1.
New South Wales
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New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south and it has a coast line with the Tasman Sea on its east side. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state, New South Wales state capital is Sydney, which is also Australias most populous city. In March 2014, the population of New South Wales was 7.5 million. Just under two-thirds of the population,4.67 million. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen, the Colony of New South Wales was founded as a penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised a more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825, in addition, the colony also included the island territories of New Zealand, Van Diemens Land, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, most of the area was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became New Zealand. However, the Swan River Colony has never administered as part of New South Wales. Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island has become a federal Territory, as have the now known as the Australian Capital Territory. The prior inhabitants of New South Wales were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, before European settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region. The Wodi Wodi people are the custodians of the Illawarra region of South Sydney. The Bundjalung people are the custodians of parts of the northern coastal areas. The European discovery of New South Wales was made by Captain James Cook during his 1770 survey along the eastern coast of the Dutch-named continent of New Holland. In his original journal covering the survey, in triplicate to satisfy Admiralty Orders, Cook first named the land New Wales, however, in the copy held by the Admiralty, he revised the wording to New South Wales. After years of chaos and anarchy after the overthrow of Governor William Bligh, macquaries legacy is still evident today. During the 19th century, large areas were separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria. Responsible government was granted to the New South Wales colony in 1855, following the Treaty of Waitangi, William Hobson declared British sovereignty over New Zealand in 1840
2.
Indigenous Australians
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Indigenous Australians are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia, descended from groups that existed in Australia and surrounding islands prior to European colonisation. In present-day Australia these groups are divided into local communities. At the time of initial European settlement, over 250 languages were spoken, it is estimated that 120 to 145 of these remain in use. Aboriginal people today mostly speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English, a population collapse following European settlement, and a smallpox epidemic spreading three years after the arrival of Europeans may have caused a massive and early depopulation. Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag have been among the flags of Australia. The word aboriginal has been in the English language since at least the 16th century, to mean, first or earliest known and it comes from the Latin word aborigines, derived from ab and origo. The word was used in Australia to describe its indigenous peoples as early as 1789 and it soon became capitalised and employed as the common name to refer to all Indigenous Australians. Strictly speaking, Aborigine is the noun and Aboriginal the adjectival form, however, use of either Aborigine or Aboriginal to refer to individuals has acquired negative connotations in some sectors of the community, and it is generally regarded as insensitive and even offensive. The more acceptable and correct expression is Aboriginal Australians or Aboriginal people, the term Indigenous Australians, which also includes Torres Strait Islander peoples, has found increasing acceptance, particularly since the 1980s. The broad term Aboriginal Australians includes many groups that often identify under names from local Indigenous languages. Anindilyakwa on Groote Eylandt off Arnhem Land, Palawah in Tasmania and these larger groups may be further subdivided, for example, Anangu recognises localised subdivisions such as Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra, Luritja and Antikirinya. It is estimated that prior to the arrival of British settlers, the Torres Strait Islanders possess a heritage and cultural history distinct from Aboriginal traditions. The eastern Torres Strait Islanders in particular are related to the Papuan peoples of New Guinea, accordingly, they are not generally included under the designation Aboriginal Australians. This has been another factor in the promotion of the inclusive term Indigenous Australians. Six percent of Indigenous Australians identify themselves fully as Torres Strait Islanders, a further 4% of Indigenous Australians identify themselves as having both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal heritage. The Torres Strait Islands comprise over 100 islands which were annexed by Queensland in 1879, eddie Mabo was from Mer or Murray Island in the Torres Strait, which the famous Mabo decision of 1992 involved. The term blacks has been used to refer to Indigenous Australians since European settlement, while originally related to skin colour, the term is used today to indicate Aboriginal heritage or culture in general and refers to people of any skin pigmentation. In the 1970s, many Aboriginal activists, such as Gary Foley, proudly embraced the term black, the book included interviews with several members of the Aboriginal community including Robert Jabanungga reflecting on contemporary Aboriginal culture
3.
Port Jackson
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Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea and it is the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The location of the first European settlement in Australia, Port Jackson has continued to play a key role in the history and development of Sydney. Many recreational events are based on or around the harbour itself particularly the Sydney New Years Eve celebrations, the waterways of Port Jackson are managed by the Roads & Maritime Services. Sydney Harbour National Park protects a number of islands and foreshore areas, swimming spots, bushwalking tracks, the land around Port Jackson was occupied at the time of the European arrival and colonisation by the Eora clans, including the Gadigal, Cammeraygal, and Wangal. The Gadigal occupied the land stretching along the side of Port Jackson from what is now South Head. The Cammeragal lived on the side of the harbour. The area along the banks of the Parramatta River to Rose Hill belonged to the Wangal. The Eora occupied Port Jackson, south to the Georges River, the first recorded European discovery of Sydney Harbour, was by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770 - Cook named the inlet after Sir George Jackson. His ships log notation states at noon we were. about 2 or 3 miles from the land, eighteen years later, on 21 January 1788, after arriving at Botany Bay, Governor Arthur Phillip took a longboat and two cutters up the coast to examine Cooks Port Jackson. Phillip first stayed over night at Camp Cove, then moved down the harbour, landing at Sydney Cove, Phillip returned to Sydney Cove in HM Armed Tender Supply on 26 January 1788, where he established the first colony in Australia, later to become the city of Sydney. From 1938, seaplanes landed in Sydney Harbour on Rose Bay, in 1942, to protect Sydney Harbour from a submarine attack, the Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net was constructed. It spanned the harbour from Green Point, Watsons Bay to the battery at Georges Head, on the night of 31 May 1942, three Japanese midget submarines entered the harbour, one of which became entangled in the western end of the boom nets central section. Unable to free their submarine, the crew detonated charges, killing themselves in the process, a second midget submarine came to grief in Taylors Bay, the two crew committing suicide. The third submarine fired two torpedoes at USS Chicago before leaving the harbour, in November 2006, this submarine was found off Sydneys Northern Beaches. The anti-submarine boom net was demolished soon after World War II, and all that remains are the foundations of the old boom net winch house, today, the Australian War Memorial has on display a composite of the two midget submarines salvaged from Sydney Harbour. The conning tower of one of the submarines is on display at the RAN Heritage Centre, Garden Island. Fort Denison is a former site and defensive facility occupying a small island located north-east of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney Harbour
4.
History of Australia
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The history of Australia refers to the history of the area and people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding Indigenous and colonial societies. Aboriginal Australians are believed to have first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 40,000 and 70,000 years ago, the artistic, musical and spiritual traditions they established are among the longest surviving such traditions in human history. The first known landing in Australia by Europeans was by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606, twenty-nine other Dutch navigators explored the western and southern coasts in the 17th century, and dubbed the continent New Holland. Macassan trepangers visited Australias northern coasts after 1720, possibly earlier, a First Fleet of British ships arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788 to establish a penal colony. In the century that followed, the British established other colonies on the continent, Indigenous Australians were greatly weakened and their numbers diminished by introduced diseases and conflict with the colonists during this period. Gold rushes and agricultural industries brought prosperity, autonomous Parliamentary democracies began to be established throughout the six British colonies from the mid-19th century. The colonies voted by referendum to unite in a federation in 1901, Australia fought on the side of Britain in the two world wars and became a long-standing ally of the United States when threatened by Imperial Japan during World War II. Trade with Asia increased and an immigration program received more than 6.5 million migrants from every continent. The ancestors of Indigenous Australians are believed to have arrived in Australia 40,000 to 60,000 years ago and they developed a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, established enduring spiritual and artistic traditions and used stone technologies. There is considerable discussion as to the route taken by the first colonisers. People appear to have arrived by sea during a period of glaciation, the journey still required sea travel however, making them amongst the worlds earlier mariners. Given that the likely landfall regions have been under around 50 metres of water for the last 15,000 years, the earliest known human remains were found at Lake Mungo, a dry lake in the southwest of New South Wales. Remains found at Mungo suggest one of the worlds oldest known cremations, According to Australian Aboriginal mythology and the animist framework developed in Aboriginal Australia, the Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings formed The Creation. The Dreaming established the laws and structures of society and the ceremonies performed to ensure continuity of life and it remains a prominent feature of Australian Aboriginal art. Aboriginal art is believed to be the oldest continuing tradition of art in the world, evidence of Aboriginal art can be traced back at least 30,000 years and is found throughout Australia. In terms of age and abundance, cave art in Australia is comparable to that of Lascaux, manning Clark wrote that the ancestors of the Aborigines were slow to reach Tasmania, probably owing to an ice barrier existing across the South East of the continent. The Aborigines, he noted, did not develop agriculture, probably owing to a lack of seed bearing plants, but trepang fisherman did reach the north coast, which they called Marege or land of the trepang. For centuries, Makassan trade flourished with Aborigines on Australias north coast, the greatest population density for Aborigines developed in the southern and eastern regions, the River Murray valley in particular
5.
Parramatta River
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The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Secondary tributaries include the smaller Lane Cove and Duck rivers, formed by the confluence of Toongabbie Creek and Darling Mills Creek at North Parramatta, the river flows in an easterly direction to a line between Yurulbin, Birchgrove and Manns Point, Greenwich. Here it flows into Port Jackson, about 21 kilometres from the Tasman Sea, the total catchment area of the river is approximately 252.4 square kilometres and is tidal to Charles Street Weir in Parramatta, approximately 30 kilometres from the Sydney Heads. The land adjacent to the Parramatta River was occupied for thousands of years by the Burramattagal, Toongagal, Wallumattagal, Wangal. They used the river as an important source of food and a place for trade, the headwaters of the Parramatta River are formed by the confluence of Darling Mills Creek and Toongabbie Creek. The point of the lies on the northern border of the grounds of Cumberland Hospital. It also lies on the boundary of the suburbs of Westmead, Northmead, entering Parramatta Park, it then turns west and flows through the Parramatta CBD. Both banks are open to the public, with parkland and walkways. The river is fed by a number of creeks and stormwater drains. The weirs have been equipped with fish ladders, kiosk Weir and Charles Street Weir also include footbridges enabling a crossing of the river. Historically, the river was dammed to provide reservoirs for the town, currently, however, the function of the weirs is aesthetic, preventing the water from draining away during dry periods. As a consequence the river floods in heavy rain, particularly at the Charles Street Weir, the Charles Street Weir forms the boundary between fresh water and salt water, and is also the limit of tides. The whole of Sydney Harbour including its tributary rivers is subject to a long range Catchment Management Plan, the Government has almost eliminated local representation by eliminating the former local catchment management boards. Moorings and jetties are the responsibility of Roads and Maritime Services, many bays contain swing moorings, mostly privately owned, but some associated with commercial marinas. Along the Parramatta River many hands have made lighter work, in the effort to make the entire river swimmable again by 2025. Thirteen councils sit within the Parramatta River catchment group and all have committed to tackling the two major polluters, sewer overflows and stormwater, There are River Cat services along the Parramatta River to Circular Quay. The main wharves, west–to–east are, The Parramatta River, along with Sydney Harbour, is the most significant waterway in Sydney
6.
Governor of New South Wales
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The Governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the Governor is appointed by the queen on the advice of the Premier of New South Wales, for an unfixed period of time—known as serving At Her Majestys pleasure—though five years is the norm. The current Governor is retired General David Hurley, who succeeded Dame Marie Bashir on 2 October 2014, the office has its origin in the 18th-century colonial governors of New South Wales upon its settlement in 1788, and is the oldest continuous institution in Australia. The office of Governor is required by the New South Wales Constitution Act,1902, besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor-designate. The sovereign will also hold an audience with the appointee and will at that time induct the governor-designate as a Companion of the Order of Australia. The incumbent will generally serve for at least five years, though this is only a convention. The premier may therefore recommend to the Queen that the remain in her service for a longer period of time. A governor may also resign and three have died in office, furthermore, if the Lieutenant Governor becomes incapacitated while serving in the office of Governor, the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court is sworn in as the Administrator. Between 1788 and 1957, all governors were born outside of New South Wales and were members of the Peerage. Taylor once noted that out and governing New South Wales became the British aristocracys abiding consolation. Coincidentally the first Australian-born Governor, Sir John Northcott on 1 August 1946, was also the first Australian-born Governor of any state, the first Governors were all military officers and the majority of governors since have come from a military background, numbering 19. Samuels was the first governor in New South Wales history without either a political, public service or military background, the first woman to hold this position is also the first Lebanese-Australian governor, Dame Marie Bashir. In this capacity, the governor will issue royal proclamations and sign orders in council, the Governor alone is constitutionally mandated to summon parliament. The governor grants Royal Assent in the Queens name, legally, if the governor withholds the Queens assent, the sovereign may within two years disallow the bill, thereby annulling the law in question. No modern viceroy has denied Royal Assent to a bill, with most constitutional functions delegated to Cabinet, the governor acts in a primarily ceremonial fashion. He or she will host members of Australias royal family, as well as foreign royalty, also as part of international relations, the governor receives letters of credence and of recall from foreign consul-generals appointed to Sydney. The governor is also tasked with fostering unity and pride, the governor also traditionally serves as Honorary and Regimental Colonel in the Royal New South Wales Regiment and as Honorary Air Commodore of No.22 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force. Since 1946, the governor has also always made the Chief Scout of New South Wales
7.
George III of the United Kingdom
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He was concurrently Duke and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire until his promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of Britains American colonies were soon lost in the American War of Independence, further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In the later part of his life, George III had recurrent, although it has since been suggested that he had the blood disease porphyria, the cause of his illness remains unknown. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, on George IIIs death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. Historical analysis of George IIIs life has gone through a kaleidoscope of changing views that have depended heavily on the prejudices of his biographers and the sources available to them. Until it was reassessed in the half of the 20th century, his reputation in the United States was one of a tyrant. George was born in London at Norfolk House and he was the grandson of King George II, and the eldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. As Prince George was born two months prematurely and he was unlikely to survive, he was baptised the same day by Thomas Secker. One month later, he was baptised at Norfolk House. His godparents were the King of Sweden, his uncle the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, George grew into a healthy but reserved and shy child. The family moved to Leicester Square, where George and his younger brother Prince Edward, Duke of York, Family letters show that he could read and write in both English and German, as well as comment on political events of the time, by the age of eight. He was the first British monarch to study science systematically and his religious education was wholly Anglican. At age 10 George took part in a production of Joseph Addisons play Cato and said in the new prologue, What. It may with truth be said, A boy in England born, historian Romney Sedgwick argued that these lines appear to be the source of the only historical phrase with which he is associated. Georges grandfather, King George II, disliked the Prince of Wales, however, in 1751 the Prince of Wales died unexpectedly from a lung injury, and George became heir apparent to the throne. He inherited one of his fathers titles and became the Duke of Edinburgh, now more interested in his grandson, three weeks later the King created George Prince of Wales. Georges mother, now the Dowager Princess of Wales, preferred to keep George at home where she could imbue him with her moral values
8.
Broken Bay
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Broken Bay is the first major bay north of Sydney Harbour. Broken Bay has its origin at the confluence of the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, the total catchment area of the bay is approximately 17.1 square kilometres. The entrance to Broken Bay lies between the northern Box Head and Barrenjoey Head to the south, Barrenjoey Lighthouse was constructed in 1881 to guide ships away from the prominent headland. The bay comprises three arms, being the prominent estuary of the Hawkesbury River in the west, Pittwater to the south and these three arms are flooded rivers formed at a time when the sea level was much lower than it is at the present day. The Hawkesbury River flows from the confluence of the Grose and Nepean Rivers at the base of the Blue Mountains, Pittwater extends south from Broken Bay and is the northernmost extent of the greater Sydney area. Pittwaters calm waters make it a popular sailing area, west Head, west of Barrenjoey Head, marks the divide between Pittwater and the Hawkesbury. Brisbane Water is the arm of Broken Bay and has the towns of Gosford. Lion Island, named for its profiles resemblance to a Sphinx from some viewpoints, is located at the entrance of Broken Bay, lion Island Nature Reserve covers the entire island, and is home to a colony of fairy penguins. James Cook recorded broken land seen north of Port Jackson just before sunset on 7 May 1770, however, there has been some controversy over whether what is now known as Broken Bay was what was sighted by Cook. Matthew Flinders, The colonists have called this place Broken Bay, ray Parkin in his book H. M. Bark Endeavour claims that the modern Broken Bay was passed unremarked at night, and that Cook was in fact referring to the area around Narrabeen Lagoon. Matthew Flinders placed Cooks Broken Bay at 33°42 South, near to the mouth of Narrabeen Lagoon, whatever the case, Governor Phillip was the first to examine the present day Broken Bay in a longboat from the Sirius on 2 March 1788. Lay claimed to have confirmed that copper wiring found at the site was consistent with that used in similar Japanese vessels
9.
Revenge
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Revenge is a form of primitive justice usually assumed to be enacted in the absence of the norms of formal law and jurisprudence. Often, revenge is defined as being an action against a person or group in response to a grievance. It is used to right a wrong by going outside of the law and this is because the individual taking revenge feels as though the law will not do justice. Francis Bacon described it as a kind of justice that does. Offend the law putteth the law out of office, primitive justice or retributive justice is often differentiated from more formal and refined forms of justice such as distributive justice and divine judgment. Detractors argue that revenge is simply wrong, of the design as two wrongs make a right. They dont want to lose face, some societies encourage vengeful behavior, which is called feud. These societies usually regard the honor of individuals and groups as of central importance, thus, while protecting of his reputation an avenger feels as if he restores the previous state of dignity and justice. According to Michael Ignatieff, revenge is a profound desire to keep faith with the dead. Thus, honor may become a heritage that passes from generation to generation, whenever it is compromised, the affected family or community members might feel compelled to retaliate against an offender to restore the initial balance of honor that preceded the perceived injury. This cycle of honor might expand by bringing the family members and they still persist in some areas, notably in Albania with its tradition of gjakmarrja or blood feuds. Blood feuds are still practiced in parts of the world, including Kurdish regions of Turkey. Honoring ones family, clan, or lord through the practice of revenge killings and these killings could also involve the relatives of an offender. Today, katakiuchi is most often pursued by means. The motto of Scotland is Nemo me impune lacessit, Latin for Nobody shall provoke/injure me with impunity, the origin of the motto reflects the feudal clan system of ancient Scotland, particularly the Highlands. Modern Western legal systems usually state as their goal the reform or reeducation of a convicted criminal, Sudan has suffered cycles of revenge for many years, for example tribal conflicts in Darfur. South Sudan is torn by conflicts with ethnic cleansing between the Nuer and Dinka peoples, fueled by appetite for revenge. The French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord has been credited with the saying, La vengeance est un met que lon doit manger froid and it has been wrongly credited to the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses
10.
Bennelong Point
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Bennelong Point is the location of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales. The point was originally a tidal island, Bennelong Island. The island was located on the tip of the arm of Sydney Cove and was apparently separated from the mainland at high tide. The area at time was also strewn with discarded oyster shells from many long years of gathering by the local aboriginal women. Those shells were regathered by the newly arrived convict women and burnt to make lime for cement mortar, the point was called Limeburners Point for that reason, though those shells only furnished enough lime to make a single building, the two-storey government house. In December 1798, a battery was constructed at the extreme northern end of the Point. In the period from 1818 to 1821, the area between Bennelong Island and the mainland was filled with rocks excavated from the Bennelong Point peninsula. The entire area was leveled to create a low platform and to provide stone for the construction of Fort Macquarie. While the fort was being built, a portion of the rocky escarpment at Bennelong Point was also cut away to allow a road to be built around the point from Sydney Cove to Farm Cove. This was known as Tarpeian Way, prior to the Opera Houses construction, Bennelong Point had housed Fort Macquarie Tram Depot
11.
St Paul's Cathedral
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St Pauls Cathedral, London, is an Anglican cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London and the mother church of the Diocese of London. It sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grade 1 listed building and its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD604. The present church, dating from the late 17th century, was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren and its construction, completed in Wrens lifetime, was part of a major rebuilding programme in the City after the Great Fire of London. The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of London and its dome, framed by the spires of Wrens City churches, dominated the skyline for 300 years. At 365 feet high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1967, the dome is among the highest in the world. St Pauls is the second-largest church building in area in the United Kingdom after Liverpool Cathedral, St Pauls Cathedral occupies a significant place in the national identity. It is the subject of much promotional material, as well as of images of the dome surrounded by the smoke. St Pauls Cathedral is a church with hourly prayer and daily services. The entry fee is £18 for adults, the location of Londiniums original cathedral is unknown. In 1995, however, a large and ornate 5th century building on Tower Hill was excavated, the Elizabethan antiquarian William Camden argued that a temple to the goddess Diana had stood during Roman times on the site occupied by the medieval St Pauls Cathedral. Wren reported that he had no trace of any such temple during the works to build the new cathedral after the Great Fire. Bede records that in AD604 St Augustine consecrated Mellitus as the first bishop to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Saxons and their king, Sæberht. Sæberhts uncle and overlord, Æthelberht, king of Kent, built a dedicated to St Paul in London. It is assumed, although unproven, that this first Anglo-Saxon cathedral stood on the site as the later medieval. On the death of Sæberht in about 616, his sons expelled Mellitus from London. The fate of the first cathedral building is unknown and this building, or a successor, was destroyed by fire in 962, but rebuilt in the same year. King Æthelred the Unready was buried in the cathedral on his death in 1016, the cathedral was burnt, with much of the city, in a fire in 1087, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The fourth St Pauls, generally referred to as Old St Pauls, was begun by the Normans after the 1087 fire, a further fire in 1136 disrupted the work, and the new cathedral was not consecrated until 1240
12.
Tower of London
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The Tower of London, officially Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 until 1952, a grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, the general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site. The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history and it was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a record office. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, in the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period, in the late 15th century, the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence and this use has led to the phrase sent to the Tower. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, in the latter half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to what was felt to be its medieval appearance, in the First and Second World Wars, the Tower was again used as a prison and witnessed the executions of 12 men for espionage. After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz was repaired, today, the Tower of London is one of the countrys most popular tourist attractions. Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, it is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site. The Tower was orientated with its strongest and most impressive defences overlooking Saxon London and it would have visually dominated the surrounding area and stood out to traffic on the River Thames. The castle is made up of three wards, or enclosures, the innermost ward contains the White Tower and is the earliest phase of the castle
