Showing posts with label Darwin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Darwin. Show all posts

The Great Ghan Rail Journey South to North

The Ghan, running from Adelaide to Darwin, is our most luxurious train. Its forerunners were the Afghan camel drivers. In 1840, drivers and their animals were introduced to transport goods, even pianos and furniture, to settlements of the great dry inland.  They were brought into  the country from Afghanistan because their home country’s climate was as hot and dry as Australia's. The camel drivers’ nationality was shortened to ‘Ghan’ and the route has been called by this name ever since.  
The Ghan australian train south to north
In 1860 24 camels were imported for the Burke and Wills expedition that was endeavouring to cross Australia from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. They reached the fringe of the Gulf in February 1861. However, Burke and Wills died on the way back south on the banks of Cooper Creek, just by a tree that has the word "dig" carved in its trunk. Provisions had been buried there for the explorers, but they failed to dig and died of malnutrition. This tree is now known as the Dig Tree and you can still read the inscription today.

The Ghan is a modern, fast passenger and freight train going all the way to Darwin. The section of the line from Alice Springs to Darwin is proving to be a great tourist attraction. The journey starts in Adelaide, South Australia. An important station midway on the route is Alice Springs, known as The Alice. It was named after Lady Alice Todd, the wife of Sir Charles Todd who was in charge of the building of the Overland Telegraph Line. The station at the northern end of the line is Darwin, named by the Captain of HMS Beagle in honor of Charles Darwin.
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Aboriginals Knew a Disaster Would Hit Darwin

White people just don't listen. They think they know everything and are better than black people. History shows that Europeans have believed in their superiority over Aboriginals, condemning their culture as nothing spectacular.

We do need to learn what we can from Aboriginals before all their practices are lost. Languages are disappearing as Aboriginals are westernized. Elders pass away and the traditions go with them. They know about the nature of the land, understanding things that we should record for posterity.

Evidence has been brought to light that Aboriginals left Darwin before Cyclone Tracy arrived. This is why none are seen in film footage. An Aboriginal woman Betty Pearce has come forward saying she was responsible. She travelled to Arnhem Land and went on to warn tribal people about the coming catastrophe. It was not clear in her mind what the specific disaster would be, but she knew something bad was about to happen.

She noticed something odd happening on her trip to Arnhem Land. Snakes and goannas were lying in the sun and not attacking each other. Goannas usually face the morning sun to warm their bodies up. Yet some were looking away from the sun. After seeing this she began a virtual pilgrimage to warn other Aboriginals to go home. Local people in Arnhem Land had known about the danger before she arrived.

After being told by elders to never speak of it openly, Betty finally decided to tell everyone black and white alike. After all, 40 years has passed since the cyclone and many had passed on due to old age. This knowledge is common sense really. Animals have developed senses which can identify subtle changes in the environment before a weather event. More research needs to be done on this.
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Platypus Ancestor Found

When a platypus specimen was first viewed in England it was a sensation, Many people including scientists said that it was a fake: it was a combination of parts from other animals. However, it did exist in the Australian niche where it evolved.

I should be noted that this was in an era when the English were still struggling with Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest. The majority of the population still believed that God created Man. The Garden of Eden was foremost in their minds.

Today, the platypus' existence is accepted without question. There has not been a lot of fossil evidence about how it came to be. Recently, this gap has been filled by a fossil of an ancient duck-billed marine reptile. Like most fossils which illuminate family trees it was found in China.

Eohupehsuchus brevicollis lived 248 million years ago. Only two other examples of this creature have been brought to light, both in other parts of China. Like the platypus it was small for its time. It lived in an inland sea.

While its body proportions were different from the platypus, clear parallels can be seen: a broad body, no teeth and paddle arms for swimming. Eohupehsuchus brevicollis had a very short neck like the platypus. The fossil is an excellent specimen for research being nearly complete. It has evidence of being attacked, though it did survive this and lived for some time afterwards. The animal was a survivor of the mass extinction of the Permian era 252 million years ago.
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Yowie Takes a Dog in Darwin

Australia's Bigfoot, the Yowie, has been causing problems. It seems it has taken and killed a dog. This has happened in Darwin. The owner of the seven-month old puppy says the head was ripped from its body. At first he thought it was done by dingoes. But a researcher, Andrew McGinn, says it was done by a hairy ape-like beast, a Yowie.

Goat owners in this area have seen their animals decapitated by a tall hairy creature for a hundred years, he says. It is a typical Yowie kill. A local woman saw a hairy humanoid in August 1997. Photographs of footprints were taken the next day.

If the Australian Yowie exists it is certainly very secretive. For hundreds of year there have been sightings. Yet no real evidence has been left, apart from footprints which can be made by anyone.
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