Journal articles on the topic 'Railroad and state – New South Wales – Sydney'

In New South Wales, the State Disaster Welfare Plan provides the structure for disaster relief and the co-ordination of both government and non-government bodies. The plan provides for a Personal Services and Welfare Information subcommittee in each regional or local area, responsible for assistance to individuals, groups and communities. This can be of a personal (e.g. counselling, referral) and information (e.g. dissemination, publicity, meetings) nature. Separate subcommittees are responsible for accommodation, clothing, catering and registration in the immediate post-disaster phase.The New South Wales Government also provides assistance to families who have suffered material losses in bushfires or floods, though a Relief Scheme, administered by the Department of Youth and Community Services and the Bushfire/Flood Relief Committee. The department is divided into ten regions throughout the state.

AbstractThis article examines debates over Chinese indentured labor in the Australasian colonies at the height of the gold rushes. It does so through the testimony of Chinese gold miners who protested the seizure of their gold by customs officials in Sydney Harbour. As a result of these protests, a “New South Wales Select Committee into the Seizure of Gold from Chinese Miners” was established in 1857 to investigate customs law and “coolie” rights. The findings of this committee uncovered Chinese and white settler memories over failed coolie transportation schemes, revealing the ways in which the legacies of coolie migration continued to shape understandings in the Australian colonies of law, labor rights, and fair taxation well after the cessation of such schemes in the 1840s. The archive of Chinese grievance against the colonial state, preserved in testimonies given to the select committee, reveal the long shadow of slavery in the British Empire, the complexities of multiracial communities, and the role of law and legal institutions in shaping both.

The New South Wales State Government has embarked on a multi-billion dollar programme of pollution abatement in Sydney, The socio-economic and political factors which have prompted this are described, These illustrate the complexities of dealing with pollution problems while social values alter, public organisations experience administrative change and financial pressures, and politicians try to balance environmental and economic objectives, The technical progress of the Sydney initiatives to reduce storm water runoff and sewer overflow pollution is also outlined.

Abstract Rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems are becoming more popular to reduce pressure on mains water as well as to serve as a sole freshwater supply system in rural areas. Australia is a large continent with highly variable rainfall and hence performance of a RWH system varies from location to location. This paper presents reliability and water-saving potential of a RWH system in three major cities namely Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong of New South Wales (NSW) State of Australia. A python-based daily water balance model is built to analyse the performance of a RWH system, which uses rainfall, loss, water demand and roof catchment data. To enable selection of ideal rainwater tank size for the selected locations, three different water uses (toilet and laundry, irrigation, and combined use) and five tank sizes (1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 kL) are considered. It is found that the rainwater tank size is influenced by roof area, number of users, water demand and rainfall characteristics. This study will help in decision-making regarding implementation of a RWH system in these Australian cities. This research also contributes towards achieving water related sustainable development goals (SDG).

Although viviparity (live-bearing) has evolved from oviparity (egg-laying) more frequently in squamate reptiles than in any other vertebrate lineage, there are few well-documented cases of taxa that either (i) exhibit a ‘transitional’ reproductive state (i.e. with a reproductive mode intermediate between ‘normal’ oviparity and viviparity) or (ii) contain both oviparous and viviparous populations within the same species. Although rare, such taxa offer exceptional opportunities to test hypotheses concerning the evolution of viviparity in reptiles. Our data show that the scincid lizard Saiphos equalis displays both of the characteristics listed above. These small semi-fossorial skinks from south-eastern Australia exhibit geographic variation in reproductive mode, and some populations show an ‘intermediate’ mode. We examined the reproductive mode of Saiphos equalis over the geographic range of the species using preserved museum specimens, and we gathered detailed information on reproductive output of captive lizards collected from a high-elevation site (Riamukka, in the northern highlands of New South Wales) and from a coastal area (Sydney, southern New South Wales). Lizards from Riamukka were viviparous (i.e. they produced fully formed young enclosed in membranous sacs), whereas Sydney lizards produced incompletely developed embryos inside partially calcified eggshells. Incubation periods of the eggs from Sydney lizards were very brief (5.5 1.7 days v. >35 days in sympatric oviparous skinks), indicating that oviparous S. equalis represent a true evolutionary intermediate between ‘normal’ oviparity and viviparity.

Dust storms originating from Central Australia and western New South Wales frequently cause high particle concentrations at many sites across New South Wales, both inland and along the coast. This study focussed on a dust storm event in February 2019 which affected air quality across the state as detected at many ambient monitoring stations in the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) air quality monitoring network. The WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecast Model—Chemistry) model is used to study the formation, dispersion and transport of dust across the state of New South Wales (NSW, Australia). Wildfires also happened in northern NSW at the same time of the dust storm in February 2019, and their emissions are taken into account in the WRF-Chem model by using Fire Inventory from NCAR (FINN) as emission input. The model performance is evaluated and is shown to predict fairly accurate the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration as compared to observation. The predicted PM2.5 concentration over New South Wales during 5 days from 11 to 15 February 2019 is then used to estimate the impact of the February 2019 dust storm event on three health endpoints, namely mortality, respiratory and cardiac disease hospitalisation rates. The results show that even though as the daily average of PM2.5 over some parts of the state, especially in western and north western NSW near the centre of the dust storm and wild fires, are very high (over 900 µg/m3), the population exposure is low due to the sparse population. Generally, the health impact is similar in order of magnitude to that caused by biomass burning events from wildfires or from hazardous reduction burnings (HRBs) near populous centres such as in Sydney in May 2016. One notable difference is the higher respiratory disease hospitalisation for this dust event (161) compared to the fire event (24).

In 1985 a Mood Disorders Unit (MDU) was established at Prince Henry Hospital in Sydney as a clinical research module, linked with the psychiatric department of the University of New South Wales. There were three general objectives: first, to provide a specialized state-wide clinical service for the assessment and management of those with affective disorders, particularly treatment-resistant depression; secondly, to make a research contribution; and thirdly, to serve as an academic centre for teaching and training of undergraduate and postgraduate students from a variety of disciplines.

The present text traces the post war slum clearance program in Sydney, Australia, that saw the construction of modern blocks of flats drawn from international examples of rehousing schemes. This State-funded urban renewal program continued from the late 1940s until the 1980s. Many of the blocks of flats are slated for demolition, yet no overall assessment of their design quality or detailed discussion of the range of building forms or apartment layouts has been undertaken. There is a danger that these well-designed blocks will vanish rather than be retrofitted and that this unparalleled demonstration of modern housing progress by the State of New South Wales will be incomplete.

cinereus) in Yengo National Park and Parr State Recreation Area, which together form a major reserve system where P. cinereus were known to be scarce. The first, a community survey which was distributed to 823 residences adjoining the reserves, yielded 139 responses. Of these, 31 responses provided information that allowed 26 P. cinereus locality records to be verified. A further eight P. cinereus locality records were obtained from interviews with neighbours. Most records were road-based. The second, a field survey based on scat searches, produced an additional 13 P. cinereus localities. P. cinereus scats were found under 11 tree species. Eucalyptus punctata was most frequently recorded with scats of those that were adequately sampled. A range of vegetation types and both ridges and gullies were used by P. cinereus. During field surveys, P. cinereus was found to be sparse and occurring throughout much of the survey area, concentrated in the eastern, southern and central parts of the reserve system. Both methods identified P. cinereus to be present before and after the extensive fires of January 1994, which burnt 60 % of the area. An appraisal of the methods revealed that they are complementary. The survey of residents provided recent and historical information and an indication of initial search areas for P. cinereus. The field survey yielded specific information about local P. cinereus habitat. The combination increased the number of P. cinereus records for the area more than four-fold. This study has provided the reserve managers with a clearer picture of the location of the local P. cinereus population.

In late 1853, a small number of unclaimed boxes containing the worldly possessions of the missing explorer Ludwig Leichhardt were deposited at the Australian Museum, Sydney. An estimated 137 volumes of Leichhardt's books and pamphlets were stored alongside his manuscripts, field notes, seed specimens and scientific instruments. While the manuscripts have proved invaluable to those researching the life and work of Leichhardt, his books have lain forgotten and virtually irretrievable in the collections of the State Library of New South Wales and the Australian Museum Research Library. A significant proportion of the library has now been identified and its contents listed and described for the first time, providing new insight into Leichhard's intellectual background and interests.

Recently, I wandered into a substantial research library in downtown Sydney – the State Library of New South Wales. A moment prior, I had been evading cars, listening unwillingly to city noises. The next moment, I was inside the library: elegance, peace, stillness – books enveloping me. The library's reading room: an imposing collection, especially of non-fiction. So I sat; I pondered; and I raised my eyes to the surrounding walls of books. Calmness for a while; until suddenly I was troubled. A fundamental philosophical problem about the nature of that room had crept into my mind. Here is the story of my collision with that problem – and of how I tried to resolve it.

The Australian endemic humicolous and hygropetric water beetle genus Tympanogaster Perkins, 1979, is revised, based on the study of 7,280 specimens. The genus is redescribed, and redescriptions are provided for T. cornuta (Janssens), T. costata (Deane), T. deanei Perkins, T. macrognatha (Lea), T. novicia (Blackburn), T. obcordata (Deane), T. schizolabra (Deane), and T. subcostata (Deane). Lectotypes are designated for Ochthebius labratus Deane, 1933, and Ochthebius macrognathus Lea, 1926. Ochthebius labratus Deane, 1933, is synonymized with Ochthebius novicius Blackburn, 1896. Three new subgenera are described: Hygrotympanogaster new subgenus (type species Tympanogaster (Hygrotympanogaster) maureenae new species; Topotympanogaster new subgenus (type species Tympanogaster (Topotympanogaster) crista new species; and Plesiotympanogaster new genus (type species Tympanogaster (Plesiotympanogaster) thayerae new species. Seventy-six new species are described, and keys to the subgenera, species groups, and species are given. High resolution digital images of all primary types are presented (online version in color), and geographic distributions are mapped. Male genitalia, representative spermathecae and representative mouthparts are illustrated. Scanning electron micrographs of external morphological characters of adults and larvae are presented. Selected morphological features of the other members of the subtribe Meropathina, Meropathus Enderlein and Tympallopatrum Perkins, are illustrated and compared with those of Tympanogaster. Species of Tympanogaster are typically found in the relict rainforest patches in eastern Australia. Most species have very limited distributions, and relict rainforest patches often have more than one endemic species. The only species currently known from the arid center of Australia, T. novicia, has the widest distribution pattern, ranging into eastern rainforest patches. There is a fairly close correspondence between subgenera and microhabitat preferences. Members of Tympanogaster (s. str.) live in the splash zone, usually on stream boulders, or on bedrock stream margins. The majority of T. (Hygrotympanogaster) species live in the hygropetric zone at the margins of waterfalls, or on steep rockfaces where water is continually trickling; a few rare species have been collected from moss in Nothofagus rainforests. Species of T. (Plesiotympanogaster) have been found in both hygropetric microhabitats and in streamside moss. The exact microhabitats of T. (Topotympanogaster) are unknown, but the morphology of most species suggests non-aquatic habits; most specimens have been collected in humicolous microhabitats, by sifting rainforest debris, or were taken in flight intercept traps. Larvae of hygropetric species are often collected with adults. These larvae have tube-like, dorsally positioned, mesothoracic spiracles that allow the larvae to breathe while under a thin film of water. The key morphological differences between larvae of Tympanogaster (s. str.) and those of Tympanogaster (Hygrotympanogaster) are illustrated. New species of Tympanogaster are: T. (s. str.) aldinga (New South Wales, Dorrigo National Park, Rosewood Creek), T. (s. str.) amaroo (New South Wales, Back Creek, downstream of Moffatt Falls), T. (s. str.) ambigua (Queensland, Cairns), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) arcuata (New South Wales, Kara Creek, 13 km NEbyE of Jindabyne), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) atroargenta (Victoria, Possum Hollow falls, West branch Tarwin River, 5.6 km SSW Allambee), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) barronensis (Queensland, Barron Falls, Kuranda), T. (s. str.) bluensis (New South Wales, Blue Mountains), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) bondi (New South Wales, Bondi Heights), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) bryosa (New South Wales, New England National Park), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) buffalo (Victoria, Mount Buffalo National Park), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) canobolas (New South Wales, Mount Canobolas Park), T. (s. str.) cardwellensis (Queensland, Cardwell Range, Goddard Creek), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) cascadensis (New South Wales, Cascades Campsite, on Tuross River), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) clandestina (Victoria, Grampians National Park, Golton Gorge, 7.0 km W Dadswells Bridge), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) clypeata (Victoria, Grampians National Park, Golton Gorge, 7.0 km W Dadswells Bridge), T. (s. str.) cooloogatta (New South Wales, New England National Park, Five Day Creek), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) coopacambra (Victoria, Beehive Falls, ~2 km E of Cann Valley Highway on 'WB Line'), T. (Topotympanogaster) crista (Queensland, Mount Cleveland summit), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) cudgee (New South Wales, New England National Park, 0.8 km S of Pk. Gate), T. (s. str.) cunninghamensis (Queensland, Main Range National Park, Cunningham's Gap, Gap Creek), T. (s. str.) darlingtoni (New South Wales, Barrington Tops), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) decepta (Victoria, Mount Buffalo National Park), T. (s. str.) dingabledinga (New South Wales, Dorrigo National Park, Rosewood Creek, upstream from Coachwood Falls), T. (s. str.) dorrigoensis (New South Wales, Dorrigo National Park, Rosewood Creek, upstream from Coachwood Falls), T. (Topotympanogaster) dorsa (Queensland, Windin Falls, NW Mount Bartle-Frere), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) duobifida (Victoria, 0.25 km E Binns, Hill Junction, adjacent to Jeeralang West Road, 4.0 km S Jeerelang), T. (s. str.) eungella (Queensland, Finch Hatton Gorge), T. (Topotympanogaster) finniganensis (Queensland, Mount Finnigan summit), T. (s. str.) foveova (New South Wales, Border Ranges National Park, Brindle Creek), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) grampians (Victoria, Grampians National Park, Epacris Falls, 2.5 km WNW Halls Gap), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) gushi (New South Wales, Mount Canobolas Park), T. (s. str.) hypipamee (Queensland, Mount Hypipamee National Park, Barron River headwaters below Dinner Falls), T. (s. str.) illawarra (New South Wales, Macquarie Rivulet Falls, near Wollongong), T. (Topotympanogaster) intricata (Queensland, Mossman Bluff Track, 5–10 km W Mossman), T. (s. str.) jaechi (Queensland, Running Creek, along road between Mount Chinghee National Park and Border Ranges National Park), T. (Topotympanogaster) juga (Queensland, Mount Lewis summit), T. kuranda (Queensland, Barron Falls, Kuranda), T. (s. str.) lamingtonensis (Queensland, Lamington National Park, Lightening Creek), T. (s. str.) magarra (New South Wales, Border Ranges National Park, Brindle Creek), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) maureenae (New South Wales, Back Creek, Moffatt Falls, ca. 5 km W New England National Park boundary), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) megamorpha (Victoria, Possum Hollow falls, W br. Tarwin River, 5.6 km SSW Allambee), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) merrijig (Victoria, Merrijig), T. (s. str.) millaamillaa (Queensland, Millaa Millaa), T. modulatrix (Victoria, Talbot Creek at Thomson Valley Road, 4.25 km WSW Beardmore), T. (Topotympanogaster) monteithi (Queensland, Mount Bartle Frere), T. moondarra (New South Wales, Border Ranges National Park, Brindle Creek), T. (s. str.) mysteriosa (Queensland), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) nargun (Victoria, Deadcock Den, on Den of Nargun Creek, Mitchell River National Park), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) newtoni (Victoria, Mount Buffalo National Park), T. (s. str.) ovipennis (New South Wales, Dorrigo National Park, Rosewood Creek, upstream from Coachwood Falls), T. (s. str.) pagetae (New South Wales, Back Creek, downstream of Moffatt Falls), T. (Topotympanogaster) parallela (Queensland, Mossman Bluff Track, 5–10 km W Mossman), T. (s. str.) perpendicula (Queensland, Mossman Bluff Track, 5–10 km W Mossman), T. plana (Queensland, Cape Tribulation), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) porchi (Victoria, Tarra-Bulga National Park, Tarra Valley Road, 1.5 km SE Tarra Falls), T. (s. str.) precariosa (New South Wales, Leycester Creek, 4 km. S of Border Ranges National Park), T. (s. str.) protecta (New South Wales, Leycester Creek, 4 km. S of Border Ranges National Park), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) punctata (Victoria, Mount Buffalo National Park, Eurobin Creek), T. (s. str.) ravenshoensis (Queensland, Ravenshoe State Forest, Charmillan Creek, 12 km SE Ravenshoe), T. (s. str.) robinae (New South Wales, Back Creek, downstream of Moffatt Falls), T. (s. str.) serrata (Queensland, Natural Bridge National Park, Cave Creek), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) spicerensis (Queensland, Spicer’s Peak summit), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) storeyi (Queensland, Windsor Tableland), T. (Topotympanogaster) summa (Queensland, Mount Elliott summit), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) tabula (New South Wales, Mount Canobolas Park), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) tallawarra (New South Wales, Dorrigo National Park, Rosewood Creek, Cedar Falls), T. (s. str.) tenax (New South Wales, Salisbury), T. (Plesiotympanogaster) thayerae (Tasmania, Liffey Forest Reserve at Liffey River), T. (s. str.) tora (Queensland, Palmerston National Park), T. trilineata (New South Wales, Sydney), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) truncata (Queensland, Tambourine Mountain), T. (s. str.) volata (Queensland, Palmerston National Park, Learmouth Creek, ca. 14 km SE Millaa Millaa), T. (Hygrotympanogaster) wahroonga (New South Wales, Wahroonga), T. (s. str.) wattsi (New South Wales, Blicks River near Dundurrabin), T. (s. str.) weiri (New South Wales, Allyn River, Chichester State Forest), T. (s. str.) wooloomgabba (New South Wales, New England National Park, Five Day Creek).

This article investigates the relationship between industrial heritage and regional identity during deindustrialization in three Australian regions. Newcastle, in the state of New South Wales (NSW), was a coal-mining and steel-production center located north of Sydney. Wollongong, also in NSW, was a coal-mining and steel-production region centered around Port Kembla, near the town of Wollongong. The Latrobe Valley was a brown coal-mining and electricity-production center east of Melbourne. All regions display a limited profile for industrial heritage within their formal policies and representations. In Newcastle and Wollongong, the adoption of the language of the postindustrial city has limited acknowledgement of the industrial past, while the Latrobe Valley’s industrial heritage is increasingly framed by concerns over current economic challenges and climate change.

The Key Centre for Mines International, University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia undertook professional development mining education and cooperation training study tours for overseas government fellows and groups as well as private mining companies from 1988 – 2010. During the technical environmental development short courses at the university and visits to Australian mines and government offices, the programs also covered important social and sustainable aspects as well as relevant briefings on government mining law and regulations, industry’s best practice and community engagement. Details are presented for two major successful international cooperation Indian projects, a World Bank mine environment program in 2004 for state government officials and a TATA Steel Limited coal and iron mine executives and managers training program in 2010. Received: 21 April 2022 / Accepted: 30 June 2022 / Published: 5 July 2022

AbstractWorld Youth Day 2008 was held in Sydney, Australia in July 2008. New South Wales (NSW) Health, the government health provider in Australia's most populous state, worked with partner agencies to provide medical services via on-site medical units at key event venues.A post-event review of medical records from the on-site medical units indicated 465 patient presentations, comprised largely of infectious respiratory symptoms and general health concerns of a primary care nature. Providing on-site health services is considered an important risk-mitigation action for many mass gatherings, especially those that generate a substantial temporary population of participants and take place over a number of days.TynerSE,HennessyL,CoombsLJ,FizzellJ.Analysis of presentations to on-site medical units during World Youth Day 2008.Prehosp Disaster Med.2012;27(6):1-6.

Biomass burnings either due to Hazards Reduction Burnings (HRBs) in late autumn and early winter or bushfires during summer periods in various part of the world (e.g., CA, USA or New South Wales, Australia) emit large amount of gaseous pollutants and aerosols. The emissions, under favourable meteorological conditions, can cause elevated atmospheric particulate concentrations in metropolitan areas and beyond. One of the pollutants of concern is black carbon (BC), which is a component of aerosol particles. BC is harmful to health and acts as a radiative forcing agent in increasing the global warming due to its light absorption properties. Remote sensing data from satellites have becoming increasingly available for research, and these provide rich datasets available on global and local scale as well as in situ aethalometer measurements allow researchers to study the emission and dispersion pattern of BC from anthropogenic and natural sources. The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) in New South Wales (NSW) has installed recently from 2014 to 2019 a total of nine aethalometers to measure BC in its state-wide air quality network to determine the source contribution of BC and PM2.5 (particulate Matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter) in ambient air from biomass burning and anthropogenic combustion sources. This study analysed the characteristics of spatial and temporal patterns of black carbon (BC) in New South Wales and in the Greater Metropolitan Region (GMR) of Sydney, Australia, by using these data sources as well as the trajectory HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) modelling tool to determine the source of high BC concentration detected at these sites. The emission characteristics of BC in relation to PM2.5 is dependent on the emission source and is analysed using regression analysis of BC with PM2.5 time series at the receptor site for winter and summer periods. The results show that, during the winter, correlation between BC and PM2.5 is found at nearly all sites while little or no correlation is detected during the summer period. Traffic vehicle emission is the main BC emission source identified in the urban areas but was less so in the regional sites where biomass burnings/wood heating is the dominant source in winter. The BC diurnal patterns at all sites were strongly influenced by meteorology.

Snapper Chrysophrys auratus is a high-value food fish in Australia targeted by both commercial and recreational fisheries. Along the east coast of Australia, fisheries are managed under four state jurisdictions (Queensland, Qld; New South Wales, NSW; Victoria, Vic.; and Tasmania, Tas.), each applying different regulations, although it is thought that the fisheries target the same biological stock. An allozyme-based study in the mid-1990s identified a weak genetic disjunction north of Sydney (NSW) questioning the single-stock hypothesis. This study, focused on east-coast C. auratus, used nine microsatellite markers to assess the validity of the allozyme break and investigated whether genetic structure exists further south. Nine locations were sampled spanning four states and over 2000km, including sites north and south of the proposed allozyme disjunction. Analyses confirmed the presence of two distinct biological stocks along the east coast, with a region of genetic overlap around Eden in southern NSW, ~400km south of the allozyme disjunction. The findings indicate that C. auratus off Vic. and Tas. are distinct from those in Qld and NSW. For the purpose of stock assessment and management, the results indicate that Qld and NSW fisheries are targeting a single biological stock.A

Objectives: In Australia, HIV notification rates in homosexual men, previously much higher in New South Wales, have become similar across the eastern states. We examined whether trends in HIV prevalence in community-based samples of homosexual men were consistent with the trends in HIV notifications. Methods: We examined data on self-reported HIV status from annual cross-sectional, self-completed anonymous surveys of homosexual men conducted between 1998 and 2006 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Men were recruited at gay community venues, clinics and large gay community events. We calculated age-specific and age-standardised HIV prevalence rates. Comparisons of HIV prevalence between the three cities and across time were carried out using age-specific rates, and using logistic regression, controlling for age. Results: Men recruited from clinics had a much higher prevalence of HIV (P < 0.001) and were excluded from further analyses. Among the 50 239 completed questionnaires obtained at non-clinic sites, there was a marked decline in aged-standardised HIV prevalence in Sydney (from 14.2 to 8.98%, P < 0.001), a small decline in Brisbane (from 8.51 to 6.94%, P = 0.012) and no change in Melbourne (from 8.35 to 8.06%, P = 0.848). There were significant declines in men aged less than 50 years in Sydney, and in men aged less than 30 years in Brisbane. In Melbourne there was no significant trend in HIV at any age. Conclusion: HIV prevalence among young homosexual men has declined in Sydney, and these data suggest that HIV incidence among homosexual men is now similar in the eastern state capitals of Australia.

As global research into recreational fishing gains momentum due to the pursuit’s biological, social and economic impacts, information on regional and temporal patterns of recreational exploitation will continue to enable objective assessment and development of management initiatives for exploited species. This paper demonstrates the utility of offsite survey methods in assessing spatial and temporal differences in recorded catches from a large, diffuse and heterogenous coastal recreational fishery. Using the estuarine recreational fishery that operates along the coast of New South Wales, Australia as a case study, survey data was employed to quantify annual (June 2013-May 2014) state-wide estuarine catch. Generalized linear mixed effects models were then applied to expanded catch estimates from surveyed households to examine the influence of zone and season on the kept and released numbers of snapper (Pagrus auratus), dusky flathead (Platycephalus fuscus) and bream (Acanthopagrus spp. complex comprised of A. butcheri, A. australis and their hybrids). For kept bream, significant differential seasonal effects were observed in all regions except the Mid-South Coast. For released bream, numbers were greatest in Sydney and during Summer and Winter. For kept snapper, the greatest harvest was recorded in the Mid-South Coast but season had no effect. Differential seasonal effects were found in each zone for released snapper. For kept dusky flathead, the greatest numbers were recorded in Sydney and the Mid-South Coast but season had no effect. We conclude by assessing some current spatial and temporal management initiatives in light of the uncovered patterns of recreational catch and consider the implications of these patterns in terms of future ecosystem-based management recommendations aimed at achieving ecological, social and economic sustainability in fisheries.

IntroductionThe increasing prevalence of developmental disorders in early childhood poses a significant global health burden. Early detection of developmental problems is vital to ensure timely access to early intervention, and universal developmental surveillance is recommended best practice for identifying issues. Despite this, there is currently considerable variation in developmental surveillance and screening between Australian states and territories and low rates of developmental screening uptake by parents. This study aims to evaluate an innovative web-based developmental surveillance programme and a sustainable approach to referral and care pathways, linking primary care general practice (GP) services that fall under federal policy responsibility and state government-funded child health services.Methods and analysisThe proposed study describes a longitudinal cluster randomised controlled trial (c-RCT) comparing a ‘Watch Me Grow Integrated’ (WMG-I) approach for developmental screening, to Surveillance as Usual (SaU) in GPs. Forty practices will be recruited across New South Wales and Queensland, and randomly allocated into either the (1) WMG-I or (2) SaU group. A cohort of 2000 children will be recruited during their 18-month vaccination visit or opportunistic visit to GP. At the end of the c-RCT, a qualitative study using focus groups/interviews will evaluate parent and practitioner views of the WMG-I programme and inform national and state policy recommendations.Ethics and disseminationThe South Western Sydney Local Health District (2020/ETH01625), UNSW Sydney (2020/ETH01625) and University of Queensland (2021/HE000667) Human Research Ethics Committees independently reviewed and approved this study. Findings will be reported to the funding bodies, study institutes and partners; families and peer-reviewed conferences/publications.Trial registration numberANZCTR12621000680864.

South Western Sydney (SWS) is one of the fastest growing regions in the state of New South Wales (Australia). Much of the population live in local government areas (LGAs) with levels of disadvantage higher than the state average, with a predominance of non-communicable and chronic diseases that are typically associated with age-related and behavioural factors. This necessitates the management of social determinants of health through the integrated provision of primary and social care. The SWS Local Health District and Primary Health Network is exploring the potential of community health alliances (CHAs) as an innovative approach to support the provision of integrated health services. CHAs are a population health approach for addressing health challenges faced by people who share a common area of residence, sociocultural characteristic or health need, and are characterised by a shared mission, shared resource needs and acquiring/developing necessary organisational knowledge and skills. We explore how CHAs operate as social enterprises that utilise digital health and citizen engagement to deliver integrated people-centred health services (IPCHS) by conducting two case studies of CHAs operating in SWS: in Wollondilly and Fairfield LGAs. Using this approach, we aim to unpack the conceptual convergence that enables social enterprises to utilise digital health interventions and citizen engagement strategies to co-produce IPCHS with a view to developing theory and a framework for engaging digital citizens in integrated primary health care via social enterprise.

Accelerated rates of soil erosion, following European settlement in Australia, pose a major threat to river ecosystems and water supply storages with agricultural catchments, such as Warragamba Dam (the main water supply dam for Sydney). Sediment yields from 1988 to 1999 have been determined by stream monitoring for 6 small grazing catchments located near Goulburn in southern New South Wales, in the outer Warragamba catchment. Average specific sediment yields were 0.07 t/ha.year from 3 small catchments of around 10 ha, where the drainage lines were not continuously gullied, and the drainage lines were undisturbed. Sediment yields from larger gullied catchments of 29, 52, and 510 ha were at least an order of magnitude higher than from the ungullied catchments at around 1 t/ha.year. Gullies continue to be the dominant source of sediment from these subcatchments despite indications that yields from gullies in the Southern Tablelands are much less than in the first few decades following settlement and are gradually declining as gullies move towards a stable vegetated state. Measured sediment yields from this study are comparable with yields for southern New South Wales determined using other methods, such as radionuclide and farm dam survey techniques. The impact of soil conservation works, such as sediment trapping and grade stabilisation works, on sediment yields can be mixed depending on the activity of the gully being treated and the mobility of the bed sediments. Turbidity levels from runoff events from the gullied catchments were an order of magnitude higher than from the ungullied catchments. For the Warragamba catchment turbidity levels are scale dependent; at the farm paddock scale turbidities are generally low where the land use is grazing, they increase dramatically at the subcatchment scale where active gullies dominate the drainage network, and then drop back again at the large river catchment scale. Turbidity is positively correlated with sediment concentration, so works that reduce sediment loads will also reduce the turbidity of water leaving the subcatchment. However, the link between high turbidity levels in small upland catchments and downstream water quality in large complex river basins is tenuous.

Abstract. Hailstorms occur frequently in metropolitan Sydney, in the eastern Australian State of New South Wales, which is especially vulnerable due to its building exposure and geographical location. Hailstorms challenge disaster response agencies and pose a great risk for insurance companies. This study focuses on the Sydney hailstorm of 14 April 1999 – Australia's most expensive insured natural disaster, with supporting information from two other storms. Comparisons are drawn between observed hailstone sizes, radar-derived reflectivity and damage data in the form of insurance claims and emergency calls. The "emergency response intensity" (defined by the number of emergency calls as a proportion of the total number of dwellings in a Census Collection District) is a useful new measure of the storm intensity or severity experienced. The area defined by a radar reflectivity ≥55 dBZ appears to be a good approximation of the damage swath on ground. A preferred area for hail damage is located to the left side of storm paths and corresponds well with larger hailstone sizes. Merging hail cells appear to cause a substantially higher emergency response intensity, which also corresponds well to maximum hailstone sizes. A damage threshold could be identified for hailstone sizes around 2.5 cm (1 cm), based on the emergency response intensity (insurance claims). Emergency response intensity and claims costs both correlate positively with hailstone sizes. Higher claim costs also occurred in areas that experienced higher emergency response intensities.

The COVID-19 pandemic made it critical to limit the spread of the disease by enforcing human isolation, restricting travel and reducing social activities. Dramatic improvements to air quality, especially NO2, have often characterised places under COVID-19 restrictions. Air pollution measurements in Sydney in April 2019 and during the lockdown period in April 2020 show reduced daily averaged NO2 concentrations: 8.52 ± 1.92 and 7.85 ± 2.92 ppb, though not significantly so (p1~0.15) and PM2.5 8.91 ± 4.94 and 7.95 ± 2.64 µg m−3, again a non-significant difference (p1~0.18). Satellite imagery suggests changes that parallel those at ground level, but the column densities averaged over space and time, in false-colour, are more dramatic. Changed human mobility could be traced in increasing times spent at home, assessed from Google Mobility Reports and mirrored in decreased traffic flow on a major road, suggesting compliance with the restrictions. Electricity demand for the State of New South Wales was low under lockdown in early April 2020, but it recovered rapidly. Analysis of the uses of search terms: bushfires, air quality, haze and air pollution using Google Trends showed strong links between bushfires and pollution-related terms. The smoke from bushfires in late 2019 may well have added to the general impression of improved air quality during lockdown, despite only modest changes in the ground level measurements. This gives hints that successful regulation of air quality requires maintaining a delicate balance between our social perceptions and the physical reality.

The article is dedicated to William Charles Wentworth, the leading Australian political figure during the first half of the 19th century, whose lifelong work for self-government culminated in the NewSouth Wales in 1855. While detecting his life-long activity we come to the conclusion that he was an exceptionally talented men: explorer, author, gifted barrister (he graduated from CambridgeUniversity with honours), landowner, and statesman. In 1819 he published a book “Statistical, Нistorical, and Political Description of The Colony of New South Wales and Its Dependant Settlements in Van Diemen’s Land” which was the first book of Australia written by native-born Australian. The analyses of this outstanding magnum opus, written by a young man before his thirties, allow to state that his book did much to stimulate emigration to Australia. It was reissued in revised and enlarged editions in 1820 and 1824. It is found out that while returning to Australia, Wentworth as a gifted orator and excellent journalist became the colony’s leading political figure of the 1820s and 1830s, calling for the abolition of convicts’ transportation and establishing representative government, freedom of the press and trial by jury. It is disclosed how he struggled for the Legislative Council (Parliament) and new Constitution in 1840s and 1850s; how he made primary education for all children in the colony a reality and did his utmost to open Sydney University. In sum: this great son of Australia accomplished everything he planned for his native land.

Objective: For at least two decades, concerns have been raised about inappropriate psychotropic prescribing in Australian residential aged care facilities, due to their modest therapeutic benefit and increased risk of falls and mortality. To date, the majority of prevalence data has been collected in Sydney exclusively and it is not known if recent initiatives to promote appropriate psychotropic prescribing have impacted utilisation. Thus, we aimed to comprehensively analyse psychotropic use in a large national sample of residential aged care facility residents. Method: A cross-sectional, retrospective cohort study of residents from 150 residential aged care facilities distributed nationally during April 2014–October 2015. Antipsychotic, anxiolytic/hypnotic and antidepressant utilisation was assessed, along with anticonvulsant and anti-dementia drug use. Negative binomial regression analysis was used to examine variation in psychotropic use. Results: Full psychotropic prescribing data was available from 11,368 residents. Nearly two-thirds (61%) were taking psychotropic agents regularly, with over 41% prescribed antidepressants, 22% antipsychotics and 22% of residents taking benzodiazepines. Over 30% and 11% were charted for ‘prn’ (as required) benzodiazepines and antipsychotics, respectively. More than 16% of the residents were taking sedating antidepressants, predominantly mirtazapine. South Australian residents were more likely to be taking benzodiazepines ( p < 0.05) and residents from New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory less likely to be taking them ( p < 0.01), after adjustment for rurality and size of residential aged care facility. Residents located in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory were also significantly less likely to take antidepressants ( p < 0.01), as were residents from outer regional residential aged care facilities ( p < 0.01). Antipsychotic use was not associated with State, rurality or residential aged care facility size. Conclusion: Regular antipsychotic use appears to have decreased in residential aged care facilities but benzodiazepine prevalence is higher, particularly in South Australian residential aged care facilities. Sedating antidepressant and ‘prn’ psychotropic prescribing is widespread. Effective interventions to reduce the continued reliance on psychotropic management, in conjunction with active promotion of non-pharmacological strategies, are urgently required.

Multiple Walkley Award winners Nick McKenzie and Richard Baker from Fairfax’s Melbourne newspaper, The Age, have rocked venerable Australian institutions to their foundations with their investigative reporting. Previous investigations have exposed drug smuggling within Australian Customs, bribery on behalf of the Reserve Bank and organised criminals’ manipulation of horse racing. The duo started this year with an investigation deemed worthy of a Royal Commission. Their reports across the Fairfax network and on the ABC’s 7.30 programme featured interviews with whistleblowers risking their lives to go on the record to publicise the relationship between Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and organised crime. The stories also exposed registered businesses owned by major organised crime figures winning lucrative construction contracts from the Victorian state government, and dealings within the New South Wales government’s Barangaroo development. Freelance reporter and University of Technology, Sydney, Journalism Masters student Lawrence Bull spoke with Nick McKenzie and Richard Baker about their latest project in two careers full of influential investigations, ‘Inside the Building Racket’.Frontline editor: Professor Wendy Bacon

The Australian species of the water beetle genus Hydraena Kugelann, 1794, are revised, based on the study of 7,654 specimens. The 29 previously named species are redescribed, and 56 new species are described. The species are placed in 24 species groups. High resolution digital images of all primary types are presented (online version in color), and geographic distributions are mapped. Male genitalia, representative female terminal abdominal segments and representative spermathecae are illustrated. Australian Hydraena are typically found in sandy/gravelly stream margins, often in association with streamside litter; some species are primarily pond dwelling, a few species are humicolous, and one species may be subterranean. The areas of endemicity and species richness coincide quite closely with the Bassian, Torresian, and Timorian biogeographic subregions. Eleven species are shared between the Bassian and Torresian subregions, and twelve are shared between the Torresian and Timorian subregions. Only one species, H. impercepta Zwick, is known to be found in both Australia and Papua New Guinea. One Australian species, H. ambiflagellata, is also known from New Zealand. New species of Hydraena are: H. affirmata (Queensland, Palmerston National Park, Learmouth Creek), H. ambiosina (Queensland, 7 km NE of Tolga), H. antaria (New South Wales, Bruxner Flora Reserve), H. appetita (New South Wales, 14 km W Delagate), H. arcta (Western Australia, Synnot Creek), H. ascensa (Queensland, Rocky Creek, Kennedy Hwy.), H. athertonica (Queensland, Davies Creek), H. australula (Western Australia, Synnot Creek), H. bidefensa (New South Wales, Bruxner Flora Reserve), H. biimpressa (Queensland, 19.5 km ESE Mareeba), H. capacis (New South Wales, Unumgar State Forest, near Grevillia), H. capetribensis (Queensland, Cape Tribulation area), H. converga (Northern Territory, Roderick Creek, Gregory National Park), H. cubista (Western Australia, Mining Camp, Mitchell Plateau), H. cultrata (New South Wales, Bruxner Flora Reserve), H. cunninghamensis (Queensland, Main Range National Park, Cunningham's Gap, Gap Creek), H. darwini (Northern Territory, Darwin), H. deliquesca (Queensland, 5 km E Wallaman Falls), H. disparamera (Queensland, Cape Hillsborough), H. dorrigoensis (New South Wales, Dorrigo National Park, Rosewood Creek, upstream from Coachwood Falls), H. ferethula (Northern Territory, Cooper Creek, 19 km E by S of Mt. Borradaile), H. finniganensis (Queensland, Gap Creek, 5 km ESE Mt. Finnigan), H. forticollis (Western Australia, 4 km W of King Cascade), H. fundaequalis (Victoria, Simpson Creek, 12 km SW Orbost), H. fundata (Queensland, Hann Tableland, 13 km WNW Mareeba), H. hypipamee (Queensland, Mt. Hypipamee National Park, 14 km SW Malanda), H. inancala (Queensland, Girraween National Park, Bald Rock Creek at "Under-ground Creek"), H. innuda (Western Australia, Mitchell Plateau, 16 mi. N Amax Camp), H. intraangulata (Queensland, Leo Creek Mine, McIlwrath Range, E of Coen), H. invicta (New South Wales, Sydney), H. kakadu (Northern Territory, Kakadu National Park, Gubara), H. larsoni (Queensland, Windsor Tablelands), H. latisoror (Queensland, Lamington National Park, stream at head of Moran's Falls), H. luminicollis (Queensland, Lamington National Park, stream at head of Moran's Falls), H. metzeni (Queensland, 15 km NE Mareeba), H. millerorum (Victoria, Traralgon Creek, 0.2 km N 'Hogg Bridge', 5.0 km NNW Balook), H. miniretia (Queensland, Mt. Hypipamee National Park, 14 km SW Malanda), H. mitchellensis (Western Australia, 4 km SbyW Mining Camp, Mitchell Plateau), H. monteithi (Queensland, Thornton Peak, 11 km NE Daintree), H. parciplumea (Northern Territory, McArthur River, 80 km SW of Borroloola), H. porchi (Victoria, Kangaroo Creek on Springhill Rd., 5.8 km E Glenlyon), H. pugillista (Queensland, 7 km N Mt. Spurgeon), H. queenslandica (Queensland, Laceys Creek, 10 km SE El Arish), H. reticuloides (Queensland, 3 km ENE of Mt. Tozer), H. reticulositis (Western Australia, Mining Camp, Mitchell Plateau), H. revelovela (Northern Territory, Kakadu National Park, GungurulLookout), H. spinissima (Queensland, Main Range National Park, Cunningham's Gap, Gap Creek), H. storeyi (Queensland, Cow Bay, N of Daintree River), H. tenuisella (Queensland, 3 km W of Batavia Downs), H. tenuisoror (Australian Capital Territory, Wombat Creek, 6 km NE of Piccadilly Circus), H. textila (Queensland, Laceys Creek, 10 km SE El Arish), H. tridisca (Queensland, Mt. Hemmant), H. triloba (Queensland, Mulgrave River, Goldsborough Road Crossing), H. wattsi (Northern Territory, Holmes Jungle, 11 km NE by E of Darwin), H. weiri (Western Australia, 14 km SbyE Kalumburu Mission), H. zwicki (Queensland, Clacherty Road, via Julatten).

Background and purposeSouth Western Sydney comprises of a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and lower socioeconomic status population group within the state of New South Wales. Geographic location and sociodemographic factors play important roles in access to healthcare and may be crucial in the success of time-critical acute stroke intervention. The aim of this study was to examine the trends in the delayed presentation to emergency department (ED) and identify factors associated with prehospital delay for an acute stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA) at a comprehensive stroke centre.MethodsPatient health-related data were extracted for stroke/TIA discharges for the period 2009–2017. Electronic medical record data were used to determine sociodemographic characteristics and prehospital factors, and their associations with delayed presentation≥4.5 hours from stroke onset were studied.ResultsDuring the 9-year period, population-adjusted stroke/TIA discharge rates increased from 540 to 676 per 100 000. A significant reduction in the proportion of patients presenting to ED<4.5 hours (56% in 2009 versus 46% in 2017, p<0.001) was observed. Younger patients aged 55–64 and 65–74 years, those belonging to Polynesia, South Asia and Mainland Southeast Asia, and those not using state ambulance as the mode of arrival to the hospital were at increased risk of prehospital delay.ConclusionsComprehensive reappraisal of educational programmes for early stroke recognition is required in our region due to delayed ED presentations of younger and specific CALD communities of stroke/TIA patients.

The aim of the study was to present data which may be useful in deciding the type of services needed for eating disorder (ED) patients in New South Wales (NSW). The demographic and clinical characteristics of 155 patients consecutively admitted to a special ED unit at a major Sydney teaching hospital during the triennium 1989–1991 were documented and compared with relevant data from the State as a whole (709 admissions for ED to public facilities and 938 admissions for ED to private facilities during the same period). The findings are discussed in the light of information from overseas studies. Although a relatively large number of ED patients are admitted to hospitals in NSW, their short duration of stay suggests that many may receive inadequate treatment. The unit in the Department of Psychiatry at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA), the largest public ED service in NSW, provides a special service for these patients. It is effective in bringing about nutritional restoration, with a duration of stay similar to those reported from centres overseas. Most referrals are tertiary, and there is a high prevalence of physical morbidity indicating a need for access to general medical facilities. Most serious physical complications occur in patients who can be identified by their chronicity and by the pattern of their behavioural disturbance. These various factors are considered in the formulation of recommendations for rationalising the service.

AbstractThe incident command system (ICS) provides a common structure to control and coordinate an emergency response, regardless of scale or predicted impact. The lessons learned from the application of an ICS for large infectious disease outbreaks are documented. However, there is scant evidence on the application of an ICS to manage a local multiagency response to a disease cluster with environmental health risks. The Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit (PHU) in New South Wales, Australia, was notified of 5 cases of Legionnaires’ disease during 2 weeks in May 2016. This unusual incident triggered a multiagency investigation involving an ICS with staff from the PHU, 3 local councils, and the state health department to help prevent any further public health risk. The early and judicious use of ICS enabled a timely and effective response by supporting clear communication lines between the incident controller and field staff. The field team was key in preventing any ongoing public health risk through inspection, sampling, testing, and management of water systems identified to be at-risk for transmission of legionella. Good working relationships between partner agencies and trust in the technical proficiency of environmental health staff aided in the effective management of the response. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:539–542)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the framework, operation and prospects of two innovative planning tools – biobanking and biodiversity certification – to protect biodiversity in the context of urbanisation. Design/methodology/approach – Using the Australian State of New South Wales, and its capital Sydney, as a focus, the paper reviews the history and performance of the two planning tools selected for examination. Findings – Through its analysis, this paper supports the use of biobanking and biodiversity certification as tools at the disposal of planners which should be employed to augment the array of tools to manage the impacts on biodiversity of urban development. Indeed, these tools have the potential to increase the level of conserved biodiversity if used appropriately. Originality/value – Biobanking and biodiversity certification are, respectively, examples of market-based and strategic-based statutory planning mechanisms that can be used to protect biodiversity in an urban development context. Creative adaption of environmental planning laws is required to ensure effective implementation of these innovative planning tools. The relevant contemporary statutory enactments that have given effect to these mechanisms are examined in this paper.

SummaryThis ecological study examines trends in socioeconomic differentials in mortality in New South Wales, Australia, over a 20-year period (1970–89). The proportion unskilled was used as the indicator of socioeconomic status and its selection justified. Using census data aggregated by Local Government Area, the relationship between mortality and socioeconomic status was examined using quintiles based on the proportion unskilled in the population. Local Government Areas were also sorted into quintiles using mortality rates (0–74 years) to describe change in mortality differentials over time. Socioeconomic differentials were more evident in the relatively homogeneous Local Government Areas within the Sydney Statistical Division than in the remaining NSW Statistical Divisions which are more heterogeneous and predominantly rural. Although there has been an overall decline in mortality for males and females, and for high and low status groups, over this period the relative socioeconomic differentials have not declined. For the most recent period (1985–89) there appears to be some widening of differentials for males. The NSW state trends are generally similar to those reported for Britain and for other industrialised countries, suggesting that this is a common trend and that policies to reduce inequalities have not been effective.

Abstract The Geocentric Datum of Australia 2020 (GDA2020) is Australia’s new and much improved national datum. It is based on a single, nationwide least squares network adjustment that rigorously propagates uncertainty. This paper explores three options to include Network Real-Time Kinematic (NRTK) observations and their Positional Uncertainty (PU) in the survey control network of New South Wales (NSW) via the GDA2020 state adjustment. In the first option, PU is empirically estimated based on a dataset of more than 1,500 observations to obtain values that can be uniformly applied to all NRTK observations. In the second option, PU is calculated for each NRTK observation, based on the coordinate quality indicators provided by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) equipment. Both options continue to treat NRTK observations as point-based position solutions, resulting in poor correlation with surrounding survey control marks. The third option overcomes this issue by utilising the automatically computed GNSS baselines between NRTK observations and their Virtual Reference Station (VRS) to create a connected network that can be adjusted like a static GNSS network. Using a typical urban NRTK survey in Sydney as an example, it is shown that this method offers a rigorous computation of PU, while maintaining the quick and easy nature of NRTK positioning.

Melaleuca deanei F.Muell. is listed under state and national protection legislation occurring as small, disjunct populations restricted to the Central Coast botanical district of New South Wales. This paper reports on the population structure, reproductive output and phenology of large and small field populations of M. deanei, compared with three common congeneric species in the area, namely, Melaleuca nodosa (Sol. ex Gaertn.) Sm., Melaleuca thymifolia Sm. and Melaleuca styphelioides Sm. Both M. deanei and M. styphelioides had few seedlings per population at the sites studied. Results indicated that seedling recruitment is rare and would appear to require specific conditions. In addition, M. deanei had a low incidence of flowering within the small populations, significantly fewer fruiting plants per population and significantly lower numbers of viable seeds per square metre, most likely compounding its limited recruitment. Flowering, when it occurred in M. deanei, was from mid to late October through to late November–early December with increased flowering in response to fire and along road edges. Further study is needed to determine reproductive success at the individual-plant level, the breeding system and recruitment requirements of these species.

BackgroundThe grade cricket competition, also known as premier cricket, supplies players to the state and national teams in Australia. The players involved are generally high-performing amateur (subelite) club cricketers. However, to date, there is no study on the injury epidemiology of Australian grade cricket.AimTo conduct injury surveillance across all teams playing Sydney Grade Cricket (SGC) competition during the 2015–2016 season.MethodsA cohort study was conducted to track injuries in 408 male cricketers in 20 teams playing SGC competition. Players were tracked through the MyCricket website’s scorebook every week. Cricket New South Wales physiotherapists were alerted if there were changes to the playing XI from the last game. If any changes were made due to injury, then an injury incident was registered.ResultsDuring the course of the season, a total of 86 injuries were registered from 65 players, resulting in a loss of 385 weeks of play. The overall injury incidence rate was 35.54 injuries/10 000 playing hours with an average weekly injury prevalence of 4.06%. Lower back injuries (20%) were the most common injuries followed by foot (14%), hand (13.75%), knee (7.5%) and calf (7.5%). Linear regression analysis showed that the likelihood of injury increased as the mean age of the teams increased (R=0.5, p<0.05).ConclusionThe injury rate in SGC is lower than that reported at elite level. However, the high rate of lower back injuries (20%) highlights an area of concern in this cohort. High workloads or inadequate physical conditioning may contribute to such injuries. This study sets the foundation for understanding injury epidemiology in grade cricket and examines the links between injury and performance, these results may assist coaches and administrators to develop and implement cricket-specific injury prevention programmes.

Objective: Transferring from methadone to buprenorphine can be difficult, particularly at higher methadone doses. Precipitated withdrawal (PW) and severe opioid withdrawal can compromise transfers and limited data guide high-dose transfers. This study describes processes and outcomes of transfers to buprenorphine from methadone.Design: A retrospective case series of transfers from methadone to buprenorphine.Setting: Two elective, voluntary, specialized in-patient drug and alcohol facilities in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.Participants: All admissions between July 1, 2015 and April 30, 2019 were screened using routinely collected coding data. The medical record was reviewed to identify subjects meeting the inclusion criteria of daily methadone use for at least 1 month, age 18, and a treatment plan that included transfer from methadone to buprenorphine. Data were extracted on methadone dose, transfer medications, time to buprenorphine initiation, and transfer outcome.Interventions: Subjects were transferred via two methods: morphine bridged and nonbridged.Main outcome measure: The primary outcome measure was successful transition to buprenorphine.Results: Seventy-one subjects met inclusion criteria, of whom 62 initiated buprenorphine and 53 discharged on buprenorphine. Longer delay to buprenorphine initiation was seen with higher methadone doses. The highest daily methadone dose in subjects completing transfer was 180 mg. Outcomes with morphine bridging, using a steady state methadone: morphine ratio of 1:4, were similar to direct transfer. Only one subject discontinued buprenorphine because of PW.Conclusions: Transfer from high doses of methadone to buprenorphine can be achieved with high success rates in the in-patient setting.

Farm dams are a ubiquitous limnological feature of agricultural landscapes worldwide. While their primary function is to capture and store water, they also have disproportionally large effects on biodiversity and biogeochemical cycling, with important relevance to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the abundance and distribution of farm dams is unknown in most parts of the world. Therefore, we used artificial intelligence and remote sensing data to address this critical global information gap. Specifically, we trained a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) on high-definition satellite images to detect farm dams and carry out the first continental-scale assessment on density, distribution and historical trends. We found that in Australia there are 1.765 million farm dams that occupy an area larger than Rhode Island (4678 km2) and store over 20 times more water than Sydney Harbour (10,990 GL). The State of New South Wales recorded the highest number of farm dams (654,983; 37% of the total) and Victoria the highest overall density (1.73 dams km−2). We also estimated that 202,119 farm dams (11.5%) remain omitted from any maps, especially in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Three decades of historical records revealed an ongoing decrease in the construction rate of farm dams, from >3% per annum before 2000, to ~1% after 2000, to <0.05% after 2010—except in the Australian Capital Territory where rates have remained relatively high. We also found systematic trends in construction design: farm dams built in 2015 are on average 50% larger in surface area and contain 66% more water than those built in 1989. To facilitate sharing information on sustainable farm dam management with authorities, scientists, managers and local communities, we developed AusDams.org—a free interactive portal to visualise and generate statistics on the physical, environmental and ecological impacts of farm dams.

Urbanization is arguably the most severe and irreversible driver of environmental change, particularly with respect to biodiversity. This is the case even in Australia, a megadiverse country with a sophisticated federal regime of biodiversity governance. Yet, life persists in urban worlds. In the context of global climate and ecological crises, this article endeavours to illustrate how law and policy can grapple with the complexities of urban biodiversity and enable it to flourish. First, the article outlines the current approaches to urban biodiversity: what is it, what is it like, why does it matter and how do humans think of it? Second, the article analyses the current state of biodiversity governance in Australia, focusing particularly on the laws and policies of the Commonwealth, New South Wales, and local governments in Greater Sydney. Finally, the article details a program of reform which revisits the original guiding principles of ecologically sustainable development, illustrating how they could be unleashed for the better governance of urban biodiversity with respect to decision-making, the administration of law, issues at scale, the economy, valuation techniques and community participation. The program includes not only systemic and multi-scalar reforms, but also local-level reforms which have significant yet often overlooked potential to encourage pro-biodiversity behaviours in everyday life. The aim is to reveal just some of the many ways in which hope can be creatively transformed into action for a biodiverse urban future – that is, to reveal the possibilities of law and policy to enable urban biodiversity to be better recognized, understood, valued, protected and enhanced as Australia develops in the twenty-first century.

IntroductionProcess evaluations are conducted alongside research projects to identify the context, impact and consequences of research, determine whether it was conducted per protocol and to understand how, why and for whom an intervention is effective. We present a process evaluation protocol for the Getting it Right research project, which aims to determine validity of a culturally adapted depression screening tool for use by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In this process evaluation, we aim to: (1) explore the context, impact and consequences of conducting Getting It Right, (2) explore primary healthcare staff and community representatives’ experiences with the research project, (3) determine if it was conducted per protocol and (4) explore experiences with the depression screening tool, including perceptions about how it could be implemented into practice (if found to be valid). We also describe the partnerships established to conduct this process evaluation and how the nationalValues and Ethics: Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Researchis met.Methods and analysisRealist and grounded theory approaches are used. Qualitative data include semistructured interviews with primary healthcare staff and community representatives involved with Getting it Right. Iterative data collection and analysis will inform a coding framework. Interviews will continue until saturation of themes is reached, or all participants are considered. Data will be triangulated against administrative data and patient feedback. An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group guides this research. Researchers will be blinded from validation data outcomes for as long as is feasible.Ethics and disseminationThe University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee, Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of New South Wales and six state ethics committees have approved this research. Findings will be submitted to academic journals and presented at conferences.Trial registration numberACTRN12614000705684.

Abstract Introduction The CHaDOx1 nCov-19 AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccination has been associated with an antibody-mediated prothrombotic syndrome, termed "Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome" (TTS)[1-3]. The current diagnostic criteria for TTS are thrombosis (venous or arterial) within 4-42 days of AZ vaccine, thrombocytopenia and presence of an antibody to platelet factor 4 (PF4)[4, 5]. TTS commonly presents with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) or splanchnic vessel thrombosis (SVT), but outside of TTS, CVST and SVT are uncommon, with an overall incidence of less than 0.5 per 100,000 [5-7]. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are also associated with TTS, however the background incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is much higher, with 1-2 events per 1000 patients per year[7, 8]. Therefore, many patients will present with new VTE and a recent exposure to the AZ vaccine, requiring consideration of investigation for TTS. Recent data suggests that PF4 antibodies can be seen in up to 8% of patients without thrombosis but following AZ vaccination[9]. We hypothesised in patients with recent AZ vaccination, new VTE but with a normal platelet count, that the incidence of a PF4 antibody is similar to this background rate of PF4 positivity. If confirmed, then presence of a normal platelet count despite new VTE and recent vaccination may exclude TTS without the need for PF4 antibody testing. We present our preliminary data on the rates of PF4 antibody positivity amongst patients with VTE, recent AZ vaccination and a normal platelet count at presentation. Aim and Methods To assess the incidence of PF4 ELISA positive results in patients with confirmed VTE, recent vaccination (within 4-42 days) with the first dose of AZ vaccine, and platelet count greater than 150x10 9/L. A retrospective audit of cases referred with suspected TTS to Monash Pathology, Melbourne, Victoria, and New South Wales Health Pathology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and St George Hospital sites Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, for testing for anti PF4 antibodies from 1 st April to 31 st July 2021. Patient sera were tested for the Anti-PF4 antibody using the STAGO Asserachrom HPIA IgG ELISA (Asnières sur Seine, France). For patients with a positive PF4 antibody test additional testing was sought for either the presence of platelet activating antibodies with a flow cytometry-based assay or the presence of spontaneous serotonin release without heparin in the serotonin release assay. Results From April 1 st to July 31 st 350 tests were run on 332 patients. 91 patients met our criteria, of whom 51 were female and 40 male, with a median age of 73 years. Median platelet count at presentation was 226x10 9/L, and median D dimer values were 10 times the upper limit of normal. 86 patients had either DVT, PE or both, including 2 with upper limb DVT, and 5 patients had PE with concurrent arterial events (1 axillary artery thrombosis, 3 arterial strokes, 1 coronary artery thrombosis). Further details are presented in table 1. 82 patient samples tested negative for anti-PF4 antibodies by ELISA, 5 were positive, and were 4 weak positive/equivocal (see table 2 for further details). Of the positive results, 3 had functional testing available, of which 2 were negative, and 1 showed discordant results, with a positive SRA but negative flow cytometry. None of the weak positive/equivocal cases had functional testing results available. Of the negative ELISA results, 5 patients had functional testing results available, of which 4 were negative. One of these cases had positive testing by flow cytometry, but negative by SRA (case included in table 2). Conclusion In our Australian cohort of patients with their first dose of AZ vaccine and new VTE within 4-42days, but a normal platelet count (therefore not fulfilling the clinical criteria of TTS), the incidence of a positive PF4 antibody test was 9/91 (9.9%, 95% CI 3.7-15.9%) and only one had evidence of platelet activating antibodies. This observed rate is similar to that observed in healthy patients without thrombosis who received AZ vaccination as described by Thiele et. al., 2021. Further confirmation in a larger cohort of VTE patients is required, but if confirmed, then PF4 ELISA testing in patients with VTE and normal platelet count post AZ vaccine may not be required, and should give clinicians confidence to institute routine management. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Background Neuropathic pain is a debilitating secondary condition for many individuals with spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injury neuropathic pain often is poorly responsive to existing pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments. A growing body of evidence supports the potential for brain-computer interface systems to reduce spinal cord injury neuropathic pain via electroencephalographic neurofeedback. However, further studies are needed to provide more definitive evidence regarding the effectiveness of this intervention. Objective The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a multiday course of a brain-computer interface neuromodulative intervention in a gaming environment to provide pain relief for individuals with neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury. Methods We have developed a novel brain-computer interface-based neuromodulative intervention for spinal cord injury neuropathic pain. Our brain-computer interface neuromodulative treatment includes an interactive gaming interface, and a neuromodulation protocol targeted to suppress theta (4-8 Hz) and high beta (20-30 Hz) frequency powers, and enhance alpha (9-12 Hz) power. We will use a single-case experimental design with multiple baselines to examine the effectiveness of our self-developed brain-computer interface neuromodulative intervention for the treatment of spinal cord injury neuropathic pain. We will recruit 3 participants with spinal cord injury neuropathic pain. Each participant will be randomly allocated to a different baseline phase (ie, 7, 10, or 14 days), which will then be followed by 20 sessions of a 30-minute brain-computer interface neuromodulative intervention over a 4-week period. The visual analog scale assessing average pain intensity will serve as the primary outcome measure. We will also assess pain interference as a secondary outcome domain. Generalization measures will assess quality of life, sleep quality, and anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as resting-state electroencephalography and thalamic γ-aminobutyric acid concentration. Results This study was approved by the Human Research Committees of the University of New South Wales in July 2019 and the University of Technology Sydney in January 2020. We plan to begin the trial in October 2020 and expect to publish the results by the end of 2021. Conclusions This clinical trial using single-case experimental design methodology has been designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel brain-computer interface neuromodulative treatment for people with neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury. Single-case experimental designs are considered a viable alternative approach to randomized clinical trials to identify evidence-based practices in the field of technology-based health interventions when recruitment of large samples is not feasible. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12620000556943; https://bit.ly/2RY1jRx International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/20979

IntroductionIn 1802 George Howe (1769-1821), the recently appointed Government Printer, published Australia’s first book. The following year he established Australia’s first newspaper; an enterprise that ran counter to all the environmental factors of the day, including: 1) issues of logistics and a lack of appropriate equipment and basic materials to produce a regularly issued newspaper; 2) issues resulting from the very close supervision of production and the routine censorship by the Governor; and 3) issues associated with the colony’s primary purposes as a military outpost and as a penal settlement, creating conflicts between very different readerships. The Sydney Gazette was, critically for Howe, the only newspaper in the infant city for over two decades. Alternative voices would not enter the field of printed media until the 1820s and 1830s. This article briefly explores the birth of an Australian industry and looks at how a very modest newspaper overcame a range of serious challenges to ignite imaginations and lay a foundation for media empires.Government Printer The first book published in Australia was the New South Wales General Standing Orders and General Orders (1802), authorised by Governor Philip Gidley King for the purposes of providing a convenient, single-volume compilation of all Government Orders, issued in New South Wales, between 1791 and 1802. (As the Australian character has been described as “egalitarian, anti-authoritarian and irreverent” [D. Jones 690], it is fascinating that the nation’s first published book was a set of rules.) Prescribing law, order and regulation for the colony the index reveals the desires of those charged with the colony’s care and development, to contain various types of activities. The rules for convicts were, predictably, many. There were also multiple orders surrounding administration, animal husbandry as well as food stuffs and other stores. Some of the most striking headings in the index relate to crime. For example, in addition to headings pertaining to courts there are also headings for a broad range of offences from: “BAD Characters” to “OFFENSIVE Weapons – Again[s]t concealing” (i-xii). The young colony, still in its teenage years, was, for the short-term, very much working on survival and for the long-term developing ambitious plans for expansion and trade. It was clear though, through this volume, that there was no forgetting the colony of New South Wales was first, and foremost, a penal settlement which also served as a military outpost. Clear, too, was the fact that not all of those who were shipped out to the new colony were prepared to abandon their criminal careers which “did not necessarily stop with transportation” (Foyster 10). Containment and recidivism were matters of constant concern for the colony’s authorities. Colonial priorities could be seen in the fact that, when “Governor Arthur Phillip brought the first convicts (548 males and 188 females) to Port Jackson on 26 January 1788, he also brought a small press for printing orders, rules, and regulations” (Goff 103). The device lay dormant on arrival, a result of more immediate concerns to feed and house all those who made up the First Fleet. It would be several years before the press was pushed into sporadic service by the convict George Hughes for printing miscellaneous items including broadsides and playbills as well as for Government Orders (“Hughes, George” online). It was another convict (another man named George), convicted at the Warwick Assizes on March 1799 (Ferguson vi) then imprisoned and ultimately transported for shoplifting (Robb 15), who would transform the small hand press into an industry. Once under the hand of George Howe, who had served as a printer with several London newspapers including The Times (Sydney Gazette, “Never” 2) – the printing press was put to much more regular use. In these very humble circumstances, Australia’s great media tradition was born. Howe, as the Government Printer, transformed the press from a device dedicated to ephemera as well as various administrative matters into a crucial piece of equipment that produced the new colony’s first newspaper. Logistical Challenges Governor King, in the year following the appearance of the Standing Orders, authorised the publishing of Australia’s first newspaper, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. The publication history of The Sydney Gazette, in a reflection of some of the challenges faced by the printer, is erratic. First published on a Saturday from 5 March 1803, it quickly changed to a Sunday paper from 10 April 1803. Interestingly, Sunday “was not an approved day for the publication of newspapers, and although some English publishers had been doing so since about 1789, Sunday papers were generally frowned upon” (Robb 58). Yet, as argued by Howe a Sunday print run allowed for the inclusion of “the whole of the Ship News, and other Incidental Matter, for the preceeding week” (Sydney Gazette, “To the Public” 1).The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser Vol. 1, No. 1, 5 March 1803 (Front Page)Call Number DL F8/50, Digital ID a345001, State Library of New South WalesPublished weekly until 1825, then bi-weekly until 1827 before coming out tri-weekly until 20 October 1842 (Holden 14) there were some notable pauses in production. These included one in 1807 (Issue 214, 19 April-Issue 215, 7 June) and one in 1808-1809 (Issue 227, 30 August-Issue 228, 15 May) due to a lack of paper, with the latter pause coinciding with the Rum Rebellion and the end of William Bligh’s term as Governor of New South Wales (see: Karskens 186-88; Mundle 323-37). There was, too, a brief attempt at publishing as a daily from 1 January 1827 which lasted only until 10 February of that year when the title began to appear tri-weekly (Kirkpatrick online; Holden 14). There would be other pauses, including one of two weeks, shortly before the final issue was produced on 20 October 1842. There were many problems that beset The Sydney Gazette with paper shortages being especially challenging. Howe regularly advertised for: “any quantity” of Spanish paper (e.g.: Sydney Gazette, “Wanted to Purchase” 4) and needing to be satisfied “with a variety of size and colour” (P.M. Jones 39). In addition, the procurement of ink was so difficult in the colony, that Howe often resorted to making his own out of “charcoal, gum and shark oil” (P.M. Jones 39).The work itself was physically demanding and papers printed during this period, by hand, required a great deal of effort with approximately “250 sheets per hour … [the maximum] produced by a printer and his assistant” (Robb 8). The printing press itself was inadequate and the subject of occasional repairs (Sydney Gazette, “We Have” 2). Type was also a difficulty. As Gwenda Robb explains, traditionally six sets of an alphabet were supplied to a printer with extras for ‘a’, ‘e’, ‘r’ and ‘t’ as well as ‘s’. Without ample type Howe was required to improvise as can be seen in using a double ‘v’ to create a ‘w’ and an inverted ‘V’ to represent a capital ‘A’ (50, 106). These quirky work arounds, combined with the use of the long-form ‘s’ (‘∫’) for almost a full decade, can make The Sydney Gazette a difficult publication for modern readers to consume. Howe also “carried the financial burden” of the paper, dependent, as were London papers of the late eighteenth century, on advertising (Robb 68, 8). Howe also relied upon subscriptions for survival, with the collection of payments often difficult as seen in some subscribers being two years, or more, in arrears (e.g.: Sydney Gazette, “Sydney Gazette” 1; Ferguson viii; P.M. Jones 38). Governor Lachlan Macquarie granted Howe an annual salary, in 1811, of £60 (Byrnes 557-559) offering some relief, and stability, for the beleaguered printer.Gubernatorial Supervision Governor King wrote to Lord Hobart (then Secretary of State for War and the Colonies), on 9 May 1803: it being desirable that the settlers and inhabitants at large should be benefitted by useful information being dispersed among them, I considered that a weekly publication would greatly facilitate that design, for which purpose I gave permission to an ingenious man, who manages the Government printing press, to collect materials weekly, which, being inspected by an officer, is published in the form of a weekly newspaper, copies of which, as far as they have been published, I have the honor to enclose. (85)In the same letter, King wrote: “to the list of wants I have added a new fount of letters which may be procured for eight or ten pounds, sufficient for our purpose, if approved of” (85). King’s motivations were not purely altruistic. The population of the colony was growing in Sydney Cove and in the outlying districts, thus: “there was an increasing administrative need for information to be disseminated in a more accessible form than the printed handbills of government orders” (Robb 49). There was, however, a need for the administration to maintain control and the words “Published By Authority”, appearing on the paper’s masthead, were a constant reminder to the printer that The Sydney Gazette was “under the censorship of the Secretary to the Governor, who examined all proofs” (Ferguson viii). The high level of supervision, worked in concert with the logistical difficulties described above, ensured the newspaper was a source of great strain and stress. All for the meagre reward of “6d per copy” (Ferguson viii). This does not diminish Howe’s achievement in establishing a newspaper, an accomplishment outlined, with some pride, in an address printed on the first page of the first issue:innumerable as the Obstacles were which threatened to oppose our Undertaking, yet we are happy to affirm that they were not insurmountable, however difficult the task before us.The utility of a PAPER in the COLONY, as it must open a source of solid information, will, we hope, be universally felt and acknowledged. (Sydney Gazette, “Address” 1)Howe carefully kept his word and he “wrote nothing like a signature editorial column, nor did he venture his personal opinions, conscious always of the powers of colonial officials” (Robb 72). An approach to reportage he passed to his eldest son and long-term assistant, Robert (1795-1829), who later claimed The Sydney Gazette “reconciled in one sheet the merits of the London Gazette in upholding the Government and the London Times in defending the people” (Walker 10). The censorship imposed on The Sydney Gazette, by the Governor, was lifted in 1824 (P.M. Jones 40), when the Australian was first published without permission: Governor Thomas Brisbane did not intervene in the new enterprise. The appearance of unauthorised competition allowed Robert Howe to lobby for the removal of all censorship restrictions on The Sydney Gazette, though he was careful to cite “greater dispatch and earlier publication, not greater freedom of expression, as the expected benefit” (Walker 6). The sudden freedom was celebrated, and still appreciated many years after it was given:the Freedom of the Press has now been in existence amongst us on the verge of four years. In October 1824, we addressed a letter to the Colonial Government, fervently entreating that those shackles, under which the Press had long laboured, might be removed. Our prayer was attended to, and the Sydney Gazette, feeling itself suddenly introduced to a new state of existence, demonstrated to the Colonists the capabilities that ever must flow from the spontaneous exertions of Constitutional Liberty. (Sydney Gazette, “Freedom” 2)Early Readerships From the outset, George Howe presented a professional publication. The Sydney Gazette was formatted into three columns with the front page displaying a formal masthead featuring a scene of Sydney and the motto “Thus We Hope to Prosper”. Gwenda Robb argues the woodcut, the first produced in the colony, was carved by John W. Lewin who “had plenty of engraving skills” and had “returned to Sydney [from a voyage to Tahiti] in December 1802” (51) while Roger Butler has suggested that “circumstances point to John Austin who arrived in Sydney in 1800” as being the engraver (91). The printed text was as vital as the visual supports and every effort was made to present full accounts of colonial activities. “As well as shipping and court news, there were agricultural reports, religious homilies, literary extracts and even original poetry written by Howe himself” (Blair 450). These items, of course, sitting alongside key Government communications including General Orders and Proclamations.Howe’s language has been referred to as “florid” (Robb 52), “authoritative and yet filled with deference for all authority, pompous in a stiff, affected eighteenth century fashion” (Green 10) and so “some of Howe’s readers found the Sydney Gazette rather dull” (Blair 450). Regardless of any feelings towards authorial style, circulation – without an alternative – steadily increased with the first print run in 1802 being around 100 copies but by “the early 1820s, the newspaper’s production had grown to 300 or 400 copies” (Blair 450).In a reflection of the increasing sophistication of the Sydney-based reader, George Howe, and Robert Howe, would also publish some significant, stand-alone, texts. These included several firsts: the first natural history book printed in the colony, Birds of New South Wales with their Natural History (1813) by John W. Lewin (praised as a text “printed with an elegant and classical simplicity which makes it the highest typographical achievement of George Howe” [Wantrup 278]); the first collection of poetry published in the colony First Fruits of Australian Poetry (1819) by Barron Field; the first collection of poetry written by a Australian-born author, Wild Notes from the Lyre of a Native Minstrel (1826) by Charles Tompson; and the first children’s book A Mother’s Offering to Her Children: By a Lady, Long Resident in New South Wales (1841) by Charlotte Barton. The small concern also published mundane items such as almanacs and receipt books for the Bank of New South Wales (Robb 63, 72). All against the backdrop of printing a newspaper.New Voices The Sydney Gazette was Australia’s first newspaper and, critically for Howe, the only newspaper for over two decades. (A second paper appeared in 1810 but the Derwent Star and Van Diemen’s Land Intelligencer, which only managed twelve issues, presented no threat to The Sydney Gazette.) No genuine, local rival entered the field until 1824, when the Australian was founded by barristers William Charles Wentworth and Robert Wardell. The Monitor debuted in 1826, followed the Sydney Herald in 1831 and the Colonist in 1835 (P.M. Jones 38). It was the second title, the Australian, with a policy that asserted articles to be: “Independent, yet consistent – free, yet not licentious – equally unmoved by favours and by fear” (Walker 6), radically changed the newspaper landscape. The new paper made “a strong point of its independence from government control” triggering a period in which colonial newspapers “became enmeshed with local politics” (Blair 451). This new age of opinion reflected how fast the colony was evolving from an antipodean gaol into a complex society. Also, two papers, without censorship restrictions, without registration, stamp duties or advertisement duties meant, as pointed out by R.B. Walker, that “in point of law the Press in the remote gaol of exile was now freer than in the country of origin” (6). An outcome George Howe could not have predicted as he made the long journey, as a convict, to New South Wales. Of the early competitors, the only one that survives is the Sydney Herald (The Sydney Morning Herald from 1842), which – founded by immigrants Alfred Stephens, Frederick Stokes and William McGarvie – claims the title of Australia’s oldest continuously published newspaper (Isaacs and Kirkpatrick 4-5). That such a small population, with so many pressing issues, factions and political machinations, could support a first newspaper, then competitors, is a testament to the high regard, with which newspaper reportage was held. Another intruder would be The Government Gazette. Containing only orders and notices in the style of the London Gazette (McLeay 1), lacking any news items or private advertisements (Walker 19), it was first issued on 7 March 1832 (and continues, in an online format, today). Of course, Government orders and other notices had news value and newspaper proprietors could bid for exclusive rights to produce these notices until a new Government Printer was appointed in 1841 (Walker 20).Conclusion George Howe, an advocate of “reason and common sense” died in 1821 placing The Sydney Gazette in the hands of his son who “fostered religion” (Byrnes 557-559). Robert Howe, served as editor, experiencing firsthand the perils and stresses of publishing, until he drowned in a boating accident in Sydney Harbour, in 1829 leaving the paper to his widow Ann Howe (Blair 450-51). The newspaper would become increasingly political leading to controversy and financial instability; after more changes in ownership and in editorial responsibility, The Sydney Gazette, after almost four decades of delivering the news – as a sole voice and then as one of several alternative voices – ceased publication in 1842. During a life littered with personal tragedy, George Howe laid the foundation stone for Australia’s media empires. His efforts, in extraordinary circumstances and against all environmental indicators, serve as inspiration to newspapers editors, proprietors and readers across the country. He established the Australian press, an institution that has been described asa profession, an art, a craft, a business, a quasi-public, privately owned institution. It is full of grandeurs and faults, sublimities and pettinesses. It is courageous and timid. It is fallible. It is indispensable to the successful on-going of a free people. (Holden 15)George Howe also created an artefact of great beauty. The attributes of The Sydney Gazette are listed, in a perfunctory manner, in most discussions of the newspaper’s history. The size of the paper. The number of columns. The masthead. The changes seen across 4,503 issues. Yet, consistently overlooked, is how, as an object, the newspaper is an exquisite example of the printed word. There is a physicality to the paper that is in sharp contrast to contemporary examples of broadsides, tabloids and online publications. Concurrently fragile and robust: its translucent sheets and mottled print revealing, starkly, the problems with paper and ink; yet it survives, in several collections, over two centuries since the first issue was produced. The elegant layout, the glow of the paper, the subtle crackling sound as the pages are turned. The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser is an astonishing example of innovation and perseverance. It provides essential insights into Australia’s colonial era. It is a metonym for making words matter. AcknowledgementsThe author offers her sincere thanks to Geoff Barker, Simon Dwyer and Peter Kirkpatrick for their comments on an early draft of this paper. The author is also grateful to Bridget Griffen-Foley for engaging in many conversations about Australian newspapers. ReferencesBlair, S.J. “Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser.” A Companion to the Australian Media. Ed. Bridget Griffen-Foley. North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2014.Butler, Roger. Printed Images in Colonial Australia 1801-1901. Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, 2007.Byrnes, J.V. “Howe, George (1769–1821).” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography: 1788–1850, A–H. Canberra: Australian National University, 1966. 557-559. Ferguson, J.A. “Introduction.” The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser: A Facsimile Reproduction of Volume One, March 5, 1803 to February 26, 1804. Sydney: The Trustees of the Public Library of New South Wales in Association with Angus & Robertson, 1963. v-x. Foyster, Elizabeth. “Introduction: Newspaper Reporting of Crime and Justice.” Continuity and Change 22.1 (2007): 9-12.Goff, Victoria. “Convicts and Clerics: Their Roles in the Infancy of the Press in Sydney, 1803-1840.” Media History 4.2 (1998): 101-120.Green, H.M. “Australia’s First Newspaper.” Sydney Morning Herald, 11 Apr. 1935: 10.Holden, W. Sprague. Australia Goes to Press. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 1961. “Hughes, George (?–?).” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography: 1788–1850, A–H. Canberra: Australian National University, 1966. 562. Isaacs, Victor, and Rod Kirkpatrick. Two Hundred Years of Sydney Newspapers. Richmond: Rural Press, 2003. Jones, Dorothy. “Humour and Satire (Australia).” Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English. 2nd ed. Eds. Eugene Benson and L.W. Conolly. London: Routledge, 2005. 690-692.Jones, Phyllis Mander. “Australia’s First Newspaper.” Meanjin 12.1 (1953): 35-46. Karskens, Grace. The Colony: A History of Early Sydney. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2010. King, Philip Gidley. “Letter to Lord Hobart, 9 May 1803.” Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, Governors’ Despatches to and from England, Volume IV, 1803-1804. Ed. Frederick Watson. Sydney: Library Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament, 1915.Kirkpatrick, Rod. Press Timeline: 1802 – 1850. Canberra: National Library of Australia, 2011. 6 Jan. 2017 <https://www.nla.gov.au/content/press-timeline-1802-1850>. McLeay, Alexander. “Government Notice.” The New South Wales Government Gazette 1 (1832): 1. Mundle, R. Bligh: Master Mariner. Sydney: Hachette, 2016.New South Wales General Standing Orders and General Orders: Selected from the General Orders Issued by Former Governors, from the 16th of February, 1791, to the 6th of September, 1800. Also, General Orders Issued by Governor King, from the 28th of September, 1800, to the 30th of September, 1802. Sydney: Government Press, 1802. Robb, Gwenda. George Howe: Australia’s First Publisher. Kew: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2003.Spalding, D.A. Collecting Australian Books: Notes for Beginners. 1981. Mawson: D.A. Spalding, 1982. The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. “Address.” 5 Mar. 1803: 1.———. “To the Public.” 2 Apr. 1803: 1.———. “Wanted to Purchase.” 26 June 1803: 4.———. “We Have the Satisfaction to Inform Our Readers.” 3 Nov. 1810: 2. ———. “Sydney Gazette.” 25 Dec. 1819: 1. ———. “The Freedom of the Press.” 29 Feb. 1828: 2.———. “Never Did a More Painful Task Devolve upon a Public Writer.” 3 Feb. 1829: 2. Walker, R.B. The Newspaper Press in New South Wales, 1803-1920. Sydney: Sydney UP, 1976.Wantrup, Johnathan. Australian Rare Books: 1788-1900. Sydney: Hordern House, 1987.

IntroductionSydney’s Garden Palace was a magnificent building with a grandeur that dominated the skyline, stretching from the site of the current State Library of New South Wales to the building that now houses the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The Palace captivated society from its opening in 1879. This article outlines the building of one of Sydney’s early structural icons and how, despite being destroyed by fire after three short years in 1882, it had an enormous impact on the burgeoning colonial community of New South Wales, thus building a physical structure, pride and a suite of memories.Design and ConstructionIn February 1878, the Colonial Secretary’s Office announced that “it is intended to hold under the supervision of the Agricultural Society of New South Wales an international Exhibition in Sydney in August 1879” (Official Record ix). By December the same year it had become clear that the Agricultural Society lacked the resources to complete the project and control passed to the state government. Colonial Architect James Barnet was directed to prepare “plans for a building suitable for an international exhibition, proposed to be built in the Inner Domain” (Official Record xx). Within three days he had submitted a set of drawings for approval. From this point on there was a great sense of urgency to complete the building in less than 10 months for the exhibition opening the following September.The successful contractor was John Young, a highly experienced building contractor who had worked on the Crystal Palace for the 1851 London International Exhibition and locally on the General Post Office and Exhibition Building at Prince Alfred Park (Kent 6). Young was confident, procuring electric lights from London so that work could be carried out 24 hours a day, to ensure that the building was delivered on time. The structure was built, as detailed in the Colonial Record (1881), using over 1 million metres of timber, 2.5 million bricks and 220 tonnes of galvanised corrugated iron. Remarkably the building was designed as a temporary structure to house the Exhibition. At the end of the Exhibition the building was not dismantled as originally planned and was instead repurposed for government office space and served to house, among other things, records and objects of historical significance. Ultimately the provisional building materials used for the Garden Palace were more suited to a temporary structure, in contrast with those used for the more permanent structures built at the same time which are still standing today.The building was an architectural and engineering wonder set in a cathedral-like cruciform design, showcasing a stained-glass skylight in the largest dome in the southern hemisphere (64 metres high and 30 metres in diameter). The total floor space of the exhibition building was three and half hectares, and the area occupied by the Garden Palace and related buildings—including the Fine Arts Gallery, Agricultural Hall, Machinery Hall and 10 restaurants and places of refreshment—was an astounding 14 hectares (Official Record xxxvi). To put the scale of the Garden Palace into contemporary perspective it was approximately twice the size of the Queen Victoria Building that stands on Sydney’s George Street today.Several innovative features set the building apart from other Sydney structures of the day. The rainwater downpipes were enclosed in hollow columns of pine along the aisles, ventilation was provided through the floors and louvered windows (Official Record xxi) while a Whittier’s Steam Elevator enabled visitors to ascend the north tower and take in the harbour views (“Among the Machinery” 70-71). The building dominated the Sydney skyline, serving as a visual anchor point that welcomed visitors arriving in the city by boat:one of the first objects that met our view as, after 12 o’clock, we proceeded up Port Jackson, was the shell of the Exhibition Building which is so rapidly rising on the Domain, and which next September, is to dazzle the eyes of the world with its splendours. (“A ‘Bohemian’s’ Holiday Notes” 2)The DomeThe dome of the Garden Palace was directly above the intersection of the nave and transept and rested on a drum, approximately 30 metres in diameter. The drum featured 36 oval windows which flooded the space below with light. The dome was made of wood covered with corrugated galvanised iron featuring 12 large lattice ribs and 24 smaller ribs bound together with purlins of wood strengthened with iron. At the top of the dome was a lantern and stained glass skylight designed by Messrs. Lyon and Cottier. It was light blue, powdered with golden stars with wooden ribs in red, buff and gold (Notes 6). The painting and decorating of the dome commenced just one month before the exhibition was due to open. The dome was the sixth largest dome in the world at the time. During construction, contractor Mr Young allowed visitors be lifted in a cage to view the building’s progress.During the construction of the Lantern which surmounts the Dome of the Exhibition, visitors have been permitted, through the courtesy of Mr. Young, to ascend in the cage conveying materials for work. This cage is lifted by a single cable, which was constructed specially of picked Manilla hemp, for hoisting into position the heavy timbers used in the construction. The sensation whilst ascending is a most novel one, and must resemble that experienced in ballooning. To see the building sinking slowly beneath you as you successively reach the levels of the galleries, and the roofs of the transept and aisles is an experience never to be forgotten, and it seems a pity that no provision can be made for visitors, on paying a small fee, going up to the dome. (“View from the Lantern of the Dome Exhibition” 8)The ExhibitionInternational Exhibitions presented the opportunity for countries to express their national identities and demonstrate their economic and technological achievements. They allowed countries to showcase the very best examples of contemporary art, handicrafts and the latest technologies particularly in manufacturing (Pont and Proudfoot 231).The Sydney International Exhibition was the ninth International Exhibition and the colony’s first, and was responsible for bringing the world to Sydney at a time when the colony was prosperous and full of potential. The Exhibition—opening on 17 September 1879 and closing on 20 April 1880—had an enormous impact on the community, it boosted the economy and was the catalyst for improving the city’s infrastructure. It was a great source of civic pride.Image 1: The International Exhibition Sydney, 1879-1880, supplement to the Illustrated Sydney News Jan. 1880. Image credit: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (call no.: DL X8/3)This bird’s eye view of the Garden Palace shows how impressive the main structure was and how much of the Gardens and Domain were occupied by ancillary buildings for the Exhibition. Based on an original drawing by John Thomas Richardson, chief engraver at the Illustrated Sydney News, this lithograph features a key identifying buildings including the Art Gallery, Machinery Hall, and Agricultural Hall. Pens and sheds for livestock can also be seen. The parade ground was used throughout the Exhibition for displays of animals. The first notable display was the International Show of Sheep featuring Australian, French and English sheep; not surprisingly the shearing demonstrations proved to be particularly popular with the community.Approximately 34 countries and their colonies participated in the Exhibition, displaying the very best examples of technology, industry and art laid out in densely packed courts (Barnet n.p.). There were approximately 14,000 exhibits (Official Record c) which included displays of Bohemian glass, tapestries, fine porcelain, fabrics, pyramids of gold, metals, minerals, wood carvings, watches, ethnographic specimens, and heavy machinery. Image 2: “Meet Me under the Dome.” Illustrated Sydney News 1 Nov. 1879: 4. Official records cite that between 19,853 and 24,000 visitors attended the Exhibition on the opening day of 17 September 1879, and over 1.1 million people visited during its seven months of operation. Sizeable numbers considering the population of the colony, at the time, was just over 700,000 (New South Wales Census).The Exhibition helped to create a sense of place and community and was a popular destination for visitors. On crowded days the base of the dome became a favourite meeting place for visitors, so much so that “meet me under the dome” became a common expression in Sydney during the Exhibition (Official Record lxxxiii).Attendance was steady and continuous throughout the course of the Exhibition and, despite exceeding the predicted cost by almost four times, the Exhibition was deemed a resounding success. The Executive Commissioner Mr P.A. Jennings remarked at the closing ceremony:this great undertaking […] marks perhaps the most important epoch that has occurred in our history. In holding this exhibition we have entered into a new arena and a race of progress among the nations of the earth, and have placed ourselves in kindly competition with the most ancient States of the old and new world. (Official Record ciii)Initially the cost of admission was set at 5 shillings and later dropped to 1 shilling. Season tickets for the Exhibition were also available for £3 3s which entitled the holder to unlimited entry during all hours of general admission. Throughout the Exhibition, season ticket holders accounted for 76,278 admissions. The Exhibition boosted the economy and encouraged authorities to improve the city’s services and facilities which helped to build a sense of community as well as pride in the achievement of such a fantastic structure. A steam-powered tramway was installed to transport exhibition-goers around the city, after the Exhibition, the tramway network was expanded and by 1905–1906 the trams were converted to electric traction (Freestone 32).After the exhibition closed, the imposing Garden Palace building was used as office space and storage for various government departments.An Icon DestroyedIn the early hours of 22 September 1882 tragedy struck when the Palace was engulfed by fire (“Destruction of the Garden Palace” 7). The building – and all its contents – destroyed.Image 3: Burning of the Garden Palace from Eaglesfield, Darlinghurst, sketched at 5.55am, Sep 22/82. Image credit: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (call no.: SSV/137) Many accounts and illustrations of the Garden Palace fire can be found in contemporary newspapers and artworks. A rudimentary drawing by an unknown artist held by the State Library of New South Wales appears to have been created as the Palace was burning. The precise time and location is recorded on the painting, suggesting it was painted from Eaglesfield, a school on Darlinghurst Road. It purveys a sense of immediacy giving some insight into the chaos and heat of the tragedy. A French artist living in Sydney, Lucien Henry, was among those who attempted to capture the fire. His assistant, G.H. Aurousseau, described the event in the Technical Gazette in 1912:Mister Henry went out onto the balcony and watched until the Great Dome toppled in; it was then early morning; he went back to his studio procured a canvas, sat down and painted the whole scene in a most realistic manner, showing the fig trees in the Domain, the flames rising through the towers, the dome falling in and the reflected light of the flames all around. (Technical Gazette 33-35)The painting Henry produced is not the watercolour held by the State Library of New South Wales, however it is interesting to see how people were moved to document the destruction of such an iconic building in the city’s history.What Was Destroyed?The NSW Legislative Assembly debate of 26 September 1882, together with newspapers of the day, documented what was lost in the fire. The Garden Palace housed the foundation collection of the Technological and Sanitary Museum (the precursor to the Powerhouse Museum, now the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences), due to open on 1 December 1882. This collection included significant ethnological specimens such as Australian Indigenous artefacts, many of which were acquired from the Sydney International Exhibition. The Art Society of New South Wales had hung 300 paintings in preparation for their annual art exhibition due to open on 2 October of that year, all of these paintings consumed by fire.The Records of the Crown Lands Occupation Office were lost along with the 1881 Census (though the summary survived). Numerous railway surveys were lost, as were: £7,000 worth of statues, between 20,000 and 30,000 plants and the holdings of the Linnean Society offices and museum housed on the ground floor. The Eastern Suburbs Brass Band performed the day before at the opening of the Eastern Suburbs Horticultural Society Flower show; all the instruments were stored in the Garden Palace and were destroyed. Several Government Departments also lost significant records, including the: Fisheries Office; Mining Department; Harbour and Rivers Department; and, as mentioned, the Census Department.The fire was so ferocious that the windows in the terraces along Macquarie Street cracked with the heat and sheets of corrugated iron were blown as far away as Elizabeth Bay. How Did The Fire Start?No one knows how the fire started on that fateful September morning, and despite an official enquiry no explanation was ever delivered. One theory blamed the wealthy residents of Macquarie Street, disgruntled at losing their harbour views. Another was that it was burnt to destroy records stored in the basement of the building that contained embarrassing details about the convict heritage of many distinguished families. Margaret Lyon, daughter of the Garden Palace decorator John Lyon, wrote in her diary:a gentleman who says a boy told him when he was putting out the domain lights, that he saw a man jump out of the window and immediately after observed smoke, they are advertising for the boy […]. Everyone seems to agree on his point that it has been done on purpose – Today a safe has been found with diamonds, sapphires and emeralds, there were also some papers in it but they were considerably charred. The statue of her majesty or at least what remains of it, for it is completely ruined – the census papers were also ruined, they were ready almost to be sent to the printers, the work of 30 men for 14 months. Valuable government documents, railway and other plans all gone. (MLMSS 1381/Box 1/Item 2) There are many eyewitness accounts of the fire that day. From nightwatchman Mr Frederick Kirchen and his replacement Mr John McKnight, to an emotional description by 14-year-old student Ethel Pockley. Although there were conflicting accounts as to where the fire may have started, it seems likely that the fire started in the basement with flames rising around the statue of Queen Victoria, situated directly under the dome. The coroner did not make a conclusive finding on the cause of the fire but was scathing of the lack of diligence by the authorities in housing such important items in a building that was not well-secured a was a potential fire hazard.Building a ReputationA number of safes were known to have been in the building storing valuables and records. One such safe, a fireproof safe manufactured by Milner and Son of Liverpool, was in the southern corner of the building near the southern tower. The contents of this safe were unscathed in contrast with the contents of other safes, the contents of which were destroyed. The Milner safe was a little discoloured and blistered on the outside but otherwise intact. “The contents included three ledgers, or journals, a few memoranda and a plan of the exhibition”—the glue was slightly melted—the plan was a little discoloured and a few loose papers were a little charred but overall the contents were “sound and unhurt”—what better advertising could one ask for! (“The Garden Palace Fire” 5).barrangal dyara (skin and bones): Rebuilding CommunityThe positive developments for Sydney and the colony that stemmed from the building and its exhibition, such as public transport and community spirit, grew and took new forms. Yet, in the years since 1882 the memory of the Garden Palace and its disaster faded from the consciousness of the Sydney community. The great loss felt by Indigenous communities went unresolved.Image 4: barrangal dyara (skin and bones). Image credit: Sarah Morley.In September 2016 artist Jonathan Jones presented barrangal dyara (skin and bones), a large scale sculptural installation on the site of the Garden Palace Building in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden. The installation was Jones’s response to the immense loss felt throughout Australia with the destruction of countless Aboriginal objects in the fire. The installation featured thousands of bleached white shields made of gypsum that were laid out to show the footprint of the Garden Palace and represent the rubble left after the fire.Based on four typical designs from Aboriginal nations of the south-east, these shields not only raise the chalky bones of the building, but speak to the thousands of shields that would have had cultural presence in this landscape over generations. (Pike 33)ConclusionSydney’s Garden Palace was a stunning addition to the skyline of colonial Sydney. A massive undertaking, the Palace opened, to great acclaim, in 1879 and its effect on the community of Sydney and indeed the colony of New South Wales was sizeable. There were brief discussions, just after the fire, about rebuilding this great structure in a more permanent fashion for the centenary Exhibition in 1888 (“[From Our Own Correspondents] New South Wales” 5). Ultimately, it was decided that this achievement of the colony of New South Wales would be recorded in history, gifting a legacy of national pride and positivity on the one hand, but on the other an example of the destructive colonial impact on Indigenous communities. For many Sydney-siders today this history is as obscured as the original foundations of the physical building. What we build—iconic structures, civic pride, a sense of community—require maintenance and remembering. References“Among the Machinery.” The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser 10 Jan. 1880: 70-71.Aurousseau, G.H. “Lucien Henry: First Lecturer in Art at the Sydney Technical College.” Technical Gazette 2.III (1912): 33-35.Barnet, James. International Exhibition, Sydney, 1880: References to the Plans Showing the Space and Position Occupied by the Various Exhibits in the Garden Palace. Sydney: Colonial Architect’s Office, 1880.“A ‘Bohemian’s’ Holiday Notes.” The Singleton Argus and Upper Hunter General Advocate 23 Apr. 1879: 2.Census Department. New South Wales Census. 1881. 3 Mar. 2017 <http://hccda.ada.edu.au/pages/NSW-1881-census-02_vi>. “Destruction of the Garden Palace.” Sydney Morning Herald 23 Sep. 1882: 7.Freestone, Robert. “Space Society and Urban Reform.” Colonial City, Global City, Sydney’s International Exhibition 1879. Eds. Peter Proudfoot, Roslyn Maguire, and Robert Freestone. Darlinghurst, NSW: Crossing P, 2000. 15-33.“[From Our Own Correspondents] New South Wales.” The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 30 Sep. 1882: 5.“The Garden Palace Fire.” Sydney Morning Herald 25 Sep. 1882: 5.Illustrated Sydney News and New South Wales Agriculturalist and Grazier 1 Nov. 1879: 4.“International Exhibition.” Australian Town and Country Journal 15 Feb. 1879: 11.Kent, H.C. “Reminiscences of Building Methods in the Seventies under John Young. Lecture.” Architecture: An Australian Magazine of Architecture and the Arts Nov. (1924): 5-13.Lyon, Margaret. Unpublished Manuscript Diary. MLMSS 1381/Box 1/Item 2.New South Wales, Legislative Assembly. Debates 22 Sep. 1882: 542-56.Notes on the Sydney International Exhibition of 1879. Melbourne: Government Printer, 1881.Official Record of the Sydney International Exhibition 1879. Sydney: Government Printer, 1881.Pike, Emma. “barrangal dyara (skin and bones).” Jonathan Jones: barrangal dyara (skin and bones). Eds. Ross Gibson, Jonathan Jones, and Genevieve O’Callaghan. Balmain: Kaldor Public Arts Project, 2016.Pont, Graham, and Peter Proudfoot. “The Technological Movement and the Garden Palace.” Colonial City, Global City, Sydney’s International Exhibition 1879. Eds. Peter Proudfoot, Roslyn Maguire, and Robert Freestone. Darlinghurst, NSW: Crossing Press, 2000. 239-249.“View from the Lantern of the Dome of the Exhibition.” Illustrated Sydney News and New South Wales Agriculturalist and Grazier 9 Aug. 1879: 8.

On December 8, 2014, researchers, students, librarians, and other participants gathered together in Sydney, Australia at the State Library of New South Wales for the 7th annual Implementing New Knowledge Environments (INKE) Birds-of-a-Feather conference, “Research Foundations for Understanding Books and Reading in the Digital Age.” On January 27 and 28, 2015, a similar group of stakeholders met in Whistler, BC, Canada, at the Nita Lake Lodge for the second year to discuss “Sustaining Partnerships to Transform Scholarly Production.” The events were hosted by INKE and sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Drawing from these two gatherings, the articles collected in this latest issue of Scholarly and Research Communication reflect an ongoing conversation in SRC (see 5.4), on new ways humanities researchers, publishers, and policy makers can collaborate effectively to make the most of the new affordances of computational tools and methods.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the planning policy and legal framework governing the creation and operation of urban agriculture in Sydney, Australia’s global city. All levels of urban agriculture are considered – from domestic and small community gardens to large agribusiness – as all make an important contribution to agricultural production in an urban context. Design/methodology/approach Using the Australian State of New South Wales and its capital Sydney, as a focus, the study examines the recent trend of the recognition and re-establishment of agriculture as a desired land use in cities. Three examples are selected for closer scrutiny – Horsley Park Urban Agriculture Precinct, located in the Western Sydney Parklands; City of Sydney’s City Farm, located in the inner suburb of St Peters; and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis Agribusiness Precinct, located at a new airport on the fringe of Sydney. Findings As more city-dwellers embrace urban food production and as city authorities seek to encourage and facilitate farming activities, it is clear that regulatory structures which allow it to happen should be incorporated into urban planning legislation at (in the Australian context) state government level. If cities want to encourage urban agriculture, planning legislation needs to be part of the broader legal framework for enabling it to germinate and thrive. Originality/value This paper explores the emergence of two new types of urban agriculture: first, the multi-functional, small-scale urban farming operation, situated conceptually between a community garden and a full-scale commercial agricultural enterprise, and located spatially in the midst of built-up urban form; and second, the intensive, high tech export-oriented model exemplified by the Aerotropolis Agribusiness Precinct.

In New South Wales (NSW), Australia, awareness of coastal erosion and shoreline recession had its genesis in the late 1920s when storms damaged houses at Collaroy one of Sydney’s northern beaches (Figure 1). At about the same time the Coogee “Fun” Pier, located on a southern Sydney beach and built between 1924 and 1928, was so damaged by wave attack that the remains had to be removed in 1934. Again in 1945 a new seawall at Cronulla, another southern Sydney beach, was damaged beyond repair and at the same time more houses were lost at Collaroy. This was followed in 1967, 1974, and 1978 by major erosion events that threatened both houses and high-rise buildings at Collaroy, resulted in the loss of houses at Bilgola, a northern Sydney beach and in 1978 the loss of houses at Wamberal, 46 km north of Sydney Harbour (Table 1). Unlike the United States of America (USA) where coastal management comes under both federal and state jurisdictions, in Australia it is the province of the governments of each of the states. The federal government does provide some aspirational guidance, but not significant legislative or financial support. There is also no equivalent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide project delivery services. In Australia, the states devolve delivery down to local councils through Acts of Parliament and formal policies that can also have legislative force. However, the failure of the State of NSW to provide all the legislative tools necessary to effectively manage coastal matters at a local council level results in coastal management being abdicated rather than delegated by the state, particularly in relation to private development.

Abstract Background Access to perinatal mental health services in rural and remote areas is scarce, particularly perinatal psychiatry services. Telehealth, together with psychiatry consultation-liaison services are one way to improve access to areas of need. The New South Wales State-wide Outreach Perinatal Services – Mental Health (SwOPS) program is a Sydney-based program, offering specialist perinatal consultation-liaison services to rural and remote community mental health clinicians caring for perinatal women with significant mental health problems. This study aimed to evaluate healthcare practitioners’ perceptions of the SwOPS program. Method Healthcare practitioners (N = 31) were purposely recruited to participate in the study. Data were analysed using a mixed-methods cross-sectional design. Results Most participants reported being familiar with and satisfied with the service. As a result of accessing the service, participants reported an increase in knowledge and confidence regarding caring for women with moderate-to-severe or complex mental health conditions. Qualitative comments highlight the participant’s perceptions of the program. Conclusion This study provides useful insights about a state-wide telehealth psychiatry consultation-liaison service from the perspective of practitioners. It highlights the benefits, facilitators, and barriers associated with implementing such services.