Av. Green Team Back At Work
Myna Action Group
Pittwater Natural Heritage Association (PNHA)
Indian Mynas - what a pest - like flying rats. Can you help distribute our new flyers about our Northern Beaches Indian Myna Action Group?
They are for people in cafes and coffee shops, explaining why not to feed these birds and how to get involved in their control. Just take a few and hand out where ever you can. Cafe staff are usually glad of the help. Contact us on pnhainfo@gmail.com for more information and have a look athttps://www.facebook.com/MynaProblems/
Indian Mynas are displacing our native birds. They often nest in and around shops where their food source is. I took this one down this morning in Avalon (no chicks or eggs but I disturbed the female). There were literally hundreds of tiny bits of plastic in the nest which makes you think that all this plastic would be swilling down the stormwater drains into the sea.
Pittwater Natural Heritage Association (PNHA)
Indian Mynas - what a pest - like flying rats.
Can you help distribute our new flyers about our Northern Beaches Indian Myna Action Group?
They are for people in cafes and coffee shops, explaining why not to feed these birds and how to get involved in their control. Just take a few and hand out where ever you can. Cafe staff are usually glad of the help. Contact us on pnhainfo@gmail.com for more information and have a look athttps://www.facebook.com/MynaProblems/
Indian Mynas are displacing our native birds.
They often nest in and around shops where their food source is. I took this one down this morning in Avalon (no chicks or eggs but I disturbed the female). There were literally hundreds of tiny bits of plastic in the nest which makes you think that all this plastic would be swilling down the stormwater drains into the sea.
World Wetlands Day 2017
Australian Government: Department of Environment and EnergyWorld Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally each year on 2 February. It marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.
World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997. Since then government agencies, non-government organisations and community groups have celebrated World Wetlands Day by undertaking actions to raise public awareness of wetland values and benefits and promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands. These activities include seminars, nature walks, festivals, announcement of new Ramsar sites, newspaper articles, radio interviews and wetland rehabilitation.
World Wetlands Day 2017The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2017 is Wetlands for disaster risk reduction. This theme will be reflected in the February 2017 edition of Wetlands Australia.
Wetlands play an important role in helping to provide communities with resilience to natural hazards such as flooding caused by storms, cyclones, storm surges and tsunamis. Under projected climate change scenarios, extreme climatic events, including floods, droughts and storms are expected to increase in frequency and intensity.
Unfortunately, wetlands are often viewed as wasteland, and more than 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900. World Wetlands Day is an annual opportunity to raise public awareness and promote the value of wetlands.
Wetlands Youth Photo ContestThe Ramsar Convention Secretariat is again running a photographic competition for 18-25 year olds. The photograph must be taken of any type of wetland that helps us cope with extreme weather events. The winner will receive a free flight to visit a wetland of international importance (Ramsar wetland), courtesy of Star Alliance Biosphere Connections. To enter upload your photo to www.worldwetlandsday.org . The competition is open between 2 February and 2 March 2017.
Australian Government: Department of Environment and Energy
World Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally each year on 2 February. It marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.
World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997. Since then government agencies, non-government organisations and community groups have celebrated World Wetlands Day by undertaking actions to raise public awareness of wetland values and benefits and promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands. These activities include seminars, nature walks, festivals, announcement of new Ramsar sites, newspaper articles, radio interviews and wetland rehabilitation.
World Wetlands Day 2017
The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2017 is Wetlands for disaster risk reduction. This theme will be reflected in the February 2017 edition of Wetlands Australia.
Wetlands play an important role in helping to provide communities with resilience to natural hazards such as flooding caused by storms, cyclones, storm surges and tsunamis. Under projected climate change scenarios, extreme climatic events, including floods, droughts and storms are expected to increase in frequency and intensity.
Unfortunately, wetlands are often viewed as wasteland, and more than 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900. World Wetlands Day is an annual opportunity to raise public awareness and promote the value of wetlands.
Wetlands Youth Photo Contest
The Ramsar Convention Secretariat is again running a photographic competition for 18-25 year olds. The photograph must be taken of any type of wetland that helps us cope with extreme weather events. The winner will receive a free flight to visit a wetland of international importance (Ramsar wetland), courtesy of Star Alliance Biosphere Connections. To enter upload your photo to www.worldwetlandsday.org . The competition is open between 2 February and 2 March 2017.
Floating Towards Water Treatment
January 25, 2017: American Society of Agronomy
The floating treatment wetland experiment at the University of Oklahoma Aquatic Research Facility. Credit: William Strosnider
Floating wetlands may seem odd but are perfectly natural. They occur when mats of vegetation break free from the shore of a body of water. That got ecological engineers curious about how they affect the water they bob up and down in.
A group from Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania and the University of Oklahoma, including researcher William Strosnider, has found that the floating wetlands show promise for water treatment. They engineered four different floating treatment wetlands designs using different materials and wetland plants.
"The main result is that engineered floating treatment wetlands could affect water quality in many of the same ways that naturally-occurring floating wetlands do," Strosnider says.
For the four designs, the researchers used materials such as drainpipe, burlap, mulch, utility netting, and reused plastic bottles. They planted them with two wetland plants, cattail and common rush. The team then spent three years measuring the effect of the floating wetlands on the water.
Fully treating wastewater requires processing the nitrogen it contains. Strosnider's study shows that these floating wetlands may be able to do this. The study did not directly investigate the processes that allow the wetlands to affect the water. However, they believe it's a combination of different factors.
The plants themselves could be taking up some contaminants in the water, he says, but microbes may have the biggest effect. The base and roots of the floating wetlands make a great place for microbes like bacteria to thrive. There they carry out processes that break down or absorb pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus in the water.
There are many examples where these floating treatment wetlands could be successful. They could help treat municipal wastewater by enhancing nitrogen removal. In another example, they could manage algal blooms by helping to regulate water temperature and solar radiation.
Algal blooms are a difficult issue for drinking water reservoirs and coastal ponds. Algae can clog water filters as well as result in lower levels of oxygen in the water, which can kill fish.
To Strosnider, the most interesting thing about the engineered floating treatment wetlands is their ability to do more than improve water quality. They can also provide habitat for fish below the water and insects, water birds, and others above the water.
"The area directly beneath the floating wetlands is high quality habitat, as small fish and amphibians can use the maze of roots to hide from predators," he explains. "In general, the value of habitat that floating wetlands, or any type of treatment wetland, can provide has been poorly studied. We took a small step forward with our study."
Strosnider notes that it could take relatively high-coverage floating treatment wetlands to drive these positive effects. This means that they must continue their research on how best to construct the engineered wetlands and which plants will grow best on them.
Getting the floating treatment wetlands to sustain themselves with minimal maintenance is the main goal of this research, he says. Rather than "intensive" floating wetlands that rely on plastics or styrofoam to function, Strosnider stresses research on "extensive" wetlands that can grow and remain floating all by themselves.
"The next step is to take the lessons learned and test improved extensive designs," he says. "The really big thing that we're working on here is the ability for them to grow and maintain themselves, and hence become a sustainable low-maintenance part of a treatment system. That really was the most interesting and novel part of this work."
W. H. Strosnider, S. E. Schultz, K. A. Johnson Strosnider, R. W. Nairn.Effects on the Underlying Water Column by Extensive Floating Treatment Wetlands. Journal of Environment Quality, 2017; 46 (1): 201 DOI: 10.2134/jeq2016.07.0257
January 25, 2017: American Society of Agronomy
The floating treatment wetland experiment at the University of Oklahoma Aquatic Research Facility. Credit: William Strosnider
Floating wetlands may seem odd but are perfectly natural. They occur when mats of vegetation break free from the shore of a body of water. That got ecological engineers curious about how they affect the water they bob up and down in.
A group from Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania and the University of Oklahoma, including researcher William Strosnider, has found that the floating wetlands show promise for water treatment. They engineered four different floating treatment wetlands designs using different materials and wetland plants.
"The main result is that engineered floating treatment wetlands could affect water quality in many of the same ways that naturally-occurring floating wetlands do," Strosnider says.
For the four designs, the researchers used materials such as drainpipe, burlap, mulch, utility netting, and reused plastic bottles. They planted them with two wetland plants, cattail and common rush. The team then spent three years measuring the effect of the floating wetlands on the water.
Fully treating wastewater requires processing the nitrogen it contains. Strosnider's study shows that these floating wetlands may be able to do this. The study did not directly investigate the processes that allow the wetlands to affect the water. However, they believe it's a combination of different factors.
The plants themselves could be taking up some contaminants in the water, he says, but microbes may have the biggest effect. The base and roots of the floating wetlands make a great place for microbes like bacteria to thrive. There they carry out processes that break down or absorb pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus in the water.
There are many examples where these floating treatment wetlands could be successful. They could help treat municipal wastewater by enhancing nitrogen removal. In another example, they could manage algal blooms by helping to regulate water temperature and solar radiation.
Algal blooms are a difficult issue for drinking water reservoirs and coastal ponds. Algae can clog water filters as well as result in lower levels of oxygen in the water, which can kill fish.
To Strosnider, the most interesting thing about the engineered floating treatment wetlands is their ability to do more than improve water quality. They can also provide habitat for fish below the water and insects, water birds, and others above the water.
"The area directly beneath the floating wetlands is high quality habitat, as small fish and amphibians can use the maze of roots to hide from predators," he explains. "In general, the value of habitat that floating wetlands, or any type of treatment wetland, can provide has been poorly studied. We took a small step forward with our study."
Strosnider notes that it could take relatively high-coverage floating treatment wetlands to drive these positive effects. This means that they must continue their research on how best to construct the engineered wetlands and which plants will grow best on them.
Getting the floating treatment wetlands to sustain themselves with minimal maintenance is the main goal of this research, he says. Rather than "intensive" floating wetlands that rely on plastics or styrofoam to function, Strosnider stresses research on "extensive" wetlands that can grow and remain floating all by themselves.
"The next step is to take the lessons learned and test improved extensive designs," he says. "The really big thing that we're working on here is the ability for them to grow and maintain themselves, and hence become a sustainable low-maintenance part of a treatment system. That really was the most interesting and novel part of this work."
W. H. Strosnider, S. E. Schultz, K. A. Johnson Strosnider, R. W. Nairn.Effects on the Underlying Water Column by Extensive Floating Treatment Wetlands. Journal of Environment Quality, 2017; 46 (1): 201 DOI: 10.2134/jeq2016.07.0257
New Approach For Assessing The Social Impacts Of Mining
Federal Approval Of Acland Coal Mine Threatens Darling Downs Water, And Food
Draft NSW Marine Estate Threat And Risk Assessment Report Released
2017 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release - Proposed Areas
Tomato Festival Sydney
Planning Reforms To Boost Housing Supply
NSW Wetlands Forum - World Wetlands Day
Thu. 2 February 20179:00 am – 3:30 pmAquatic Centre Conference RoomOlympic Boulevard, Sydney Olympic ParkSydney Olympic Park
The Australian Wetland Network invites you to this one-day NSW forum to mark World Wetlands Day- Receive updates on government initiatives to implement the Ramsar Convention
- Showcase the contributions and concerns of NGOs and community groups conserving wetlands
- Join a cross-sector dialogue on wetland policy and conservation
World Wetlands Day celebrates the signing of the Ramsar Convention for conservation and wise use of wetlands in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the 2nd February, 1971.
The Forum welcomes representatives from the government, non-government, community, business and private sectors including wetland managers, educators, scientists, conservationists, strategic planners, policy-makers and practitioners.
Thu. 2 February 2017
9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Aquatic Centre Conference Room
Olympic Boulevard, Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park
The Australian Wetland Network invites you to this one-day NSW forum to mark World Wetlands Day
- Receive updates on government initiatives to implement the Ramsar Convention
- Showcase the contributions and concerns of NGOs and community groups conserving wetlands
- Join a cross-sector dialogue on wetland policy and conservation
World Wetlands Day celebrates the signing of the Ramsar Convention for conservation and wise use of wetlands in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the 2nd February, 1971.
The Forum welcomes representatives from the government, non-government, community, business and private sectors including wetland managers, educators, scientists, conservationists, strategic planners, policy-makers and practitioners.
Tassie's Giants
Premier Berejiklian Must Repair The Damage Of Her Predecessors
Eight New Projects To Help Save Our Threatened Species
Antarctic Bottom Waters Freshening At Unexpected Rate
January 25, 2017: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
In some places along the Antarctic coast, ice formation causes seawater to grow saltier and therefore denser, so that it sinks to the sea floor. Known as the Antarctic Bottom Waters (AABW), these deep, cold waters play a critical role in regulating circulation, temperature, and availability of oxygen and nutrients throughout the world's oceans. Credit: Eric Taylor, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
In the cold depths along the sea floor, Antarctic Bottom Waters are part of a global circulatory system, supplying oxygen-, carbon- and nutrient-rich waters to the world's oceans. Over the last decade, scientists have been monitoring changes in these waters. But a new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) suggests these changes are themselves shifting in unexpected ways, with potentially significant consequences for the ocean and climate.
In a paper published January 25 in Science Advances, a team led by WHOI oceanographers Viviane Menezes and Alison Macdonald report that Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) has freshened at a surprising rate between 2007 and 2016 -- a shift that could alter ocean circulation and ultimately contribute to rising sea levels.
"If you change the circulation, you change everything in the ocean," said Menezes, a WHOI postdoctoral investigator and the study's lead author. Ocean circulation drives the movement of warm and cold waters around the world, so it is essential to storing and regulating heat and plays a key role in Earth's temperature and climate. "But we don't have the whole story yet. We have some new pieces, but we don't have the entire puzzle."
The puzzle itself isn't new: past studies suggest that AABW has been undergoing significant changes for decades. Since the 1990s, an international program of repeat surveys has periodically sampled certain ocean basins around the world to track the circulation and conditions at these spots over time. Along one string of sites, or "stations," that stretches from Antarctica to the southern Indian Ocean, researchers have tracked the conditions of AABW -- a layer of profoundly cold water less than 0°C (it stays liquid because of its salt content, or salinity) that moves through the abyssal ocean, mixing with warmer waters as it circulates around the globe in the Southern Ocean and northward into all three of the major ocean basins.
The AABW forms along the Antarctic ice shelves, where strong winds cool open areas of water, called polynyas, until some of the water freezes. The salt in the water doesn't freeze, however, so the unfrozen seawater around the ice becomes saltier. The salt makes the water denser, causing it to sink to the ocean bottom.
"These waters are thought to be the underpinning of the large-scale global ocean circulation," said Macdonald, a WHOI senior research specialist and the study's co-author. "Antarctic Bottom Water gets its characteristics from the atmosphere -- for example, dissolved carbon and oxygen -- and sends them deep into the ocean. Then, as the water moves around the globe, it mixes with the water around it and they start to share each other's properties. It's like taking a deep breath and letting it go really slowly, over decades or even centuries."
As a result, the frigid flow plays a critical role in regulating circulation, temperature, and availability of oxygen and nutrients throughout the world's oceans, and serves as both a barometer for climate change and a factor that can contribute to that change.
A past study using the repeat survey data found that AABW had warmed and freshened (grown less saline) between 1994 and 2007. When Macdonald and Menezes revisited the line of stations, they measured how AABW has changed in the years since.
During the austral summer of 2016, they joined the crew of the research ship R/V Revelle and cruised north from Antarctica to Australia, braving frequent storms to collect samples every 30 nautical miles. In a shipboard lab, they analyzed the samples using data from conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensors, which measure the water's salinity, temperature and other properties, with support from study co-author Courtney Schatzman of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who processed the raw data.
The team found that the previously detected warming trend has continued, though at a somewhat slower pace. The biggest surprise, however, was its lack of saltiness: AABW in this region has grown fresher four times faster in the past decade than it did between 1994 and 2007.
"I thought, 'Oh wow!' when I saw the change in salinity," said Menezes. "You collect the data and sometimes you spend 2 to 3 years to find something, but this time we knew what we had within hours, and we knew it was very unexpected."
Such a shift, were it global, could significantly disrupt ocean circulation and sea levels.
"The fresher and warmer the water is, the less dense it will be, and the more it will expand and take up more space -- and that leads to rising sea levels," Macdonald said. "If these waters no longer sink, it could have far reaching affects for global ocean circulation patterns."
Questions remain around the cause of the shift. Menezes and Macdonald hypothesize that the freshening could be due to a recent landscape-changing event. In 2010, an iceberg about the size of Rhode Island collided with Antarctica's Mertz Glacier Tongue, carving out a more-than-1,000-square-mile piece and reshaping the icescape of the George V/Adelie Land Coast, where the AABW observed in this study is thought to form. The subsequent melting dramatically freshened the waters there, which may have in turn freshened the AABW as well. Future studies could use chemical analysis to trace the waters back to the site of the collision and calving and confirm the hypothesis.
Viviane V. Menezes, Alison M. Macdonald and Courtney Schatzman.Accelerated freshening of Antarctic Bottom Water over the last decade in the Southern Indian Ocean. Science Advances, January 2017 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601426
January 25, 2017: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
In some places along the Antarctic coast, ice formation causes seawater to grow saltier and therefore denser, so that it sinks to the sea floor. Known as the Antarctic Bottom Waters (AABW), these deep, cold waters play a critical role in regulating circulation, temperature, and availability of oxygen and nutrients throughout the world's oceans. Credit: Eric Taylor, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
In the cold depths along the sea floor, Antarctic Bottom Waters are part of a global circulatory system, supplying oxygen-, carbon- and nutrient-rich waters to the world's oceans. Over the last decade, scientists have been monitoring changes in these waters. But a new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) suggests these changes are themselves shifting in unexpected ways, with potentially significant consequences for the ocean and climate.
In a paper published January 25 in Science Advances, a team led by WHOI oceanographers Viviane Menezes and Alison Macdonald report that Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) has freshened at a surprising rate between 2007 and 2016 -- a shift that could alter ocean circulation and ultimately contribute to rising sea levels.
"If you change the circulation, you change everything in the ocean," said Menezes, a WHOI postdoctoral investigator and the study's lead author. Ocean circulation drives the movement of warm and cold waters around the world, so it is essential to storing and regulating heat and plays a key role in Earth's temperature and climate. "But we don't have the whole story yet. We have some new pieces, but we don't have the entire puzzle."
The puzzle itself isn't new: past studies suggest that AABW has been undergoing significant changes for decades. Since the 1990s, an international program of repeat surveys has periodically sampled certain ocean basins around the world to track the circulation and conditions at these spots over time. Along one string of sites, or "stations," that stretches from Antarctica to the southern Indian Ocean, researchers have tracked the conditions of AABW -- a layer of profoundly cold water less than 0°C (it stays liquid because of its salt content, or salinity) that moves through the abyssal ocean, mixing with warmer waters as it circulates around the globe in the Southern Ocean and northward into all three of the major ocean basins.
The AABW forms along the Antarctic ice shelves, where strong winds cool open areas of water, called polynyas, until some of the water freezes. The salt in the water doesn't freeze, however, so the unfrozen seawater around the ice becomes saltier. The salt makes the water denser, causing it to sink to the ocean bottom.
"These waters are thought to be the underpinning of the large-scale global ocean circulation," said Macdonald, a WHOI senior research specialist and the study's co-author. "Antarctic Bottom Water gets its characteristics from the atmosphere -- for example, dissolved carbon and oxygen -- and sends them deep into the ocean. Then, as the water moves around the globe, it mixes with the water around it and they start to share each other's properties. It's like taking a deep breath and letting it go really slowly, over decades or even centuries."
As a result, the frigid flow plays a critical role in regulating circulation, temperature, and availability of oxygen and nutrients throughout the world's oceans, and serves as both a barometer for climate change and a factor that can contribute to that change.
A past study using the repeat survey data found that AABW had warmed and freshened (grown less saline) between 1994 and 2007. When Macdonald and Menezes revisited the line of stations, they measured how AABW has changed in the years since.
During the austral summer of 2016, they joined the crew of the research ship R/V Revelle and cruised north from Antarctica to Australia, braving frequent storms to collect samples every 30 nautical miles. In a shipboard lab, they analyzed the samples using data from conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensors, which measure the water's salinity, temperature and other properties, with support from study co-author Courtney Schatzman of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who processed the raw data.
The team found that the previously detected warming trend has continued, though at a somewhat slower pace. The biggest surprise, however, was its lack of saltiness: AABW in this region has grown fresher four times faster in the past decade than it did between 1994 and 2007.
"I thought, 'Oh wow!' when I saw the change in salinity," said Menezes. "You collect the data and sometimes you spend 2 to 3 years to find something, but this time we knew what we had within hours, and we knew it was very unexpected."
Such a shift, were it global, could significantly disrupt ocean circulation and sea levels.
"The fresher and warmer the water is, the less dense it will be, and the more it will expand and take up more space -- and that leads to rising sea levels," Macdonald said. "If these waters no longer sink, it could have far reaching affects for global ocean circulation patterns."
Questions remain around the cause of the shift. Menezes and Macdonald hypothesize that the freshening could be due to a recent landscape-changing event. In 2010, an iceberg about the size of Rhode Island collided with Antarctica's Mertz Glacier Tongue, carving out a more-than-1,000-square-mile piece and reshaping the icescape of the George V/Adelie Land Coast, where the AABW observed in this study is thought to form. The subsequent melting dramatically freshened the waters there, which may have in turn freshened the AABW as well. Future studies could use chemical analysis to trace the waters back to the site of the collision and calving and confirm the hypothesis.
Viviane V. Menezes, Alison M. Macdonald and Courtney Schatzman.Accelerated freshening of Antarctic Bottom Water over the last decade in the Southern Indian Ocean. Science Advances, January 2017 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601426
Budj Bim To Be Nominated For World Heritage Tentative List
Invitation To Nominate Significant Places To The National Heritage List
$10 Million To Protect Koala Habitat
Flume’s Never Be Like You (Feat Kai) #1 In Triple J’s 2016 Hottest 100
January 26, 2017: ABC Radio
2016’s Hottest 100 saw a record number of votes placed. At over 2.2 million it was up a whopping 7.6% on last year. Of that staggering figure, there was one song which rose above the rest to claim the top spot – Flume’s ‘Never Be Like You (feat Kai)’.
triple j’s Music Director Richard Kingsmill says of the song “It’s rare that a song released back in January will end up in the Hottest 100, let alone at the very top, but ‘Never Be Like You’ just kept growing. Collaborating with Canadian singer Kai, Flume could have crafted a fairly straight love song. The melody line alone was strong and the lyrics were heartfelt without being clichéd. But by adding that surprising rhythm track with some pretty abrasive percussion, then throwing those swirling synths on top, he produced a song that only got more powerful over repeated listens.”
If one act musically dominated 2016, it was Flume. He’s had a blockbuster 2016 and it all started with the lead single from his highly anticipated second album, Skin. Released in January, ‘Never Be Like You’ not only kicked off the Aussie producer’s banner year but sustained his success throughout it. Collaborating with Canadian singer Kai, Flume breaks new ground with melody and songcraft while pushing his future-thinking electronic production into the mainstream. Framing a stirring vocal performance with an ear-dazzling array of stuttering synths and percussive sparks, ‘Never Be Like You’ is at once heartbreakingly intimate yet big enough to become a Platinum-minted festival-sized anthem. It was the clear #1 song in this year’s Hottest 100 and a benchmark song in music production today.
Now let’s look at the rest of the 2016 Hottest 100 in infographic form where you can see a few trends appear…- This is the fourth consecutive year an Australian artist has taken out #1. That’s the longest streak of Aussie artists at the top.
- The success of women in the business end of the Hottest 100 is worth celebrating. Ladies appeared in seven songs in the Top 10, including solo artists Amy Shark and Tash Sultana, joined by feature artists Kai, Montaigne, Vera Blue, Tove Lo and Elliphant all contributing key vocals to their tracks.
- Meanwhile, 34 songs were from acts with at least one woman: 14 female solo artists, 12 female guest vocals, 7 bands with female members and one all-female band.
- Do you believe in life after LAV? DMA’S Like A Version cover of Cher’s ‘Believe’ earned the highest charting Like A Version in the countdown’s history, surpassing Chet Faker’s Sonia Dada LAV (#21 2014). However, it’s not the highest ranking cover – that record still belongs to Boy & Bear’s ‘Fall At Your Feet’ (#5 2010).
- Violent Soho have the most songs in the countdown, with five entries. Flume follows close behind with four songs.
- Give it up for Illy, this is his eighth consecutive appearance in a Hottest 100, just behind record holders Dave Grohl (various bands over 9 years) and The Living End’s decade long streak lasting from 1997 to 2006.
- 14 artists in the countdown don’t even have an album out, including Amy Shark, Tash Sultana, Peking Duk, Mura Masa, Gretta Ray, Ali Barter, Sofi Tukker, Maggie Rogers, L D R U, Golden Features, Vera Blue, Elk Road, plus Chance The Rapper and Desiigner (who’ve only released mixtapes).
- Radiohead are the only artist to appear both in this year’s countdown (#79 ‘Burn The Witch’) and the first ever annual Hottest 100 in 1993 (#2 ‘Creep’).
Thanks to everyone who donated to our Hottest 100 charity partner, AIME. By the end of the countdown we’d raised a massive $230K! Plus you can stilldonate or grab an exclusive AIME x triple j tee here. Your donation will help 10,000 Indigenous kids through high school and into university, training and employment by 2018.
Can’t get enough Hottest 100? There’s more!
6-9am Fri 27 Jan: Ben & Liam announce the winner of triple j’s Golden Ticket on triple j.10am Sat 28 Jan: Hear all your favourite songs again as we replay the Hottest 100 on triple j.12pm Sat 28 Jan: Tune in to the classic 1996 Hottest 100 on Double J.10am Sun 29 Jan: Find out who made it into the Hottest #200-101 on triple j.
Plus you can pre order triple j’s Hottest 100 Volume 24 CD.$24.99 on sale until 31 March, 2017!PRE-ORDER NOW! AVAILABLE 24/02/2017.
January 26, 2017: ABC Radio
2016’s Hottest 100 saw a record number of votes placed. At over 2.2 million it was up a whopping 7.6% on last year. Of that staggering figure, there was one song which rose above the rest to claim the top spot – Flume’s ‘Never Be Like You (feat Kai)’.triple j’s Music Director Richard Kingsmill says of the song “It’s rare that a song released back in January will end up in the Hottest 100, let alone at the very top, but ‘Never Be Like You’ just kept growing. Collaborating with Canadian singer Kai, Flume could have crafted a fairly straight love song. The melody line alone was strong and the lyrics were heartfelt without being clichéd. But by adding that surprising rhythm track with some pretty abrasive percussion, then throwing those swirling synths on top, he produced a song that only got more powerful over repeated listens.”
If one act musically dominated 2016, it was Flume. He’s had a blockbuster 2016 and it all started with the lead single from his highly anticipated second album, Skin. Released in January, ‘Never Be Like You’ not only kicked off the Aussie producer’s banner year but sustained his success throughout it. Collaborating with Canadian singer Kai, Flume breaks new ground with melody and songcraft while pushing his future-thinking electronic production into the mainstream. Framing a stirring vocal performance with an ear-dazzling array of stuttering synths and percussive sparks, ‘Never Be Like You’ is at once heartbreakingly intimate yet big enough to become a Platinum-minted festival-sized anthem. It was the clear #1 song in this year’s Hottest 100 and a benchmark song in music production today.
Now let’s look at the rest of the 2016 Hottest 100 in infographic form where you can see a few trends appear…
- This is the fourth consecutive year an Australian artist has taken out #1. That’s the longest streak of Aussie artists at the top.
- The success of women in the business end of the Hottest 100 is worth celebrating. Ladies appeared in seven songs in the Top 10, including solo artists Amy Shark and Tash Sultana, joined by feature artists Kai, Montaigne, Vera Blue, Tove Lo and Elliphant all contributing key vocals to their tracks.
- Meanwhile, 34 songs were from acts with at least one woman: 14 female solo artists, 12 female guest vocals, 7 bands with female members and one all-female band.
- Do you believe in life after LAV? DMA’S Like A Version cover of Cher’s ‘Believe’ earned the highest charting Like A Version in the countdown’s history, surpassing Chet Faker’s Sonia Dada LAV (#21 2014). However, it’s not the highest ranking cover – that record still belongs to Boy & Bear’s ‘Fall At Your Feet’ (#5 2010).
- Violent Soho have the most songs in the countdown, with five entries. Flume follows close behind with four songs.
- Give it up for Illy, this is his eighth consecutive appearance in a Hottest 100, just behind record holders Dave Grohl (various bands over 9 years) and The Living End’s decade long streak lasting from 1997 to 2006.
- 14 artists in the countdown don’t even have an album out, including Amy Shark, Tash Sultana, Peking Duk, Mura Masa, Gretta Ray, Ali Barter, Sofi Tukker, Maggie Rogers, L D R U, Golden Features, Vera Blue, Elk Road, plus Chance The Rapper and Desiigner (who’ve only released mixtapes).
- Radiohead are the only artist to appear both in this year’s countdown (#79 ‘Burn The Witch’) and the first ever annual Hottest 100 in 1993 (#2 ‘Creep’).
Thanks to everyone who donated to our Hottest 100 charity partner, AIME. By the end of the countdown we’d raised a massive $230K! Plus you can stilldonate or grab an exclusive AIME x triple j tee here. Your donation will help 10,000 Indigenous kids through high school and into university, training and employment by 2018.
Can’t get enough Hottest 100? There’s more!
6-9am Fri 27 Jan: Ben & Liam announce the winner of triple j’s Golden Ticket on triple j.
10am Sat 28 Jan: Hear all your favourite songs again as we replay the Hottest 100 on triple j.
12pm Sat 28 Jan: Tune in to the classic 1996 Hottest 100 on Double J.
10am Sun 29 Jan: Find out who made it into the Hottest #200-101 on triple j.
Plus you can pre order triple j’s Hottest 100 Volume 24 CD.
$24.99 on sale until 31 March, 2017!
PRE-ORDER NOW! AVAILABLE 24/02/2017.
World Wetlands Day 2017
Australian Government: Department of Environment and EnergyPittwater Online Page on the 20th year of WWD HEREWorld Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally each year on 2 February. It marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.
World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997. Since then government agencies, non-government organisations and community groups have celebrated World Wetlands Day by undertaking actions to raise public awareness of wetland values and benefits and promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands. These activities include seminars, nature walks, festivals, announcement of new Ramsar sites, newspaper articles, radio interviews and wetland rehabilitation.
World Wetlands Day 2017The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2017 is Wetlands for disaster risk reduction. This theme will be reflected in the February 2017 edition of Wetlands Australia.
Wetlands play an important role in helping to provide communities with resilience to natural hazards such as flooding caused by storms, cyclones, storm surges and tsunamis. Under projected climate change scenarios, extreme climatic events, including floods, droughts and storms are expected to increase in frequency and intensity.
Unfortunately, wetlands are often viewed as wasteland, and more than 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900. World Wetlands Day is an annual opportunity to raise public awareness and promote the value of wetlands.
Wetlands Youth Photo ContestThe Ramsar Convention Secretariat is again running a photographic competition for 18-25 year olds. The photograph must be taken of any type of wetland that helps us cope with extreme weather events. The winner will receive a free flight to visit a wetland of international importance (Ramsar wetland), courtesy of Star Alliance Biosphere Connections. To enter upload your photo to www.worldwetlandsday.org . The competition is open between 2 February and 2 March 2017.
Australian Government: Department of Environment and Energy
Pittwater Online Page on the 20th year of WWD HERE
World Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally each year on 2 February. It marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.
World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997. Since then government agencies, non-government organisations and community groups have celebrated World Wetlands Day by undertaking actions to raise public awareness of wetland values and benefits and promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands. These activities include seminars, nature walks, festivals, announcement of new Ramsar sites, newspaper articles, radio interviews and wetland rehabilitation.
World Wetlands Day 2017
The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2017 is Wetlands for disaster risk reduction. This theme will be reflected in the February 2017 edition of Wetlands Australia.
Wetlands play an important role in helping to provide communities with resilience to natural hazards such as flooding caused by storms, cyclones, storm surges and tsunamis. Under projected climate change scenarios, extreme climatic events, including floods, droughts and storms are expected to increase in frequency and intensity.
Unfortunately, wetlands are often viewed as wasteland, and more than 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900. World Wetlands Day is an annual opportunity to raise public awareness and promote the value of wetlands.
Wetlands Youth Photo Contest
The Ramsar Convention Secretariat is again running a photographic competition for 18-25 year olds. The photograph must be taken of any type of wetland that helps us cope with extreme weather events. The winner will receive a free flight to visit a wetland of international importance (Ramsar wetland), courtesy of Star Alliance Biosphere Connections. To enter upload your photo to www.worldwetlandsday.org . The competition is open between 2 February and 2 March 2017.
Australia Day Address: We Need To Challenge Students To 'Be The Best They Can Be'
24 January, 2017: by STEVE OFFNER - UNSW
UNSW quantum physicist Michelle Simmons has delivered the 2017 Australia Day address for NSW, urging young people to tackle life's hardest tasks and to strive to be the best they can be.
Scientia Professor Simmons, the first female scientist to deliver the address in its 20-year history, said intellectual independence, innate optimism and willingness to “give it a go” made Australia the best country in the world to do research.
But the UK-born scientist, who is leading the world in the race to build a prototype quantum computer, warned that Australia’s educators were jeopardising the future by lowering the expectations they set for students.
“Great teachers with high expectations challenge their students to be the best they can be,” Professor Simmons said. ”However, equally important are the curricula that they teach.
“One of the few things that horrified me when I arrived in Australia was to discover that several years ago the high school physics curriculum was ‘feminised’. In other words, to make it more appealing to girls, our curricula designers in the bureaucracy substituted formulae with essays.
“From the students coming to university, I see little evidence that this has made any difference and indeed I see many students complaining that the physics curriculum has left them ill-equipped for university,” she told an audience at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
“There is a big cost in this type of thinking. When we reduce the quality of education that anyone receives, we reduce the expectations we have of them.If we want young people to be the best they can be (at anything) we must set the bar high and tell them we expect them to jump over it.
“My strong belief is that we need to be teaching all students – girls and boys – to have high expectations of themselves.”
The director of the UNSW-based Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology, Professor Simmons heads a team that is working to develop a prototype quantum computer in silicon. She is one of a handful of researchers in Australia to have twice received a Federation Fellowship and now a Laureate Fellowship, the Australian Research Council’s most prestigious award.
She said her team currently enjoyed a two- to three-year lead on other teams striving to build a quantum computer. But she said with billions of dollars of investment pouring into the field, “our next challenge is to see whether we benefit from our international lead and translate our research into high-technology industries here in Australia”.
Professor Simmons also had a broader message for all Australians on Australia Day.
“In Australia, when praising ourselves … we tend to emphasise the beauty of our natural environment, our great lifestyle, and the easy-going nature of our people. The lucky country.
“I think this is a mistake, because it doesn't acknowledge the hard work that people have done to be successful and it encourages us to shy away from difficult challenges. In short, I believe it will eventually stop us from being as ambitious as we might be,” Professor Simmons said.
“As we take things to the next phase of trying to build a prototype quantum computer, I feel proud to be a part of the team that is going to make this happen. I am grateful for that Australian spirit to give things ago, and our enduring sense of possibility. In this, we have so much to be thankful for – and, more importantly, so much to look forward to.
“But there is room for improvement as well. In our innovation policies, in our education system, and in the ambitions of our scientists and discoverers, I want Australians above all to be known as people who do the hard things.”
Read the full transcript of Professor Simmons’ Australia Day Address.
24 January, 2017: by STEVE OFFNER - UNSW
UNSW quantum physicist Michelle Simmons has delivered the 2017 Australia Day address for NSW, urging young people to tackle life's hardest tasks and to strive to be the best they can be.Scientia Professor Simmons, the first female scientist to deliver the address in its 20-year history, said intellectual independence, innate optimism and willingness to “give it a go” made Australia the best country in the world to do research.
But the UK-born scientist, who is leading the world in the race to build a prototype quantum computer, warned that Australia’s educators were jeopardising the future by lowering the expectations they set for students.
“Great teachers with high expectations challenge their students to be the best they can be,” Professor Simmons said. ”However, equally important are the curricula that they teach.
“One of the few things that horrified me when I arrived in Australia was to discover that several years ago the high school physics curriculum was ‘feminised’. In other words, to make it more appealing to girls, our curricula designers in the bureaucracy substituted formulae with essays.
“From the students coming to university, I see little evidence that this has made any difference and indeed I see many students complaining that the physics curriculum has left them ill-equipped for university,” she told an audience at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
“There is a big cost in this type of thinking. When we reduce the quality of education that anyone receives, we reduce the expectations we have of them.If we want young people to be the best they can be (at anything) we must set the bar high and tell them we expect them to jump over it.
“My strong belief is that we need to be teaching all students – girls and boys – to have high expectations of themselves.”
The director of the UNSW-based Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology, Professor Simmons heads a team that is working to develop a prototype quantum computer in silicon. She is one of a handful of researchers in Australia to have twice received a Federation Fellowship and now a Laureate Fellowship, the Australian Research Council’s most prestigious award.
She said her team currently enjoyed a two- to three-year lead on other teams striving to build a quantum computer. But she said with billions of dollars of investment pouring into the field, “our next challenge is to see whether we benefit from our international lead and translate our research into high-technology industries here in Australia”.
Professor Simmons also had a broader message for all Australians on Australia Day.
“In Australia, when praising ourselves … we tend to emphasise the beauty of our natural environment, our great lifestyle, and the easy-going nature of our people. The lucky country.
“I think this is a mistake, because it doesn't acknowledge the hard work that people have done to be successful and it encourages us to shy away from difficult challenges. In short, I believe it will eventually stop us from being as ambitious as we might be,” Professor Simmons said.
“As we take things to the next phase of trying to build a prototype quantum computer, I feel proud to be a part of the team that is going to make this happen. I am grateful for that Australian spirit to give things ago, and our enduring sense of possibility. In this, we have so much to be thankful for – and, more importantly, so much to look forward to.
“But there is room for improvement as well. In our innovation policies, in our education system, and in the ambitions of our scientists and discoverers, I want Australians above all to be known as people who do the hard things.”
Read the full transcript of Professor Simmons’ Australia Day Address.
$15.3 Million To NDIS Projects
Gearing Up For The 2017 National Awards For Local Government
Why Some Drivers Slow Down When Using Mobile Phones
January 24, 2017: Queensland University of Technology
QUT CARRS-Q researcher Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios has been conducting research into mobile phone distracted driving. Credit: QUT Marketing & Communication
With mobile phone distracted driving a growing road safety issue, a QUT study reveals why some drivers slow down when using a mobile phone but others don't.
Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios, from QUT's Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety -- Queensland (CARRS-Q), said mobile phone distracted driving was responsible for 25 per cent of car crashes in the United States and worldwide young drivers are overrepresented in using mobile phones.
"At least one in two young drivers in countries such as Australia, America and Canada use a mobile phone while driving," said Mr Oviedo-Trespalacios who has just published his paper Self-regulation of driving speed among distracted drivers: An application of driver behavioural adaption theory in the international journal Traffic Injury Prevention.
"Mobile phone use by drivers is only going to increase given the way they are used in every part of our lives. So we need to do more research into how to make it safer and also introduce educational programs addressing it.
"Current research reports that some drivers change their driving behavior when using a mobile phone; in particular they drive more slowly. However, until now we did not know whether this was an unconscious response to the increased workload or an active choice made by cautious drivers."
In a high-fidelity driving simulator at QUT, the speeds of 32 drivers aged 16-26 was measured while they held hands-free and handheld phone conversations or just drove.
Mr Oviedo-Trespalacios said the drivers with little experience using mobile phones while driving tended to drive more slowly. Likewise, drivers who believe mobile phones are unsafe were found to drive more slowly while engaged in mobile phone tasks.
"Mobile phone systems are continuing to evolve and they have changed what we do when we are driving and will continue to influence it into the future," he said, adding that recent developments in mobile phones have included a new unexpected risk via the use of augmented reality-based apps while driving.
"Our research has identified that drivers who have a strong belief in their ability to successfully self-regulate mobile phone use might find themselves in more risky circumstances while performing lawful tasks such as hands-free conversations.
"This suggests that educational interventions could be oriented to the development of safety attitudes. Changing the design of mobile phones so it's harder to use them while driving could also help to minimise risk."
Mr Oviedo-Trespalacios' research project was conducted with Dr Md. Mazharul Haque, Dr Mark King and Professor Simon Washington.
Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios, Md. Mazharul Haque, Mark King, Simon Washington. Self-regulation of driving speed among distracted drivers: An application of driver behavioural adaptation theory.Traffic Injury Prevention, 2017; DOI: 10.1080/15389588.2017.1278628
January 24, 2017: Queensland University of Technology
QUT CARRS-Q researcher Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios has been conducting research into mobile phone distracted driving. Credit: QUT Marketing & Communication
With mobile phone distracted driving a growing road safety issue, a QUT study reveals why some drivers slow down when using a mobile phone but others don't.
Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios, from QUT's Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety -- Queensland (CARRS-Q), said mobile phone distracted driving was responsible for 25 per cent of car crashes in the United States and worldwide young drivers are overrepresented in using mobile phones.
"At least one in two young drivers in countries such as Australia, America and Canada use a mobile phone while driving," said Mr Oviedo-Trespalacios who has just published his paper Self-regulation of driving speed among distracted drivers: An application of driver behavioural adaption theory in the international journal Traffic Injury Prevention.
"Mobile phone use by drivers is only going to increase given the way they are used in every part of our lives. So we need to do more research into how to make it safer and also introduce educational programs addressing it.
"Current research reports that some drivers change their driving behavior when using a mobile phone; in particular they drive more slowly. However, until now we did not know whether this was an unconscious response to the increased workload or an active choice made by cautious drivers."
In a high-fidelity driving simulator at QUT, the speeds of 32 drivers aged 16-26 was measured while they held hands-free and handheld phone conversations or just drove.
Mr Oviedo-Trespalacios said the drivers with little experience using mobile phones while driving tended to drive more slowly. Likewise, drivers who believe mobile phones are unsafe were found to drive more slowly while engaged in mobile phone tasks.
"Mobile phone systems are continuing to evolve and they have changed what we do when we are driving and will continue to influence it into the future," he said, adding that recent developments in mobile phones have included a new unexpected risk via the use of augmented reality-based apps while driving.
"Our research has identified that drivers who have a strong belief in their ability to successfully self-regulate mobile phone use might find themselves in more risky circumstances while performing lawful tasks such as hands-free conversations.
"This suggests that educational interventions could be oriented to the development of safety attitudes. Changing the design of mobile phones so it's harder to use them while driving could also help to minimise risk."
Mr Oviedo-Trespalacios' research project was conducted with Dr Md. Mazharul Haque, Dr Mark King and Professor Simon Washington.
Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios, Md. Mazharul Haque, Mark King, Simon Washington. Self-regulation of driving speed among distracted drivers: An application of driver behavioural adaptation theory.Traffic Injury Prevention, 2017; DOI: 10.1080/15389588.2017.1278628
Jumping Spiders Court In Color
Prime Minister's Speech At The 2017 Australia Day Flag Raising And Citizenship Ceremony
COMMONWEALTH CONTRIBUTION TO BOURKE STREET FUND
African Trees Kill Both Malaria Mosquitos And The Parasite
One Third Of Cyberbullying Cases Involve Threats To Safety
Surf Photo And Surf Video Of The Year
Entries are open for the Nikon Surf Photo and Surf Video of the Year categories for the 2017 Australian Surfing Awards incorporating the Hall of Fame. There is a heap of Nikon Camera gear to be won. Click through below to enter NOW!
LINK - http://bit.ly/1UmTUoc
Photo: 2016 Nikon Surf Photo of the Year by Leroy Bellet
Entries are open for the Nikon Surf Photo and Surf Video of the Year categories for the 2017 Australian Surfing Awards incorporating the Hall of Fame. There is a heap of Nikon Camera gear to be won. Click through below to enter NOW!
LINK - http://bit.ly/1UmTUoc
Photo: 2016 Nikon Surf Photo of the Year by Leroy Bellet
Australia Post Celebrates The Year Of The Rooster
To celebrate the Year of the Rooster, 28 January 2017 to 15 February 2018, Australia Post is releasing two Lunar New Year stamps.
As the tenth sign in the Chinese Zodiac, the Rooster symbolises confidence, resourcefulness, courage and persistence.
$1 - Christmas Island Lunar New Year - Year of the Rooster, 2017
Creating this year's Lunar New Year range in line with traditional Chinese design and customs, Australia Post Philatelic Manager Michael Zsolt said the products, including a postcard, give everyone an opportunity to send wishes of good fortune and health to family and friends, both here and overseas.
Completing her tenth stamp issue in the Lunar New Year series of twelve, Hong Kong-born Dani Poon said she used paper cut motifs, a popular form of Chinese art, to represent the Rooster in the $1 stamp. The Chinese calligraphic character for the Rooster is shown in the $3 stamp.
"The Chinese assign the Rooster as a proverbial mascot to the five virtues – civil responsibility, marital fidelity, courage, kindness and confidence. Those qualities are illustrated in the minisheet story – the Rooster coaxes the fearful hidden sun out from her hiding place. The puffed-up chest of the Rooster in the $1 stamp sums up the Rooster's positive personalities. The Rooster is also traditionally related to the chasing away of evil spirits, by calling the sun out and bringing the light to life," Dani said.
Famous people born in the Year of the Rooster include Britney Spears, Cate Blanchett and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
A highlight of this stamp issue is a special silk minisheet pack, finished with purple foil detailing and where one of the three sheets in the pack is printed on silk. A 24 carat gold Year of the Rooster minisheet in a presentation case is also a highly collectable part of the range.
Collectors and those celebrating the Chinese New Year will be interested in a limited edition (8,888) Chinese New Year Dragon postal and numismatic cover featuring a $1 Perth Mint coloured coin.
Other products associated with this stamp issue are a minisheet, zodiac sheetlet, first day cover, stamp pack, postcard, prestige booklet, customisable $1 stamp in the Personalised Stamps™ range, gutter strip of 10 x $1 stamps with design, domestic and international postage paid envelopes and a Lunar New Year of the Rooster postal and numismatic cover.
The Christmas Island Lunar New Year: Year of the Rooster 2017 stamp issue is available from 10 January 2017 at participating Post Offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online at auspost.com.au/stamps while stocks last. Personalised Stamps™ can be ordered atauspost.com.au/pstamps. The Christmas Island Lunar New Year: Year of the Rooster 2017 stamps are valid for postage in Australia.
For an interview with designer Dani Poon, visit the Australia Post Collectables website auspostcollectables.com.au. The Australia Post Collectables website is a central resource for stamp collectors and philatelic enthusiasts across the globe.
To celebrate the Year of the Rooster, 28 January 2017 to 15 February 2018, Australia Post is releasing two Lunar New Year stamps.
As the tenth sign in the Chinese Zodiac, the Rooster symbolises confidence, resourcefulness, courage and persistence.
$1 - Christmas Island Lunar New Year - Year of the Rooster, 2017
Creating this year's Lunar New Year range in line with traditional Chinese design and customs, Australia Post Philatelic Manager Michael Zsolt said the products, including a postcard, give everyone an opportunity to send wishes of good fortune and health to family and friends, both here and overseas.
Completing her tenth stamp issue in the Lunar New Year series of twelve, Hong Kong-born Dani Poon said she used paper cut motifs, a popular form of Chinese art, to represent the Rooster in the $1 stamp. The Chinese calligraphic character for the Rooster is shown in the $3 stamp.
"The Chinese assign the Rooster as a proverbial mascot to the five virtues – civil responsibility, marital fidelity, courage, kindness and confidence. Those qualities are illustrated in the minisheet story – the Rooster coaxes the fearful hidden sun out from her hiding place. The puffed-up chest of the Rooster in the $1 stamp sums up the Rooster's positive personalities. The Rooster is also traditionally related to the chasing away of evil spirits, by calling the sun out and bringing the light to life," Dani said.
Famous people born in the Year of the Rooster include Britney Spears, Cate Blanchett and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
A highlight of this stamp issue is a special silk minisheet pack, finished with purple foil detailing and where one of the three sheets in the pack is printed on silk. A 24 carat gold Year of the Rooster minisheet in a presentation case is also a highly collectable part of the range.
Collectors and those celebrating the Chinese New Year will be interested in a limited edition (8,888) Chinese New Year Dragon postal and numismatic cover featuring a $1 Perth Mint coloured coin.
Other products associated with this stamp issue are a minisheet, zodiac sheetlet, first day cover, stamp pack, postcard, prestige booklet, customisable $1 stamp in the Personalised Stamps™ range, gutter strip of 10 x $1 stamps with design, domestic and international postage paid envelopes and a Lunar New Year of the Rooster postal and numismatic cover.
The Christmas Island Lunar New Year: Year of the Rooster 2017 stamp issue is available from 10 January 2017 at participating Post Offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online at auspost.com.au/stamps while stocks last. Personalised Stamps™ can be ordered atauspost.com.au/pstamps. The Christmas Island Lunar New Year: Year of the Rooster 2017 stamps are valid for postage in Australia.
For an interview with designer Dani Poon, visit the Australia Post Collectables website auspostcollectables.com.au. The Australia Post Collectables website is a central resource for stamp collectors and philatelic enthusiasts across the globe.
Goody Gossamer's Rhymes, From 1933
SUNSET AT PITTWATER.
The sun dips down behind the hills,
Yet still the sky is full of light;
Though shadows of the coming night
Steal o'er too waters clear and bright,
A brooding peace the landscape fills.
On wooded shore, on golden beach,
The shadows rest, an azure pall;
Soft veils of beauty softly fall
On land and sea, not hiding all,
But adding charm to isle and reach.
The wavelets ripple on the sand ;
Not angry breakers capped with hoar,
To dash and crash upon the shore,
Filling the air with their hoarse roar,
As still they beat upon the land.
But like a purple sheet it gleams,
The mighty river, mile on mile, -
Of beauty charms us all the while,
Whether it basks in noonday's smile,
Or in the silver moonlight dreams.
Through grassy plains and wooded hills,
It wanders on, with: many a bend,
And at each' curve new: beauties lend
A' charm to draw, us to the end,
Where river into ' ocean spills.
Ah, fairer than the storied Rhine,
Lovelier than any old-world stream,
Here on thy shores I pause to dream,
While still the fires- of sunset gleam;
And peace flows from thy heart to mine.
The Children's Page (1933, February 23). The Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942), p. 33. Retrieved January 27, 2017, fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106371265
