1.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
2.
Glacier National Park (U.S.)
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Glacier National Park is a national park located in the U. S. state of Montana, on the Canada–United States border with the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses over 1 million acres and includes parts of two ranges, over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, the region that became Glacier National Park was first inhabited by Native Americans. Upon the arrival of European explorers, it was dominated by the Blackfeet in the east, under pressure the Blackfoot ceded the mountainous parts of their treaty lands in 1895 to the federal government, it later became part of the park. Soon after the establishment of the park on May 11,1910 and these historic hotels and chalets are listed as National Historic Landmarks and a total of 350 locations are on the National Register of Historic Places. The mountains of Glacier National Park began forming 170 million years ago when ancient rocks were forced eastward up, known as the Lewis Overthrust, these sedimentary rocks are considered to have some of the finest fossilized examples of extremely early life found anywhere on Earth. Of the estimated 150 glaciers which existed in the park in the mid-19th century, scientists studying the glaciers in the park have estimated that all the glaciers may disappear by 2030 if the current climate patterns persist. Glacier National Park has almost all its native plant and animal species. Large mammals such as Grizzly bears, moose, and mountain goats, as well as rare or endangered species like wolverines and Canadian lynxes, hundreds of species of birds, more than a dozen fish species, and a few reptile and amphibian species have been documented. The park has numerous ecosystems ranging from prairie to tundra, notably, the easternmost forests of western redcedar and hemlock grow in the southwest portion of the park. Large forest fires are uncommon in the park, however, in 2003 over 13% of the park burned. Both parks were designated by the United Nations as Biosphere Reserves in 1976, according to archeological evidence, Native Americans first arrived in the Glacier area some 10,000 years ago. The earliest occupants with lineage to current tribes were the Flathead and Kootenai, Shoshone, the Blackfeet arrived around the beginning of the 18th century and soon dominated the eastern slopes of what later became the park, as well as the Great Plains immediately to the east. The park region provided the Blackfeet shelter from the winter winds of the plains. Today, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation borders the park in the east, while the Flathead Indian Reservation is located west, when the Blackfeet Reservation was first established in 1855 by the Lame Bull Treaty, it included the eastern area of the current park up to the Continental Divide. This established the current boundary between the park and the reservation, while exploring the Marias River in 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition came within 50 miles of the area that is now the park. A series of explorations after 1850 helped to shape the understanding of the area later became the park. In 1885 George Bird Grinnell hired noted explorer James Willard Schultz to guide him on an expedition into what would later become the park
3.
Perth
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Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most populous city in Australia, with a population of 2.06 million living in Greater Perth. The first areas settled were on the Swan River, with the central business district. Perth was founded by Captain James Stirling in 1829 as the centre of the Swan River Colony. It gained city status in 1856, and was promoted to the status of a Lord Mayorality in 1929. The city is named after Perth, Scotland, due to the influence of Sir George Murray, Member of Parliament for Perthshire and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The citys population increased substantially as a result of the Western Australian gold rushes in the late 19th century, largely as a result of emigration from the eastern colonies of Australia. During Australias involvement in World War II, Fremantle served as a base for operating in the Pacific Theatre. An influx of immigrants after the war, predominantly from Britain, Greece, Italy and Yugoslavia, Aboriginal people have inhabited the Perth area for 38,000 years, as evidenced by archaeological remains at Upper Swan. The Noongar people occupied the southwest corner of Western Australia and lived as hunter-gatherers, the wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain were particularly important to them, both spiritually and as a source of food. The Noongar people know the area where Perth now stands as Boorloo, Boorloo formed part of Mooro, the tribal lands of Yellagongas group, one of several based around the Swan River and known collectively as the Whadjuk. The Whadjuk were part of a group of fourteen tribes that formed the south-west socio-linguistic block known as the Noongar. The judgment was overturned on appeal, the first documented sighting of the region was made by the Dutch Captain Willem de Vlamingh and his crew on 10 January 1697. The British colony would be officially designated Western Australia in 1832, Captain James Stirling, aboard Parmelia, said that Perth was as beautiful as anything of this kind I had ever witnessed. On 12 August that year, Helen Dance, wife of the captain of the ship, Sulphur. The only contemporary information on the source of the name comes from Fremantles diary entry for 12 August, Murray was born in Perth, Scotland, and was in 1829 Secretary of State for the Colonies and Member for Perthshire in the British House of Commons. The town was named after the Scottish Perth, in Murrays honour, the racial relations between the Noongar people and the Europeans were strained due to these happenings. Because of the amount of building in and around Boorloo
4.
Aquinas College, Perth
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Aquinas College is a Catholic independent, day and boarding school for boys at Salter Point, Perth, Western Australia. Its sister school is Santa Maria Ladies College in Attadale, Perth, Aquinas opened in 1938, when boarders and day students from Christian Brothers College moved to the new campus at Salter Point. The history of Aquinas begins with CBC Perth which was founded in 1894 in the centre of Perth, Aquinas was the beneficiary of CBC Perth history, honours and achievements for the period 1894-1937. The campus at Aquinas was built on elevated land which is part of the 62-hectare site at Salter Point, Beginning in 2014, Aquinas will progressively add classes from Kindergarten to Year 3, and by 2017 the college will be K-12. School fees range from $5,937 for a Kindergarten day student to $46,404 for a Year 12 international boarding student, the campus includes expansive sporting grounds, and boarding facilities for 210 students. CBC Perth was built on the corner of St Georges Terrace, the college was also commonly called CBC Terrace. CBC Perth was the first Christian Brothers school as well as the second oldest high school, the Brothers were invited to the colony by Bishop Matthew Gibney who knew of the work of the Brothers in Ireland, England, and in the eastern colonies of Australia. At first, CBC Perth was a day school, however, due to the rapid population growth in Western Australia during the gold rush, the Christian Brothers were pressured to allow boarders to live in makeshift conditions at the college. The first boarding students were enrolled in June 1896, accommodation at the site was very limited and overcrowded. In 1917, Brother Paul Nunan, headmaster of the college, at first, the brothers entered into negotiations for the purchase of 8 hectares at Point Heathcote on the Swan River. The negotiations fell through and in 1928 the brothers purchased 95 hectares on the Canning River, just east of the Riverton Bridge, the following year the Great Depression started and plans to develop this site were shelved. In April 1937, builders Snooks and Sons successfully tendered to build the college at a cost of ₤21,350. Earlier that year, the work of clearing the grounds and preparing the site was taken up vigorously with squads of boys from the old college playing a major role, in 1937, CBC Perth began to splinter. Boarders and some day boys started moving to the fast developing Aquinas College campus at Salter Point, in 1937, the PSA committee agreed to transfer PSA membership and records of CBC Perth to Aquinas. Although CBC Perth continued as a day school until 1961, Aquinas inherited the college colours red and black, as well as the honour boards, achievements. The inheritance was largely due to the efforts of Brother C. P. Foley who was headmaster of CBC Perth. Brother Foley was steadfast Aquinas was not a new Christian Brothers school, the brothers obeyed and in the ensuring schism the heritage of CBC Perth was removed. CBC Perth was no longer a member of the PSA, the colours of CBC Perth became blue, light blue, and green, and the college raised new honour boards from 1938 onwards
5.
Western Australia
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Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Southern Ocean to the south, the state has about 2.6 million inhabitants, around 11% of the national total. 92% of the lives in the south-west corner of the state. The first European visitor to Western Australia was the Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog, the first European settlement of Western Australia occurred following the landing by Major Edmund Lockyer on 26 December 1826 of an expedition on behalf of the New South Wales colonial government. This was followed by the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829, including the site of the present-day capital, york was the first inland settlement in Western Australia. Situated 97 kilometres east of Perth, it was settled on 16 September 1831, Western Australia achieved responsible government in 1890, and federated with the other British colonies in Australia in 1901. Today its economy relies on mining, agriculture and tourism. The state produces 46% of Australias exports, Western Australia is the second-largest iron ore producer in the world. The International Hydrographic Organization designates the body of water south of the continent as part of the Indian Ocean, the total length of the states eastern border is 1,862 km. There are 20,781 km of coastline, including 7,892 km of island coastline, the total land area occupied by the state is 2.5 million km2. Most of the state is a low plateau with an elevation of about 400 metres, very low relief. This descends relatively sharply to the plains, in some cases forming a sharp escarpment. The extreme age of the landscape has meant that the soils are remarkably infertile, even soils derived from granitic bedrock contain an order of magnitude less available phosphorus and only half as much nitrogen as soils in comparable climates in other continents. Soils derived from extensive sandplains or ironstone are even less fertile, nearly devoid of soluble phosphate and also deficient in zinc, copper, molybdenum, the infertility of most of the soils has required heavy application by farmers of chemical fertilisers, particularly superphosphate, insecticides and herbicides. These have resulted in damage to invertebrate and bacterial populations, the grazing and use of hoofed mammals and, later, heavy machinery through the years have resulted in compaction of soils and great damage to the fragile soils. Large-scale land clearing for agriculture has damaged habitats for native flora, large areas of the states wheatbelt region have problems with dryland salinity and the loss of fresh water. The southwest coastal area has a Mediterranean climate and it was originally heavily forested, including large stands of karri, one of the tallest trees in the world. This agricultural region is one of the nine most bio-diverse terrestrial habitats, thanks to the offshore Leeuwin Current, the area is one of the top six regions for marine biodiversity and contains the most southerly coral reefs in the world
6.
Canning River (Western Australia)
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The Canning River is a major tributary of the Swan River in south western Western Australia. The crew subsequently named the mouth Entrée Moreau after Charles Moreau, convicts partly constructed and maintained the Canning River Convict Fence. This structure is still a landmark to this day. It was built primarily for the use of barges carrying timber from Masons Timber Mill in the Darling Ranges, the river is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species. Algal blooms occur naturally in the Canning River system, they are caused by a buildup of nutrients in the river, human activities including farming, residential gardens and parklands are the major causes of increases in levels, the blooms are potentially toxic to both mammal and marine life. The Swan River Trust monitors the levels of nutrients and growth of the algae issuing warnings, the Trust also operates cleanup programs to reduce the amount of nutrients reaching the river, as well phosphorus removal and oxygenation in areas were blooms have been identified. However, it is possible that Azolla carpets can cause deoxygenation, head of the River Mount Henry Canning Dam Canning River Regional Park Islands of Perth, Western Australia Brearley, Anne. Ernest Hodgkins Swanland, estuaries and coastal lagoons of South-western Australia, university of Western Australia Press for the Ernest Hodgkin Trust for Estuary Education and Research and National Trust of Australia. Canning River Regional Park, Western Australia, historical survey, Perth, W. A. Dept. of Planning and Urban Development. Along the Canning, A History of the City of Canning Western Australia, Covering its progress from Roads Board to Shire, to Town, to City City of Canning
7.
Banksia attenuata
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Banksia attenuata, commonly known as the candlestick banksia, slender banksia or biara as known by the Noongar aboriginal people, is a species of plant in the family Proteaceae. Commonly a tree, it reaches 10 m high, but is often a shrub in drier areas 0.4 to 2 m high. It has long serrated leaves and bright yellow inflorescences, or flower spikes, held above the foliage. The flower spikes age to grey and swell with the development of the woody follicles and it is found across much of the southwest of Western Australia, from north of Kalbarri National Park down to Cape Leeuwin and across to Fitzgerald River National Park. Within the genus Banksia, the relationships and exact position of B. attenuata is unclear. The candlestick banksia is pollinated by and provides food for an array of animals in summer months. Several species of honeyeater visit the flower spikes, as does the honey possum and it regenerates from bushfire by regrowing from its woody base known as a lignotuber, or from epicormic buds within its trunk. Plants may have a lifespan of 300 years and it has been widely used as a street tree and for amenities planting in urban Western Australia, though its large size generally precludes use in small gardens. A dwarf form is available in nurseries. Banksia attenuata is generally encountered as a tree up to 10 m tall, in the north of its range as the climate becomes warmer and dryer, it is often a stunted multistemmed shrub 0.4 to 2 m tall. Both forms occur in the vicinity of Hill River but there is otherwise a marked demarcation, in the Wheatbelt and east of the Stirling Range, it is a stunted tree. Tree forms have a trunk, generally wavy or bent. It regenerates from fire via lignotuber or epicormic buds from its fire-tolerant trunk and it has long narrow shiny green linear leaves 4 to 27 cm long and 0.5 to 1.6 cm wide. The leaf margins have v- or u-shaped serrations along their length, the new growth is a pale grey-green, and occurs mainly in the late spring and summer, often after flowering. The brilliant yellow inflorescences occur from spring into summer and are up 5 cm wide, anthesis proceeds up the flower spike over about 10 to 20 days, and is asynchronous. That is, a plant produces flower spikes over a week period. Often bright green in bud stage, they are terminal, occurring at the ends of one- to three-year-old branches, the smell of the open flowers has been likened to a peppery Shiraz wine. Over time, the fade to brown and then grey
8.
Banksia menziesii
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Banksia menziesii, commonly known as firewood banksia, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Banksia. It is a tree up to 10 m tall, or a lower spreading 1–3 m shrub in the more northern parts of its range. The serrated leaves are green with new growth a paler grey green. First described by the botanist Robert Brown in the early 19th century and it is found in Western Australia, from the Perth region north to the Murchison River, and generally grows on sandy soils, in scrubland or low woodland. Banksia menziesii provides food for an array of invertebrate and vertebrate animals, birds. Banksia menziesii is widely used in the cut flower industry both in Australia and overseas, in the shrub form, several stems arise from the woody base known as the lignotuber. The trunk is greyish, sometimes with shades of brown or pink, the new growth is covered in fine brownish hair, which wears away after two or three years, leaving smooth stems and leaves. Stems that will bear flower spikes the following year are generally thicker and longer, oblong in shape and somewhat truncate at the tips, the leaves are grey-green in colour, 8–25 cm long and up to 4 cm wide. The new leaves are paler and finely downy, the leaf margins are serrated with many small 1–2 mm long triangular teeth. The lower surface of the leaf has a midrib covered in pale brown hair. Flowering occurs in autumn and winter, peaking from May to July, overall the inflorescences, or flower spikes, take around eight months to development from the first microscopic changes in late spring. Ovoid to cylindrical in shape, the spikes can be up to 7–8 cm wide. They are particularly striking closeup but can look indistinct from a distance and they are most attractive in late bud, the styles contrasting well to the body of the inflorescence, the whole looking like a red- or pink-and white vertical candy striped bloom. The inflorescences are generally a red after colder weather and further into the winter. Anthocyanin pigments are responsible for the red and pink shades in the flowers, old flowers usually fall off the spikes quickly, with up to 25 large beaked follicles developing. A mottled dark brown and grey in colour, these can be prominent, oval shaped, they are 2. 5–3.5 cm long by 1–1.5 cm high and 1–1.5 cm wide. Overall, only a fraction of flowers develop into follicles. The plant is dependent on fire to reproduce as the only open after being burnt
9.
Banksia
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Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting cones, Banksias range in size from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up to 30 metres tall. They are found in a variety of landscapes, sclerophyll forest, rainforest, shrubland. Heavy producers of nectar, banksias are a part of the food chain in the Australian bush. They are an important food source for all sorts of animals, including birds, bats, rats, possums, stingless bees. Furthermore, they are of importance to Australias nursery and cut flower industries. However these plants are threatened by a number of processes including land clearing, frequent burning and disease, Banksias grow as trees or woody shrubs. Trees of the largest species, B. integrifolia and B. seminuda, often grow over 15 metres tall, Banksia species that grow as shrubs are usually erect, but there are several species that are prostrate, with branches that grow on or below the soil. The leaves of Banksia vary greatly between species, sizes vary from the narrow, 1–1½ centimetre long needle-like leaves of B. ericifolia, to the very large leaves of B. grandis, which may be up to 45 centimetres long. The leaves of most species have serrated edges, but a few, such as B. integrifolia, leaves are usually arranged along the branches in irregular spirals, but in some species they are crowded together in whorls. Many species have differing juvenile and adult leaves, the character most commonly associated with Banksia is the flower spike, an elongated inflorescence consisting of a woody axis covered in tightly-packed pairs of flowers attached at right angles. A single flower spike generally contains hundreds or even thousands of flowers, thus fewer than half of the currently accepted Banksia taxa possess the elongated flower spike long considered characteristic of the genus. Banksia flowers are usually a shade of yellow, but orange, red, pink, the colour of the flowers is determined by the colour of the perianth parts and often the style. The style is longer than the perianth, and is initially trapped by the upper perianth parts. These are gradually released over a period of days, either from top to bottom or from bottom to top, when the styles and perianth parts are different colours, the visual effect is of a colour change sweeping along the spike. This can be most spectacular in B. prionotes and related species, in most cases, the individual flowers are tall, thin saccate in shape. Occasionally, multiple flower spikes can form and this is most often seen in Banksia marginata and B. ericifolia. As the flower spikes or heads age, the flower parts dry up and may turn shades of orange, tan or dark brown colour, before fading to grey over a period of years
10.
Eucalyptus gomphocephala
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Eucalyptus gomphocephala is a species of tree, also known as Tuart, in the genus Eucalyptus, the Noongar peoples know the tree as Moorun, Mouarn, Tooart or Tuart. Native to the southwest of Western Australia the tree grows to over 35m tall, as a durable hardwood the timber is sought after for scantlings, structural timber, the construction of railway carriages, and boat building. The colouring and grain pattern of the timber also makes it a choice for furniture manufactures. The Tuart has box-like rough bark through the length of the trunk to small twigs, leaves are stalked, alternate, lanceolate or falcate to 12 x 2 cm, slightly discolorous to concolorous, glossy, light green and thin. White flowers appear in mid summer to mid autumn, the distribution range of the species is a narrow coastal corridor within the Swan Coastal Plain, extending inland five to ten kilometres, a continuous strip south from Yanchep to Busselton. Outlying patches of the tree are found to the north of Yanchep, Tuart Forest National Park Bryant, Geoff Australian Native Plants Random House ISBN 978-1-74166-030-2 Johnston, Judith The History of the Tuart Forest - pp. 136–153 in de Garis, B. K. Portraits of the South West, Aborigines, Women and the Environment Nedlands, Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife
