To generate hydropower you needs lots of water and steep hills – both things Tasmania has in abundance.
In the heart of Tasmania’s rugged southwest, a region once almost uninhabited since settlement and defined by its natural lakes, impenetrable forests, and fierce winds, a remarkable story of human ingenuity unfolded. This remote area, receiving four meters of rainfall annually, seemed an unlikely place for grand engineering feats.
Since European settlement, Sydney has faced frequent water crises due to unreliable water supplies.
The first water supply for Sydney was Tank Stream, named for the “tanks” or reservoirs cut into its sides to save water. The stream, which wound through the early settlement, eventually degenerated into an open sewer and was abandoned in 1826.
The Queensland government funded Beerburrum Soldier Settlement Scheme was a disaster. The aim was to provide repatriated servicemen from World War I with farms where “swords could be transformed into ploughshares” for a tranquil existence in a rural climate.
The high enlistment numbers and enormous physical and mental casualties from the war, forced Australian authorities to develop a repatriation policy.
When the railways of Queensland and New South Wales met in 1888, the border towns of Wallangarra and Jennings were created. It was the only rail link between Brisbane and Sydney, leading to a new era in transport. As a consequence, both states introduced the Intercolonial Express train service.
However, the two governments could not resolve the differences in the railway gauges between each state.
Rabaul, a town of striking beauty nestled on the north-eastern tip of New Britain in Papua New Guinea, boasts magnificent deep-water harbour encircled by a stunning volcanic flooded caldera three kilometres wide. This natural fortification, combined with its strategic location, made Rabaul a coveted prize for colonial powers and, eventually, a significant battleground in the Pacific theatre of World War II.
Gold fossickers were the first settlers to the Evans Head area on the far north coast of New South Wales. Not finding gold, they turned to oyster farming and prawning, with Evans Head becoming Australia’s first commercial prawn port.
In 1919, an Italian immigrant, John Rosolen, built the first General Store.
As settlers moved into the rich, fertile areas of the Mary Valley in the 1860s, they wanted a railway to connect them more readily to the outside world and markets for their produce.
The government ignored their early calls, but all that changed when prospectors discovered gold at nearby Gympie in 1867.
Introduction
If you have driven around the patchwork of fertile red volcanic soils east of Bundaberg, you would have noticed several paddocks of fruit and vegetable crops, in addition to the vast cane fields. Bundaberg is best known for its sugar cane and rum. However, these days, the region is a true fruit and salad bowl area feeding the nation.
Early trade in Maryborough
The port of Maryborough on the Mary River was significant, not only for the development of Maryborough itself but also for trade in south-east Queensland. It exported gold, hides, tallow, refined and raw sugar, rum, antimony and timber. Also, after the separation of the colony from New South Wales in 1859, Maryborough was declared a port of entry and necessitated the collection of customs on behalf of the government.
Introduction
“They became men overnight”. A reference to young 19 year-old crewmen that had only been in the Navy for six months and rose to the occasion in the rescue operations after Voyager collided with HMAS Melbourne.
Tomorrow marks the day, 60 years ago, of the worst peace-time tragedy for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
