Meteors Australites

In 1991 a meteorite named BA missed us by only 170,000 kilometres, less than half the distance to the Moon. That's about 2.3 hours flight time for the mini-asteroid, or 1.5 hours flight time for the Earth. It was the closest near miss of a meteor the Earth had ever seen. But there have been much bigger rocks which have just missed us. In March 1989 a 100 metre meteor (called 1989 FC) skimmed past at one and a half times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

 In 1908, a fifty metre long meteor landed in Tungusta, in Siberia. It blew over all the trees for 50 kilometres around and changed the climate over the earth for several years.


Australia has about twenty known impact craters - and more are being added to the list each year.
 
 
 

The most famous one is Wolf Creek Crater (WA, 19º10'S, 127º48'E), about 130 kilometres south of Halls Creek.
The local Djaru Aboriginal people know it as Kandimalal. It was brought to the attention of science after being spotted during an aerial survey in 1947. 
It's the second most perfect crater known on the planet. The American astronauts came to train in it and to get a feel of what the moon craters would be like. It's a very grand crater, about 900 metres across, with a well-formed rim towering 25 metres over the surrounding countryside.

Henbury Craters (NT, 24º 34'S, 133º 10'E) are a collection of 14 craters, about 130 kilometres south of Alice Springs. They are scattered over an area of about one square kilometre. The craters range from 10 metres to about 73 metres across. The Aboriginal name for these craters is ''chindu chinna waru chingi yabu'' which roughly means ''sun walk fire devil rock''. They are quite young, about 15,000 years old.

Boxhole Crater (NT, 22º 37'S, 135º 12'E) is almost perfectly circular - 175 metres across, with the rim rising some 10-17 metres above the crater floor. It also was made about 30,000 years ago in Aboriginal times, about 30,000 years ago .

Gosse's Bluff (NT, 23º 50'S, 132º 18'E) is a magnificent crater. About 130 million years ago, a very fast, quite big lump rammed through our atmosphere and penetrated some 600 metres into the ground, where it vapourised and exploded. Several hundred square kilometres of countryside bounded into the air, and a mushroom cloud rose 20 kilometres into the upper atmosphere. The impact formed a huge crater 22 kilometres across.

Meteor Crater map

Tabatha Coffey hollywood

Tabatha Coffey is one of our great Aussie exports, hairstylist, salon owner, and American television personality. Her participation as a contestant on the television show, Shear Genius, led to her own television show, Tabatha's Salon Takeover, which airs on the U.S. cable television network, Bravo, and on FOXTEL's pay television network, Arena in Australia.
It is a great relief and refreshing, to hear an Aussie on American Television, actually talking like a real Aussie should. (giv meee yer keeys im takin over)

Coffey has since opened her own salon, Industrie Hair Gurus in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She also styles clients at the Warren-Tricomi salon in West Hollywood. Her approach is transformative, creating a special look for each individual, unlike other stylists who specialize in a certain look. She also works as a platform artist for hair care product company, Joico International. She tours different countries 6-12 times a year doing hair shows for the company, both to showcase her talent and to train other aspiring hairdressers.

Tabatha was asked recently, who has the best hair in Hollywood and who needs an emergency makeover.

"Kim Kardashian has the best hair," "It's lush and its gorgeous. But it's Paris Hilton I would most like to get my hands on. That look just isn't working for her anymore.

How much is too much to pay for a haircut?

Tabatha says "I think there are things that are applicable to every price range, depending on what you're comfortable paying. I think the biggest thing is happiness. And I don't think anyone minds paying for anything as long as they feel that they're getting something that makes them look great, works, lives up to its promise, and makes them really happy. I think a lot of women are dissatisfied with their hair and with the products they're using because they haven't been guided properly and they don't know what they're doing, and they feel like they're paying too much. And it's not because it's necessarily the money, it's just that they're not happy with the outcome."

Pavalova worlds best dessert

Pavlova is a easy made meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova.

The dessert is believed to have been created in honour of the dancer either during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. The nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two nations for many years.

Pavlova is made simply by beating egg whites (and sometimes salt) to a very stiff consistency before folding in caster sugar, white vinegar, cornstarch, and sometimes vanilla essence, and slow-baking the mixture, similarly to meringue. This makes the outside of the pavlova a crisp crunchy shell, while the interior remains soft and moist.

Being polled as one of The worlds best desserts, it is a very popular dish and an important part of the national cuisine of both countries, and is frequently served during celebratory and holiday meals.

Ingredients


1 tablespoon cornflour

6 eggwhites

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1/3 cups caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon white vinegar

200ml pure cream

Fruit of choice


Preheat oven to 200°C.



Using an electric mixer, beat eggwhites and cream of tartar in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating constantly until thick and glossy. Add remaining 3 teaspoons cornflour with the last tablespoon of sugar. Fold through vanilla and vinegar.
Spoon meringue onto a tray with baking paper and dust with cornflour. Shape into a circle, with a slightly higher edge and a low centre. Reduce oven to 100°C. Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until dry and crisp. Turn off oven and open oven door. Cool completely in oven (pavlova may sink during cooling).

Slide pavlova onto a serving plate. Spread with cream and top with bannana, passionfruit, strawberries, kiwi fruit or whatever fruit you have in the house.

Serve it up and watch the smiles!!

ACDC Aussie Band

After almost 40 years of hits, lulls and comebacks, the business of AC/DC, Australia’s biggest ever rock export, is still in commanding shape.

Scottish immigrants to Aussie icons, AC/DC and its birth began in Australia, and before that Glasgow, Scotland, where Angus and Malcolm Young, the musical core of the band , were born (in 1958 and 1953, respectively). 

 
In 1963, the Young family migrated to Sydney, Australia, where music would make its mark on the brothers.  (As a member of the Easybeats, Angus and Malcolm's older sibling, George Young, was responsible for one of Australia's first international hits, "Friday On My Mind," in 1966.  From 1974 through 2000, George and musical collaborator, Harry Vanda, produced a number of AC/DC albums including "High Voltage,," "T.N.T.," "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," "Let There Be Rock," "If You Want Blood You've Got It," "Powerage," "'74 Jailbreak," "Who Made Who," "Blow Up Your Video," and "Stiff Upper Lip.") 
 
The origin of the band's name came from the electrical safety plate on the Young family's vacuum cleaner.

Since forming in 1973, AC/DC's high voltage rock 'n' roll has flowed out into the world via consistently sold-out concert tours and global sales totaling more than 200 million albums and counting. Sony BMG Music Entertainment's #1 best-selling catalog act worldwide,

AC/DC has sold nearly 80 million albums in the U.S. alone, making AC/DC one of the five top-selling bands in American music history.

In 1980, the band began work on a new album that would eventually become Back in Black, but Bon Scott would not live to see the project being finished. On 19 February 1980, Scott passed out in the car on the way back to friend Alistair Kinnear's house after a night of heavy drinking at the Music Machine club in London.  Pulmonary aspiration of vomit was the cause of Scott's death, and the official cause was listed as "acute alcohol poisoning" and "death by misadventure".

Following Scott's death, the band briefly considered quitting; they eventually concluded, however, that Scott would have wanted AC/DC to continue, and various candidates were considered for his replacement, including Buzz Shearman, ex-Moxy member, who was not able to join because of voice problems, ex-Back Street Crawler vocalist Terry Slesser and ex-vocalist of Slade, Noddy Holder. The remaining AC/DC members finally decided on ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson.

The AC/DC concert – filmed at the Pavillon de Paris on 9th December 1979 – is to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 7th 2011 (postponed from January). The movie includes concert footage taken from the “Highway to Hell” tour as well as interviews from band members.

This title will be released on June 7, 2011.

Sponge Bob Square Pants in Australia

Is Sponge Bob Square pants real?  Australian scientists have found proof of links much closer to the sea floor than with apes, with a study revealing that sea sponges like Sponge Bob Square Pants, share almost 70 percent of human genes.

Genetic sequencing of Sponge Bob Square Pants relatives from the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, showed the ancient marine animal shared many of its genes with humans, including a large number typically associated with disease and cancer.

Lead researcher Bernard Degnan, of the University of Queensland, said the findings "would shed light on a whole range of different things," and could lay the foundation for breakthroughs in cancer and stem cell research.

"Sponge Bob Square Pants and friends have what's considered the 'Holy Grail' of stem cells," Degnan told AFP.

Exploring the genetic function of Sponge Bob Square Pants stem cells could provide "deep and important connections" to the genes that influenced human stem cell biology, he said.

"It might actually inform the way we think about our own stem cells and how we might be able to use them in future medical applications," he said.
The study -- published in the journal "Nature" this week -- is the result of more than five years of research by an international team of scientists.
It required the extraction of "really pure DNA" from Sponge Bobs embryos (does that mean Sponge Bob Square Pants is a girl) and a complex sequencing exercise, Degnan said.

This finding confirms that Sponge Bob Square Pants is real!

"Oh" and so is Patrick!

"Who you callin pinhead?"

Cody Simpson vs Justin Beiber

Cody Simpson, our little Aussie battler is only 14 years of age and much younger than Bieber, but is already being tipped to be the next big thing.

Cody Simpson like Justin Bieber, began to record songs in his bedroom during the summer of 2009 on YouTube, performing "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, "Cry Me a River" and "Señorita" by Justin Timberlake, "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5, and his own songs, "One" and "Perfect.".

Cody Simpson was subsequently discovered on YouTube, by Shawn Campbell, a Grammy-nominated record producer who has produced for Jay-Z and other artists. He was signed to Atlantic Records May 15th 2010

Cody released his debut single, "iYiYi"  featuring American rapper Flo Rida on 15 May 2010. It was digitally released on 30 May 2010. The music video for "iYiYi" was released on 30 June 2010. The music video for Simpson's second single, "Summertime", was released on 20 September 2010.

Cody Simpson was born on January the 11th 1997, and is from the Gold coast, Australia. He has a brother (Tom) and a sister (Allie). Both are younger than him.

The Bieber

Justin Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who happened to come across Bieber's videos like Cody Simpson on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher.

Famous Australians Lowitja O'Donoghue

 Lowitja O'Donoghue

One of the most admired and influential leaders in Australian history.

Lowitja has lots of charm, warmth and a great sense of humour. Those qualities are balanced by her mental strength and determination, which today, makes her one of our greatest ever Australian leaders.

Lowitja was born in 1932 in a remote Aboriginal community. In August 1932, Lowitja was a infant newly born into the Yankunjatjara tribe in the remote North-West Reserve of South Australia. Her mother was a full blood of the tribe, and her father the owner of a pastoral station which later passed into the hands of the McLachlan family. This was not a casual relationship and Lois is the youngest of five children born to the same parents.

In 1934, members of the frankly paternalistic United Aborigines' Mission visited her Yankunjatjara tribe at Indulkana, 200 miles north of Coober Pedy. They persuaded her mother it would be best for the child to be brought up at the Mission's Home for Children at Quorn. Without in any way approving such a policy, Lowitja acknowledges that she had a happy childhood there, and later at the Colebrook home at Eden Hills.

During that time, her mother did not know where her family had been taken, Lowitja was not to see her mom for 33 years.

Lowitja's first job was as a nanny looking after six kids with a family in Victor Harbor some 100 km south of Adelaide.

After a long struggle to win admission to a training hospital, Lowitja became the first black nurse in South Australia.

From 1950 to 1953 O'Donoghue worked as a nursing aide in Victor Harbor.

In 1954 Lowitja was in the first intake of unqualified students to attend the Royal Adelaide Hospital which offered good nursing career prospects. She qualified as a nurse and worked at the Royal Adelaide Hospital until 1961, being appointed a charge nurse just before leaving

She spent time with the Baptist Church working in Assam, northern India as a nurse relieving missionaries who were taking leave back in Australia.

After returning in 1962, she worked as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer with the South Australian Department of Education. She later transferred to the SA Department of Aboriginal Affairs and was employed as a Welfare Officer based mainly in the north of the state, in particular at Coober Pedy, some 200 kilometres south of her birthplace.

In 1967 Lowitja joined the Commonwealth Public Service as a junior admin officer in the Adelaide office of the newly formed Department of Aboriginal Affairs. After eight years she became the Director of the Department's office in South Australia, a senior officer position, responsible for the local implementation of national Aboriginal welfare policy.

In 1990 Lowitja was appointed Chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission a position she held until 1996.

.

In 1976, Lowitja was the first Aboriginal woman to be inducted into the new Order of Australia founded by the Labor Australian Commonwealth Government. The award was in recognition of her work in the welfare field

Lowitja was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1983, and was named Australian of the Year in 1984, for her work to improve the welfare of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1999.

Lowitja has received honorary doctorates from Murdoch University, the University of South Australia, the Australian National University, the Queensland University of Technology and Flinders University. In 2000 she was made an honorary professorial fellow at Flinders University and was a visiting fellow at Flinders University.

She is a National Patron at the The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre.

 Lowitja was inducted into the Olympic Order in 2000.

In 2005  Lowitja was made Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II.

Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great

•1977 Member Order of Australia

•1982 Advance Australia Award

•1983 Commander of the Order of the British Empire

•1984 Australian of the Year

•1992 SA Great Award

•1993 Honorary Doctorate: Murdoch University, WA

•1993 Honorary Doctorate: University of South Australia, SA

•1995 Honorary Doctorate: Australian National University, ACT

•1995 Honorary Fellowship: Royal College of Nursing, Australia

•1996 Honorary Doctorate: Queensland University of Technology, Queensland

•1996 Honorary Doctorate: Flinders University of South Australia

•1998 Honorary Fellowship: Royal Australasian College of Physicians

•1998 Australian Living National Treasure

•1999 Companion of the Order of Australia

•2000 Honorary Professional Fellow: Flinders University of South Australia

•2000 Olympic Order 

And most of all a real true blue Aussie we can all be proud of !

Wild Dogs

Wild dogs are widely distributed throughout Australia.

Dead sheep, mauled wildlife, chilling howls in the day and night. That is the reality of living in wild dog country.
Imagine working your entire life to breed world class sheep only to see them torn apart by savage wild feral dogs that kill for fun, not food. That is the world of many farmers living and working in what they thought was a natural paradise in Australia.

They see wild dogs' destruction daily, and its impact on both farmers and native wild life that is eaten by feral dogs the dog trappers say are increasingly cross-bred & larger by the year. Many farmers are emotionally and financially crippled, want to sell up, or have little livestock left to make a living from.

Many feel like prisoners on their farms as they shepherd sheep the ancient way, in order to keep livestock alive.

At the same time, in unoccupied lands and areas of extensive cattle grazing, wild dogs are often tolerated, resulting in the local native animals being wiped out.

Dingoes were introduced to Australia around 4,000 years ago, gradually replacing the Thylacine as Australia's largest land predator. Domestic dogs-run-wild are dogs that have escaped, been abandoned or deliberately released over the last 200 years and have survived or bred in the wild.

On average adult wild dogs weigh between 15 and 25 kilograms. There is great variation in coat colour from sandy yellow to black, white and brindle.

They make homes in hollow logs, caves or wombat burrows. Wild dogs can hunt successfully alone or in packs depending on the type of prey. An average territory would be about 100 square kilometres depending on the available resources.
What makes things worse, is when wild dogs are removed from an area, others will gradually replace them.

The Wild Dog Barrier Fence (previously called the Dingo Barrier Fence) was first proposed in the late 1940s to protect sheep from being attacked by wild dogs. Erection, however, was not completed until the late 1950s.


Originally the graziers were responsible for maintaining the fence, but with drought and changes in the wool market it didn’t take long for the fence to fall into disrepair.

In 1982, a $3.6 million state government program commenced to rebuild almost half of the original barrier fence (2500 km of the original 5600 km). The program also realigned a large section of the fence to exclude previously protected areas in central-western and north-western Queensland. This meant the barrier fence would only provide protection from wild dogs in central-southern Queensland. The current Wild Dog Barrier Fence is the result of that program.

Today, the Wild Dog Barrier Fence is administered by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines. It is about 2500 km long and protects 26.5 million hectares of sheep and cattle grazing country.

Never approach a wild dog or call one to come to you and never tempt them with food. If you observe a wild dog, remain in a group and watch quietly from a distance. Do not touch scats as they may carry disease.

DOWLOAD FACT SHEET

http://www.feral.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/WildDog.pdf

Tiwi Islands

Spearfishing at Buchanan island just off Bathurst Island

Just a  80 km flight from Darwin, Bathurst and Melville Islands (Tiwi Islands) are 8 000 sq km of dense rainforest and secluded waterfalls.
The Tiwi Islands lie to the north of Australia's Northern Territory, and are part of that jurisdiction.
Melville island is the second biggest island in Australia, after the state of Tasmania.

They are inhabited by the Tiwi people, as they have been since before European settlement in Australia.

The Tiwi are an Indigenous Australian people, culturally and linguistically distinct from those of Arnhem Land on the mainland just across the water. They number around 2500.  In 2006 the total population of the islands was 2129, of whom 91.3% were Aboriginal.
Most residents speak Tiwi as their first language and English as a second language.  Most of the population live in Nguiu on Bathurst Island, and Pirlangimpi (also known as Garden Point) and Milikapiti (also known as Snake Bay) on Melville Island. Nguiu has a population of nearly 1500, the other two centres around 450 each.
There are other smaller settlements, including Wurankuwu (Ranku) Community on western Bathurst Island.

Taracumbie Falls

Melville island, boasts swimming holes such as those at the base of Tomorapi, Bathurst Island and Taracumbie Falls and a nine -hole golf course. All touring is on Bathurst Island.

The creation of Indigenous Australian art is an important part of Tiwi Island culture and its economy. There are three Indigenous art centres on the islands.

Australian rules football is the most popular sport on the Tiwi Islands, and was introduced in 1941 by missionary John Pye. There has been a Tiwi Islands Football League competition since 1969.
The Tiwi Islands Football League Grand Final is held in March each year and attracts up to 3,000 spectators. The Tiwi Australian Football League has 900 participants out of a community of about 2600, the highest football participation rate in Australia (35%).

Tiwi Land

Getting there

Tours


Visiting the Islands - The main tour company is Tiwi Tours which run several different tours Ph: 1800 183 630. A tour is probably the best way to see the islands and you don't have to worry about permits. In order to visit the Tiwi islands you require a permit. Permits are granted to people who have been invited for business or private purposes. The Tiwi Land Council will then issue your permit. If you wish to visit the islands as a tourist you need to apply through Tiwi Tours or the Tiwi Art Network.

Discover the Melville and Bathurst Islands, (Tiwi Islands) on this enticing four day tropical sailing journey. All accommodation is aboard the luxury 15 metre sailing catamaran ‘Sundancer NT’. There’s plenty of room for everyone to relax, unwind and get ready for the next day’s adventure.

Beautiful Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after the state of Tasmania.

It sits only 13 kilometres (8 mi) offshore from Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is 150 km (93 mi) long and between 900 m (980 yd) and 57 km (35 mi) wide, its area covering 4,405 km2 (1,701 sq mi). Its coastline is 540 kilometres (340 mi) long and highest altitude is 307 m (1,010 ft).

An unofficial community of sealers and others was set up on Kangaroo Island from 1802 to the time of South Australia's official settlement in 1836. The sealers were rough men and several kidnapped Aboriginal women from Tasmania and mainland South Australia. The women were forced to do the work of sealers, amongst other activities. Three Aboriginal women tried to escape and swim back to the mainland; one is on record as having survived the journey. The first ship to arrive was the Duke of York commanded by Captain Robert Clark Morgan (1798–1864).

The biggest town on Kangaroo Island is Kingscote. Originally established at Reeves Point on 27 July 1836, it is South Australia's first official European settlement. It was later suggested that Kingscote could serve as the capital of South Australia, but the island's resources were insufficient to support such a large community, so the settlement of Adelaide was chosen.

According to the 2006 Census, the island has a population of 4,259
Kangaroo Island is famous for its honey and for being the oldest bee sanctuary in the world.
The economy is mostly agricultural (wine, honey, wool, meat and grain). Traditionally sheep grazing has been the key element in agriculture on the Island, however in recent times, more diverse crops, such as potatoes and canola have been introduced. Cattle farming has grown as well, with good quality beef cattle being grown in the higher rainfall areas. Tourism and fishing also play significant roles, with the island experiencing over 186,000 visitors per annum
Kangaroo island also has 28 wine growers.

Because of its isolation from mainland Australia, foxes and rabbits are absent from and prohibited from entering the island.
Registration and microchipping of cats is mandatory.

The Kangaroo Island Kangaroo, Rosenberg's Sand Goanna, Southern Brown Bandicoot, Tammar Wallaby, Common Brushtail Possum, Short-beaked Echidna and New Zealand Fur Seal are native to the island, as well as six bat and frog species. The sole endemic (found nowhere else) vertebrate species is a small marsupial carnivore called the Kangaroo Island Dunnart.

Kangaroo Island Dunnart

The Koala, Common Ringtail Possum and Platypus have been introduced and still survive there.


How to Get There

By Air

Regional Express Airlines - The flight is a short 30 minutes from Adelaide Airport to Kangaroo Island Airport. The airport is located 13 km from Kingscote but Kangaroo Island has no public transport and no taxi services. Visitors are welcome to hire a car or arrange a tour with one of the island's tour providers in order to ensure you see as many of the Island's attractions as possible.

By Sea

Sealink - Operates from Cape Jervis on the mainland to Penneshaw. While you can drive yourself, coach connections are available between Adelaide and Cape Jervis and Penneshaw, American River and Kingscote. Ferry travelling time is a comfortable 40 minutes.

The Worlds largest Earthworm

The worlds largest earthworm, Megascolides australis, is one of Australia's 1,000 native earthworm species. These Giant earthworms average 100 cm long and 2 cm in diameter and can reach 3 m in length. They have a dark purple head and a blue-grey body.



They live in the subsoil of blue, grey or red clay soils along stream banks and some south or west facing hills of their remaining habitat which is in Gippsland in Victoria, Australia.

These worms live in deep burrow systems and require water in their environment to respire. These worms rarely leave their moist burrows. They have relatively long life spans for invertebrates and can take 5 years to reach maturity. They breed in the warmer months and produce large egg cocoons which are laid in their burrows. When these worms hatch in 12 months they are already 20 cm long.


They can sometimes be heard in their habitat making gurgling sounds as they move underground.

The worlds largest earthworm is now a protected species because of its decline in population.  It is so fragile that being dug up or handled by humans can kill it.

Located near the town of Bass is the Giant Earthworm Museum. This building allows tourists to crawl through a magnified replica of a worm burrow and a simulated worm's stomach. Displays and educational material on the Worlds largest earthworm and other natural history of Gippsland are featured.