Jeff Kennett
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC is a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999 and a current media commentator. He was the President of Hawthorn Football Club from 2005 -2011 and he is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national organisation working to reduce the impact of depression and anxiety in the community. Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March 1948, and educated at Scotch College, Kennett was an unexceptional student academically, but did well in Scotchs Cadet Corps Unit. His failure to rise above the middle band academically almost led him to school in Fourth Form. His Fifth and Sixth Forms were an improvement, but he was described in school reports as confident. Sometimes works hard, and keen, though sometimes erratic boy, after leaving school, Kennett was persuaded by his father Ken to attend the Australian National University in Canberra, but lost interest and left after one year of an economics degree. He returned to Melbourne and found work in the department of the retail giant Myer – kindling an interest for advertising that would one day earn him his living.
Kennetts life in the workforce was cut short when, in 1968. Kennett was singled out as officer material early in his career and he was posted to Malaysia and Singapore as Second Lieutenant, commander of 1st Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. This military career has been noted by biographers as an essential formative influence on the adult Kennetts character. His sense and regard for hierarchical loyalty and general intolerance of dissent or disobedience may be traced to this period, Kennett returned to civilian life in 1970, reentering a divided Australian society, split by the Vietnam War, of which Kennett was a firm supporter. Having returned to Myer, Kennett became impatient with his work, thereafter, in December 1972, Kennett married Felicity Kellar, an old friend whom he had first met on a Number 7 tram on the long trips to school. Their first son, Ed, was born in 1974, followed by a daughter Amy, interested in local politics since the early 1970s, Kennett was elected as a Liberal Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Burwood in 1976.
His preselection for the seat reportedly irritated Premier Dick Hamer, who disliked Kennetts campaigning style, entering Hamers government, Kennett was soon appointed Minister for Housing and Ethnic Affairs in 1981. He retained this post when Hamer was replaced as Liberal leader and Premier by Lindsay Thompson in June of that year and he was an aggressive Leader of the Opposition, and was criticised for his bull-in-a-china-shop style and his anti-government rhetoric. Under his leadership, the Liberals were heavily defeated by Labor in Victorian state election,1985, soon afterward, he faced a challenge to his leadership of the party from Ian Smith. Kennett survived easily, but increasingly, he was seen as an erratic and he faced two more challenges to his leadership in 1986 and 1987 respectively. In 1987, in one notable incident Kennett referred to the Federal Liberal leader John Howard using colourful language in a telephone conversation with Howard rival Andrew Peacock
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of 381,488, it is Australias largest inland city, the city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory,280 km south-west of Sydney, and 660 km north-east of Melbourne. A resident of Canberra is known as a Canberran, the site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nations capital in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australias two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being a planned city outside of any state, similar to Washington, D. C. in the United States. Following an international contest for the design, a blueprint by American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected. The Griffins plan featured geometric motifs such as circles and triangles, the citys design was influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title of the bush capital. Although the Australian Capital Territory is now self-governing, the Commonwealth Government retains some influence through the National Capital Authority, the Australian Armys officer corps is trained at the Royal Military College and the Australian Defence Force Academy is located in the capital.
The ACT is independent of any state to prevent any one state from gaining an advantage by hosting the seat of Commonwealth power, the ACT has voting representation in the Commonwealth Parliament, and has its own independent Legislative Assembly and government, similar to the states. Compared to the averages, the unemployment rate is lower. Property prices are high, in part due to comparatively restrictive development regulations. An 1830s map of the region by Major Mitchell indeed does mark the Sullivans Creek floodplain between two mountains as Nganbra. Nganbra or Nganbira could readily have been anglicised to the name Canberry, survey plans of the district dated 1837 refer to the area as the Canberry Plain. Although popularly pronounced /ˈkænbərə/ or /ˈkænbɛrə/, the pronunciation at its official naming in 1913 was /ˈkæn. brə/. Before white settlement, the area in which Canberra would eventually be constructed was seasonally inhabited by Indigenous Australians, archaeological evidence of settlement in the region includes inhabited rock shelters, rock paintings and engravings, burial places and quarry sites, and stone tools and arrangements.
Artefacts suggests early human activity occurred at some point in the area 21,000 years previously, European exploration and settlement started in the Canberra area as early as the 1820s. There were four expeditions between 1820 and 1824, white settlement of the area probably dates from 1823, when a homestead or station was built on what is now the Acton peninsula by stockmen employed by Joshua John Moore. He formally applied to purchase the site on 16 December 1826, on 30 April 1827, Moore was told by letter that he could retain possession of 1,000 acres at Canberry. The European population in the Canberra area continued to grow throughout the 19th century
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is a state in southeast Australia. Victoria is Australias most densely populated state and its second-most populous state overall, most of its population is concentrated in the area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, which includes the metropolitan area of its state capital and largest city, Australias second-largest city. Prior to British European settlement, the area now constituting Victoria was inhabited by a number of Aboriginal peoples. With Great Britain having claimed the entire Australian continent east of the 135th meridian east in 1788, Victoria was included in the wider colony of New South Wales. The first settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay, and much of what is now Victoria was included in the Port Phillip District in 1836, Victoria was officially created as a separate colony in 1851, and achieved self-government in 1855. Politically, Victoria has 37 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in the Australian Senate, at state level, the Parliament of Victoria consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.
Victoria is currently governed by the Labor Party, with Daniel Andrews the current Premier, the personal representative of the Queen of Australia in the state is the Governor of Victoria, currently Linda Dessau. Local government is concentrated in 79 municipal districts, including 33 cities, although a number of unincorporated areas still exist, Victorias total gross state product is ranked second in Australia, although Victoria is ranked fourth in terms of GSP per capita because of its limited mining activity. Culturally, Melbourne is home to a number of museums, art galleries and theatres and is described as the sporting capital of Australia. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is the largest stadium in Australia, and the host of the 1956 Summer Olympics, Victoria has eight public universities, with the oldest, the University of Melbourne, having been founded in 1853. Victoria, like Queensland, was named after Queen Victoria, who had been on the British throne for 14 years when the colony was established in 1851.
The first British settlement in the known as Victoria was established in October 1803 under Lieutenant-Governor David Collins at Sullivan Bay on Port Phillip. In the year 1826 Colonel Stewart, Captain S. Wright and the brigs Dragon and Amity, took a number of convicts and a small force composed of detachments of the 3rd and 93rd regiments. Victorias next settlement was at Portland, on the south west coast of what is now Victoria, edward Henty settled Portland Bay in 1834. Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman, who set up a base in Indented Head, from settlement the region around Melbourne was known as the Port Phillip District, a separately administered part of New South Wales. Shortly after the now known as Geelong was surveyed by Assistant Surveyor W. H. Smythe. And in 1838 Geelong was officially declared a town, despite earlier white settlements dating back to 1826, days later, still in 1851 gold was discovered near Ballarat, and subsequently at Bendigo. Later discoveries occurred at sites across Victoria
George Bowen
Sir George Ferguson Bowen, GCMG was a British author and colonial administrator whose appointments included postings to the Ionian Islands, New Zealand, Victoria and Hong Kong. Bowen was born the eldest son of the Rev. Edward Bowen, Bowen was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Oxford. Bowen, twice President of the Oxford Union, was awarded a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in classics in 1844, Bowen was called to the bar by Lincolns Inn in 1844 and obtained his Master of Arts three years later. In 1846 Bowen had some training, serving for sixteen days on HMS Victory. In 1847 Bowen was appointed president of the Ionian University located in Corfu, Bowen became the chief secretary to the government of the Ionian Islands in 1854. While in that post, he married the Contessa Diamantina di Roma on 28 April 1856, Diamantina was the daughter of Conte Giorgio-Candiano Roma and his wife Contessa Orsola, née di Balsamo. The Roma family were local aristocracy, her father being the President of the Ionian Senate, titular head of the Islands and he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1855 and was advanced to Knight Commander in the following year.
In 1859, Bowen was appointed the first Governor of Queensland, but overall, he was quite popular in Queensland, so that the citizens requested an extension of his five-year term as governor, resulting in his staying for further two years. In 1867 Bowen was made Governor of New Zealand, where he was successful in reconciling the Māori reaction to the British rule, Bowen instituted the New Zealand Cross for colonial soldiers, one of the rarest bravery awards in the world and equivalent to the Victoria Cross. In 1869, Albert Hastings Markham, first lieutenant of HMS Blanche submitted a design to Bowen for an ensign for New Zealand. His proposal, incorporating the Southern Cross, was approved and remains in use to this day, in March 1873 Bowen was transferred to Victoria as Governor of Victoria, where he embarked on an endeavour to reduce the expenses of the colony. In May that year, Bowen said that my reluctant consent, purely on constitutional grounds, to these dismissals. has damaged my further reputation and it will never be forgotten either in England or in the Colony.
However several others, including Hugh Childers and William Ewart Gladstone, approved of Bowens actions, Bowen arrived on Mauritius on 4 April 1879 and served as 13th Governor of the colony until 9 December 1880. On 30 March 1883, Bowen was made Governor of Hong Kong, during his tenure, his administration established the Hong Kong Observatory, which served as the meteorological institute of the territory. He founded the first college in Hong Kong, and ordered the construction of the Typhoon Shelter in Causeway Bay, and he retired in 1887, due to ill health. Bowen returned to England after his time in Hong Kong and was appointed chief of a Royal Commission sent to Malta in December 1887 to help to draft the new constitution for the island, all recommendations made by the commission were adopted. Afterwards, Bowen was sworn of the Privy Council and his first wife was Contessa Diamantina di Roma, only daughter of Count Candiano di Roma. George married his wife, Letitia Florence White, in late 1896 at Chelsea
Scots' Church, Melbourne
The Scots Church is a Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia. It was the first Presbyterian church to be built in the Port Phillip District and is located on Collins Street and it is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and has been described as an icon for well over a hundred years. The Reverend James Forbes was recruited to come to Australia as a Presbyterian minister by the Revd John Dunmore Lang, arriving in Melbourne from Sydney via boat on 20 January 1838. Clow had been a Church of Scotland chaplain in Bombay, India but had retired and was of independent means, Forbes continued the Presbyterian services commenced by Clow on 31 December 1837 in the Pioneers Church near the north west corner of William Street and Little Collins Street. The site was between where the Olderfleet and Rialto buildings were subsequently erected and it was essentially a large room with a fireplace. On 3 February 1838 a meeting of members and friends of the Church of Scotland was held with James Clow in the chair and it was resolved to build a church and that £300 be raised in order to obtain the matching grant available under the Church Act.
This is regarded as the birthday of Presbyterianism in Victoria. A committee of James Clow, James Forbes and Skene Graig was appointed to collect subscriptions, the sum of £139.19.0 was subscribed on the spot. The Scots Church secured a 2. 0-acre site on the corner of Collins, when the site was allocated, the elders objected that it was too far out of town. The foundation stone of the first purpose built building was laid on 22 January 1841. It was designed to seat 500 and the sum was £2,485 without plastering. The building was opened with temporary seating, plastering was carried out the following year, proper pews and vestry were added in 1849 and a spire some years later. The manse was sold to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria for 5,000 pounds in 1897, the first church building was demolished partly because of concerns that the tower and spire would collapse after it developed huge cracks and became crooked. It was designed by Joseph Reed of the firm Reed and Barnes, and built by David Mitchell, the Scots Church is in the Neo-Gothic style and built of Barrabool freestone, with dressings in Kakanui stone from New Zealand.
During the last decades of the century the spire of the Scots Church was the tallest structure in Melbourne at 210 feet high. Laid up in the church are two sets of Regimental Colours of the Australian 5th Battalion, The Victorian Scottish Regiment, which include the honour LANDING at ANZAC, the crest and flag of Australian prime minister Sir Robert Menzies are located near the lectern. Queen Elizabeth II was present for the presentation by Dame Pattie Menzies in 1983, queen Elizabeth had been accompanied by Sir Robert in 1961 when they visited the Scots Church to unveil a war memorial mosaic in the vestible near the entrance. The Director of Music and principal organist since 1984 is Douglas Lawrence, the first pipe organ at Scots was built in 1883 by Hill and Son
Parliament House, Melbourne
Parliament House, Melbourne was constructed between 1855 and 1929 and is located on Spring Street in East Melbourne, Victoria. It has served as both the seat of the Parliament of Victoria and as the seat of the Federal Parliament of Australia, the building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2005–6. The Victorian gold rush and population boom led calls for greater democracy, prior to the Colony of Victoria acquiring self-government in 1851, Governor Charles La Trobe instructed Surveyor General Robert Hoddle to select a site for the colonys new parliament to meet. Hoddle selected a site on the hill at the top of Bourke Street. It was not until April 1854 that Eastern Hill, the current Spring Street site, was agreed to due to ongoing disagreements over the best location. A competition was held to design the new building and John Knights design won the first prize of £500, the Colonial Engineer Charles Pasley subsequently produced his own design.
Observers have suggested that his design borrowed heavily from Leeds Town Hall, the design was modified by an architect in Pasleys office, Peter Kerr. The building is an example of Neoclassical architecture, construction began in December 1855 and was managed by the original competition designer John Knight, who happened to be on Pasleys staff. The chambers for the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the Victorian Legislative Council were finished in 1856, the building opened and the Victorian Government first sat there in 1856. Parliament House was extended, in stages, to the present state between 1856 and 1929, construction of the Library and eastern wing began in 1858 and was completed in 1860. With the library complete, the two chambers were joined at the rear, resulting in a U-shaped building. The classical architectural detail of the east facade were noted as the first expression of Peter Kerrs vision for the building, no further construction took place for 18 years, however the first set of electrical bells used to call members to divisions were installed circa 1877.
In 1878 a Royal Commission was formed to oversee continued construction and it tabled several changes, including the addition of a large dome, the appointment of Peter Kerr as leading architect and a resumption of construction. Subsequently, the Great Hall and vestibule were completed in 1879, queens Hall was used for formal receptions and banquets, while the Vestibule offered a formal entry to Parliament House. After completion of the vestibule a dome was to be added, although eventually approved to support the dome in 1882, the assessment delayed construction and the dome was eventually abandoned. At the height of the great boom fuelled by the rush, it was decided to add a classical colonnade and portico facing Spring St. The western facade and colonnade were completed in 1888, the north wing was completed in 1893 and refreshment rooms at the back of the building were added in 1929. During these years the Victorian Parliament met in the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, the building resumed its original use as the Victorian Parliament chambers in 1928
Architect
An architect is someone who plans and reviews the construction of buildings. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, which derives from the Greek, practical and academic requirements for becoming an architect vary by jurisdiction. The terms architect and architecture are used in the disciplines of landscape architecture, naval architecture. In most jurisdictions, the professional and commercial uses of the terms architect, throughout ancient and medieval history, most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans—such as stone masons and carpenters, rising to the role of master builder. Until modern times, there was no distinction between architect and engineer. In Europe, the architect and engineer were primarily geographical variations that referred to the same person. It is suggested that various developments in technology and mathematics allowed the development of the gentleman architect. Paper was not used in Europe for drawing until the 15th century, pencils were used more often for drawing by 1600.
The availability of both allowed pre-construction drawings to be made by professionals, until the 18th-century, buildings continued to be designed and set out by craftsmen with the exception of high-status projects. In most developed countries, only qualified people with appropriate license, certification, or registration with a relevant body, such licensure usually requires an accredited university degree, successful completion of exams, and a training period. To practice architecture implies the ability to independently of supervision. In many places, non-licensed individuals may perform design services outside the professional restrictions, such design houses, in the architectural profession and environmental knowledge and construction management, and an understanding of business are as important as design. However, design is the force throughout the project and beyond. An architect accepts a commission from a client, the commission might involve preparing feasibility reports, building audits, the design of a building or of several buildings and the spaces among them.
The architect participates in developing the requirements the client wants in the building, throughout the project, the architect co-ordinates a design team. Structural and electrical engineers and other specialists, are hired by the client or the architect, the architect hired by a client is responsible for creating a design concept that meets the requirements of that client and provides a facility suitable to the required use. In that, the architect must meet with and question the client to ascertain all the requirements, often the full brief is not entirely clear at the beginning, entailing a degree of risk in the design undertaking. The architect may make proposals to the client which may rework the terms of the brief
Melbourne International Exhibition (1880)
The Melbourne International Exhibition is the eighth Worlds fair officially recognised by the Bureau of International Expositions and the first official Worlds Fair in the Southern Hemisphere. After being granted self-governance and New South Wales, saw an economic growth as result of the discovery. This growth during the 1850s and 1860s led to rivalry between their respective capitals Melbourne and Sydney, Melbourne started preparations in 1879 and filed a plan to the Parliament. Melbournes rival Sydney, the older of the two cities, wanted to be the first and organised an exhibition in record time, Melbourne decided to start their exhibition shortly after the one in Sydney, so the participants could transport their exhibits during the winter of 1880. The Melbourne International Exhibition was held from 1 October 1880 until 30 April 1881 and it was the second international exhibition to be held in Australia, the first being held the previous year in Sydney. 1.459 million people visited the exhibition, but made a loss of 277292 pounds, the exhibition was opened for entertainment and tourism.
The Royal Exhibition Building, set in the Victorian Carlton Gardens was completed in 1880 to host the exhibition, the foundation stone was laid by Victorian governor George Bowen. The building was extended and reused in 1888 as venue for the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition, some of the original building remains today and is a World Heritage Site
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the Australian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor-General is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia, when travelling abroad, the Governor-General is seen as the representative of Australia, and of the Queen of Australia, so is treated as a head of state. The Governor-General is supported by a staff headed by the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, a Governor-General is not appointed for a specific term, but is generally expected to serve for five years subject to a possible short extension. Since 28 March 2014, the Governor-General has been General Sir Peter Cosgrove, from Federation in 1901 until 1965,11 out of the 15 Governors-General were British aristocrats, they included four barons, three viscounts, three earls, and one prince. Since then, all but one of the Governors-General have been Australian-born, as of 2017, only one Governor-General, Dame Quentin Bryce, was a woman.
The selection of a Governor-General is a responsibility for the Prime Minister of Australia, the candidate is approached privately to confirm whether they are willing to accept the appointment. The prime minister advises the monarch to appoint his nominee. This has been the procedure since November 1930, when James Scullins proposed appointment of Sir Isaac Isaacs was fiercely opposed by the British government, Scullin was equally insistent that the monarch must act on the relevant prime ministers direct advice. Both of these appointments had been agreed to despite British government objections, despite these precedents, George V remained reluctant to accept Scullins recommendation of Isaacs and asked him to consider Field Marshal Sir William Birdwood. However, Scullin stood firm, and, on 29 November, the King agreed to Isaacss appointment and this right to not only advise the monarch directly, but to expect that advice to be accepted, was soon taken up by all the other Dominion prime ministers.
This, among other things, led to the Statute of Westminster 1931, having agreed to the appointment, the monarch permits it to be publicly announced in advance, usually several months before the end of the current Governor-Generals term. During these months, the person is referred to as the Governor-General-designate, the actual appointment is made by the monarch. Governors-General have during their tenure the style His/Her Excellency the Honourable, since May 2013, the style used by a former Governor-General is the Honourable, it was at the same time retrospectively granted for life to all previous holders of the office. From the creation of the Order of Australia in 1975, the Governor-General was, ex officio and Principal Companion of the Order, and therefore became entitled to the post-nominal AC. In 1986 the Letters Patent were amended again, and Governors-General appointed from that time were again, ex officio, until 1989, all Governors-General were members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and thus held the additional style the Right Honourable for life.
The same individuals were usually either peers, knights, or both, in 1989, Bill Hayden, a republican, declined appointment to the British Privy Council and any imperial honours. Dame Quentin Bryce was the first Governor-General to have had no title or pre-nominal style. Until 2015, the honour continued after the retirement from office of the Governor-General, the Governor-General automatically became a knight or dame upon being sworn in
Joseph Reed (architect)
Joseph Reed, a Cornishman by birth, was probably the most influential Victorian era architect in Melbourne, Australia. He established a practice and Barnes in Melbourne in 1862, the practice now known as Bates Smart is one of the oldest continually operating in the world. Probably born in 1823 in Cornwall, Joseph Read arrived in Melbourne in 1853, the following year he won a design competition for the State Library of Victoria, designed the Bank of New South Wales in Collins Street and the Geelong Town Hall. In 1862 he partnered with Frederick Barnes, Sargoods Rippon Lea Estate at Elsternwick. His architecture remained however eclectic, including Italianate, Gothic, in 1883 Barnes retired from the partnership and Reed was joined by A. M. Henderson and F. J. Smart. In 1890 Henderson withdrew while N. B, the office became Bates and Smart. In 1890 Reed came into financial difficulties, and died of inanition and exhaustion, on 29 April, reeds buildings represent an impressive body of work much of which still exists today.
They include the classical State Library of Victoria, Collins Street Independent Church, Frederick Sargoods Rippon Lea Estate, the Trades Hall is grandly palatial, the worlds oldest and probably most splendid trades hall. Reed completed the building of St Pauls Anglican Cathedral to the designs of William Butterfield after that architect resigned the project in 1887, Reed was faithful to the original design, but provided most of the furnishings, including the elaborate pulpit. Melbourne Trades Hall Scots Church ANZ Bank, Collins Street Faraday School, Carlton Academy of Music, burnt down 1889. C Goode House Reed, Smart & Tappin Mutual Store, Flinders Street Metropolitan Gas Company Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Carlton Saunders, David
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