33. Map of Australia & Capital Cities

Capital Cities
The capital of Australia is: Canberra which is in the A.C.T.
The capital of Western Australia is: Perth
The capital of Northern Territory is: Darwin
The capital of Queensland is : Brisbane
The capital of New South Wales is: Sydney
The capital of Victoria is: Melbourne
The capital of South Australia: Adelaide
The capital of Tasmania is: Hobart

32. Australian Hall of Fame

1. Don Bradman
In a career of 80 tests with a batting average of 99.94, Sir Donald Bradman is regarded as the greatest cricketer of all time. He was known by one and all as 'the Don'.

Above: Don Bradman's Blazer & Bat


2. The Meat Pie
The staple diet of Australian truckies, construction workers and all decent hard working Australians. Consumed with sauce, held in the hand and never, never eaten with a knife and fork.

Above: Pie'n'sauce


3. Vegemite
A fair dinkum Aussie icon - brown stuff that you spread on toast, bread and dry bikkies. Found in 90% of Australian homes, is it any wonder 22 million jars are sold every year?!

Above: Vegemite


4. Victoria Bitter
The greatest beer of all time - "For a hard earned thirst, you need a big cold beer, and the best cold beer is Vic, Victoria Bitter"

Above: Victoria Bitter


5. Thongs
A real Aussie icon classic, the undisputed all time Australian footwear item. Costs as little as $2 and have been known to last for years. The advantage of thongs is you don't have to bend over when putting them on or taking them off.

Insert right foot, insert left foot and Bob's your uncle! Off you go now.

Above: Thongs


6. Skippy
Our greatest television star - he knew whenever anyone was in trouble in the outback area of Warratah National Park, he was a life saver, solved crimes, and an all-round super-duper hero. During the 60's and 70's, hundreds of little boys and girls tried to whistle through a gum leaf thereby spluttering food in all directions!

Above: Skippy



7. The Melbourne Cup
A horse race. Australia's biggest and richest. Held the first Tuesday in November at Flemington. IN the red-roofed homes all over Australia, in office buildings and road works, people stop what they're doing and listen to the running of "The Cup". It's a public holiday in Victoria.

Above: The Melbourne Cup


8. The Beach
With a coastline of 36,735 kms - the beach is just the place for a nice day out. Loved by surfers, swimmers, mums and dads and kiddies alike.

Above: The Beach


9. Number 96
One of the first Australian serials, it was set in a Sydney block of flats. With a big helping of larger-than-life characters, a hint of campness and, wait for it - sex! Everybody remembers Abigail, she of the big...she had blonde hair and a lovely smile.

Above: Abigail


10. The Mullet
A haircut - cut (very) short at the front and sides and long at the back. Le Mullet is the world's best/worst haircut (depending on one's point of view). It can be combined with a long fringe, no fringe, rats tales, dreadlocks and even a receding hairline.

Above: The Mullet

31. Remembrance Day 2011

Today is Remembrance Day. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918, the guns of war fell silent. Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day as it was originally known, was to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom in what was called the "Great War" - the War To End All Wars. But, as the years rolled by, it was not to be - there were other wars and so today, Remembrance Day is to remember all Australian soldiers who fought and those who died in all wars.

Above: Remembrance Day poster


Hellfire Pass
The story of Hellfire Pass is from World War II, in a place called Kanchanaburi, Thailand. I went there earlier this year because of its history - a brutal and terrible history.

A Life For Every Sleeper

Above: Original track work of the Death Railway




One POW died for every 32.6 metres of track.
There were 424 thousand metres of track.
13,000 died and are buried along the way.

Over 80,000 Asian labourers died.

For every sleeper laid it cost one human life
120,000 sleepers where laid.

Japanese brutality at its best.



Hellfire Pass ~ Honouring The Fallen



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Above: Information Sign

At the beginning of doing this walk this sign reads:
The railway has been cleared for a further four kilometres but no improvements have been made to steep or difficult sections. Only those persons in good physical condition should attempt this part of the trail. Walking time from this point to the end and return is 3 hours.

Above: Tree of Life
This self-seeded tree grew in the middle of Hellfire Pass. Where once cruelty and death lingered, the appearance of the birth of a new tree gives hope. Tree of life is a metaphor for the livelihood of the spirit.

Above: Railbed
As you walk along this track today, it is a peaceful place with the sound of crickets and cicadas singing and the stones crunching under your walking feet. No-one who comes here shouts or yells - something about the atmosphere begs for the listener to be still and breathe in the winds of today which have overcome the trials of yesterday. It is not until you reach the memorials that you realise it is not all it seems it is not a pretty walk in the country but a living memorial to thousands of men who lived, worked and died many still in their teens or early twenties. Young men who never had the chance to live and learn about the joys of happiness which we take for granted.

So... be still take a quiet time and sit and just do nothing but listen to the wind as it ruffles your hair and the sun beats down overhead as it did oh so many years ago on others who were here first.

HELLFIRE PASS
Cuttings along the railway varied from shallow earth to deep rock. Konyu Cutting, or Hellfire Pass as it was known, is the deepest and largest on the entire length of the railway.

On 25th April 1943 - ANZAC Day - work commenced to excavate the cutting. A workforce of prisoners of war began the task of hacking back the jungle, removing the loose earth and drilling in rock by hand. Little machinery was available. Most of the drilling work was done by the "hammer and tap" men, a process whereby one man would hold and rotate a drill or "tap" while his mate hit the head of the drill with an eight to ten pound hammer.

Above: Sheer rockface - the hill was excavated by hand

'Pick up.
Carry 25 yards or more.
Up the bank.
Dump.
Walk back.'

'On jobs such as cuttings, Nips stood overhead and threw stones all the time irrespective of whether you worked or not.' - Reg Holloway, 2/40th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force.

Above: In Memory

When the hole was deep enough, explosive charges would be used, the broken rock removed by hand and the process began again. The process was slow.

As work fell behind schedule and "speedo" was called, the work rate intensified. Work shifts lasting up to eighteen hours drilled, blasted and removed rock in a continuous operation. The men laboured under intense pressure from the Japanese engineers and Korean guards at the height of the wettest monsoon season for many years. Such was the brutality that 69 men were beaten to death by their guards.

Above: In Remembrance

Many prisoners-of-war died from cholera, beriberi, dysentery, starvation, and exhaustion. On starvation rations - a cup of boiled rice or millet three times a day - if they were lucky, malnutrition was a big killer.

At night, the cutting was lit by fires, lamps or diesel torches. The eerie light and shadows of guards and gaunt prisoners of war playing on the rock walls suggested the name the site was given - Hellfire Pass.

Above: POW - Original photo
An original photo of a POW standing beside the primitive tripod which was used for levelling the ground of the Death Railway Thailand - Burma

Above: Hellfire Pass, 1944
Original photo of Hellfire Pass (Konyu Cutting) which forms part of the Death Railway, was a particularly difficult section of the line to build, not only because it was the largest rock cutting on the railway, but also because of its remoteness and the lack of proper construction tools during building.

Above: Hellfire Pass today
These rails and sleepers are from the official railway and were relaid in Konyu Cutting in April 1989 by the men of "C" Company 3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment.
They were relocated to the current position in 2006.

Above: Memorial

One of the most poignant memories is of a plain little wooden cross that said simply "For my Dad"

Above: The Australian flag

Above: Hellfire Pass
The plaque on the left is dedicated to Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop (1907 - 1993) and reads ~

Patron of the Association of and Surgeon of the jungle whose ashes were scattered in this area on 25th April 1994.

From 1942 to 1945 Weary Dunlop and his medical colleagues, in the Armed Services of Great Britain, Australia, Netherlands, India and the United States of America gave devoted service to thousands of sick and dying prisoners-of-war and Asian labourers who were forced to construct and maintain the Burma-Thailand Railway.

These doctors provided leadership, helped alleviate pain and suffering and above all gave reason to live when all real hope seemed lost.

To them we all give thanks.

"When you go home, tell them of us and say we gave our tomorrow for your today"

Above: Hellfire Pass Memorial
Of the 1,000 Australian and British soldiers who took 12 weeks to clear the stretch of mountain, 700 died. They worked around the clock for 16-18 hours a day to complete excavation of the 17 metre deep and 110-m long cutting through solid limestone and quartz rock.
The Hellfire Pass Memorial and Memorial Museum were set up to commemorate these fallen.

Above: 352 steps
This is the number of steps to reach Hellfire Pass. Many are steep and climbing down and then back up face running with sweat sun beating down I look back at what was once one of the most dreaded railways in history - the "Death Railway" and ask how could so much human suffering and atrocity be caused by one human being to another?



Walk Through Hellfire Pass




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In Remembrance of
All those who suffered
And all who died.

30. What? No Hat? The PM Meets The Queen

Which One Is The PM?

Above:The PM and the GG

One could be forgiven for thinking the G.G. (Governor General) is our Prime Minister. If you didn't know what either lady looked like, who would you say was the PM dressed to meet Her Maj? If you said the lady on the right, you would be wrong - it's the lady on the left, the one without a hat.
Then again, the hatted one (Quentin Bryce) does look rather severe doesn't she? Whereas Julia the hatless looks genuinely happy and relaxed.

Above: The Prime Minister meets the Queen
Our Prime Minister Ms Julia Gillard said she chose to bow her head as she shook the Queen's hand because that is what she felt comfortable with.

"The advice to me was very clear - that you can make a choice with what you feel most comfortable with," she said.

"That's what I felt most comfortable with. The Queen extended her hand, and I shook her hand."

There Are No Obligatory Codes
The Queen meets thousands of people each year in the UK and overseas. Before meeting Her Majesty, many people ask how they should behave.

According to The Official website of the British Monarchy, the simple answer is that there are no obligatory codes of behaviour - just courtesy.

However, many people may wish to observe the traditional forms of greeting.

For men this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy. Other people prefer simply to shake hands in the usual way.

On presentation to The Queen, the correct formal address is 'Your Majesty' and subsequently 'Ma'am'.


Australia's Queen of Sarcasm Etiquette Scathing In Her Opinion of the PM
June Dally-Watkins says the PM should have stuck to the traditional greeting.

Said she, "I saw the Prime Minister kind of wobble and I didn't know, did she try to curtsy? I didn't know what she was doing. I just laughed. I was laughing out loud because I thought it was really hilarious and of course very rude.

But I just couldn't understand what that movement was. What was she doing?"

It seems to me, Dally-Watkins herself was very rude and not at all "ladylike" in either her actions or sentiments.
June old girl - you should know better.

Naturally the fact that she is a Liberal and not a Labor supporter would have had nothing to do with it.

Ms Dally-Watkins said recently while "formal" had its heyday in the '50s, the refined customs of a bygone era should still hold a place in modern society.

What she of the flag-bearing do's and do not's needs to remember is the so-called "refined customs" of a "bygone" era are just that - bygone. If we look back a little further into "bygone" days, women had no voice, couldn't vote, couldn't go out to work, had no rights and were an extension of their husband's arm - and this was in "refined" times when everybody was so bloody polite to and with each other it was nigh on impossible to have a decent conversation or exchange views. Except if you belonged to the "lower orders" - who of course were only "people" and etiket and manners didn't apply to them!

Meeting the Queen

Above: The PM, HM and the GG
The co-called "wobble" which so offended dear old Junie!
Judging from this photo, I'd say the only one with her nose in the air is Dally-Watkins. The Queen looks happy and smiling, not at all offended. Then again, no doubt she has been trained from birth never to show her feelings or make indiscreet remarks in public, something that Dally-Watkins obviously has not been able to do, no matter how she might pride herself on so-called "manners and etiquette."


Another Tirade from Dally-Watkins
The following day, Dally-Watkins described the greeting as "the lowest part of Ms Gillard's life" and said "instead of bowing her head, she should be hanging it in shame.
I think it was not only funny, but it was shameful, if she isn't a royalist, it's not a matter of that, it's a matter of paying courtesy, good manners to a queen, to the Queen.
That was the expected thing to do and I thought not to do that shamed her tremendously."

About June
June Dally-Watkins, a former model was born in 1927 and grew up on a remote property at Watsons Creek, near Tamworth. Her mum Caroline was a single parent - a great stigma at the time and she (June) kept the story of her birth a secret until very much later in life. When her mother took her to Farmers department store in Sydney and asked if she could be a model, a successful career was launched. In 1950, she founded a modelling/deportment agency in Brisbane.

Above: Australia's queen of etiquette, June Dally-Watkins

Quelle Embarrassment! Quelle Horreur!
And it would appear she also had a bone to pick with the PM's outfit.

Said June - "She should have been wearing a hat, she should have been standing straight and she should have curtsied. I thought that was a great embarrassment for Australia."

She gave the GG (Quentin Bryce) full marks for her meeting with the Queen and described her (the GG) as "delightful", saying, "She did all the right things. I thought she was magnificently dressed and she curtsied beautifully and she was polite. You wouldn't know what her thoughts were, but she did all the things that were correct and expected of her as the Governor-General, but as the Prime Minister, Julia should have conducted herself the same way."

It's Not A Bloody Garden Party!
I have news for you June old girl - I'd take the word of the "Official website of the British Monarchy" over yours any day. And as for "a great embarrassment for Australia" - I'm Australian, and I am not embarrassed. Neither am I ashamed.

This is Australia, not Merrie Olde England and it is the 21st century, not the 19th century when Victoria was on the throne (you know, the old biddy who always looked like she was smelling something nasty) and the legs of tables were covered for "decency". Thank goodness we have moved away from that nonsense. Yes, manners are important and good manners, consideration for others and being polite is something that should be practised regardless of the era.

Trying to hang onto an out-dated system from days of yore with its' de rigeuer way of doing things only strengthens and promotes a class system which, alas is still rampant in some parts of the world.

If you receive an invitation to a Garden Party at Buckingham Place, full instructions concerning what to wear are on the invitation card sent to you from the Lord Chamberlain's Office. But let me say again - this is not England, this is Australia where we have no royal garden parties, no palaces or castles. And trying to instill what you may perceive as the "right" way, doesn't necessarily make it so. Now, had Our Julia greeted the Queen with, "G'day your maj, how ya goin'?" it may have been a different situation, but - it wasn't and she didn't so perhaps some people should climb down off their high horses, return their nose to a normal position (not stuck up in the air) and stop being so stuck-up and snobbish.


Two Ladies in Silver

Above: Her Maj and the PM
At a formal reception held at Parliament House. Here, the Queen, is wearing a dress in antique white with a chic silver-toned lace jacket. The Prime Minister's outfit consists of an elegant silver grey satin underdress and matching top overlaid with a silver grey skirt with matched jacket and bow tied at waist level. Story here

29. Melbourne - World's Most Livable City

Well now, it's a great day for Melbourne and all Melburnians - we have been voted the world's most livable city! Isn't that great news! After nearly ten years, we finally knocked Vancouver off the top spot and we're it!

And is it any wonder why we're the best city? Just look at some of the photos of our beautiful city:

Above: Princes Bridge

Above: Melbourne Cottages

Above: Flinders Street Station

Above: Eureka Building and Arts Centre Spire

According to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Survey, Melbourne is ranked as the world's best city to live in. From 140 cities around the world, Melbourne was given a score of 97.5 per cent. Other Australian cities in the top 10 include Sydney, which ranked sixth (up from seventh) in the previous survey, and bot Adelaide and Perth are unchanged with joint eighth.

You can read about it here

28. Anaphylaxis - Child-Care Centres

Early Learning Centres and the Anaphylactic Child
When a child attends an early learning centre (child-care/creche) you want to know that your child is in a safe and friendly environment and those responsible for his/her care are following the guidelines set out.

An early learning centre in a Melbourne suburb seems not to have been following these guidelins and is embroiled in food-related safety issues. A child attending this centre has a nut allergy and this was made known to the director at the beginning. She was informed that the child has a nut allergy and cannot eat any products that contain nuts, cannot have products that state "May contain traces of nuts" and/or products that state "Produced on equipment that may contain traces of nuts". You would think this would be a simple thing - yes? Not. Not so.
There have been a number of "Incidents" at this early learning centre.

The centre provides morning and afternoon tea, and a hot lunch - the lunch is catered and is brought in each day.
Some of the foods provided for morning/afternoon tea were not nut free. The child was given Arnotts biscuits and it was pointed out that Arnotts biscuits are not nut free (the packaging actually states this product may contain traces of nuts) - this was brought to the attention of the director and a website for nut free foods was given to her. A food management plan was instituted where staff would write down each day what the child had eaten.
The mother checks this each day when she picks up her child. Recently she saw that a staff member had written down that the child had morning tea and what food had been eaten. The mother asked which staff member wrote this down - the child had arrived at the early learning centre at a later time and had not had morning tea. Quite rightly, she wanted to know how this error had been made. Of what use is a food management plane if false information is being recorded?

The director has denied this occurred and says it didn't happen. She states a staff member wrote down the child had morning tea and realised the child had not and so amended it. She states she refutes everything. Why would the director wish to deny this? Why lie?

A notification was made to the relevant government department earlier.

The mother collects her child at around 5.00pm and yesterday received a phone call at 4.55pm from a staff member who informed her they noticed the child had swelling around the mouth and nose at approximately 3.10pm and it was worse at 4.30pm. The mother asked had they given the child Zyrtec? The staff member answered no.
Staff have not followed the action plan in place for this child.

There is an Action Plan for Anaphalaxis - see below.

Above: Action Plan for Anaphalaxis

The form can be found HERE. This form shows the child's photo, name and DOB, and other relevant information relating to each individual child. On the right hand side is "Mild to moderate allergic reaction"
* Swelling lips, face, eyes
* hives or welts
* tingling mouth
* abdominal pain, vomiting (these are signs of a severe allergic reaction to insects)
This is followed by "Action"

The plan is a personal plan for the individual child and on this child's plan it clearly states under "Action" To moniter the child, give Zyrtec (medication), contact the mother and to stay with the child and moniter that child.

The mother took the child to a doctor's clinic which is next door to this early learning centre and the child was seen straight away. The doctor asked was the child given Zyrtec to which the mother answered no. The doctor said to give the child Zyrtec and keep an eye on her.

NOW, there is an Action Plan for Anaphalaxis for this child, both Zyrtec and an EpiPen are kept there for this child. There is an Anaphalaxis model policy which requires that all proprietor's of licensed children’s services to have an anaphylaxis management policy in place. This policy is required whether or not there is a child diagnosed at risk of anaphylaxis enrolled at the service. In services where a child diagnosed at risk of anaphylaxis is enrolled the proprietor shall also:

• conduct an assessment of the potential for accidental exposure to allergens while child/ren at risk of anaphylaxis are in the care of the service and develop a risk minimisation plan for the centre in consultation with staff and the families of the child/children (Schedule 3 of the Regulations).
• ensure that a notice is displayed prominently in the main entrance of the services stating that a child diagnosed at risk of anaphylaxis is being cared for or educated at the service
• ensure all staff members on duty have completed recognised anaphylaxis management training (r. 26(3) and that practice of the adrenaline autoinjection device such as the EpiPen® administration is undertaken on a regular basis, preferably quarterly, and recorded annually.

These are just some of the points outlined in the policy - you can read the full points of the policy HERE.

27. The "Real" Australia

How do we define the "real" Australia? Many times people who are planning on visiting Australia want to see the "real" Australia. I remember one lady saying, "I am traveling to Australia. It will be my first time traveling outside the United States and my first time traveling alone. I would love any advice. I am hoping to see the "real" Australia, not the tourist Australia. I would also like the opportunity to meet some new people."

Australians with their natural sense of the ridiculous and the humourous love to take the mickey - Beware the Drop Bear, Walking Toad, The Galah, the snakes, spiders and other nasty creepy-crawlies like the Blue Tongue Lizard, sharks, (esp. the White Pointer), salties, crocs, red bellies, black bellies, funnel webs, dingoes and those nasty fish that can kill you if you stand on them. Not to mention the box jelly fish!
And speaking of spiders, there was even a song written about one Redback On The Toilet Seat

Anyway, my advice for those wanting to see the "real" Australia:

1) Go the Footy on Saturday arvo, barrack for a team, and abuse the umpie, a time honoured tradition that - abusing the ump, then go to the local pub and get pissed to the eyeballs.

2) Stay at the Railway Hotel in West Melbourne, you'll meets lots of "locals" and have a chin-wag.

3) Say "bl**dy good tucker this" when eating at the pub

4) Eat a dead horse

5) Go to Centrelink- join the dole queue

6) Learn to call ketchup tomato sauce - pronounced to-mahto

7) Say, "My shout" at the pub - you'll have instant friends & everybody will love you. Remember when it's your shout, you don't walk away.

8) If you're a bloke and want some entertainment, go to St. Kilda of an evening.

9) Drive on the left-hand side of the road.

10) Drive slowly - see our country; drive fast and see our gaols.

If you follow the above suggestions, I guarantee you, you will see the real Australia.