Archive for the ‘Historical Stuff’ Category

Originally Posted by STUNTgirls (Used with Permission)

 Big news today, hey? We have Australia’s first female Governor General Quentin Bryce swearing in our first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. 

It has been an amazing morning. The news broke via text message from the caucus meeting at Parliament House – a sitting MP sent a message to Samantha Maiden, journalist with the Australian.  The message simply said “G no ballot” meaning that Julia Gillard became PM without a vote – Kevin Rudd had stood down. 

This message was twittered so fast that it reached journalists almost immediately. Some were checking their phones outside Parliament House during the coverage and relayed the news back to the stunned nation.  We now have a new Prime Minister. 

So what happened?  How did we go from having Kevin Rudd as PM one day, and Julia Gillard as PM the next?  Well, there are factions within the party divided along ideological lines. The factions that once supported Rudd removed their support and gave it to Gillard, allowing her to challenge the leadership assured that she would have the numbers when it came to a caucus vote.  

Basically – the Labor Party thought she’d do a better job and asked her to go for it.  So she did.

Ms Julia Gillard – 27th Prime Minister of Australia

The Eureka Flag came about from a 1854 gold miner’s uprising in Victoria.

The Eureka Stockade was a short-lived revolt of the gold miners due to the ongoing harrassment from a corrupt police force where miners were asked to show their gold digging licenses several times a day as well as the high cost of these licenses. They were also fighting for equal laws and equal rights.

After a number of protests, the miners, headed by Peter Lalor built a stockade to defy the authorities. This is when the now instantly recognisable Eureka Flag came to be and was used.

Within a few days approximately 300 men had assembled to attack the stockade and within 15 minutes the stockade was destroyed and many of the rebels killed.

The Eureka Flag has since been widely adopted by a variety of people and causes as a symbol of protest.

We have the Eureka Flag on many different products in our store – Click here to view them.

Photo credit: wendishness

The shield is the focal point of the coat of arms, contained within is the badge of each Australian state. In the top half, from left to right, the states represented are: New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. In the bottom half, from left to right: South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania. Above the shield is the seven-pointed ‘Commonwealth Star’ or ‘Star of Federation’ above a blue and gold wreath, forming the crest. Six of the points on the star represent the original six states, while the seventh point represents the combined territories and any future states of Australia. In its entirety the shield represents the federation of Australia.

The Red Kangaroo and Emu that support the shield are the unofficial animal emblems of the nation. They owe this recognition not only to the fact that they are native Australian, (found only on that continent) but also to the mistaken belief that animals can not move backward, only forward – ie. progress (the reality being that both animals can, but infrequently do). In the background is wreath of Golden Wattle, the official national floral emblem, though the representation of the species is not botanically accurate. At the bottom of the coat of arms is a scroll that contains the name of the nation. Neither the wreath of wattle nor the scroll are technically part of the official design described on the Royal Warrant that grants the armorial design.

Coat of Arms on a 50 cent

Source: Wikipedia

Ned Kelly - Photo © wendishness. All rights reserved

Ned Kelly was found guilty of wilful murder and sentenced to execution by hanging. When Judge Barry declared the sentence, Ned responded, “I will go a little further than that and say I will see you there where I go”.

There was a petition for a reprieve organised with over 30,000 signatures but it did no good. Meanwhile Ned continued to write letters to explain his version of events and to ask for his mother’s release from gaol but nothing came of it.

November 11th 1880, Ned Kelly was executed by hanging at Melbourne Gaol; his last words were “Such is Life!”

One interesting fact is that 12 days later, the judge who sentenced him to death died also.

In 1881 there was a Royal Commission into the Kelly Outbreak which painted the police involved in the lead up to them being declared as outlaws in an unfavourable light though it didn’t excuse or condone the actions of the Kelly gang either! Regardless, it brought about major changes to the Victorian Police force which are still in effect today.

There has been much speculation about Ned Kelly and the Kelly gang over the years; even today they still make news headlines!

• Where are the remains of Ned Kelly and will he be given a proper burial?
• Where is Ned Kelly’s skull?
• Did Steve Hart and Dan Kelly actually escape?
• Did Ned Kelly get married?

Ned Kelly is firmly lodged in our psyche – love him or hate him, he will live on in one way or another as an outlaw but also a legend!

For me personally, I am a supporter. I certainly do not condone their actions BUT looking at the way events played out back then (or what we know of them) I believe Ned Kelly was mostly misunderstood. Circumstances beyond his control seemed to force his hand. No matter what wrong doings the Kelly Gang did, we also need to look at the Police of the time and see their part in the whole drama too.

Ned Kelly has been much written about over the years and of course there have been movies made about him, the first one made in 1905. Another one made in 1970 starred Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones as Ned and in 2003 Heath Ledger starred as Ned Kelly in the film of the same name. It’s been knocked by Kelly fans for being little more than a romanticised Hollywood attempt at history and inaccurate in parts, I couldn’t say as I haven’t seen it. My personal favourite was the 1980 mini-series ‘The Last Outlaw’ which seems to be the most accurately portrayed (as best as can be) version of events.

At Australian Native T-Shirts we have many fantastic Ned Kelly t-shirts, pewter figurines and buckles, stubby holders and other merchandise. These make great gifts for those admire Ned Kelly – the Legend!