Australia - Great Barrier Reef (2)

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world, it is home to over 1500 species of fish and 400 types of coral.

Sent by Barbara, a postcrosser from Australia.

This is from UNESCO : The Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It the world's most extensive stretch of coral reef and is probably the richest area in terms of faunal diversity in the world. Its great diversity reflects the maturity of an ecosystem which has evolved over millions of years on the north-east continental shelf of Australia. The site contains a huge diversity of species including over 1,500 species of fish, about 360 species of hard coral, 5,000 species of mollusc, and more than 175 species of bird, plus a great diversity of sponges, anemones, marine worms and crustaceans, among others.

The reef system, extending to Papua New Guinea, the reef comprises some 2900 individual reefs of all sizes and shapes covering more than 20,000 km2, including 760 fringing reefs, which range in size from under 1ha to over 10,000 ha and vary in shape to provide the most spectacular marine scenery on Earth. There are approximately 600 continental islands including many with towering forests and freshwater streams, and some 300 coral cays and unvegetated sand cays. A rich variety of landscapes and seascapes, including rugged mountains with dense and diverse vegetation and adjacent fringing reefs, provide spectacular scenery.

The form and structure of the individual reefs show great variety. Two main classes may be defined: platform or patch reefs, resulting from radial growth; and wall reefs, resulting from elongated growth, often in areas of strong water currents. There are also many fringing reefs where the reef growth is established on subtidal rock of the mainland coast or continental islands.

The site includes major feeding grounds for the endangered dugong and nesting grounds of world significance for two endangered species of marine turtle, the green and the loggerhead, as well as habitat for four other species of marine turtle; given the severe pressures being placed on these species elsewhere, the Great Barrier Reef may be their last secure stronghold. It is also an important breeding area for humpback and other whale species.

A wide range of fleshy algae occurs, many of which are small and inconspicuous but which are highly productive and are heavily grazed by turtles, fish, molluscs and sea urchins. In addition, algae are an important component of reef building processes. 15 species of seagrass grow throughout the reef area forming over 3,000 km2 of seagrass meadows and providing an important food source for grazing animals, such as dugongs.

The Great Barrier Reef, and in particular the northern sector, is important in the historic and contemporary culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups of the coastal areas of north-east Australia. This contemporary use of and association with the Marine Park plays an important role in the maintenance of their cultures and there is a strong spiritual connection with the ocean and its inhabitants.

Australia - Brisbane

Images of Brisbane.

Send by someone from Brisbane Meet-up Saturday (March 26th 2011).

This is from Wikipedia : Brisbane (/ˈbrɪzbən/), is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has an approximate population of 2 million.

The Brisbane central business district stands on the original settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River approximately 23 kilometres from its mouth at Moreton Bay. The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River valley between the bay and the Great Dividing Range. While the city is governed by several municipalities, they are centred around the Brisbane City Council which has jurisdiction over the largest area and population in metropolitan Brisbane and is also Australia's largest Local Government Area by population.

Brisbane is named after the river on which it sits which, in turn, was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825. The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the Brisbane central business district, in 1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825. Free settlers were permitted from 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859.

The city played a central role in the Allied campaign during World War II as the South West Pacific headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur. Brisbane has hosted many large cultural and sporting events including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo '88 and the final Goodwill Games in 2001. In 2008, Brisbane was classified as a gamma world city+ in the World Cities Study Group’s inventory by Loughborough University. It was also rated the 16th most livable city in the world in 2009 by The Economist.

Australia - Giant Horse Gallery at Laura

Giant Horse
Giant Horse Gallery, Laura. This is post-European contact art. This is one of the last great paintings -- the horse is 6 metres long and 3 metres high. It was painted after 1848 when Edmund Kennedy and William Hann came through this area.

Sent by pygletwhispers, a postcrosser from Australia.

Laura
Small outback town famed for the exceptional Aboriginal rock galleries in the district.
Laura is a tiny settlement on the main Cape York road, 314 km from Cairns and 2104 km from Brisbane. Today it comprises a pub, a general store, two service stations, a school, a police station, an office of the Department of Community Services and a few houses. It is basically an Aboriginal settlement with a population of less than 100. The local services have picked up some passing trade from the increased 4WD traffic which passes through the town on the way to Cape York.

The Laura River was explored and named by Archibald Macmillan in 1873 - he named it after his wife. The following year cattle were brought into the area by James Earl and by 1874 it had become a thriving township catering for the miners who were making their way from the port at Cooktown to the goldfields at Palmer River.

A railway line between Cooktown and Palmer River reached Laura in 1888. The decline of the goldfields meant that Laura became the terminus for the route. The final section of track was never laid. At its height the railway had more than 20,000 passengers each year.

In the 1970s Percy Tresize (his son became the town publican) and a local Aborigine, Dick Roughsey, collaborated on a series of children's books which tell the Aboriginal legends of the area. The best known of these are The Giant Devil Dingo and Banana Bird and the Snake Men.

Aboriginal Art Works
The importance of Laura today is contained in its Aboriginal artworks. It is recognised as one of the most important areas for archeological study in the country and already archaeologists have found evidence of local Aboriginal settlement which is the oldest in Australia.

The area is famous for its giant figures known as Quinkans. The brochure to the Giant Horse Gallery explains: 'The Quinkans after whom this region is named were spirit figures that usually lived in cracks in the rock and came out to frighten people and to keep them 'in line'. They were the 'boogie men' of the Laura area.'

There are literally dozens of Aboriginal art sites in the area. However, many of them are not open for general inspection. The most accessible are the Split Rock and Guguyanlangi Art Galleries (signposted Split Rock Galleries) which lie approximately 10 km south of the town. They are only open to visitors after a formal application to the Aboriginal Ranger in Laura. This can be done by driving into the town - the Ranger's office is on the corner of the Peninsula Development Road - or telephoning (07) 4060 3260.

The galleries are very old and there is evidence of many layers of paintings. There is a powerful sense of continuity about the sites. They may have been used for up to 13,000 years. The age of the current paintings is not known.

Famous in the area is the Giant Horse Gallery. It not only features a horse but there is also a fallen rider and a number of animals including a stingray and bush turkey. Permission to inspect the gallery has to be obtained from the Department of Community Services in Brisbane. Tours of both sites can be arranged in Laura.(Source)

Australia - Queensland (The Sunshine State)

The flag, Cooktown Orchid and Koalas are emblems of Queensland.
Left, top to bottom : The Goodwill Bridge, a pedestrian thoroughfare in Brisbane, the State's capital; the palm fringed beach and clear blue Great Barrier Reef waters of Palm Cove, north of Cairns.

Sent by Emma, a postcrosser from Australia.

Australia - Great Barrier Reef (1)

Aspects of the Great Barrier Reef
The peaceful existence of a blue starfish in the pristine waters surrounding a sand cay on the Great Barrier Reef.

Sent by Carolyn, a Swap-Bot partner from Australia.

The Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It the world's most extensive stretch of coral reef and is probably the richest area in terms of faunal diversity in the world. Its great diversity reflects the maturity of an ecosystem which has evolved over millions of years on the north-east continental shelf of Australia. The site contains a huge diversity of species including over 1,500 species of fish, about 360 species of hard coral, 5,000 species of mollusc, and more than 175 species of bird, plus a great diversity of sponges, anemones, marine worms and crustaceans, among others.

The reef system, extending to Papua New Guinea, the reef comprises some 2900 individual reefs of all sizes and shapes covering more than 20,000 km², including 760 fringing reefs, which range in size from under 1ha to over 10,000 ha and vary in shape to provide the most spectacular marine scenery on Earth. There are approximately 600 continental islands including many with towering forests and freshwater streams, and some 300 coral cays and unvegetated sand cays. A rich variety of landscapes and seascapes, including rugged mountains with dense and diverse vegetation and adjacent fringing reefs, provide spectacular scenery.

The form and structure of the individual reefs show great variety. Two main classes may be defined: platform or patch reefs, resulting from radial growth; and wall reefs, resulting from elongated growth, often in areas of strong water currents. There are also many fringing reefs where the reef growth is established on subtidal rock of the mainland coast or continental islands.

The site includes major feeding grounds for the endangered dugong and nesting grounds of world significance for two endangered species of marine turtle, the green and the loggerhead, as well as habitat for four other species of marine turtle; given the severe pressures being placed on these species elsewhere, the Great Barrier Reef may be their last secure stronghold. It is also an important breeding area for humpback and other whale species.

A wide range of fleshy algae occurs, many of which are small and inconspicuous but which are highly productive and are heavily grazed by turtles, fish, molluscs and sea urchins. In addition, algae are an important component of reef building processes. 15 species of seagrass grow throughout the reef area forming over 3,000 km² of seagrass meadows and providing an important food source for grazing animals, such as dugongs.

The Great Barrier Reef, and in particular the northern sector, is important in the historic and contemporary culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups of the coastal areas of north-east Australia. This contemporary use of and association with the Marine Park plays an important role in the maintenance of their cultures and there is a strong spiritual connection with the ocean and its inhabitants. (Source)

Australia - Whitsundays

WHITSUNDAYS
Queensland, Australia.

Sent by Teresa from Australia.

This is from Wikipedia : The Whitsunday Islands are a collection of continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, situated between just south of Bowen and to the north of Mackay, some 900 kilometres (560 mi) north of Brisbane. The island group is centred on Whitsunday Island, while the group's commercial centre is Hamilton Island.