In heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is frequently depicted as white and considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to be tinctured argent are either left blank, or indicated with the abbreviation ar; the name derives from Latin argentum, translated as "silver" or "white metal". The word argent had the same meaning in Old French blazon, whence it passed into the English language. In some historical depictions of coats of arms, a kind of silver leaf was applied to those parts of the device that were argent. Over time, the silver content of these depictions has darkened; as a result, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish regions that were intended as "argent" from those that were "sable". This leaves a false impression that the rule of tincture has been violated in cases where, when applied next to a dark colour, argent now appears to be sable due to tarnish. Arthur Charles Fox-Davies argued extensively in his book The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopaedia of Armory that, though rare, the colour white existed as an independent tincture in heraldry separate from argent.

He bases this in part on the "white labels" used to differentiate the arms of members of the British Royal Family. However, it has been argued that these could be regarded as "white labels proper", thus rendering white not a heraldic tincture. White does seem to be regarded as a different tincture from argent in Portuguese heraldry, as evidenced by the arms of municipal de Santiago do Cacém in Portugal, in which the white of the fallen Moor's clothing and the knight's horse is distinguished from the argent of the distant castle, in the arms of the Logistical and Administrative Command of the Portuguese Air Force. Sometimes, the different tinctures are said to be connected with special meanings or virtues, represent certain elements and precious stones. If this is an idea disregarded by serious heraldists throughout the centuries, it may be of anecdotal interest to see what they are, since the information is so sought after. Many sources give different meanings, but argent is said to represent the following: Of jewels, the pearl Of heavenly bodies, the Moon Of metals, silver

Lower Portland is a rural suburb near Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lower Portland is located 80 kilometres northwest of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of The Hills Shire (east of the Hawkesbury River and the City of Hawkesbury. Lower Portland is a peaceful hamlet located at the junction of the Hawkesbury rivers; the area is scenic and is popular for water skiing. The original inhabitants of the Lower Portland area were the Dharug people; the Darug were the custodians of the majority of. They were divided into a number of different ‘clans’, whose quick demise upon European settlement has resulted in little information remaining on how the local area was utilised; the area situated on the banks of the Hawkesbury River below the junction with the Colo River was given the name Portland Place by Governor Hunter when it was first settled in 1799 by convicts who were engaged in clearing timber and building a stock yard, i.e. a paddock at Portland Place that enclosed thirty acres.

The name Portland Place came from a street in the Marylebone area of London. Lower Portland was named after William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1783, 1807- 1809; the name was first used in 1805, certainly seems associated with the story that a rock on the plateau above the headland resembled the Duke of Portland. Lower Portland was the area settled downstream from Portland Head; the Lower Portland Ferry is one of only four vehicular ferries operating across the Hawkesbury River. The River Road is a popular scenic drive. Lower Portland Ferry operates 24hrs 7days a week. Closed 1st Wednesday of each month 9:00am–11:00am

The Aqua scooter was invented in 1967 by East German chemical engineer Bernd Böttger. Böttger developed his vehicle. Today, it is produced commercially by AquaScooter Inc. Determined to escape the oppressive Socialist regime in the German Democratic Republic, chemical engineer Bernd Böttger decided that his best chance to reach the West would be to do so by sea, he trained as a diver and worked on developing a vehicle to aid his endeavour in his automotive workshop in Dresden. Taking the two-stroke engine from a motorcycle, Böttger attached a propeller to its driveshaft and sealed the unit inside a fibreglass mat using polyester resin, he added a fibreglass petrol tank and handles, intending to use his home-made torpedo to drag him through the water. Böttger's first escape attempt in the autumn of 1967 was a failure when he was caught by the Stasi on the beach at Wismar and, in spite of claiming that he only intended to test his invention and not escape, he was sentenced to a three-month prison sentence.

However his detention only stiffened his resolve to escape and as soon as he was released, Böttger set about improving his design. His second escape attempt on 8 September 1968 was successful. Departing from Graal-Müritz and intending to reach the Danish port of Gedser, some 24 nautical miles away across the Baltic Sea, Böttger's device pulled him for nearly five hours to reach the Lightvessel Gedser Rev moored outside the port; when Böttger's story was reported by European news sources, an executive at Rockwell International read about it and became interested. A West German subsidiary of Rockwell offered Böttger the opportunity to develop a commercial version of his aqua scooter. In 1974, Rockwell halted development of the scooter, but the patents were bought by James Taylor in 1978. Taylor moved production to the United States; the first machine was able to pull a man through and below the waters surface for five hours at up to 3 mph. The second version had an upgraded ​1 1⁄2 horsepower scooter engine and a snorkel fed breathing unit.

The Aqua scooter is still produced today by an Italian company Comer Top Kart, can reach speeds of up to 5 mph. There are two model: AS650 and AS650 Supermagnum Personal water craft known as water scooter. Soldier of Fortune magazine, June, 1980 page 32 http://www.aquascooter.com http://www.aquascooter.it http://www.aquascooterland.com