Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Map of Tassie

The early penal colony of Tasmania. I'll be paying my first visit there next week (or, since this hasn't updated, fourteenth of June)


Lieutenant John BOWEN, Cmndt. 1803-1804
Colonel David COLLINS, Lt Gov., (South) 1 1804-1810
Lieutenant Edward LORD RM, Lt Gov., (South) March-July 1810
Captain J. MURRAY, Lt Gov., (South) 1810-1812
Lieutenant Colonel William PATERSON, Lt Gov., (North) 1804-1808
Captain John BRABYN, Cmndt., (North) 1808-1810
Major G. A. GORDON, Cmndt., (North) 1810-1812
Captain J. RITCHIE, Cmndt., (North) 2 June 1812
Major A. E. GEILS, Cmndt. 1812-1813
Colonel Thomas DAVEY, Lt Gov. 1813-1817
Colonel William SORELL, Lt Gov. 1817-1824
Colonel George ARTHUR, Lt Gov. 1824-1836
Sir John FRANKLIN, KCH, RN, Lt Gov. 1837-1843
Sir John EARDLEY-WILMOT, Bt, Lt Gov. 1843-1846
Sir William DENISON, Lt Gov. 1847-1855
Sir Henry FOX YOUNG, CB, Governor 1855-1861
Colonel (later Sir) Thomas GORE BROWNE, CB, Governor. 1861-1868
Mr (later Sir) Charles Du CANE, Governor and Commander-in-Chief. 1869-1874
Mr (later Sir) Frederick WELD, CMG, Governor. 1875-1880
Major Sir George STRAHAN, KCMG, Governor. 1881-1886
Sir Robert HAMILTON, KCB, Governor and Commander-in-Chief 1887-1892
The Viscount GORMANSTON, KCMG, Governor and Commander-in-Chief. 1893-1900
Captain Sir Arthur HAVELOCK, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, Governor 1901-1904
Sir Gerald STRICKLAND, KCMG, Governor. 1904-1909
Major General Sir Harry BARRON, KCMG, CVO, Governor. 1909-1913
The Rt Hon. Sir William ELLISON-MACARTNEY, KCMG, Governor. 1913-1917
Sir Francis NEWDEGATE, KCMG, Governor. 1917-1920
Sir William ALLARDYCE, KCMG, Governor. 1920-1922
Sir James O'GRADY, KCMG, Governor. 1924-1930
Sir Ernest CLARK, GCMG, KCB, CBE, Governor. 1933-1945
Admiral Sir Hugh BINNEY, KCB, KCMG, DSO, Governor. 1945-1951
The Rt Hon. Sir Ronald CROSS, Bt., KCMG, KCVO, Governor. 1951-1958
The Lord ROWALLAN, KT, KBE, MC, TD, Governor. 1959-1963
Lieutenant General Sir Charles GAIRDNER, GBE, KCMG, KCVO, CB, Governor. 1963-1968
Lieutenant General Sir Edric BASTYAN, KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB, Governor. 1968-1973
The Hon. Sir Stanley BURBURY, KCMG, KCVO, KBE, Governor. 3 1973-1982
Sir James PLIMSOLL, AC, CBE, Governor. 1982-1987
General Sir Phillip BENNETT, AC, KBE, DSO, Governor. 1987-1995
The Hon. Sir Guy GREEN, AC, KBE, CVO, Governor 4 1995-2003
Mr. Richard Butler, AC, Governor 5 2003-2004
The Hon. William J. E. COX AC, RFD, ED 2004-

Footnotes:
1.
Before the arrival of David Collins as Van Diemen's Land's first Lieutenant Governor, the colony was under the control of Lieutenant John Bowen as its commandant.
2.
On 1st July 1812, the north of Van Diemen's Land was united with the south and administered from Hobart. Captain Ritchie had been Lieutenant-Governor for only one month.
3.
Sir Stanley Burbury was the first Australian born Governor.
4.
Sir Guy Green was the first Tasmanian born Governor.
5.
Resigned from office on the 9th August 2004.



PREMIERS OF TASMANIA

1 William Champ 1 Nov 1856 - 26 Feb 1857
2 Thomas Gregson 26 Feb 1857 - 25 Apr 1857
3 William Weston (MLC) (1) 25 Apr 1857 - 12 May 1857
4 Francis Smith 12 May 1857 - 1 Nov 1860
William Weston (MLC) (2) 1 Nov 1860 - 2 Aug 1861
5 Thomas Chapman 2 Aug 1861 - 20 Jan 1863
6 James Whyte (MLC) 20 Jan 1863 - 24 Nov 1866
7 Richard Dry (MLC) 24 Nov 1866 - 4 Aug 1869
8 James Wilson (MLC) 4 Aug 1869 - 4 Nov 1872
9 Frederick Innes 4 Nov 1872 - 4 Aug 1873
10 Alfred Kennerley(MLC) 4 Aug 1873 - 20 Apr 1876
11 Thomas Reibey 20 Jul 1876 - 9 Aug 1877
12 Philip Fysh 9 Aug 1877 - 5 Mar 1878
13 William Giblin 5 Mar 1878 - 20 Dec 1878
14 William Crowther (MLC) 20 Dec 1878 - 29 Oct 1879
William Giblin (2) 30 Oct 1879 - 15 Aug 1884
15 Adye Douglas (MLC) 15 Aug 1884 - 8 Mar 1996
16 James Agnew (MLC) 8 Mar 1886 - 29 Mar 1887
Philip Fysh (MLC) (2) LIB 30 Mar 1887 - 17 Aug 1892
17 Henry Dobson 17 Aug 1892 - 14 Apr 1894
18 Edward Braddon Free Trade 14 Apr 1894 - 12 Oct 1899
19 Neil Lewis (1) 12 Oct 1899 - 8 Apr 1903
20 William Propsting Lib-Dem 9 Apr 1903 - 11 Jul 1904
21 John Evans 12 Jul 1904 - 19 Jun 1909
Neil Lewis (2) LIB 19 Jun 1909 - 20 Oct 1909
22 John Earle (1) ALP 20 Oct 1909 - 27 Oct 1909
Neil Lewis (3) LIB 27 Oct 1909 - 14 Jun 1912
23 Albert Solomon LIB 14 Jun 1912 - 6 Apr 1914
John Earle (2) ALP 6 Apr 1914 - 15 Apr 1916
24 Walter Lee (1) LIB 15 Apr 1916 - 12 Aug 1922
25 John B Hayes LIB 12 Aug 1922 - 14 Aug 1923
Walter Lee (2) LIB 14 Aug 1923 - 25 Oct 1923
26 Joseph Lyons ALP 25 Oct 1923 - 15 Jun 1928
27 John McPhee LIB 15 Jun 1928 - 15 Mar 1934
Walter Lee (3) LIB 15 Mar 1934 - 22 Jun 1934
28 Albert Ogilvy ALP 22 Jun 1934 - 10 Jun 1939
29 Edmund Dwyer-Gray ALP 11 Jun 1939 - 18 Dec 1939
30 Robert Cosgrove (1) ALP 18 Dec 1939 - 18 Dec 1947
31 Edward Brooker ALP 18 Dec 1947 - 24 Feb 1948
Robert Cosgrove (2) ALP 25 Feb 1948 - 25 Aug 1958
32 Eric Reece(1) ALP 26 Aug 1958 - 26 May 1969
33 Angus Bethune LIB 26 May 1969 - 3 May 1972
Eric Reece (2) ALP 3 May 1972 - 31 Mar 1975
34 Bill Neilson ALP 31 Mar 1975 - 1 Dec 1977
35 Doug Lowe ALP 1 Dec 1977 - 11 Nov 1981
37 Robin Gray LIB 27 May 1982 - 29 June 1989
38 Michael Field ALP 29 Jun 1989 - 17 Feb 1992
40 Tony Rundle LIB 18 Mar 1996 - 14 Sep 1998
41 Jim Bacon ALP 14 Sep 1998 - 21 Mar 2004
42 Paul Lennon ALP 21 Mar 2004 - current



And let's not forget ordinary commerce.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Plane Nuts

Australia: Health Minister Says Marijuana as Dangerous as Heroin -- Calls for National Toughening of Laws 5/19/06
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/436/christopherpyne.shtml
Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Health Christopher Pyne announced Monday that all state and territorial governments had signed on to a federal plan to create a tough, uniform set of marijuana laws as part of a crackdown on cannabis. In making the announcement, Pyne also made the bizarre claim that marijuana is "as dangerous" as hard drugs like heroin or cocaine.



Now that I've scotched the rumours about liquid drugs on ice and a mainstream smoker's cough, I feel it is time to take Christopher Pyne at his beady little word and follow the logic of his argument for spending $22 million of taxpayer's money on a national scourge.

If I am not mistaken, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health's assertion is that there is a link between its use and mental illness. I don't propose to bring up a chart to show the overlap of longterm and widespread usage with that of erratic behaviour and impaired learning; painstakingly investigate the cause and consequence of all those forms of irruption and compare and contrast them with those of cannabis-induced psychosis. That would be an argument against Pyne's position. It would be one of many that involve a dire shortage of used syringes, blank treachery, and dying in gutters. And all together too much work.
The public's choice for secondary Health spokesperson would have to know what he is talking about. Otherwise they wouldn't fork out so much money to have him tell them what was good for them.

But we can't just rest with the assertions that Mr Pyne has made without examining the essence of his claims. Since there are users who do not lapse into uncontrollable states and need to seek medical or psychiatric assistance, I invoke the principle of charity and assume that Pyne is not ignorant of this fact but has chosen his position because "some people with a disposition toward schizophrenia and similar will have their condition triggered by the use of cannabis". And this is where planes and nuts come into it.

II

You may have read the article in which a mother is trying to get nuts banned from commercial flights altogether because anaphylatic people can be affected just by having nuts in the vicinity. I don't wish to discuss the merits of her case in any great detail, but I do think it illustrates two relevant facts:

  1. [something ingested] possesses a harmful reaction in some people/physiologies and not in others;
  2. the rights of those who do not suffer a harmful reaction are different in kind yet have to be considered as well.


For the traveller who is used to wolfing down a bag of peanuts on their long flight, such a prohibition would be tantamount to banning smokers from pubs, or gamblers from the track.

Oh, but you argue, the nut gobblers are not being chastised for their consumption of cashews or their hoarding of hazelnuts; they must just check whose in the room before they tip the beer nuts into the bowl.

Sure, let's pursue this with the same zeal that the government prosecutes their war on "drugs" and set up nuthouses where you can chew in piece. Well now you've opened the floodgates


The Pyne Nut Project, named in honour of the crusader who logically agrees with the stance of no-nut, is no sooner off the ground than a group of angry celiacs demand to know why the same care is not exercised in labelling and protecting consumers from cereal grains. The Minister for (Faith-based) Health turning white at the thought of putting the beer-drinkin',sandwich-eatin' voters offside, even if they're not quite of his constituency. A few nuts here and there is no big deal but modern food consumption is fueled by flour power. The needs of a minority cannot affect the general wellbeing to this extent.

And if they don't in wheat beer and a processed loaf then they don't in packets of peanuts on planes and they don't in drugs that only initiate a psychotic episode in some people at certain times.

For that matter, if the Govt. really want to go down this path; this very slippery slope, they will need to keep an eye on iodine and albumen. Then, if you look down the list on those links, you see it is perfectly hopeless battle, because some of the foods that are actually very good for you are deadly to a small number of sufferers. Should we impose a plum ban when they are what keep the rest of the population healthy and regular? Hardly.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Justice chickens

I lived in Queensland for a year and it would be very easy, having seen and heard all I did, to be snide indeed about the latest miscarriage of justice there. But I have a more important observation to make about this tragedy and debacle both.

I'm not doing some boorish state thing. I think apologising for Milton Orkopoulos alone would take the whole of this entry (if you'll excuse the pun) so I'm not going there.

I do find it puzzling that tiers of the justice,health, and political systems would see a clear case of police brutality, indeed, criminality as being a 'tragic accident'

But let the story speak:

[headline of the Weekend Australian for the weekend just gone]

Palm cop to face charges

Justice seen to be done at last

[...]When [very drunk Mulrunji]Doomadgee encountered Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley and Aboriginal liaison officer Lloyd Bengaroo arresting a local man, he abused Bengaroo, swearing at him. For that he was was arrested, put in a paddy wagon, driven to the watchhouse where he and Hurley "scuffled". Twenty minutes later he was dead - four of his ribs broken and his liver torn in two


I don't know about you, but that sounds sufficiently excessive to question how much a danger this guy is. A lunatic with a badge and weapons is even worse.

The state government caved in to protest and allowed in a completely independent arbiter (i.e. an outerstater, yea, a "cockroach") to announce that there was a case to answer in a court of law. The DPP has somehow saved her hide; I guess it's a case of solidarity since the executive level of government failed to observe the interest of the victim or his people just as surely as the pathologist who first judged it an accident.
Then they wonder why there's a riot.

But the police association is going to protest. It's up for grabs apparently; I guess they can't throw bottles and bricks so they'll have to let off some tear gas canisters or something.
I just don't appreciate the mentality. The fact that I'd let a record manager get pecked by crows if he manipulated data to his own advantage is beside the point; I know being a cop is a dangerous and often unrewarding job and I know you're putting your necks out on the line and 'in the heat of the moment' and all that. But can I put it to you that you splitting some guy's liver because they razzed you is as bad as the Victorian force protecting themselves against an array of miscreants, with live ammunition. Your first task must be to explain how this much damage could be experienced by the victim in this short a space of time. He falls over a lot because he's really drunk and it's not the sergeant's fault there were a lot of really heavy blunt objects lying about. Try that one.

Banding together when the rest of society is outraged at your doing so is not helping your cause. And, yes, the police need to help their cause just as surely as they may feel the Palm Islanders need to help theirs.

I thought it was a good thing that the Islamic Council distanced itself from al-Hilaly's sheikifications*. Queensland cops - remember Terence Lewis boys - would be wise to do the same.

*the Islamic equivalent of pontifications