Get ready :)

MILLIONS of Australians are gathering in city centres as the nation gets ready to celebrate New Year's Eve 2011.

Thousands gather at Sydney Harbour

Thousands of revellers have been gathering since this morning at hot spots around Sydney Harbour as the final touches are put on the New Year's Eve fireworks.

Seven tonnes of pyrotechnic explosives will shoot heavenwards at 9pm (AEDT) and again at midnight, following 15 months of meticulous planning.

A staff member of the Botanic Gardens, which opened its gates at 10am (AEDT) on Saturday, said the crowds appeared to be bigger than usual.

"There seem to be more here this morning than normal because they are camping out," said the woman, who has worked at eight New Year's Eve celebrations.

Picnic blankets have already been rolled out and champagne corks popped at the best vantage points on both sides of the bridge.

By tonight, there will be 1.5 million partygoers ringing in the new year under the stars.

Sydney's New Year's fireworks Marc Newson said the much-anticipated final effect on the bridge would remain top secret until the stroke of midnight.

But he promised a show that was bigger and better than last year.

"There is a really exciting mood across the city at the moment," he said.

"People from around Sydney and the world (are) starting to gravitate towards the harbour foreshore to claim their spot."

Melbourne’s New Year – it’ll be gold

Not to be outdone, Melbourne will ring in 2012 with a $2.6 million celebration involving ten tonnes of fireworks exploding from 17 city locations, expecting to draw half a million people.

Starting at 9.45pm (AEDT), a gold flare will be fired across 11 city rooftops every half hour until the clock strikes midnight.

The city will then burst into gold with a $400,000 fireworks display lasting 10 minutes.

Gold-themed images will also be projected on to St Paul's Cathedral, the State Library of Victoria and the National Gallery of Victoria, as part of the celebrations which harks back to the gold rush era.

With Sydney's fireworks containing seven tonnes of explosives, Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said, "If size matters, we're the biggest".

"The Harbour Bridge is beautiful, but when you see the gold that is the Melbourne moment this year, it will be absolutely spectacular," Mr Doyle said.

Crowds can travel home from the city on public transport for free from 6pm on New Year's Eve until 6am.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/heat-harbourside-booze-bans-and-tons-of-fireworks-nye-2011/story-e6frfkvr-1226233707081#ixzz1i6AEFih9

Meanwhile in NT...

GUSTS of up to 140km/h are expected to hit Australia's Top End, as Tropical Cyclone Grant lashes the coast.

The cyclone, which slowly intensified last night, is expected to move south across the Cobourg Peninsula and into the eastern Van Diemen Gulf early today.

The storm is travelling at about 8km/h and packing winds of around 140km/h at its centre.

If it maintains its southward course, it is predicted to cross the coast again east of Point Stuart, at least 80km east of Darwin, around lunchtime today.

Darwin residents may experience gale force winds today as the storm passes through, the weather bureau said.

Localised flooding over the northern Darwin-Daly, Arnhem and northern Roper-McArthur Districts is also expected.

People living west of Maningrida to the Tiwi islands, including Cape Don, Croker Island and Goulburn Island, were told to take shelter yesterday.

Forecasters had previously thought the storm would be downgraded to a category 1 as it crossed over land, but they are no longer expecting that.

Yesterday was the 37th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy, which destroyed much of Darwin in 1974, killing 49 people and a further 22 who perished at sea.

Read more at news.com.au

Not so Merry Christmas...

... or the weather strikes again.

Click the picture to read full article from news.com.au

STORMS pelted Victorians with hailstones as big as billiard balls during a wild Christmas Day barrage.

Christmas time :-)

Christmas in the southern hemisphere

The heat of early summer in Australia has an impact on the way that Australians celebrate Christmas and on which northern hemisphere Christmas traditions are followed.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas houses are decorated; greetings cards sent out; carols sung; Christmas trees installed in homes, schools and public places; and children delight in anticipating a visit from Santa Claus. On Christmas Day family and friends gather to exchange gifts and enjoy special Christmas food.

BONDI BEACH

Many Australians spend Christmas out of doors, going to the beach for the day, or heading to camping grounds for a longer break over the Christmas holiday period. It has become traditional for international visitors who are in Sydney at Christmas time to go to Bondi Beach where up to 40,000 people visit on Christmas Day.

FOOD

Christmas in Australia comes at the beginning of summer and many people no longer serve a traditional hot roast dinner. Cold turkey and ham, seafood and salads are often served instead. It has even become acceptable to serve the traditional Christmas plum pudding with cold custard, ice cream or cream. Pavlova, a meringue base topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, and various versions of the festive ice-cream pudding have also become popular Christmas desserts.

Go here to read a detailed recipe for Pavlova.

For the lazy ones - click on the picture to watch how to make a perfect Pavlova ;-)





















SINGING

Aussie Christmas songs are... ehem, somewhat atypical ;-)

Thanks to the mysterious poster who provided the following link in the comments to the previous note. Well done mate! :-) Let me know your name because your team is going to score some bonus points for finding something that mentions Holden ;-)

Jingle Bells Aussie Style


Here is a twist on a well known Christmas song - Let it Snow


And finally something I probably shouldn't post at all... ;-)

I admit - I do have a soft spot for these guys. Their humour is not very subtle but very, very Australian ;-)

Brace yourself for the Scared Weird Little Guys and their unique Christmas Day Song!
(remeber that I warned you! ;-) )


SYDNEY - HOBART YACH RACE

Boxing Day has a special meaning for all interested in sailing.

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is an icon of Australia’s summer sport, ranking in popularity with other national events such as the Davis Cup tennis and the Melbourne Cup horse race.

No yearly yachting event in the world attracts such huge media coverage as this race. The race starts on Boxing Day in Sydney, NSW and finishes in Hobart, Tasmania. The course covers a distance of 628 nautical miles from Sydney Harbour to the east coast of Australia, Bass Strait, the Tasmanian east coast, Storm Bay, Derwent River and finally Battery Point in Hobart, Tasmania.

The race has been hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia since its beginning in 1945 and is run in cooperation with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.

The public and media often focus a lot of attention on which yacht wins Line Honours. It's easy to understand why, because that's the first yacht to cross the finishing line. However, that is often not the Overall Winner. The exact rules to select the Overall Winner have changed over the years. Basically, it's a handicap race where a yacht's finish time is adjusted based on several factors set down in the prevailing rules. In other words, the fastest boat is often not the Overall Winner.

(http://alldownunder.com/oz-u/events/sydney-hobart-race-0.htm)

Go here to watch the start.

Click on the picture to get some first-hand news about this year's race.























NEW YEAR SYDNEY FIREWORS DISPLAY

WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHY

... and more importantly what I want YOU to prepare for next week ;)


As you know I can't be in IJO tomorrow, which means I will not see Reds and Camels. Sorry gals :(

Please watch the video below, and pay attention to what people say about staying and defending their house, or leaving the property early.



The most important part begins around the 2 minute mark.

Then study the materials here:

1. Stay and Defend
2. Go Early
3. Do I Stay or Go?

Once you've done that, choose ONE topic, and prepare an informative POSTER (A4 or A3 format).

Include the most important information, preferably using visuals rather than text.

You can follow this link to create some warning signs online (and print them out later) --> Warning Sign Generator.

Have fun with it! :)


And here is the link to the presentation on FEDERATION. Let me know in the comments section if you have any problems accessing it.



NOW ATTENTION EVERYBODY!

For the classes next week I want each team to choose one of the topics below, and prepare a short presentation (up to 8 minutes). Please let me know which topic you're choosing in the comments.


GOLD RUSH - bagged by the Lazy Snakes (Thursday)

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF - goes to the mighty Camels (Friday) and Koalas (Thursday)

GENERAL GEOGRAPHY - Aborigines are taking this one (Thursday)

THE GREAT DIVIDING RANGE - taken by Reds (Friday) and Kangaroos (by default - Thursday)




useful links:
Australian Screen
Gold Rush
Great Barrier Reef
Great Dividing Range

The letter "F"

"At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve 1900, as the clock ticked into 1901 and the 20th century, whistles, gongs, church bells, rattles, pots, pans, accordions and all manner of noise-makers joined the sirens of boats on Sydney Harbour.

It was to be a special day"

Do you know what special day it was? No? Then go here to find out :-)

Let's hear more form the historians because it will lead us to other topics.

"Just after that midnight, a storm broke and winds gusting up to 50 miles an hour swept into Sydney. Forty points of rain drenched the harbour city.

But the New Year’s Day morning of 1901 broke clear and fine, and an eight-kilometre procession headed out to Centennial Park, just beyond Paddington, where the federation rites, uniting the erstwhile separate British colonies into one federal Commonwealth, finally took place."

Australian weather has never been easy on the settlers. Southern regions suffer from severe fires, while the North often faces tropical cyclones and floods.
Click the picture above to watch a heartbreaking account of Black Saturday - the 2009 Victorian Bushfires.
Click the picture below to learn more about the 2009 Queensland Flood.











You will find more information about floods clicking on the little poor fellow below.









We touched upon the topic of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia very briefly two weeks ago. This time we'll have a closer look at their work and importance for communities living in distant, remote areas of Australia.



















(click on the picture)

IMPORTANT: YOU WILL HAVE SOME PRACTICAL TASKS TO DO IN THE CLASS SO PLEASE BRING SOME COLOURED MARKERS! :-)