The Old Government House is a former "country" residence used by ten early governors of New South Wales between 1800 and 1847, located in Parramatta Park in Parramatta, New South Wales, now a suburb of Sydney. It is considered a property of national and international significance as an archaeological resource. It also serves to demonstrate how the British Empire expanded and Australian society has evolved since 1788.
In July 2010 Old Government House and Domain was inscribed on the World Heritage List as one of 11 Australian sites with a significant association with convict transportation (i.e. the Australian Convict Sites) which together represent "the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts" The land the property is situated on is named Darug land, home to the Burramatta tribe. There is evidence of Aboriginal occupation on the site, such as middens.
Built in 1799 the house is the oldest public building in Australia and the location of many eerie encounters. Lady Mary Fitzroy was killed in a carriage accident in the domain not far from the house in 1847. Legend has it her body was carried to the house and laid in the foyer. Superstition would have seen her feet facing the door and mirrors covered to stop her spirit from reentering the house or getting trapped.
There’s also the mysterious lady in blue who hovers on the landing and floats up and down the stairs. She has been seen my many guides and visitors with some believing she may be the ghost of Governor Bligh's daughter Mary and may be to blame for the upstairs bedroom door creaking open after being securely closed and locked for the night...
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Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to Sicily, Cyprus, southern Italy and the Aegean Islands. It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 1–2 metres, where suitable support is available. The leaves are pinnate with two leaflets and a terminal tendril, which twines around supporting plants and structures, helping the sweet pea to climb. In the wild plant the flowers are purple, 2–3.5 centimetres broad; they are larger and very variable in colour in the many cultivars. The annual species, L. odoratus, may be confused with the everlasting pea, L. latifolius, a perennial.
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Palaiokastritsa (Greek: Παλαιοκαστρίτσα meaning Old Castle place, referring to nearby Angelokastro) is a village in the North West of the island of Corfu. Palaiokastritsa has a land area of 48.379 km² and a population of 4,395 (2001 census) and is located on the west coast of Corfu just south of Angelokastro.
Corfu has been suggested to be the mythical island of the Phaeacians, and the bay of Palaiokastritsa to be the place where Odysseus disembarked and met Nausicaa for the first time. A rock in the sea just visible from the shore is considered by the locals to be the mythical petrified ship of Odysseus. The side of the rock toward the mainland is curved in such a way as to resemble the extended sail of a trireme. The monastery in Palaiokastritsa dates from 1225. There is a museum inside.
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The apple tree (Malus domestica) is a deciduous tree in the rose family (Rosaceae) best known for its sweet, pomaceous fruit, the apple. It is cultivated worldwide as a fruit tree, and is the most widely grown species in the genus Malus. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found today.
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Majorca, also spelt Mallorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands have been an autonomous region of Spain since 1983] The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca (in the municipality of Palma). The anthem of Majorca is La Balanguera.
Like the other Balearic Islands of Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, the island is an extremely popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from Germany and the United Kingdom. The international airport, Palma de Mallorca Airport, is one of the busiest in Spain; it was used by 26.3 million passengers in 2016. The name derives from Latin insula maior, "larger island"; later Maiorica, "the larger one" in comparison to Menorca, "the smaller one".
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The Chestnut Teal duck is darker and a slightly bigger bird than the Grey Teal. In flight, the wedge-shaped white patch on both the upperwing and underwing is obvious. The male Chestnut Teal has a white patch on the flank which can also be seen in flight. The male is a dark bird with a very dark glossy-green head.On the water, the Chestnut Teal is a small, dark duck which floats high.
The male has a glossy-green head and a white flank patch. The female and juvenile male are similar to the drab Grey Teal, but are darker and lack the white throat. Most common in brackish coastal lagoons, saltwater estuaries and the lower reaches of creeks around the coast, the Chestnut Teal is distributed in south-eastern and south-western Australia. Vagrants may occur elsewhere. Tasmania and southern Victoria are the species' stronghold.
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Icaria, also spelled Ikaria (Greek: Ικαρία), is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. According to tradition, it derives its name from Icarus, the son of Daedalus in Greek mythology, who was believed to have fallen into the sea nearby. Administratively, Icarian forms a separate municipality within the Ikaria regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Agios Kirykos. The historic capitals of the island include Oenoe and Evdilos (the latter shown here).
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Mesembryanthemum (meaning "midday flowering" in Greek) is a genus of flowering plants native to Southern Africa. Fig marigold or Icicle plant is a name for any of several South African taxa of Mesembryanthemum which are cultivated as ornamental plants for their showy pink or white flowers. "Pebble plant" or "Ice plant" are other but rather ambiguous common names, usually referring to other Aizoaceae.
The plant is characterised by long-lasting clusters of flower heads. Flowers of Mesembryanthemum protect their gametes from night-time dews or frosts but open in sunlight. There is an obvious evolutionary advantage to doing this; where sun, dew, frost, wind or predators are likely to damage exposed reproductive organs, closing may be advantageous during times when flowers are unlikely to attract pollinators.
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Hóra Sfakíon (Greek: Χώρα Σφακίων) or Sfakia (Σφακιά) is a town on the south coast of Crete, Greece. It is the capital of the remote and mountainous region of Sfakiá, and is a small town of just 265 inhabitants (2011 census). It lies on the south coast near the end of the Imbros Gorge, 74 km south of Chania. It has two small harbours, where the ferry boats from Agia Roumeli dock, which in the summer bring the hikers from the Samaria Gorge to take buses back to the northern coast. From Hóra Sfakíon ferries also go to the nearby coastal town of Loutro and the island Gavdos.
Hóra Sfakíon is a small village with a main harbourfront of tavernas, two minimarkets, a butcher, and a bakery. There is a quiet local beach immediately west of the village, and several pebbly beaches nearby. Hóra Sfakíon has a variety of tourist accommodations: rooms, studios, and apartments. The local economy is based on tourism, fishing, olive-oil production, and sheep and goat herding. Hóra Sfakíon prospered during the Venetian and Turkish occupations and up to the 18th century carried on a flourishing trade with its own small fleet. It was said to have had a hundred churches, but it suffered badly from wartime bombardment during the Battle of Crete and the Allied evacuation that followed.
Hóra Sfakíon is famous as one of the centres of resistance against the occupying forces of both the Venetians and the Turks. The impenetrable White Mountains to the north combined with the rocky beaches on the south helped the locals fight off all invaders. Anopolis, a village near Hóra Sfakíon, is the birthplace of one of the most celebrated Cretan revolutionaries, Daskalogiannis.
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