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A LESSON IN LAMINGTONS!!!

May 11th 2009 09:19
The chocolate Lamington is as Australian as meat pies, kangaroos and Holdens. (Who else remembers that song/chant from way back when - "Football, meat-pies, kangaroos and Holden cars...?")

For years lamingtons have been a way of putting stale or over-cooked sponge cake to good use, but where did it actually start?

Lamington
The story goes that the humble lamington was created as the result of an accident by a maid servant on the staff of Lord Lamington, the 8th Governor of Queensland.

While working at Government House in Brisbane, he maid-servant accidentally dropped the Governor's favourite sponge cake into some melted chocolate. Lord Lamington was not a man to waste food and suggested it then be dipped in coconut to avoid getting chocolatey fingers.

According to Hansard, in 1998, an elected delegate by the name of Paul Tully, suggested that from his research on the previous Australian Governors, the colonies and states had produced evidence of only "one, single, solitary, positive achievement of any Governor since the First Fleet arrived in 1788" - Lord Lamington's creation of the lamington.
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Santa Claus/ Father Christmas/ St Nicholas/ Kris Kringle, whatever name you call him, this is one man of which it can be said he has many names.

Depending on the country you're in, he could very well be called more than one name. In Australia he's usually referred to as Santa Claus, but occasionally other names pop up.

[ Click here to read more ]
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ANZAC DAY

April 25th 2007 00:20
Anzac Day
Australia and New Zealand commemorate the ANZAC Day holiday on 25 April every year to remember members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who landed and fell at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

The commemoration begins with a dawn service.

[ Click here to read more ]
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I'm sure most (if not all) of you have cottoned onto the real story behind yesterdays post. Indeed there is nothing actually wrong with the skywalk. (Yes, it is real the only fabrication was the closing down again part.) So after yesterdays post I thought enlighten you with some other April fools day pranks of the past.

* The Guardian printed a supplement in 1977 praising the location of a fictional resort - San Serriffe, its two main islands (Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse), its capital (Bodoni), and its leader (General Pica). Intrigued readers were later disappointed to learn that San Serriffe (sans serif) did not exist except as references to typeface terminology.
[ Click here to read more ]
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Previous Daylight Saving Time Issues

March 23rd 2007 00:25
With Daylight Saving Time ending this weekend for some states of Australia, (That’s right boys and girls – be prepared to put your watches and clocks BACKWARDS one hour.)
daylight savings clock
I thought I’d remind you all of some relevant mishaps that can be found at webexhibits.org.
These are occasions when Daylight Saving Time caused slightly more than an issue or two due to the actual changing of the time.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Sydney Harbour Bridge
The spectacular Sydney Harbour Bridge is turning 75 this weekend, the 19th of March to be precise. To this day it is still the world's largest steel, single span, arched bridge.

Standing at 135 metres above sea level and 1149 metres long, and at an approximate weight of 39,000 tonnes, the old Coathanger has earned itself a place in the heart of every Australian and every tourist that has ever had the opportunity to visit it.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Even More Australian Facts

February 20th 2007 00:25
Parliament House, Canberra
* In 1977, Alan Jones scored a surprise victory in the Austrian Grand Prix. Initially officials were going to play the Austrian anthem but then realised that Australia and Austria were not the same country. Unfortunately, they didn't have the Australian anthem so instead a local drunk played "Happy Birthday to You" on a trumpet.

* In 1983, the yacht "Australia II" ended the Americans 132 year dominance of the America's cup.

[ Click here to read more ]
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