IRP Blog Post # 12

In this section, I cam across the subject of citizenship. The author explains that "until 1949 there was no such thing as Australian citizenship" (Bryson 157). I think this shows how far behind Australia is from the rest of the world. America was able to get away from the authority of Britain in teh 1700's, yet, for Australia they have been up until recently, still under the wing of Britain. Australians still pledged allegiance to Britain, and went to war in her name. Bryson talked about the Immigration Museum he visited.

This picture is of the museum Bryson visited.









This picture is of an Australia Citizenship certificate.









This is the website for Australia Citizenship:

http://www.citizenship.gov.au/

IRP Blog Post # 11

"... I concluded that Australia was of essentially zero interest and did not actively think about it again for thirty years.... But this was nothing like that....it was so totally not what I had expected" (Bryson 145-146).

This quote descibes the judgements Bryson had about Australia. He never imagined he would end up liking Australia, or having any interest in it at all. He pictured it to be much like Southern California. Yet, when he arrived for the first time he was shocked and fell in love with the country.

I picked this quote, because I never expected Bryson to not be interested in Australia at any point in his life. His story gives me the image that its his second home and there's no place else he would rather be. Also, I liked this quote because it shows the theme, that people need to open their eyes and experience new things; one cannot just judge something before trying it. I think this quote gives the reader the message of how important it is to go outside your comfort zone and experience new places when you get the chance.

IRP Blog Post # 10

In this last section, Bill described the death of one of the Prime Ministers, Harold Holt. Bryson described the December 1967 day, when Holt waded into the surf at Cheviot Beach. He knew the dangers of these waters, and yet proceeded to dive right in. Instantly he vanished, and his body was never to be found.

I thought this little piece of history was insane. It seems so strange that a man in such high power could have just vanished. I decided to research more on Cheviot Beach and discovered this video. It documents a journey to the Holt Memorial.

I think it is sad that Holt's body just vanished, never to be seen again, yet, he should have known the dangers. Bryson explains that the only unusual thing about his death was that he was the prime minister. I thought this was scary because it just shows me how dangerous and unpredictable Australia can be.

IRP Blog Post #9

" You could see it in the easy, confident gait and sun-drenched smiles of the vacationers in every photograph. These people were happy. I don't mean they were happy. They were happy. They were living at a good time in a lucky country adn they knew it....In the 1950s Australia was probably the least confident nation in the English-speaking world.(Bryson 122).

" These days, it is true, in terms of gross dollars accumulated per head, Australia is no longer near the top. It comes in at number 21, in fact. But I ask you, which would you rather be- third richest and thrilled because you have an electric jug and at least one radio, or twenty-first richest and living in a world where you can have everything a person could reasonably want?" (Bryson 128-129).

This two qutoes describe the happiness of the people in Australia. I think the first one is intersting because even though they were the third richest country in the 1950s, they were the lease confident. Also, I like how Bryson put the two different times in perspective. Although they may not be one of the top richest countries in the world, the people are happy and live in a country full of beauty and wonder.

IRP Blog Post #8

" They were packed with large family groups enjoying Australia Day, picnicking and playing cricket with tennis balls. Adelaide has miles of good beaches in its western suburbs, so it surprised me that such numbers of people had forsaken teh shore to come into the city...It seemed odd, too- but again pleasing- that in a country of so much space people chose to crowd together to relax." (Bryson 125).

Bryson describes Australia Day, which was occuring during his time in Adelaide. He compared it to his childhood memories of celebrating the 4th of July. I decided to further research it, and discovered the above pictures. I also found the website for Australia Day, with videos, pictures and information about the celebration.

I think the last line in the above quote is inspiring. I find it interesting that even though the people in Adelaide have so much space to have their own celebration, they chose to spend it in the parks, surrounded by one another.


http://www.australiaday.org.au/experience/

IRP Blog Post # 7

In this section of my reading, there was a passage about a young man Thomas Austin who released 24 imported rabbits from England into the Australian wild in 1859. The passage describes how the rabbits eventually ruined the land and livestock, since there was no predator of a rabbit, the species multiplied rapidly. Until, a virus, myxomatosis was introduced to Austrailia.

" The weapon deployed against teh rabbits was a miracle virus from South America called myxomatosis. Harmless to humans and other animals, it was phenomenally devastating to rabbits, with a mortality rate of 99.9 percent....It took a while for things to get rolling, but today Australia's rabbit numbers are back up to 300 million and climbing fast." (Bryson 112).


I was intersted in this virus and decided to research it and find out what made it so deadly to rabbits. This link provides information about the virus and how it is spread, as well as symptoms of the virus.


http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=18+1803&aid=3422

IRP Blog Post #6

http://www.pictureaustralia.org/apps/pictureaustralia;jsessionid=F97B707CD9F93028948449043B731A43?action=PADisplay&mode=display&rs=resultset-4753931&no=2

This website describes the lethal goblin fish. Bill discusses how he read about this deadly fish in Jan Morris's book, "Sydney". He explains how he never heard about this species of fish until this book. Yet, he describes that in such a vast country like Ausdtralia it is nearly impossible to know all the dangers that lurk in the waters of this country.

I found this interesting because it demonstrates how big our world is. It seems that we are secluded in the world of our own lives, and we do not even know what is around us. It's strange to think that we live in a world and we might never encounter something, yet someone across the globe lives with it daily.