1.
Roma, Queensland
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Roma is a town, locality and the administrative centre in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was incorporated in 1867 and is named after Lady Diamantina Bowen, the wife of Sir George Bowen, at the 2011 census, Roma had a population of 6,906. Roma is in the Maranoa district of South West Queensland, Australia,515 km by rail WNW of Brisbane and it is situated at the junction of the Warrego and Carnarvon highways. It is the centre of a pastoral and wheat-growing district. Roma was named after Lady Diamantina Bowen, wife of the first Governor of Queensland, George Bowen, in 1863 Samuel Symons Bassett brought Queenslands vine cuttings to Roma and established the Romaville Winery and a century later, Roma was the site of Australias first oil and gas discoveries. Captain Starlight, a rustler, was tried and acquitted in the Roma Courthouse in February 1873. No successful conviction for cattle rustling has been made in Roma, temperatures in Roma range from 34 °C in summer to 20 °C in winter and winter minimums can drop below freezing, however, it seldom gets colder than −3 °C. Rainfall is mild and distributed evenly throughout the year, with an annual average of 587.9 mm, however it peaks in summer due to frequent showers. Extremes have ranged from 45.8 °C to −5.8 °C, the town is situated on Bungil Creek, a tributary of the Condamine River. In March 2010, Roma experienced its worst floods in over 100 years, flooding also occurred in April 2011, a year of record rainfall in Roma. In early February 2012, Roma was devastated by its worst floods in history, eclipsing the level reached in 2010,444 homes were inundated, Roma is the major provisional centre for the Maranoa District, South West Queensland for government and industry business. It is on the fringe of the Surat Basin energy / resources boom. The Maranoas agriculture industry is worth approximately $620 million annually,64. 3% being generated from crops,58. 7% of businesses in the Maranoa are in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, which employs 32. 7% of the regions workforce. 2005 was a year for Roma saleyards processing 390,000 head of cattle. Roma is home to Australias largest cattle saleyards, forestry plantations include Hardwood and Cypress Pines. Roma and the Maranoa region is home to Australias most active native Cypress Pine sawmilling, in 1906 natural gas was used for lighting in Roma. The industry has expanded as more reserves were discovered, origin Energy is proposing Spring Gully Power Station as an $870 Million,1,000 MW power station that will provide electricity to South-East Queensland. With a base at the Spring Gully CSG site, the station will have the benefit of being close to the source of gas
2.
Order of Australia
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Before the establishment of the order, Australian citizens received British honours. The Queen of Australia is Sovereign Head of the Order, while the Governor-General is Principal Companion/Dame/Knight, the Governor-Generals Official Secretary is Secretary of the Order. The order is divided into a general and a military division, honorary awards at all levels may be made to deserving non-citizens – these awards are made additional to the quotas. The badge of the Order of Australia is a convex disc representing the Golden Wattle flower, at the centre is a ring, representing the sea, with the word Australia below two branches of golden wattle. The whole disc is topped by the Crown of St Edward, the AC badge is decorated with citrines, blue enamelled ring and enamelled crown. The AO badge is similar, without the citrines, for the AM badge only the crown is enamelled, and the OAM badge is plain. The AK/AD badge is similar to that of the AC badge, the star for knights and dames is a convex golden disc decorated with citrines, with a blue royally crowned inner disc bearing an image of the coat of arms of Australia. The ribbon of the order is blue with a stripe of golden wattle flower designs. AKs, male ACs and AOs wear their badges on a necklet, women usually wear their badges on a bow on the left shoulder, although they may wear the same insignia as males, if so desired. The orders insignia were designed by Stuart Devlin, the Order currently consists of four levels and the medal, in both general and military divisions. Since 2015, the level has been discontinued. Awards of Knight and Dame of the Order have been made in the division only. Military Division – Not awarded in the military division. There was a quota of four per year, excluding honorary appointments, the Knight- and Damehoods were conferred between 1976 and 1983, and again from 2014 till 2015. Although this level is not awarded anymore, several knight and dames of the Order are still alive, Companion General Division – Eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or to humanity at large. Military Division – Eminent service in duties of great responsibility. Excluding honorary appointments, until 2003, no more than 25 Companions were appointed in any calendar year, in 2003 this was increased to 30. This was increased in 2016 to 35, Officer General Division – Distinguished service of a high degree to Australia or to humanity at large. Military Division – Distinguished service in responsible positions. Prior to 2003, the quota was 100 Officers appointed in any calendar year, in 2003 this was increased to 125. This was increased in 2016 to 140, Member General Division – Service in a particular locality or field of activity or to a particular group. Military Division – Exceptional service or performance of duty
3.
Alf Stewart
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Alfred James Alf Stewart is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Ray Meagher. The character debuted on-screen during the pilot episode on 17 January 1988. Meagher is the remaining original cast member still present. Meagher has played the role of Alf for over 20 years, Meagher was cast in the role of Alf after appearing as a supporting character in numerous roles. He was one of only eight older actors that were cast in the original line up. Upon receiving his first regular role Meagher said Its good for me to someone like that after all the other blokes. During an interview published on the Channel 5 website, Meagher revealed that he did not audition for Alf, Meagher holds a Guinness World Record as the longest-serving actor in an Australian serial for portraying Alf since 1988. As of 2011 he is the remaining original cast member still present. During flashbacks to the characters past, Alf was portrayed by Max Buckley, in April 2010, it was announced Meagher was taking a break from Home and Away, so he could travel to London to star in the West End production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Meagher said have very generously allowed me to do Priscilla in the West End from 20 September roughly until early March, Meagher returned to the West End in October 2011. However, the actor, whose contract was up for renewal in 2012, said he was committed to staying in Home, Meagher is the only cast member whose contract entitles him to extra holidays. In February 2013, Meagher told a reporter from the AAP that he had signed a contract with Home. But he is allowed to leave providing he gives six months notice, in his early years Alf was described as a good-natured rogue with a finger in every pie. Meagher said that some people think he is miserable, he sees him as an upstanding member of the community. He further added He can be a bit grumpy and gets stuck into people and you have to be quick to catch his apology if he is wrong, Alf has shown a keen interest in business. Whilst serving on the Surf Club Committee, he works as a bartender. He also owns a shop and takes part in recreational fishing. Meagher often changes dialogue to suit Alfs speech, Alfs first on-screen relationship is with Ailsa Hogan
4.
Home and Away
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Home and Away is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988, the soap opera was initially going to be called Refuge, but the name was changed to the friendlier title of Home and Away once production began. The show premiered with a pilot episode. Since then, each subsequent episode has aired for a duration of twenty-two minutes and Home, in Australia, it is currently broadcast from Mondays to Thursdays at 7,00 pm. Home and Away follows the lives and loves of the residents in Summer Bay, Home and Away was not without controversy. During the first season alone, it featured several adult-themed storylines such as teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol addiction and drug overdose. A storyline, in particular concerning rape outraged the public and a protest erupted, the series has dealt with similar storylines over the years which have often exceeded its restricted time slot. Palm Beach in Sydneys Northern Beaches district has been used as the location for Summer Bay since 1988, the exterior scenes are filmed mainly at Palm Beach, while the interior scenes are filmed at the Australian Technology Park in Redfern. Home and Away has been sold to over eighty countries around the world and it is popular in the United Kingdom, and is one of the highest-rating shows on RTÉ Television in Ireland and TV2 in New Zealand. In Australia, Home and Away is the most awarded program at the Logie Awards, with a total of forty-six wins, including Best Drama Program. Some cast members have won other awards such as the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor. In 2015, Home and Away was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame, after the Seven Network cancelled their soap opera Neighbours on 12 July 1985 due to low ratings, rival network Ten picked it up and turned it into a success. A couple of later, Sevens head of drama, Alan Bateman, became desperate to get back into the soap market. While on a trip to Kangaroo Point, New South Wales with his family, seeing the degree of conflict the influx of parentless children on a tight-knit community was having, Bateman came away with the idea for a new serial. He explained Nobody in the community wanted them to move in, suddenly I thought, there is my slice of life in a community. Bateman began outlining the storyline and set the serial in the town of Summer Bay. While Seven Network executives were unconvinced by the idea, audience research was positive, the soap opera was initially called Refuge, but the name was changed to the friendlier title of Home and Away once production began. Home and Away has since become the second-longest drama series in Australian television after Neighbours, the storyline featured a majority of the cast boarded onto a ferry boat for a night cruise, however, a massive storm ruined the celebrations, leading the boat to sink
5.
Gold Coast, Queensland
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Gold Coast is a coastal city in the Australian state of Queensland, approximately 66 kilometres south-southeast of the state capital Brisbane and immediately north of the border with New South Wales. With a census-estimated 2016 population of 638,090, The Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, making it the largest non-capital city, the first settlement in what is now South East Queensland was as a penal colony at Redcliffe. The Gold Coast region remained uninhabited by Europeans until 1823 when explorer John Oxley landed at Mermaid Beach. The hinterlands red cedar supply attracted people to the area in the mid-19th century, later in 1875, Southport was surveyed and established and grew a reputation as a secluded holiday destination for wealthy Brisbane residents. The Gold Coast region grew significantly after the establishment of the Surfers Paradise hotel in the late 1920s and it is also the major film production hub for Queensland. Gold Coast will host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, lieutenant James Cook became the first European to note the region when he sailed along the coast on 16 May 1770 in the HM Bark Endeavour. Captain Matthew Flinders, an explorer charting the continent north from the colony of New South Wales, escaped convicts from the Moreton Bay penal settlement hid in the region. The region remained uninhabited by Europeans until 1823 when explorer John Oxley landed at Mermaid Beach. The hinterlands red cedar supply attracted people to the area in the mid-19th century, a number of small townships developed along coast and in the hinterland. The western suburb of Nerang was surveyed and established as a base for the industry, by 1873, the town reserve of Burleigh Heads had also been surveyed and successful land sales had taken place. Southport quickly grew a reputation as a holiday destination for wealthy Brisbane residents. Gold Coast was originally known as the South Coast, however, inflated prices for real estate and other goods and services led to the nickname of Gold Coast from 1950. South Coast locals initially considered the name Gold Coast derogatory, however, soon the Gold Coast simply became a convenient way to refer to the holiday strip from Southport to Coolangatta. As the tourism grew into the 1950s, local businesses began to adopt the term in their names. The area was proclaimed a city less than one year later, in 2007, Gold Coast overtook the population of Newcastle, New South Wales to become the sixth largest city in Australia and the largest non-capital city. The Gold Coast is approximately covered by forests of various types. This includes small patches of near-pristine ancient rainforest, mangrove-covered islands, of the plantation pine forests that were planted in the 1950s and 1960s, when commercial forest planting for tax minimisation was encouraged by the Commonwealth government, tiny remnants remain. Gold Coast City lies in the southeast corner of Queensland, to the south of Brisbane, the Albert River separates Gold Coast from Logan City, a suburban area of Brisbane
6.
Marist College Ashgrove
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Marist College Ashgrove is a Roman Catholic day and boarding school for boys, located in Ashgrove, a northern suburb of Brisbane, Australia. The college has a school for students in grades 5 to 6. The Tower Block was the first and still remains the prominent building on the College campus and it was St. Judes Seminary, where the Mission of the Most Holy Eucharist was established in 1929-30. On the 40-acre estate of the late Dr, such is the architects art that St. Judes, where missionaries are trained for the Philippines, toned into its surroundings, and provided a spiritual atmosphere for a modern suburb. This beautiful building, semi Gothic in inspiration, is approached by a bridge that might have spanned the moat of some warring barons castle instead of the gentle meandering Enoggera Creek, the bridge alone cost more than £1000. St. Judes, old in spirit but young in structure, three distinct houses that contain the five boarding residences. Hall of Fame In 1993, the House system was established, the college currently caters for nearly 200 boarders. The boarding community includes students from the Greater Brisbane Region and South-East Queensland, along with many country students from Outback Queensland. The motto traditionally displayed above the crest, Viriliter Age, was adopted in 1957 and is translated from Latin, in 2008, Australian jazz musician James Morrison performed with the big band along with his own band. List of schools in Queensland List of boarding schools List of Marist Brothers schools Marist College website
7.
Brisbane
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Brisbane is the capital of and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbanes metropolitan area has a population of 2.35 million, the Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, about 15 kilometres from its mouth at Moreton Bay. The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite, one of the oldest cities in Australia, Brisbane was founded upon the ancient homelands of the indigenous Turrbal and Jagera peoples. A penal settlement was founded in 1824 at Redcliffe,28 kilometres north of the business district. The city was marred by the Australian frontier wars between 1843 and 1855, and development was set back by the Great Fire of Brisbane. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a colony from New South Wales in 1859. During World War II, Brisbane played a role in the Allied campaign. Today, Brisbane is well known for its distinct Queenslander architecture which forms much of the built heritage. It also receives attention for its damaging flood events, most notably in 1974 and 2011. Several large cultural, international and sporting events have held at Brisbane, including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo 88, the final Goodwill Games in 2001. Prior to white settlement, the Brisbane area was inhabited by the Turrbal and they knew the area that is now the central business district as Mian-jin, meaning place shaped as a spike. The Moreton Bay area was explored by Matthew Flinders. On 17 July 1799, Flinders landed at what is now known as Woody Point, in 1823 Governor of New South Wales Sir Thomas Brisbane instructed that a new northern penal settlement be developed, and an exploration party led by John Oxley further explored Moreton Bay. Oxley discovered, named, and explored the Brisbane River as far as Goodna,20 kilometres upstream from the Brisbane central business district, Oxley recommended Red Cliff Point for the new colony, reporting that ships could land at any tide and easily get close to the shore. The party settled in Redcliffe on 13 September 1824, under the command of Lieutenant Henry Miller with 14 soldiers and 29 convicts. However, this settlement was abandoned after a year and the colony was moved to a site on the Brisbane River now known as North Quay,28 km south, chief Justice Forbes gave the new settlement the name of Edenglassie before it was named Brisbane. Non-convict European settlement of the Brisbane region commenced in 1838, German missionaries settled at Zions Hill, Nundah as early as 1837, five years before Brisbane was officially declared a free settlement. The band consisted of ministers Christopher Eipper and Carl Wilhelm Schmidt and lay missionaries Haussmann, Johann Gottried Wagner, Niquet, Hartenstein, Zillman, Franz, Rode, Doege and they were allocated 260 hectares and set about establishing the mission, which became known as the German Station
8.
Rugby union
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Rugby union, known in some parts of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using a ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. Historically an amateur sport, in 1995 restrictions on payments to players were removed, World Rugby, originally the International Rugby Football Board and from 1998 to 2014 the International Rugby Board, has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, early exponents of the sport included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji, Georgia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents, there are 101 full members and 18 associate members of World Rugby. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place four years with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are major annual competitions. The origin of football is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School in 1823. Although the evidence for the story is doubtful, it was immortalised at the school with a plaque unveiled in 1895, despite the doubtful evidence, the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after Webb Ellis. Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, Old Rugbeian Albert Pell, a student at Cambridge, is credited with having formed the first football team. During this early period different schools used different rules, with pupils from Rugby. Other important events include the Blackheath Clubs decision to leave the Football Association in 1863, despite the sports full name of rugby union, it is known simply as rugby throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England, by 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams, and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby tournament, the Melrose Sevens. During the early history of union, a time before commercial air travel. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by the New Zealand team touring Europe, All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in, the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event, in 1905 France played England in its first international match
9.
Queensland Reds
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The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemispheres Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a team selected from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland. From 1996 to 2005 they were one of three Australian teams competing in the Super 12 competition, alongside the New South Wales Waratahs, Queensland finished as minor premiers in 1996 and 1999. From 2006 to 2010, they competed in the expanded Super 14 competition as one of four Australian sides, beginning in 2011, they are one of five Australian sides in the expanded and renamed Super Rugby, winning the competition in its first season in its new format. In 2012 they finished first in the Australian conference, however, it was reported that the game was soon varied to suit the preferences of the local players, and “rugby, with Brisbane variations, was the game played”. Most of these games were played at the Queens Park (now part of the City Botanic Gardens, however, in 1882, a Brisbane FC representative arranged a Rugby match against the Sydney Wallaroos Rugby club, after the NSWRU offered to pay all costs associated with the match. The following years saw rapidly increasing popularity of the Rugby game, as Rugby historian Sean Fagan noted, The defining moment in the code battle came with the 1886 Queensland side, who defeated NSW for the first time in Sydney. “The success of this team won the day for rugby game in Queensland. In 1883, the first inter-colonial match in Brisbane took place, in 1896 the first Queensland team departed for a tour of New Zealand, where they played New Zealand at Athletic Park in Wellington on 15 August, losing 9 to nil. In 1899 Queensland recorded their first win against an international team, the Queensland team remained a representative team selected solely from the rugby union clubs within the state, until the advent of the Super rugby competition in the 1990s. With the start up of league as well as World War I, Queensland rugby was dormant for a number of years. In 1928 the QRU was re-formed, and the GPS competition, the game struggled during World War II, but growth was nonetheless apparent, with the advent of the Queensland Junior Rugby Union and the Country Rugby Union. In 1950 the QRU secured the Normanby Oval at nominal rent from Brisbane Grammar School, before they moved into Ballymore Stadium in 1966, in 1980 Queensland defeated the All Blacks, which was their first win against New Zealand. The match was played at Ballymore on 6 July and Queensland won 9 to 3, two seasons later centenary celebrations took place, with Queensland defeating New South Wales 41 to 7 in the celebratory match. The first Super 10 was held in 1993, Queensland were grouped in Pool A alongside Auckland, Natal, Western Samoa and Otago. Queensland finished with five points, in fourth place, the subsequent Super 10 competition of 1994 saw Queensland finish at the top of Pool A on 13 points, edging out North Harbour on for and against differential to finish at the top. The Queensland Reds went on to play the winner of Pool B, South African side, the Reds won the final,21 points to 10 at Kings Park Stadium in Durban. The following season was more successful for the Reds, who were playing in Pool B for the 1995 season
