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This used to be the office of the Communication Workers Union but it has now been repurposed as accommodation.
This accommodation at Shad Thames in London, near Tower Bridge. These are the water side view of Java wharf and Jamaica wharf.
Excellent Double Bay Hotel accommodation in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. The Savoy Hotel is in Knox Street, the heart of Double Bay Sydney. We are a small, tranquil oasis and the best value small hotel in Sydney.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History
Germany
NameCap Arcona
NamesakeCape Arkona
OperatorHamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft
RouteHamburg – Buenos Aires
BuilderBlohm+Voss, Hamburg[1]
Yard number476
Laid down21 July 1926
Launched14 May 1927[1]
Maiden voyage29 October 1927
HomeportHamburg
Identification
Until 1933: code letters RGLP
ICS Romeo.svgICS Golf.svgICS Lima.svgICS Papa.svg
From 1934: call sign DHDL
ICS Delta.svgICS Hotel.svgICS Delta.svgICS Lima.svg
Nickname(s)
Queen of the South Atlantic
The Floating Palace
FateRequisitioned for the Kriegsmarine in 1940
Nazi Germany
NameCap Arcona
OperatorKriegsmarine
Acquired29 November 1940[1]
Out of service1940 – 14 April 1945
FateSunk by air attack on 3 May 1945. Wreck dismantled in 1949.
General characteristics [1]
TypeOcean liner
Tonnage
27,561 GRT[1]
tonnage under deck 17,665
15,011 NRT
Length206.90 m (678 ft 10 in) overall[1]
Beam25.78 m (84 ft 7 in)[1]
Draught8.67 m (28 ft 5 in)[1]
Depth14.30 m (46 ft 11 in)[1]
Decks5[1]
Installed power23,672 shp (17,652 kW)[1]
Propulsioneight steam turbines, two propellers[1]
SpeedService: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)[1][note 1]
Range11,110 nmi (20,580 km; 12,790 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)[1]
Boats & landing
craft carried26 lifeboats
Capacity
From 1927: 575 1st class, 275 2nd class, 465 in dormitories; total 1,315
From 1937: total 850
Crew475 [1]
Sensors and
processing systems
By 1930: submarine signalling, wireless direction finding
From 1934: as before plus echo sounding device, gyrocompass
SS Cap Arcona, named after Cape Arkona on the island of Rügen, was a large German ocean liner, later a ship of the German Navy, and finally a prison ship. A flagship of the Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft ("Hamburg-South America Line"), she made her maiden voyage on 29 October 1927, carrying passengers and cargo between Germany and the east coast of South America, and in her time was the largest and quickest ship on the route.[2]
In 1940 the Kriegsmarine requisitioned Cap Arcona as an accommodation ship. In 1942 she served as the set for the German propaganda feature film Titanic. In 1945 she evacuated almost 26,000 German civilian refugees from East Prussia before the advance of the Red Army.
Cap Arcona's final use was as a prison ship. In May 1945 she was heavily laden with prisoners from Nazi concentration camps when the Royal Air Force bombed her, killing about 5,000 people; with more than 2,000 further casualties in the sinkings of the accompanying vessels of the prison fleet, Deutschland and Thielbek. This was one of the largest single-incident maritime losses of life in the Second World War.
Building and equipment
Blohm+Voss in Hamburg built Cap Arcona, launching and completing her in 1927. She was 27,561 GRT, 205.90 m (675 ft 6 in) overall and a beam of 25.78 m (84 ft 7 in).[1]
She was driven by eight steam turbines, single-reduction geared to two propeller shafts.[3] She had three funnels, and her passenger comforts included a full-size tennis court abaft her third funnel.[2] The ship had at least 26 lifeboats, most of which were mounted in two tiers (see image).
Cap Arcona had modern navigation and communication equipment. She was equipped for submarine signalling which allowed a ship to hear acoustic signals from aids to navigation. She also had wireless direction finding equipment,[3] and from 1934 she had an echo sounding device and a gyrocompass.[4]
Plans of Cap Arcona.
Plans of Cap Arcona.
Launching of German ocean liner Cap Arcona, 14 May 1927.
Launching of German ocean liner Cap Arcona, 14 May 1927.
Scale model of Cap Arcona.
Scale model of Cap Arcona.
Peacetime service
Cap Arcona entered service in 1927, commencing her maiden voyage on Hamburg Süd's route to Buenos Aires 29 October. She joined the older liner Cap Polonio on the route, which had been Hamburg Süd's flagship until Cap Arcona's completion. Cap Polonio was laid up in 1931 and scrapped in 1935,[5] leaving Cap Arcona as Hamburg Süd's sole prestige ship on its South American route.
On 6 October 1932 Cap Arcona collided with the French cargo ship Agen in the North Sea off the Elbe 4 Lightship. Agen was beached, but later was refloated and escorted into Hamburg, Germany.[6]
Accommodation ship
In 1940 the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) requisitioned Cap Arcona, had her painted overall grey and used her in the Baltic Sea as an accommodation ship in Gotenhafen (now Gdynia).
In 1942 Cap Arcona was used as a stand-in for RMS Titanic, supplying exterior locations for the filming of the Nazi film version of the disaster in the harbour of Gotenhafen.[7][8] The production was completed, although the first director, Herbert Selpin, was arrested for disparaging remarks he made about Kriegsmarine sailors. His later self-destructive interrogation at the hands of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels all but sealed his fate. He was found the next day hanged in his cell by his suspenders.
Evacuation of East Prussia
On 31 January 1945, the Kriegsmarine reactivated her for Operation Hannibal, where she was used to transport 25,795 German soldiers and civilians from East Prussia to safer areas in western Germany.[9][10] By now these trips were made very dangerous by mines and Soviet Navy submarines. On 30 January Wilhelm Gustloff, carrying around 10,000 passengers and crew, was torpedoed by the Soviet submarine S-13 and sank in 40 minutes. An estimated 9,400 people died. Early on the morning of 11 February, the same submarine torpedoed the 14,666 GRT General von Steuben on its way to Copenhagen with wounded and bed-ridden soldiers and civilian passengers, killing over 4,000 people. On 20 February, Cap Arcona's captain, Johannes Gertz, shot himself in his cabin while berthed in Copenhagen rather than face another trip back to Gotenhafen.[11]
On 30 March 1945, Cap Arcona finished her third and last trip between Gdynia and Copenhagen, carrying 9,000 soldiers and refugees. However, her turbines were completely worn out. They could only be partially repaired and her days of long-distance travel were over. She was decommissioned, returned to her owners Hamburg-Süd and ordered out of Copenhagen Harbour to Neustadt Bay.[12]
Prison ship and sinking
During March and April 1945, concentration camp prisoners from Scandinavian countries had been transported from all over the Reich to the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg, in the White Bus programme co-ordinated through the Swedish Red Cross – with prisoners of other nationalities displaced to make room for them. Eventually Heinrich Himmler agreed that these Scandinavians, and selected others regarded as less harmful to Germany, could be transported through Denmark to freedom in Sweden. Then between 16 and 28 April 1945, Neuengamme was systematically emptied of all its remaining prisoners, together with other groups of concentration camp inmates and Soviet POWs; with the intention that they would be relocated to a secret new camp, either on the Baltic island of Fehmarn; or at Mysen in Norway where preparations were put in hand to house them under the control of concentration camp guards evacuated from Sachsenhausen.[13] In the interim, they were to be concealed from the advancing British and Canadian forces; and for this purpose the SS assembled a prison flotilla of decommissioned ships in the Bay of Lübeck, consisting of the liners Cap Arcona and Deutschland, the freighter Thielbek, and the motor launch Athen [de]. Since the steering motors were out of use in Thielbek and the turbines were out of use in Cap Arcona, Athen was used to transfer prisoners from Lübeck to the larger ships and between ships;[14] they were locked below decks and in the holds, and denied food and medical attention[citation needed].
On 30 April 1945 the two Swedish ships Magdalena and Lillie Matthiessen, previously employed as support vessels for the White Bus evacuations, made a final rescue trip to Lübeck and back. Amongst the prisoners rescued were some transferred from the prison flotilla. On the evening of 2 May 1945 more prisoners, mainly women and children from the Stutthof and Mittelbau-Dora camps were loaded onto barges and brought out to the anchored vessels; although, as the Cap Arcona refused to accept any more prisoners, over eight hundred were returned to the beach at Neustadt in the morning of 3 May, where around five hundred were killed in their barges by machine-gunning, or beaten to death on the beach, their SS guards then seeking to make their escape unencumbered.[15][16]
The order to transfer the prisoners to the prison ships had come from Gauleiter Karl Kaufmann in Hamburg. Marc Buggeln has challenged Kaufmann's subsequent claim that he had been acting on orders from SS Headquarters in Berlin, arguing that the decision in fact resulted from political and business pressures from leading industrialists in Hamburg, who were already at this stage plotting with Kaufmann to hand the city over to British forces undefended and unharmed, and who consequently wished to whitewash away (literally so in the case of the Neuengamme concentration camp)[13] all evidence for the prisoners' former presence within the city and its industries.[17]
By early May however, any relocation plans had been scotched by the rapid British military advance to the Baltic; so the SS leadership, which had moved to Flensburg on 28 April,[13] discussed scuttling the ships with the prisoners still aboard.[15][18] Later, at a war crimes tribunal, Kaufmann claimed that the prisoners were intended to be sent to Sweden although, as none of the ships carried Red Cross hospital markings, nor were they seaworthy, this was scarcely credible.[15] Georg-Henning Graf von Bassewitz-Behr, Hamburg's last Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF), testified at the same trial that the prisoners were in fact to be killed "in compliance with Himmler's orders".[19] Kurt Rickert, who had worked for Bassewitz-Behr, testified at the Hamburg War Crimes Trial that he believed the ships were to be sunk by U-boats or Luftwaffe aircraft.[20] Eva Neurath, who was present in Neustadt, and whose husband survived the disaster, said she was told by a police officer that the ships held convicts and were going to be blown up.[21]
On 2 May 1945, the British Second Army discovered the empty camp at Neuengamme, and reached the towns of Lübeck and Wismar. No. 6 Commando, 1st Special Service Brigade commanded by Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts, and 11th Armoured Division, commanded by Major-General Philip Roberts, entered Lübeck without resistance. Lübeck contained a permanent Red Cross office in its function as a Red Cross port, and Mr. De Blonay of the International Committee of the Red Cross informed Major-General Roberts that 7,000–8,000 prisoners were aboard ships in the Bay of Lübeck.[22][23] In the afternoon of 3 May 1945, the British 5th reconnaissance regiment advanced northwards to Neustadt, witnessing the ships burning in the bay and rescuing some severely emaciated prisoners on the beach at Neustadt, but otherwise finding mostly the bodies of women and children who had died that morning.[24]
Typhoon armed with 60lb RP-3 rockets and cannon.
Typhoon armed with 60lb RP-3 rockets and cannon.
Bay of Lübeck, 3 kilometres (2 mi) from Neustadt in Holstein (left at the top): position of the sinking of Cap Arcona.[25]
Bay of Lübeck, 3 kilometres (2 mi) from Neustadt in Holstein (left at the top): position of the sinking of Cap Arcona.[25]
Bay of Lübeck : positions of Cap Arcona, Thielbek, and Deutschland.
Bay of Lübeck : positions of Cap Arcona, Thielbek, and Deutschland.
Cap Arcona burning shortly after the attacks.
Cap Arcona burning shortly after the attacks.
USAAF North American F-6A Mustang (reconnaissance version of P-51D Mustang
USAAF North American F-6A Mustang (reconnaissance version of P-51D Mustang
Locations
Cap Arcona: 54°3.9′N 10°50.45′E
Thielbek: 54°4.3′N 10°50.40′E
Deutschland: 54°7.5′N 10°48.25′E
Athen
Elmenhorst
Sinking
On 3 May 1945, three days after Hitler's suicide and only one day before the unconditional surrender of the German troops in northwestern Germany at Lüneburg Heath to Field Marshal Montgomery, Cap Arcona, Thielbek, and the passenger liner Deutschland were attacked as part of general strikes on shipping in the Baltic Sea by Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawker Typhoons of 83 Group of the 2nd Tactical Air Force. Through Ultra Intelligence, the Western Allies had become aware that most of the SS leadership and former concentration camp commandants had gathered with Heinrich Himmler in Flensburg, hoping to contrive an escape to Norway.[13][26] The western allies had intercepted orders from the rump Dönitz government, also at Flensburg, that the SS leadership were to be facilitated in escaping Allied capture – or otherwise issued with false naval uniforms to conceal their identities[27] – as Dönitz sought, while surrendering, to maintain the fiction that his administration had been free from involvement in the camps, or in Hitler's policies of genocide.[28]
The aircraft were from No. 184 Squadron, No. 193 Squadron, No. 263 Squadron, No. 197 Squadron RAF, and No. 198 Squadron. Besides four 20 mm cannon, these Hawker Typhoon Mark 1B fighter-bombers carried either eight HE "60-lb" RP-3 unguided rockets or two 500 lb (230 kg) bombs.
None of the prison flotilla were Red Cross marked (although the Deutschland had previously been intended as a hospital ship, and retained one white painted funnel with a red cross), and all prisoners were concealed below deck, so the pilots in the attacking force were unaware that they were laden with concentration camp survivors. Although Swedish and Swiss Red Cross officials had informed British intelligence on 2 May 1945 of the presence of large numbers of prisoners on ships at anchor in Lübeck Bay, this vital information was not passed on.[note 2] The RAF commanders ordering the strike believed that a flotilla of ships was being prepared in Lübeck Bay, to accommodate leading SS personnel fleeing to German-controlled Norway in accordance with Dönitz's orders.[29][30] "The ships are gathering in the area of Lübeck and Kiel. At SHAEF it is believed that important Nazis who have escaped from Berlin to Flensburg are onboard, and are fleeing to Norway or neutral countries".[15]
Equipped with lifejackets from locked storage compartments, most of the SS guards managed to jump overboard from Cap Arcona. German trawlers sent to rescue Cap Arcona's crew members and guards managed to save 16 sailors, 400 SS men, and 20 SS women. Only 350 of the 5,000 former concentration camp inmates aboard Cap Arcona survived.[19] From 2,800 prisoners on board the Thielbek only 50 were saved; whereas all 2,000 prisoners on the Deutschland were safely taken off onto the Athen, before the Deutschland capsized.[31]
RAF Pilot Allan Wyse of No. 193 Squadron recalled, "We used our cannon fire at the chaps in the water... we shot them up with 20 mm cannons in the water. Horrible thing, but we were told to do it and we did it. That's war."[32]
Severely damaged and set on fire, Cap Arcona eventually capsized. Photos of the burning ships, listed as Deutschland, Thielbek, and Cap Arcona, and of the emaciated survivors swimming in the very cold Baltic Sea, around 7 °C (45 °F), were taken on a reconnaissance mission over the Bay of Lübeck by F-6 Mustang (the photo-reconnaissance version of the P-51) of the USAAF's 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron around 1700 hrs, shortly after the attack.[33]
On 4 May 1945, a British reconnaissance plane took photos of the two wrecks, Thielbek and Cap Arcona,[34] the Bay of Neustadt being shallow. The capsized hulk of Cap Arcona later drifted ashore, and the beached wreck was finally broken up in 1949. For weeks after the attack, bodies of victims washed ashore, where they were collected and buried in mass graves at Neustadt in Holstein, Scharbeutz and Timmendorfer Strand.[35] Parts of skeletons washed ashore over the next 30 years, with the last find in 1971.[36]
The prisoners aboard the ships were of at least 30 nationalities: American, Belarusian, Belgian, Canadian, Czechoslovakian, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourger, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swiss, Ukrainian, and possibly others.[36]
Notable survivors
Francis Akos (1922–2016), born Weinman Akos Ferencz in Budapest, Hungary; Chicago Symphony Orchestra violinist
Heinrich Bertram (1897–1956), captain of Cap Arcona[37]
Emil František Burian (1904–1959), musician and theatrical director, founder of Theatre D, a leading avant-garde theatre in inter-war Europe
Erwin Geschonneck (1906–2008), who later became a notable German actor, and whose story was made into a film in 1982[38]
Ernst Goldenbaum (1898–1990), East German politician
Benjamin Jacobs (1919–2004) born Berek Jakubowicz in Dobra, Poland; dentist, Holocaust speaker and author[39]
Philip Jackson (1928–2016), son of an American surgeon, Sumner Jackson, killed in the attacks[40]
Hans van Ketwich Verschuur (1905–1995), Dutch Red Cross and Scouting official.
Heinz Lord (1917–1961), German-American surgeon
André Migdal (1924–2007), French resistant, Holocaust speaker and author, poet, survivor of Athen[41]
Sam Pivnik (1926–2017), art dealer and lecturer on The Holocaust[42]
Josef Štěrba (1905–1977), Czech politician
Gustaaf Van Essche (1923–1979), Belgian politician[43]
The Monastery of the Annunciation, commonly known as the Evangelistria Monastery, is a monastery dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary which sits on a hillside some 4 km north of Skiathos town on the Greek island of Skiathos. Although some buildings are ruined, the church and accommodation buildings have been restored.
The monastery was founded in 1794 by a group of Kollyvades monks, who had left the monastery of Mount Athos after disagreements about matters of Christian ritual. They were led by an ordained monk, Niphon of Chios, and included Gregorios Hatzistamatis, a local monk who had inherited land on Skiathos from his father.
Today, the monastery is served by only four resident monks; three others associated with the monastery reside elsewhere. On 15 August each year the ceremony of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary takes place.
The museum houses ecclesiastical artefacts and presents information on the history of the Monastery such as priests' vestments, rare books and manuscripts from the 17th century, gospels from the 18th century, silver and wooden crosses and Byzantine icons. The loom on which the first Greek flag was created can be seen. There is also a photographic record of the subsequent Greek War of Independence, which lasted from 1821 until 1829.
Thanks for the comments.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.
©VR Danduprolu: All rights reserved.
Details of the rock art station 'Vente Bourbon 3' found by D. Caldwell around 2014 (published 2015) - one of many important new and pristine stations found in the forest of Fontainebleau.
From the remains of the homo erectus Terra Amata abris/tent in Nice up into the medieval ages: proto abris-tent to frame tent - portable hut. Covered in raw hide, greased leather or woven material, a tent can be packed away and re-positioned at speed and without the unknowns that come with the need to look for thatch.
Both post 'transport dragon' and aside, the tent that is today referred to as a Canadian tent (triangular with poles) is in truth from a wide geographical range. Simple triangular tents with either vertical poles, possibly with a ridgepole or even side frames, were regularly documented from early medieval finds and manuscripts. Nordic and Viking finds offer further details and the simple form will have ornamented through into prehistory.
Square box tents and tents with central poles simply add to the range of imaginative solutions each with a pro and a con.
Whilst there is little in the schematic rock art lines to strongly suggest tents, the interpretation of the adjacent schematic stage (see below) seems to be, in my mind, solid. A stage suggests other activities of rite or festivity, and one by one interpretations for other glyphs are suggested (see asociated posts below). Festivities were often on rises or fields aside villages. Temporary tent villages for persons following flocks or logging, or temporary festive sites drawn towards lyrical and 'meaningful' monoliths, or clandestine celebrations behind the backs of authoritarian clergy - these are all potential narratives.
The small scale of the 'glyphs' might suggest a date where the influence of writing and runes is apparent, which may suggest a date between the iron age and the early medieval. Late neolithic, chalcolithic and bronze age dates cannot be excluded, but weathering rates on the fine sandstone edges needs to be found. To respect a wide calibration, I have tried to draw the tents in a way that might evoke both leather or woven material.
There are some words that say everything and nothing: 'it', 'truc', 'thing'... An equivalent in rock art would be a mark that signifies something, with the context assigning the final definition. In the context of a stage and a tent, a 'dot' may be a person, in the context of a boundary line with an image of oxen pulling a plough, the same dot may be a 'seed'. Today people do not like to be refereed to as an 'it', or worse still, a 'thing' - but t can happen.
If dots are people in tents, then there is one tent that has a dot with a tail. The same 'tent' also has lines or 'streamers' attached. If the general scene is a proto or historical schematic visualisation of a festival (May day or Solstice) then there should be a tent that holds the 'May Queen' or other persons of significance. Going to see the 'May Queen' may be the line to the 'dot' and the lines of decoration may be either from the tent down to the ground, or as decorative lines of significance and ornamentation on the ground surface itself. This tent may also be aside a path into the site (see the two lines to the right of the said triangle), and an alternative explanation might be that people are verified at this tent before entering the festivities - and here the lines may even be projected queues of people.
AJM 04.02.20
The construction of a new fire station to replace Gipton and Stanks fire stations and removal of 24 fulltime posts from the establishment by way of planned retirements.
Key Points:
Gipton is classed as a very high risk area and Stanks as medium risk area.
Stanks fire station is poorly located at the outer edge of the local community and access/egress from the site is problematic.
In the 5 year period between 2004/5 and 2009/10 operational demand in these areas reduced by 28% (there has been a reduction of 61% of serious fires) . 2
WYFRS has piloted a new type of vehicle (Fire Response Unit) to deal with smaller fires and incidents to free up fire appliances to respond to more serious emergencies.
The pilot has been successful and it is believed that a District based Fire Response Unit will handle in the region of 3,000 calls per year.
The new fire station would have lower running costs.
The two Killingbeck fire appliances would be supplemented by a Resilience Pump for use during spate conditions.
Targeted community safety and risk reduction work would continue.
1. Foreword
1.1 This proposal forms one of a number of similar initiatives developed by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) as part of its plans for the future provision of a highly effective and professional Fire and Rescue Service.
1.2 Each proposal is based on sound and comprehensive research, using real data from past performance and predictions of future demand and risk. Multiple sources of analysis have been used, allied to professional judgment and experience, to form the basis of robust business cases for change. The proposals are also reflective of the significant improvements in fire and community safety achieved over the past 10 years and represents a return on the investment made by the Authority on behalf of the public of West Yorkshire.
1.3 The proposals also incorporate a number of new and innovative approaches to addressing the challenge of maintaining high standards of performance for an emergency response service, within ever tightening financial constraints. The proposals have been developed as a package of inter related initiatives, representing major capital investment in local communities, whilst at the same time delivering annual recurring savings.
2. Introduction
2.1. Gipton fire station was constructed in 1937; it provides the initial emergency response cover for the residential and commercial areas of Gipton, Harehills, Burmantofts, Killingbeck, Halton Moor and Oakwood.
The fire station area covers approximately 8.45 square miles.
There is a population of 75,316.
There are approximately 2015 commercial properties within the area.
2.2. Stanks fire station was constructed 1973; it provides the initial emergency response cover for the mainly residential locations of Whinmoor, Swarcliffe, Whitkirk, Colton, Halton, Crossgates, Scarcroft, North Seacroft, Wellington Hill, Manston, Barwick-in-Elmet, Scholes and Thorner.
The station area covers approximately 14.39 square miles
There is a population of 42,452
There are approximately 663 commercial properties within the area.
2.3. Gipton has been classified as a very high risk area using the WYFRS Risk Matrix methodology. During 2009/10 there were 2196 operational incidents within this area including 86 dwelling fires and 33 Road Traffic Collisions. Stanks fire station area has been classified as medium risk and during the same period there were 688 operational incidents in the area including 34 dwelling fires and 12 Road Traffic Collisions. 1
2.4. Three fire appliances currently provide the initial fire and rescue coverage for Gipton and Stanks and are constantly crewed by 60 whole-time firefighters. The operational demand in these areas has reduced by 28% between 2004/5 and 2009/10 (there has been a reduction of 61% of serious fires) yet the provision of operational resources has remained the same over this period of time. 24
3. Community Impact Assessment
3.1. The following statement is taken from the 2011-2015 Community Risk Management Strategy and emphasises our commitment to deliver an efficient economic and effective range of services, “Every area within WYFRS will be considered in order to provide a better service at reduced cost”.
3.2. To enable WYFRS to deliver against this commitment a wide range of analysis and modelling tools have been used to determine the current and predicted levels of service delivery, together with their associated costs. These tools have also been used to undertake four separate impact assessments in regard to WYFRS proposals which will seek to:
Identify options which minimise reductions in service delivery standards and where there is scope for service delivery improvement.
Develop measures that will mitigate any negative impact upon service delivery and where possible maximise opportunities to achieve improvements.
3.3. WYFRS has developed a risk matrix which allocates a separate score/rating for hazards within communities. It is possible to use this risk rating in conjunction with the costs for providing services to each fire station to compare the cost of fire and rescue cover for each area. Gipton is one of the more cost effective stations in West Yorkshire but Stanks is almost 50% more expensive proportionate to the risk. 6
3.4. For most parts of the day the operational demand on resources based at the new station will be comparable to those of equally resourced fire stations. Figure 1 compares the predicted average operational activity levels for the new station with those of two other fire stations provided with two appliances. It indicates that although operational activity levels are generally comparable they are slightly higher during the evening hours due to the occurrence of smaller nuisance fires. 7
3.5. A Fire Response Unit has been piloted in Leeds District; this unit will attend small fires, car fires and certain fire alarms. These types of incident occur frequently in the East Leeds area. Figure 2 shows the level of activity in the new fire station area with the incidents the Fire response Unit attends taken out of the activity levels. The benefit of the Fire Response Unit can clearly be seen. The activity levels for the new station have been reduced considerably compared to other stations; it also shows that the new station will be less operationally active during the evening than the other local stations.
3.6. The new station in East Leeds will have a comparable level of activity to other fire stations provided with two appliances. 7
Figure 2 - Activity Timeline of Incidents Excluding Secondary Fires and Some False Alarms
Site Locations
3.7. An extensive review of emergency response cover has recently been completed and this has included the use of evaluation tools alongside local knowledge and professional judgment to identify optimum locations to build new WYFRS fire stations.
3.8. A site search mapping system has identified a number of appropriate areas across the County to build new fire stations and a number of sites have been identified within these areas which would provide the best solutions. A new fire station site must first be available for purchase and also provide access to road networks, it must not be located within flood plains and it must meet local planning permission requirements.
3.9. Analysis has been undertaken using the Fire Service Emergency Cover (FSEC – see also para 3.15) toolkit, together with the Phoenix/Active resource modelling toolkit.
3.10. The optimum area for a fire station between Gipton and Stanks has been identified as being situated on the A64 in the vicinity of Killingbeck police station. This proposed site is approximately 1.6 miles from Gipton Approach and 2.2 miles from Sherburn Road. The presence of a large site owned by West Yorkshire Police at this location may also present some potential to co-locate resources.
Determining where resources should be located
3.11. Independent research has assisted WYFRS to determine the potential impact that the implementation of each proposal would have on fire appliance attendance times to operational incidents. A simulation model has been used to identify the performance impact of moving resources to the new fire station. This modelling measures how the location of a new fire station would have performed if it had been in existence and responded to the actual incidents that did occurred in this area between 2007/8 and 2009/10. 4
3.12. Models have been run for locating a two fire appliances at Gipton and closing Stanks, and then run again for locating a two fire appliances at Stanks and closing Gipton, both these options provide a significantly lower level of response performance than would be achieved by locating
3.13. The proposals has a small reduction in performance in fire appliance attendance times against the Risk based Planning Assumptions for all incidents across the whole of West Yorkshire of approximately 0.3% for first appliance and 0.1% for the second appliance. 4
3.14. Local Impact – Figure 3 identifies that:
There is a reduction in response performance against the Risk Based Planning Assumptions in the Gipton station area. The main reason for this is simultaneous activity. This change will be greatly mitigated by the Fire Response Unit. The predicted response times still represent good performance and are appropriate for the. Further impact will be achieved by targeted risk reduction activities.
Fire Service Emergency Cover (FSEC) toolkit
3.15 The FSEC software toolkit has been developed by Central Government (Department for Communities and Local Government) for use by Fire and Rescue Authorities in determining appropriate fire and emergency cover. It enables the relationship between dwelling fire casualties and the social demographics of small areas in the county (super output areas) and the location of response resources (fire stations) to be determined. Four demographic benchmarks are used to demonstrate this relationship and to represent predicted risk associated with a range of appliance response times.
3.16 Analysis of the FSEC outputs (which is a cost benefit analysis in regard to property and life risk) predicts that the relocating the fire station to Killingbeck will:
Reduce the risk to the community.
Result in significant efficiencies. 9
3.17 The FSEC modelling suggests that the impact of the Killingbeck proposal would be less than other relocation options
3.18 The Phoenix/Active software tool is another analysis tool used to identify the impact of any changes of the Risk Based Planning Assumptions referred to above. It predicts that locally there is likely to be a small adverse impact on the performance against Risk Based Planning Assumptions. Across the Brigade the impact is negligible. 10
Predicted Risk Level
3.19. A new fire station located, within the Killingbeck area would attract the same risk classification as the Gipton fire station area therefore the new fire station would be classified as very high risk. Targeted risk reduction activity will help to reduce the risk, with the aim of reducing it sufficiently enough to re-categorise the area as high risk in the future. 1
3.20. Isochrones (travel distance) can be drawn around the proposed location of the new fire station (Section 8). These indicate the distance the appliance would be able to travel within the Risk Based Planning Assumption time of 7 minutes.
3.21. Section 8 also illustrates that for this area of West Yorkshire a single fire station in the new location provides fire appliance coverage which is more proportionate to risk than the current arrangements.
Risk Reduction
3.20 During 2010 a comprehensive and integrated framework for service delivery was developed, this is outlined in the Community Risk Management Strategy 2011-15. This was implemented in 2011 and is proving a very effective means for targeting resources and reducing risk and is an essential method for reducing any negative impact of change in fire cover. Fundamental to this approach is the introduction of District Risk Reduction Teams and Local Area Risk Reductions Teams.
3.21 The location of a fire station in the Killingbeck area will enable targeted community safety activities such as Home Fire Safety Checks to continue.
4 Firefighter Safety Impact Assessment
Risk and firefighters gathering risk information about premises.
4.1 One of WYFRS’s risk indicators is dedicated solely to “Firefighter safety” and has taken cognisance of the following statement within the 2009 WYFRS Firefighter Safety Strategy; “Effective gathering and analysis of information prior to operational incident attendance is of critical importance”.
4.2 The firefighter safety indicator captures the following information to reflect this statement:
The predominance of specified commercial properties within each fire station area.
The availability of associated risk information held for commercial properties.
The predominance of high-rise properties within each fire station area.
4.3 The swift arrival of supporting resources can have a beneficial impact upon the safe management of operational incidents and this is the rationale for this information being captured by the indicator.
4.4 Following the 2009/10 evaluation process the firefighter safety risk bandings for Gipton and Stanks have been determined as high and very low respectively. 1
8
4.5 The targets for operational risk information for the 2012/13 IRMP Action Plan will be set in a proportionate manner, with areas of higher risk levels receiving a greater number of operational risk information inspections. More inspections will take place in areas such as Gipton to increase the availability of risk information available to firefighters via the Mobile Data Terminals (MDT’s) and as more information is made available the corresponding risk level will be reduced.
4.6 The Premises Data-base currently indicates that there are a total of 1650 commercial properties within the Gipton and Stanks area that have not been made subject to an operational information inspection. A high priority has been placed on firefighters in Gipton visiting the premises where incidents could potentially occur. 11
4.7 It is therefore anticipated that the availability of risk information via the Mobile Data Terminals (MDT’s) for properties within all areas will be considerably improved by 2015, by which time the corresponding firefighter safety risk banding will have been reduced to Medium
The arrival times of the 2nd fire appliance
4.9. During 2009/10 there were a total of 333 operational incidents within the areas of Gipton and Stanks which required the attendance of more than one pumping appliance (one every 1.1 days). 12
4.10. Currently the North and East Leeds area has two fire appliances based at Gipton, Moortown and Leeds with one at Rothwell, Garforth, Stanks and Wetherby.
4.11. Increased second pump arrival times require the first attending crew to manage the initial stages of certain incidents in isolation; there is some potential for fires to become more developed in these initial stages.
4.12. The proposal improves the second appliance attendance times into Garforth station areas and there is little impact for the others local station areas.
5. Equality Impact Assessment
5.1 The new Public Sector Equality Duty places a requirement on the organisation to ensure where changes affect service delivery to the community or employees WYFRS assess those changes for any possible negative impact on equality. In this context equality refers to the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010, race, gender, disability, religion and belief, sexual orientation, age, gender-reassignment, maternity and pregnancy and marriage and civil partnerships.
5.2 This Equality Impact Assessment has been completed by using information drawn from the Office for National Statistics in regard to this area and has been used to determine whether the removal of a fire appliance from the area will lead to an adverse or disproportionate impact upon any sections of the population. 13
5.3 A 2008 report provided by the Communities and Local Government (CLG) department analysed the correlation between dwelling fires and socio demographics. This report has been used to provide an indication of whether any particular groups within the population are at heightened risk from fire. The report indicates that sick/disabled persons, lone pensioners and Black Caribbean/African groups were associated with a greater incidence of dwelling fires.
5.4 The Gipton and Harehills population was estimated as being 24,904 during 2001 with a fairly equal gender distribution. The predominant ethnic group within the population is White British with Asian/Asian British representing the next major group, followed by Pakistani, Black British/Caribbean and Asian/British Bangladeshi.
9
5.5 Approximately 49% of the resident Gipton and Harehills population are Christians, 23% are of Muslim faith and 25% declared no religious preference. In 2001 16% of the population was aged over 60 and 20% of the population had a limiting long-term illness.
5.6 The WYFRS Prevention strategy contained within the 2011-2015 Community Risk Management Strategy emphasises that risk reduction activities will be focussed toward areas of the county identified as being at higher risk from dwelling fires, deliberate fire setting and road traffic collisions and that an appropriate and proportionate allocation of resources will be made available for District Risk Reduction Teams (DRRT) to achieve this.
5.7 Although the Ward statistics indicate that the communities of Gipton and Harehills are very diverse the findings of the Equality Impact Assessment are that this proposal will not lead to any negative changes in the delivery of Prevention, Protection and Response services and consequently there will be no anticipated impact upon any under-represented groups. The Equality Impact Assessment also confirms that there is no negative impact on any employee group.
6. Organisational Impact Assessment
Efficiencies
6.1 This proposal will enable WYFRS to manage some of the financial deficit caused by reduced government funding.
6.2. The proposal has considered the less than optimal positioning of existing fire stations and appliances together with the reduced operational demand placed and associated costs. The most cost effective solution to these issues is to provide a new fire station and ensure that two fire appliances will be crewed by nine firefighters who will respond to emergencies in less than two minutes from being mobilised.
6.3. This can be achieved by reducing the staffing at Gipton and Stanks by 24 posts; this will be done by way of planned retirements. The staffing and duty system at the new fire station will remain the same.
6.4. The removal of posts that coincide with forecasted retirements will achieve significant revenue savings.
6.5. Although capital investment will be required to construct a new fire station, part of these costs will potentially be off-set by the sale of the two existing fire station sites.
6.6. There will be other associated savings delivered by this proposal, including:
Reduction of Personal Protective Equipment.
Reduction in consumables and station maintenance costs.
The new station will be more environmentally friendly and have energy efficiency technology.
6.7. The analysis undertaken for Gipton and Stanks has identified that there is considerable overlap in the existing Risk Based Planning Assumption isochrones (footprints) for these areas. This overlap represents a duplication of resource coverage and therefore one of the objectives for providing a more efficient service within these areas is to reduce this overlap. 14
10
Impact across West Yorkshire and Resilience
6.8 The reduction in pumping appliances in this area does have a small impact upon attendance times against the Risk Based Planning Assumptions across West Yorkshire for all incidents; performance is reduced by 0.3% for first appliances and 0.1% for second appliances. 4
6.9 In order to maintain WYFRS’s operational resilience, the fire appliance currently sited at Stanks will be relocated at the new fire station. This fire appliance will not be continually staff but will be activated during periods of anticipated or unanticipated high levels of operational activity and in response to significant events which could affect emergency response; such as wide area flooding, bonfire night, periods of bad weather or when attending very large incidents.
6.10 The use of Resilience Pumps supports WYFRS strategy of staffing the appropriate number of fire appliances for normal levels of activity and having the mechanisms to add further fire appliance when required. This strategy is important in maintaining an excellent fire and rescue service whilst meeting the efficiencies required by the reduction in public service budgets.
7. Conclusions
7.1 The existing fire stations at Gipton and Stanks are 3.7 miles apart and consolidating resources at a new fire station at a central location is an economic, effective and efficient way of providing fire and rescue services for these areas.
7.2 The provision of two front-line fire appliances constantly crewed by whole-time firefighters is still deemed appropriate for this area despite the success of previous year’s risk reduction activities.
7.3 Targeted risk reduction initiatives co-ordinated by the Leeds Outer North East, Inner North East and Outer East Local Area Risk Reduction Teams will be undertaken.
7.4 It is expected that the targets established for gathering safety critical risk information, will mitigate the impact upon the safety of WYFRS firefighters resulting from the removal of a pumping appliance from this area.
7.5 The introduction of a Resilience Pump will maintain three appliances in the area and support WYFRSs resilience arrangements
7.6 The consolidation of Gipton and Stanks resources at one central location together with the addition of a Resilience Pump will deliver significant efficiency savings whilst maintaining a high level of service delivery and providing employees with vastly improved accommodation facilities.
HMS Magpie H130 moored at Lowestoft, Suffolk.
Name: HMS Magpie
Vessel type: Survey vessel
Class: Wildcat 60 catamaran
Home port: HMNB Devonport
Flag: United Kingdom
Pennant number: H130
Motto: Lux in Tenebris Lucet - 'Shine Light into Darkness'
MMSI: 232015144
Call Sign:
Accommodation: up to 9 crew
Cabins: 2
Work stations: 6
Length overall: 18 m
Beam: 6.2 m
Draught: 1.4 m
Displacement: 36.41 ton
Engines: 2 x Yanmar 6AYM, 20.3 litre diesels
Engine output: 2 x 900 hp (671 kW)
Waterjets: 2 x Hamilton HM521
Speed: 23 knots
Builder - hull: Safehaven Marine, Foxhole, Youghal, Co Cork, Ireland,
Builder - fitting out: Atlas Elektronik UK (AEUK), Portland Harbour, Dorset
Ordered: 18th August 2017
Laid down: September 2017
Launched: March 2018
Delivered: May 2018
Commissioned: 28th. June 2018
HMS Magpie is the 9th. Royal Navy vessel to carry the name. She was named in recognition of the Duke of Edinburgh’s command of her namesake in the early 1950's, and the Duke personally endorsed Magpie’s motto, Lux in tenebris lucet 'shine light into darkness' shortly before his passing. She is a survey vessel of the RN’s Hydrographic Squadron intended for use on inshore and coastal survey work. Magpie replaced HMS Gleaner.
In August 2017, the replacement for HMS Gleaner was announced. The type selected was based on Safehaven's Wildcat 60 catamaran design.
As Magpie is considerably larger than the vessel she replaces, the title of smallest commissioned vessel in the Royal Navy, which had belonged to Gleaner, passed to the two Scimitar-class patrol vessels, HMS Scimitar, P284 and HMS Sabre, P285. Magpie will be a significant improvement over her predecessor, both in terms of equipment, not only will she feature better on-board equipment than Gleaner, but will also have the capability of launching and recovering UUV's (unmanned underwater vehicles) and she will have a better endurance.
One of Magpie's first major taskings was a continuation of work done by Gleaner in surveying Portsmouth Harbour to ensure the stability of the seabed in anticipation of Portsmouth's use by the aircraft carriers Queen Elizabeth R08 and Prince of Wales R09.
Once the work in Portsmouth harbour was completed, Magpie headed to the wreck site of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship, to survey the sea floor for anything of significance. Work then begin on investigating the wreck of a French galley which was lost off the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight around the same time as the Mary Rose.
Magpie’s 2022 deployment, under her commanding officer Lt. Cdr. Hywel Morgan, is her most extensive yet and will include prolonged operations in the north-east of England, and both east and west coasts of Scotland. She will depart Devonport in early March and is unlikely to return until completion of her deployment in October.
Soneva Gili Villa Suites [210 sq.m.]
* 29 water villas with king size bed and some with two single beds
* Large open air living room with daybeds and dining area
* Roof top sun deck with daybed and two different dining facilities
* Over water sun deck with sun loungers
* Open-air private bathroom with separate glass walled shower area
* Bathtub and shower
* Air-conditioned bedroom
* Ceiling fan in living room
* Chess and backgammon tables
* Espresso Machine
* Mini bar, personal safe and hairdryer
* CD, DVD, Hi Fi Stereo system with Bose surround sound
* Television with satellite channels and DVD/CD player
* Extensive DVD and CD library
For More info: www.sixsenses.com/soneva-gili/accommodation.php#villasuite
For Rates : www.sixsenses.com/soneva-gili/rates.htm
Location: Soneva Gili by Six Senses / Maldives
In 1899 CP Rail hired 2 Swiss mountain guides Eduard Feuz and Christian Haesler to work for them in this area..
When they sent word back to Switzerland of the amazing beauty and availability of good jobs many more Swiss
families moved to the area..This region is also home to the Canadian alpine club and has a rich Swiss heritage..
Architect Elmar Lohk. The Palace Hotel has been a true calling card for Estonia throughout the decades.
Our top class Sea View Suite offers generous space and comfort, making your stay with us truly memorable from the very first moment. 🌿✨
www.oscarvillage.com/accommodation/sea-view-suite/
📷 @spyros / 👩 @foxyarchaeologist
Built by the Public Works Department for a princely £7,000.00, the Mount Buffalo Chalet was opened in 1910 by the Victorian State Government as Australia’s first ski lodge, and it quickly became a popular destination within the alpine region. Initially leased to private enterprise as a guest house, The Chalet was taken over by Victorian Railways in October 1924. Described as the “last word in luxury”, The Chalet featured large sitting rooms, ample fireplaces, a smoking room, well ventilated rooms of capacious size and hot and cold baths. They offered holiday packages with train services running to Porpunkah railway station and then a connecting Hoys Roadlines service. It was a very popular destination for newlyweds as the perfect place for a honeymoon, and over the years traditions began to emerge such as an elegant dress code within The Chalet, a dinner gong to announce dinner, costume parties and grand balls in The Chalet’s ballroom.
Originally intended to be built in granite, cost blowouts of £3,000.00 meant that instead The Chalet was built of timber. To this day, it is still the largest timber construction in Victoria. It was designed in the fashionable Arts and Crafts style of the period. Reminiscent in style to northern European Chalet architecture, the Mt Buffalo Chalet is built on a coursed random rubble plinth, with a series of hipped and gabled corrugated iron roofs. Originally designed as a symmetrical, gabled roof building, early additions were carried out in a similar style and continued the symmetry of the front facade. The second storey addition to the central wing altered the appearance of the building, however the bungalow character was retained. Slender rough cast render chimneys with tapering tops and random coursed rubble bases, a decorative barge board over the main entry, decorative timber brackets supporting timber shingled gable ends, exposed rafters and double hung, paned windows are all typical architectural details of the Arts and Crafts Movement. It was constructed over a thirty year period during which time extensions, extra wings and outbuildings were added and removed with the changing times and its tourism demands. Improvements were made soon after construction and these included a golf links in 1911, a north wing addition in 1912 and a south wing and billiard room in 1914. Heating and lighting in The Chalet was improved and upgraded in 1919. Between 1921 and 1922, an addition to the south wing increased bedroom and bathroom facilities. The billiard room was moved to the front of the house and the terraced garden, with rubble granite retaining walls, was laid out at the front of The Chalet. The present dining room, the kitchen and billiard room wings were constructed in 1925, and the original dining room was converted to a ballroom, with a stage. Balustrading along the front of the building was removed and large windows inserted to provide uninterrupted views. Between 1937 and 1938 major alterations were made with the extension of the south wing and a second storey added to the central wing of the building. At this time the provisions for two hundred guests at The Chalet was noted as more than equalling the best Melbourne hotels. Internally, some remnants of decoration remain, reflecting various stages of The Chalet’s development, and these can be viewed through The Chalet’s large windows, where several suites, the lounge and the dining room are all set up to display what the accommodation was like. The formal terraced gardens built around the Mount Buffalo Chalet were seen as a civilising image within the context of the wild and relatively harsh Australian landscape. The key built features if the gardens seen today remain intact. The garden’s shape and form remain largely unchanged from when they were created including the stonewalling, terracing, central set of stairs and exposed bedrock.
The Mount Buffalo Chalet is lovingly sometimes referred to as the “Grand Old Lady”. If nothing else, she is a unique survivor of the earliest days of recreational skiing in Australia. It was included on the Victorian Heritage Register in 1992 and is maintained today as a time capsule to show what life was like when tourism was done on a grand scale.
Feathered Cappuccino, at Hassop Station Cafe.
www.hassopstation.co.uk/accommodation
www.hassopstation.co.uk/peak-mtb-rides
www.hassopstation.co.uk/the-monsal-trail
www.hassopstation.co.uk/images/possah/1718127153_Monsal%2...(002).pdf
Built by the Public Works Department for a princely £7,000.00, the Mount Buffalo Chalet was opened in 1910 by the Victorian State Government as Australia’s first ski lodge, and it quickly became a popular destination within the alpine region. Initially leased to private enterprise as a guest house, The Chalet was taken over by Victorian Railways in October 1924. Described as the “last word in luxury”, The Chalet featured large sitting rooms, ample fireplaces, a smoking room, well ventilated rooms of capacious size and hot and cold baths. They offered holiday packages with train services running to Porpunkah railway station and then a connecting Hoys Roadlines service. It was a very popular destination for newlyweds as the perfect place for a honeymoon, and over the years traditions began to emerge such as an elegant dress code within The Chalet, a dinner gong to announce dinner, costume parties and grand balls in The Chalet’s ballroom.
Originally intended to be built in granite, cost blowouts of £3,000.00 meant that instead The Chalet was built of timber. To this day, it is still the largest timber construction in Victoria. It was designed in the fashionable Arts and Crafts style of the period. Reminiscent in style to northern European Chalet architecture, the Mt Buffalo Chalet is built on a coursed random rubble plinth, with a series of hipped and gabled corrugated iron roofs. Originally designed as a symmetrical, gabled roof building, early additions were carried out in a similar style and continued the symmetry of the front facade. The second storey addition to the central wing altered the appearance of the building, however the bungalow character was retained. Slender rough cast render chimneys with tapering tops and random coursed rubble bases, a decorative barge board over the main entry, decorative timber brackets supporting timber shingled gable ends, exposed rafters and double hung, paned windows are all typical architectural details of the Arts and Crafts Movement. It was constructed over a thirty year period during which time extensions, extra wings and outbuildings were added and removed with the changing times and its tourism demands. Improvements were made soon after construction and these included a golf links in 1911, a north wing addition in 1912 and a south wing and billiard room in 1914. Heating and lighting in The Chalet was improved and upgraded in 1919. Between 1921 and 1922, an addition to the south wing increased bedroom and bathroom facilities. The billiard room was moved to the front of the house and the terraced garden, with rubble granite retaining walls, was laid out at the front of The Chalet. The present dining room, the kitchen and billiard room wings were constructed in 1925, and the original dining room was converted to a ballroom, with a stage. Balustrading along the front of the building was removed and large windows inserted to provide uninterrupted views. Between 1937 and 1938 major alterations were made with the extension of the south wing and a second storey added to the central wing of the building. At this time the provisions for two hundred guests at The Chalet was noted as more than equalling the best Melbourne hotels. Internally, some remnants of decoration remain, reflecting various stages of The Chalet’s development, and these can be viewed through The Chalet’s large windows, where several suites, the lounge and the dining room are all set up to display what the accommodation was like. The formal terraced gardens built around the Mount Buffalo Chalet were seen as a civilising image within the context of the wild and relatively harsh Australian landscape. The key built features if the gardens seen today remain intact. The garden’s shape and form remain largely unchanged from when they were created including the stonewalling, terracing, central set of stairs and exposed bedrock.
The Mount Buffalo Chalet is lovingly sometimes referred to as the “Grand Old Lady”. If nothing else, she is a unique survivor of the earliest days of recreational skiing in Australia. It was included on the Victorian Heritage Register in 1992 and is maintained today as a time capsule to show what life was like when tourism was done on a grand scale.
Torrens Island Quarantine Station.
This small mangrove and sand island in the mouth of the Port River was established as a quarantine temporary camp by 1855 by the South Australian government. It was away from the colonial settlement but still very close to Port Adelaide. It provide medical facilities and supervision for people arriving at the port with infectious and possibly infectious diseases especially smallpox and diseases like Scarlet Fever. Although the quarantine station was operational by 1855 most of the first government buildings were erected in the 1877 to 1878 period. After Federation the 551 acre quarantine station land was handed over to the Commonwealth government. At that time apart from the hospital, morgue and administration buildings it had accommodation for 224 people including cottages for staff and workers. The Commonwealth government built a new two storey administration building in 1916 now known as Refshauge House. In 1914 at the start of World War One it was used as an internment camp for alien and internee suspects. This internment camp only operated for less than one year from October 1914 to August 1915. Then in 1918 Torrens Island had a major issue to deal with when the troop ship Boonah arrived from South Africa with 300 deadly Spanish influenza cases aboard. Most of the seriously ill, some of whom died, were taken off at Fremantle but a further 13 cases emerged on the voyage between Albany and Port Adelaide. The Boonah with 437 men and officers anchored at the Semaphore anchorage on 28th December. The thirteen infected soldiers were quarantined in the hospital on Torrens Island and four more were added to this group a couple of days later. But most vessels arrived with passengers infected with smallpox. When the World Health Organisation declared the world free of smallpox in 1979 the Torrens Island Quarantine Station was closed as a human quarantine station but still provides quarantine for animals and plants being imported to Australia. There is a small cemetery within the complex but with only ten recorded burials between 1887 and 1932. The cemetery was consecrated in 1896 when there were already four burials in it dating from 1892. One was Frederick Smith who died of smallpox in 1895 and another was the Reverend Alexander Still in 1892. Torrens Island had its own school from 1928 to 1935. Two power stations also exist on Torrens Island outside the old quarantine area.
First print from my Perceptions Fantasy book has been sold to a new unique accommodation venue.
Check out Secluded springs Farm stay & Hostel with there new art cabins to come soon.
Secluded Springs is a family-run, farmstay hostel in the Bundaberg / Childers area that caters for romantic...