History & Culture
They’ve come from electorates throughout the continent and worked at occupations as varied as coalminer, drover, doctor and solicitor. Sometimes revered, sometimes despised, 28 men and 1 woman – represented by their official portraits – have taken on the nation’s top job, often heralding and at other times following winds of change. Whether they served for eight days or 19 years, each took on the responsibility of being prime minister of Australia.
Science & Environment
Photographer Nick Cubbin has captured the detail and beauty of individual waterbird feathers as part of the University of New South Wales’ Feather Map of Australia project, which aims to trace waterbird movements by collecting stray feathers.
Science & Environment
American astronaut Scott Kelly colour-enhanced 17 images he took during a flyover of Australia aboard the International Space Station in October 2015. The results are painterly and abstract visions of the landscape. Try and guess the locations, or just enjoy the view.
History & Culture
Maralinga, South Australia, was blasted and battered by nuclear tests in the 1950s and ’60s. Officially known as Section 400, this 3300sq.km site was chosen as a permanent base to develop and explode atomic bombs. In 2009, the land was given back to its traditional owners, who have opened the gates to paying visitors.
Explore Maralinga through Thomas Wielecki’s photography, and read more about this odd tourist attraction in Bruce Newton’s feature in #AG133.
History & Culture
The annual 24-hour Australian International Pedal
Prix is the oldest, longest, largest and fastest human
powered vehicle (HPV) race in the world.
At Murray Bridge, riders who have gone head-to-head
in the shorter races during the UniSA Australian
HPV Super Series gather for one last, gruelling
battle. The 2015 competition attracted a staggering
225 teams – each with 8–20 riders – from almost
every corner of Australia.
Read more about the Pedal Prix in #AG133.
Wildlife
The Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition brings together exquisite images of wildlife and natural landscapes. This year there were over 42,000 entries, and two Australians made the final selection.
An exhibition of 100 photos will be on display at the Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney from 23 June 2016: find out more.
Destinations
Beginning 190,000 years ago, Undara Volcano in far north Queensland erupted, not with a bang but a long, seething gush of lava. Undara disgorged a colossal 23 cu.km of molten mayhem. It spread across the plains and filled ancient river valleys to the brim. Over time, the lava atop these deeper valleys cooled to form a dark, hard crust. Meanwhile, below decks, the liquid lava kept surging downstream. In essence, as it moved on, the lava fabricated its own insulated pipeline. By the time Undara was a spent force its farthest run had travelled 160km. In recent geology, no other single volcano on Earth has a longer lava flow. Visitors can see the remnants of the lava pipeline at Undara Volcanic National Park. Nearby the limestone formations of Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park and the distinct sandstone ravines of the region are also a delight to geology lovers.
History & Culture
Aussie food classics suggests that it’s the simpler things that take our fancy. Whether at a family Christmas feast at the height of a scorching Australian summer or barracking at a local footy match in the depths of winter, Australians enjoy foods that suit our laid-back lifestyle. Here are five sweet and five savoury Australian foods that will pluck at your Aussie heartstrings to remind you of days spent around the good old Australian backyard barbecue, lounging on the beach or simply the everyday.
History & Culture
In a dramatic series of photographs, Australian photographer Frank Hurley brings to life the tribulations of Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914-1916).