cards in named series as well. The huge number of titles that Photochrom produced may well exceed 40,000.
In 1896 they took over Fussli’s London office established three years earlier, and began publishing similar photo-chromolithographic postcards after securing the exclusive English licence for the Swiss photochrom process.
This technique was used to produce a great number of view-cards of both England and Europe. While they captured the same fine details as the Swiss prints, their colours were much softer and reduced.
Apart from their better known photochroms, they produced their Celesque series of view-cards printed in tricolor.
One of the largest unnamed series that Photochrom produced was of view-cards printed in brown rotogravure. Many of these cards were simply hand coloured with a dominant red and blue, which gives these cards a distinct appearance. They are similar to cards produced in their Photogravure and Velvet Finish Series.
Photochrom postcard series include:
-- Night Series - Line block halftone over a blue tint depicting London.
-- Carbofoto Series - Black & white real photo cards.
-- Sepiatone Series - Sepia real photo cards.
-- Grano Series - View-cards printed in black & white.
-- Exclusive Photo-Color Series - View-cards printed in colour.
-- Duotype Process Series - View-cards printed in two tones.
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was the UK's major and only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style.
It was developed as Britain's main airport, handling more cargo, mail, and passengers than any other UK airport at the time. Innovations at the site included the world's first air traffic control and the first airport terminal.
During World War II the airport was named RAF Croydon as its role changed to that of a fighter airfield during the Battle of Britain; and in 1943 RAF Transport Command was founded at the site, which used the airport to transport thousands of troops into and out of Europe.
After the Second World War, its role returned to civil aviation, but the role of London's primary international airport passed to London Heathrow Airport. Croydon Airport closed in 1959. It had been known under eight different names while it was active.
In 1978, the terminal building and Gate Lodge were granted protection as Grade II listed buildings. In May 2017, Historic England raised the status of the terminal building to Grade II*. Owing to disrepair, the Gate Lodge is now classified as Heritage at Risk by Historic England.
The Origins of Croydon Airport
In December 1915, Beddington Aerodrome was established - one of a number of small airfields around London that were created for protection against Zeppelin airship raids during the Great War. In January 1916, the first two aircraft, B.E 2C's, arrived at the aerodrome as part of Home Defence.
Waddon Aerodrome opened in 1918 as part of the adjoining National Aircraft Factory No. 1, to serve aircraft test flights. The two airfields were on each side of Plough Lane.
Beddington Aerodrome became a large Reserve Aircraft and Training aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps. At the end of the Great War the aerodrome was retained, becoming an important training airfield for the newly formed Royal Air Force.
During 1919, Prince Albert (later George VI) gained his 'wings' here with No. 29 Training Squadron, the first member of the Royal Family to learn to fly. His elder brother, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII), also received flying training with No. 29 Training Squadron at Beddington during 1919.
The two aerodromes were combined following the end of the Great War to become Croydon Aerodrome, the gateway for all international flights to and from London. The new aerodrome opened on the 29th. March 1920, replacing the temporary civil aerodrome at a Cavalry ground on Hounslow Heath.
Plough Lane remained a public road crossing the site, and road traffic was halted when necessary, first by a man with a red flag and later by a gate. The aerodrome stimulated a growth in regular scheduled flights carrying passengers, mail and freight, the first destinations being Paris, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Two flights daily from Paris were scheduled for ease of communication with London during the Paris Peace Conference. In 1923, flights to Berlin Tempelhof Airport began.
Penshurst Airfield was an alternative destination for airliners when Croydon was closed on account of fog. One such diversion was on the 24th. September 1921, when a de Havilland DH.18 aircraft was diverted to Penshurst. This situation lasted until Penshurst closed on the 28th. July 1936.
Innovation
Croydon was the first airport in the world to introduce air traffic control, a control tower, and radio position-fixing procedures.
The aerodrome control tower (visible in the photograph) was designed with windows on all four sides. It provided basic traffic, weather and location information to pilots.
The 'Mayday' distress call was also first established at Croydon.
Croydon Airport also had the world's first airport hotel.
Imperial Airways
On the formation of Britain's first national airline, Imperial Airways, on the 31st. March 1924, Croydon became the new airline's operating base. Imperial Airways was the British Government's chosen instrument to develop connections with the U.K.'s extensive overseas interests.
It was therefore from Croydon that Great Britain first developed its European and long-haul routes to India, Africa, the Middle and Far East, Asia, Africa and Australia (in conjunction with Qantas).
The Crash of the Imperial Airways de Havilland
Following the Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash, Great Britain's first major civil aviation accident, conditions at Croydon came under criticism from the public inquiry that investigated the causes.
The crash occurred on the 24th. December 1924. The aircraft took off from Croydon Airport on a scheduled international passenger flight to Le Bourget Airport, Paris. Witnesses described the aircraft as flying low over Purley before nosediving to the ground and overturning. The crash was followed by an explosion and fire.
The crash site was 1 1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) from Croydon Airport, at Castle Hill, Purley, where the Kingsdown housing estate was then under construction. Attempts to rescue the pilot and the seven passengers were made, but the intensity of the fire made this task impossible. A witness stated that he thought the accident was unsurvivable.
It was only after the local fire brigade had extinguished the fire that the bodies of the victims could be extricated from the wreckage. The accident was the first fatal accident suffered by Imperial Airways.
A memorial plaque and cross were placed at Kingsdown Avenue. They are still there to this day.
The inquiry was Great Britain's first into an aviation accident. It led to an Act of Parliament, the Croydon Aerodrome Extension Act 1925.
The Expansion of Croydon Airport
The 1925 Act led to large-scale expansion, redevelopment and construction of an improved new airport between 1926 and 1928, with a new complex of buildings being constructed alongside Purley Way, including the first purpose-designed airport terminal and air traffic control tower, the world's first airport hotel, and extensive hangars.
The development cost £267,000 (£16.2 million in today's prices). Plough Lane was closed permanently to let heavier airliners land and depart safely. The airport's terminal building and control tower were completed in 1928, and the old wooden air traffic control and customs building demolished. The new buildings and layout began operations on the 20th. January 1928, and were officially opened on the 2nd. May 1928 by Lady Maud Hoare.
Notable Flights
Croydon was where regular international passenger services began, initially using converted wartime bombers, and the Croydon - Le Bourget route soon became the busiest in the world.
Amy Johnson took off from Croydon on the 5th. May 1930 for her record-breaking flight to Australia.
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh arrived in the Spirit of St. Louis, to be greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of over 100,000 people.
Winston Churchill also took flying lessons at the airport.
On the morning of the 11th. July 1936, Major Hugh Pollard and Cecil Bebb left Croydon Airport for the Canary Islands in a de Havilland Dragon Rapide aircraft, where they picked up General Francisco Franco, taking him to Spanish Morocco and thereby helping to trigger the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.
The airport also hosted a much-publicised visit by Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, leader of the National Socialist Women's League (NS-Frauenschaft) and rumoured to be a spy; historians have speculated that she landed in Britain to cultivate German spies living here, in the run-up to WWII.
BOAC
In March 1937 British Airways Ltd. operated from Croydon, moving to Heston Aerodrome in May 1938. Imperial Airways, serving routes in the British Empire, and British Airways Ltd, serving European routes, were merged in 1939 to become the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).
Croydon Airport in WWII
When the Second World War started in September 1939, Croydon Airport was closed to civil aviation, but played a vital role as a fighter station during the Battle of Britain. No. 92 Squadron flew Supermarine Spitfires from RAF Croydon during the early part of the Second World War and the Battle of Britain.
On the 15th. August 1940, Croydon Airport was attacked during the first major air raid on the London area. At around 6.20 pm, 22 fighter-bombers mounted a final raid of the day, intended for RAF Kenley nearby, but attacked Croydon (four miles further north) in error.
The armoury was destroyed, the civilian airport terminal building was badly damaged, and a hangar was damaged by cannon fire and blast. Another hangar and about forty training aircraft in it went up in flames.
Six airfield personnel died (four airmen from No. 111 Squadron, an officer of No. 1 Squadron RCAF, and a female telephonist from Station HQ). Factories next to Croydon Airport took the worst of the bombing. The British NSF factory (making electrical components) was almost entirely destroyed, and the Bourjois perfume factory was gutted.
The Rollason Aircraft factory also received bomb hits and accounted for many of the 62 civilians (including five women) killed and 192 injured. Eight of the attacking aircraft were shot down by the Hurricanes of 32 and 111 Squadrons.
Croydon became the base of RAF Transport Command in 1944.
Post-War Developments and Final Closure
Following the end of the war, it was realised that post-war airliners and cargo aircraft would be larger, and that air traffic would intensify. The urban spread of south London and the growth of surrounding villages had enclosed Croydon Airport and left it little room for expansion. Heathrow was therefore designated as London's airport.
Croydon returned to civil control in February 1946. Northolt opened to airlines soon after that, cutting Croydon's traffic, but the September 1946 ABC Guide shows 218 departures a week to Belfast, Dublin, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, Jersey, Guernsey, and several continental airports. A year later there were only 56 departures a week, mostly BEA de Havilland Dragon Rapides that weeks later left Croydon for good.
It was decided in 1952 that the airport would eventually be closed, as Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire and Northolt Aerodrome in Middlesex could accommodate European flights during the 1950's.
The last scheduled flight from Croydon departed at 6:15pm on the 30th. September 1959. The airfield officially closed at 10:20pm.
On the 27th. September 2009, to mark the 50th. anniversary of the closing of the airport, eleven light aircraft, including eight biplanes, staged a flypast. A gold laurel leaf tribute was laid in the control tower to mark the anniversary.
Croydon Airport Today
Much of the site has been built over, but some of the airport buildings near Purley Way are still visible, clearly identifiable as to their former purpose. The former terminal building is called Airport House, and the former control tower houses a visitors' centre.
A de Havilland Heron (a small propeller-driven British airliner of the 1950's) is displayed on the forecourt outside Airport House, mounted on struts. The Heron is painted to represent an aircraft of Morton Air Services which flew the last passenger flight from Croydon on the 30th. September 1959. A memorial to those lost in the Battle of Britain stands slightly to the south.
Although Croydon Airport has long ceased operation, the two cut ends of Plough Lane have never been reunited, but the area between has been developed instead into parkland, playing fields, and the Roundshaw residential estate with its roads aptly named after aviators and aircraft.
All that remains of the runways is a small area of tarmac about 400 feet (120 m) long in Roundshaw Park just west of Purley Way, which is a remnant of the WNW-ESE runway due south of the control buildings. The area is used primarily by walkers, model aircraft enthusiasts, locals playing football and the Croydon Pirates baseball team.
The church on the Roundshaw estate has a cross on its outside wall that was made from the cut down propeller of a Spitfire based at Croydon during the Second World War.
In recognition of the historical significance of the aerodrome, two local schools (Waddon Infants School and Duppas Junior School) merged in September 2010 and became The Aerodrome School.
The Airport Buildings
The Aerodrome Hotel and the terminal building including its grand booking hall were built in the neo-classical geometrical design typical of the early 20th. Century. A further item that would have caught the eye of visitor and traveller alike was the time zone tower (now lost) in the booking hall with its dials depicting the times in different parts of the world.
The Airport Hotel survives (2020) as the independent Hallmark Hotel.
Events and Celebrities Associated With the Airport
- 1919 - Winston Churchill took extensive flying lessons at Croydon, and was nearly killed during a crash at take-off in 1919.
- 1925 - Alan Cobham flew from Croydon to Cape Town and back in 1925-6.
- 1927 - Charles Lindbergh flew into Croydon in 1927 shortly after completing the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.
- 1928 - Mary Bailey flew solo from Croydon to Cape Town.
- 1928 - Mary, Lady Heath was the first pilot to fly a small open-cockpit aircraft from Cape Town to Croydon Aerodrome on the 18th. May.
- 1928 - Bert Hinkler made the first flight from Croydon to Darwin, Australia.
- 1928 - Charles Kingsford Smith beat Hinkler's record.
- 1929 - Armstrong Whitworth flew an Argosy from Croydon to Paris, and Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford met Countess Mountbatten of Burma.
- 1930 - Aspy Engineer and R. N. Chawla were the first Indians to fly from Karachi to Croydon and shortly after, Engineer flew from Croydon to Karachi solo and within the specified one month time frame to win the Aga Khan competition.
- 1930 - Amy Johnson was the first woman to fly from Croydon to Australia, later to return to Croydon to a jubilant welcome. Amy left Croydon on the 5th. May with a few people to see her off. She returned from Australia to be greeted by crowds of thousands.
- 1934 - Tom Campbell Black and C. W. A. Scott won the MacRobertson London to Melbourne Air Race.
Literary References to Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport features heavily in two detective novels, Freeman Wills Crofts' 'The 12.30 from Croydon' (1934) and Agatha Christie's 'Death in the Clouds' (1935).
It is also mentioned in Evelyn Waugh's 'Labels: A Mediterranean Journey' (1930), Elizabeth Bowen's 'To the North' (1932) and Winston Churchill's 'Thoughts and Adventures' (1932).
W. H. Auden, in his Letter to Lord Byron (1937), lists 'Croydon Aerodrome' as one of the locations visited by a modern-day Don Juan.
Accidents and Incidents Associated With Croydon Airport
- On the 15th. March 1923, a Farman F.60 Goliath F-AEIE of Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes overran the runway on landing and collided with a building. The aircraft was later repaired and returned to service.
- On the 22nd. January 1924, a Goliath F-GEAO of Air Union was destroyed by fire following an accident when landing.
- On the 24th. December 1924, an Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 G-EBBX crashed and caught fire shortly after take-off from Croydon, killing the pilot and all seven passengers.
-- On the 24th. July 1928, Alfred Loewenstein, a Belgian financier and one of the wealthiest people in the world at the time, was killed when he fell out of his privately owned Fokker airliner at an altitude of 4,000 feet (1,200 m). Flying from Croydon Airport to Brussels, he is believed to have opened the wrong cabin door before plunging out into space over the English Channel. Suicide was suspected, although it was probably just an unfortunate error - he was last seen by the six other passengers walking to the rear of the aircraft to use the bathroom. However he stepped through the door opposite the bathroom. His body was found on a beach in France eight days later.
More on Loewenstein and his disappearance below.
- On the 6th. November 1929, the Deutsche Lufthansa Junkers G 24bi Oberschlesien (registration D-903) crashed after striking trees on a hill in Morden Park, Surrey, while attempting to return to Croydon in thick fog after taking off for a flight to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Three of the four crew members and four of the five passengers died.
- On the 19th. May 1934, a Wibault 280 of Air France crash-landed on a cricket pitch adjacent to Croydon Airport as a result of running out of fuel. Only one of the ten people on board was injured.
- On the 31st. May 1934 an Air France aircraft carrying newspapers to Paris crashed after hitting the mast of an aircraft radio navigation beacon that had been erected off the end of the white-line take-off path, killing the two crew. (...On the face of it, a pretty silly place to erect a navigation beacon.)
- On the 6th. March 1935, in the Croydon Airport robbery, £21,000 worth of gold bullion was stolen. Three men were charged, although only one was sentenced. The gold was never found.
- On the 9th. December 1936, a KLM Douglas DC-2 crashed on take-off at Croydon Airport on a flight to Amsterdam. The accident killed 15 out of the 17 on the DC-2, including Juan de la Cierva and Arvid Lindman. Juan de la Cierva was the Spanish inventor of the autogyro.
- On the 25th. January 1947, a Spencer Airways Douglas Dakota failed to get airborne on a flight to Rhodesia. The aircraft struck another parked and empty aircraft, killing 11 passengers and the pilot.
Further Accidents and Incidents of Imperial Airways
(a) Fatal Accidents
- On the 13th. July 1928, a Vickers Vulcan G-EBLB crashed at Purley during a test flight, killing four of the six people on board. As a result of the crash, Imperial Airways stopped the flying of staff (so called joy rides) during test flights.
- On the 17th. June 1929, a Handley Page W.10 G-EBMT ditched in the English Channel following engine failure whilst on a flight from Croydon to Paris with the loss of seven lives.
- On the 6th. September 1929, a de Havilland Hercules G-EBMZ crashed and burned on landing at Jask, Iran in the dark due to the pilot misjudging the altitude and stalling the aircraft, killing three of the five individuals on board.
- On the 26th. October 1929, a Short G-AADN force-landed off La Spezia, Italy in poor weather; the flying boat sank in the night during attempts to tow it to shore, killing all seven on board.
- On the 30th. October 1930, a Handley Page W.8g G-EBIX struck high ground in fog at Boulogne, France, killing three of the six individuals on board.
- On the 28th. March 1933, an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy G-AACI crashed at Diksmuide, Belgium following an in-flight fire. This is suspected to be the first-ever case of sabotage in the air. All fifteen people on board were killed.
- On the 30th. December 1933, an Avro Ten G-ABLU collided with a radio mast at Ruysselede, Belgium and crashed. All ten people on board were killed.
- On the 31st. December 1935, a Short G-AASJ crashed off Alexandria, Egypt when all four engines failed on approach, possibly due to fuel starvation; twelve of the 13 on board drowned when the flying boat sank.
- On the 22nd. August 1936, a Short G-ABFA sank at Mirabello Bay, Crete after a heavy landing, killing two of the 11 on board.
- On the 24th. March 1937, a Short G-ADVA crashed in the Beaujolois Mountains near Ouroux, France following a navigation error, killing five.
- On the 1st. October 1937, a Short G-ADVC crashed on landing in Phaleron Bay, Greece due to poor visibility, killing two of 15 on board.
- On the 5th. December 1937, a Short G-ADUZ crashed on take-off from Brindisi, Italy due to incorrect flap settings, killing two.
- On the 27th. July 1938, an Armstrong Whitworth G-ABTG flew into a hillside near Kisumu, Kenya shortly after take-off, killing all four on board.
- On the 27th. November 1938, a Short G-AETW crashed in Lake Habbaniyah, Iraq in bad weather after the pilot descended to maintain visual contact with the ground following spatial disorientation, killing all four crew.
- On the 21st. January 1939, a Short G-ADUU ditched in the Atlantic 285 mi off New York due to carburettor icing and loss of engine power; three drowned while ten survivors were picked up by the tanker Esso Baytown. Thereafter Imperial Airways and Pan-American trans-oceanic flying boats had the upper surfaces of the wings painted with orange high visibility markings.
- On the 1st. May 1939, a Short G-ADVD crashed in the Lumbo lagoon while attempting to land at Lumbo Airport, killing two of the six individuals on board.
- On the 1st. March 1940, a Handley Page H.P.42 G-AAGX disappeared over the Gulf of Oman with eight on board; no wreckage, cargo or occupants were ever found. The cause of the crash remains unknown, but fuel starvation, a bird strike damaging a propeller and causing an engine or wing to separate, an in-flight breakup or multiple engine failure were theorised. Two months after the crash, the H.P.42 was withdrawn from passenger operations. It was also recommended that all commercial aircraft used in long flights over water be equipped with personal and group life saving gear; this would later become standard throughout the airline industry.
The 18 fatal Imperial Airways accidents listed above (including the 1924 Purley crash) produce a death toll of 101 fatalities, which is relatively modest by today's standards - the years between 1924 and 1940 produced an average of only 6.3 deaths per year.
This is due at least in part to the fact that modern aircraft have a much larger capacity and transport vastly more passengers, resulting in many more fatalities per crash; the Imperial Airlines fatal crashes recorded above produced an average of only 5.6 deaths per flight.
(b) Non-Fatal Accidents of Imperial Airways
- On the 21st. October 1926, a Handley Page W.10 G-EBMS ditched in the English Channel 18 nautical miles (33 km) off the English coast after an engine failed. All 12 people on board were rescued by FV Invicta.
- On the 19th. April 1931, a de Havilland DH.66 with registration G-EBMW was damaged beyond repair in a forced landing following fuel starvation at Surabaya.
- On the 8th. August 1931, a Handley Page H.P.42 G-AAGX was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Croydon to Paris when an engine failed and debris forced a second engine to be shut down. A forced landing at Five Oak Green, Kent resulted in extensive damage, although no injuries occurred. The aircraft was dismantled and trucked to Croydon to be rebuilt.
- On the 9th. November 1935, a Short G-ABFB caught fire and burned out during refuelling in Brindisi Harbor; the refuelling crew were able to jump clear of the burning aircraft and survived.
- On the 29th. September 1936, an Armstrong Whitworth G-ABTK burned out in a hangar fire at Delhi, India.
- On the 31st. May 1937, a Handley Page H.P.45 G-AAXE was destroyed in a hangar fire at Karachi, India.
- On the 3rd. December 1938, a de Havilland G-ADCN burned out at Bangkok.
- On the 12th. March 1939, a Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat G-ADUY was damaged beyond repair at Tandjong, Batavia, Netherlands East Indies. It struck a submerged object while taxiing. The aircraft beached, but proved to be damaged beyond repair by immersion and mishandling during salvage. The aircraft was dismantled and shipped to England, but not returned to service.
- On the 7th. November 1939, a Handley Page H.P.42 G-AXXD was written off following a forced landing at a golf course at Tiverton, Devon.
- On the 19th. March 1940, a Handley Page H.P.45 G-AAXC and H.P.42 G-AAUD were both written off after being blown over in high winds while parked at Whitchurch Airport.
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Snowdonia, or Eryri is a mountainous region and national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), which is 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) tall. These peaks are all part of the Snowdon, Glyderau, and Carneddau ranges in the north of the region. The shorter Moelwynion and Moel Hebog ranges lie immediately to the south.
The national park has an area of 823 square miles (2,130 km2) (the fourth-largest in the UK), and covers most of central and southern Gwynedd and the western part of Conwy County Borough. This is much larger than the area traditionally considered Snowdonia, and in addition to the five ranges above includes the Rhinogydd, Cadair Idris, and Aran ranges and the Dyfi Hills. It also includes most of the coast between Porthmadog and Aberdyfi. The park was the first of the three national parks of Wales to be designated, in October 1951, and the third in the UK after the Peak District and Lake District, which were established in April and May 1951 respectively. The park received 3.89 million visitors in 2015.
The name Snowdon means 'snow hill' and is derived from the Old English elements snāw and dūn, the latter meaning 'hill'. Snowdonia is simply taken from the name of the mountain.
The origins of Eryri are less clear. Two popular interpretations are that the name is related to eryr, 'eagle', and that it means 'highlands' and is related to the Latin oriri ('to rise'). Although eryri is not any direct form of the word eryr in the meaning 'eagle', it is a plural form of eryr in the meaning 'upland'.
Before the boundaries of the national park were designated, "Snowdonia" was generally used to refer to a smaller upland area of northern Gwynedd centred on the Snowdon massif. The national park covers an area more than twice that size, extending south into the Meirionnydd area.
This difference is apparent in books published before 1951. In George Borrow's 1907 Wild Wales he states that "Snowdon or Eryri is no single hill, but a mountainous region, the loftiest part of which is called Y Wyddfa", making a distinction between the summit of the mountain and the surrounding massif. The Mountains of Snowdonia by H. Carr & G. Lister (1925) defines "Eryri" as "composed of the two cantrefs of Arfon and Arllechwedd, and the two commotes of Nant Conwy and Eifionydd", which corresponds to Caernarfonshire with the exception of southwest Llŷn and the Creuddyn Peninsula. In Snowdonia: The National Park of North Wales (1949), F. J. North states that "When the Committee delineated provisional boundaries, they included areas some distance beyond Snowdonia proper".
Snowdonia National Park, also known as Eryri National Park in English and Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri in Welsh, was established in October 1951. It was the third national park in the United Kingdom, following the Peak District and Lake District in April and May of the same year. It covers 827 square miles (2,140 km2) in the counties of Gwynedd and Conwy, and has 37 miles (60 km) of coastline.
The park is governed by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, which has 18 members: 9 appointed by Gwynedd, 3 by Conwy, and 6 by the Welsh Government to represent the national interest. The authority's main offices are at Penrhyndeudraeth.
The park authority used Snowdonia and Snowdon when referring to the national park and mountain in English until February 2023, when it resolved to primarily use the Welsh names, Eryri and Yr Wyddfa. There will be a transitional period of approximately two years in which the authority will continue to use the English names in parentheses — for example "Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)" — where the context requires.
Unlike national parks in other countries, national parks in the UK are made up of both public and private lands under a central planning authority. The makeup of land ownership in the national park is as follows:
More than 26,000 people live within the park, of whom 58.6% could speak Welsh in 2011. While most of the land is either open or mountainous land, there is a significant amount of agricultural activity within the park.
The national park does not include the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, which forms a unique non-designated enclave within the park boundaries. The town was deliberately excluded from the park when it was established because of its slate quarrying industry. The boundaries of the Peak District National Park exclude the town of Buxton and its adjacent limestone quarries for a similar reason.
The geology of Snowdonia is key to the area's character. Glaciation during a succession of ice ages, has carved from a heavily faulted and folded succession of sedimentary and igneous rocks, a distinctive rocky landscape. The last ice age ended only just over 11,500 years ago, leaving a legacy of features attractive to visitors but which have also played a part in the development of geological science and continue to provide a focus for educational visits. Visiting Cwm Idwal in 1841 Charles Darwin realised that the landscape was the product of glaciation. The bedrock dates largely from the Cambrian and Ordovician periods with intrusions of Ordovician and Silurian age associated with the Caledonian Orogeny. There are smaller areas of Silurian age sedimentary rocks in the south and northeast and of Cenozoic era strata on the Cardigan Bay coast though the latter are concealed by more recent deposits. Low grade metamorphism of Cambrian and Ordovician mudstones has resulted in the slates, the extraction of which once formed the mainstay of the area's economy.
The principal ranges of the traditional Snowdonia are the Snowdon massif itself, the Glyderau, the Carneddau, the Moelwynion and the Moel Hebog range. All of Wales' 3000ft mountains are to be found within the first three of these massifs and are most popular with visitors. To their south within the wider national park are the Rhinogydd and the Cadair Idris and Aran Fawddwy ranges. Besides these well-defined areas are a host of mountains which are less readily grouped though various guidebook writers have assigned them into groups such as the 'Arenigs', the 'Tarrens' and the 'Dyfi hills'.
Snowdon's summit at 1085 metres (3560 feet) is the highest in Wales and the highest in Britain south of the Scottish Highlands. At 905 metres (2970 feet) Aran Fawddwy is the highest in Wales outside of northern Snowdonia; Cadair Idris, at 893 metres (2930 feet), is next in line.
Rivers draining the area empty directly into Cardigan Bay are typically short and steep. From north to south they include the Glaslyn and Dwyryd which share a common estuary, the Mawddach and its tributaries the Wnion and the Eden, the smaller Dysynni and on the park's southern margin the Dyfi. A series of rivers drain to the north coast. Largest of these is the Conwy on the park's eastern margin which along with the Ogwen drains into Conwy Bay. Further west the Seiont and Gwyrfai empty into the western end of the Menai Strait. A part of the east of the national park is within the upper Dee (Dyfrydwy) catchment and includes Bala Lake, the largest natural waterbody in Wales. A fuller list of the rivers and tributaries within the area is found at List of rivers of Wales.
There are few natural waterbodies of any size in Wales; Snowdonia is home to most. Besides Bala Lake, a few lakes occupy glacial troughs including Llyn Padarn and Llyn Peris at Llanberis and Tal-y-llyn Lake south of Cadair Idris. Llyn Dinas, Llyn Gwynant, and Llyn Cwellyn to the south and west of Snowdon feature in this category as do Llyn Cowlyd and Llyn Ogwen on the margins of the Carneddau. There are numerous small lakes occupying glacial cirques owing to the former intensity of glacial action in Snowdonia. Known generically as tarns, examples include Llyn Llydaw, Glaslyn and Llyn Du'r Arddu on Snowdon, Llyn Idwal within the Glyderau and Llyn Cau on Cadair Idris.
There are two large wholly man-made bodies of water in the area, Llyn Celyn and Llyn Trawsfynydd whilst numerous of the natural lakes have had their levels artificially raised to different degrees. Marchlyn Mawr reservoir and Ffestiniog Power Station's Llyn Stwlan are two cases where natural tarns have been dammed as part of pumped storage hydro-electric schemes. A fuller list of the lakes within the area is found at List of lakes of Wales. In 2023, the park standardised its Welsh language lake names, to be also used in English.
The national park meets the Irish Sea coast within Cardigan Bay between the Dovey estuary in the south and the Dwyryd estuary. The larger part of that frontage is characterised by dune systems, the largest of which are Morfa Dyffryn and Morfa Harlech. These two locations have two of the largest sand/shingle spits in Wales. The major indentations of the Dovey, the Mawddach and Dwyryd estuaries, have large expanses of intertidal sands and coastal marsh which are especially important for wildlife: see #Natural history. The northern tip of the national park extends to the north coast of Wales at Penmaen-bach Point, west of Conwy, where precipitous cliffs have led to the road and railway negotiating the spot in tunnels.
There are only three towns within the park boundary, though there are several more immediately beyond it. Dolgellau is the most populous followed by Bala on the eastern boundary and then Harlech overlooking Tremadog Bay. More populous than these is the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, which is within an exclave, that is to say it is surrounded by the national park but excluded from it, whilst the towns of Tywyn and Barmouth on the Cardigan Bay coast are within coastal exclaves. Llanrwst in the east, Machynlleth in the south and Porthmadog and Penrhyndeudraeth in the west are immediately beyond the boundary but still identified with the park; indeed the last of these hosts the headquarters of the Snowdonia National Park Authority. Similarly the local economies of the towns of Conwy, Bethesda, and Llanberis in the north are inseparably linked to the national park as they provide multiple visitor services. The lower terminus of the Snowdon Mountain Railway is at Llanberis. Though adjacent to it, Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr are less obviously linked to the park.
There are numerous smaller settlements within the national park: prominent amongst these are the eastern 'gateway' village of Betws-y-Coed, Aberdyfi on the Dovey (Dyfi) estuary and the small village of Beddgelert each of which attract large numbers of visitors. Other sizeable villages are Llanuwchllyn at the southwest end of Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid), Dyffryn Ardudwy, Corris, Trawsfynydd, Llanbedr, Trefriw and Dolwyddelan.
Six primary routes serve Snowdonia, the busiest of which is the A55, a dual carriageway which runs along the north coast and provides strategic road access to the northern part of the national park. The most important north–south route within the park is the A470 running from the A55 south past Betws-y-Coed to Blaenau Ffestiniog to Dolgellau. It exits the park a few miles to the southeast near Mallwyd. From Dolgellau, the A494 runs to Bala whilst the A487 connects with Machynlleth. The A487 loops around the northwest of the park from Bangor via Caernarfon to Porthmadog before turning in land to meet the A470 east of Maentwrog. The A5 was built as a mail coach road by Thomas Telford between London and Holyhead; it enters the park near Pentrefoelas and leaves it near Bethesda. Other A class roads provide more local links; the A493 down the Dovey valley from Machynlleth and up the coast to Tywyn then back up the Mawddach valley to Dolgellau, the A496 from Dolgellau down the north side of the Mawddach to Barmouth then north up the coast via Harlech to Maentwrog. The A4212 connecting Bala with Trawsfynydd is relatively modern having been laid out in the 1960s in connection with the construction of Llyn Celyn. Three further roads thread their often twisting and narrow way through the northern mountains; A4085 links Penrhyndeudraeth with Caernarfon, the A4086 links Capel Curig with Caernarfon via Llanberis and the A498 links Tremadog with the A4086 at Pen-y-Gwryd. Other roads of note include that from Llanuwchllyn up Cwm Cynllwyd to Dinas Mawddwy via the 545 metre (1788') high pass of Bwlch y Groes, the second highest tarmacked public road in Wales and the minor road running northwest and west from Llanuwchllyn towards Bronaber via the 531 metre (1742') high pass of Bwlch Pen-feidiog.
The double track North Wales Coast Line passes along the northern boundary of the park between Conwy and Bangor briefly entering it at Penmaen-bach Point where it is in tunnel. Stations serve the communities of Conwy, Penmaenmawr, Llanfairfechan and Bangor. The single-track Conwy Valley Line runs south from Llandudno Junction, entering the park north of Betws-y-coed which is served by a station then west up the Lledr valley by way of further stations at Pont-y-pant, Dolwyddelan and Roman Bridge. After passing through a tunnel the passenger line now terminates at Blaenau Ffestiniog railway station. Prior to 1961 the route continued as the Bala and Ffestiniog Railway via Trawsfynydd to Bala joining another former route along the Dee valley which ran southwest via Dolgellau to join the still extant coastal Cambrian Line south of Barmouth. The Pwllheli branch of the Cambrian Line splits from the Aberystwyth branch at Dovey Junction and continues via stations at Aberdovey, Tywyn, Tonfanau, Llwyngwril, Fairbourne and Morfa Mawddach to Barmouth where it crosses the Mawddach estuary by the Grade II* listed wooden Barmouth Bridge, a structure which also provides for walkers and cyclists. Further stations serve Llanaber, Tal-y-bont, Dyffryn Ardudwy, Llanbedr, Pensarn and Llandanwg before reaching Harlech. Tygwyn, Talsarnau and Llandecwyn stations are the last before the line exits the park as it crosses the Dwyryd estuary via Pont Briwet and turns westwards bound for Pwllheli via Penrhyndeudraeth, Porthmadog and Criccieth.
Many sections of dismantled railway are now used by walking and cycling routes and are described elsewhere. The Bala Lake Railway is a heritage railway which has been established along a section of the former mainline route between Bala and Llanuwchllyn. Other heritage railways occupy sections of former mineral lines, often narrow gauge and are described in a separate section.
The national park is served by a growing bus network, branded Sherpa'r Wyddfa (formerly Snowdon Sherpa). Together with the TrawsCymru network of buses this provides a car-free option to tourists and locals wishing to travel across the National Park.
The network was relaunched in July 2022 with a new brand, Sherpa'r Wyddfa, to reflect the National Park's new push for the promotion of Welsh place names. As such the publicity and websites for the newly branded service only use these Welsh names, even for English language users.
Snowdonia is one of the wettest parts of the United Kingdom; Crib Goch in Snowdonia is the wettest spot in the United Kingdom, with an average rainfall of 4,473 millimetres (176.1 in) a year over the 30-year period prior to the mid-2000s. (There is a rainfall gauge at 713 metres, 2340' on the slopes below Crib Goch.)
The earliest evidence for human occupation of the area dates from around 4000–3000 BCE with extensive traces of prehistoric field systems evident in the landscape. Within these are traces of irregular enclosures and hut circles. There are burial chambers of Neolithic and Bronze Age such as Bryn Cader Faner and Iron Age hillforts such as Bryn y Castell near Ffestiniog.
The region was finally conquered by the Romans by AD 77–78. Remains of Roman marching camps and practice camps are evident. There was a Roman fort and amphitheatre at Tomen y Mur. Roads are known to have connected with Segontium (Caernarfon) and Deva Victrix (Chester) and include the northern reaches of Sarn Helen.
There are numerous memorial stones of Early Christian affinity dating from the post-Roman period. The post-Roman hillfort of Dinas Emrys also dates to this time. Churches were introduced to the region in the 5th and 6th centuries. Llywelyn the Great and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd had various stone castles constructed to protect their borders and trade routes. Edward I built several castles around the margins including those at Harlech and Conwy for military and administrative reasons. Most are now protected within a World Heritage Site. Some of Snowdonia's many stone walls date back to this period too. In the Middle Ages, the title Prince of Wales and Lord of Snowdonia (Tywysog Cymru ac Arglwydd Eryri) was used by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd; his grandfather Llywelyn Fawr used the title Prince of north Wales and Lord of Snowdonia.
The 18th century saw the start of industrial exploitation of the area's resources, assisted by the appearance in the late part of the century of turnpike trusts making it more accessible. The engineer Thomas Telford left a legacy of road and railway construction in and around Snowdonia. A new harbour at Porthmadog linked to slate quarries at Ffestiniog via a narrow gauge railway. At its peak in the 19th century the slate industry employed around 12,000 men. A further 1000 were employed in stone quarrying at Graiglwyd and Penmaenmawr. Mining for copper, iron and gold was undertaken during the 18th and 19th centuries, leaving a legacy of mine and mill ruins today. Ruins of the gold industry are found at Cefn Coch on the Dolmelynllyn estate.
The Snowdonia Society is a registered charity formed in 1967; it is a voluntary group of people with an interest in the area and its protection.
Amory Lovins led the successful 1970s opposition to stop Rio Tinto digging up the area for a massive mine.
The park's entire coastline is a Special Area of Conservation, which runs from the Llŷn Peninsula down the mid-Wales coast, the latter containing valuable sand dune systems.
The park's natural forests are of the mixed deciduous type, the commonest tree being the Welsh oak. Birch, ash, mountain-ash and hazel are also common. The park also contains some large (planted) coniferous forested areas such as Gwydir Forest near Betws-y-Coed, although some areas, once harvested, are now increasingly being allowed to regrow naturally.
Northern Snowdonia is the only place in Britain where the Snowdon lily (Gagea serotina), an arctic–alpine plant, is found and the only place in the world where the Snowdonia hawkweed Hieracium snowdoniense grows.
One of the major problems facing the park in recent years has been the growth of Rhododendron ponticum. This fast-growing invasive species has a tendency to take over and stifle native species. It can form massive towering growths and has a companion fungus that grows on its roots producing toxins that are poisonous to any local flora and fauna for a seven-year period after the Rhododendron infestations have been eradicated. As a result, there are a number of desolate landscapes.
Mammals in the park include otters, polecats, feral goats, and pine martens. Birds include raven, red-billed chough, peregrine, osprey, merlin and the red kite. The rainbow-coloured Snowdon beetle (Chrysolina cerealis) is only found in northern Snowdonia.
Snowdonia has a particularly high number of protected sites in respect of its diverse ecology; nearly 20% of its total area is protected by UK and European law. Half of that area was set aside by the government under the European Habitats Directive as a Special Area of Conservation. There are a large number of Sites of special scientific interest (or 'SSSIs'), designated both for fauna and flora but also in some cases for geology. Nineteen of these sites are managed as national nature reserves by Natural Resources Wales. The park also contains twelve Special Areas of Conservation (or 'SACs'), three Special Protection Areas (or 'SPAs') and three Ramsar sites. Some are wholly within the park boundaries, others straddle it to various degrees.
There are numerous SSSIs within the park, the most extensive of which are Snowdonia, Migneint-Arenig-Dduallt, Morfa Harlech, Rhinog, Berwyn, Cadair Idris, Llyn Tegid, Aber Mawddach / Mawddach Estuary, Dyfi, Morfa Dyffryn, Moel Hebog, Coedydd Dyffryn Ffestiniog and Coedydd Nanmor.
The following NNRs are either wholly or partly within the park: Allt y Benglog, Y Berwyn (in multiple parts), Cader Idris, Ceunant Llennyrch, Coed Camlyn, Coed Cymerau, Coed Dolgarrog, Coed Ganllwyd, Coed Gorswen, Coed Tremadog, Coedydd Aber, Coedydd Maentwrog (in 2 parts), Coed y Rhygen, Cwm Glas Crafnant, Cwm Idwal, Hafod Garregog, Morfa Harlech, Rhinog and Snowdon.
The twelve SACs are as follows: Snowdonia SAC which covers much of the Carneddau, Glyderau, and the Snowdon massif, Afon Gwyrfai a Llyn Cwellyn, Corsydd Eifionydd / Eifionydd Fens (north of Garndolbenmaen), the Coedydd Derw a Safleoedd Ystlumod Meirion / Meirionydd Oakwoods and Bat Sites - a series of sites between Tremadog, Trawsfynydd, and Ffestiniog and Beddgelert and extending up the Gwynant. It also includes many of the oakwoods of the Mawddach and its tributaries. Afon Eden – Cors Goch Trawsfynydd, Rhinog, Cadair Idris (in 2 parts), Migneint-Arenig-Dduallt, River Dee and Afon Dyfrdwy a Llyn Tegid (Wales), Mwyngloddiau Fforest Gwydir / Gwydyr Forest Mines (north of Betws-y-Coed) and a part of the Berwyn a Mynyddoedd De Clwyd / Berwyn and South Clwyd Mountains SAC. The Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau / Lleyn Peninsula and the Sarnau SAC covers the entire Cardigan Bay coastline of the park and the sea area and extends above the high water mark at Morfa Harlech, Mochras and around the Dovey and Mawddach estuaries.
The three SPAs are Dovey Estuary / Aber Dyfi (of which a part is within the park), Berwyn (of which a part is within the park) and Migneint-Arenig-Dduallt.
The three designated Ramsar sites are the Dyfi Biosphere (Cors Fochno and Dyfi), Cwm Idwal and Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake).
The area's economy was traditionally centred upon farming and from the early 19th century increasingly on mining and quarrying. Tourism has become an increasingly significant part of Snowdonia's economy during the 20th and 21st centuries.
The extensive farming of sheep remains central to Snowdonia's farming economy.
Significant sections of the park were afforested during the 20th century for timber production. Major conifer plantations include Dyfi Forest, Coed y Brenin Forest between Dolgellau and Trawsfynydd, Penllyn Forest south of Bala, Beddgelert Forest and Gwydyr (or Gwydir) Forest near Betws-y-Coed which is managed as a forest park by Natural Resources Wales.
The region was once the most important producer of slate in the world. Some production continues but at a much reduced level from its peak. The park boundaries are drawn such that much of the landscape affected by slate quarrying and mining lies immediately outside of the designated area.
Construction of a nuclear power station beside Llyn Trawsfynydd began in 1959 with the first power produced in 1965. The site was operational until 1991 though it continues as an employer during its decommissioning phase. Pumped storage hydroelectric schemes are in operation at Llanberis and Ffestiniog.
Research indicates that there were 3.67 million visitors to Snowdonia National Park in 2013, with approximately 9.74 million tourist days spent in the park during that year. Total tourist expenditure was £433.6 million in 2013.
Many of the hikers in the area concentrate on Snowdon itself. It is regarded as a fine mountain, but at times gets very crowded; in addition the Snowdon Mountain Railway runs to the summit.
The other high mountains with their boulder-strewn summits as well as Tryfan, one of the few mountains in the UK south of Scotland whose ascent needs hands as well as feet are also very popular. However, there are also some spectacular walks in Snowdonia on the lower mountains, and they tend to be relatively unfrequented. Among hikers' favourites are Y Garn (east of Llanberis) along the ridge to Elidir Fawr; Mynydd Tal-y-Mignedd (west of Snowdon) along the Nantlle Ridge to Mynydd Drws-y-Coed; Moelwyn Mawr (west of Blaenau Ffestiniog); and Pen Llithrig y Wrach north of Capel Curig. Further south are Y Llethr in the Rhinogydd, and Cadair Idris near Dolgellau.
The park has 1,479 miles (2,380 km) of public footpaths, 164 miles (264 km) of public bridleways, and 46 miles (74 km) of other public rights of way. A large part of the park is also covered by right to roam laws.
The Wales Coast Path runs within the park between Machynlleth and Penrhyndeudraeth, save for short sections of coast in the vicinity of Tywyn and Barmouth which are excluded from the park. It touches the park boundary again at Penmaen-bach Point on the north coast. An inland alternative exists between Llanfairfechan and Conwy, wholly within the park. The North Wales Path, which predates the WCP, enters the park north of Bethesda and follows a route broadly parallel to the north coast visiting Aber Falls and the Sychnant Pass before exiting the park on the descent from Conwy Mountain. The Cambrian Way is a long-distance trail between Cardiff and Conwy that stays almost entirely within the national park from Mallwyd northwards. It was officially recognised in 2019, and is now depicted on Ordnance Survey maps.
The use of the English names for the area has been divisive, with an increase in protests against their use since 2020; these led to the national park authority deciding to use Welsh names as far as legally possible in November 2022. An early example of pressure to deprecate Snowdon and Snowdonia was a 2003 campaign by Cymuned, inspired by campaigns to refer to Ayers Rock as Uluru and Mount Everest as Qomolangma.
In 2020 an e-petition calling for the removal of the English names was put forward to the Senedd, but rejected as responsibility lies with the national park authority. In 2021 an e-petition on the same topic attracted more than 5,300 signatures and was presented to the national park authority.
On 28 April 2021 Gwynedd councillor John Pughe Roberts put forward a motion to use the Welsh names exclusively, calling this a "question of respect for the Welsh language". The motion was not considered and delayed, as the national park authority already appointed a "Welsh Place Names Task and Finish Group" to investigate the issue. The park authority however cannot compel other bodies and/or individuals to stop using the English names, with the proposals facing some criticism.
In May 2021, following the dismissal of the motion, YouGov conducted a poll on Snowdon's name. 60% of Welsh adults supported the English name Snowdon, compared to 30% wanting the Welsh name Yr Wyddfa. Separating by language, 59% of Welsh speakers preferred the Welsh name, but 37% of these still wanted Snowdon to be used as well. 69% of non-Welsh speakers firmly supported Snowdon as the Mountain's name. The proposals to rename Snowdon are usually accompanied with proposals to rename Snowdonia.
On 16 November 2022, Members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority committee voted to use the Welsh names Yr Wyddfa and Eryri to refer to the mountain and the national park, rather than the English names, in materials produced by the authority. The national park authority described the decision as "decisive action" and the authority's head of culture heritage stated that Welsh place names were part of the area's "special qualities" and that other public bodies, English-language press and filming companies have used the Welsh-language names. Before the decision the park had already prioritised the Welsh names by using them first and giving the English names in parentheses. The name "Snowdonia" cannot be abandoned entirely, as it is set in law and so must be used in statutory documents. The authority announced a review of the authority's branding in 2023 to adapt to the new approach to Welsh place names.
Gwynedd is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The city of Bangor is the largest settlement, and the administrative centre is Caernarfon. The preserved county of Gwynedd, which is used for ceremonial purposes, includes the Isle of Anglesey.
Gwynedd is the second largest county in Wales but sparsely populated, with an area of 979 square miles (2,540 km2) and a population of 117,400. After Bangor (18,322), the largest settlements are Caernarfon (9,852), Bethesda (4,735), and Pwllheli (4,076). The county has the highest percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales, at 64.4%, and is considered a heartland of the language.
The geography of Gwynedd is mountainous, with a long coastline to the west. Much of the county is covered by Snowdonia National Park (Eryri), which contains Wales's highest mountain, Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa; 3,560 feet, 1,090 m). To the west, the Llŷn Peninsula is flatter and renowned for its scenic coastline, part of which is protected by the Llŷn AONB. Gwynedd also contains several of Wales's largest lakes and reservoirs, including the largest, Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid).
The area which is now the county has played a prominent part in the history of Wales. It formed part of the core of the Kingdom of Gwynedd and the native Principality of Wales, which under the House of Aberffraw remained independent from the Kingdom of England until Edward I's conquest between 1277 and 1283. Edward built the castles at Caernarfon and Harlech, which form part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site. During the Industrial Revolution the slate industry rapidly developed; in the late nineteenth century the neighbouring Penrhyn and Dinorwic quarries were the largest in the world, and the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is now a World Heritage Site. Gwynedd covers the majority of the historic counties of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire.
In the past, historians such as J. E. Lloyd assumed that the Celtic source of the word Gwynedd meant 'collection of tribes' – the same root as the Irish fine, meaning 'tribe'. Further, a connection is recognised between the name and the Irish Féni, an early ethnonym for the Irish themselves, related to fían, 'company of hunting and fighting men, company of warriors under a leader'. Perhaps *u̯en-, u̯enə ('strive, hope, wish') is the Indo-European stem. The Irish settled in NW Wales, and in Dyfed, at the end of the Roman era. Venedotia was the Latin form, and in Penmachno there is a memorial stone from c. AD 500 which reads: Cantiori Hic Iacit Venedotis ('Here lies Cantiorix, citizen of Gwynedd'). The name was retained by the Brythons when the kingdom of Gwynedd was formed in the 5th century, and it remained until the invasion of Edward I. This historical name was revived when the new county was formed in 1974.
Gwynedd was an independent kingdom from the end of the Roman period until the 13th century, when it was conquered by England. The modern Gwynedd was one of eight Welsh counties created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the entirety of the historic counties of Anglesey and Caernarfonshire, and all of Merionethshire apart from Edeirnion Rural District (which went to Clwyd); and also a few parishes of Denbighshire: Llanrwst, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Eglwysbach, Llanddoged, Llanrwst and Tir Ifan.
The county was divided into five districts: Aberconwy, Arfon, Dwyfor, Meirionnydd and Anglesey.
The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 abolished the 1974 county (and the five districts) on 1 April 1996, and its area was divided: the Isle of Anglesey became an independent unitary authority, and Aberconwy (which included the former Denbighshire parishes) passed to the new Conwy County Borough. The remainder of the county was constituted as a principal area, with the name Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire, as it covers most of the areas of those two historic counties. As one of its first actions, the Council renamed itself Gwynedd on 2 April 1996. The present Gwynedd local government area is governed by Gwynedd Council. As a unitary authority, the modern entity no longer has any districts, but Arfon, Dwyfor and Meirionnydd remain as area committees.
The pre-1996 boundaries were retained as a preserved county for a few purposes such as the Lieutenancy. In 2003, the boundary with Clwyd was adjusted to match the modern local government boundary, so that the preserved county now covers the two local government areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey. Conwy county borough is now entirely within Clwyd.
A Gwynedd Constabulary was formed in 1950 by the merger of the Anglesey, Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire forces. A further amalgamation took place in the 1960s when Gwynedd Constabulary was merged with the Flintshire and Denbighshire county forces, retaining the name Gwynedd. In one proposal for local government reform in Wales, Gwynedd had been proposed as a name for a local authority covering all of north Wales, but the scheme as enacted divided this area between Gwynedd and Clwyd. To prevent confusion, the Gwynedd Constabulary was therefore renamed the North Wales Police.
The Snowdonia National Park was formed in 1951. After the 1974 local authority reorganisation, the park fell entirely within the boundaries of Gwynedd, and was run as a department of Gwynedd County Council. After the 1996 local government reorganisation, part of the park fell under Conwy County Borough, and the park's administration separated from the Gwynedd council. Gwynedd Council still appoints nine of the eighteen members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority; Conwy County Borough Council appoints three; and the Welsh Government appoints the remaining six.
There has been considerable inwards migration to Gwynedd, particularly from England. According to the 2021 census, 66.6% of residents had been born in Wales whilst 27.1% were born in England.
The county has a mixed economy. An important part of the economy is based on tourism: many visitors are attracted by the many beaches and the mountains. A significant part of the county lies within the Snowdonia National Park, which extends from the north coast down to the district of Meirionnydd in the south. But tourism provides seasonal employment and thus there is a shortage of jobs in the winter.
Agriculture is less important than in the past, especially in terms of the number of people who earn their living on the land, but it remains an important element of the economy.
The most important of the traditional industries is the slate industry, but these days only a small percentage of workers earn their living in the slate quarries.
Industries which have developed more recently include TV and sound studios: the record company Sain has its HQ in the county.
The education sector is also very important for the local economy, including Bangor University and Further Education colleges, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Coleg Menai, both now part of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai.
The proportion of respondents in the 2011 census who said they could speak Welsh.
Gwynedd has the highest proportion of people in Wales who can speak Welsh. According to the 2021 census, 64.4% of the population aged three and over stated that they could speak Welsh,[7] while 64.4% noted that they could speak Welsh in the 2011 census.
It is estimated that 83% of the county's Welsh-speakers are fluent, the highest percentage of all counties in Wales.[9] The age group with the highest proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd were those between ages 5–15, of whom 92.3% stated that they could speak Welsh in 2011.
The proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd declined between 1991 and 2001,[10] from 72.1% to 68.7%, even though the proportion of Welsh speakers in Wales as a whole increased during that decade to 20.5%.
The Annual Population Survey estimated that as of March 2023, 77.0% of those in Gwynedd aged three years and above could speak Welsh.
Notable people
Leslie Bonnet (1902–1985), RAF officer, writer; originated the Welsh Harlequin duck in Criccieth
Sir Dave Brailsford (born 1964), cycling coach; grew up in Deiniolen, near Caernarfon
Duffy (born 1984), singer, songwriter and actress; born in Bangor, Gwynedd
Edward II of England (1284–1327), born in Caernarfon Castle
Elin Fflur (born 1984), singer-songwriter, TV and radio presenter; went to Bangor University
Bryn Fôn (born 1954), actor and singer-songwriter; born in Llanllyfni, Caernarfonshire.
Wayne Hennessey (born 1987), football goalkeeper with 108 caps for Wales; born in Bangor, Gwynedd
John Jones (c. 1530 – 1598), a Franciscan friar, Roman Catholic priest and martyr; born at Clynnog
Sir Love Jones-Parry, 1st Baronet (1832–1891), landowner and politician, co-founder of the Y Wladfa settlement in Patagonia
T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935), archaeologist, army officer and inspiration for Lawrence of Arabia, born in Tremadog
David Lloyd George (1863–1945), statesman and Prime Minister; lived in Llanystumdwy from infancy
Sasha (born 1969), disc jockey, born in Bangor, Gwynedd
Sir Bryn Terfel (born 1965), bass-baritone opera and concert singer from Pant Glas
Sir Clough Williams-Ellis (1883–1978), architect of Portmeirion
Owain Fôn Williams, (born 1987), footballer with 443 club caps; born and raised in Penygroes, Gwynedd.
Hedd Wyn (1887–1917), poet from the village of Trawsfynydd; killed in WWI
New Post has been published on coolcreativity.com/crochet/20-amazing-free-crochet-patter...20 Amazing Free Crochet Patterns That Any Beginner Can MakeIs crocheting one of those things you have always wanted to learn, but never got around to? Many crafts require a steep learning curve before you are skilled enough to make beautiful finished items. Crochet is not one of those crafts! Beginners can pick up all the supplies and start easy. You ...Is crocheting one of those things you have always wanted to learn, but never got around to? Many crafts require a steep learning curve before you are skilled enough to make beautiful finished items. Crochet is not one of those crafts! Beginners can pick up all the supplies and start easy. You ...
coolcreativity.com/crochet/20-amazing-free-crochet-patter...
Published photograph ( graffiti documentary Bomb It! )
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSXuAr8DD2U
Also published in Primal Survivor on June 8th, 2016 to illustrate an article by Jacob Hunter:" Urban Survival: 6 Essentials to Surviving any Disasters in the City".
This photo has just been published in the 3rd Edition of a book called “Trail Guide Cuyahoga Valley National Park”. My very first published photo! :-) The original color version can be seen at this link:
www.flickr.com/photos/95994086@N00/191610207/
The buildings at Hale Farm and Village in Bath, Ohio replicate what the fictional “living history” town of Wheatfield would have looked like in 1848.
(please no award group invites)
The 18th Century Grade II Listed Pigeoncote in Scotter a village in West Lindsey, Lincolnshire.
Scotter has its own unique potato, known as the ‘King Edward Potato’. It was bred by a gardener who called it ‘Fellside Hero’ and passed into the hands of a grower in Yorkshire and in turn a potato merchant in Manchester who having no use for it passed it onto John Butler of Scotter in Lincolnshire. He in turn purchased all the seed stocks available and multiplied the variety on 50 aces of land before renaming the variety King Edward on the advice of a potato merchant. It is claimed Butler wrote to Buckingham Palace seeking permission to name his potato after the monarch and that a reply was received granting royal assent. It is one of the oldest surviving varieties in Europe.
In 1890 Scotter lost both doctors, Robert Eminson Senior and Robert Eminson Junior, when they became ill and died as a result of attending patients in the pleuro-pneumonia epidemic of that year. Dr. Thomas Benjamin Franklin Eminson followed his father and older brother as our village doctor. His patients knew him as ‘Doctor Tommy’ and he served the community for over 50 years. Doctor Tommy was interested in local history and became a published author. It seems that every Christmas he would write an article about the past year. One from 1939 survives.
Scotter memorial is an obelisk of Portland Stone situated in the middle of The Green in the centre of the village. It was unveiled in 1921 to commemorate the Thirteen men who died and the eighty who served in and survived the great war. Sadly, eight more names had to be added for the men who lost their lives in World War II.
Information source:
The Postcard
A postally unused C.T. Art-Colortone postcard that was published on behalf of The Union News Co. In the space for the stamp it states:
'Place One Cent
Stamp Here.'
The following is printed on the divided back of the card:
"The historic village centers
in the 'Green' as did early
American communities.
About this spot stand the
public buildings - the Inn,
the Chapel, the School,
the Court House, the Town
Hall and the General Store."
The Henry Ford
The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village, and the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan.
The museum collection contains the presidential limousine of John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln's chair from Ford's Theatre, Thomas Edison's laboratory, the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop, the Rosa Parks bus, and many other historical exhibits.
It is the largest indoor–outdoor museum complex in the United States, and is visited by over 1.7 million people each year. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 as Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1981 as "Edison Institute".
Background to the Museum
Named for its founder, the automobile industrialist Henry Ford, and based on his efforts to preserve items of historical interest and portray the Industrial Revolution, the property houses homes, machinery, exhibits, and Americana of historically significant items as well as common memorabilia, both of which help to capture the history of life in early America. It is one of the largest such collections in the nation.
Henry Ford said of his museum:
"I am collecting the history of our people as written
into things their hands made and used .... When we
are through, we shall have reproduced American life
as lived, and that, I think, is the best way of preserving
at least a part of our history and tradition."
History of the Museum
Architect Robert O. Derrick designed the museum with a 523,000 square feet (48,600 m2) exhibit hall that extends 400 feet (120 m) behind the main façade. The façade spans 800 feet (240 m) and incorporates facsimiles of three structures from Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia – Old City Hall, Independence Hall and Congress Hall.
The Edison Institute was dedicated by President Herbert Hoover to Ford's longtime friend Thomas Edison on the 21st. October 1929 – the 50th. anniversary of the first successful incandescent light bulb.
The attendees included Marie Curie, George Eastman, John D. Rockefeller, Will Rogers, Orville Wright, and about 250 others. The dedication was broadcast on radio, with listeners encouraged to turn off their electric lights until the switch was flipped at the Museum.
The Edison Institute was, at first, a private site for educational purposes only, but after numerous inquiries about the complex, it was opened as a museum to the general public on the 22nd. June 1933. It was originally composed of the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, and the Greenfield Village Schools (an experimental learning facility).
Initially, Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum were owned by the Ford Motor Company, which is currently a sponsor of the school, and cooperates with the Henry Ford to provide the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. The Henry Ford is sited between the Ford Dearborn Development Center and several Ford engineering buildings with which it shares the same style gates and brick fences.
In 1970, the museum purchased what it believed to be a 17th. century Brewster Chair, created for one of the Pilgrim settlers in the Plymouth Colony, for $9,000.
In September 1977, the chair was determined to be a modern forgery created in 1969 by Rhode Island sculptor Armand LaMontagne. The museum retains the piece as an educational tool on forgeries.
In the early 2000's, the museum added an auditorium to the building's south corner. This housed an IMAX theater until January 2016, when museum management decided to change formats for the facility to better fit with its mission. The renovated theater reopened in April of that year.
The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation
The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation began as Henry Ford's personal collection of historic objects, which he began collecting as far back as 1906. The museum features a 4K digital projection theater, which shows scientific, natural, or historical documentaries, as well as major feature films.
Today, the 12 acre (49,000 m²) site is primarily a collection of antique machinery, pop culture items, automobiles, locomotives, aircraft, and other items:
-- An Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
-- The 1961 Lincoln Continental in which President John F. Kennedy was riding when he was assassinated.
-- The rocking chair from Ford's Theatre in which President Abraham Lincoln was sitting when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth.
-- George Washington's camp bed.
-- A collection of several fine 17th. and 18th. century violins, including a Stradivarius.
-- Thomas Edison's alleged last breath in a sealed tube.
-- Buckminster Fuller's prototype Dymaxion house (see below).
-- The bus on which Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat, leading to the Montgomery bus boycott.
-- Igor Sikorsky's prototype helicopter.
-- The Fokker Trimotor airplane that flew the first flight over the North Pole.
-- Bill Elliott's record-breaking race car clocking in at over 212 MPH at Talladega in 1987.
-- Fairbottom Bobs, the Newcomen engine.
-- A steam engine from Cobb's Engine House in England.
-- A working fragment of the original Holiday Inn "Great Sign."
-- Chesapeake & Ohio Railway "Allegheny"-class steam locomotive #1601, built by Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio. The Allegheny was the third most-powerful steam locomotive ever built, after the Union Pacific Railroad "Big Boy" locomotive and the Pennsylvania Railroad Q2-class locomotive.
-- Toyota Prius sedan, the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle.
Behind the scenes, the Benson Ford Research Center uses the resources of The Henry Ford, especially the photographic, manuscript and archival material which is rarely displayed, to allow visitors to gain a deeper understanding of American people, places, events, and things. The Research Center also contains the Ford Motor Archives.
To commemorate the 100th. anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the Henry Ford Museum exhibited a vast array of artifacts and media documenting the Titanic's voyage and demise. The exhibit was hosted from the 31st. March to the 30th. September 2012.
Greenfield Village
Greenfield Village, the outdoor living history museum section of the Henry Ford complex, was (along with the adjacent Henry Ford Museum) dedicated in 1929 and opened to the public in June 1933.
It was the first outdoor museum of its type in the nation, and served as a model for subsequent outdoor museums. Patrons enter at the gate, passing by the Josephine Ford Memorial Fountain and Benson Ford Research Center. Nearly one hundred historical buildings were moved to the property from their original locations and arranged in a "village" setting.
The museum's intent is to show how Americans have lived and worked since the founding of the country. The Village includes buildings from the 17th. century to the present, many of which are staffed by costumed interpreters who conduct period tasks like farming, sewing and cooking.
A collection of craft buildings such as pottery, glass-blowing, and tin shops provide demonstrations while producing materials used in the Village and for sale. The Village features costumed and plain-clothed presenters to tell stories and convey information about the attractions. Some of these presenters are seasonal, such as the "games on the green" presenters who only operate in the summer.
Greenfield Village has 240 acres (970,000 m²) of land of which only 90 acres (360,000 m²) are used for the attraction, the rest being forest, river and extra pasture for sheep and horses.
Village homes, buildings, and attractions include:
-- Noah Webster's Connecticut home, which served as a dormitory for Yale students from 1918 to 1936, when it was obtained by Henry Ford and moved to Greenfield Village where it was restored.
-- The Wright brothers' bicycle shop and home, which were bought and moved by Henry Ford in 1937 from Dayton, Ohio.
-- A replica of Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory complex from New Jersey. Its reconstruction started in 1928. The buildings were laid out according to exact foundation measurements from the original site. It was furnished with original or faithful duplicates, all placed as they were originally sited.
-- The Edison Homestead, birthplace of Thomas Edison's father. It was built in 1816 in Vienna, Ontario, and moved to Greenfield Village in the 1930's.
-- Henry Ford's birthplace, which was moved from Greenfield and Ford roads in 1944. Henry Ford had it furnished exactly as it was during his mother's time.
-- Henry Ford's prototype garage where he built the Ford Quadricycle.
-- Harvey Firestone the tire magnate's family farm from Columbiana, Ohio, which was given to the Village by Harvey's two remaining sons in 1983 to perpetuate their father's memory. It took over two years for the disassembling and rebuilding process, and has been operated as a working sheep farm since 1985.
-- The Logan County, Illinois courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law.
-- William Holmes McGuffey's birthplace.
-- Luther Burbank's office.
-- J. R. Jones General Store was built circa 1857 in Waterford Village, Michigan. It was moved to Greenfield Village in 1927 after being purchased by Henry Ford from its then-owner August V. Jacober for $700 and the agreement to rebuild a new store on its Waterford site. It was the first structure to arrive at the Greenfield Village site. The general store was placed in its permanent location facing the village green in the spring of 1929.
-- Ackley Covered Bridge, a 75' wooden covered bridge, built in 1832 over Enlow Fork along the Greene - Washington County line in Southwestern Pennsylvania and moved to the village in 1937.
-- Cape Cod Windmill, also known as the Farris mill, is considered one of the oldest in America. It was originally built in 1633 on the north side of Cape Cod. It was moved several times around Cape Cod until it was gifted to Henry Ford from the Ford Dealers Association, and installed in Greenfield Village in 1936.
-- In 1935, a structure was added to the park and was identified as the home of Stephen Foster. The structure was identified by historians at the time as being authentic, and was deconstructed and moved piece by piece from the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Greenfield Village. However Foster's niece insisted that it was not his birthplace, and in 1953 the claim was withdrawn.
-- A 1913 Herschell Spillman carousel with an Artizan 'C' band organ with a replica Wurlitzer façade converted to play Wurlitzer rolls.
-- There are various modes of historic transportation in the Village providing rides for visitors which utilize authentic Ford Model Ts, a 1931 Ford Model AA bus (one of about 15 known to exist), horse-drawn omnibuses, and trains pulled by steam locomotives.
The Weiser Railroad
The rail line on which the steam locomotives in Greenfield Village presently run originally consisted of a simple straight stretch of track along the northern edge of the museum property, and has been present ever since Greenfield Village was dedicated in 1929.
The rail line, now named the Weiser Railroad, was later expanded into a continuous loop around the perimeter of the museum property, which was completed in stages between 1971 and 1972. This 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge passenger line is 2 miles (3.2 km) long, and has four stations.
All of the railroad's stations consist solely of single side platforms except for the station in the Railroad Junction section, which also includes the relocated Smiths Creek Depot building originally built for the Grand Trunk Railway in 1858.
The line utilizes a modern replica of a Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee Railroad roundhouse built in 1884. At the time it opened in 2000, the new DT&M Roundhouse replica was one of only seven working roundhouses open to the public in the United States.
The railroad, unusual for a heritage railroad built purposely for tourism, has a direct connection to the United States National Railroad Network. The line to which it connects is a section of the Michigan Line owned by MDOT.
The Weiser Railroad's Torch Lake steam locomotive, built in 1873, is the oldest operational locomotive in the U.S. as of 2021.
Signature Events
(a) Civil War Remembrance
Each year the Village honors the sacrifices and achievements of those who fought in the American Civil War. The Civil War Remembrance event takes place on Memorial Day weekend every year.
An estimated 750,000 people died during the Civil War. The Civil War Remembrance includes hundreds of Union and Confederate re-enactors, musicians and historic presenters. Greenfield Village provides many opportunities to learn about the Civil War: exhibits, presentations, battle re-enactments, concerts, short plays, hands-on activities and Q&A with historians.
(b) Motor Muster
Motor Muster is one of two car shows that take place annually in Greenfield Village. Motor Muster is traditionally held on Father's Day weekend. This event currently features cars built from 1932–1976, and features between 600–800 cars. Special attractions include car judging, and Pass in Review in which experts discuss highlights of the passing cars.
(c) Summer Camp
Every summer the Henry Ford has a Summer Camp. It takes place inside Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum between June and August. It is for children in grades 2-9. Each grade level has a different theme, and children who participate in the Summer Camp have the opportunity to look at both the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village from different perspectives.
Children participate in activities such as apprenticeships, canoeing, glass blowing and other age-dependent activities.
(d) World Tournament of Historic Base Ball
The World Tournament of Historical Base Ball takes place every year in August. Guests get to take a step back in time to 1867 as vintage base ball clubs from around the country compete using the game's early rules in a two-day exposition of historic base ball.
The clubs engage in two days of throwing, batting and competition.
(e) Salute to America
For four nights around Independence Day, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra performs a patriotic concert on Walnut Grove in the Village. Attendance ranges from 5,000 to 9,500 per evening.
(f) Ragtime Street Fair
This weekend event in July was first presented in 2007, and ran annually through 2015. Ragtime Street Fair featured dozens of live performers, including the River Raisin Ragtime Revue, "Perfessor" Bill Edwards, Mike Montgomery, Nan Bostick, Taslimah Bey, John Remmers, and Tartarsauce Traditional Jazz Band, who celebrated the Ragtime era (ca. 1900–1917).
The event also featured silent movies, phonograph demonstrations, a cake walk, a cutting contest, and a musical revue in the Town Hall as well as the 1912 presidential campaign of Theodore Roosevelt.
Instruction in the ragtime one-step was provided free of charge at this event.
(g) Old Car Festival
The Old Car Festival takes place every year in September. The festival has been held on the first weekend after Labor Day since 1955. The festival takes over the streets and grounds of Greenfield Village with the sights, sounds, and smells of hundreds of authentic vehicles from the 1890's through 1932.
This event features 500–700 cars. Special events include car judging, Pass in Review, the gaslight tour, and car races on the Walnut Grove field. Guests can take a self-guided tour of the exposition and talk to the owners of the treasured vehicles.
Visitors can watch a Model T be assembled in just minutes, attend presentations, and hear experts share information about the vintage vehicles.
(h) Hallowe'en in Greenfield Village
The Village's Halloween celebration features decorations, a headless horseman, witches, as well as other costumed characters, treats and activities for visitors. It is held Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings in October.
(i) Holiday Nights
The Christmas season has traditionally been popular in Greenfield Village. Many buildings feature period decorations, and the Village is open for self-guided strolls. An ice skating rink is available.
Visitors can view live entertainment and costumed presenters, or ride in a horse-drawn carriage or a Model T.
(j) Rouge Tour
The Ford Rouge Factory Tour is a first-hand journey behind the scenes of a modern, working automobile factory. Boarding buses at the Henry Ford Museum, visitors are taken to the River Rouge Plant and Dearborn Truck Plant, an industrial complex where Ford has built cars since the Model A that once employed 100,000 people.
In 2003, the Ford Rouge Factory, the manufacturing facility for the Ford F-Series truck, re-opened following extensive renovations. When it reopened as sustainable architecture led by noted 'green' architect William McDonough, it also opened a new state-of-the-art visitor center highlighting the factory's sustainable aspects and educating visitors on the legacy of the historic manufacturing facility as well as the vehicle manufacturing process that takes place within the manufacturing plant.
The visitor experiences offer two multi-screen theaters, numerous touchscreen interpretive displays, and overlook the world's largest "Green" roof, atop the factory. Visitors then walk through the working assembly plant.
Admission Fees
Admission fees for buy-at-the-door tickets for adults are currently (2022) $30 for the Village, $27 for the Museum, and $22 for the Ford Rouge factory tour.
There's also a $9 parking fee. However on-line discounts and combination tickets are available at a reduced price.
The Dymaxion House
The Dymaxion House on display in the Museum was developed by inventor and architect Buckminster Fuller to address several perceived shortcomings with existing homebuilding techniques.
Fuller designed several versions of the house at different times — all of them factory manufactured kits, assembled on site, intended to be suitable for any site or environment, and to use resources efficiently. A key design consideration was ease of shipment and assembly.
As he did when naming many of his inventions, Fuller combined the words dynamic, maximum, and tension to arrive at the term Dymaxion.
History of the Dymaxion House
The Dymaxion House was completed in 1930 after two years of development, and redesigned in 1945. Buckminster Fuller wanted to mass-produce a bathroom and a house.
His first Dymaxion design was based on the design of a grain bin. During World War II, the U.S. Army commissioned Fuller to send these housing units to the Persian Gulf. In 1945, science-fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein placed an order for one to be delivered to Los Angeles, but the order was never filled.
The Siberian grain-silo house was the first system in which Fuller noted the "urban dust dome" effect: many installations have reported that a dome induces a local vertical heat-driven vortex that sucks cooler air downward into a dome, if the dome is vented properly - a single overhead vent, and peripheral vents. Fuller adapted the later units of the grain-silo house to use this effect.
The final design of the Dymaxion house used a central vertical stainless-steel strut on a single foundation. The strut carried utilities and plumbing. Structures similar to the spokes of a bicycle-wheel hung down from the strut to support the roof, while beams radiating out supported the floor. Wedge-shaped fans of sheet metal aluminum formed the roof, ceiling and floor.
Each structure was assembled at ground level and then winched up the strut. The Dymaxion house represented the first conscious effort to build an autonomous building in the 20th century.
It was a prototype with water storage and a convection-driven ventilator built into the roof. The Dymaxion was designed for the stormy areas of the world: temperate oceanic islands, and the Great Plains of North America, South America and Eurasia.
In most modern houses, laundry, showers and commodes are the major water uses, with drinking, cooking and dish-washing consuming less than 20 liters per day. The Dymaxion house was intended to reduce water use by a greywater system, a packaging commode, and a "fogger" to replace showers. The fogger was based on compressed-air and water degreasers, but with much smaller water particles to make it comfortable.
Two Dymaxion houses were prototyped – one indoor (the "Barwise" house) and one outdoor (the "Danbury" house). However no Dymaxion house built according to Fuller's intentions was ever constructed and lived in.
Fuller also designed a 10-story variant which was to have been dropped in place by the Graf Zeppelin.
The only two prototypes of the round, aluminum house were bought by investor William Graham, together with assorted unused prototyping elements as salvage after the venture failed. In 1948, Graham constructed a hybridized version of the Dymaxion House as his family's home; the Grahams lived there into the 1970's.
Graham built the round house on his lake front property, disabling the ventilator and other interior features. It was inhabited for about 30 years, although as an extension to an existing ranch house, rather than a standalone structure as intended by Fuller.
The large wrap-around windows and lightweight structures were popular with the children, who crawled on the windowsill, and twanged the bicycle-wheel-style main struts.
In 1990, the Graham family donated this house, and all the component prototyping parts, to The Henry Ford Museum. A painstaking process was used to conserve as many original component parts and systems as possible and to restore the rest using original documentation from the Fuller prototyping process. It was installed indoors in the Henry Ford Museum in 2001 as a full exhibit.
Since there was no evidence of the crucial internal rain-gutter system, some elements of the rain collecting system were omitted from the restored exhibit. The roof was designed to wick water inside and drip into the rain-gutter and then to the cistern, rather than have a difficult-to-fit, perfectly waterproof roof.
There was to be a waterless packaging toilet that deftly shrink-wrapped the waste for pickup for later composting. However during the prototyping process, the idea for the packaging toilet was quickly replaced by a conventional septic system, because the packaging plastic was not available. Other features worked as advertised, notably the heating, and the passive air conditioning system, based on the "dome effect."
The Dymaxion Bathroom
The inhabitants of the much-modified version of the house said that the bathroom was a particular delight. The bathroom consisted of two connected stamped copper bubbles, built as four nesting pieces. The bottom piece is fully plated in tin/antimony alloy, and the top half is painted. Each bubble had a drain.
No area had a radius of less than four inches (10 cm), to aid cleaning. The commode, shower, bathtub and sink were molded into the structural shell in one piece. One bubble contained a step-up ergonomic bathtub and shower, high enough to wash children without stooping, but just two steps (16 inches / 40 cm) up. The oval tub had the controls mounted on the inside left of the entrance to the tub.
The other bubble was the bathroom proper with commode and sink. The ventilation for the bathroom was a large silent fan under the main sink, which kept odors away from people's noses. All lighting was totally enclosed. To prevent fogging, the mirror faced into the medicine chest, which was ventilated by the fan. A plastic version of the bathroom was available intermittently until the 1980's.
Criticism of the Dymaxion
Criticism of the Dymaxion House included its supposed inflexible design, which completely disregarded local site and architectural styles, and its use of energy-intensive materials such as aluminum, rather than low-energy materials, such as adobe or tile.
Fuller chose aluminium for its light weight, great strength, and long-term durability, arguably factors that compensate for the initial production cost. Aluminum was also a logical choice if the homes were to be built in aircraft factories, which, since World War II had ended, had substantial excess capacity.
The Wichita House
The Wichita House was a project Fuller accepted during World War II as an attempt to produce cost-effective dwellings for everyone. The project continued to develop the technological concept of the Dymaxion House, now incorporating a round floor plan instead of a hexagonal one.
The reactions to the prototype were extraordinarily positive; nevertheless it was not produced industrially because of high re-tooling costs.
Fuller, a consummate perfectionist, felt that he could improve the design, and was dissatisfied with the prototype. He refused to begin production rather than allowing the "unfinished" design to be used.
Published today at the Philippine Daily Inquirer Lifestyle page is the launching of ManilaArt2011.
My friend/contact Mr. Elmer Borlongan's Batang Edsa is the official artwork to this event.
Best known as emong in the Flickr World.
Congratulations po!
Not much to say about this one ... whatever this couple was smiling about, it certainly put them in a good mood.
Note: this photo was published in a Jun 18, 2009 blog titled "リア充を気取ってモテカワ愛されブロガーになるたった5つの方法." It was also published in a Jul 27, 2009 blog titled "Conflict: Part Two." And, somewhat curiously, it was published on the home page of a website called Jew For Me. It was also published in a Feb 18, 2009 blog titled "Number One Piece of Dating Advice Broken Down."
More recently, the photo was published in a May 24, 2010 blog titled "Trouwkaarten: hoe kies ik de foto." It was also published in a Jun 4, 2010 blog titled "Balancing parenting and marriage: Keeping the intimacy alive." And it was published in a Jun 28, 2010 blog titled "Don't Fail Her First Test." It was also published in a Jul 9, 2010 blog titled "Waiting to Meet Janice." And it was published in a Dec 17, 2010 blog titled "Looking for Love Has Its Pitfalls." It was also published in a Dec 23, 2010 blog titled "Sustainable Love: Obstacles to Intimate Conversation."
Moving into 2011, the photo was published in a Jan 20, 2011 Russian blog titled "5 начина да я впечатлиш на първите ви срещи." And it was published in a Mar 4, 2011 blog titled "あなたの脳は男脳？ それとも女脳?" It was also published in an undated (mid-Jul 2011) MagForWomen blog titled "Seven Mean Ways To Manipulate Men." It was also published in a Jul 29, 2011 blog titled "10 Ways To Wreck Your Marriage." And it was published in an Aug 4, 2011 blog titled "【ホンマでっか!? TV】男性にとって魅力的な女性、忘れられない女性とは?" It was also published in an Aug 29, 2011 Slate (France) blog titled " Les soucis financiers empêchent les femmes de dormir, pas les hommes."
Moving into 2012, the photo was published in a Jan 31, 2012 blog titled "Best Money Tips: Frugal Dating Tips for New Couples" It was also published in a Mar 13, 2012 blog titled "Pleased Couple." And it was published in a Jul 12, 2012 blog titled "6 Questions to Ask Your New Travel Partner Before Your First Trip." It was also published as an illustration in an undated (early Sep 2012) "love quiz" titled "Are you too dominating on your partner?"
Moving into 2013, the photo was published in a Feb 19, 2013 blog titled "Dr. Enrique Peñalosa Delivers Keynote Speech at Recycle-A-Bicycle’s 3rd Annual Youth Bike Summit." It was also published in a Mar 7, 2013 blog titled "Get Tested: It’s Easier Than You Think." And it was published in an undated (mid-Apr 2013) Mommathon blog titled "Parenting Advice and Parenting Skills." It was also published in a May 24, 2013 blog titled "Four Ways your Relationship May Be Harming Your Health." And it was published in a Jul 19, 2013 blog titled "12 Couples That Need To Get A Room." It was also published as one of ten illustrative slides in an undated (early Aug 2013) blog titled "Cheating Myths."
Moving into 2014, the photo was published in a Feb 18, 2014 blog titled Your First Impression About Someone Is Usually True, Study Finds www.hngn.com/articles/24649/20140218/first-impression-som...
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When you say "New York City," most people think of Times Square, or the Empire State Building, or the crowded sidewalks and the skyscrapers in mid-town, or Wall Street, or the ill-fated World Trade Center. Maybe Central Park will come to mind, but most people don't realize that New Yorkers know lots of places to relax, and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air ...
... like Carl Schurz Park, over by the East River on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, stretching from 90th Street down to about 84th Street. In addition to flower gardens, dog runs, basketball courts, playgrounds, and grassy knolls for sunbathing, there is also a wide promenade where cyclists, roller-skaters, dog-walkers, lovers, joggers, parents, children, and any of the other millions of citizens of this city can stroll along at whatever pace suits them best. Some sit at benches along the edge of the river, staring at the roiling water caused by the swift current down the East River; others nod and smile as they watch sailboats, motorboats, yachts, barges, tour-boats, and barges ply their way up and down the river.
One thing's for certain, though: everyone enjoys Carl Schurz Park. It's one of New York's little secrets ...
The portrait of Romanian Countess Anna de Noailles, Princess Bassaraba Brancovan is one of the iconic paintings of the 20th century by the Basque painter Ignacio Zuloaga.
Anna de NoaIles biography is the object of a new Anthology published as an E-Book under the title:
"Blouse Roumaine - the Unsung Voices of Romanian Women"
Presented and Selected by Constantin ROMAN
Anthology E-BOOK (11BM)
DISTRIBUTION: Online with credit card
COST: $ 54.99, £34.99 (ca Euros 35.50)
LINK: www.blouseroumaine.com/orderthebook_p1.html
CONTENTS:
2,250,000 words,
over 1,000 pages,
ca 160 illustrations in text
160 critical biographies,
58 social categories/professions,
600 quotations (mostly translated into English for the first time),
circa 3,000 bibliographical references (including URLs and credits)
6 Indexes (alphabetical, by profession, timeline, quotation Index, place
index and name index)
AUTHOR: Constantin Roman is a Scholar with a Doctorate from Cambridge and a Member of the Society of Authors (London). He is an International Adviser, Guest Speaker, Professor Honoris Causa and Commander of the Order of Merit.
INDEX BY PROSFESSION: 58 CATEGORIES by Call, Profession or Social Status
Academics (22), Actresses (9), Anti-Communist Fighters (14), Architects/Interior Designers (2), Art Critics (9), Artist Book Binders (1), Ballerinas (6), Charity Workers/Benefactors (20), Communist Public Figures (2), Courtesans (3), Designers (2), Diplomats (4), Essayists (11), Ethnographers (6), Exiles & First-generation Romanians born abroad (87), Explorers (1), Feminists (12), Folk Singers (1), Gymnasts, Dressage Riders (2), Historians (5), Honorary Romanian Women (15), Illustrators (3), Journalists (13), Lawyers (4), Librarians (3), Linguists (2), Literary Critics (1), Media (15), Medical Doctors/Nurses (5), Memoir Writers (16), Missionaries and Nuns (4), Mountainéers (2), Museographers (1), Musical Instruments Makers (1), Novelists (24), Opera Singers (16), Painters (14), Peasant Farmers (6), Philosophers and Philosophy Graduates (4), Pianists (6), Pilots (4), Playwrights (5), Poets (29), Political Prisoners (30), Politicians (5), Revolutionaries (2), Royals and Aristocrats (34), Scientists (8), Sculptors (4), Slave (1), Socialites/Hostesses (20), Spouses/Relations of Public Figures (51), Spies (2), Tapestry Weavers (4), Translators (25), Unknown Illustrious (6), Violinists (4), Workers (3)
NOTE:
Most of the above 160 Romanian women, in the best tradition of versatility, are true polymaths and therefore nearly each one of them falls in more than just one category, often three or more. This explains why adding the numbers of the 57 individual categories bears no relation to the actual total of the above 160 women included in Blouse Roumaine.
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LIST OF 160 CRITICAL BIOGRAPHIES (each supported by Quotations and Bibliography)
AA *Gabriela Adamesteanu *Florenta Albu *Nina Arbore *Elena Arnàutoiu *Ioana Raluca Voicu-Arnàutoiu, *Laurentia Arnàutoiu *Mariea Plop - Arnàutoiu *Ana Aslan *Lady Elizabeth Asquith Bibescu
BB *Lauren Bacall *Lady Florence Baker *Zoe Bàlàceanu *Ecaterina Bàlàcioiu-Lovinescu *Victorine de Bellio *Pss. Marta Bibescu *Adriana Bittel *Maria Prodan Bjørnson *Ana Blandiana *Yvonne Blondel *Lola Bobescu *Smaranda Bràescu *Elena Bràtianu *Élise Bràtianu *Ioana Bràtianu *Elena Bràtianu- Racottà *Letitzia Bucur
CC *Anne-Marie Callimachi *Georgeta Cancicov *Madeleine Cancicov *Pss. Alexandra Cantacuzino *Pss.Maria Cantacuzino (Madame Puvis de Chavannes) *Pss. Maruca Cantacuzino-Enesco* Pss. Catherine Caradja *Elena Caragiani-Stoenescu *Marta Caraion-Blanc, *Nina Cassian, *Otilia Cazimir *Elena Ceausescu *Maria Cebotari *Ioana Celibidache *Hélène Chrissoveloni (Mme Paul Morand)*Alice Cocea *Irina Codreanu *Lizica Codreanu *Alina Cojocaru *Nadia Comàneci *Denisa Comànescu *Lena Constante *Silvia Constantinescu *Doina Cornea *Hortense Cornu *Viorica Cortez*Otilia Cosmutzà *Sandra Cotovu *Ileana Cotrubas *Carmen-Daniela Cràsnaru *Mioara Cremene *Florica Cristoforeanu *Pss. Elena Cuza
DD *Hariclea Darclée *Cella Delavrancea *Alina Diaconú *Varinca Diaconú *Anca Diamandy *Marie Ana Dràgescu *Rodica Dràghincescu *Bucura Dumbravà *Natalia Dumitrescu
EE *Micaela Eleutheriade *Queen Elisabeth of Romania (‘Carmen Sylva’) *Alexandra Enescu *Mica Ertegün
FF *Lizi Florescu, *Maria Forescu *Nicoleta Franck *Aurora Fúlgida
GG *Angela Gheorghiu *Pss Grigore Ghica *Pss. Georges Ghika (Liane de Pougy) *Veturia Goga *Maria Golescu *Nadia Gray *Olga Greceanu *Pss. Helen of Greece *Nicole Valéry-Grossu *Carmen Groza
HH *Virginia Andreescu Haret *Clara Haskil *Lucia Hossu-Longin
II *Pss. Ileana of Romania *Ana Ipàtescu *Marie-France Ionesco *Dora d’Istria *Rodica Iulian
JJ *Doina Jela *Lucretia Jurj
KK *Mite Kremnitz
LL *Marie-Jeanne Lecca *Madeleine Lipatti *Monica Lovinescu *Elena Lupescu
MM *Maria Mailat *Ileana Màlàncioiu *Ionela Manolesco *Lilly Marcou *Silvia Marcovici *Queen Marie of Romania *Ioana A. Marin *Ioana Meitani *Gabriela Melinescu *Veronica Micle *Nelly Miricioiu *Herta Müller *Alina Mungiu-Pippidi *Agnes Kelly Murgoci
NN *Mabel Nandris *Anita Nandris-Cudla *Lucia Negoità *Mariana Nicolesco *Countess Anna de Noailles *Ana Novac
OO *Helen O’Brien *Oana Orlea
PP *Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu *Milita Pàtrascu *Ana Pauker *Marta Petreu *Cornelia Pillat *Magdalena Popa *Elvira Popescu
RR *Ruxandra Racovitzà *Elisabeta Rizea *Eugenia Roman *Stella Roman *Queen Ana de România, *Pss. Margarita de România *Maria Rosetti *Elisabeth Roudinesco
SS *Annie Samuelli *Sylvia Sidney *Henriette-Yvonne Stahl *Countess Leopold Starszensky *Elena Stefoi *Pss. Marina Stirbey *Sanda Stolojan *Cecilia Cutzescu-Storck
TT *Maria Tànase *Aretia Tàtàrescu *Monica Theodorescu *Elena Theodorini
UU *Viorica Ursuleac
VV *Elena Vàcàrescu *Leontina Vàduva *Ana Velescu *Marioara Ventura *Anca Visdei *Wanda Sachelarie Vladimirescu *Alice Steriade Voinescu
WW *Sabina Wurmbrand
ZZ *Virginia Zeani
Black-winged Stilts in a flooded field at Kin Okinawa, Japan
Published:
matadortrips.com/photo-essay-the-matador-photographers-an...
V0025624 Two peasants hold a red robe; cherubs blow wind and Mercury
Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images
images@wellcome.ac.uk
Two peasants hold a red robe; cherubs blow wind and Mercury rests on water below; representing a stage in the process of alchemy. Coloured etching, ca. 18th century.
Published: -
Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Hres triptych published in
. Y Sin Embargo Magazine 22 - cap it all/off
___________________________________
Outlining a Theory of General Creativity . .
. . on a 'Pataphysical projectory
Entropy ≥ Memory ● Creativity ²
___________________________________
The mecanosphere draws out and actualises configurations which exist amongst an infinity of others in fields of virtuality. Existential machines are at the same level as being in its intrinsic multiplicity. (...) They are to themselves their own material of semiotic expression. Existence, as a deterritorialisation process, is a specific inter-machinic operation which superimposes itself on the promotion of singularised existential intensities. (...) Existence is not dialectical, not representable. It is hardly livable!
(...) The machines of desire, the machines of aesthetic creation, just as scientific machines constantly modify our cosmic frontiers. As such, they hold an eminent place within assemblages of subjectivation, themselves called to relieve our old social machines which are incapable of keeping up the efflorescence of machinic revolutions that shatter our epoch from all sides. Rather than adopting a reticent attitude with respect to the immense machinic revolution sweeping the planet (at the risk of destroying it) or of clinging traditional value systems, pretending to re-establish transcendence, the movement of progress, or if one prefers, the movement of process, will endeavour to reconcile values and machines.
(...) The machinic systems position themselves in a rhizome of interdependence, situating each actual machinic stasis at the conjunction of a passed filiation and a Phylum of future mutations. All value systems - religious, aesthetic, scientific, ecosophical, ... - install themselves at this machinic interface between the required actualised and the virtual possibilist. (...) Thus a double enunciation: finite, territorialised and incorporeal, infinite.
(...) To the sterile opposition between use-value and exchange-value will here be relinquished in favour of an axiological complexion including all machinic modalities of valorisation: the values of desire, aesthetic values, ecological values, economic values, etc. (...) Economic law, like juridical law, must be deducted from the ensemble of Universes of value, for whose collapse it continually strives. Its reconstruction, on the scaterred debris of planned economies and neoliberalism and according to new ethico-political finalities (ecosophy) calls for, in contradistinction, an untiring renewal of the consistency of machinic assemblages of valorisation.
( Félix Guattari - Chaosmosis - 1992 )
___________________________________
rectO-persO | E ≥ m.C² | co~errAnce | TiLt
Published in deFUZE Magazine - www.defuzemag.co.uk/into-the-rough-defuze-magazine/
See behind the scenes over on my blog here: clickedbytom.tumblr.com/post/116580929519/in-the-rough | thomascolesimmondsphotography.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/in-r...
See more on my website at: www.tomsimmonds.com/intherough | www.tomsimmonds.com/portfolio | www.tomsimmonds.com/book2
Model: Keziah LK Zeisser at Oxygen Model Management
Make-up/Hair: Izzy Cammareri
Styling: Shirly Piperno
Designers: Nitsan Alter, Mary Eleini, Felipe Hiroshi Goto, Sabina Söderberg
Photography/Post Processing: Thomas Cole Simmonds Photography
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© Thomas Cole Simmonds. All rights reserved. My images may not be used without my permission.
My Website: www.tomsimmonds.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/ThomasColeSimmonds
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/tomsimmonds/
Twitter: twitter.com/tom_simmonds
This image shows the Forster - Tuncurry ferry approaching the ramp in Tuncurry, NSW - mid 1950s. The launch guiding the punt is the Monterey built by Alf Jahnsen.
A recent publication written by Chris Borough covering the Forster Ferry Service has been published by the Great Lakes Historical Society, Tuncurry
www.flickr.com/photos/glmrsnsw/27134338901/in/album-72157...
Prior to the construction of a bridge in July 1959, crossing Cape Hawke Harbour at the mouth of Wallis Lake required vehicles to use the punt service that operated between Tuncurry and Forster. Most vehicular punts in NSW operated independently using cables. The Forster-Tuncurry punts, however, were close-coupled to a motor launch as shifting sandbanks had to be negotiated to make the crossing between the two towns.
The first of three punts that were used to provide the service commenced operation in late 1924 and remained in continuous service for nine years. This small punt was replaced in 1933 with a larger punt that was widened by two feet in 1935. The original was retained as a backup until a third and still larger punt was introduced in late 1938. That third punt began operation on Christmas Eve 1938 with the punt that was widened in 1935 kept in reserve. Both remained in service until the opening of the Forster – Tuncurry bridge.
Prior to 1924, regular ferry services operated, but only for passengers. The first commenced operation by July 1890 with an open rowing boat conveying passengers (and a sulky if needed). The demand for a proper ferry service was strong. In 1905 a petition from Forster residents asked the Government to establish an oil-launch ferry service between Tuncurry and Forster, instead of the boat ferry, which was totally inadequate…(SMH Friday 10 November 1905).
By 1907, travellers from Bungwahl could pick up the ferry service provided by an oil launch at the southern edge of Wallis Lake (Charlotte Bay), that would drop them either at Forster or Tuncurry (SMH 26th October 1907). A regular passenger ferry service was also being operated that year by an oil launch running between Forster and Tuncurry, conveying passengers for a 1d return fare (SMH 26th Oct 1907).
Horses, however, still had to be swum across (Maitland Daily Mercury 4th May 1909) . We left our horses and vehicles at Tuncurry and crossed over to Forster in the ferry. During the day the rest of the party employed themselves in swimming the horses across the river and floating the buggies over in boats, and had quite an exciting and arduous time. One of Mr. Bramble's horses was too scared to swim, and was nearly drowned. One of the boats, with a sulky on board, got aground, and took some time to get off.
It was not until February 1924 that Manning Shire Council granted permission for Charlie Blows to provide and operate a combined private passenger and car punt service between Tuncurry and Forster (SMH 22nd Feb 1924). Blows undertook to build and maintain the approaches, as well as provide a vehicular ferry, capable of carrying three and a half to four tons (SMH 22 Feb 1924). Blows’ punt service began operations in November 1924 - Mr. Chas. Blows has installed a new vehicular ferry between Tuncurry and Forster. As a consequence, motor cars are now a common sight at Forster (Dungog Chronicle 18 November 1924.)
Howard (1995) records that Blows had Tuncurry boat-builder, Dave Williams build both a small punt and a launch (commonly, but somewhat misleadingly, termed a “tow” launch) to propel same. No details of the punt and its construction have been located but a newspaper report appears to confirm that it was constructed specifically for the operation. This is a direct road to Newcastle by car, and is considerably shorter than any other road from Forster to Sydney. It will be largely used for through traffic when the vehicle ferry, which has been sanctioned and is now being constructed, is running between Tuncurry and Forster across Wallamba River (SMH 15th April 1924).
With a load capacity of around 4 tons, it is estimated that Blows’ punt was 22 feet in length. It was able to transport one large car or two very small cars, end to end. The launch, originally named the Glen, was fitted with a 7 h.p. Kelvin engine; she was quickly re-named the Kelvin Glen by locals and this became her registered name.
Although the passenger service was subsidised by the Local Government Department, it was an expensive exercise to have a vehicle conveyed on the privately owned punt. Foot passengers were able to travel for free, however, for a one-way trip cars were charged 2/6, lorries 4/-, and horse-drawn vehicles 1/6. To put these fares in context, the average weekly wage in 1930 was £7 per week making a return journey by car of 5/- one fifth of a day’s wages. Any additional trips incurred fares for foot passengers, with one visitor complaining that he was forced to pay 1/- to get the “free” ferry from Tuncurry to take him the extra 150 yards from the terminus at Forster to the local hotel.
Prior to 1930, shipping was generally able to navigate key areas within Cape Hawke Harbour and the punt was usually able to cross readily between the two towns. In 1930, however, the NSW Government decided to remove the sand-pumping dredge “Forster” from the district after some thirty years of continuous service. Despite numerous representations, there was no sand-pumping between 1930 and 1938.
By 1930 there had already been general recognition that the private vehicular ferry service was unduly limited in terms of capacity and cost. In 1931 The Maitland Daily Mercury (23 February) reported: One of the biggest demonstrations of public protest in the history of Cape Hawke was witnessed last Saturday night at the Forster Hall when a most representative gathering assembled to express its disapproval of the manner in which the Stroud and Manning Shire Councils are dilly dallying with the question of the Forster Tuncurry Ferry Service. The meeting had been convened by the Progress Associations of Forster and Tuncurry to voice their dissatisfaction of both Councils, in not carrying into vogue the dictum put forth by the Minister for Local Government in July last, that the vehicular ferry that serves the two towns should be absolutely free and that the existing charges be abolished.
A visitor to Tuncurry recalled his experience (Dungog Chronicle: 9 February 1932) “In the morning we crossed the quarter mile or so of water round the sandbanks to Forster. The punt is a two-car one, and is towed over by C. Blows, who runs the free ferry for foot passengers. It cost 2/6 each way for the car, and thereby hangs a confession. I forgot to pay when going back, and Charlie Blows did not remind me.”
After years of wrangling between the Stroud and Manning Shire Councils and the Transport Commission (formerly the Main Roads Board and by the end of 1932 the Main Roads Department), it was decided to terminate the private ferry service and have a replacement punt provided by Manning Shire Council. A suggestion in 1932 to lengthen Blows’ punt was not followed up and before the year was out it was found that a thirty to forty year old punt that had been operating on the Manning River was available to be relocated. The cost of having the punt transported to Forster and its operation were to be shared by the three statutory bodies. Tenders to provide a launch and operate the new punt service were called and on June 30th 1933 the successful tenderer, Frederick Parsons was announced. Fred’s bid of £375/annum was the lowest. Because the new punt was some ten feet longer than the Blows’ punt (32 ft vs approx. 22 ft), and it could carry three small cars or two large cars and had a load capacity of 6 tons, a more powerful launch was required.
Blows’ contract with the original punt was extended until 17th October 1933 when Parsons finally began operations with his new launch and the council supplied punt (Howard 2009). The modern and powerful launch - the Pacific was built by Frank Avery. As reported (Dungog Chronicle 7 November 1933). The new ferry service which is now in the control of Mr. Fred Parsons has had its baptism; and the little difficulties that might be expected at the outset with the most experienced have been surmounted. Mr. Parsons' new launch has a length of 28 feet, a beam of 8 feet and a depth of 3 feet moulded. All timbers and stringers are of spotted gum, with beech planking. The launch is copper fastened and is fitted with water tight bulk heads according to the regulations of the Navigation Department. It is fitted with an 18h.p. Lister-Diesel engine and is a great credit to the builder, Mr Frank Avery, of Tuncurry. The most pleasing aspect of the new service, of course, is the substantial reduction in the charges for cars and other vehicles, as compared with the former contract. Previously, to convey a car across from Forster to Tuncurry cost 2/6; the new charge is 1/-. The new rate has already been responsible for increased traffic, as many people hesitated to come across and back when it involved a toll of 5/-.
In 1935 the Department of Main Roads and the two Councils involved in providing the service agreed to have the punt widened by 2ft to enable cars to be parked side by side and thus allow four vehicles to be carried at one time. Well respected boat-builder, Henry Miles, was contracted to do the job. As reported in the Dungog Chronicle Tuesday 26 November 1935; There will be general jubilation at the news that the ferry which plies, between Forster and Tuncurry is to be enlarged, says the Taree Times. Under a triple authority (Main Roads Board, Manning and Stroud Shires) it takes time to finalise things like this, but it has been done. The ferry is to be widened to take four cars, two abreast. The work has been entrusted to that well-known and expert shipbuilder, Mr. Harry [Henry] Miles, of Forster, and when he finishes with it there will be no complaints, for Mr. Miles does his work one way — thoroughly. It is intended to split the ferry from end to end and put in another 2ft., which will ensure that the ferry will then accommodate two of the biggest cars abreast, which was not possible in the past. It is expected that the ferry will go on the slip on Thursday next, and be off in two or three weeks. In the meantime traffic will be maintained as usual, Mr. Charlie Blows' punt having been engaged for the purpose.
A year later and a minor crisis: Blow’s old punt that was put into service as a temporary measure while the new punt was being overhauled, sank. The Dungog Chronicle (Tuesday 17 November 1936) reported: - Vehicular traffic between Tuncurry and Forster was held up from about 1 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon until 4 on Thursday afternoon. The new contract for this service is to commence at the beginning of December, and the ferry in general use was put on Mr. Henry Miles' slip on Tuesday to undergo the usual overhaul before commencing on the new contract. The old punt with which Mr. Charlie Blows inaugurated the service [in 1924] was requisitioned and started in the service about 2 on Tuesday afternoon. All went well until about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, while the ferry was tied up on the Tuncurry side, a Chev. lorry, loaded with skimmed milk from the Tuncurry butter factory, boarded the ferry. At the same time the driver of a car wanted to cross and the ferry man asked the man in charge of the lorry to move it over to the side a little more than it was. When this was done one corner of the punt developed a list, which in turn gave the lorry, and its contents, a list, with the result that the corner of the punt went under water and quickly submerged. The lorry was also under water. The services of another lorry were engaged to pull it out. Later in the day the ferry was raised and removed to Mr. Miles' slip, for examination and repairs if necessary . A grainy photograph of the accident scene that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald (4 November 1936) suggests that the small punt may have needed more than just minor repairs.
By early 1937, Manning Shire Council was well aware of public concerns with the safety of the service (Dungog Chronicle Friday 21 May 1937). Council was advised that in October 1936 the punt had grounded on a sand bank and been carried quite some distance after it was re-floated; the anchor being unable to hold. At the time, the Press had reported that the method of transport was entirely out of date and that it had caused a wave of fear amongst the public.
The Council was well aware that it’s widened 32ft long punt simply couldn't cope with the sheer volume of traffic that was presenting during the annual holiday season and had thus reached its use-by date. As a result, a formal proposal was made to the Department of Main Roads for the purchase of an additional 4-car punt to facilitate the provision of a permanent two punt service; the Department formally declined the proposal on 2 September 1937. (SMH 14 January 1938). Council subsequently decided to try and rent or buy a replacement punt and in October 1937 an advertisement that sought the lease of a punt for three months over the summer season appeared in the press (Newcastle Morning Herald Saturday 23 October 1937). Unable to rent or buy a replacement punt, however, the decision was made to have a replacement built. Initial plans for a new punt were submitted to the DMR on 23rd November 1937 (SMH 14 January 1938).
With the wheels of the bureaucracy slowly turning, matters regarding the punt service went from bad to worse. The punt that had commenced operation in 1933 and was widened by Henry Miles in 1935, sunk spectacularly on 5th January 1938. The report from the Dungog Chronicle of Tuesday 11 January 1938 described the fact that a drowning fatality was avoided, as a miracle! On the punt was Joe Fazio’s bus with twelve passengers aboard, a sedan car with five passengers and a truck. As soon as the punt took off from the wharf at around 8 am the nose of the punt dipped and it seemed likely that the punt would capsize. The passengers in the car climbed onto the roof of the bus and finally all passengers escaped via the ferry to shore. This event created an outcry for the replacement of the existing ferry with a larger and more dependable ferry service.
The public relations debacle appears to have jolted the bureaucrats into action and tenders for the construction of a 40 foot punt were called in 1938 (SMH Friday 4 March 1938). It took, however, until September that year for the Councils to secure the services of Frank Avery to supervise the construction of a new punt using day labour (Dungog Chronicle: Friday 16 September 1938). The new service was launched on 24th December 1938, just in time for the holiday season (Dungog Chronicle Tuesday 24 January 1939).
Although the load limit for the new punt was raised to ten tons in 1939, officially it was still only able to handle four cars – a point made clearly by the NRMA (The Maitland Daily Mercury Friday 10 February 1939): “An N.R.M.A. country inspector who recently travelled over the coastal route from Bulahdelah to Taree by way of Forster and Tuncurry. Commenting on the new punt between Forster and Tuncurry, the Association says that there is little improvement on the old vehicle. The new vessel accommodates four cars and is towed by a motor launch. Thus the journey from one side of the lake to the other takes just as long now as when the old punt was operating.”.
The four car service was propelled by the Pacific until 1st July 1940 when Wylie Gregory won the tender to provide the service. He arranged for Forster boatbuilder, Dave Williams to build a heavy-duty low-line boat - the Britannia - or alternatively spelled Brittania (Howard 1995). The war years, however, soon started to impact on Wylie’s operations. In August 1941 he advised Manning Shire Council that he would terminate his contract in view of decreased traffic owing to petrol rationing. Negotiations followed that resulted in Wylie continuing the operation under changed conditions.
On 1st June 1947 the tender for the vehicle ferry service was won by H.M. Cooke of Forster and it appears that he purchased the Brittania from Gregory, On 15th June 1949 the contract was won by C.A. Blows and Sons. The Brittania was purchased from Cooke, but almost immediately the firm contracted Alf Jahnsen and Leo Royan to build a new launch, the Monterey - named after the local cafe ran by Charlie Blows. In the 1950s the availability of two launches and two punts allowed considerable flexibility for the management of the service. Although the punt that was widened in 1935 was initially only retained as a back-up, with the availability of a second launch, sanity eventually prevailed and the old punt was brought out of mothballs each summer so that a two punt service could be provided during the peak holiday season.
Despite the last punt (built in 1938) being described as only having a capacity to carry four cars, it is commonly believed to have had a capacity to convey six cars. Indeed there are photos in Philip Howard's book showing six cars squeezed onto the punt with vehicles partly standing on the rear ramp with the rear gates open. Graham Nicholson (personal communication) recalls many occasions when six vehicles were squeezed onto the ferry and the front and rear gates "closed" accordingly – possibly not by the book, but effective!
Punt operations ceased with the opening of the Forster-Tuncurry bridge on July 18th 1959. So ended the service once memorably described: "It must be the most antedated, most unreliable and unsafe method of crossing a river anywhere in Australia." (SMH Friday 5 November 1954)
Image Source - Image Source - Steve Bolin Collection
References - Howard, P. (1995). The ferrymen: the history of the Forster-Tuncurry passenger and vehicular ferry service from 1890 to 1959 - by Philip Howard.
More Forster Ferry images are contained in the ALBUM Forster - Tuncurry Ferry
Acknowledgements. Chris Borough and Ron Madden undertook the detailed research that was the basis for this contribution.
All Images in this photostream are Copyright - Great Lakes Manning River Shipping and/or their individual owners as may be stated above and may not be downloaded, reproduced, or used in any way without prior written approval.
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