Ok it is history Tuesday and today I am going to touch a little on the history of the state I call home New South Wales.

New South Wales (NSW) was first established in 1788 with the arrival of the first fleet which consisted of 11 ships under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, there was over a thousand settlers including 778 convicts with 192 of them being women and 586 being men.

The fleet arrived at Botany Bay but soon moved to a more suitable area known as Port Jackson where a settlement was established at Sydney Cove on the 26 January 1788, this date would later become our national day i.e. Australia Day.

The colony was formally proclaimed by Governor Phillip on the 7 February 1788 at Sydney, Sydney Cove offered a fresh water supply and a safe harbour which Governor Phillip described as being “with out exception the finest harbour in the world”

Governor Phillip

Governor Phillip had complete authority over the inhabitants of the colony, he was enlightened for his age with a personal intent of establishing harmonious relations with the local Aboriginal people, he also tried to reform as well as discipline the convicts.

Between 1788 and 1792 around 3546 male and 766 female convicts landed at Sydney with many of those sick and unfit for work and the conditions of the healthy convicts deteriorated with the hard labour and lack of food in the settlement.

Between 1788 and 1792 the majority of the population was made up of convicts and their gaolers, but after this there was a population of emancipated convicts who could be granted land and it was these people who pioneered a non-government private sector economy, later they would be joined by solider whose military service had ended, finally free settlers began to arrive from Brittan.

Governor Phillip left Australia for England on 11 December1792, with the new settlement having survived near starvation and immense isolation for four years. The following year on the 16 February the first free settlers arrived they were Thomas Rose his wife and four children, Edward Powell, Thomas Webb, Joseph Webb and Frederick Meredith.

Prior to the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1770, New South Wales was inhabited by Aborigines for at least 40,000 years, although how on earth anyone knows that I don’t get. For many Aborigines the 26 January is not a day of celebration but one of mourning and protest, for these Australians the founding of the modern Australian nation led to the disruption of their traditional way of life.

However, by 1820 Australia was beginning to look prosperous and sentiments of Australian patriotism were being expressed at gatherings of ex-convicts. The sense of belonging to a new nation must have been encouraged from 1817 when Governor Macquarie recommended the adoption of the name of “Australia” for the entire continent instead of New Holland.

By 1847 the convict population of Sydney accounted for only 3.2% of the total population.

I could write more but I won’t I will leave that for another post, don’t want to bore you all too much.

Now to talk about another flag I am sure people not only in foreign countries but here in Australia have not heard of. The Australian South Sea Islanders Flag.

South Sea Islanders are descendants of islanders brought from various Pacific islands from 1863 to 1904 to work as labourers in the Queensland sugar and timber industries.

The flag was formally adopted in 1998 by the Australian South Sea Islanders United Council to represent this distinct community.

The black panels symbolise the people standing strong and the continuity of their traditions, the blue represents the sea and the sky, the gold is for the sun and the green is for the land and the islanders contribution to agriculture. The southern cross is to remind then of their home in the south pacific and as it is the badge that Australians associate with, it emphasises that they are also Australians.

This flag was designed by Tony Burton in 1994 so it hasn’t been around for very long, there was a recognised need for a simple flag that would stand with the distinction alongside other flags and represent this distinct community.

Hey hey it’s Saturday and yes I didn’t get around to doing a Five things Friday post this is because by the time I got home had food and Blain was picked up by his dad I just forgot about it so instead I am doing a Saturday post about well nothing much.

I have started walking again I go 5 mornings a week, I have to wait till after Blain goes to school on the days he is here but this morning I went and I have already increased the distance adding 5 minutes to the walk so now I am up to 35 minutes, the first day I went again I only managed 20 minutes that was on Monday so things are improving I am hoping that in about 6 weeks I will be up to an hour walk of a morning.

Yes it is often bloody cold when I go for a walk in the morning but I wear track pants and a long sleeve top with a singlet and gloves on my hands.

 Uncle John

On Thursday my cousin Kristine mentioned on Facebook that it was the 20^th anniversary of her dad’s passing, her dad was my Uncle John and he was hands down my favourite uncle and I still dream about him often.

In many of the dreams he is with my grandfather (Tom) dad’s father and sometime he is with my other grandfather, mum’s dad and yes I often refer to poppy Jenkins by his name (Tom) this is because I didn’t feel very close to him, in fact I have felt like he didn’t like me much for most of my life, this I think is because as a teenager he told me that he thought my sister Sue was a better daughter and person then me.

Today is Landon’s 3^rd birthday and I am going to go over to my brothers place for a small family party the only people invited are my parents, my sister Sandra and her girls and myself, I will take Leo with me as I will have him this afternoon and night. I think Landon’s mum and her dad will also be there.

It is also my nephew Tom’s birthday he is 20 today, so happy birthday to Tom.

Well I am going to post this and then pop out to the shops for a bit as I need to go over to Coles at Mount Hutton to see if I can get Blain’s soft drink they didn’t have it at Coles at Warners Bay yesterday.

Hello everyone, didn’t get around to doing a post yesterday as I went with mum to Kmart and by the time I got home and checked my emails and read some blogs before I knew it, it was time to go and get the boys from school after that Blain was here and of course he walks in the door and sits at the computer.

This morning I had to go and see my nanna at the nursing home, then mum had to go to the brew shop for Dave and then we came home here and picked up Sydney-May, yes she is with nanna for the day as she is sick and couldn’t go to school.

Nanna was good we hadn’t seen her for two weeks as last week the nursing home was in lock down and the week before we had other stuff to do so couldn’t get there. Anyway nanna was good, pretty much the same as always, but we do feel better when we get over there to see her.

Blain has decided he doesn’t want to stay with Aunty Jess at all during the week so he is here although he did stay with her on Tuesday night but after they have tea Jessica takes the boys to Natasha’s house and after Natasha gets home from work Jessica goes back to her own house and leaves the boys with Natasha.

My dad has been really sick the last week or so, mum made him go to the doctors yesterday and he is on antibiotics and prednisone again and the doctor told mum if dad isn’t sounding any better in 48 hours he is to go back as he might have to go back into hospital, dad said he isn’t going back and he isn’t going into hospital end of story. Mum says what would you prefer hospital or grave.

On Saturday it is my Aunty Pat’s birthday she will be 75, and her daughter has arranged to take Aunty Pat out for dinner that night and of course they invited mum and dad, dad wanted to go as Pat is his sister but mum said he is not well enough to go out at night. It would had been better if they did something at lunch, I always do something for lunch when I arrange something for my parents.

Welcome to history Tuesday today I am going to touch on the history of the internet and internet banking, can you remember what it was like before we had the internet and when it was first available in homes, remember that it was for a long time only available in business and academic institutions.

Do you remember the old dial up, and not being able to use the phone while you were online unless you had two different phone lines in the home on for the internet and one for phone calls, I do but it seems like it was so long ago now.

We had dial up for many years as for a long time after broadband came in now company would touch us as they said that it would drop out too much, in the end Telstra connected up to broadband and we are still with Telstra and for the most part we are happy with the connection although it does drop out at times for now reason.

How about internet banking this is something we think of as a newish thing but in fact it has been around since the early 80’s what the hell is with that didn’t realise it was around way back then. From its humble start online banking has morphed into a sophisticated and convenient way of accessing finances that many us now simply couldn’t live without.

Did you know in the 80’s & 90’s banks would actually mail us a flobby disk with software that we could install onto our computer that allowed us to check our balances and make transfers but usually it cost us to do so, unlike now days when online banking is free of transaction fees as such.

Meanwhile, in other parts of our lives, the internet has been racing ahead. The way we date, shop, contact friends, rent houses and look for jobs has all changed forever. In general, our banks’ websites have not been a patch on Facebook, Youtube, or even Ebay. But all this seems to be changing. It is safe to say the way we interact with our bank on the web is going to be very different in only a few years time.

Now days most of us can’t imagine not having the internet, it is everywhere, schools have it students are expected to know how to use the internet and a computer in fact many children learn how to us a computer and surf the net from a very young age.

Both Blain and Leo are great at finding stuff online sometimes they ask for help but Leo once I have found the right page will tell me that’s ok nanna I have it from here and shoos me away while he does what he wants, plays the games he likes and watches the videos on Youtube he loves to watch.

Now today I will tell you about the Queens Personal Flag for Australia, yeah I know you didn’t know she had a personal flag for Australia, well join the club I also didn’t know about it either.

Since the 1963 Royal Visit the Queen has used this flag when she is in Australia as a distinctive personal flag, rather than the Royal Standard used when she is in the United Kingdom.

The flag is a banner of the Australian Coat of Arms with a badge consisting of the Commonwealth Star upon which is the Queens Royal badge showing her initial surmounted by a crown and surrounded by a garland of roses and wattles. The Western Australian swan faces away from the hoist, the same as in the Coat of Arms.

Well well well it’s Friday yet again and this week I think I will go with something people who read my blogs and know me and my family will get.

Jo-Anne

Jeannie

Susan

Sandra

David

Do you know what the theme is?

Hello all, how is everyone this lovely not so cold but not really warm Thursday or should that read Wednesday depends on where you are.

All you have today is some random thoughts.

How many people have dirty, yucky looking oven trays that they cover in them in foil and continue to use them, or is that just me.

How often do you have a pair of pants that are covered in pill (white bits of stuff stuck to the clothes) that you keep saying you are going to get rid of because no matter how often you depill it they never look good…………or is that just me

Do you wear socks with slippers so the slippers don’t end up smelling……………or is that just me

How about getting easily distracted and end up starting a few different things during the day and not completing one task before starting another………………or is that just me

How many of you have a computer hog for a grandson……………..or is that just me

How about a daughter who is not stepping up and being connected more with the education of their child……………or is that just me

Ok that is all for now I will post this while the computer hog is in the bath……………

Welcome to history Tuesday and this week I am going to talk a little about the history of the toothbrush. The earliest identified use of the word toothbrush in English was in the autobiography of Anthony Wood (whoever he was) who wrote that in 1690 he bought a toothbrush for J Barret.

Apparently way back in 3500 BC the Babylonians and Egyptians are supposed to have made a form of toothbrush by fraying the end of a twig and in tombs these toothsticks have been found alongside the dead.

Around 1600BC, the Chinese developed “chewing sticks” which were made from aromatic tree twigs to freshen breath.

The Greeks and Romans used toothpicks to clean their teeth and toothpick-like twigs have been excavated in Quin Dynasty tombs. The chew sticks remain common in Africa and the rural Southern United States- and in the Islamic world the use of chewing stick Miswak is considered a pious action, and has been prescribed to be used before every prayer five times a day Miswak has been used by Muslims since 7th Century AD.

The Chinese are believed to have invented the first natural bristle toothbrush made from the bristles from pigs’ necks in the 15th century, with the bristles attached to a bone or bamboo handle. Although when it was brought from China to Europe, this design was adapted and often used softer horsehairs which many Europeans preferred. It is also believed that feathers were used in early Europe

The first bristle toothbrush, resembling the modern toothbrush, was found in China during the Tang Dynasty(619–907) and used hog bristle. The bristles were sourced from hogs living in Siberia and northern China because the colder temperatures provided firmer bristles. They were then attached to a handle manufactured from bamboo or bone, forming a toothbrush. The bristle toothbrush spread to Europe, brought back from China to Europe by travellers. It was adopted in Europe during the 17th century

The first toothbrush of a more modern design was made by William Addis in England around 1780 – the handle was carved from cattle bone and the brush portion was still made from swine bristles. In 1844, the first 3-row bristle brush was designed. It was while he was in gaol for causing a riot that he decided that the method used for cleaning ones teeth was ineffective at the time it was common to just rub a rag with soot and salt over the teeth.

So he saved a small animal bone left over from the meal he had eaten the previous night, into which he drilled small holes. He then obtained some bristles from one of his guards, which he tied in tufts that he then passed through the holes in the bone, and which he finally sealed with glue. After his release, he started a business that would manufacture the toothbrushes he had built, and he soon became very rich. He died in 1808, and left the business to his eldest son, also called William, and it stayed in family ownership until 1996.

Under the name Wisdom Toothbrushes the company now manufactures 70 million toothbrushes per year in the UK. By1840 toothbrushes were being mass-produced in England, France, Germany, and Japan. Pig bristle was used for cheaper toothbrushes, and badger hair for the more expensive ones.

Natural bristles were the only source of bristles until someone named Du Pont invented nylon. The invention of nylon started the development of the truly modern toothbrush in 1938, and by the 1950s softer nylon bristles were being made, as people preferred these. The first electric toothbrush was made in 1939 and the first electric toothbrush in the US was the Broxodent in 1960.

Today, both manual and electric toothbrushes come in many shapes and sizes and are typically made of plastic moulded handles and nylon bristles. The most recent toothbrush models include handles that are straight, angled, curved, and contoured with grips and soft rubber areas to make them easier to hold and use. Toothbrush bristles are usually synthetic and range from very soft to soft in texture, although harder bristle versions are available. Toothbrush heads range from very small for young children to larger sizes for older children and adults and come in a variety of shapes such as rectangular, oblong, oval and almost round.

The basic fundamentals have not changed since the times of the Egyptians and Babylonians – a handle to grip, and a bristle-like feature with which to clean the teeth. Over its long history, the toothbrush has evolved to become a scientifically designed tool using modern ergonomic designs and safe and hygienic materials that benefit us all.