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December 31 Car club for rear wheel drive Mazda 626's (1979 - 1982)Car club for Mazda 626 rear wheel drive sedans (1979 to 1982).
The postal address is P.O. Box 366, Mawson, ACT, 2607.
December 25 Queen's christmas message - a voice of optimism in an uncertain worldDecember 25, 2008. I've been watching the Queen's christmas message for the past 40 years (with the exception of 1969 ), but it wasn't until today that I suddenly realized how much I'd been taking the messages for granted. In these times of financial insecurity, uncertainty, and conflict, there's something reassuring about a christmas message that has continued to be broadcast (on television), by the same person, for a period of 50 years. Although aimed primarily at a British audience, the broadcast nonetheless contains a message for Australians and other English speaking countries.
Queen Elizabeth begins her message with the words - "Christmas is a time for celebration, but this year, it is a more sombre occassion for many". However, later on in the broadcast, the message takes on a more upbeat and optimistic tone - " When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat".
The Queen goes on to talk about generous people who "have a desire to help those less fortunate than themselves".
In summary, the Queen's christmas message comes across as a voice of reason and optimism at a time of great uncertainty. I look forward to hearing her christmas message again in 2009.
Queen Elizabeth delivers her Christmas message in 2008.
A much younger Elizabeth (right) aged 10 in 1936, with her younger sister Margaret.
Postcard from 1945 - Santa arrives on a V2 rocketThis christmas postcard from December
1945 shows Santa arriving on a V2 rocket
(instead of his usual sled and reindeers ).
Santa arriving on a V2 rocket, December 1945.
December 16 Detective Chief Inspector Derrick (Horst Tappert) dies at 85Horst Tappert, the actor who played the role of Detective Chief Inspector Stephan Derrick, has died in Munich aged 85. 281 epidodes of Derrick were broadcast on German TV between 1974 and 1998. A number of the episodes were broadcast in Australia by SBS with English subtitles between 1988 and 1998, and was a popular series here.
Horst Tappert as Derrick.
December 14 Time to seal the Great Central Road from Laverton to the OlgasAs posted on John Barnes Blogsite -
As part of the Federal Government's national infrastructure program,
a good suggestion would be to seal the Great Central Road between Laverton
in Western Australia and The Olgas in the Northern Territory.
This would provide the shortest sealed road route between Perth and
Uluru (Ayers Rock), and give an alternative highway between the
Northern Territory and Western Australia, especially from Darwin to Perth.
The number of vehicles using the unsealed Great Central Road is around 10,000
per year, so it's more than just an outback track. The distance to be sealed is
approximately 1100 kilometres.
The map below shows a section of the Great Central Road from Warburton in
Western Australia to Tjukaruru in the Northern Territory.
A section of the pioneering "Gunbarrel Highway" can also be seen.
The picture below shows the unsealed Great Central Road as it is today, and it's
immediately obvious what a difference a sealed road would make !
The Great Central Road as it exists now.
Relief map of Eastern Australia showing the Great Dividing RangeThis relief map of Eastern Australia clearly shows the
Great Dividing Range running all the way from north of
Cairns in Queensland to Melbourne in the south.
It's not a continuous range, and is made up of a series of
mountain ranges. The southern extremity is the Dandenong
Ranges near Melbourne.
Unlike the Pennines in England, the majority of these ranges
are covered by trees.
The highest peak is Mount Kosciuszko (7310 feet ), located in
the Snowy Mountains south of Canberra.
By contrast, the highest peak in the Pennines (in England), is
only 2930 feet.
The Great Dividing Range of Eastern Australia.
relief map.
December 12 Castrol brake fluid manufactured by Huntsman Corp. at Botany.All Castrol brake and clutch fluid made in Australia is manufactured by Huntsman Corporation (Aust), at their Botany complex in Sydney. The site was acquired from Orica in 1998.
The picture on the left shows part of the Huntsman Corporation's complex at Botany, and on the right is a bottle of Castrol Response Dot 4 brake and clutch fluid produced at the site, and distributed all over Australia. (Castrol is now owned by BP).
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