Portal:Australia/Featured article/2008

Weeks in 2008

Week 1

The 1999 Sydney hailstorm was the costliest natural disaster in Australian history, causing extensive damage along the east coast of New South Wales. The storm developed south of Sydney on the afternoon of April 14, 1999 and struck the city's eastern suburbs, including the central business district, later that evening.

The storm dropped an estimated 500,000 tonnes of hailstones in its path. Insured damages caused by the storm were over A$1.7 billion, with the total damage bill (including uninsured damages) estimated to be around A$2.3 billion, equivalent to US$1.5 billion. It was the costliest in Australian history in terms of insured damages, overtaking the 1989 Newcastle earthquake that had resulted in A$1.1 billion in insured damages. Lightning also claimed one life during the storm, and caused approximately 50 injuries.

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Week 2—Week 16: Due to an unnoticed glitch, articles for these weeks were not scheduled or displayed.

Week 17

[[image:|none|80px|Arthur Robert Morris]]

Arthur Robert Morris (born January 19, 1922) is a former Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for his key role in Don Bradman's Invincibles side which made an undefeated tour of England in 1948. He was the leading scorer in the Tests on the tour, with three centuries. His efforts in the Fourth Test at Headingley helped Australia to reach a world record victory target of 404 on the final day. Morris was named in the Australian Cricket Board's Team of the Century in 2000 and was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2001.

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Week 18

An Australian Green Tree Frog

The Australian Green Tree Frog, simply Green Tree Frog in Australia, White's Tree Frog, or Dumpy Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea) is a species of tree frog native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand and the United States. The species belongs to the genus Litoria. It is physiologically similar to some species of the genus, particularly the Magnificent Tree Frog (Litoria splendida) and the Giant Tree Frog (Litoria infrafrenata).

The Green Tree Frog is larger than most Australian frogs, reaching 10 centimetres (4 inches) in length. The average lifespan of the frog in captivity, about sixteen years, is long in comparison with most frogs. Green Tree Frogs are docile and well suited to living near human dwellings. They are often found on windows or inside houses, eating insects drawn by the light.

Due to its physical and behavioural traits, the Green Tree Frog has become one of the most recognisable frogs in its region, and is a popular exotic pet throughout the world. The skin secretions of the frog have antibacterial and antiviral properties that may prove useful in pharmaceutical preparations.

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Week 19

Daniel Johns and Bernard Fanning performing during the Across the Great Divide tour, as part of the launch of Dream Days

Dream Days at the Hotel Existence is the sixth studio album by Australian rock band Powderfinger, released by Universal Records on 2 June 2007 in Australia, and 19 November 2007 in the United Kingdom. It was released with a limited edition bonus DVD, titled Powderfinger's First XI, featuring eleven music videos spanning the band's career, from the first single, "Tail" to "Bless My Soul", the band's latest single before the release of the album.

Powderfinger reunited in late 2006, after a three year hiatus, to write songs for Dream Days at the Hotel Existence, which was recorded in Los Angeles, California, in early 2007 by producer Rob Schnapf. The first single from the album, "Lost and Running" was released on 12 May 2007, and reached number five on the ARIA singles chart. The second single "I Don't Remember", was released on 12 August 2007.

The album received critical acclaim, with many reviewers commenting that the album was "consistent" and "distinctly Australian". The album encountered controversy relating to the song "Black Tears" with claims that it may have influenced the Palm Island death in custody trial. Powderfinger released an abridged version of the song as a result of these accusations.

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Week 20

Eric Bana (born Eric Banadinovich on August 9, 1968) is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper (2000). After a decade of critically acclaimed roles in Australian television shows and films, Bana gained Hollywood's attention by playing the role of American Delta Force Sergeant Norm 'Hoot' Gibson in Black Hawk Down (2001) and the lead role as Bruce Banner in the Ang Lee directed film Hulk (2003).

An accomplished dramatic actor and comedian, he received Australia's highest film and television awards for his performances in Chopper and Full Frontal. Bana performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of low-budget and major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to science fiction and action thrillers. His most popular films include Black Hawk Down (2001), Hulk (2003), Troy (2004), and Munich (2005).

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Week 21

The history of the Australian Capital Territory as a Territory of Australia began after the Federation of Australia in 1901, when it was created in law as the site for Australia's capital city Canberra. The region has a long prior history of human habitation before the Territory's creation, however, with evidence of Indigenous Australian settlement dating back at least 21,000 years. The region formed the traditional lands associated with the Ngunnawal people and several other linguistic groups, an association known through both early European settler accounts and the oral histories of the peoples themselves. Following the colonisation of Australia by the British, the 19th century saw the initial European exploration and settlement of the area and their encounters with the local indigenous peoples, beginning with the first explorations in 1820 and shortly followed by the first European settlements in 1824. In the early 20th century, the development of the region took an unusual turn when it was chosen as the site for the creation of Australia's capital city in 1908. The planning and construction of Canberra followed, with the Parliament of Australia finally moving there in 1927, and the Territory officially becoming the Australian Capital Territory in 1938. The political development of the Territory began in 1949, when it was given its first representative in the Parliament of Australia, and was completed when it became an autonomous territory when self-government was granted in 1988.

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Week 22

Adam Gilchrist (born 14 November 1971 in Bellingen, New South Wales), nicknamed Gilly or Church. He made his first-class debut in 1992, going on to make his first One-day International appearance in 1996 and his Test debut in 1999. He has been Australia's vice-captain in both forms of the game since 2000, captaining the team when regular captains Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting were unavailable. Gilchrist is an aggressive left-handed batsman and effective wicket-keeper, combining the two roles for the Australian national team and is considered to be one of the best wicket-keeper-batsmen in the history of the game. His strike rate is amongst the highest in the history of both One-day and Test cricket and he currently holds the record for the second fastest century in Test match cricket. Gilchrist is also noted for having been reprimanded for outbursts on the pitch a number of times during his playing career, including being fined significant portions of his match fee. He is also renowned for walking when he considers himself to be out, sometimes even contrary to the decision of the umpire. During his career, he has played for Australia in 90 Test matches and over 250 One-day internationals and will represent his country for a third successive ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.

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Week 23

Waterfall Gully is a small suburb in the South Australian city of Adelaide. It is located in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges around five kilometres east of Adelaide's central business district (CBD). For the most part, the suburb encompasses one long gully with First Creek at its centre and Waterfall Gully Road adjacent to the creek. At one end of the gully is the waterfall for which the suburb was named. Part of the Burnside Council, it is bounded to the north by the suburb of Burnside, to the north-east by Greenhill, to the south-east by Cleland Conservation Park, to the south-west by Leawood Gardens and to the north-west by Mount Osmond. Waterfall Gully is rich in history and has been a popular attraction since Adelaide's early colonists discovered the area in the nineteenth century. Home to a number of residents and increasingly frequented by tourists, Waterfall Gully has undergone extensive developments in recent years.

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Week 24

Banksia ericifolia, the Heath-leaved Banksia (also known as the Lantern Banksia or Heath Banksia), is a species of woody shrub of the Proteaceae family native to Australia; it occurs in two separate regions of Central and Northern New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range. Well known for its orange or red autumn inflorescences, which contrast with its green fine-leaved heath-like foliage, it is generally encountered as a medium to large shrub that can reach 6 m (20 ft) high and wide, though is usually half that size. In exposed heathlands and coastal areas it is more often 1-2 m (3-7 ft). Banksia ericifolia was one of the original Banksia species collected by Joseph Banks around Botany Bay in 1770 and was named by Carl Linnaeus the Younger, son of Carolus Linnaeus, in 1782. A distinctive plant, it has been split into two subspecies: Banksia ericifolia subspecies ericifolia of the Sydney region and Banksia ericifolia subspecies macrantha of the New South Wales Far North Coast which was recognised in 1996. Banksia ericifolia has been widely grown in Australian gardens on the east coast for many years as well as being used to a limited extent in the cut flower industry. Compact dwarf cultivars such as Banksia 'Little Eric' have become more popular in recent years with the trend toward smaller gardens.