1.
Paul Roos (rugby player)
–
Paul Johannes Roos was one of the first South African Springbok rugby union captains and led the first South African rugby team to tour overseas – to Britain in 1906. Roos was born near the South African town of Stellenbosch on 30 October 1880, Roos was a popular rugby player and was chosen by his own teammates to captain the 1906 tour. A devout Christian, Roos was an excellent ambassador for the game and helped promote the South Africans as a fair, with no first class team in the area, he joined the Villagers in 1900, before returning to the Stellenbosch University side in 1901. By 1902 Roos was captaining the team, and led the team with great success, by 1903 Roos had been selected for the Western Province team, but was such a devout Christian, he refused to play or travel on a Sunday. This led to Roos refusing to play for the Western Province team in the Currie Cup of 1904 as it would mean he would need to travel on a Sunday. The Western Province captain wrote to a professor at Stellenbosch University, Roos brother, Gideon Roos, followed his older brother playing for both Stellenbosch and Western Province before he himself played international rugby for South Africa. Before his first international match Roos faced the 1903 touring British Isles while representing Western Province, after his performance for Western Province, Roos was selected to represent the South African national team in 1903 in the final Test against the British Isles. The first two Test matches had ended in draws, and when the South Africans won, they took their first series against a British team. In 1906 Roos was part of the first overseas touring South African team, the bulk of the team was made up of Western Province players, who had recently won the Currie Cup. Roos, who was the player not to have undertaken a trial for the match as he was seen as a certainty for the team, was elected by the rest of the players to be the team captain. The tour to Britain, Ireland and France took in 29 matches, including Test games against the four Home Nations, the tour began with great expectations, as the previous season had seen the Original All Blacks tour Britain with incredible success. The first 15 games were against club and county teams, with the South Africans victorious in every encounter, the first international encounter for the team was against Scotland, played in front of a record crowd of 30,000. The Springboks were back on winning form the next game against the North of Scotland. Roos lead his team out at the Balmoral Showgrounds in an exciting match, after the first half, Roos men were leading 3–12, but brilliant play from Ireland levelled the scores to 12–12 before a try from the wing settled the game in the South Africans favour. The game against Wales was the most anticipated of the tour, Wales had been unofficially crowned the Worlds best team after a Triple Crown winning season in 1905 and a win over the All Blacks in the Game of the Century. The Glamorgan team that had run the South Africans close earlier in the tour had contained twelve internationals, South Africa beat Newport by a goal and a try to nil, and after the game the two team captains sat down at the Westgate Hotel for a post-match dinner. Roos asked Charlie Pritchard, the Newport skipper, how the Newport forwards and this revelation became a controversial talking point when the Welsh press heard of it. The match against Wales was set for 1 December 1906, and was played at St. Helens Ground in Swansea
2.
Scotland national rugby union team
–
The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union, the team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. As of 27 February 2017, Scotland are fifth in the World Rugby Rankings, the Scottish rugby team dates back to 1871, where they beat England in the first international rugby union match at Raeburn Place. Scotland competed in the Five Nations from the tournament in 1883. In 2000 the competition accepted a sixth competitor, Italy, thus forming the Six Nations, since this change, Scotland have yet to win the competition. Their best finish came in 1991, where they lost to the All Blacks in the third place play-off, Scotland have a strong rivalry with the English national team. They both annually compete for the Calcutta Cup, each year, this fixture is played out as part of the Six Nations, and Scotland last won it in 2008. In December 1870 a group of Scots players issued a letter of challenge in The Scotsman and in Bells Life in London, in front of around 4000 spectators, the Scots won the encounter by a try and a goal to a solitary try scored by England. England later got revenge by winning the match at the Kennington Oval. The Calcutta Cup was donated to the Rugby Football Union in 1878 by the members of the short-lived Calcutta Rugby Club, the members had decided to disband, the cup was crafted from melted-down silver rupees which became available when the Clubs funds were withdrawn from the bank. The Cup is unique in that it is competed for only by England and Scotland. The first Calcutta Cup match was played in 1879 and, since that time, in 1882 the Home Nations Championship, the fore-runner of the modern Six Nations Championship was founded with Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland taking part. Further Triple Crowns wins for Scotland followed in 1901,1903 and 1907, however, Scotlands triumph in 1907 would be the last for eighteen years as the First World War and Englands dominance afterwards would deny them glory. In 1897 land was purchased, by the SFU, at Inverleith, thus the SFU became the first of the Home Unions to own its own ground. The first visitors were Ireland, on 18 February 1899, international rugby was played at Inverleith until 1925. The SFU bought some land and built the first Murrayfield Stadium which was opened on 21 March 1925, in 1925 Scotland already had victories over France at Inverleith, Wales in Swansea and Ireland in Dublin. England, the Grand Slam champions of the two seasons were the first visitors to Murrayfield. 70,000 spectators saw the lead change three times before Scotland secured a 14–11 victory which gave them their first-ever Five Nations Grand Slam
3.
Ireland national rugby union team
–
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, which they have won twelve times outright, the team also competes every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions. Ireland is also one of the four unions that make up the British and Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions, Irelands highest ever position in the World Rugby Rankings is second, which they reached for the first time in 2015. Dublin University was the first organised football club in Ireland. The club was organised by students who had learnt the game while at public schools in Great Britain, carlow, UCC, and Ballinasloe which amalgamated with Athlone to form Buccaneers. In 1874, the Irish Football Union was formed, Ireland lost their first test match against England 7–0 at the Oval on 15 February 1875. Both teams fielded 20 players in match, as was customary in the early years of rugby union. Irelands first home game was also against England in the year held at the Leinster Cricket Club in Rathmines as Lansdowne Road was deemed unsuitable. The first match at Lansdowne Road was held on 11 March 1878 and it was not until 1881 that Ireland first won a test, beating Scotland at Ormeau in Belfast. Ireland turned up two men short for their game in Cardiff in 1884 and had to borrow two Welsh players, the first victory Ireland had at Lansdowne Road took place on 5 February 1887. It was also their first win over England, by two goals to nil, on the third of March 1888, Ireland recorded their first win over Wales with a goal, a try and a drop goal to nil. In 1894, Ireland followed the Welsh model of using seven backs instead of six for the first time, after victory over England at Blackheath, Ireland won back-to-back matches for the first time when recording their first win over Scotland on 24 February 1894. Ireland went on to beat Wales in Belfast and win the Triple Crown for the first time, in the 1890s, Rugby was primarily a game for the Protestant middle class, the only Catholic in Edmund Forrests 1894 team was Tom Crean. Of the eighteen players used in the three games, thirteen were from three Dublin clubs – Wanderers, Dublin University and Bective Rangers – and the five were from Ulster. Such was the level of interest in the visit of the first All Blacks team to Dublin in November 1905 that the IRFU made the match the first all-ticket rugby international in history, Ireland played only seven forwards, copying the then New Zealand method of playing a rover. The game ended New Zealand 15 Ireland 0, on 20 March 1909, Ireland played France for the first time, beating them 19–8. This was Irelands biggest victory in international rugby at that time, their highest points tally,30 November 1912 was the first time the Springboks met Ireland at Lansdowne Road, the 1906 tour game having been played at Ravenhill. Ireland with seven new caps were overwhelmed by a margin of 38–0
4.
Wales national rugby union team
–
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy, Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 26 times outright. Wales most recent championship win came in 2013, the governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union, was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. Wales performances in the Home Nations Championship continued to improve, experiencing their first golden age between 1900 and 1911 and they first played New Zealand, known as the All Blacks, in 1905, when they defeated them 3–0 in a famous match at Cardiff Arms Park. Welsh rugby struggled between the two World Wars, but experienced a golden age between 1969 and 1980 when they won eight Five Nations Championships. Wales played in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 where they achieved their best ever result of third, following the sport allowing professionalism in 1995, Wales hosted the 1999 World Cup and, in 2005, won their first Six Nations Grand Slam. That was the first Grand Slam won by a team playing most of the matches away from home, Wales won two more Grand Slams in 2008 and in 2012, and in 2011 came fourth in the Rugby World Cup. Their home ground is the Millennium Stadium, currently known for reasons as Principality Stadium. Eight former Welsh players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, Rugby union took root in Wales in 1850, when Reverend Rowland Williams became Vice-Principal at St Davids College, Lampeter, where he introduced the sport. Wales played their first international on 19 February 1881, organised by Newports Richard Mullock, Wales played against England, losing by seven goals, one drop goal, on 12 March 1881, the Welsh Rugby Union was formed at The Castle Hotel, Neath. Two years later, the Home Nation Championship – now the Six Nations Championship – was first played, however, rugby in Wales developed and, by the 1890s, the Welsh had developed the four three-quarters formation. This formation – with seven backs and eight forwards, instead of six backs and nine forwards – revolutionised the sport and was adopted almost universally at international. With the four three-quarter formation Wales became Home International Champions for the first time in 1893, Wales next won the Championship in 1900, heralding the first golden age of Welsh rugby which was to last until 1911. They won two more Triple Crowns in 1902 and 1905, and were runners up in 1901,1903 and 1904, when Wales faced New Zealands All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in late 1905 they had not lost at home since 1899. The referee ruled a scrum to Wales and the score did not change, the loss was the All Blacks only loss on their 35-match tour. In 1906, Wales again won the Home Championship, and later that played the South African national side. Wales were favourites to win the match, but instead South Africa dominated in the forwards, two years later, on 12 December 1908, Wales played the touring Australians, the Wallabies, who they defeated 9–6. In 1909, Wales won the Home Championship and then, in 1910 – with the inclusion of France – the first Five Nations and it would be nearly forty years before they achieved a Grand Slam again
5.
England national rugby union team
–
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and they are ranked second in the world by the International Rugby Board as of 20 June 2016. England were the first, and to date, the team from the northern hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup. They were also runners-up in 1991 and 2007, the history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official Test match, losing to Scotland by one goal. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship which started in 1883, following the schism of rugby football in 1895, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. England first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and went on to appear in the final in the second tournament in 1991, losing 12–6 to Australia. Following their 2003 Six Nations Championship Grand Slam, they went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup – defeating Australia 20–17 in extra time and they again contested the final in 2007, losing 15–6 to South Africa. England players traditionally wear a shirt with a Rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts. Their home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910, the team is administered by the Rugby Football Union. Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, Englands first international match was against Scotland on Monday 27 March 1871. Not only was this match Englands first, but it proved to be the first ever rugby union international. Scotland won the match by a goal and a try to a try, in front of a crowd of 4,000 people at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh. A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872 which saw England defeat Scotland by a goal, in those early days there was no points system, it was only after 1890 that a format allowing the introduction of a points system was provided. Up until 1875 international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored, in 1875, England played their first game against the Irish at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil, the match was Irelands first ever Test. England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup and their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardsons Field in Blackheath. England recorded their largest victory, defeating the Welsh by seven goals, six tries, in 1889, England played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives by one goal and four tries to nil at Rectory Field in Blackheath. In 1890 England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland, England first played New Zealand in 1905. The All Blacks scored five tries, worth three points at this time, to win 15–0, England first played France in 1905, and Australia in 1909 when they were defeated 9–3
6.
Rugby union
–
Rugby union, known in some parts of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using a ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. Historically an amateur sport, in 1995 restrictions on payments to players were removed, World Rugby, originally the International Rugby Football Board and from 1998 to 2014 the International Rugby Board, has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, early exponents of the sport included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji, Georgia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents, there are 101 full members and 18 associate members of World Rugby. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place four years with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are major annual competitions. The origin of football is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School in 1823. Although the evidence for the story is doubtful, it was immortalised at the school with a plaque unveiled in 1895, despite the doubtful evidence, the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after Webb Ellis. Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, Old Rugbeian Albert Pell, a student at Cambridge, is credited with having formed the first football team. During this early period different schools used different rules, with pupils from Rugby. Other important events include the Blackheath Clubs decision to leave the Football Association in 1863, despite the sports full name of rugby union, it is known simply as rugby throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England, by 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams, and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby tournament, the Melrose Sevens. During the early history of union, a time before commercial air travel. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by the New Zealand team touring Europe, All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in, the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event, in 1905 France played England in its first international match
7.
South Africa national rugby union team
–
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblems are the Springbok, the team has been representing South Africa in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. The team made its World Cup debut in 1995, when the newly democratic South Africa hosted the tournament, South Africa regained their title as champions 12 years later, when they defeated England 15–6 in the 2007 final. They were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards, the Springboks also compete in the annual Rugby Championship, along with southern-hemisphere counterparts Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. They have won this championship on three occasions in sixteen years and they also play Test matches against the various rugby-playing nations. Their position in the World Rugby Rankings has varied between the No.1 and No.7 positions, the first British Isles tour took place in 1891, at Diocesan College. These were the first representative games played by South African sides, the tourists won all twenty matches they played, conceding only one point. The British Isles success continued on their tour of 1896, winning three out of four tests against South Africa, South Africas play improved markedly from 1891, and their first test win in the final game was a pointer to the future. In 1903 the British Isles lost a series for the first time in South Africa, Rugby was given a huge boost by the early Lions tours, which created great interest in the South African press. South Africa would not lose another series—home or away—until 1956, the first South African team to tour the British Isles and France occurred during 1906–07. The team played tests against all four Home Nations, England managed a draw, but Scotland was the only one of the Home unions to gain a victory. The trip instilled a sense of pride among South Africans. The South Africans played a match against a France team while the official French team were in England. It was during this tour that the nickname Springboks was first used, the 1910 British Isles tour of South Africa was the first to include representatives from all four Home unions. The tourists won just one of their three tests, the Boks second European tour took place in 1912–13. They beat the four Home nations to earn their first Grand Slam, by the first World War, New Zealand and South Africa had established themselves as rugbys two greatest powers. A Springbok tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1921 was billed as The World Championship of Rugby, the All Blacks won the first Test 13–5, The Springboks recovered to win the second Test 9–5, and the final Test was drawn 0–0, resulting in a series draw. The 1924 British and Irish Lions team to South Africa lost all four Tests to the Springboks and this was the first side to pick up the name Lions, apparently picked up from the Lions embroidered on their ties
8.
Sport
–
Usually the contest or game is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a tie game, others provide tie-breaking methods, to one winner. A number of such two-sided contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion, many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases by playoffs. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, each against each other, however, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. Sports are usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, winning can be determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first. It can also be determined by judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, records of performance are often kept, and for popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported in sport news. Sport is also a source of entertainment for non-participants, with spectator sport drawing large crowds to sport venues. Sports betting is in some cases severely regulated, and in some cases is central to the sport, kearney, a consultancy, the global sporting industry is worth up to $620 billion as of 2013. The worlds most accessible and practised sport is running, while football is the most popular spectator sport. The word Sport comes from the Old French desport meaning leisure, other meanings include gambling and events staged for the purpose of gambling, hunting, and games and diversions, including ones that require exercise. Rogets defines the noun sport as an activity engaged in for relaxation, the singular term sport is used in most English dialects to describe the overall concept, with sports used to describe multiple activities. American English uses sports for both terms, the precise definition of what separates a sport from other leisure activities varies between sources. They also recognise that sport can be physical, primarily mind, predominantly motorised, primarily co-ordination. The inclusion of sports within sport definitions has not been universally accepted. Whilst SportAccord recognises a number of mind sports, it is not open to admitting any further mind sports. According to Council of Europe, European Sports Charter, article 2, other bodies advocate widening the definition of sport to include all physical activity. For instance, the Council of Europe include all forms of physical exercise, in competitive events, participants are graded or classified based on their result and often divided into groups of comparable performance
9.
South Africa
–
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
10.
Leicester
–
Leicester is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest, in the 2011 census the population of the City of Leicester unitary authority was 329,839 making it the most populous municipality in the East Midlands region. The associated urban area is also the 11th most populous in England, the name of Leicester is recorded in the 9th-century History of the Britons as Cair Lerion, and in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Ligora-ceastre. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it is recorded as Ledecestre, the second element of the name comes from the Latin castrum which is reflected in both Welsh cair and Anglo-Saxon ceastre. Based on the Welsh name, Geoffrey of Monmouth proposes a king Leir of Britain as a founder in his Historia Regum Britanniae. Leicester is one of the oldest cities in England, with a going back at least two millennia. The native Iron Age settlement encountered by the Romans at the seems to have developed in the 2nd or 1st centuries BC. This area of the Soar was split into two channels, a stream to the east and a narrower channel on the west. The settlement seems to have controlled a ford across the larger channel, the later Roman name was a latinate form of the Brittonic word for ramparts, suggesting the site was an oppidum. The plural form of the name suggests it was composed of several villages. The Celtic tribe holding the area was recorded as the Coritanians. The Corieltauvians are believed to have ruled over roughly the area of the East Midlands and it is believed that the Romans arrived in the Leicester area around AD47, during their conquest of southern Britain. The Corieltauvian settlement lay near a bridge on the Fosse Way, in the 2nd century, it received a forum and bathhouse. In 2013, the discovery of a Roman cemetery found just outside the old city walls, the remains of the baths of Roman Leicester can be seen at the Jewry Wall, recovered artifacts are displayed at the adjacent museum. Knowledge of the following the Roman withdrawal from Britain is limited. Certainly there is continuation of occupation of the town, though on a much reduced scale in the 5th and 6th centuries. Its memory was preserved as the Cair Lerion of the History of the Britons, following the Saxon invasion of Britain, Leicester was occupied by the Middle Angles and subsequently administered by the kingdom of Mercia. It was elevated to a bishopric in either 679 or 680, this see survived until the 9th century and their settlement became one of the Five Burghs of the Danelaw, although this position was short-lived
11.
Hartlepool
–
Hartlepool is a town in County Durham, England. The town lies on the North Sea coast,7.5 miles north of Middlesbrough and 17 miles south of Sunderland, the Borough of Hartlepool includes outlying villages such as Seaton Carew, Greatham and Elwick. Hartlepool was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey, the village grew in the Middle Ages and its harbour served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. Industrialisation and the start of an industry in the later part of the 19th century caused Hartlepool to be a target for the Imperial German Navy at the beginning of the First World War. A bombardment of 1,150 shells on 16 December 1914 resulted in the death of 117 people, the place name derives from Old English heort, referring to stags seen, and pol, a pool of drinking water which they were known to use. Records of the place-name from early sources confirm this,649, Heretu, at the beginning of the 11th Century the name had evolved into Herterpol, and post Norman Conquest the name of the village sited there evolved in Middle English as, Hart-le-pool. Archaeological evidence has been found below the current high tide mark that indicates that an ancient post-glacial forest by the sea existed in the area during this period. Nearby towns and cities include, Billingham, Darlington, Durham, Middlesbrough, Peterlee, Seaham, Sedgefield, Stockton-on-Tees, the monument at Eston Nab can be seen, beyond the far side of the Tees Bay, to the south. After the Roman Empire abandoned its province of Britannia in the early 5th Century and they subsequently began crossing the North Sea and settled in the area, creating the Kingdom of Northumbria. The monastery became powerful under St Hilda, who served as its abbess from 649–657 A. D. The Abbey fell into decline with the loss of Northumbrian power in the early 8th Century, in March 2000, the archaeological investigation television programme Time Team located the foundations of the lost monastery in the grounds of St Hildas Church. During the Norman Conquest the De Brus family gained over-lordship of the land surrounding Hartlepool, the towns first charter was received before 1185, for which it gained its first mayor, an annual two-week fair and a weekly market. The main industry of the town at this time was fishing, in 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland, and became the last Lord of Hartness. Angered, King Edward I confiscated the title to Hartlepool, in 1315, before they were completed, a Scottish army under Sir James Douglas attacked, captured and looted the town. In the late 15th Century a pier was constructed to assist in the harbours workload, in 1795 Hartlepool artillery emplacements and defences were constructed in the town as a defensive measure against the threat of French attack from seaborne Napoleonic forces. Hartlepool in the 18th Century became known as a town with medicinal springs and it was in this endeavour that Isambard Kingdom Brunel visited the town in December 1831, and wrote, A curiously isolated old fishing town – a remarkably fine race of men. Went to the top of the tower for a view. But the plan was faced by competition from new docks
12.
Newcastle, New South Wales
–
Located 162 kilometres north-northeast of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle is the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits. Geologically, the area is located in the part of the Sydney basin. Newcastle and the lower Hunter Region were traditionally occupied by the Awabakal and Worimi Aboriginal People, in September 1797 Lieutenant John Shortland became the first European settler to explore the area. His discovery of the area was largely accidental, as he had sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized HMS Cumberland as she was sailing from Sydney Cove. While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he described as a very fine river. He returned with reports of the port and the areas abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal mined from the area was the New South Wales colonys first export, Newcastle gained a reputation as a hellhole as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes. By the start of the 19th century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters. Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, in 1801, a convict camp called Kings Town was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney and this settlement closed less than a year later. A settlement was attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then renamed Newcastle, the new settlement, comprising convicts and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships, HMS Lady Nelson, the Resource and the James. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion, Morpeth, New South Wales is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland is north of Newcastle upon Tyne. Under Captain James Wallis, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the conditions improved. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only breakwater survives, during this period, in 1816, the oldest public school in Australia was built in East Newcastle. Newcastle remained a settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners Bay
Scotland
Ireland
Wales
England
France
South Africa
