1.
Chief Justice of Australia
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The Chief Justice of Australia is the informal title for the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The incumbent is Susan Kiefel, the first woman to hold the office, the Court was constituted by, and its first members were appointed under, the Judiciary Act 1903, with the first appointments to the High Court commencing on 5 October 1903. The Chief Justice is first among equals among the Justices of the High Court, all Justices, including the Chief Justice, are appointed by the Governor-General of Australia, on the advice of the federal government. They can be removed only by the Governor-General, on a request from both houses of the parliament, although this has never been done. Since 1977, appointment has been until the retirement age of seventy. The Chief Justice often acts as the Governor-Generals deputy, especially at such as the opening of Parliament after an election. Chief Justice Samuel Griffith was several times consulted by Governors-General of Australia on the exercise of the reserve powers, the Chief Justice also administers the Oath of Allegiance to the Monarch and an Oath of Office to the Governor-General-designate when he or she takes up his or her appointment. Chief Justice Sir John Latham was absent from the office when he served from 1940 to 1941 as Australias first ambassador to Japan, Sir George Rich was Acting Chief Justice in Lathams absence
2.
John Howard
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John Winston Howard, OM, AC was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. Only Sir Robert Menzies has served in the position longer, born in Sydney, Howard was a solicitor at Clayton Utz before entering politics, having studied law at the University of Sydney. A member of the Liberal Party and former president of the Young Liberals, he first stood for office at the 1968 New South Wales state election, but lost narrowly. At the 1974 federal election, Howard was elected to the Division of Bennelong and he was promoted to cabinet in 1977, and later in the year replaced Phillip Lynch as Treasurer of Australia, remaining in that position until the defeat of Malcolm Frasers government in 1983. In 1985, Howard was elected leader of the Liberal Party for the first time and he led the Liberal–National coalition to the 1987 federal election, but lost to Bob Hawkes Labor government, and was removed from the leadership in 1989. Remaining a key figure in the party, Howard was re-elected leader in 1995, after defeating Paul Keatings Labor government in 1996, the Howard Government was re-elected at the 1998,2001 and 2004 elections. Howards actions as prime minister included new gun laws, the introduction of a nationwide value-added tax, immigration reform, Australia also contributed troops to the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War under his government, and led the International Force for East Timor. The Howard government was defeated at the 2007 federal election, with the Labor Partys Kevin Rudd succeeding him as prime minister, Howard also lost his own seat at the election, becoming only the second prime minister to do so. John Howard is the son of Mona and Lyall Howard. His parents were married in 1925 and his eldest brother Stanley was born in 1926, followed by Walter in 1929, and Robert in 1936. Lyall Howard was an admirer of Winston Churchill, and sympathetic to the New Guard during its early years, Howards ancestors were English, Scottish and Irish. Howard was born and raised in the Sydney suburb of Earlwood and his mother had been an office worker until her marriage. His father and his grandfather, Walter Howard, were both veterans of the First AIF in World War I. They also ran two Dulwich Hill petrol stations where Howard worked as a boy, Lyall Howard died in 1955 when John was sixteen, leaving his mother to take care of John. Howard suffered an impairment in his youth, leaving him with a slight speech impediment. It also influenced him in ways, limiting his early academic performance, encouraging a reliance on an excellent memory. Howard attended the state schools Earlwood Primary School and Canterbury Boys High School, Howard won a citizenship prize in his final year at Earlwood, and subsequently represented his secondary school at debating as well as cricket and rugby. In his final year at school he took part in a show hosted by Jack Davey, Give It a Go broadcast on the commercial radio station, 2GB
3.
James Rowland (RAAF officer)
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Air Marshal Sir James Anthony Rowland, AC, KBE, DFC, AFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force, serving as Chief of the Air Staff from 1975 to 1979. He later held office as Governor of New South Wales from 1981 to 1989, born in rural New South Wales, Rowland cut short his aeronautical engineering studies at the University of Sydney to join the RAAF in 1942. He was posted to Britain and served as a pilot with the Pathfinders in the air war over Europe. The following year he was forced to bail out over Germany following a collision with another Allied aircraft, after repatriation and demobilisation, Rowland gained his engineering degree and rejoined the RAAF. In 1972 he was promoted to air marshal and became Air Member for Technical Services, holding this post until his elevation to air marshal. He was the first engineering officer to lead the RAAF, knighted in 1977, Rowland retired from the Air Force in 1979 and became Governor of New South Wales in January 1981. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1987, retiring from the Governorship in 1989, he held a place on several boards as well as the Chancellorship of the University of Sydney. Rowland was born in Armidale, New South Wales, on 1 November 1922 and he was the son of Louis Rowland, a commander in the Royal Australian Navy, and his wife Elsie. Jim evinced a fascination with aviation from an age, carving model aeroplanes out of wood. Growing up with his three brothers on the familys 3, 000-acre rural property, he was schooled via correspondence before completing his education at Cranbrook. Rowland entered the University of Sydney to study engineering. In early 1943 he underwent service flying training in Canada and he was commissioned as a pilot officer in July and posted to Britain, where he converted to Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster heavy bombers. Rowland was assigned to the Pathfinder Force that marked targets for aircraft on strategic bombing missions over Europe. Considered an exceptional pilot, he became a bomber with No.635 Squadron RAF in 1944. As a master bomber, his role was to arrive ahead of the main Allied force, check that flares marking the target were in place, and warn his fellows if they were bombing inaccurately. Having been promoted to acting lieutenant, Rowland was on a sortie to attack Düsseldorf in December 1944 when he lost one of his engines. He nevertheless continued on to the target where, owing to his lower-than-normal altitude, his aircraft was damaged by anti-aircraft fire before. In January 1945, Rowlands Lancaster collided with a Canadian bomber over Frankfurt, captured and held by the Gestapo in solitary confinement, he was scheduled to be executed but was saved by two Luftwaffe officers who had learned of his situation
4.
Wingham, New South Wales
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Wingham is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia in the Mid-Coast Council area 335 kilometres north of Sydney. According to the 2011 census, Wingham had a population of 5,313, the first land grant in the area was made at The Bight to George Rowley in 1841. Named after Wingham in Kent, England, Wingham was proclaimed a village in 1844 but allotments were not made until 1854, the same year that Henry Flett laid out Taree as a private settlement. In the meantime, Tinonee had also established as a government settlement and in 1866 had a population of 100. Wingham was proclaimed a municipality in 1889, by 1909, Wingham consisted of 285 houses and had a population of 900, but government services had been transferred to Taree, which had a population of 1300 in 269 houses. The municipalities were merged with other and the Manning Valley Shire in 1981 to form the City of Greater Taree. Winghams main street, Isabella Street runs east west and fronts the typically English town square, josephs Catholic School, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Church, the Manning Valley Historical Society rooms and Museum and a dental surgery. On the corner of Bent and Farquhar Streets stands the old Gibson and Skinner Butchery, shops also dominate the northern side of the park. The Northeast corner was occupied by the Wingham Hotel or Bottom Pub from 1926 until it burned down on 5 July 2010, there are five schools in Wingham. Wingham Public School is located in Murray Road, and is known to the locals as Murray Road Public School, Wingham High School is located three blocks northeast of Central Park, and has an extensive agricultural science department, owning three properties and a feedlot. The WHS Agricultural Show Team breeds all their own cattle through both natural mating and artificial insemination. Along the Manning River is Wingham Brush, an area of tropical rainforest remnant on a floodplain, including spectacular Moreton Bay Fig trees. For many years the flying foxes were considered pests and various initiatives were taken to remove them and these efforts proved ineffective and, in more recent years, moves have been taken to protect the flying foxes, which have become a tourist attraction. Wingham is the gateway to the Ellenborough Falls on the Bulga Plateau, the Bank Guesthouse, formerly the local branch of the Westpac Bank, featured on the Seven Networks Sydney Weekender with Mike Whitney in 1999. The infamous murderer and fugitive Jimmy Governor was incarcerated in Wingham immediately after his capture, the cell in which he was imprisoned is on display at the Manning Historical Society Museum. A memorial to Governor is located at the site of his capture, Wingham is also home to the Wingham Chronicle and the Rhema FM Manning Great Lakes radio station. Di Morrissey, one of Australias most successful novelists with 23 best-selling novels, members of Sydney-based independent bands The Maladies and Love Parade grew up in the area and attended Wingham Public School and Wingham High School. Six NSW TrainLink XPT services stop at Wingham, night time NSW TrainLink XPT services no longer stopped in Wingham from the early 1990s until around 2011
5.
University of Sydney
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The University of Sydney is an Australian public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is Australias first university and is regarded as one of the leading universities. The university comprises 16 faculties and schools, through which it offers bachelor, master, in 2011 it had 32,393 undergraduate and 16,627 graduate students. The university is known as one of Australias sandstone universities. Five Nobel and two Crafoord laureates have been affiliated with the university as graduates and faculty, the university has educated six prime ministers and 24 justices of the High Court of Australia, including four chief justices. Sydney has produced 24 Rhodes Scholars and several Gates Scholars and it would take two attempts on Wentworths behalf, however, before the plan was finally adopted. The university was established via the passage of the University of Sydney Act, two years later, the university was inaugurated on 11 October 1852 in the Big Schoolroom of what is now Sydney Grammar School. The first principal was John Woolley, the first professor of chemistry, by 1859, the university had moved to its current site in the Sydney suburb of Camperdown. Most of the estate of John Henry Challis was bequeathed to the university and this was thanks in part due to William Montagu Manning who argued against the claims by British Tax Commissioners. The following year seven professorships were created, anatomy, zoology, engineering, history, law, logic and mental philosophy, the New England University College was founded as part of the University of Sydney in 1938 and later separated in 1954 to become the University of New England. During the late 1960s, the University of Sydney was at the centre of rows to introduce courses on Marxism and feminism at the major Australian universities, prior to 1981, the Sydney Institute of Education was the Sydney Teachers College. In January 2005, the University of Sydney transferred the OAC to Charles Sturt University, in February 2007, the university agreed to acquire a portion of the land granted to St Johns College to develop the Sydney Institute of Health and Medical Research. This caused concern among some groups, who argued that it would interfere with scientific medical research, at the start of 2010, the university controversially adopted a new logo. It retains the same university arms, however it takes on a modern look. The original Coat of Arms from 1857 continues to be used for ceremonial and other formal purposes, concerns about public funding for higher education were reflected again in 2014 following the federal governments proposal to deregulate student fees. In order to enhance its competitiveness locally and internationally, the university has introduced plans to consolidate existing degrees to reduce the overall number of programs. In 2001, the University of Sydney chancellor, Dame Leonie Kramer, was forced to resign by the governing body. In 2005, the Public Service Association of New South Wales, action initiated by Spence to improve the financial sustainability of the university has alienated some students and staff
6.
High Court of Australia
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The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. The High Court is mandated by Constitution section 71, which vests in it the power of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Court was constituted by, and its first members were appointed under and it now operates under Constitution sections 71 to 75, the Judiciary Act, and the High Court of Australia Act 1979. It is composed of seven Justices, the Chief Justice of Australia, currently Susan Kiefel and they are appointed by the Governor-General of Australia, on the advice of the federal government, and under the constitution must retire at age 70. Since 1979, The High Court has been located in Canberra, the majority of its sittings are held in the High Court building, situated in the Parliamentary Triangle, overlooking Lake Burley Griffin. With an increasing utilisation of video links, sittings are also held in the state capitals. The High Court exercises both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction, the High Court is the court of final appeal with the ability to interpret the common law for the whole of Australia, not just the state or territory in which the matter arose. The High Courts broad jurisdiction is similar to that of the Supreme Court of Canada, as such, the court is able to develop the common law consistently across all the states and territories. This role, alongside its role in constitutional interpretation, is one of the courts most significant and this broad array of jurisdiction enables the High Court to take a leading role in Australian law and contributes to a consistency and uniformity among the laws of the different states. The original jurisdiction of the High Court refers to matters that are heard in the High Court. The Constitution confers actual and potential original jurisdiction, Section 75 of the Constitution confers original jurisdiction in regard to all matters, The conferral of original jurisdiction creates some problems for the High Court. For example, challenges against immigration-related decisions are brought against an officer of the Commonwealth within the original jurisdiction of the High Court. However, the inclusion of constitutional matters in section 76, rather than section 75, in practice, section 75 and section 75 are broad enough that many constitutional matters would still be within jurisdiction. The 1998 Constitutional Convention recommended an amendment to the constitution to prevent the possibility of the jurisdiction being removed by Parliament, failure to proceed on this issue suggests that it was considered highly unlikely that Parliament would ever take this step. The requirement of a matter in section 75 and section 76 of the means that a concrete issue must need to be resolved. The High Courts appellate jurisdiction is defined under Section 73 of the Constitution, however, section 73 allows the appellate jurisdiction to be limited with such exceptions and subject to such regulations as the Parliament prescribes. Parliament has prescribed a large limitation in section 35A of the Judiciary Act 1903 and this requires special leave to appeal. Special leave is granted only where a question of law is raised that is of public importance, therefore, while the High Court is the final court of appeal, it cannot be considered a general court of appeal
7.
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
8.
St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill
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St Josephs College is a Catholic, secondary, day and boarding school for boys. It is located in Hunters Hill, a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, in 2006, Joeys saw the appointment of its first lay headmaster, Mr Ross Tarlinton. St Josephs College can trace its origins back to the Marist Brothers school founded in Harrington Street, Church Hill, the Headmaster, Rev. Br Emilian Pontet then sought out land to found a new school elsewhere. After inspecting several locations, Hunters Hill was chosen due to its proximity to the Marist Fathers Monastery, within six years of its founding, keen observers had taken notice
9.
Prime Minister of Australia
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The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the head of government of Australia. The individual who holds the office is the most senior Minister of the Crown, the leader of the Cabinet, the office is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia and exists only through longstanding political convention and tradition. Despite this, in practice it is the most powerful position in Australia. The individual who holds the office is commissioned by the Governor-General of Australia, almost always and according to convention, the Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party or largest party in a coalition of parties in the House of Representatives. However, there is no requirement that the prime minister sit in the House of Representatives. The only case where a member of the Senate was appointed minister was John Gorton. Malcolm Turnbull has held the office of Prime Minister since 15 September 2015, the Prime Minister and Treasurer are traditionally members of the House, but the Constitution does not have such a requirement. Before being sworn in as a Minister of the Crown, a person must first be sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council if they are not already a member. Membership of the Federal Executive Council entitles the member to the style of The Honourable for life, the senior members of the Executive Council constitute the Cabinet of Australia. The Prime Minister is, like ministers, normally sworn in by the Governor-General. When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the Prime Minister is said to hand in the commission, in the event of a Prime Minister dying in office, or becoming incapacitated, the Governor-General can terminate the commission. Despite the importance of the office of minister, the Constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster system were thought to be entrenched in Australia by the authors of the Constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail them. The formal title of the portfolio has always been simply Prime Minister, except for the period of the Fourth Deakin Ministry, Page was the leader of the smaller party in the governing coalition, the Country Party. He held the office for three weeks until the UAP elected a new leader, Robert Menzies, in August 1941 Menzies resigned as prime minister. In July 1945 John Curtin died suddenly and his deputy, Frank Forde, was sworn in the next day as prime minister, although the Labor Party had not had an opportunity to meet and elect a new leader. Forde served for eight days until Ben Chifley was elected leader, Chifley was then sworn in, replacing Forde, who became Australias shortest-serving prime minister. Harold Holt disappeared while swimming on 17 December 1967 and was declared presumed dead on 19 December, the governor-general, Lord Casey, commissioned the Leader of the Country Party, John McEwen, to form a government until the Liberal Party elected a new leader
10.
National Party of Australia
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The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and rural voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a federal level and it would later briefly adopt the name National Country Party in 1975, before adopting its current name in 1982. In Opposition the Coalition was usually maintained, but otherwise still generally continued to work in co-operation with the Liberal Party of Australia. In Queensland however, they were the coalition party between 1925 and 2008, after which they merged with the junior Liberal Party of Australia to form the Liberal National Party. The current federal leader and Deputy Prime Minister is Barnaby Joyce, both were elected in a party-room ballot on 11 February 2016, following the retirement of former leader and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and the elevation of former deputy leader Joyce. Australias first Country Party was founded in 1912 by Harry J. Stephens, editor of The Farmer & Settler, the VFU won a seat in the House of Representatives at the Corangamite by-election held in December 1918, with the help of the newly-introduced preferential voting system. At the 1919 federal election the state-based Country Parties won federal seats in New South Wales, Victoria and they also began to win seats in state parliaments. In 1920 the Country Party was established as a party led by William McWilliams from Tasmania. McWilliams would later leave the Country Party to sit as an Independent, according to historian B. D. Graham, the graziers who operated the sheep stations were politically conservative. They disliked the Labor Party, which represented their workers, and feared that Labor governments would pass legislation and listen to foreigners. The graziers were satisfied with the organisation of their industry, opposed any change in land tenure and labour relations, and advocated lower tariffs, low freight rates. On the other hand, Graham reports, the farmers, not the graziers. The farmers advocated government intervention in the market price support schemes. The graziers often politically and financially supported the Country party, which in turn made the Country party more conservative, at the 1922 election, it won enough seats to deny the Nationalists an overall majority, and was the Nationalists only realistic coalition partner. However, Page let it be known that his party would not serve under Hughes, Page then entered negotiations with the Nationalists new leader, Stanley Bruce, for a coalition government. Pages terms were stiff—five seats in a Cabinet of 11, including the Treasurer portfolio, nonetheless, Bruce readily agreed, and the Bruce-Page Ministry was formed—thus beginning the tradition of the partys leader ranking second in Coalition cabinets. The coalition was re-formed under Archie Cameron in 1940, and continued until October 1941 despite the election of Arthur Fadden as leader after the 1940 Election, Fadden was well regarded within conservative circles and proved to be a loyal deputy to Menzies in the difficult circumstances of 1941. When Menzies was forced to resign as Prime Minister, the UAP was so bereft of leadership that Fadden briefly succeeded him, however, the two independents who had been propping up the government rejected Faddens budget and brought the government down
