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October 30
Quote on John Barnes Blogsite
Howard Craven - "Mr.Nice Guy" of Australian radio and TV.
Howard Craven (1917-2000) was known as the "Mister
Nice Guy" of Australian Radio, and, to a lesser degree, of
Australian television.
Howard Craven was born in Sydney in 1917, and by the
1930's, had become established as a radio actor on local
Sydney radio.
Picture of Howard Craven in 1950.
In 1939, he played the role of Andrew, in the film " 7 Little Australians"
which was produced by Universal Pictures. The lead role of Captain Woolcot
was played by Charles McCallum.
Howard joined the army (AIF) in June 1940, and in 1941 he went to the Middle
East , and later on, served in the Pacific theatre of the war. He was discharged
from the army in 1944 because of a duodenal ulcer, and ended up at 2UE for a
period of 15 years, where he was involved in the production of a large number
of radio shows and plays.
His most popular show was "Rumpus Room" , which ran for 15 years on 2UE, and
Howard Craven was both the producer and compere of the show.
A 'Brisbane version' of Rumpus Room commenced on radio station 4BH in 1950,
compered by Norman Llewelyn, and I clearly remember the opening of the show
(in 1959), with a group of young voices shouting "R-U-M-P-U-S, Rumpus Room ! "
Listeners to Rumpus Room in Brisbane, were able to call 4BH and request a song,
which usually had to be in the current 'top 40'. I called once and requested "Hippy
Hippy Shake" by Chan Romero, which was current at the time.
Howard was also heard in various radio serials such as the Australian version of
the American series Night Beat , one of the many programmes produced by Grace
Gibson Radio Productions (now Grace Gibson Productions). Night Beat was
memorable for its melodramatic beginning -
"I'm Randy Stone, I cover the nightbeat for the daily ! "
On Australian radio, Randy Stone was initially played by Alan White, but when he
went to England in 1954, he was replaced by Harp McGuire, a real american who
sounded more 'natural' as an American newspaperman.
Harp McGuire was also heard in other Australian radio serials in the 1950's,
including the Australian version of Dick Tracy .
Television commenced in Sydney in 1956 ( Brisbane didn't get it till 3 years later).
Channel 7 Sydney (ATN7), commenced regular transmission on Dec.2, 1956, and
on Dec.3, at 7 pm, Howard Craven presented the current affairs programme "At
Seven on Seven" , as well as continuing his radio commitments on 2UE.
In 1960, Howard left 2UE and went to 2UW, and then on to 2GB, where he stayed for
8 years.
Some sources have stated that he started at 2CH in 1976, but I clearly remember
listening to Howard Craven presenting 'beautiful music' on 2CH in July1973, and
right through to December 1973 when I left Sydney to travel to South Australia.
The music format and Howard's 'listener friendly' style of presentation proved
to be extremely popular in Sydney, and kept 2CH at (or near) the top of the ratings
for many years.
Howard Craven retired in 1988, and passed away in 2000, aged 83. He had been
one of the best liked and most respected men in the industry, and truly deserved
the title of "Mister Nice Guy".
October 29
Quote on John Barnes Blogsite
Terry Dear - presenter of "Amateur Hour" and "New Faces"
Terry Dear (1913 - 1995 ) had a long history in Radio
and Television in Australia.
During the 1950's he presented the "Amateur Hour"
on Radio, and from 1969 to 1971 he presented "New Faces"
on Channel 9, from the Sydney studios.
The "Amateur Hour" wound up in 1960, due to competition
from television, which commenced in Sydney and Melbourne
in 1956, and Brisbane in 1959. (The original designation for channel
9 in Brisbane was "QTQ9").
"New Faces" originated in Melbourne in 1963, and was hosted
by Frank Wilson.
During the period from 1969 to 1971, the show was presented
by Frank Wilson in Melbourne, and Terry Dear in Sydney, and
the name was changed to "Australia's New Faces".
Besides "Australia's New Faces", Terry Dear made numerous
appearances on other television shows, and was affectionately
known as "Terry Dearest".
The picture below shows Terry Dear in 1957.
Terry Dear (right) in 1957.
October 28
The picture shows a 2005 Australian 50 cent coin, featuring
the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Melbourne,
Victoria, in 2006.
It's interesting to note that the 1956 Olympic Games were held
in Melbourne.
The diameter of the rather large 50 cent coin is 31mm.
2005 Australian 50 cent coin showing Commonwealth Games to be
held in Melbourne in 2006.
October 25
Quote on Dianhua Denwa Windows Live
The introduction of the automatic telephone system.
Including a simplified diagram of an early automatic telephone exchange.
Automatic telephones began to appear in the United Kingdom
and the USA in the early 1920's, but it was many decades before
the automatic telephone system would become established.
In 1922, there were less than 20 automatic telephone exchanges
in the UK, and about 98% of local calls were made manually.
In the United Kingdom, the telephone system was under the control
of the British Post Office, which introduced standardization across
the country, as opposed to the United States where a number of private
telephone companies supplied the service, which sometimes caused
compatibility problems on trunk (long distance) calls.
Before the advent of the automatic telephone system, even local calls
had to be made via a telephone operator, who plugged your line into
the appropriate jack on a large manual switchboard, in order to connect
you to the person being called.
The operator would attract the attention of the person being called by
operating a hand generator, which would send a 'ring' voltage down the
line, causing the bell in (or near) the telephone to sound.
The automatic telephone system did away with the need for an operator,
and the connection was carried out by a series of electro-magnetic relays
located in the newly emerging automatic telephone exchanges.
An automatic telephone required the use of a dial, so the caller could dial
the number himself, by sending a series of electrical impulses to the automatic
exchange. These impulses, depending on the numbers dialled, operated relays
in the exchange which automatically connected the caller's phone to the telephone
of the person being called.
The automatic exchange would also apply 'ring tone' to the called phone, causing
it to ring until answered.
Diagram "A" shows a manual telephone in use. Note that the telephone does not
have a dial, so the caller had to ask the operator to connect him manually to the
number he wanted. The telephone pictured is an early "Bell telephone", and this
'candlestick' design continued throughout the 1920's, and into the early to mid
1930's (depending on locality).
Diagram "B" shows an automatic "Bell" telephone equipped with a dial. The front and rear
of the dial are shown, and the rear view reveals contacts at the back of the dial, which
make and break the electrical circuit a number of times, depending on the numbers
dialed. For example, if the nunber 8 is dialed, eight electrical impulses are sent to
the exchange. If the number 2 is dialed, two electrical impulses are sent to the exchange,
and so on. If the number 0 is dialed, ten impulses are sent down the line.
Modern telephones (including cell phones) have replaced the dial with electronic "push
buttons' which send a digital code down the line to the local electronic digital exchange,
instead of the electrical impulses used in pre-digital exchanges.
Digital exchanges are now so reliable, that they are no longer staffed, unlike the 'old
days' when from 10 to 30 people were employed in most suburban telephone exchanges.
This technological advance in telecommunications has resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs
around Australia - mainly in exchanges that were formerly staffed on a full time basis.
Technicians are now only required to visit the local exchange when a fault is reported, or
an upgrade is required.
Diagram A - manual "Bell" telephone with no dial.
The boy lifts the receiver off the hook, and this causes
a bulb to light up on a large manual switchboard. The
operator then asks the boy what number he wants.
Diagram B - automatic "Bell" telephone with dial, showing front and rear
of the dialing mechanism. The call is made automatically using the dial.
The rear of the dial mechanism contains impulse contacts that send electrical
impulses down the line to the exchange.
Diagram "C" is a simplified diagram of how one phone is connected to
another via an automatic telephone exchange, which consists of
hundreds of electro-mechanical relays.
Diagram of an early automatic telephone exchange.  Diagram "C" - a simplified diagram of an early automatic telephone exchange, showing the main
bank of relays known as 'the recorder', and its control and support relays.
Diagram "D" shows a typical electro-magnetic relay employed in an early automatic telephone
exchange. At the bottom is the electromagnetic coil, which acts as a magnet when a DC voltage
is applied to the two wires at the bottom. The electromagnet then attracts the steel armature
in front of the coil, which moves inwards and pushes up the contacts at the top of the relay,
which in turn make and break other circuits to achieve the desired switching result.
Diagram "D" - A typical electro-mechanical relay used in an early
automatic telephone exchange. Hundreds of these relays were interconnected
to perform the functions of selecting a vacant line, connecting, ringing,
and disconnecting the line at the end of a call.
The 'ring tone' voltage was supplied from a ring tone generator, and connected
to line via relays. The ring tone was automatically switched off when the receiver
was lifted off the cradle hook, via switch contacts connected to the spring operated
hook arm. The spring forced the hook arm to rise upwards when the receiver piece
was lifted from the hook.
The automatic exchange underwent consideralbe improvements and upgrades over
a 40 year period, but by the 1960's, demand for an increased number of lines led to
the introduction of the "Crossbar" automatic exchange, and the old relay and rotary
switch exchanges were gradually phased out. In Australia, replacement of the old
exchange equipment with crossbar switching bays, was still going on in the 1970's,
but by the late 1980's, the electronic exchange started to appear, initially alongside
crossbar equipment in the same telephone exchange building.
There are still some automatic exchanges in Australia that house crossbar switching
equipment, but by and large, the majority of exchanges are now 'digital', and employ
electronic switching controlled by computers. Electro-mechanical automatic exchanges
served us well for more than half a century, but have now well and truly passed their
'use by' date.
The picture below shows the outside view of a modern, computerised, digital telephone
exchange. As mentioned previously, telephone exchanges are no longer staffed, and
the tendency these days is to outsource the maintenance to a private contractor.
In the case of the Telstra Kambah exchange pictured here, the current contractor
is Service Stream , a Melbourne based company.
The Telstra Kambah telephone exchange on the southside of Canberra.
The current maintenance contractor is Service Stream . (2009).
Footnote: According to Telstra's website, they "operated and maintained more
than 11,000 telephone exchanges" (Across Australia in the 2008 - 2009 period).
October 21
Quote on blog site for John 33805
The smokestack at Port Kembla
This is a photo of the 650 foot smokestack at Port Kembla in NSW .
The smokestack is no longer used , and is to be declared a NSW
heritage site, although, there was some talk in late 2008 about
demolishing the stack for safety reasons.
The smokestack is the same height as the ABC radio mast at the ABC
AM radio transmitter site at Bald Hills, Brisbane. (650 feet).
Photo copyright © 2004 John999555
Port Kembla smokestack. Height is 650 feet.
October 20
Dokumentationsstelle Brandenburg.
The picture below shows a section of the Brandenburg Documentation
Centre, which includes the Brandenburg Prison Museum, at Brandenburg
on the river Havel, north of Berlin. The centre was opened in 1988.
The complex, which included the (new) Brandenburg Prison, was severely
damaged during the war, and little remains of the original buildings.
The prison, when operational, contained an execution room, where
around 20000 prisoners were executed between 1940 and 1945, either
by hanging or decapitation. The execution room contained a guillotine,
a replica of which can be seen in the reconstructed execution room in
the museum (see second picture).
Thirty two Jehovah's Witnesses were executed during that period, most
of them by the guillotine.
Section of the Documentation Centre and museum at Brandenburg.  Section of the Brandenburg Museum and Documentation Centre.
| Replica of the Brandenburg Prison guillotine. |
Done |
Replica of the guillotine used in the execution room of the former Brandenburg prison.
Footnote: A number of Jehovah's Witnesses were also executed at the Plotzensee
Prison in Berlin, some of them by the guillotine.
The main reasons for the crackdown on Jehovah's Witnesses were that they refused
to give the 'German salute' (Hitler salute), and they also refused to participate in
military service, both before and during the war.
The crackdown was encouraged by the Catholic church (in Germany), along with
some of the other churches, who resented the JW interpretation of the biblical
scriptures.
October 18
Quote on John Barnes Blogsite. Originally posted on Blog site for
John 33805 on December 28, 2005.
Talking about Columbia - The female personification of the USA .
Columbia is derived from the name of the explorer Christopher Columbus.
The name Columbia was a poetic name used for the United States of
America, which largely fell out of use in the early 20th century.
Places such as the District of Columbia, Columbia University, and the
Columbia River, derived their name from this source.
Columbia was also the female personification of the USA, similar
to the British female Britannia, and still used by Columbia Pictures,
though its current incarnation looks very different, and has incorporated an
element of the Statue of Liberty (holding the torch ) as seen in the thumbnail below.
The first thumbnail shows an early depiction of Columbia, and the other, a recent
depiction by Columbia Pictures (click on the thumbnails for a larger view).
The drawing below comes from the late 19th Century, and portrays Columbia as
an advocate for equal rights by voicing her opposition to racial prejudice.
Columbia is saying to the hostile crowd - "Hands off gentlemen ! America means
fair play for all men".
The character at the front of the crowd with the tall hat and striped trousers,
seems to be some sort of sinister version of the ' Uncle Sam' who came to
represent the USA in the 20th Century.
Columbia stood for the American ideals of justice,* fairness, tolerance, and,
to a lesser degree, opportunity - Opportunity for a penniless immigrant to
achieve a reasonable lifestyle through hard work and innovation.
* The Australian equivalent would be the old expression - "Everybody is entitled to a fair go".
19th Century drawing of Columbia.
19th Century drawing of Columbia.
Columbia without torch (left) and
with torch (from Columbia Pictures, now
part of Sony Pictures).
October 17
Providing the wealth to transform Japan into an industrial based economy.
This picture shows two Japanese women unraveling silk from silkworm
cocoons, and transferring the thread to wooden frames, in the early 1920's.
The thread on the frames is eventually woven into silk cloth, either manually
on a machine in the home, or, more likely, on automated machines in a large
silk factory.
Silk is one of the natural materials that helped Japan make the transition
from a feudal society of the Edo (Tokugawa) period, to an industrial based
society in a relatively short period of time, due to world demand for its silk
products.
By the early 20th Century, Japan had become the world's largest silk producer.
winding Japanese silk thread onto wooden frames in the 1920's. 
Unraveling the silk thread from the cocoons and winding it onto wooden frames in the early 1920's.
October 14
Quote on John Barnes Blogsite
TFT xenon inductive timing light provides good value for money.
The TFT Xenon timing light shown below is an ideal instrument
for checking ignition timing at a reasonable cost.
The timing gun is small and light and very easy to use.
The xenon bulb used in the gun, provides an ultrabright strobe
flash, which lights up ignition timing marks extremely well.
Simply connect the red inductive clamp to the ignition lead running to No.1
cylinder, and the two large clips to the battery - red to positive, and
black to negative.
With cars that use ignition points, it's necessary to reset the ignition
timing whenever the points are changed, and with the TFT timing light,
this only takes a few minutes.
The TFT timing light shown here is a TF0122 model, and is available
from Supercheap Auto stores (in Australia) for only $55.99.
The instrument is made in Taiwan.
TFT xenon inductive timing light.
October 11
Quote on John 4447772399's Space
The central docks of Liverpool in 1930.
The map below shows central Liverpool and associated docks in 1930.
Central Liverpool and docks in 1930. 
Map of central Liverpool and associated docks in 1930.
Basically, the majority of docks are on the right-hand side of the River Mersey, with the
areas of Seacombe and Birkenhead on the left-hand side, along with a handful of docks.
Starting at the top right-hand side of the River, and working down towards the bottom,
we come across the following docks :
Clarence Dock.
Trafalgar Dock.
Victoria Dock.
Waterloo Dock.
Prince's Dock.
Salthouse and Albert Docks.
Bukes Dock.
King's Dock No.2
King's Dock No.1
Queen's Dock - Branch No.2 and Branch No.1.
Coburg Dock.
Brunswick Dock.
The Pierhead is located between Prince's Dock and Albert Dock,
and connected to that is St.George's Landing Stage, where the ferry
boats arrive and depart.
Directly behind the Pierhead are three large buildings - the Royal
Liver Building, the Cunard Building, and the Dock Board Offices building.
The three buildings can be seen in the picture below. From the left is the
'gothic' looking Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building in the centre, and
the domed Dock Board offices building on the right.
The Pierhead and St. George's landing stage can be seen in front of the
three buildings.
Pierhead buildings.  St. George's landing stage (front), and behind that the Pierhead. The three buildings
behind the Pierhead are (from left) - Royal Liver Building, Cunard Building, and the Dock
Board Offices building (with the central dome).
On the left side of the river:
Starting at the top, is the Seacombe area bounded by Seacombe Promenade,
and from which, a "floating stage" emerges into the river.
Below that is -
Alfred Dock (with locks).
Wallasey Dock (near the Wallasey Landing Stage).
Morpeth Dock.
Below Morpeth Dock, a "Landing Stage" juts out into the river.
Further down, we enter the main Birkenhead area, which has a number
of 'graving docks' fronting the river.
The Mersey train tunnel runs under the river from Birkenhead, past James
Street Station on the other side of the river, and terminates at Central Station
near Renshaw Street.
Quote on Codswhallopp's Spot
1933 Ford V8 tourer - Lamington National Park 1935.
This photo of a 1933 Ford V8 tourer was taken in the Lamington National
Park near the Gold Coast (Queensland) in 1935.
The Ford was one of the cars used in the small fleet of vehicles that
made up the "Lamington National Park Tourist Service" in the 1930's.
1933 Ford V8 tourer in the Lamington National Park in 1935.
October 10
Quote on John_W_Barnes Blogsite
Pictures of Emmy Goering and Edda Goering in May 1945
The pictures below were taken from a black & white film made by
the Americans when they took Emmy Goering (wife of Hermann
Goering) and her daughter Edda into custody in May 1945.
The footage was reputedly filmed at Fischhorn Castle (Schloss
Fischhorn).
Emmy Goering, 1945.
Edda Goering, May 1945.
Edda was 6 when this picture was taken. She would turn 7 the following
month (June 2, 1945).
Next, we see a picture of Emmy's husband, Hermann Goering on trial
at Nuremberg, in early 1946 (left). Sitting next to him in the dock is Rudolf
Hess.
Hermann Goering (left) on trial at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg.
The last picture shows a close-up of Hermann Goering in the dock.
Close-up of Hermann Goering in the dock at Nuremberg.
Emmy Goering died in 1973, but Edda, who was born in June 1938,
is still alive today (in 2009).
October 09
Quote on Blogsite of John 33805
Picture of a 1933 Humber 12 sedan.
The picture below shows a 1933 Humber 12 sedan. The photo was
taken in 1990, near Canberra.
The car was originally the official vehicle of the mayor of Launceston
(Tasmania), Mr. Allen Hollingsworth (1894-1954), who used it during 1933
and 1934.
The car was housed in a garage in Hobart for about 20 years, before it
was shipped across the Tasman to Canberra in 1988. The whereabouts
of the vehicle today is unknown.
It featured leather upholstery, a four speed gearbox, and a wind-up clock
on the dashboard. It was 'rated' at12 horsepower, but actually developed
around 40 brake horsepower (BHP) and had a top speed of just over
60 miles per hour.
Humbers were popular vehicles for minor government officials, especially
during the 1930's.
Typically, the minor officials were provided with the smaller Humbers, such
as the 12, 14, or 16, and the higher-up officials got to be driven around in a Humber
Hawk, a Humber Snipe, or even a Humber 'Super' Snipe.
When the second world war broke out, the production of civilian Humbers
ceased, and only military vehicles were manufactured.
Field Marshal Montgomery was chauffeured around North Africa and Europe
in an army green Super Snipe staff car which he nicknamed "Old Faithful".
The Humber 12 pictured below was an ideal size for a 'drive yourself' vehicle,
and was not large enough to warrant the services of a chauffeur.
Only a few hundred Humber 12's were manufactured in 1933, and there are
no more than five left in the world today, including 3 in Australia.
photo of a 1933 Humber 12. 
1933 Humber 12 sedan. Photo taken in 1990.
Below is a picture of the instrument panel on the dashboard, showing the
mechanical clock, speedometer, ammeter, petrol gauge, and oil pressure
gauge.
The ammeter, clock, and speedometer were all made by Jaeger of London.
dashboard of 1933 Humber 12.  Instrument panel of the 1933 Humber 12.
October 08
Quote on John_W_Barnes Blogsite
Daryl Somers, Jackie McDonald, and Ossie Ostrich in "Hey Hey" reunion 2009
The picture below shows (front row, left to right) -
Daryl Somers, Jackie McDonald, and Ossie Ostrich in the
"Hey Hey it's Saturday" reunion show, broadcast on Wednesday,
October 7, 2009.
The face directly behind Ossie Ostrich (wearing glasses) is John Blackman,
and the face looking over Daryl's shoulder belongs to Penne Dennison.
The voice of Ossie Ostrich was provided by Ernie Carroll.
The reunion show was a huge success, and was watched by millions of viewers
across Australia. The only controversy was caused by one of the "Red Faces"
acts, although the so-called "Burper" act left a lot to be desired !
Hey Hey it's Saturday reunion show, 2009.  Front row, from the left - Daryl Somers, Jackie McDonald, and Ossie Ostrich.
The picture below shows four sailors carrying the body of their captain,
Ferdinand Magellan, towards the beach, after he had been killed by hostile
inhabitants of the Philippines island of Mactan in April,1521.
Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal, but he acquired Spanish nationality,
and set out on a voyage of discovery from Spain in 1519 (the same year Cortes
and his men arrived in South America), in search of the 'spice islands', on behalf
of the Spanish monarchy, who financed the trip. The fleet consisted of 5 ships.
In 1520, after sailing through a previously unknown strait at the southern tip of South
America, Magellan sailed into (and named) the Pacific Ocean, meaning "peaceful" Ocean.
The strait he sailed through is now known as the Strait of Magellan.
By now, the fleet had been reduced to 3 ships, which sailed North-West across
the Pacific, reaching the Philippines in March, 1521.
It's unknown whether Magellan's body was buried on the island (near the beach),
or simply abandoned during the speedy retreat from the island.
Only one vessel managed to make it back to Spain.
The body of Magellan is carried towards the beach on the island of Mactan.  Magellan's body is carried towards the beach, on April 27, 1521.
October 05
Quote on Faceless5558899 Spaces Live
"Christ among the doctors" by Bernardino Luini (1520's).
This painting of Christ among the doctors in the temple,
is by Italian painter Bernardino Luini of Milan, and was
painted in the 1520's.
It can be seen in the British National Gallery.
Christ among the doctors by Luini (1520's).
October 04
The picture below shows the plaque commemorating the 1936
Berlin Olympic Games.
On the left is the original plaque from 1936, and on the right is
the 'modified' plaque with Hitler's name, and some other writing
removed.
Plaque of 1936 Olympics - before and Now. 
Original plaque Plaque as it appears now.
October 02
Quote on B7772399's Space
Esso anti freeze advert. from 1949 - 1 gallon tin.
This advert. for Esso radiator antifreeze, comes from 1949.
The 1 gallon tin of Esso antifreeze was manufactured in the UK
by the Anglo-American Oil Co. Ltd.
Esso anti-freeze  1 gallon tin of Esso antifreeze. Advert from 1949.
October 01
Quote on John Barnes Blogsite
Impressive parade in Beijing marks 60 years of People's Republic
October 1, 2009.
An impressive parade in Beijing today, marked 60 years since
the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
The announcement establishing the People's Republic was read
out by Mao Zedong in Beijing (see picture below), on October 1, 1949.
On January 22, 1949, Mao's troops took Beijing from the Chinese
Nationalists (under Chiang Kai-shek), and on May 26, the city of
Shanghai fell to Mao's forces.
The first Premier of the People's Republic was Chou En-lai.
Mao Zedong announces People's Republic.  Mao Zedong (left) announces the establishment of the People's Republic of China on
October 1, 1949, in Beijing.
The pictures below show two scenes from today's parade in Beijing. The first picture
shows the year "1949" being displayed, and the second picture shows "2009".
Beijing parade - "1949".  The year "1949" is displayed at the Beijing parade (on October 1, 2009).
Beijing parade "2009".  Beijing parade. Display has changed to "2009".
A lot can be said (and written) about the events leading up
to the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
A significant achievement was the demise and eventual disappearance
of regional warlords across China, which, as is painfully obvious, is a
major problem in many countries today, such as Afghanistan.
Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalists fled to Taiwan, and the rest, as the
cliche goes, is history, or, more to the point, 20th Century history.
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