[ti]hearts[/ti]Australia Down Under Mate

scooter, I'm living in Western Australia, about 15 mins. from the City of Perth....stinking Summer this year and it's not finished yet with 34C tomorrow and 37C Monday, so over the heat this summer.

Agree with what you said about pennmom's reviews, they're the best.

scooter,


Thank you for such a vote of confidence, hearing that from other people makes it worth the hard work!


I'm bettin' you're looking forward to autumn...and Oodies!

Oh are those dang S.A people trying to claim that again scooter,?!... Rolling Along

LOL. I don't have the game..but that is pretty funny! Cheesing

( I too am in OZ...and have family in S.A.) I am in Melbourne..the real Capital.. Rolling Along

OK..for the truth...the capital of OZ is Canberra.. (a city smaller than both Melbourne and Sydney lol)

Western Australia Day or simply WA Day (formerly known as Foundation Day) is a public holiday in Western Australia (WA), celebrated on the first Monday in June each year to commemorate the founding of the Swan River Colony in 1829. Because of the date of Western Australia Day, WA does not have the King's Official Birthday public holiday in June, as do the other Australian states; it is held in September or October instead.

Background
HMS Challenger, under Captain Charles Fremantle, anchored off Garden Island on 25 April 1829. Fremantle officially claimed the western part of Australia for Britain on 2 May. The merchant vessel Parmelia – with the new colony's administrator Lieutenant-Governor James Stirling, other officials, and civilian settlers on board – arrived on the night of 31 May and sighted the coast on 1 June. It finally anchored in Cockburn Sound on 6 June. The warship HMS Sulphur arrived on 8 June, carrying the British Army garrison. The Swan River Colony was officially proclaimed by Stirling on 11 June.

Ships carrying more civilian settlers began arriving in August, and on the King's birthday, 12 August, the wife of the captain of Sulphur, Helena Dance, standing in for James Stirling's wife Ellen Stirling, cut down a tree to mark the founding of the colony's capital, Perth.

In 1832, Stirling decided that an annual celebration was needed to unite the colony's inhabitants, including both settlers and Aboriginal Australians and "masters and servants". He decided that the commemoration would be held on 1 June each year (or if a Sunday, on the following Monday), the date originally planned by Stirling for Parmelia's arrival in recognition of the first and greatest British naval victory over the French in 1794, the "Glorious First of June".

The holiday was celebrated as Foundation Day up until 2011; in 2012, it was renamed Western Australia Day as part of a series of law changes recognizing Aboriginal Australians as the original inhabitants of Western Australia.

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Rolling Along Rolling Along Rolling Along Rolling Along

OK. Yesterday in Australia we had a referendum with two questions. Do you wish to recognise first peoples in our constitution and to give them a non binding (by gov's) Voice to Parliament

WE OVERWHELMINGLY VOTED...get ready for it....NO!!!!

Whilst I am in shock still..I am also very sad to what it says about our Country. I VOTED YES.

We are not all horrible...but there was a 'NO' campaign that turned it into party politics by the opposition leader...who told them 'it will divide us'..and dang most ppl got confused and could not wrap their head around the question. Canada and NZ signed their recognitions off in 2022

It was a very sad outcome. We are already 'divided'...the first peoples have been disadvantaged for hundreds of years since we first arrived. (they are the oldest ppls on earth 60,000 yrs here..we arrived 250 yrs ago only!)...and we didn't even count them in the census or let them vote until the late 60's. They are not included in our constitution. It also sent a bad message to the aboriginal community. And it also showed we are not really the 'smartest general population' (and I guess there was as usual in our history also an element of bigotry and arrogance)

ANYWAY... it's all horrid and shows lot's about the majority of us. Dumb and easily led by fear campaigns.    I hope its not more hundreds of years till we get our act together!  Well that's my opinion anyway. Seems I am not a 'majority' Aussie on this issue.