Just before dawn on the morning of December 3,
1854, the Eureka Lead on Ballarat’s goldfields
erupted in violence. Soldiers and police were
pitted against miners demanding their rights. The
rebellion would be quashed but the consequences
would be momentous. Corruption and abuses of power
were exposed and cast aside as the people of
Victoria embraced democracy.
The idea of flying like the birds in the sky was a
fantasy until the men of science began unlocking
the mysteries of the universe in the 15th century.
Innovation was then needed but by the end of the
first decade of the twentieth century men and
machines were taking to the air successfully in
Europe, America and Australia.
War had an enormous impact on aircraft development. Aircraft quickly became the deadliest of weapons and when the hostilities were over the pilots and machines formed the basis of a fledgling air transport industry.
The need to go faster and travel longer distances saw records set and broken. Attention to safety and passenger comfort allowed air travel to become a viable alternative to road and rail within Australia and sea travel internationally and put Australia in the forefront of the airline industry in the world.
War had an enormous impact on aircraft development. Aircraft quickly became the deadliest of weapons and when the hostilities were over the pilots and machines formed the basis of a fledgling air transport industry.
The need to go faster and travel longer distances saw records set and broken. Attention to safety and passenger comfort allowed air travel to become a viable alternative to road and rail within Australia and sea travel internationally and put Australia in the forefront of the airline industry in the world.
The lustre which drew mankind to gold in ancient
times has made it the most prized commodity
throughout time. Wars have been fought over it, and
civilisations have been subjugated and enslaved in
the rush to control its sources. In places like
Australia, though, the mere possibility of its
existence was feared while the country remained a
penal colony. Once found though the rush could not
be contained.
Gold financed great building, paved roads and made Melbourne the most exciting and expensive city in the world for a time. It was stockpiled in banks, and the currencies of nations were valued against it until the twentieth century wars and the Great Depression brought an end to its use as a standard. Its importance as a measure of individual prestige has continues unabated driving prospectors and miners to search for new deposits and to find better means of extracting it from old mines.
Gold financed great building, paved roads and made Melbourne the most exciting and expensive city in the world for a time. It was stockpiled in banks, and the currencies of nations were valued against it until the twentieth century wars and the Great Depression brought an end to its use as a standard. Its importance as a measure of individual prestige has continues unabated driving prospectors and miners to search for new deposits and to find better means of extracting it from old mines.
At the beginning of 2006, Exisle Publishing
enlisted the skills of a handful of history writers
to produce a series of easy to read histories
designed for general public reading. They provide
an overview of key events, people or places in
Australian history and culture in small bright
hardcover volumes ideal for the home, school or
library bookshelf. Jill has written four of the
volumes to date. .
