Quote on John 4447772399's Space

Hottest place in Australia and highest temperature recorded

 

The town of Marble Bar in Western Australia is generally regarded as the

hottest place (to live) in Australia, with summer temperatures regularly

exceeding 45 degrees Celsius (centigrade).

 

Between October 1923 and April 1924, a record was set when Marble Bar

recorded temperatures above 100 degrees F. (37.8 degrees C.) for 160 days

in a row !

 

The highest official temperature recorded in Australia was 50.7 degrees C. at

Oodnadatta (South Australia) in 1960.

 

An unofficial temperature of 53.1 degrees C was recorded at Cloncurry (Queensland)

in 1889.

 

However,  temperatures higher than 52 degrees C., would no doubt

occur in parts of the uninhabited areas of the inland deserts of South

Australia, Western Australia, and south-west Queensland during the Australian summer.

 

 

 

What's considered 'hot' and 'cold' in Australia ?

Well, that depends where you live. Ignoring the humidity factor, a temperature

of 35 degrees in Canberra would be considered 'hot', but in Darwin it would be 'normal'.

 

In Sydney and Melbourne, 35 degrees would be considered 'hot' by most of the

populance, but 'warm' by others. In Brisbane, more people would rate 35 degrees

as 'warm', rather than 'hot'.

38 degrees (in summer) would be regarded 'hot' in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne,

Darwin, Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane, but 'warm to normal' in central Australian

towns such as Alice Springs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John 4447772399's Space

Mr. Zhang Junsai is Chinese Ambassador to Australia

 

Mr.Zhang Junsai ( pictured below) is the current Chinese Ambassador to Australia.

He was born in Shanghai in 1953, and has been the Chinese Ambassador to

Australia since 2007. The Chinese Embassy is located in Canberra.

 

 

       Zhang Junsai - current Chinese Ambassador to Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John_W_Barnes Blogsite

Richard Boone is Dr. Konrad Styner in TV series "Medic".

 

The picture below shows Dr.Konrad Styner introducing an episode

of the TV series Medic  in 1956.

The series, made up of 59 episodes, was filmed between 1954 and

1956. A number of the 1954 episodes weren't broadcast until 1955.

The role of Dr. Styner was played by Richard Boone (1917 - 1981).

 

The theme music was arranged by Victor Young, and was simply known

as "the theme from Medic".  In 1955 a vocal version sung by Felicia

Sanders was given the title of "Blue Star".

In 1961, The Shadows  produced a guitar instrumental version of

"Blue Star". The original score from the TV series was esentially

a piano theme, and still remains the best version (in my estimation).

 

 

 

Richard Boone as Dr. Konrad Styner introducing an episode of Medic

in 1956. The series was filmed  between 1954 and 1956.

 

 

 

 

The next picture shows the 'Medic Shield' which appears at the start of

each episode and bears the three symbols which represent the qualities

of a worthy physician -

 

The eye of an eagle.

The heart of a lion.

The hand of a woman.

 

 

The shield displays the head of an eagle, the head of a lion,

and the hand of a woman.

 

 

Done

 The' Medic Shield' featuring the 3 qualities of a worthy physician.

 

 

 

 

 

 The next picture shows actor Lee J. Cobb as Henry Fisher, a manic

depressive, who appears in the episode "Breaking Through the Bars".

This episode was filmed in 1954, but not broadcast until March 1955.

 

 

 

           Lee J  Cobb as manic depressive Henry Fisher.

 

 

 

 

 

 The last picture shows veteran actor Arthur Space as Dr. William

 Halsted  in the episode titled "Dr. Impossible", which was filmed in

1954 and first broadcast in February 1955.

 [Dr. Halsted (1852 - 1922) was the chief surgeon at Johns Hopkins

 Hospital in the 1890's].

 

 

 

 

Done

      Arthur Space as Dr. William Halsted in "Dr. Impossible".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John Barnes Blogsite

Picture of a 1957 Berkeley Sports Car

 

 

   1957 Berkeley sports car assembled by Ian Prior of Wollongong in 1957.

 

This  Berkeley kit car was assembled by Ian Prior of Wollongong

 over a period of 8 months ( part time ) in 1957.

The car was bought in kit form from JJ Crouch Motors of Sydney

 for about 650 pounds.

The Berkley first appeared at the 1957 Sydney Motor Show

at the Sydney Showground.

It could be purchased either in kit form or fully assembled

( 200 pounds extra if pre-assembled ).

 

 

The model shown  had a 500cc Excelsior 2 stroke air-cooled

 engine , and the body was made of fibreglass.  It was front-wheel

drive, with a 3 speed manual gearbox.

 

The kit itself was imported from England .

 

Ian ( seen standing on the right )  was an apprentice motor mechanic

 with Prior's Garage in West Wollongong at the time .

 

 

 

 

Quote on John_W_Barnes Blogsite

Picture of the Hohenzollern Bridge at Cologne in 1939 and 1945.

 

 

The first picture shows the Hohenzollern Bridge at Cologne (across the Rhine)

in 1939.  Small 'towers' can be seen at each end of the middle arch.

These towers were not replaced when the bridge was rebuilt after the war.

 

The cathedral is plainly visible on the right.

 

 

 

Cologne in 1939.

                   The Hohenzollern Bridge across the Rhine at Cologne in 1939.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second picture shows the remains of the destroyed Hohenzollern Bridge in mid 1945.

The cathedral suffered only slight damage from the bombing raids, and was left largely

intact.

 

 

The Hohenzollern Bridge in 1945.

   The remains of the destroyed bridge in 1945. The cathedral (on the left) suffered only slight damage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next picture is a photo of the Hohenzollern Bridge taken in 1923, possibly during the period

of occupation of the Rhineland by French and Belgian troops. The small towers at each end of the

 middle arch can be seen in more detail, and the top section of each tower appears to be made

of stone.

 

 

 

 

Hohenzollern Bridge, 1923.

                 A view of the Hohenzollern Bridge in 1923.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John Barnes Blogsite

"Mac" (Jason), and "Jimmy Hawkins" of ABC Radio 'Argonauts Club'

 

The picture below is of Atholl Fleming , the man

behind the voice of "Mac" aka "Jason", of the ABC's

Argonauts Club.

 

 

Done

     " Mac" of The Argonauts Club on ABC Radio.

 

 

 

 

 

The second picture shows actor John Ewart (in 1979),

who played the role of "Jimmy Hawkins" on The Argonauts

Club. Mac often referred to him as "little Jimmy Hawkins".

 

 

Actor John Ewart as "Jimmy Hawkins" of The Argonauts Club.

 

 

 

 

Next, we see a picture of "Jimmy Hawkins" in 1954.

 

 

 

 

Done

                       "Jimmy Hawkins" in 1954.

 

 

 

 

 

The next picture shows John Ewart in 1991, three

years before he died of cancer.

 

 

Done

                    John Ewart in 1991

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Argonauts Club was incorporated into the 'Children's Session'

of the ABC in 1941. The 'Children's Session', which began in 1939,

was later called 'The Children's Hour'.

 

The Argonauts Club ran on ABC radio from 1941 till early 1972.

 

 

Atholl Fleming died in 1972, and John Ewart passed away in 1994.

 

Nine hours before he died, John Ewart married Jane Fennell, known to the

television viewing public as "Miss Jane" from the ABC TV children's programme

Mr.Squiggle (see picture below). Jane did the show from 1975 to 1986, and

became engaged to John in 1992. They would have married sooner, but Jane's

father, veteran radio and TV actor Willie Fennell, died within two weeks of being

diagnosed with cancer.

 

 

 

 

Done

  Jane Fennell as "Miss Jane" with Mr. Squiggle.

 

 

In the early days of the Argonauts Club, "Elizabeth" was played

by Ida Osbourne(see picture below), but her part was replaced

by "Nan", in the early 1950's, after Ida got married. Later on, as

Ida Elizabeth Jenkins, she presented the ABC Women's Session,

which was broadcast nationally for a period of seven years,

between 1953 and 1960.

 

 

Done

            Ida Osbourne as "Elizabeth" in 1942.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John20747's Place

Picture of Stokes Hill Wharf, Darwin, 1969.

         

         This photo of Stokes Hill Wharf at Darwin, was taken in 1969 - five

years before the devastating Cyclone Tracy destroyed much of

Darwin in December 1974.

 

Some of the boats seen in the photo were lost during the cyclone.

 

The photo was taken from the bridge of a Japanese cargo ship.

 

Photo copyright © 1969    John Barnes.

 

 

 

 

Photo of Stokes Hill Wharf, Darwin, 1969.

      Stokes Hill Wharf in 1969.  Picture taken from the bridge of a Japanese cargo ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John Barnes Blogsite

Shintaro Akikusa (Koichi Ose) is alive and well in 2009.

 

Despite rumours circulating in the late 1990's that the Japanese actor Koichi Ose

had passed away, I can happily announce that he is alive and well in 2009, and will

no doubt be around for many years to come.

 

Koichi Ose was the actor who played the role of Shintaro Akikusa in the 1960's

TV series The Samurai  which was broadcast in Japan, Australia, and parts of Asia,

in the 1960's, with repeats running well into the late 1970's.

The series was not broadcast in the UK or the USA.

 

The picture below shows Koichi Ose (right) as Shintaro, with his faithful friend

Tombei the Mist, an Iga Ninja, from (about) 1964.

 

 

 

 

Koichi Ose (right) as Shintaro Akikusa with his faithful friend

Tombei 'the mist' from an episode of The Samurai.

 

 

 

 

 

The next picture shows Koichi Ose in Japan in 2009. 

 

 

 

             Koichi Ose during an interview in 2009.

 

 

 

Shintaro's trip to Australia 

 

The series was extremely popular in Australia, so popular in fact, that

Shintaro visited Australia in December 1965, doing  stage performances

of The Samurai in Sydney and Melbourne.

The tour was extremely successful, with huge crowds attending both the

Sydney and Melbourne performances.

 

This short extract was taken from Nikki White's very comprehensive site

on The Samurai  TV series (see link below), regarding Shintaro's visit to

Australia -

 

"On the night of 5^th January 1966, Ose (Shintaro) flew to Melbourne to a deafening welcome from

ove 7000 fans. This represented the biggest crowd at Essendon Airport since the arrival

of the Beatles, a fact which was even reported in the Japanese press. Essendon has long since

been superseded by Tullamarine Airport as Melbourne's major airport. Ose was in the city for three

stage shows (Thursday 6^th January-Saturday 8^th January, 2.15pm daily) at Melbourne's Festival Hall.

Here at these shows his arrival on stage was greeted as enthusiastically as in Sydney with cheering,

which he acknowledged with a bow. This caused Melbourne newspapers to join with their Sydney

counterparts in declaring Robin Hood, Superman, Tom Mix and Davy Crockett things of the past.

All told, Ose was in Australia a total of 2 weeks before film commitments forced him to return to

Japan. Not all his fans were children. Some of the most enthusiastic and unruly at his arrivals and

appearances were teenage girls".

 

 

 

 

 

 Koichi Ose dressed as Shintaro at Sydney airport, Dec.1965.

 

Done

 

 

The TV series was set in 18th century feudal Japan during the Tokugawa

(Edo) Period, with Shintaro playing the role of a masterless Samurai.

 

In fact, "Shintaro Akikusa" was an undercover name to protect his real

identity - Matsudaira Nobuchiyo , a half-brother to the Shogun, Tokugawa

Ienari, who ruled from 1787 to 1837. Shintaro was acting on orders from the

Shogun's chief councillor, Matsudaira Sadanobu.

 

In Japan, the series was titled "Onmitsu Kenshi" (Spy Swordsman), and was

originally broadcast between 1962 and 1965.

In Australia, The Samurai  was broadcast on Channel 9 from late 1964 to 1967.

 

Australia's leading authority on The Samurai series is, without doubt, Nikki White

of Canberra (pictured below), and anybody who wants more information about

episodes of The Samurai should visit Nikki's site at -

http://home.netspeed.com.au/reguli/samep1.htm

 

 

 

 

 

Nikki White - Australia's leading authority on The Samurai  TV series.

 

 

 

An interesting piece of information supplied by Nikki concerns the

theme music from the series, which was normally instrumental, but also

included a vocal version which was heard during one of the episodes.

The title was "Edo no Onmitsu Wataridori".

Done

 

Done

 

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".

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Done

 

                            Terry Dear (right) in 1957.

 

 

 

  

 

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).

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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).