View allAll Photos Tagged SoundAndLighting
Going to see a Sound and Light show at the Giza Pyramids should be a no-brainer, but I don't recommend it. The voice-over would embarrass the 1960's BBC and the light guy needs a trip to Vivid. A great idea poorly executed. Whatever did the poor Sphinx do to be stuck narrating this one...
Local pop would be better...here's Hamada Helal's Ashrab Shaay (which I think translates to something like 'I drink tea' but my Arabic is crap): [www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X3nIMc1K2Y]
The Angels are Coming, Sheffield Cathedral, Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
A sound and light show by Luxmuralis projected onto the walls of the Cathedral, inside and out.
I wasn't going to show this video, because it makes my photos look pretty pathetic (I will do better next year!), but it does need to be brought to life, so here it is : vimeo.com/377561166
Imagine yourself in a very large room with colorful, changing images flowing around. The music? The Beatles!
© All Rights Reserved. Please do not use or reproduce this image on Websites, Blogs or any other media without my explicit permission.
This HDR photo of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Canada, was taken during a sound and light show. It combines images when the light was on different parts of the Centre Block and Peace Tower.
Brief History of Norfolk as a Penal Settlement.
As noted previously Norfolk was settled to provide flax fibre rope, flax sails and tree masts from Norfolk Island pine trees and also because it was uninhabited. It was also an island paradise with rich volcanic soils. Its only major drawback was its isolation and its lack of a good harbour. Its history falls into several phases.
Phase One- 1788-1814. This phase was run along the same lines as the settlement of Sydney. Both men and women convicts were quartered here. The women were to work making flax rope and sails and the men were to do the building, road making, land clearing, agriculture and stone masonry work. Some free settlers came too. The settlement was centred on Kingston (then called Sydney) and nearby Arthur’s Vale (watermill valley.) By 1806 the population had reached over 1,000 people. Then for financial reasons- the cost of sending supply ships from Sydney to Norfolk was too great- the evacuation of the island was ordered. Convicts and other settlers were moved to Van Diemen’s Land- hence the settlements there of New Norfolk and Norfolk Plains (later Longford.)
Phase Two- 1825-1855. This time the island was run as a total penitentiary for the worse offenders. There would be no escape from Norfolk Island. Conditions were harsh, severe and degrading. It was a place of extreme punishment. The worst commandant was Captain Turton. During the period 1840-44 conditions were slightly better. Free settlers were not encouraged to settle during this second phase but a few of the best behaved convicts were allowed to work small farms across the island. Massive government expenditure on the penitentiary meant that fine sandstone Georgian buildings were erected and like Port Arthur in Tasmania many of them still remain. A large prison was built in the 1840s, and the prison required large military barracks, large stores and Commissariat stores, officer headquarters, a large hospital etc and good quality homes for the prison and military officers on the island. Kingston remained the administration and shipping centre of the island.
Phase Three – 1856-. In the third phase some of the original stone buildings were dismantled or left to go to ruins. Some were burnt down or the stone re-used for other structures. But the major feature of this period was the introduction of 194 Pitcairn Islanders in 1856. Norfolk remained isolated and largely forgotten. At one stage the Governor of NSW (the British Crown representative in charge of the island) ordered that the Pitcairn Islanders could no longer reside in the former penal settlement buildings in Kingston. This was in 1908 just before the Commonwealth government took charge. The resentment of this change led to fires and some beautiful buildings being destroyed. In 1893 Norfolk got a telegraph office and an underwater cable link to the world via Canada. Soon it had a cable link to New Zealand and a cable station opened at Anson Bay in 1902. Once it became a territory of the new Australian federal government conditions improved a little. Shipping came irregularly but during World War Two the Australian government built an airstrip for defence reasons. Flights continued after the War and now the main linkage between Norfolk and Australia is by air. The federal government has also put more money into other facilities on the island including the Botanic Gardens, and all the restoration work at Kingston etc.
Norfolk Island – an introduction.
By lunch time we will be settled into our accommodation on Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island is just five by eight kilometres and it was first discovered in 1774 by Captain James Cook on his second South Pacific voyage of exploration. Today the island is a territory of Australia, part of the Commonwealth but with a large degree of independence and self government. It is one of Australia’s eleven territories (Northern Territory; ACT; Jervis Bay; Christmas Island; Cocos Islands; Ashmore Islands; Coral Sea Islands; Antarctic Territories; Heard Island and Indian Ocean Islands.) Norfolk’s residents are not represented in the Australian parliament. It has its own stamps, flag governing body etc. The census of August 2011 recorded a population of 2,302 people. It has a constant influx of tourists as well with the island receiving about 12,000 visitors a year mainly from Australia.
The main population centres are in the middle of the island at Burnt Pine and Middlegate. The old convict settlement is on the coast at Kingston. The highest point is Mt Bates at 319 metres or 1,045 feet. Nearby by is Mt Pitt at just over 1,000 feet high and it is an old volcanic cone indicating the origins of Norfolk Island. Cook named it after the British Prime Minister William Pitt, Earl of Chatham and PM during the 1750s and again 1766-68. Norfolk Island is one of a series of volcanic islands on the top of the Lord Howe seamount or ridge which stretches from New Zealand to New Caledonia. The volcanic islands that emerge from the sea are New Zealand, Norfolk, Lord Howe and New Caledonia extending along a zone more than 1,600 kms in length. Near Norfolk the submarine trench is around 33,000 feet deep. Norfolk Island territory has two nearby uninhabited islands named Phillip and Nepean Islands and both are visible from Kingston. Approximately 10% of the island is a National Park centred round Mt Pitt and Mt Bates. There are 178 species of native plants on the island and 40 of these are unique to Norfolk. Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) is still abundant. It can reach a height of over 150 feet. It constitutes the emblem on the Norfolk Island flag. The other endemic tree, now widely grown as an ornamental in Australia is the Norfolk Island Hibiscus (Lagunaria patersonii). The island also grows the Norfolk Island palm, many ferns, and a native passionfruit. The island has no mammals or amphibians, and only a couple of reptiles - a skink and a gecko. The coral formations around the island teem with marine life and are home to many tropical fish, eels, octopus, starfish etc. The island provides a good habitat for many local and migratory birds including the wedge-tailed shearwater, (Puffinus pacificus) whose moaning calls echo around the island at night!
Norfolk Island was the second settlement of the Australian region following the arrival of the British and their convicts at Sydney Cove. Just six weeks after arrival at Sydney Cove in 1788 some 23 free settlers, 15 convicts, and commandant Lieutenant Phillip Parker King landed on Norfolk. Several hundred more convicts and settlers were sent from Sydney to Norfolk in 1790. It was 14 years later that the third Australian settlement was made in Van Diemen’s Land (1804) at Hobart. Norfolk started out as part of NSW and later became part of Van Diemen’s Land. But after the closure of the convict settlement by the British government in 1855 on Norfolk they set the island aside for the people from Pitcairn Island and many Norfolk residents still dispute Australia’s control of Norfolk Island as an Australian territory. Britain has never regarded Norfolk Island as a separate British colony.
The old school text book explanation for the settlement of Norfolk Island is largely true. The British government wanted to access the New Zealand flax plants growing on the island ( Phormium tenax.) The NZ flax was not native but archaeologists believe Polynesians, probably Maoris, introduced flax to Norfolk Island about 600 to 800 years ago. (They introduced the common rat at the same time!) As a naval empire Britain needed supplies of flax rope and flax sails for its sailing fleets. At the time of the settlement of Norfolk Island (1788) Britain obtained its wooden masts from Nova Scotia and its hemp and flax from Russia. Britain wanted new supplies of both masts and rope and sails as they feared the relationship with Russia would be terminated. Because of these concerns Norfolk Island was settled early in 1788 and many female convicts were sent to Norfolk Island so that they could weave and sew the flax and rope. When the second lot of convicts went to Norfolk in 1790 there were 150 females aboard the ship but only 30 male convicts. But by the early 1800s the authorities realised that the convict women would not be able to produce much rope or cloth. Only one ship ever left Norfolk with locally produced sails. Additionally, the tall, straight Norfolk Island pines proved unsuitable for ship masts as the wood was too soft and lacked strength. Thus the commercial justifications for settling Norfolk as a penal settlement diminished. But the origins of Norfolk are fascinating. One of the 1790 ships taking convicts to Norfolk, the former flagship of the First Fleet to Botany Bay was shipwrecked near Kingston whilst unloading supplies. Hundreds of artifacts have been retrieved from the wreck of the Sirius, including three anchors and two carronades which are displayed in the Norfolk Island Museum. The loss of the Sirius left Sydney settlement with just one supply ship normally used to obtain flour from Cape Town.
This highly kitschy soom and light show is a Hollywood glamor that lasts 1h and recounts the history of Thebes and the life of several pharaohs who erected monuments in the name of Amon.
Well worth the visit particularly because of the walk around the temple with gorgeous night lighting.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved - Contact: Albéric Jouzeau
The museum posted signs reminding persons to social distance but the way the space was designed and the number of people left little chance for that.
Brief History of Norfolk as a Penal Settlement.
As noted previously Norfolk was settled to provide flax fibre rope, flax sails and tree masts from Norfolk Island pine trees and also because it was uninhabited. It was also an island paradise with rich volcanic soils. Its only major drawback was its isolation and its lack of a good harbour. Its history falls into several phases.
Phase One- 1788-1814. This phase was run along the same lines as the settlement of Sydney. Both men and women convicts were quartered here. The women were to work making flax rope and sails and the men were to do the building, road making, land clearing, agriculture and stone masonry work. Some free settlers came too. The settlement was centred on Kingston (then called Sydney) and nearby Arthur’s Vale (watermill valley.) By 1806 the population had reached over 1,000 people. Then for financial reasons- the cost of sending supply ships from Sydney to Norfolk was too great- the evacuation of the island was ordered. Convicts and other settlers were moved to Van Diemen’s Land- hence the settlements there of New Norfolk and Norfolk Plains (later Longford.)
Phase Two- 1825-1855. This time the island was run as a total penitentiary for the worse offenders. There would be no escape from Norfolk Island. Conditions were harsh, severe and degrading. It was a place of extreme punishment. The worst commandant was Captain Turton. During the period 1840-44 conditions were slightly better. Free settlers were not encouraged to settle during this second phase but a few of the best behaved convicts were allowed to work small farms across the island. Massive government expenditure on the penitentiary meant that fine sandstone Georgian buildings were erected and like Port Arthur in Tasmania many of them still remain. A large prison was built in the 1840s, and the prison required large military barracks, large stores and Commissariat stores, officer headquarters, a large hospital etc and good quality homes for the prison and military officers on the island. Kingston remained the administration and shipping centre of the island.
Phase Three – 1856-. In the third phase some of the original stone buildings were dismantled or left to go to ruins. Some were burnt down or the stone re-used for other structures. But the major feature of this period was the introduction of 194 Pitcairn Islanders in 1856. Norfolk remained isolated and largely forgotten. At one stage the Governor of NSW (the British Crown representative in charge of the island) ordered that the Pitcairn Islanders could no longer reside in the former penal settlement buildings in Kingston. This was in 1908 just before the Commonwealth government took charge. The resentment of this change led to fires and some beautiful buildings being destroyed. In 1893 Norfolk got a telegraph office and an underwater cable link to the world via Canada. Soon it had a cable link to New Zealand and a cable station opened at Anson Bay in 1902. Once it became a territory of the new Australian federal government conditions improved a little. Shipping came irregularly but during World War Two the Australian government built an airstrip for defence reasons. Flights continued after the War and now the main linkage between Norfolk and Australia is by air. The federal government has also put more money into other facilities on the island including the Botanic Gardens, and all the restoration work at Kingston etc.
Norfolk Island – an introduction.
By lunch time we will be settled into our accommodation on Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island is just five by eight kilometres and it was first discovered in 1774 by Captain James Cook on his second South Pacific voyage of exploration. Today the island is a territory of Australia, part of the Commonwealth but with a large degree of independence and self government. It is one of Australia’s eleven territories (Northern Territory; ACT; Jervis Bay; Christmas Island; Cocos Islands; Ashmore Islands; Coral Sea Islands; Antarctic Territories; Heard Island and Indian Ocean Islands.) Norfolk’s residents are not represented in the Australian parliament. It has its own stamps, flag governing body etc. The census of August 2011 recorded a population of 2,302 people. It has a constant influx of tourists as well with the island receiving about 12,000 visitors a year mainly from Australia.
The main population centres are in the middle of the island at Burnt Pine and Middlegate. The old convict settlement is on the coast at Kingston. The highest point is Mt Bates at 319 metres or 1,045 feet. Nearby by is Mt Pitt at just over 1,000 feet high and it is an old volcanic cone indicating the origins of Norfolk Island. Cook named it after the British Prime Minister William Pitt, Earl of Chatham and PM during the 1750s and again 1766-68. Norfolk Island is one of a series of volcanic islands on the top of the Lord Howe seamount or ridge which stretches from New Zealand to New Caledonia. The volcanic islands that emerge from the sea are New Zealand, Norfolk, Lord Howe and New Caledonia extending along a zone more than 1,600 kms in length. Near Norfolk the submarine trench is around 33,000 feet deep. Norfolk Island territory has two nearby uninhabited islands named Phillip and Nepean Islands and both are visible from Kingston. Approximately 10% of the island is a National Park centred round Mt Pitt and Mt Bates. There are 178 species of native plants on the island and 40 of these are unique to Norfolk. Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) is still abundant. It can reach a height of over 150 feet. It constitutes the emblem on the Norfolk Island flag. The other endemic tree, now widely grown as an ornamental in Australia is the Norfolk Island Hibiscus (Lagunaria patersonii). The island also grows the Norfolk Island palm, many ferns, and a native passionfruit. The island has no mammals or amphibians, and only a couple of reptiles - a skink and a gecko. The coral formations around the island teem with marine life and are home to many tropical fish, eels, octopus, starfish etc. The island provides a good habitat for many local and migratory birds including the wedge-tailed shearwater, (Puffinus pacificus) whose moaning calls echo around the island at night!
Norfolk Island was the second settlement of the Australian region following the arrival of the British and their convicts at Sydney Cove. Just six weeks after arrival at Sydney Cove in 1788 some 23 free settlers, 15 convicts, and commandant Lieutenant Phillip Parker King landed on Norfolk. Several hundred more convicts and settlers were sent from Sydney to Norfolk in 1790. It was 14 years later that the third Australian settlement was made in Van Diemen’s Land (1804) at Hobart. Norfolk started out as part of NSW and later became part of Van Diemen’s Land. But after the closure of the convict settlement by the British government in 1855 on Norfolk they set the island aside for the people from Pitcairn Island and many Norfolk residents still dispute Australia’s control of Norfolk Island as an Australian territory. Britain has never regarded Norfolk Island as a separate British colony.
The old school text book explanation for the settlement of Norfolk Island is largely true. The British government wanted to access the New Zealand flax plants growing on the island ( Phormium tenax.) The NZ flax was not native but archaeologists believe Polynesians, probably Maoris, introduced flax to Norfolk Island about 600 to 800 years ago. (They introduced the common rat at the same time!) As a naval empire Britain needed supplies of flax rope and flax sails for its sailing fleets. At the time of the settlement of Norfolk Island (1788) Britain obtained its wooden masts from Nova Scotia and its hemp and flax from Russia. Britain wanted new supplies of both masts and rope and sails as they feared the relationship with Russia would be terminated. Because of these concerns Norfolk Island was settled early in 1788 and many female convicts were sent to Norfolk Island so that they could weave and sew the flax and rope. When the second lot of convicts went to Norfolk in 1790 there were 150 females aboard the ship but only 30 male convicts. But by the early 1800s the authorities realised that the convict women would not be able to produce much rope or cloth. Only one ship ever left Norfolk with locally produced sails. Additionally, the tall, straight Norfolk Island pines proved unsuitable for ship masts as the wood was too soft and lacked strength. Thus the commercial justifications for settling Norfolk as a penal settlement diminished. But the origins of Norfolk are fascinating. One of the 1790 ships taking convicts to Norfolk, the former flagship of the First Fleet to Botany Bay was shipwrecked near Kingston whilst unloading supplies. Hundreds of artifacts have been retrieved from the wreck of the Sirius, including three anchors and two carronades which are displayed in the Norfolk Island Museum. The loss of the Sirius left Sydney settlement with just one supply ship normally used to obtain flour from Cape Town.
Norfolk Island – an introduction.
By lunch time we will be settled into our accommodation on Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island is just five by eight kilometres and it was first discovered in 1774 by Captain James Cook on his second South Pacific voyage of exploration. Today the island is a territory of Australia, part of the Commonwealth but with a large degree of independence and self government. It is one of Australia’s eleven territories (Northern Territory; ACT; Jervis Bay; Christmas Island; Cocos Islands; Ashmore Islands; Coral Sea Islands; Antarctic Territories; Heard Island and Indian Ocean Islands.) Norfolk’s residents are not represented in the Australian parliament. It has its own stamps, flag governing body etc. The census of August 2011 recorded a population of 2,302 people. It has a constant influx of tourists as well with the island receiving about 12,000 visitors a year mainly from Australia.
The main population centres are in the middle of the island at Burnt Pine and Middlegate. The old convict settlement is on the coast at Kingston. The highest point is Mt Bates at 319 metres or 1,045 feet. Nearby by is Mt Pitt at just over 1,000 feet high and it is an old volcanic cone indicating the origins of Norfolk Island. Cook named it after the British Prime Minister William Pitt, Earl of Chatham and PM during the 1750s and again 1766-68. Norfolk Island is one of a series of volcanic islands on the top of the Lord Howe seamount or ridge which stretches from New Zealand to New Caledonia. The volcanic islands that emerge from the sea are New Zealand, Norfolk, Lord Howe and New Caledonia extending along a zone more than 1,600 kms in length. Near Norfolk the submarine trench is around 33,000 feet deep. Norfolk Island territory has two nearby uninhabited islands named Phillip and Nepean Islands and both are visible from Kingston. Approximately 10% of the island is a National Park centred round Mt Pitt and Mt Bates. There are 178 species of native plants on the island and 40 of these are unique to Norfolk. Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) is still abundant. It can reach a height of over 150 feet. It constitutes the emblem on the Norfolk Island flag. The other endemic tree, now widely grown as an ornamental in Australia is the Norfolk Island Hibiscus (Lagunaria patersonii). The island also grows the Norfolk Island palm, many ferns, and a native passionfruit. The island has no mammals or amphibians, and only a couple of reptiles - a skink and a gecko. The coral formations around the island teem with marine life and are home to many tropical fish, eels, octopus, starfish etc. The island provides a good habitat for many local and migratory birds including the wedge-tailed shearwater, (Puffinus pacificus) whose moaning calls echo around the island at night!
Norfolk Island was the second settlement of the Australian region following the arrival of the British and their convicts at Sydney Cove. Just six weeks after arrival at Sydney Cove in 1788 some 23 free settlers, 15 convicts, and commandant Lieutenant Phillip Parker King landed on Norfolk. Several hundred more convicts and settlers were sent from Sydney to Norfolk in 1790. It was 14 years later that the third Australian settlement was made in Van Diemen’s Land (1804) at Hobart. Norfolk started out as part of NSW and later became part of Van Diemen’s Land. But after the closure of the convict settlement by the British government in 1855 on Norfolk they set the island aside for the people from Pitcairn Island and many Norfolk residents still dispute Australia’s control of Norfolk Island as an Australian territory. Britain has never regarded Norfolk Island as a separate British colony.
The old school text book explanation for the settlement of Norfolk Island is largely true. The British government wanted to access the New Zealand flax plants growing on the island ( Phormium tenax.) The NZ flax was not native but archaeologists believe Polynesians, probably Maoris, introduced flax to Norfolk Island about 600 to 800 years ago. (They introduced the common rat at the same time!) As a naval empire Britain needed supplies of flax rope and flax sails for its sailing fleets. At the time of the settlement of Norfolk Island (1788) Britain obtained its wooden masts from Nova Scotia and its hemp and flax from Russia. Britain wanted new supplies of both masts and rope and sails as they feared the relationship with Russia would be terminated. Because of these concerns Norfolk Island was settled early in 1788 and many female convicts were sent to Norfolk Island so that they could weave and sew the flax and rope. When the second lot of convicts went to Norfolk in 1790 there were 150 females aboard the ship but only 30 male convicts. But by the early 1800s the authorities realised that the convict women would not be able to produce much rope or cloth. Only one ship ever left Norfolk with locally produced sails. Additionally, the tall, straight Norfolk Island pines proved unsuitable for ship masts as the wood was too soft and lacked strength. Thus the commercial justifications for settling Norfolk as a penal settlement diminished. But the origins of Norfolk are fascinating. One of the 1790 ships taking convicts to Norfolk, the former flagship of the First Fleet to Botany Bay was shipwrecked near Kingston whilst unloading supplies. Hundreds of artifacts have been retrieved from the wreck of the Sirius, including three anchors and two carronades which are displayed in the Norfolk Island Museum. The loss of the Sirius left Sydney settlement with just one supply ship normally used to obtain flour from Cape Town.
Nepean Island is uninhabited and about 1 km off Norfolk. It was named in 1788 by Lieutenant Governor Phillip King after Evan Nepean who was then the Under Secretary of the English Home Department. The island is made of calcareous rock and it is a breeding site for many seabirds.
Phillip Island is 6 km off Norfolk. Lieutenant Governor King named it after the governor of NSW Arthur Phillip. Like Nepean Island it is all a national park. It covers 190 hectares (470 acres) and its highest point is 280 metres (920 feet.) The island is of volcanic origin, made of basaltic tuff and lava. Before Europeans arrived Phillip Island had some of its own plants such as a form of wattle/pea plant which is now extinct. The colonists introduced pigs, goats and rabbits to the island which destroyed the vegetation and caused major erosion problems. The pigs and goats were removed long ago but rabbits were not finally exterminated until 1988. A re-forestation and vegetation program is now under way on the island. This has included aerial seeding of Norfolk Island pine seeds. Despite the pest animals a couple of native gecko have survived on Phillip Island and it is also the breeding site for about 12 species of seabirds including: the Providence, White Necked and Kermadec Petrels; Wedge-tailed Shearwater; Australasian Gannet and Sooty Tern. In the 19the century the Sooty Tern was subjected to seasonal egg harvesting by Norfolk locals. The island is important as a breeding site of Grey Noddies (a type of tern or seagull) .
These two islands along with the Mt Pitt area make up the Norfolk Island National Park. The park is the only place in the world where the Norfolk Island Parakeet and the White-chested White-eye bird exists. The Norfolk Island Parakeet, a beautiful green bird as shown above, was down to only 4 breeding females and only 28-33 males in 1994 but its population has since rebounded to 200-300 birds. It is still a critically endangered species. The Norfolk White-eye is one of the rarest birds in the world and considered officially extinct by the Australian government since 2000. It is a small brown bird with a large white eye! Its demise is attributed to the introduction of the Silvereye bird from Australia which has taken over the habitat of the Norfolk White-eye. Rats also contributed to their decline by raiding the nests and eating the eggs. The Norfolk Island National Park was actually established in 1986 to try and save this rare bird. In 1978 only 4 birds were known to exist. One bird was sighted in 2000 and an amateur bird watch saw another in 2005. A major survey in 2009 failed to sight any.
Brief History of Norfolk as a Penal Settlement.
As noted previously Norfolk was settled to provide flax fibre rope, flax sails and tree masts from Norfolk Island pine trees and also because it was uninhabited. It was also an island paradise with rich volcanic soils. Its only major drawback was its isolation and its lack of a good harbour. Its history falls into several phases.
Phase One- 1788-1814. This phase was run along the same lines as the settlement of Sydney. Both men and women convicts were quartered here. The women were to work making flax rope and sails and the men were to do the building, road making, land clearing, agriculture and stone masonry work. Some free settlers came too. The settlement was centred on Kingston (then called Sydney) and nearby Arthur’s Vale (watermill valley.) By 1806 the population had reached over 1,000 people. Then for financial reasons- the cost of sending supply ships from Sydney to Norfolk was too great- the evacuation of the island was ordered. Convicts and other settlers were moved to Van Diemen’s Land- hence the settlements there of New Norfolk and Norfolk Plains (later Longford.)
Phase Two- 1825-1855. This time the island was run as a total penitentiary for the worse offenders. There would be no escape from Norfolk Island. Conditions were harsh, severe and degrading. It was a place of extreme punishment. The worst commandant was Captain Turton. During the period 1840-44 conditions were slightly better. Free settlers were not encouraged to settle during this second phase but a few of the best behaved convicts were allowed to work small farms across the island. Massive government expenditure on the penitentiary meant that fine sandstone Georgian buildings were erected and like Port Arthur in Tasmania many of them still remain. A large prison was built in the 1840s, and the prison required large military barracks, large stores and Commissariat stores, officer headquarters, a large hospital etc and good quality homes for the prison and military officers on the island. Kingston remained the administration and shipping centre of the island.
Phase Three – 1856-. In the third phase some of the original stone buildings were dismantled or left to go to ruins. Some were burnt down or the stone re-used for other structures. But the major feature of this period was the introduction of 194 Pitcairn Islanders in 1856. Norfolk remained isolated and largely forgotten. At one stage the Governor of NSW (the British Crown representative in charge of the island) ordered that the Pitcairn Islanders could no longer reside in the former penal settlement buildings in Kingston. This was in 1908 just before the Commonwealth government took charge. The resentment of this change led to fires and some beautiful buildings being destroyed. In 1893 Norfolk got a telegraph office and an underwater cable link to the world via Canada. Soon it had a cable link to New Zealand and a cable station opened at Anson Bay in 1902. Once it became a territory of the new Australian federal government conditions improved a little. Shipping came irregularly but during World War Two the Australian government built an airstrip for defence reasons. Flights continued after the War and now the main linkage between Norfolk and Australia is by air. The federal government has also put more money into other facilities on the island including the Botanic Gardens, and all the restoration work at Kingston etc.
On the northwest side of the lake lies part of the fallen Obelisk of Hatshepsut, which shows its crowning.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Amiens (currently Jean-Luc Bouilleret). It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in the administrative capital of the Picardy region of France, some 120 km north of Paris.
The cathedral is the tallest complete cathedral in France, its stone-vaulted nave reaching a height of 42.30 metres (138.8 ft) (surpassed only by the incomplete Beauvais Cathedral). It also has the greatest interior volume of any French cathedral, estimated at 200,000 cubic metres (260,000 cu yd). The cathedral was built between 1220 and c.1270 and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.[5] Although it has lost most of its original stained glass, Amiens Cathedral is renowned for the quality and quantity of early 13th century Gothic sculpture in the main west facade and the south transept portal, and a large quantity of polychrome sculpture from later periods inside the building.
During the process of laser cleaning in the 1990s, it was discovered that the western façade of the cathedral was originally painted in multiple colours. A technique was perfected to determine the exact make-up of the colours as they were applied in the 13th century. Then, in conjunction with the laboratories of EDF (Electricity of France) and the expertise of the Society Skertzo, elaborate lighting techniques were developed to project these colours directly on the façade with precision, recreating the polychromatic appearance of the 13th century. When projected on the statues around the portals, the result is a stunning display that brings the figures to life. The projected colors are faint to photograph, but a good quality DSLR will provide excellent results as shown here.
Of course, the full magical effect can best be appreciated by direct viewing, accompanied by stirring music, which can be done at the Son et lumière on Summer evenings, during the Christmas Fair, and over the New Year.
(Source Wikipedia)
The exhibit was created at L’Atelier des Lumières in Paris a much larger space were it seemed to work very well. The constrains of the space at the Dalà made for a much less satisfying experience.
Brief History of Mutiny of the Bounty and the Pitcairn Islanders on Norfolk.
It all began with the ship the Bounty setting out for Tahiti in 1787 to collect breadfruits and observe a transit of Venus. During the voyage out Captain William Bligh demoted the sailing master John Fryer and replaced him with Fletcher Christian beginning ill feeling between the crew. But their five month stay in Tahiti cheered the men up. They lived on shore, cohabitated with Tahitian women and got their bodies tattooed in the Tahitian style. The chiefs encouraged the crew to stay in Tahiti with their women. Bligh administered frequent floggings and castigated Fletcher Christian for not controlling the men better. The men did not want to leave but they did in April 1789. Near Tonga the crew mutinied led by Fletcher Christian and set Bligh and 18 men adrift in a small open boat. Amazingly Bligh and his men reached Timor still alive some 47 days later. The mutineers returned to Tahiti. The British Navy sent the SS Pandora out to Tahiti to find the mutineers in 1790. Fourteen of the original mutineers were taken on board the Pandora and it set sail for England, before being shipwrecked on the Great Barrier Reef. Like Bligh, these men and the captain of the Pandora sailed on to Timor in small boats.
Meantime Fletcher Christian and 9 other Europeans and 26 Tahitians and some children set sail in the Bounty for a safe haven in 1790. They eventually found Pitcairn Island and made it their home. Some of these mutineers in turn mutineer against Fletcher Christian and returned to Tahiti in 1794. The Tahitians killed Fletcher Christian and some of the other original British mutineers. It was 1808 before the remaining community of Pitcairn Islanders was found by the British Navy after an American ship visited the island previously. No action was taken by the British government and in 1825 the mutineers were granted amnesty. By then only 66 Pitcairn Islanders lived there but their water supply was low and they were short of food sources. They asked to be moved to Australia but this did not happen. Because they were facing famine some moved back to Tahiti in 1831 but many died of disease there and so some returned to Pitcairn in the same year. By 1848 Pitcairn population had reached 100 and just two years later it had reached 156 people. The island could not sustain that number and so in 1856 the Pitcairn Islanders were moved to the newly uninhabited island of Norfolk. Each family was given 50 acres of freehold land. The main family names of those who moved to Norfolk are Christian; Adams; Quintal; McCoy; Nobbs; Buffett.
But the Pitcairn Islander story did not finish there. Some were so homesick that a few returned in 1858 to Pitcairn and some more in 1864. These families still reside on Pitcairn Island which is a British colony. Back on Norfolk the Pitcairn Islanders were left very much to their own devices. Most of the island remained Crown land, under direct control of the Governor of NSW. Once the Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 Norfolk by act of parliament became a federal territory administered by the federal government. Several more acts of have been passed in the last fifty years and the island now has much autonomy but despite the grievances of some Pitcairn Islanders it has always been a territory of Australia. After a long review which ended in 2006 it was decided that there would be no more self government changes and the islanders on Norfolk would pay income taxes for the first time. Norfolk has its own Legislative Assembly with 17 elected members. They elect a Speaker of their house and the head of the government is the Chief Minister as in other Australian territories. The Administrator is the equivalent of a state governor and chairs Executive Council just as state governors do. Australian laws apply in Norfolk. In June 2012 the government of Norfolk was forced to seek financial support from the Commonwealth as they have basically run out of money.
Brief History of Norfolk as a Penal Settlement.
As noted previously Norfolk was settled to provide flax fibre rope, flax sails and tree masts from Norfolk Island pine trees and also because it was uninhabited. It was also an island paradise with rich volcanic soils. Its only major drawback was its isolation and its lack of a good harbour. Its history falls into several phases.
Phase One- 1788-1814. This phase was run along the same lines as the settlement of Sydney. Both men and women convicts were quartered here. The women were to work making flax rope and sails and the men were to do the building, road making, land clearing, agriculture and stone masonry work. Some free settlers came too. The settlement was centred on Kingston (then called Sydney) and nearby Arthur’s Vale (watermill valley.) By 1806 the population had reached over 1,000 people. Then for financial reasons- the cost of sending supply ships from Sydney to Norfolk was too great- the evacuation of the island was ordered. Convicts and other settlers were moved to Van Diemen’s Land- hence the settlements there of New Norfolk and Norfolk Plains (later Longford.)
Phase Two- 1825-1855. This time the island was run as a total penitentiary for the worse offenders. There would be no escape from Norfolk Island. Conditions were harsh, severe and degrading. It was a place of extreme punishment. The worst commandant was Captain Turton. During the period 1840-44 conditions were slightly better. Free settlers were not encouraged to settle during this second phase but a few of the best behaved convicts were allowed to work small farms across the island. Massive government expenditure on the penitentiary meant that fine sandstone Georgian buildings were erected and like Port Arthur in Tasmania many of them still remain. A large prison was built in the 1840s, and the prison required large military barracks, large stores and Commissariat stores, officer headquarters, a large hospital etc and good quality homes for the prison and military officers on the island. Kingston remained the administration and shipping centre of the island.
Phase Three – 1856-. In the third phase some of the original stone buildings were dismantled or left to go to ruins. Some were burnt down or the stone re-used for other structures. But the major feature of this period was the introduction of 194 Pitcairn Islanders in 1856. Norfolk remained isolated and largely forgotten. At one stage the Governor of NSW (the British Crown representative in charge of the island) ordered that the Pitcairn Islanders could no longer reside in the former penal settlement buildings in Kingston. This was in 1908 just before the Commonwealth government took charge. The resentment of this change led to fires and some beautiful buildings being destroyed. In 1893 Norfolk got a telegraph office and an underwater cable link to the world via Canada. Soon it had a cable link to New Zealand and a cable station opened at Anson Bay in 1902. Once it became a territory of the new Australian federal government conditions improved a little. Shipping came irregularly but during World War Two the Australian government built an airstrip for defence reasons. Flights continued after the War and now the main linkage between Norfolk and Australia is by air. The federal government has also put more money into other facilities on the island including the Botanic Gardens, and all the restoration work at Kingston etc.