Category: News

The Good Ship, a seething maelstrom of decadent musicality, are back in town with a show at West End’s newest venue – The Motor Room.

Joining the band will be the truthfully named Liam Bryant + The Handsome Devils and tunes from DJ Jimi Beavis.

The Good Ship was last seen in March – zooming all over the country with the Sea Monster tour. Directly following this the band bunkered down in a large ranch in the countryside for an intensive ‘band camp’ and conjured an album’s worth of new songs. Some of these will be getting their world premiere at this show.

Best of all, this gig is FREE ENTRY…. and please note well – it is a relatively early show. Doors are open from 5pm, there are fantastic markets on and the live music starts from 7pm.

Putting their weekend together for good use, the septet will also be filming a live performance of a new song for Project24 at State Library Of Queensland and then performing at the Teneriffe Festival on Saturday 5 July. The band can’t wait to get into a room together with you and show their wares – preloved, recent and shiny brand new too….

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THE GOOD SHIP With Special Guests LIAM BRYANT + THE HANDSOME DEVILS and DJ JIMI BEAVIS The Motor Room, Absoe Building, West End | From 5pm, Fri 4 July 2014

 

THE GOOD SHIP – A BIOGRAPHY

Drawing inspiration from fellow denizens of the deep like Nick Cave, The Decemberists and The Pogues, the pelagic folk rock of The Good Ship charts some dark and dangerous waters, and a more mangy, cross-bred collection of influences, from gypsy to bush-band via cabaret, country and rock you’ll not hear.

In the world of the Good Ship, it’s the good stuff that sinks to the bottom…

Live, The Good Ship is a seething maelstrom of decadent musicality, with up to seven members on stage at any one time and a whole heap of archaic instrumentation from mandola, lagerphone, banjo and trumpet to accordion. This sense of joy and anarchy hasn’t been lost on audiences and the crew have gathered a loyal following throughout Australia. A festival favourite, the band have delivered barnstorming shows for Festival Of The Sun, Falls Festival and Woodford Folk Festival.

The band formed in 2009, amassing material quickly from three songwriters and released debut album Avast, Wretched Sea in 2010. In early 2012, the band bunkered down in Neil Coombe’s White Room Studio in tranquil Mt Nebo and created their second (and not at all tranquil) album O’ Exquisite Corpse. The band released a trio of videos to accompany the album and hit the road to launch the album across the country. For their third album, the band created a mini-musical based on their song The Seven Seas – the album was released simultaneously with the performance of the work before a capacity crowd at the Brisbane Powerhouse Theatre in November 2013.

So far, 2014 has seen the band performing with the Lumineers, delivering shows for the Falls Festival and a national tour to launch the single Sea Monster. Much new material is being created, destined for the band’s fourth album, due to be recorded later in the year.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Jarrod Bleijie has welcomed the appointment of Queensland’s eighteenth Chief Justice, The Honourable Tim Carmody.

Mr Bleijie said Judge Carmody would bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Supreme Court.

“Judge Carmody’s professional and life experience is both distinguished and diverse,” Mr Bleijie said.

“His Honour has the keen legal knowledge, administrative skills and integrity that are essential qualities for the role of Chief Justice.

“On behalf of the Government, I congratulate him on his appointment to this important role in Queensland’s justice system.”

Outgoing Chief Justice, Paul de Jersey, who will become Queensland’s Governor next month congratulated Judge Carmody.

“I congratulate the Chief Magistrate on his appointment and wish him well,” Justice de Jersey said.

“I am sure he will do his utmost to discharge conscientiously the high duties of this important office.”

Mr Jarrod Bleijie said Judge Carmody’s distinguished career was set against a background of diverse roles in the legal and general community.

“As well as a published legal writer on a variety of legal, anti-corruption and public administration issues, His Honour is also an adjunct Professor of Law at QUT and he was awarded the Centenary Medal for distinguished service to law and community in 2003.

Appointment welcomed by Police Union

The Queensland Police Union has welcomed the announcement by the Premier and the Attorney-General of Tim Carmody QC as Queensland’s next Chief Justice. Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said Tim Carmody was an outstanding appointment as Chief Justice and his appointment would prove to be a great benefit to the justice system in Queensland.

“Tim Carmody is a person who understands the legal system from all perspectives given his ‘experience rich’ background and he is a person who has a deep, accurate and genuine understanding of community expectations and public sentiment.”

“Tim Carmody is perhaps the first person to be Chief Justice of Queensland who is also a former police officer so he is someone who intimately understands the role police play in the criminal justice system and the amount of work required to place somebody before the courts as well. ” Mr Leavers said.

“The Queensland Police Union also briefed Tim Carmody on a regular basis when he was still a practicing barrister where he demonstrated his significant ability and insight as a legal advocate and senior member of the Bar, and these matters included the Police Union’s successes against the CMC on an issue of apprehended bias, as well as when the Police Union appeared before the CMC’s ‘Operation Tesco’ public hearings into allegations on the Gold Coast, which were also subsequently proved to be of little substance.”

It may look like just dots on a page, but an image of distant galaxies taken last week represents a huge step forward for CSIRO’s Australia SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in Western Australia.

ASKAP is developing and proving technologies for the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope, which will start construction in Australia and South Africa in 2018. The image shows that ASKAP is now working as a fully fledged radio telescope after just a few months of commissioning.

Chief of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science Dr Lewis Ball is leading a delegation of scientists and engineers presenting the results in Europe.

“These ASKAP results are generating great excitement in the office of the SKA Organisation in Manchester, UK, and at an SKA science meeting currently taking place in Italy, because they clearly demonstrate the revolutionary potential of CSIRO’s new phased array feed technology,” Dr Ball said.

Initial commissioning of ASKAP is being done with six of the telescope’s 36 antennas.

“ASKAP is now functioning properly as an aperture-synthesis telescope,” CSIRO’s Dr David McConnell, who leads the ASKAP Commissioning and Early Science team, ACES, said.

“We’ve never had a telescope like this before. We can see that the novel aspects of its design really do work, and that it will outperform a conventional telescope.”

Dr McConnell said when the ASKAP commissioning team saw the new image, they “practically fell off their chairs”.

The image, of a region of sky near the south celestial pole, is the equivalent of a black and white photo, but made from radio waves.

This image covers 10 square degrees on the sky — 50 times larger than the full Moon — and was made from nine overlapping regions (‘beams’) captured simultaneously.

The quality of the image vindicates ASKAP’s two novel features: ‘phased array feeds’ — new technology developed by CSIRO — and a special axis of rotation on each antenna.

The phased array feeds act as ‘radio cameras’, allowing the telescope to see large areas of sky at once.

“This image shows that the phased array feeds are stable over the 12 hours it takes to make an observation like this,” Dr McConnell said.

“Now we can start to use the other advantages of phased array feeds, such as changing the beam size and shape for particular kinds of observations.”

As the telescope tracks radio sources, the phased array feed is kept in a fixed orientation to the sky, thanks to a special axis of rotation built into each ASKAP antenna.

“With a conventional telescope we would have expected artefacts from bright sources at the edges of each beam,” Dr McConnell said.

“With ASKAP we don’t get that, because the phased array feed is held at a constant angle to the stars.”

The dynamic range of the image was 50,000:1, which would be a good result from a mature telescope, let alone one in commissioning.

Even at this early stage, ASKAP was able to make the new image twice as fast as any comparable telescope in the Southern Hemisphere.

When completed, ASKAP will be able to survey the sky 25 times faster still, and will be the world’s premier survey telescope for centimetre-wavelength radio astronomy.

ASKAP has also made a ‘snapshot’ of a single galaxy, NGC 253, from radio waves emitted by neutral atomic hydrogen gas (HI), the fuel for making stars. This is the telescope’s first image of the HI in a galaxy.

The image captures both the intensity of the radio waves — how much HI is present in each region — and how the galaxy is rotating — which parts are approaching us, and which receding.

“If the first image was like a black-and-white photo, this one could be compared to a colour photo,” Dr McConnell said.

“What we’re looking for here is the equivalent of ‘colour balance’ — if there’s a proper balance of the radio waves at all the different frequencies used in the image.

“Happily, that balance is good. The image compares very well with one made by our established Compact Array telescope.”

Acknowledging CSIRO’s achievement with ASKAP, Australian SKA Project Director Professor Brian Boyle said “the future of radio astronomy has arrived”.

The phased array feeds (PAFs) used for these commissioning tests are of the so-called ‘first generation’ design. Procurement is now under way for even better ‘second generation’ PAFs, which tests have shown will meet their ambitious performance targets. The PAF design last year won awards for innovation from Engineers Australia and the technology is expected to find applications outside radio astronomy.

Brisbane’s inner suburbs have some of the best examples of this state’s unique timber architecture. But for such a sought-after style of house there’s almost no consensus on what we should and shouldn’t call a “Queenslander”. Real estate agents know that adding the term to an advert can spike the enquiry levels. Builders are working the word into their descriptions in fairly imaginative ways (one applies the name to brick homes with timber-gabled facades – really?)

Maybe if it’s built north of the Tweed any house can legitimately share the title. But today we thought we’d ask you to share your thoughts: what makes a Queenslander a Queenslander? Surely there are four key elements: it’s elevated from the ground, has a hardwood frame and softwood linings, the main materials are timber and tin, and it has a verandah.

Looking back into our history there were plenty of practical reasons for elevating the homes: to keep residents cool in summer, to allow easy construction on sloping land, to avoid floods, and to keep the timber away from termites. Under the house used to be a place for playing out of the sun, hanging the washing and a bed for the dog (or even a not-so-welcome relative). In “modern” times we saw this as an opportunity for extra space for media rooms, studies and garages. Are these still Queenslanders?

During our early years there were plenty of variations on timber home designs. Those built from 1859 to 1901 are often called Colonials (for our time as a colony). Bungalow is the common term for the next generation of styles that were usually more elaborate and included gabled, asymmetrical facades. In the 1920’s we adopted elements of the Californian Bungalows – even way back then we were taking design cues from the USA. You’ll also hear them called “inter-war Queenslanders” and there’s a huge range of designs built through this era. Those with an eye for detail can often date a home from its verandah posts, balustrades and windows. How simple was life when to keep up with the Joneses you just needed a bullnose tin sunhood?!

Not surprisingly the Great Depression saw more simplicity and conservatism in design and by 1933 bricks were considered a modern option. Fibro was first manufactured in Queensland in 1936 and its easy-care maintenance meant it quickly became a popular cladding material. We’re still ripping the toxic stuff out of homes today.

If you’d like a very thorough read on the topic try “Brisbane House Styles 1880 to 1940” by Judy Gale Rechner (1998). Maybe every real estate agent should have a copy so we can get the terminology right! There’s no doubt we’re proud of our Queenslanders and their rich history – whatever the name means to you.

Rob Honeycombe – Bees Nees Realty.

In the week that ended with students across Australia rallying against the Abbott Government’s plan to deregulate University fees, I joined about 40 others at a Brisbane Free University event in a car park off Boundary Street in the West End of Brisbane. The discussion was about refugee rights.

It was a refreshing change to be part of conversation that was not dominated by partisan politics, but instead focused on the lived experiences of refugees, as recounted by Anthropologist Dr Gerhard Hoffstaedter; and on their rights in law as detailed by UQ Law lecturer Dr Peter Billings. Rather than a conventional lecture style, the discussion, facilitated by Brisbane-based activist, writer and lawyer, Marissa Dooris, involved a dialogue between the academics and the participants.

Brisbane Free University (BFU) was established in October 2012 and is the brainchild of three West End women, Briohny Walker, Anna Carlson and Fern Thompsett. In recognition of her leadership in her local community through BFU, Anna Carlson, with the BFU team, was the inaugural winner in the Youth Category for the Kurilpa Local Legends Awards in 2013.

I spoke recently with Briohny Walker and Anna Carlson. The third member of their team, Fern Thompsett, is travelling and researching free university models in the US. On May 30 she represented BFU on a panel at the Left Forum in New York City.

The concept for BFU came about, Anna Carlson said, from their dissatisfaction with the traditional university process. “We had connections with a lot of people who had critical and important information to share, that was very rarely getting beyond the sandstone. We were pretty passionate about the idea that education has the capacity to make the world more just. It has that capacity, but at the moment it is caught within hierarchies that limit access to it.”

She added that the concept is not a new one. “Free education movements have a long history. People have been setting up free spaces for education for a really long time and the history is not quite as gentrified as you might expect. In many cases the people who were setting up these sorts of institutions were people who were living in poverty or were living as wage labourers in very inequitable conditions.”

A number of the more recent free education movements and networks have emerged from Occupy Wall Street. ”And that was essentially what lead to our free university” Ms Carlson said. “There was a Brisbane free university (that wasn’t ours), that was open in Musgrave Park during the Occupy Brisbane time and that was one of the seeds for us that has grown into what we do now.”

“I think in many ways there is an increasing recognition that these kind of movements offer, not simply an alternative, but something that can be entirely different from the mainstream.” Ms Carlson said.

Commenting on the deregulation of fees and the rising cost of university courses foreshadowed in the recent federal budget, Ms Walker said that the concept of a free University has been “a vital part of the project that exists in protest against the corporatisation of universities”.

For the last year and a half BFU has been running fortnightly or monthly sessions in a car park in West End, covering quite a diversity of topics. Speakers and support crew give freely of their time.

As to topics, Ms Walker said, “One of the really fun things about Brisbane Free University so far has been the incredible variety of stuff we have had people talk on. It tends to work that we either have a topic we are interested in and we seek speakers, or more often, we hear about an amazing speaker or lecturer or we have a friend who has heard someone speak, and we contact them…. Our first ever talk was called ‘Capitalism and it’s Discontents’ and there has been, I think, an undercurrent throughout the talks which is critical of mainstream economic policy and the effects of that.”

“But”, she added, “it has been much broader than that. We have had talks about dieting and body image… Most recently we had one about alternative approaches to violence and we had three women speakers talking about violence against women from quite different positions …”

“We have also had stuff on the media. We are very interested in participating in the conversation that is leading up to the G20 this year and we’ve already had some sessions on that.” Unimpressed with mainstream media coverage of the G20 to date, Ms Carlson said, “I guess we could go about covering it better for ourselves, using social media and local community radio…”

Attendance at BFU events varies from a minimum of about 40 people up to 100 plus for some events. Ms Carlson said her favourite session to date, was about the gentrification of the West End. “We had some great speakers come and talk about what that would mean for homeless people and about gentrification trends in general. I think because a topic like this goes to the hearts of people who live in the area we had over 100 people turned up for that one.”

The venue, the chairs and audio equipment for events are all provided free or borrowed from local businesses and friends. “It is a free university and we want a venue that is simultaneously welcoming and widely accessible” Ms Carlson said. “Part of the reason that we started using the car park is that it was very open and very close to the street and had no overheads. Even cafes bring with them some expectation that you’re going to buy coffee or that you maybe feel at least a little bit obliged to participate in that capital exchange in some way. Whereas the car park is genuinely free. The downside of course is that it can be cold and sometimes really hot, but it does have a roof, it’s not an open car park.”

There are free universities in Dunedin in New Zealand, across the UK and the US, and the movement is expanding internationally. In Australia, Melbourne Free University predates BFU and is “a sight to behold”, according to Ms Carlson. She added though that Melbourne Free University is “probably less committed to the idea of public spaces than we are, as they started out as an organisation that held lectures in pubs and in cafes. I think it’s really interesting to see how the projects are aligned but are also really different, and I think that’s an enormous strength to the way free education can manifest”.

Ms Carlson and Ms Walker said they are very dedicated to being responsive to what people want the sessions to be about. Anyone who has an idea for a panel or speakers, or who wants to speak themselves, is welcome to put forward their ideas. People wanting to contribute ideas can contact BFU through its Facebook site.

Every session has been recorded, and sessions are podcast from time to time on the BFU website.

You can hear more of Anna, Fern and Briohny, along with Stephanie Vidot and Emma Wilson, on Brisbane Community Radio 4ZZZ’s “Radio Reversal” on Thursday mornings from 9am – midday.

 

– See more at: http://nofibs.com.au/2014/06/01/dyi-learning-at-brisbane-free-university-by-griffithelects/#sthash.CA01QSSd.dpuf

Work has started on the construction of a new state-of-the-art learning facility as part of a major redevelopment at Brisbane State High.

The new facilities would feature 40 classrooms, an arts centre, staff centre, tuckshop and other essential amenities.

The complex will accommodate approximately 850 students and enable the school to cater for a total enrolment of up to 3,000 students.

Minister for Education, Training and Employment John Paul Langbroek said Broad Construction Services Queensland was awarded the contract for the design and construction of the building which will cater for future growth including the move of Year 7 to high school in 2015.

“During the redevelopment, Year 7 students will move into an interim, designated precinct on the school’s current Edmondstone Street site,” Mr Langbroek said.

Brisbane State High School is one of Queensland’s 80 Independent Public Schools and was established in 1921 as the first academic state high school in Queensland.