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Hanging British penny dreadful, Famous Crimes Police Budget Edition vol. IV No. 45, 1902, The Execution of James Bloomfield Rush by anonymous (may be publisher Harold Furniss). The first issue featured Jack the Ripper.
Singapore (Listeni/ˈsɪŋɡəpɔːr/), officially the Republic of Singapore, and often referred to as the Lion City, the Garden City, and the Red Dot, is a global city and sovereign state in Southeast Asia and the world's only island city-state. It lies one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southernmost tip of continental Asia and peninsular Malaysia, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south. Singapore's territory consists of the diamond-shaped main island and 62 islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 km2), and its greening policy has covered the densely populated island with tropical flora, parks and gardens.
The islands were settled from the second century AD by a series of local empires. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles founded modern Singapore as a trading post of the East India Company; after the company collapsed, the islands were ceded to Britain and became part of its Straits Settlements in 1826. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from Britain in 1963, by uniting with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but was expelled two years later over ideological differences. After early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its human capital.
Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub. Its standings include: "easiest place to do business" (World Bank) for ten consecutive years, most "technology-ready" nation (WEF), top International-meetings city (UIA), city with "best investment potential" (BERI), 2nd-most competitive country (WEF), 3rd-largest foreign exchange centre, 3rd-largest financial centre, 3rd-largest oil refining and trading centre and one of the top two busiest container ports since the 1990s. Singapore's best known global brands include Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport, both amongst the most-awarded in their industry; SIA is also rated by Fortune surveys as Asia's "most admired company". For the past decade, it has been the only Asian country with the top AAA sovereign rating from all major credit rating agencies, including S&P, Moody's and Fitch.
Singapore ranks high on its national social policies, leading Asia and 11th globally, on the Human Development Index (UN), notably on key measures of education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, housing. Although income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes, and the country has one of the highest per capita incomes, with low taxes. The cosmopolitan nation is home to 5.5 million residents, 38% of whom are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. Singaporeans are mostly bilingual in a mother-tongue language and English as their common language. Its cultural diversity is reflected in its extensive ethnic "hawker" cuisine and major festivals - Chinese, Malay, Indian, Western - which are all national holidays. In 2015, Lonely Planet and The New York Times listed Singapore as their top and 6th best world destination to visit respectively.
The nation's core principles are meritocracy, multiculturalism and secularism. It is noted for its effective, pragmatic and incorrupt governance and civil service, which together with its rapid development policies, is widely cited as the "Singapore model". Gallup polls shows 84% of its residents expressed confidence in the national government, and 85% in its judicial systems - one of the highest ratings recorded. Singapore has significant influence on global affairs relative to its size, leading some analysts to classify it as a middle power. It is ranked as Asia's most influential city and 4th in the world by Forbes.
Singapore is a unitary, multiparty, parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The People's Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959. One of the five founding members of the ASEAN, Singapore is also the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat, and a member of the East Asia Summit, Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations.
ETYMOLOGY
The English name of Singapore is derived from the Malay word, Singapura, which was in turn derived from Sanskrit (Singa is "lion", Pura "city"; Sanskrit: सिंहपुर, IAST: Siṃhápura), hence the customary reference to the nation as the Lion City, and its inclusion in many of the nation's symbols (e.g., its coat of arms, Merlion emblem). However, it is unlikely that lions ever lived on the island; Sang Nila Utama, who founded and named the island Singapura, most likely saw a Malayan tiger. It is also known as Pulau Ujong, as far back as the 3rd century, literally 'island at the end' (of the Malay Peninsula) in Malay.
Since the 1970s, Singapore has also been widely known as the Garden City, owing to its extensive greening policy covering the whole island, a priority of its first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, dubbed the nation's "Chief Gardener". The nation's conservation and greening efforts contributed to Singapore Botanic Gardens being the only tropical garden to be inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The nickname, Red Dot, is a reference to its size on the map, contrasting with its achievements. In 2015, Singapore's Golden Jubilee year, the celebratory "SG50" branding is depicted inside a red dot.
HISTORY
Temasek ('Sea Town' in the Malay language), an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire, is the earliest written record relating to the area now called Singapore. In the 13th century, the Kingdom of Singapura was established on the island and it became a trading port city. However, there were two major foreign invasions before it was destroyed by the Majapahit in 1398. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was nominally part of the Johor Sultanate and the island sank into obscurity for the next two centuries, while the wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control.
BRITISH COLONISATION 1819-1942
In 1819, Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived and signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor, on behalf of the British East India Company, to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post. In 1824, the entire island, as well as the Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, becoming the regional capital in 1836.
Prior to Raffles' arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese. By 1860, the population had swelled to more than 80,000 and more than half were Chinese. Many immigrants came to work at rubber plantations and, after the 1870s, the island became a global centre for rubber exports.
After the First World War, the British built the large Singapore Naval Base. Lieutenant General Sir William George Shedden Dobbie was appointed General Officer Commanding of the Malaya Command on 8 November 1935, holding the post until 1939;
WORLD WAR II AND JAPANESE OCCUPATION 1942-45
in May 1938, the General Officer Commanding of the Malaya Command warned how Singapore could be conquered by the Japanese via an attack from northern Malaya, but his warnings went unheeded. The Imperial Japanese Army invaded British Malaya, culminating in the Battle of Singapore. When the British surrendered on 15 February 1942, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the defeat "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history". Between 5,000 and 25,000 ethnic Chinese people were killed in the subsequent Sook Ching massacre.
From November 1944 to May 1945, the Allies conducted an intensive bombing of Singapore.
RETURN OF BRITISH 1945-59
After the surrender of Japan was announced in the Jewel Voice Broadcast by the Japanese Emperor on 15 August 1945 there was a breakdown of order and looting and revenge-killing were widespread. The formal Japanese Occupation of Singapore was only ended by Operation Tiderace and the formal surrender on 12 September 1945 at Singapore City Hall when Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia Command, accepted the capitulation of Japanese forces in Southeast Asia from General Itagaki Seishiro.
A British Military Administration was then formed to govern the island. On 1 April 1946, the Straits Settlements were dissolved and Singapore became a separate Crown Colony with a civil administration headed by a Governor. Much of the infrastructure had been destroyed during the war, including the harbour, electricity, telephone and water supply systems. There was also a shortage of food leading to malnutrition, disease, and rampant crime and violence. High food prices, unemployment, and workers' discontent culminated into a series of strikes in 1947 causing massive stoppages in public transport and other services. In July 1947, separate Executive and Legislative Councils were established and the election of six members of the Legislative Council was scheduled for the following year. By late 1947, the economy began to recover, facilitated by a growing demand for tin and rubber around the world, but it would take several more years before the economy returned to pre-war levels.
The failure of Britain to defend Singapore had destroyed its credibility as an infallible ruler in the eyes of Singaporeans. The decades after the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments, epitomized by the slogan Merdeka, or "independence" in the Malay language.
During the 1950s, Chinese Communists with strong ties to the trade unions and Chinese schools carried out armed uprising against the government, leading to the Malayan Emergency and later, the Communist Insurgency War. The 1954 National Service Riots, Chinese middle schools riots, and Hock Lee bus riots in Singapore were all linked to these events.
David Marshall, pro-independence leader of the Labour Front, won Singapore's first general election in 1955. He led a delegation to London, but Britain rejected his demand for complete self-rule. He resigned and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock, whose policies convinced Britain to grant Singapore full internal self-government for all matters except defence and foreign affairs.
SELF-GOVERNMENT 1959-1963
During the May 1959 elections, the People's Action Party won a landslide victory. Singapore became an internally self-governing state within the Commonwealth, with Lee Kuan Yew as its first Prime Minister. Governor Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode served as the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State), and was succeeded by Yusof bin Ishak, who became the first President of Singapore in 1965.
MERGER WITH MALAYSIA 1963-65
As a result of the 1962 Merger Referendum, on 31 August 1963 Singapore joined with the Federation of Malaya, the Crown Colony of Sarawak and the Crown Colony of North Borneo to form the new federation of Malaysia under the terms of the Malaysia Agreement. Singaporean leaders chose to join Malaysia primarily due to concerns over its limited land size, scarcity of water, markets and natural resources. Some Singaporean and Malaysian politicians were also concerned that the communists might form the government on the island, a possibility perceived as an external threat to the Federation of Malaya.However, shortly after the merger, the Singapore state government and the Malaysian central government disagreed on many political and economic issues, and communal strife culminated in the 1964 race riots in Singapore. After many heated ideological conflicts between the two governments, on 9 August 1965, the Malaysian Parliament voted 126 to 0 to expel Singapore from Malaysia with Singaporean delegates not present.
INDEPENDENCE 1965 TO PRESENT
Singapore gained independence as the Republic of Singapore (remaining within the Commonwealth of Nations) on 9 August 1965. Race riots broke out once more in 1969. In 1967, the country co-founded ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and in 1970 it joined the Non-Aligned Movement. Lee Kuan Yew became Prime Minister, leading its Third World economy to First World affluence in a single generation. His emphasis on rapid economic growth, support for business entrepreneurship, limitations on internal democracy, and close relationships with China set the new nation's policies for the next half-century.
In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister, while the latter continued serving in the Cabinet as Senior Minister until 2004, and then Minister Mentor until May 2011. During Goh's tenure, the country faced the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak and terrorist threats posed by Jemaah Islamiyah.
In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the country's third Prime Minister. Goh Chok Tong remained in Cabinet as the Senior Minister until May 2011, when he was named Emeritus Senior Minister despite his retirement. He steered the nation through the 2008 global financial crisis, resolved the disputed 79-year old Malayan railways land, and introduced integrated resorts. Despite the economy's exceptional growth, PAP suffered its worst election results in 2011, winning 60% of votes, amidst hot-button issues of high influx of foreign workers and cost of living. Lee initiated a major re-structuring of the economy to raise productivity, improved universal healthcare and grants, especially for the pioneer generation of citizens, amongst many new inclusive measures.
On 23 March 2015, its founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, who had 'personified Singapore to the world' for nearly half a century died. In a week of national mourning, 1.7 million residents and guests paid tribute to him at his lying-in-state at Parliament House and at community sites around the island.
Singapore celebrated its Golden jubilee in 2015 – its 50th year of independence, with a year-long series of events branded SG50. The PAP maintained its dominance in Parliament at the September general elections, receiving 69.9% of the popular vote, its second-highest polling result behind the 2001 tally of 75.3%.
GEOGRAPHY
Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island, Pulau Ujong. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia: the Johor–Singapore Causeway in the north and the Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's smaller islands. The highest natural point is Bukit Timah Hill at 163.63 m. April and May are the hottest months, with the wetter monsoon season from November to January.
From July to October, there is often haze caused by bush fires in neighbouring Indonesia, usually from the island of Sumatra. Although Singapore does not observe daylight saving time (DST), it follows the GMT+8 time zone, one hour ahead of the typical zone for its geographical location.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Singapore is a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government representing constituencies. The country's constitution establishes a representative democracy as the political system. Executive power rests with the Cabinet of Singapore, led by the Prime Minister and, to a much lesser extent, the President. The President is elected through a popular vote, and has veto powers over a specific set of executive decisions, such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of judges, but otherwise occupies a largely ceremonial post.
The Parliament serves as the legislative branch of the government. Members of Parliament (MPs) consist of elected, non-constituency and nominated members. Elected MPs are voted into the Parliament on a "first-past-the-post" (plurality) basis and represent either single-member or group representation constituencies. The People's Action Party has won control of Parliament with large majorities in every election since self-governance was secured in 1959.
Although the elections are clean, there is no independent electoral authority and the government has strong influence on the media. Freedom House ranks Singapore as "partly free" in its Freedom in the World report, and The Economist ranks Singapore as a "flawed democracy", the second best rank of four, in its "Democracy Index". Despite this, in the 2011 Parliamentary elections, the opposition, led by the Workers' Party, increased its representation to seven elected MPs. In the 2015 elections, PAP scored a landslide victory, winning 83 of 89 seats contested, with 70% of popular votes. Gallup polls reported 84% of residents in Singapore expressed confidence in the government, and 85% in its judicial systems and courts – one of the highest ratings in the world.
Singapore's governance model eschews populist politics, focusing on the nation's long-term interest, and is known to be clean, effective and pragmatic. As a small nation highly dependent on external trade, it is vulnerable to geo-politics and global economics. It places great emphasis on security and stability of the region in its foreign policies, and applies global best practices to ensure the nation's attractiveness as an investment destination and business hub.
The legal system of Singapore is based on English common law, but with substantial local differences. Trial by jury was abolished in 1970 so that judicial decisions would rest entirely in the hands of appointed judges. Singapore has penalties that include judicial corporal punishment in the form of caning, which may be imposed for such offences as rape, rioting, vandalism, and certain immigration offences.There is a mandatory death penalty for murder, as well as for certain aggravated drug-trafficking and firearms offences.
Amnesty International has said that some legal provisions of the Singapore system conflict with the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that Singapore has "... possibly the highest execution rate in the world relative to its population". The government has disputed Amnesty's claims. In a 2008 survey of international business executives, Singapore received the top ranking with regard to judicial system quality in Asia. Singapore has been consistently rated among the least corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International.
In 2011, the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index ranked Singapore among the top countries surveyed with regard to "order and security", "absence of corruption", and "effective criminal justice". However, the country received a much lower ranking for "freedom of speech" and "freedom of assembly". All public gatherings of five or more people require police permits, and protests may legally be held only at the Speakers' Corner.
EDUCATION
Education for primary, secondary, and tertiary levels is mostly supported by the state. All institutions, private and public, must be registered with the Ministry of Education. English is the language of instruction in all public schools, and all subjects are taught and examined in English except for the "mother tongue" language paper. While the term "mother tongue" in general refers to the first language internationally, in Singapore's education system, it is used to refer to the second language, as English is the first language. Students who have been abroad for a while, or who struggle with their "Mother Tongue" language, are allowed to take a simpler syllabus or drop the subject.
Education takes place in three stages: primary, secondary, and pre-university education. Only the primary level is compulsory. Students begin with six years of primary school, which is made up of a four-year foundation course and a two-year orientation stage. The curriculum is focused on the development of English, the mother tongue, mathematics, and science. Secondary school lasts from four to five years, and is divided between Special, Express, Normal (Academic), and Normal (Technical) streams in each school, depending on a student's ability level. The basic coursework breakdown is the same as in the primary level, although classes are much more specialised. Pre-university education takes place over two to three years at senior schools, mostly called Junior Colleges.
Some schools have a degree of freedom in their curriculum and are known as autonomous schools. These exist from the secondary education level and up.
National examinations are standardised across all schools, with a test taken after each stage. After the first six years of education, students take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), which determines their placement at secondary school. At the end of the secondary stage, GCE "O"-Level exams are taken; at the end of the following pre-university stage, the GCE "A"-Level exams are taken. Of all non-student Singaporeans aged 15 and above, 18% have no education qualifications at all while 45% have the PSLE as their highest qualification; 15% have the GCE 'O' Level as their highest qualification and 14% have a degree.
Singaporean students consistently rank at or near the top of international education assessments:
- In 2015, Singapore topped the OECD's global school performance rankings, based on 15-year-old students' average scores in mathematics and science across 76 countries.
- Singaporean students were ranked first in the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, and have been ranked in the top three every year since 1995.
- Singapore fared best in the 2015 International Baccalaureate exams, taken in 107 countries, with more than half of the world's 81 perfect scorers and 98% passing rate.
The country's two main public universities - the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University - are ranked among the top 13 in the world.
HEALTH
Singapore has a generally efficient healthcare system, even though their health expenditures are relatively low for developed countries. The World Health Organisation ranks Singapore's healthcare system as 6th overall in the world in its World Health Report. In general, Singapore has had the lowest infant mortality rate in the world for the past two decades.
Life expectancy in Singapore is 80 for males and 85 for females, placing the country 4th in the world for life expectancy. Almost the whole population has access to improved water and sanitation facilities. There are fewer than 10 annual deaths from HIV per 100,000 people. There is a high level of immunisation. Adult obesity is below 10%
The government's healthcare system is based upon the "3M" framework. This has three components: Medifund, which provides a safety net for those not able to otherwise afford healthcare, Medisave, a compulsory health savings scheme covering about 85% of the population, and Medishield, a government-funded health insurance program. Public hospitals in Singapore have autonomy in their management decisions, and compete for patients. A subsidy scheme exists for those on low income. In 2008, 32% of healthcare was funded by the government. It accounts for approximately 3.5% of Singapore's GDP.
RELIGION
Buddhism is the most widely practised religion in Singapore, with 33% of the resident population declaring themselves adherents at the most recent census. The next-most practised religion is Christianity, followed by Islam, Taoism, and Hinduism. 17% of the population did not have a religious affiliation. The proportion of Christians, Taoists, and non-religious people increased between 2000 and 2010 by about 3% each, whilst the proportion of Buddhists decreased. Other faiths remained largely stable in their share of the population. An analysis by the Pew Research Center found Singapore to be the world's most religiously diverse nation.
There are monasteries and Dharma centres from all three major traditions of Buddhism in Singapore: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Most Buddhists in Singapore are Chinese and are of the Mahayana tradition, with missionaries having come into the country from Taiwan and China for several decades. However, Thailand's Theravada Buddhism has seen growing popularity among the populace (not only the Chinese) during the past decade. Soka Gakkai International, a Japanese Buddhist organisation, is practised by many people in Singapore, but mostly by those of Chinese descent. Tibetan Buddhism has also made slow inroads into the country in recent years.
CULTURE
Singapore has one of the lowest rates of drug use in the world. Culturally, the use of illicit drugs is viewed as highly undesirable by Singaporeans, unlike many European societies. Singaporeans' disapproval towards drug use has resulted in laws that impose the mandatory death sentence for certain serious drug trafficking offences. Singapore also has a low rate of alcohol consumption per capita and low levels of violent crime, and one of the lowest intentional homicide rate globally. The average alcohol consumption rate is only 2 litres annually per adult, one of the lowest in the world.
Foreigners make up 42% of the population, and have a strong influence on Singaporean culture. The Economist Intelligence Unit, in its 2013 "Where-to-be-born Index", ranks Singapore as having the best quality of life in Asia and sixth overall in the world.
LANGUAGES; RELIGIONS AND CULTURES
Singapore is a very diverse and young country. It has many languages, religions, and cultures for a country its size.
When Singapore became independent from the United Kingdom in 1963, most of the newly minted Singaporean citizens were uneducated labourers from Malaysia, China and India. Many of them were transient labourers who were seeking to make some money in Singapore and they had no intention of staying permanently. A sizeable minority of middle-class, local-born people, known as the Peranakans, also existed. With the exception of the Peranakans (descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants) who pledged their loyalties to Singapore, most of the labourers' loyalties lay with their respective homelands of Malaysia, China and India. After independence, the process of crafting a Singaporean identity and culture began.
Former Prime Ministers of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, have stated that Singapore does not fit the traditional description of a nation, calling it a society-in-transition, pointing out the fact that Singaporeans do not all speak the same language, share the same religion, or have the same customs. Even though English is the first language of the nation, according to the government's 2010 census 20% of Singaporeans, or one in five, are illiterate in English. This is a marked improvement from 1990 where 40% of Singaporeans were illiterate in English.
Languages, religions and cultures among Singaporeans are not delineated according to skin colour or ancestry, unlike many other countries. Among Chinese Singaporeans, one in five is Christian, another one in five is atheist, and the rest are mostly Buddhists or Taoists. One-third speak English as their home language, while half speak Mandarin Chinese. The rest speak other Chinese varieties at home. Most Malays in Singapore speak Malay as their home language with some speaking English. Singaporean Indians are much more religious. Only 1% of them are atheists. Six in ten are Hindu, two in ten Muslim, and the rest mostly Christian. Four in ten speak English as their home language, three in ten Tamil, one in ten Malay, and the rest other Indian languages as their home language.
Each Singaporean's behaviours and attitudes would therefore be influenced by, among many other things, his or her home language and his religion. Singaporeans who speak English as their native language tend to lean toward Western culture, while those who speak Chinese as their native language tend to lean toward Chinese culture and Confucianism. Malay speaking Singaporeans tend to lean toward the Malay culture, which itself is closely linked to the Islamic culture.
ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS
At the national level in Singapore, meritocracy, where one is judged based on one's ability, is heavily emphasised.
Racial and religious harmony is regarded by Singaporeans as a crucial part of Singapore's success, and played a part in building a Singaporean identity. Singapore has a reputation as a nanny state. The national flower of Singapore is the hybrid orchid, Vanda 'Miss Joaquim', named in memory of a Singapore-born Armenian woman, who crossbred the flower in her garden at Tanjong Pagar in 1893. Many national symbols such as the Coat of arms of Singapore and the Lion head symbol of Singapore make use of the lion, as Singapore is known as the Lion City. Other monikers by which Singapore is widely known is the Garden City and the Red Dot. Public holidays in Singapore cover major Chinese, Western, Malay and Indian festivals.
Singaporean employees work an average of around 45 hours weekly, relatively long compared to many other nations. Three in four Singaporean employees surveyed stated that they take pride in doing their work well, and that doing so helps their self-confidence.
CUISINE
Dining, along with shopping, is said to be the country's national pastime. The focus on food has led countries like Australia to attract Singaporean tourists with food-based itineraries. The diversity of food is touted as a reason to visit the country, and the variety of food representing different ethnicities is seen by the government as a symbol of its multiculturalism. The "national fruit" of Singapore is the durian.
In popular culture, food items belong to a particular ethnicity, with Chinese, Malay, and Indian food clearly defined. However, the diversity of cuisine has been increased further by the "hybridisation" of different styles (e.g., the Peranakan cuisine, a mix of Chinese and Malay cuisine).
WIKIPEDIA
28 gun crimes are committed every day in the UK
Children as young as 11 carry guns
Being in the wrong gang, not selling enough drugs, just being in the wrong place
can lead to an execution
this photo was stage by two giggling 15 year olds with a toy gun in my back yard
although very tempting to whack them both for not being serious no teenager was harmed
Again this is for a photo course i am doing think i may need to retake this one
Born in Ireland in 1846, Ellen Thompson came to Australia aboard the ship Joshua with her mother and sister at age eleven. Little did she know then that she would become infamous in Queensland.
At 19, Ellen married William Wood and the couple had five children before Wood’s death nine years later. As a widow, Ellen found work as a housekeeper to William Thompson, a Port Douglas farmer.
Ellen and William Thompson were married in November 1880 and had a child together. The union was not a happy one. Ellen’s husband, 24 years her senior, was irritable and Ellen later ‘banished all the children so that they would not annoy the poor old man.’ Ellen’s friendship with John Harrison, a young marine deserter working on a nearby property, caused further conflict with her husband.
On the night of 22 October 1886, Harrison shot Thompson dead in Ellen’s presence. The Brisbane Courier reported that:
Her version of the tragedy was briefly that her husband and Harrison had been quarrelling, when she, with the intention of making peace between them, in a jocular spirit remarked to Harrison that if he did not shut up, the old man, meaning Thompson, would shoot him. Harrison immediately took up the revolver, saying ‘Will he? Well, I will have first shot,’ at the same time firing.
Both Ellen Thompson and John Harrison were tried in Townsville, convicted of the murder of William Thompson, and sentenced to hang. The night before their execution, Harrison confessed that he alone was guilty of Thompson’s murder, and that the shot had been in self-defence. But neither this admission nor Ellen’s protestations of innocence swayed the course of justice.
At 8am on the morning of 13 June 1887, Ellen Thompson became the first and only woman ever to be hanged in Queensland. Her criminal record remarks that she was a capable, industrious, talkative and cheerful woman who’d had a hard life. It also stated that she ‘died instantaneously’. The Brisbane Courier reported that the rope severed her jugular vein, causing blood to pour down her dress and onto the stone floor of Boggo Road Gaol. Harrison was executed immediately afterwards.
IID 2947
"Keukenhof Gardens" Holland Netherlands Execution Flowers 213-1363 04
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Series of 6 postcards illustrating the death of Edith Cavell during World War 1.
Edith Louisa Cavell (4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the First World War, for which she was arrested. She was subsequently court-martialled, found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage.
Fotografía: Autor desconocido / Wikimedia Commons / National Archives and Records Administration.
1 de diciembre de 1945.
El general alemán Anton Dostler es atado a una estaca para su ejecución por un pelotón de fusilamiento, tras ser condenado y sentenciado a muerte por un tribunal militar estadounidense en Aversa, Italia. Fue responsable de capturar y ejecutar un comando de 15 militares estadounidenses el 26 de marzo de 1944 en Italia.
Anton Dostler (Múnich, Alemania; 10 de mayo de 1891 - Aversa, Campania, Italia; 1 de diciembre de 1945) fue un general de Infantería alemán de la Wehrmacht durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
December 1, 1945.
German General Anton Dostler is tied to a stake for execution by firing squad after being convicted and sentenced to death by a U.S. military tribunal in Aversa, Italy. He was responsible for the capture and execution of a command of 15 U.S. soldiers in Italy on March 26, 1944.
Anton Dostler (Munich, Germany; May 10, 1891 - Aversa, Campania, Italy; December 1, 1945) was a German infantry general in the Wehrmacht during World War II.
© Restauración y coloreado: Jaime Gea Ortigas.
A few years ago, early on Saturday morning, I tried to enter St Dunstan's, with no luck. It was locked fast.
Which was a shame, as it looked a very interesting church from the outside, and with its location, just outside the city gate on the crossing of two main roads.
Anyway, I logged this away in my meory banks, detirmed to go back one day. And for a change this Heritage Weekend, we returned to Canterbury not once, but twice. And on the second day was rewarded with entry to three of the city churches.
St Dunstan is most famous for being the final resting place of Sir Thomas More's head, in the family tomb of his wife. There is fine glass commemorating this.
Some minor work is being carried out at the rear of the church, so a return will be needed to see the full restored church.
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Dedicated to a former Archbishop of Canterbury, St Dunstan's stands outside the city walls. There is structural evidence of the Norman period, but most of the church is fourteenth century. The west tower dates from this time and is very oddly proportioned - about twice the height that its width can really cope with. The south chapel is constructed of brick and was completed in the early sixteenth century. It contains monuments to the More family and is the burial place of St. Thomas More's head, - brought here by his daughter after his execution. The family home stood opposite the church where its brick gateway may still be seen. There are two twentieth-century windows of note in the chapel, by Lawrence Lee and John Hayward.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Canterbury+2
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St. Dunstan's is an Anglican church in Canterbury, Kent, at the junction of London Road and Whitstable Road. It is dedicated to St. Dunstan (909-988) and gives its name to the part of the city on the left bank of the River Stour. The parish has been held in plurality with others nearby at different times, in a way that is confusing and difficult to document. In 2010 the parish was joined with the parishes of the City Centre Parish in a new pastoral grouping, City Centre with St. Dunstan.
The church dates from the 11th century and is a grade I listed building. It was restored in 1878-80 by church architect Ewan Christian. Its association with the deaths of Thomas Becket and Thomas More make it a place of pilgrimage.
Dunstan was Archbishop of Canterbury from 960 to 978 and was canonised soon after his death, becoming the favourite saint of the English until he was supplanted by Thomas Becket.[2] He was buried in Canterbury Cathedral but his tomb was destroyed during the Reformation.
In 1174, when Henry II began his penitential pilgrimage in reparation for the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, he changed his clothing into sackcloth at St. Dunstan’s Church and began his pilgrimage from here to Thomas Becket's tomb at Canterbury Cathedral on foot.
His daughter Margaret secured the release of Thomas More's head from its spike on London Bridge and brought it back to the family tomb of her husband William Roper.[4] The Roper family lived nearby off what is now St Dunstan's Street. What remains of their home is called Roper Gate, marked with a commemorative plaque, it is all that survives of Place House. The Roper family vault is located underneath the Nicholas Chapel, to the right of the church's main altar. It was sealed in recent years, according to Anglican tradition. A large stone slab marks its location to the immediate left of the chapel's altar. Three impressive stained glass windows line the chapel, the one behind the altar depicts in brilliant detail the major events and symbols in the life of the Saint. Another of the windows commemorates the visit of Pope John Paul II to Canterbury to pray with the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury at the site of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. The window displays the arms of the Archbishop's diocese and the Pope. Plaques mounted on the walls explain the veracity of the relic of the Saint's head, the sealing of the vault which contains it, and the life of the Saint, including a prayer he wrote.
St Dunstan’s has six bells, hung for change ringing in the English style, the heaviest weighing 13cwt (approx. 675 kg). Due to the unusual narrowness of the belfry, the bells are hung in a two-tier frame.
The fifth bell of the ring is one of the oldest Christian church bells in the world, believed to have been cast in 1325 by William le Belyetere, making it nearly 690 years old as of 2014 [5]
The bells were removed from the tower in 1935 so that a concrete structural beam could be fitted to the tower. At this time the bells were retuned by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, and rehung in the present frame in 1936.
The bells are rung on Friday evenings for practice, and Sunday mornings for the service, by the St Dunstan’s Society of Change Ringers.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Dunstan%27s,_Canterbury
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ir Thomas More (/ˈmɔːr/; 7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated by Roman Catholics as Saint Thomas More,[1][2] was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was also a councillor to Henry VIII, and Lord High Chancellor of England from October 1529 to 16 May 1532.[3]
More opposed the Protestant Reformation, in particular the theology of Martin Luther and William Tyndale. He also wrote Utopia, published in 1516, about the political system of an imaginary ideal island nation. More opposed the King's separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England and the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he was convicted of treason and beheaded. Ahead of his execution, he was reported saying his famous words: "I die the King's good servant, but God's first."
Pope Pius XI canonised More in 1935 as a martyr. Pope John Paul II in 2000 declared him the "heavenly Patron of Statesmen and Politicians."[4] Since 1980, the Church of England has remembered More liturgically as a Reformation martyr.[5] The Soviet Union honoured him for the 'Communistic' attitude toward property rights expressed in Utopia.
Born in Milk Street in London, on February 7, 1478, Thomas More was the son of Sir John More,[9] a successful lawyer and later judge, and his wife Agnes (née Graunger). More was educated at St Anthony's School, then considered one of London's finest schools.[10] From 1490 to 1492, More served John Morton, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England, as a household page.[11]:xvi Morton enthusiastically supported the "New Learning" (now called the Renaissance), and thought highly of the young More. Believing that More had great potential, Morton nominated him for a place at the University of Oxford (either in St. Mary's Hall or Canterbury College, both now gone).[12]:38
More began his studies at Oxford in 1492, and received a classical education. Studying under Thomas Linacre and William Grocyn, he became proficient in both Latin and Greek. More left Oxford after only two years—at his father's insistence—to begin legal training in London at New Inn, one of the Inns of Chancery.[11]:xvii[13] In 1496, More became a student at Lincoln's Inn, one of the Inns of Court, where he remained until 1502, when he was called to the Bar.
According to his friend, theologian Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, More once seriously contemplated abandoning his legal career to become a monk.[14][15] Between 1503 and 1504 More lived near the Carthusian monastery outside the walls of London and joined in the monks' spiritual exercises. Although he deeply admired their piety, More ultimately decided to remain a layman, standing for election to Parliament in 1504 and marrying the following year.[11]:xxi
In spite of his choice to pursue a secular career, More continued ascetical practices for the rest of his life, such as wearing a hair shirt next to his skin and occasionally engaging in flagellation.[11]:xxi A tradition of the Third Order of Saint Francis honours More as a member of that Order on their calendar of saints.
More married Jane Colt in 1505.[12]:118 She was 5 years younger than her husband, quiet and good-natured.[12]:119 Erasmus reported that More wanted to give his young wife a better education than she had previously received at home, and tutored her in music and literature.[12]:119 The couple had four children before Jane died in 1511: Margaret, Elizabeth, Cicely, and John.[12]:132
Going "against friends' advice and common custom," within thirty days More had married one of the many eligible women among his wide circle of friends.[17] He certainly expected a mother to take care of his little children and, as the view of his time considered marriage as an "economic union",[18] he chose a rich widow, Alice Harpur Middleton.[19] More is regarded not getting remarried for sexual pleasure, since Alice is much older than himself, and their marriage possibly had not been consummated.[18] The speed of the marriage was so unusual that More had to get a dispensation of the banns, which, due to his good public reputation, he easily obtained.[17] Alice More lacked Jane's docility; More's friend Andrew Ammonius derided Alice as a "hook-nosed harpy."[20] Erasmus, however, called their marriage happy.[12]:144
More had no children from his second marriage, although he raised Alice's daughter from her previous marriage as his own. More also became the guardian of two young girls: Anne Cresacre would eventually marry his son, John More;[12]:146 and Margaret Giggs (later Clement) would be the only member of his family to witness his execution (she died on the 35th anniversary of that execution, and her daughter married More's nephew William Rastell). An affectionate father, More wrote letters to his children whenever he was away on legal or government business, and encouraged them to write to him often.[12]:150[21]:xiv
More insisted upon giving his daughters the same classical education as his son, a highly unusual attitude at the time.[12]:146–47 His eldest daughter, Margaret, attracted much admiration for her erudition, especially her fluency in Greek and Latin.[12]:147 More told his daughter of his pride in her academic accomplishment in September 1522, after he showed the bishop a letter she had written:
When he saw from the signature that it was the letter of a lady, his surprise led him to read it more eagerly … he said he would never have believed it to be your work unless I had assured him of the fact, and he began to praise it in the highest terms … for its pure Latinity, its correctness, its erudition, and its expressions of tender affection. He took out at once from his pocket a portague [A Portuguese gold coin] … to send to you as a pledge and token of his good will towards you.[21]:152
More's decision to educate his daughters set an example for other noble families. Even Erasmus became much more favourable once he witnessed their accomplishments.[12]:149
A portrait of More and his family was painted by Holbein, but it was lost in a fire in the 18th century. More's grandson commissioned a copy, two versions of which survive.
In 1504 More was elected to Parliament to represent Great Yarmouth, and in 1510 began representing London.[22]
From 1510, More served as one of the two undersheriffs of the City of London, a position of considerable responsibility in which he earned a reputation as an honest and effective public servant. More became Master of Requests in 1514,[23] the same year in which he was appointed as a Privy Counsellor.[24] After undertaking a diplomatic mission to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, accompanying Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal Archbishop of York, to Calais and Bruges, More was knighted and made under-treasurer of the Exchequer in 1521.[24]
As secretary and personal adviser to King Henry VIII, More became increasingly influential: welcoming foreign diplomats, drafting official documents, and serving as a liaison between the King and Lord Chancellor Wolsey. More later served as High Steward for the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
In 1523 More was elected as knight of the shire (MP) for Middlesex and, on Wolsey's recommendation, the House of Commons elected More its Speaker.[24] In 1525 More became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with executive and judicial responsibilities over much of northern England.
More supported the Catholic Church and saw the Protestant Reformation as heresy, a threat to the unity of both church and society. More believed in the theology, polemics, and ecclesiastical laws of the church, and "heard Luther's call to destroy the Catholic Church as a call to war."[25]
His early actions against the Reformation included aiding Wolsey in preventing Lutheran books from being imported into England, spying on and investigating suspected Protestants, especially publishers, and arresting anyone holding in his possession, transporting, or selling the books of the Protestant Reformation. More vigorously suppressed the travelling country ministers who used Tyndale's English translation of the New Testament.[citation needed] It contained controversial translations of certain words; for example, Tyndale used "senior" and "elder" rather than "priest" for the Greek "presbyteros", and some of the marginal glosses challenged Catholic doctrine.[26] It was during this time that most of his literary polemics appeared.
Rumours circulated during and after More's lifetime regarding ill-treatment of heretics during his time as Lord Chancellor. The popular anti-Catholic polemicist John Foxe, who "placed Protestant sufferings against the background of... the Antichrist",[27] was instrumental in publicising accusations of torture in his famous Book of Martyrs, claiming that More had often personally used violence or torture while interrogating heretics. Later authors such as Brian Moynahan and Michael Farris cite Foxe when repeating these allegations.[28] More himself denied these allegations:
Stories of a similar nature were current even in More's lifetime and he denied them forcefully. He admitted that he did imprison heretics in his house – 'theyr sure kepynge' – he called it – but he utterly rejected claims of torture and whipping... 'so helpe me God.'[12]:298
However, More writes in his "Apology" (1533) that he only applied corporal punishment to two heretics: a child who was caned in front of his family for heresy regarding the Eucharist, and a "feeble-minded" man who was whipped for disrupting prayers.[29]:404 During More's chancellorship, six people were burned at the stake for heresy; they were Thomas Hitton, Thomas Bilney, Richard Bayfield, John Tewkesbery, Thomas Dusgate, and James Bainham.[12]:299–306 Moynahan has argued that More was influential in the burning of Tyndale, as More's agents had long pursued him, even though this took place over a year after his own death.[30] Burning at the stake had long been a standard punishment for heresy; about thirty burnings had taken place in the century before More's elevation to Chancellor, and burning continued to be used by both Catholics and Protestants during the religious upheaval of the following decades.[31] His biographer Peter Ackroyd notes that More explicitly "approved of Burning".[12]:298
John Tewkesbury was a London leather seller found guilty by Bishop of London John Stokesley[32] of harbouring banned books; he was sentenced to burning for refusing to recant. More declared: he "burned as there was neuer wretche I wene better worthy."[33]
Modern commentators are divided over More's religious actions as Chancellor. Some biographers, including Ackroyd, have taken a relatively tolerant view of More's campaign against Protestantism by placing his actions within the turbulent religious climate of the time. Others have been more critical, such as Richard Marius, an American scholar of the Reformation, believing that persecutions were a betrayal of More's earlier humanist convictions, including More's zealous and well-documented advocacy of extermination for Protestants.[29]:386–406
Some Protestants take a different view. In 1980, More was added to the Church of England's calendar of Saints and Heroes of the Christian Church, despite being a fierce opponent of the English Reformation that created the Church of England. He was added jointly with John Fisher, to be commemorated every 6 July (the date of More's execution) as "Thomas More, Scholar, and John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, Reformation Martyrs, 1535".[5] Pope John Paul II honoured him by making him patron saint of statesmen and politicians in October 2000, stating: "It can be said that he demonstrated in a singular way the value of a moral conscience... even if, in his actions against heretics, he reflected the limits of the culture of his time".
As the conflict over supremacy between the Papacy and the King reached its apogee, More continued to remain steadfast in supporting the supremacy of the Pope as Successor of Peter over that of the King of England. In 1530, More refused to sign a letter by the leading English churchmen and aristocrats asking Pope Clement VII to annul Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and also quarrelled with Henry VIII over the heresy laws. In 1531, Henry had isolated More by purging most clergy who supported the papal stance from senior positions in the church. Parliament's reinstatement of the charge of praemunire in 1529 had made it a crime to support in public or office the claim of any authority outside the realm (such as the Papacy) to have a legal jurisdiction superior to the King's. In 1531, a royal decree required the clergy to take an oath acknowledging the King as "Supreme Head" of the Church in England. As a layperson, More did not need to take the oath and the clergy, after some initial resistance, took the oath with the addition of the clause "as far as the law of Christ allows." However, More saw he could not render the support Henry expected from his Lord Chancellor for the policy the King was developing to support the annulment of his marriage with Catherine. In 1532 he petitioned the King to relieve him of his office, alleging failing health. Henry granted his request.
In 1533, More refused to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn as the Queen of England. Technically, this was not an act of treason, as More had written to Henry acknowledging Anne's queenship and expressing his desire for the King's happiness and the new Queen's health.[34] Despite this, his refusal to attend was widely interpreted as a snub against Anne, and Henry took action against him.
Shortly thereafter, More was charged with accepting bribes, but the charges had to be dismissed for lack of any evidence. In early 1534, More was accused of conspiring with the "Holy Maid of Kent," Elizabeth Barton, a nun who had prophesied against the king's annulment, but More was able to produce a letter in which he had instructed Barton not to interfere with state matters.[citation needed]
On 13 April 1534, More was asked to appear before a commission and swear his allegiance to the parliamentary Act of Succession. More accepted Parliament's right to declare Anne Boleyn the legitimate Queen of England, but, holding fast to the teaching of papal supremacy, he steadfastly refused to take the oath of supremacy of the Crown in the relationship between the kingdom and the church in England. More furthermore publicly refused to uphold Henry's annulment from Catherine. John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, refused the oath along with More. The oath reads:[35]
...By reason whereof the Bishop of Rome and See Apostolic, contrary to the great and inviolable grants of jurisdictions given by God immediately to emperors, kings and princes in succession to their heirs, hath presumed in times past to invest who should please them to inherit in other men's kingdoms and dominions, which thing we your most humble subjects, both spiritual and temporal, do most abhor and detest...
With his refusal to support the King's annulment, More's enemies had enough evidence to have the King arrest him on treason. Four days later, Henry had More imprisoned in the Tower of London. There More prepared a devotional Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation. While More was imprisoned in the Tower, Thomas Cromwell made several visits, urging More to take the oath, which he continued to refuse.
On 1 July 1535, More was tried before a panel of judges that included the new Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas Audley, as well as Anne Boleyn's father, brother, and uncle. He was charged with high treason for denying the validity of the Act of Supremacy and was tried under the following section of the Treasons Act 1534:
If any person or persons, after the first day of February next coming, do maliciously wish, will or desire, by words or writing, or by craft imagine, invent, practise, or attempt any bodily harm to be done or committed to the king's most royal person, the queen's, or their heirs apparent, or to deprive them or any of them of their dignity, title, or name of their royal estates …
That then every such person and persons so offending … shall have and suffer such pains of death and other penalties, as is limited and accustomed in cases of high treason.[36]
More, relying on legal precedent and the maxim "qui tacet consentire videtur" (literally, who (is) silent is seen to consent), understood that he could not be convicted as long as he did not explicitly deny that the King was Supreme Head of the Church, and he therefore refused to answer all questions regarding his opinions on the subject.
Thomas Cromwell, at the time the most powerful of the King's advisors, brought forth the Solicitor General, Richard Rich, to testify that More had, in his presence, denied that the King was the legitimate head of the church. This testimony was characterised by More as being extremely dubious. Witnesses Richard Southwell and Mr. Palmer both denied having heard the details of the reported conversation, and as More himself pointed out:
Can it therefore seem likely to your Lordships, that I should in so weighty an Affair as this, act so unadvisedly, as to trust Mr. Rich, a Man I had always so mean an Opinion of, in reference to his Truth and Honesty, … that I should only impart to Mr. Rich the Secrets of my Conscience in respect to the King's Supremacy, the particular Secrets, and only Point about which I have been so long pressed to explain my self? which I never did, nor never would reveal; when the Act was once made, either to the King himself, or any of his Privy Councillors, as is well known to your Honours, who have been sent upon no other account at several times by his Majesty to me in the Tower. I refer it to your Judgments, my Lords, whether this can seem credible to any of your Lordships.
The jury took only fifteen minutes, however, to find More guilty.
After the jury's verdict was delivered and before his sentencing, More spoke freely of his belief that "no temporal man may be the head of the spirituality". He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered (the usual punishment for traitors who were not the nobility), but the King commuted this to execution by decapitation. The execution took place on 6 July 1535. When he came to mount the steps to the scaffold, he is widely quoted as saying (to the officials): "I pray you, I pray you, Mr Lieutenant, see me safe up and for my coming down, I can shift for myself"; while on the scaffold he declared that he died "the king's good servant, but God's first."
Another comment he is believed to have made to the executioner is that his beard was completely innocent of any crime, and did not deserve the axe; he then positioned his beard so that it would not be harmed.[39] More asked that his foster/adopted daughter Margaret Clement (née Giggs) be given his headless corpse to bury.[40] She was the only member of his family to witness his execution. He was buried at the Tower of London, in the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in an unmarked grave. His head was fixed upon a pike over London Bridge for a month, according to the normal custom for traitors. His daughter Margaret (Meg) Roper rescued it, possibly by bribery, before it could be thrown in the River Thames.[citation needed]
The skull is believed to rest in the Roper Vault of St Dunstan's Church, Canterbury, though some researchers[who?] have claimed it might be within the tomb he erected for More in Chelsea Old Church (see below). The evidence,[clarification needed] however, seems to be in favour of its placement in St Dunstan's, with the remains of his daughter, Margaret Roper, and her husband's family, whose vault it was.[citation needed]
Among other surviving relics is his hair shirt, presented for safe keeping by Margaret Clement.[41] This was long in the custody of the community of Augustinian canonesses who until 1983 lived at the convent at Abbotskerswell Priory, Devon. It is now preserved at Syon Abbey, near South Brent.
The history of pre-Christian Europe is mostly lost and what little is known is fragmentary at best. Many preserved bodies have been found in bogs and moors all across Europe. The bodies are often preserved in a remarkable state, in fine detail down to the stubble on a person's face, due to low oxygen and the action of tannins in the bogs.
IN many cases these victims victims appear to have died horrific deaths consisting of multiple modes of killing - stabbing, beating, strangulation, torture, and so on. Some where apparently staked to their bog grave with willow stakes driven through the neck and joints before they were killed.
The victims were men, women, teens and children. Some had physical deformities, some had hard working lives and others seem to been from wealth and privilege.
Roman authors were unclear about the role of human sacrifice. Some wrote that the killings were ritual, to propitiate underworld gods, while others suggested it was execution for crime or violation of societal taboos. It is not known whether these people were forced to their deaths or whether they went willingly. Ancient Europeans often buried high-value weapons and objects in swamps, pools, rivers, springs and other places, thought to lead to the underworld, so it is a good guess that these victims are the most valuable sacrifices made to the gods. Perhaps to ensure a good growing season, good weather, protection from enemies...?
Many bog bodies show multiple modes of death - stabbing, strangulation and clubbing for example. Lucan described sacrifices made to the trio of deities Taranis, Esus, and Toutis in which the victim was burned, strangled and hung, one wound for each deity. One must be cautious in interpreting Roman writings since their aim was often to highlight the savageness of the barbarians to justify conquering them. So perhaps we are getting only the most sensational stories. Romans, too, as outsiders may have been ignorant of what they were actually seeing. Their disgust at human sacrifice is odd since they, and most societies on earth performed human sacrifice for the same reasons - good harvests, good lambing season, luck in battle, humiliation of enemies, etc...
Life to those people was uncertain and death came randomly in many ways - disease, starvation, war.... Without knowledge of science these societies created mythologies to try to put in order the otherwise random nature of life. The harshness of life is, I believe, echoed in their deities which seem to be generally fearsome, nefarious and terrible.Even earth mothers from which they were born are often also deities with dual natures and can take life just the same.
Finally I'm not sure we can ever really get into the heads of these ancient people. It fascinates me to no end. I look at their monuments and realize that it was an relevant and meaningful as monothesitic religious iconography is to us. Although the details of their mythologies are lost, these practices were very important to them - It lasted for thousands of years. I don't imagine they killed for the sake of killing but rather this was a task to be done and was likely carried out in a frenzied haze of of alcohol and hallucinogens. Perhaps it was in response to a dry spring or excessive flooding or a cold summer?
The totems, dress, and the whole scene is purely from my head. I try to create a scene based on known facts and then trying to imagine what they thought when making those artifacts, and then extend it further to create things and situations that might have existed. Just like modern archeology I don't know if the moon means anything, the time of day, the bells on the antlers, the wreath, etc... or whether the bells are to help them find their way back to the village and it just happens to a waning moon.
Two clone troopers are held captive by a roaming mandelorian patrol.
"Any last words, clone trooper scum?"
ift.tt/2gupwdO #Medal podium from the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics that was used as execution platform for prisoners during the Siege of Sarajevo by troops from the Army of the Republika Srpska, 1996 [2000x1000] . #history #retro #vintage #dh #HistoryPorn ift.tt/2h6Q5FI via Histolines
The camp was established in 1936. It was located north of Berlin, which gave it a primary position among the German concentration camps: the administrative centre of all concentration camps was located in Oranienburg, and Sachsenhausen became a training centre for Schutzstaffel (SS) officers (who would often be sent to oversee other camps afterwards). Executions took place at Sachsenhausen, especially those that were Soviet Prisoners of War. Some Jews were executed at Sachsenhausen and many died there, the Jewish inmates of the camp were relocated to Auschwitz in 1942. Sachsenhausen was not intended as an extermination camp — instead, the systematic mass murder of Jews was conducted in camps to the east. However, many died as a result of executions, casual brutality and the poor living conditions and treatment.
Sachsenhausen was intended to set a standard for other concentration camps, both in its design and the treatment of prisoners. The camp perimeter is, approximately, an equilateral triangle with a semi circular roll call area centred on the main entrance gate in the side running northeast to southwest. Barrack huts lay beyond the roll call area, radiating from the gate. The layout was intended to allow the machine gun post in the entrance gate to dominate the camp but in practice it was necessary to add additional watchtowers to the perimeter.
The standard barrack layout was two accommodation areas linked by common storage, washing and storage areas. Heating was minimal. Each day, time to get up, wash, use the toilet and eat was very limited in the crowded facilities.
There was an infirmary inside the southern angle of the perimeter and a camp prison within the eastern angle. There was also a camp kitchen and a camp laundry. The camp's capacity became inadequate and the camp was extended in 1938 by a new rectangular area (the "small camp") north east of the entrance gate and the perimeter wall was altered to enclose it. There was an additional area (sonder lager) outside the main camp perimeter to the north; this was built in 1941 for special prisoners that the regime wished to isolate.
An industrial area, outside the western camp perimeter, contained SS workshops in which prisoners were forced to work; those unable to work had to stand to attention for the duration of the working day. Heinkel, the aircraft manufacturer, was a major user of Sachsenhausen labour, using between 6000 and 8000 prisoners on their He 177 bomber. Although official German reports claimed "The prisoners are working without fault", some of these aircraft crashed unexpectedly around Stalingrad and it's suspected that prisoners had sabotaged them. [1] Other firms included AEG.
Plaque to honour over 100 Dutch resistance fighters executed at Sachsenhausen.Later, part of the industrial area was used for "Station Z", where executions took place and a new crematorium was built, when the first camp crematorium could no longer cope with the number of corpses. The executions were done in a trench, either by shooting or by hanging. Amongst those executed were the commandos from Operation Musketoon and the Grand Prix motor racing champion, William Grover-Williams, also John Godwin RNVR, a British Naval Sub-Lieutenant who managed to shoot dead the commander of his execution party, for which he was mentioned in despatches posthumously. Over 100 Dutch resistance fighters were executed at Sachsenhausen.
The camp was secure and there were few successful escapes. The perimeter consisted of a three metre high wall on the outside. Within that there was a path used by guards and dogs; it was bordered on the inside by a lethal electric fence; inside that was a "death strip" forbidden to the prisoners. Any prisoner venturing onto the "death strip" would be shot by the guards without warning.
Arbeit Macht Frei gateOn the front entrance gates to Sachsenhausen is the infamous slogan Arbeit Macht Frei (German: "Work Makes [You] Free"). About 200,000 people passed through Sachsenhausen between 1936 and 1945. Some 100,000 inmates died there from exhaustion, disease, malnutrition or pneumonia from the freezing winter cold. Many were executed or died as the result of brutal medical experimentation. According to an article published on December 13, 2001 in The New York Times, "In the early years of the war the SS practiced methods of mass killing there that were later used in the Nazi death camps. Of the roughly 30,000 wartime victims at Sachsenhausen, most were Russian prisoners of war, among them Joseph Stalin's eldest son (Yakov Dzhugashvili).[2]
The wife and children of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, members of the Wittelsbach family, were held in the camp from October 1944 to April 1945, before being transferred to the Dachau concentration camp. Reverend Martin Niemöller, a critic of the Nazis and author of the poem First they came..., was also a prisoner at the camp. Herschel Grynszpan, whose act of assassination was used by Joseph Goebbels to initiate the Kristallnacht pogrom, was moved in and out of Sachshausen since his capture on the 18th July 1940 and until September 1940 when he was moved to Magdeburg.[3] Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera was imprisoned there until October 1944, and two of his brothers died there.
On September 15 1939, August Dickman, a German Jehovah's Witness, was publicly shot as a result of his conscientious objection to joining the armed forces. The SS had expected his death to persuade fellow Witnesses to abandon their own refusals and to show rspect for camp rules and authorities. It failed; the others enthusiastically refused to back down and begged to be martyred also. [4]
Sachsenhausen was the site of the largest counterfeiting operation ever. The Nazis forced Jewish artisans to produce forged American and British currency, as part of a plan to undermine the British and United States' economies, courtesy of Sicherheitsdienst (SD) chief Reinhard Heydrich. Over one billion pounds in counterfeited banknotes was recovered. The Germans introduced fake British £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes into circulation in 1943: the Bank of England never found them. Today, these notes are considered very valuable by collectors.
Many women were among the inmates of Sachsenhausen and its subcamps. According to SS files, more than 2,000 women lived in Sachsenhausen, guarded by female SS staff (Aufseherin). Camp records show that there was one male SS soldier for every ten inmates and for every ten male SS there was a woman SS. Several subcamps for women were established in Berlin, including in Neukolln.
Camp punishments could be harsh. Some would be required to assume the "Sachsenhausen salute" where a prisoner would squat with his arms outstretched in front. There was a marching strip around the perimeter of the roll call ground, where prisoners had to march over a variety of surfaces, to test military footwear; between 25 and 40 kilometres were covered each day. Prisoners assigned to the camp prison would be kept in isolation on poor rations and some would be suspended from posts by their wrists tied behind their backs (strappado). In cases such as attempted escape, there would a public hanging in front of the assembled prisoners.
With the advance of the Red Army in the spring of 1945, Sachsenhausen was prepared for evacuation. On April 20–21, the camp's SS staff ordered 33,000 inmates on a forced march westward. Most of the prisoners were physically exhausted and thousands did not survive this death march; those who collapsed en route were shot by the SS. On April 22, 1945, the camp's remaining 3,000 inmates, including 1,400 women were liberated by the Red Army and Polish 2nd Infantry Division of Ludowe Wojsko Polskie.
It's estimated that 200,000 people passed thrugh Sachsenhausen concentration camp and that 100,000 died.
The execution notices for two prominent traitors:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Amery
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Joyce
On display in the small museum at Wandsworth Prison in London. I was particularly pleased to locate the one for 'Lord Haw Haw' (Willian Joyce).I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw it a few years ago hanging in the corridor leading to the gents toilet in the pub nearest to the prison. But when I returned to photograph it, it had gone - and the pub had been turned into another soulless gastropub.
According to the warder who runs the museum it had been offered to someone who then passed it to the museum. It was clearly stolen, but doubtless the manager of the gastropub would have had no idea who Lord Haw Haw was and would have cared even less!
hello every one , my new photo ( Execution ) i edit this photo with : adobe light room + adobe photo shop , i hope u like it .
Starring Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan , Maurice Manson ,Mel Welles and Allison Hayes .
Produced and directed by Roger Corman during the height of his "low-budget" period, this tale is essentially a time-travel by hypnosis story about a woman who journeys back to see her past life as a witch.
The king of the drive-in horror movies, Roger Corman, made this classic horror film about two researchers who send a woman back in time to her former life. While there, she finds that she was imprisoned in a tower, awaiting execution for being condemned as a witch. Allison Hayes played the dual role and was known for her many horror and science fiction pictures of the 1950s.
synopsis
Legendary shlockmeister Roger Corman and long-time collaborator Charles B. Griffith attempted to cash in on the popular 1950s surge in Bridey Murphy reincarnation mania with this confusing and throughly weird thriller. It begins with researcher Richard Garland hypnotizing streetwalker Pamela Duncan in an attempt to record her past-life experiences as a condemned witch in the Dark Ages. After numerous silly attempts by Garland to save her -- including regressing himself into the same period, where, by remarkable coincidence, he also lived as a soldier -- Duncan decides not to alter the course of history, and she resigns herself to her fate. Despite the spooky ambience, a cast of Corman regulars (including Mel Welles and Allison Hayes), and some clever plot twists -- including one which finds the tables turned on our meddling scientist -- Griffith's static and talky screenplay is so absurdly crammed with half-baked metaphysical musings that it becomes almost impossible to discern the plot.
We open with Satan (Richard Devon) introducing himself. Next, we meet Diana Love (Pamela Duncan) entering the scene through a thick fog. She is a streetwalker and agrees to accompany a man to the American Institute of Psychical Research office. In a very shabby office we meet Quintus Ratcliff (Val Dufour), who was the man who engaged Diana's services. Quintus has been away in Tibet for the last seven years. We meet Professor Ulbrecht Olinger (Maurice Manson). Quintus was one of the professor's students, and not a very good student--he failed him. Quintus talks the professor into conducting an experiment in regression hypnosis. He intends to hypnotize Diana back to a previous life. He intends to keep her under for two or more days. The professor is reluctant to get involved, for both legal and ethical reasons, but eventually agrees. He first examines Diana medically, specifically to see if her heart is sound, then he takes a brief medical history.
Quintus hypnotizes Diana. He is taking her back in time. In her first observation, she speaks French. Quintus takes her back even further in time to explore earlier past lives. Diana starts to pull on her bracelet. Quintus and the professor look on baffled at her behavior. Next we are transported back in time and see what Diana (now Helene in her time) is experiencing. She is chained in a dungeon and is trying to remove the manacle on her wrist. We meet the torturer and dungeon master, Gobbo, the Jailer (Aaron Saxon). He proceeds to verbally torment Helene. He tells her that she is to be beheaded soon. Helene has been accused of being a witch. She manages to knock her jailer out, take his keys and escape.
Back in the office, Quintus is explaining that while Diana is in her trance, in the here and now, her past life is being played out in real time. Helene exits the dungeon with guards chasing her. She encounters a knight on horseback who begins to chase her through the woods. Helene stops to catch her breath, she encounters the Gravedigger Smolkin (Mel Welles) singing a macabre little ditty. She enters his hearse and hides in the coffin with the body Smolkin is taking for burial. The knight on horseback is Pendragon (Richard Garland) and he questions Smolkin if he "has seen the witch Helene?" He demands to examine the contents of the coffin, but all he finds is the body of an old man with a beard. Helene is hiding beneath the body. Pendragon reminds the gravedigger that coffins must be sealed, and it is nailed shut immediately. Smolkin heads off to the graveyard to finish his job.
A pair of owls, in a nearby tree, transform into lizards (or iguanas) then transform again into an Imp (Billy Barty) and a black cat. The cat then transforms into Livia the Witch (Allison Hayes). They observe the knight and she engages him in conversation. Pendragon tells Livia he is trying to prove Helene innocent of witchcraft, and seeks Smolkin to get his evidence. Livia is in love with Pendragon. After Pendragon departs, Livia transforms back into a cat and goes back to her tree to talk to her Imp.
Helene struggles to excape from the coffin. Pendragon meets Smolkin at the graveyard and questions him about his bewitchment. Did Helene do it? Smolkin cannot answer the question. Pendragon departs, and Smolkin carries the coffin to the hole, but he hears a cry from inside and releases Helene. Helene denies bewitching him and tells him that at dawn she and two others accused of witchcraft are to be executed. If she can hide for an additional day, she will have a full year to prove her innocence. The witch's Sabbath is scheduled for midnight in this very graveyard.
Livia enters the Gabriel's Horn Inn and meets with Scroop, the Innkeeper (Bruno VeSota). He tells her he's prepared to repel witches from his establishment. Pendragon enters the Inn and walks upstairs to his room, ordering Scroop to bring him some ale. Livia brings him his pitcher of ale. They talk, and she kisses him. She reminds Pendragon that Helene will die in the morning.
Smolkin takes Helene to the deepest part of the forest and directs her to a cottage where she will be safe for the night. There she meets the owner, Meg Maud, a witch (Dorothy Neumann) and screams. We are back in the office, and Diana is screaming. The professor demands Quintus wake her, but Quintus refuses. He suggests that the shock of waking her could kill her. Meg Maud opens the door to the cottage and invites Helene inside.
Meanwhile, back at the Inn, Scroop gives Pendragon the plans to the prison tower to aid in Helene's escape. He doesn't know she isn't there. Livia looks on, bemused. Helene explains to Meg that she managed her escape with the help of her future self, Diana Love, and learns that it was Livia that accused her of witchcraft. Meg heads over to the Inn to confer with Scroop. She tells Pendragon to go over to her cottage immediately. Pendragon leaves, and Meg heads upstairs to confront Livia, who has transformed herself back into a cat. When Meg enters, Livia has resumed human form. Livia reveals that she intends to marry Pendragon. Pendragon meets Helene at the cottage and they head back to the Inn. Smolkin finishes burying the corpse. Livia arrives and they discuss the witch's Sabbath that takes place at midnight.
Back in the office, Helene through Diana explains to Quintus and the professor that she will die soon. Diana has altered the past. The professor notices a bruise on Dianas forearm, and Quintus concludes the regression is both mental and physical. He proposes his own hypnosis to go back to Helens past life and correct their mistake. Meg and Helene leave the Inn and return to Meg's cottage. Livia arrives at the Inn to get Helene, but missing her, she collects a freshly severed head she needs for the Sabbath. It is Scroop's head. Smolkin tells Meg that Helene is in great danger from Livia and her Imp.
Quintus explains to the professor that if Helene does not die at the appointed time in the past, Diana and all the other lives she will live will never happen. Quintus must go back and make sure Helene dies at her appointed time and place. Livia promises Pendragon that she will use her powers to release Helene. Using black magic and witchcraft is the only way to save her--she reveals herself as a witch. Pendragon agrees, but Livia tells him the price is his soul. He must enter into a bargain with the devil at the Sabbath that midnight. He agrees.
Quintus, back in the office, is hooked up to some electrical apparatus. He and Diana are wired up and ready. The professor is very reluctant to participate. He hypnotizes Quintus to synchronize their brain waves. It works, and Quintus is transported back in time. He assumes the identity of a knight, steals his armor, and sets off to find Helene.
Meg Maud leaves for the Sabbath to observe. At the graveyard, the ceremony begins with a dance. Livia and Pendragon arrive, while Meg Maud looks on, unobserved. Livia offers up the severed head of Scroop and Satan appears. He is collecting souls and makes all interested parties sign his book. The first to sign is a leper (Richard "Dick" Miller). He signs, and is transformed back to normal, but now has a pitch fork tattoo on his hand. Livia presents Pendragon to Satan. Before Pendragon can sign the book, Quinus stops him. Satan recognizes Quintus, and tells him he has slipped the bounds of time. Quintus convinces Pendragon to follow him back to Meg Maud's cottage to be reunited with Helene. Pendragon learns of Livia's treachery and the role Quintus plays in all this. Quintus explains his mission to Meg Maud, while Smolkin, Helene, and Pendragon head for the woods. Livia arrives with Quintus, Meg, and Satan in the woods. There, Helene is presented with her choice--death now and future lives, or life now and no life for all her future selves. Each of the assembled offer their advise, even the voices of her future selves chime in.
Helene makes her choice, which is to die, and runs off. Pendragon confronts Livia and kills her with his knife. Helene arrives just in time for the headsman to take her head. Diana wakes up from her trance and explains to the professor that she is grateful to Helene and will make the effort to change her life. All that remains of Quintus, in the present, is an empty suit of clothes. Quintus is left with the Devil, who explains that his link to the future was with Helene, and now that she is dead, he is stuck in the past. We close with Satan taunting Quintus and laughing.
Edouard Manet - Execution of emperor Maximilian [1868] - Lithograph - NYC MET, AN 21.48
Who wants to know more about the historical background, why archduke Maximilian of Hapsburg entered in the Mexican adventure may read the following article:
www.holocaustianity.com/hysteria/maximilian.html
More about the history of Manet's paintings:
1) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Execution_of_Emperor_Maximilian
2) www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2006/Manet/
or
www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2006/Manet/detail_f...
Available for purchase from www.ballaratheritage.com.au
VHR - springthorpe
Statement of Significance
What is significant?
The Springthorpe Memorial within the Boroondara Cemetery (VHR0049)commemorates Annie Springthorpe, and was erected in 1897 by her husband Dr John Springthorpe. It was designed by Harold Desbrowe Annear and includes Bertram Mackennal sculptures. It contains twelve columns of deep green granite from Scotland supporting a Harcourt granite superstructure, and a glass dome roof of lead lighting.
How is it significant?
The Springthorpe Memorial is of historic and architectural significance to the State of Victoria
Why is it significant?
The Springthorpe Memorial is historically important in demonstrating nineteenth century social and cultural attitudes to death, and for reflecting the ideals of the Victorian Garden Cemetery movement which aimed at providing comfort for mourners. The memorial is important in demonstrating uniqueness, no other example being known of such aesthetic composition, architectural design and execution, or scale. It is important in exhibiting good design and aesthetic characteristics and for the richness and unusual integration of features. The Springthorpe Memorial is also important in illustrating the principal characteristics of the work of a number of artists including Desbrowe Annear, Mackennal, the glass manufacturers Auguste Fischer and the bronze work of Marriots.
VHR Statement of Significance
What is significant?
Boroondara Cemetery, established in 1858, is within an unusual triangular reserve bounded by High Street, Park Hill Road and Victoria Park, Kew. The caretaker's lodge and administrative office (1860 designed by Charles Vickers, additions, 1866-1899 by Albert Purchas) form a picturesque two-storey brick structure with a slate roof and clock tower. A rotunda or shelter (1890, Albert Purchas) is located in the centre of the cemetery: this has an octagonal hipped roof with fish scale slates and a decorative brick base with a tessellated floor and timber seating. The cemetery is surrounded by a 2.7 metre high ornamental red brick wall (1895-96, Albert Purchas) with some sections of vertical iron palisades between brick pillars. Albert Purchas was a prominent Melbourne architect who was the Secretary of the Melbourne General Cemetery from 1852 to 1907 and Chairman of the Boroondara Cemetery Board of Trustees from 1867 to 1909. He made a significant contribution to the design of the Boroondara Cemetery
Boroondara Cemetery is an outstanding example of the Victorian Garden Cemetery movement in Victoria, retaining key elements of the style, despite overdevelopment which has obscured some of the paths and driveways. Elements of the style represented at Boroondara include an ornamental boundary fence, a system of curving paths which are kerbed and follow the site's natural contours, defined views, recreational facilities such as the rotunda, a landscaped park like setting, sectarian divisions for burials, impressive monuments, wrought and cast iron grave surrounds and exotic symbolic plantings. In the 1850s cemeteries were located on the periphery of populated areas because of concerns about diseases like cholera. They were designed to be attractive places for mourners and visitors to walk and contemplate. Typically cemeteries were arranged to keep religions separated and this tended to maintain links to places of origin, reflecting a migrant society.
Other developments included cast iron entrance gates, built in 1889 to a design by Albert Purchas; a cemetery shelter or rotunda, built in 1890, which is a replica of one constructed in the Melbourne General Cemetery in the same year; an ornamental brick fence erected in 1896-99(?); the construction and operation of a terminus for a horse tram at the cemetery gates during 1887-1915; and the Springthorpe Memorial built between 1897 and 1907. A brick cremation wall and a memorial rose garden were constructed near the entrance in the mid- twentieth century(c.1955-57) and a mausoleum completed in 2001.The maintenance shed/depot close to High Strett was constructed in 1987. The original entrance was altered in 2000 and the original cast iron gates moved to the eastern entrance of the Mausoleum.
The Springthorpe Memorial (VHR 522) set at the entrance to the burial ground commemorates Annie Springthorpe, and was erected between 1897 and 1907 by her husband Dr John Springthorpe. It was the work of the sculptor Bertram Mackennal, architect Harold Desbrowe Annear, landscape designer and Director of the Melbourne Bortanic Gardens, W.R. Guilfoyle, with considerable input from Dr Springthorpe The memorial is in the form of a small temple in a primitive Doric style. It was designed by Harold Desbrowe Annear and includes Bertram Mackennal sculptures in Carrara marble. Twelve columns of deep green granite from Scotland support a Harcourt granite superstructure. The roof by Brooks Robinson is a coloured glass dome, which sits within the rectangular form and behind the pediments. The sculptural group raised on a dais, consists of the deceased woman lying on a sarcophagus with an attending angel and mourner. The figure of Grief crouches at the foot of the bier and an angel places a wreath over Annie's head, symbolising the triumph of immortal life over death. The body of the deceased was placed in a vault below. The bronze work is by Marriots of Melbourne. Professor Tucker of the University of Melbourne composed appropriate inscriptions in English and archaic Greek lettering.. The floor is a geometric mosaic and the glass dome roof is of Tiffany style lead lighting in hues of reds and pinks in a radiating pattern. The memorial originally stood in a landscape triangular garden of about one acre near the entrance to the cemetery. However, after Dr Springthorpe's death in 1933 it was found that transactions for the land had not been fully completed so most of it was regained by the cemetery. A sundial and seat remain. The building is almost completely intact. The only alteration has been the removal of a glass canopy over the statuary and missing chains between posts. The Argus (26 March 1933) considered the memorial to be the most beautiful work of its kind in Australia. No comparable buildings are known.
The Syme Memorial (1908) is a memorial to David Syme, political economist and publisher of the Melbourne Age newspaper. The Egyptian memorial designed by architect Arthur Peck is one of the most finely designed and executed pieces of monumental design in Melbourne. It has a temple like form with each column having a different capital detail. These support a cornice that curves both inwards and outwards. The tomb also has balustradings set between granite piers which create porch spaces leading to the entrance ways. Two variegated Port Jackson Figs are planted at either end.
The Cussen Memorial (VHR 2036) was constructed in 1912-13 by Sir Leo Cussen in memory of his young son Hubert. Sir Leo Finn Bernard Cussen (1859-1933), judge and member of the Victorian Supreme Court in 1906. was buried here. The family memorial is one of the larger and more impressive memorials in the cemetery and is an interesting example of the 1930s Gothic Revival style architecture. It takes the form of a small chapel with carvings, diamond shaped roof tiles and decorated ridge embellishing the exterior.
By the 1890s, the Boroondara Cemetery was a popular destination for visitors and locals admiring the beauty of the grounds and the splendid monuments. The edge of suburban settlement had reached the cemetery in the previous decade. Its Victorian garden design with sweeping curved drives, hill top views and high maintenance made it attractive. In its Victorian Garden Cemetery design, Boroondara was following an international trend. The picturesque Romanticism of the Pere la Chaise garden cemetery established in Paris in 1804 provided a prototype for great metropolitan cemeteries such as Kensal Green (1883) and Highgate (1839) in London and the Glasgow Necropolis (1831). Boroondara Cemetery was important in establishing this trend in Australia.
The cemetery's beauty peaked with the progressive completion of the spectacular Springthorpe Memorial between 1899 and 1907. From about the turn of the century, the trustees encroached on the original design, having repeatedly failed in attempts to gain more land. The wide plantations around road boundaries, grassy verges around clusters of graves in each denomination, and most of the landscaped surround to the Springthorpe memorial are now gone. Some of the original road and path space were resumed for burial purposes. The post war period saw an increased use of the Cemetery by newer migrant groups. The mid- to late- twentieth century monuments were often placed on the grassed edges of the various sections and encroached on the roadways as the cemetery had reached the potential foreseen by its design. These were well tended in comparison with Victorian monuments which have generally been left to fall into a state of neglect.
The Boroondara Cemetery features many plants, mostly conifers and shrubs of funerary symbolism, which line the boundaries, road and pathways, and frame the cemetery monuments or are planted on graves. The major plantings include an impressive row of Bhutan Cypress (Cupressus torulosa), interplanted with Sweet Pittosporum (Pittosporum undulatum), and a few Pittosporum crassifolium, along the High Street and Parkhill Street, where the planting is dominated by Sweet Pittosporum.
Planting within the cemetery includes rows and specimen trees of Bhutan Cypress and Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), including a row with alternate plantings of both species. The planting includes an unusual "squat" form of an Italian Cypress. More of these trees probably lined the cemetery roads and paths. Also dominating the cemetery landscape near the Rotunda is a stand of 3 Canary Island Pines (Pinus canariensis), a Bunya Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii) and a Weeping Elm (Ulmus glabra 'Camperdownii')
Amongst the planting are the following notable conifers: a towering Bunya Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii), a Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), a rare Golden Funeral Cypress (Chamaecyparis funebris 'Aurea'), two large Funeral Cypress (Chamaecyparis funebris), and the only known Queensland Kauri (Agathis robusta) in a cemetery in Victoria.
The Cemetery records, including historical plans of the cemetery from 1859, are held by the administration and their retention enhances the historical significance of the Cemetery.
How is it significant?
Boroondara Cemetery is of aesthetic, architectural, scientific (botanical) and historical significance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it significant?
The Boroondara Cemetery is of historical and aesthetic significance as an outstanding example of a Victorian garden cemetery.
The Boroondara Cemetery is of historical significance as a record of Victorian life from the 1850s, and the early settlement of Kew. It is also significant for its ability to demonstrate, through the design and location of the cemetery, attitudes towards burial, health concerns and the importance placed on religion, at the time of its establishment.
The Boroondara Cemetery is of architectural significance for the design of the gatehouse or sexton's lodge and cemetery office (built in stages from 1860 to 1899), the ornamental brick perimeter fence and elegant cemetery shelter to the design of prominent Melbourne architects, Charles Vickers (for the original 1860 cottage) and Albert Purchas, cemetery architect and secretary from 1864 to his death in 1907.
The Boroondara Cemetery has considerable aesthetic significance which is principally derived from its tranquil, picturesque setting; its impressive memorials and monuments; its landmark features such as the prominent clocktower of the sexton's lodge and office, the mature exotic plantings, the decorative brick fence and the entrance gates; its defined views; and its curving paths. The Springthorpe Memorial (VHR 522), the Syme Memorial and the Cussen Memorial (VHR 2036), all contained within the Boroondara Cemetery, are of aesthetic and architectural significance for their creative and artistic achievement.
The Boroondara Cemetery is of scientific (botanical) significance for its collection of rare mature exotic plantings. The Golden Funeral Cypress, (chamaecyparis funebris 'aurea') is the only known example in Victoria.
The Boroondara Cemetery is of historical significance for the graves, monuments and epitaphs of a number of individuals whose activities have played a major part in Australia's history. They include the Henty family, artists Louis Buvelot and Charles Nuttall, businessmen John Halfey and publisher David Syme, artist and diarist Georgiana McCrae, actress Nellie Stewart and architect and designer of the Boroondara and Melbourne General Cemeteries, Albert Purchas.
On August 15th, 2004 a 16-year-old girl was hanged in a public square in Neka, Iran, a small industrial town by the Caspian Sea. Her death ... all » sentence was for crimes against chastity. Her name was Atefah Sahaaleh. The only evidence against Atefah was her own forced confession.
Atefah railed against her judge in court for its unfairness, but this was her undoing. Judge Haji Rezai, who was also the local mullah, prosecutor and head of the city administration, personally obtained permission from Iran's Supreme Court to execute her, and put the noose around her neck himself before she was hoisted on a crane jib arm to her death.
Using undercover footage, eyewitness accounts and drama recontruction, this film tells an unforgettable story of the life and tragic death of an ordinary teenage girl under Iran's mullahs.
Den of Imagination - Your Miniature Painting Service
We are a registered studio in Torun, Poland. We have been in line of work since 2008. Our still growing staff of painters and sculptors is ready to work on any project you can imagine!
We are credible, solid and reliable. We work best with large commissions and we guarantee fast service.
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WEBSITE: denofimagination.com/
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/user/denofimagination
SHOP: shop.denofimagination.com/
TWITTER: Twitter.com/doiStudio
FLICKER: www.flickr.com/photos/97996892@N07/
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Another 5 young Iranians executed last day in the city of Ahvaz . this is a clear message of the ruling rejim (which late grand ayatollah montazeri told about : " this rejim is not islamic nor a republic." although he died very soon after these words but his braveness told enough.)
The message that rejim is trying to send is not only prove its knowledge of the death of the rejim but it is direct message that they are battling with the god.
We will wait and see what they have got as respond from the almighty god.
Den of Imagination - Your Miniature Painting Service
We are a registered studio in Torun, Poland. We have been in line of work since 2008. Our still growing staff of painters and sculptors is ready to work on any project you can imagine!
We are credible, solid and reliable. We work best with large commissions and we guarantee fast service.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEBSITE: denofimagination.com/
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/user/denofimagination
SHOP: shop.denofimagination.com/
TWITTER: Twitter.com/doiStudio
FLICKER: www.flickr.com/photos/97996892@N07/
PINTEREST: www.pinterest.com/denstudio/
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/doiphoto/
Den of Imagination - Your Miniature Painting Service
We are a registered studio in Torun, Poland. We have been in line of work since 2008. Our still growing staff of painters and sculptors is ready to work on any project you can imagine!
We are credible, solid and reliable. We work best with large commissions and we guarantee fast service.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEBSITE: denofimagination.com/
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/user/denofimagination
SHOP: shop.denofimagination.com/
TWITTER: Twitter.com/doiStudio
FLICKER: www.flickr.com/photos/97996892@N07/
PINTEREST: www.pinterest.com/denstudio/
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/doiphoto/
Albert Black wished witnesses a merry Christmas and prosperous new year as he stood on the scaffold on 5 December 1955.
The 20 year old Irish immigrant had stabbed to death an acquaintance Alan Jacques. Jacques had severely beaten Black not long before and witnesses would say Black was frightened of him.
Jacques was selecting a song for the jukebox in 'Ye Old Barn Café' in Queens St in Auckland when Black stabbed him in the neck. In a climate of moral outrage over supposed youth delinquents the “jukebox murder”, as it was widely known, became a touchstone of all that all that was wrong with society. Albert Black, unskilled, poor and recently arrived from Belfast was the example the hard line moralists had been looking for and he was shown no mercy. Pro death penalty Prime Minister Jack Marshall blocked the attempts of Black’s mother Kathleen to travel from Ireland to visit her son before he was executed. She raised a petition of 12,000 signatures begging for clemency for Albert but it achieved nothing.
Black was led to the gallows where it was reported that he “died game” after delivering his message to those attending his execution. The story has gained new momentum with the publication of Fiona Kidman’s 'This Mortal Boy', a novel which draws heavily on her extensive research into the life and crime of Albert Black. Kidman is convinced he should have been convicted of manslaughter not murder and is campaigning for his sentence to be downgraded.
While this will be too late for Black it will be of comfort to his surviving family, including a daughter who was born several months after his death.
Shown here is the statement of Mount Eden Prison Superintendent Horace Haywood one of the witnesses to Albert Black’s execution.
Archives Reference: J46 1454 COR1955/1253
collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search#/?q=R23847484
More information can be found here:
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objecti...
For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/ArchivesNZ
Material supplied by Archives New Zealand.
Tor Books
From the dust jacket:
It's after 9/11. After the bombing. After the Iraq War. After 7/7. After the Iran War. After the nukes. After the flu. After the Straits. After Rosyth. It's the day when the world changes all the way down to its fundamental assumptions.
HARVEY MACLEAN: SYRIA; DECAPITATION; ESPIONAGE
JIA LAN HUANG: SHANGHAI; CRANIAL SHOT; EMBEZZLEMENT
PAMELA BAKER: OHIO; ELECTROCUTION; INFANTICIDE
In a world just down the road from our own, online bloggers vie with old-line political operatives and new-style police to determine just where reality lies. And on every cable system, the mysterious Execution Channel broadcasts deaths from around the world, around the clock.
LARISA SOSNITSKAYA: RUSSIAN FEDERATION; CRANIAL SHOT; SERIAL MURDER
AHMED WAZIRIH: SYRIA; REPEATED APPLICATION OF LEGITIMATE FORCE CULMINATING IN CEREBRAL HEMMORHAGE; TERRORISM
ABRAHAM IRWIN: TEXAS; MULTIPLE GUNSHOT; LOOTING
James Travis is a British patriot and a French spy. On the day the Big One hits, Travis and his daughter must strive to make sense of the nuclear bombing of Scotland and the political repercussions of a series of terrorist attacks. With the information war in full swing, the only truth they have is what they're able to see with their own eyes. They know that everything else is - or may be - a lie.
BURT FRANKS: CALIFORNIA; LETHAL INJECTION; MURDER
ORLANDO ALARCON: VENEZULA; FIRING SQUAD; COUNTERREVOLUTION
AXELE CURBELO: VENEZULA; FIRING SQUAD; COUNTERREVOLUTION
For in this near future - our near future - day-to-day life becomes much like real intelligence work today: a world in which everything has meaning, and nothing has meaning, and the meanings change as lies build on lies, until someone who intends to lie is finally telling the truth.
------------------------------------
I've liked a lot of other books by MacLeod, so I am looking forward to this.
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Started: 2008-08-01
Finished: 2008-08-16
A near-future thriller taking place in a slightly alternate history. An explosion that destroys an air base in Scotland is quickly followed by several terrorist attacks against British infrastructure. The attacks drag the Travis family into the intelligence plots of the Western governments as various agencies try to figure out what happened, and to hide the truth.
I really enjoyed the book. It is a fast-paced quick read that kept my interest throughout. The way in which the history differs from our own, and how little difference it actually makes is interesting. Unlike MacLeod's other books, there is not much actual science fiction content for most of the book, although he does stick with his familiar ideas that the Western governments seem to be dooming themselves with their increasing paranoia about security and attempts at control. I did feel that the ending went a little over the top as it suddenly veers off in a direction that was hinted at throughout the book, but which also seems like something out of more of a pulp novel.
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