Category: AUSTRALIAN

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After three years of negotiations, the Royal Academy of Arts has transported some of Australia’s most important works from indigenous artists Albert Namatjira and Emily Kame Kngwarreye to Colonial artists like John Glover and Frederick McCubbin to more contemporary Jeffrey Smart, Brett Whitely and Sidney Nolan, whose Ned Kelly is featured as the centre piece of the exhibition.

There are more than 180 paintings, photographs and prints on display taken from galleries across Australia.

Many of the artists may be household names in their hometown but Kathleen Soriano, director of the simply named “Australia” exhibition said it was a travesty they were not known to English audiences.

 

She said since a visit to Australia in the 1980s she couldn’t understand why it was she had never knew the stories about the fabulous artists.”I sort of made it a mission of mine from that point to bring them to the attention of the British public,” she said yesterday as the doors to the exhibition were opened.

“I had been making the exhibition in my head for probably 23 years but we’ve been working hard on it for three years. I think we have got the best of the best here under the theme of land and landscape to underline the selection to tell the story not only of Australian art history but Australian history.”

Ms Soriano said it was a great moment for Australia and its art, the exhibition of which has never been seen before and opens the way for future single artist exhibitions coming to the British capital.

She said there had been a contemporary Australian art exhibition in the 1960s and another in 1923 but not for 200 years and colonialisation had such a mass exhibition of Australian art been displayed.

“Lets hope it doesn’t take a century or more before we have the next one,” she said.

British art critics at The Times and The Telegraph have given the exhibition four stars out of five with only the left-wing Guardian newspaper slamming it as too diverse, problematic and in parts the works as ghastly concluding: “I thought the days of shows like these were over. They ought to be”.

Agents say the Sydney house is the most significant listing ever to hit the market in Australia and are predicting a nine-figure sale for the Double Bay estate.

Selling agent Ken Jacobs of Christie’s International Real Estate told The Australian it was impossible to give a price for the heritage-listed mansion, known as Elaine, as there are no points of reference.

However, Sydney valuers estimate that it could fetch $100 million on the back of recent top-end sales, and say an Asian buyer is a distinct possibility.

Elaine will certainly surpass the Sydney record of$53 million paid by Xiuzhen Ding’s Chaimovitch Investments for nearby Altona which sold earlier this year, as the estate is three times the size. What’s more, Altona sold when the market was more subdued, and the block is already subdivided into six lots each of which could be sold separately.

 

Elaine will also beat the record national price, of $57.5 million paid by Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison for iron ore heiress Angela Bennett’s Swan River front residence in Perth’s Mosman Parkin 2009.

The seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom mansion with accompanying tennis court has some of the best views across Sydney Harbour.

The residence itself is a grand Victorian mansion, built in 1863.

 

Businessman John B Fairfax put Elaine, the home of four generations of the Fairfax family of publishing fame, on the market this week.

Elaine, just 4 kilometres from the city centre, sits on 7000 square metres of land dropping down to the private Seven Shillings Beach.

The property was purchased by Geoffrey Fairfax in 1911 for pound stg. 2100.

His descendants subsequently secured the property for the family through a series of purchases, including by John B Fairfax’s father, Sir Vincent, in 1936.

John B Fairfax is a cousin of Warwick Fairfax, who privatised the family media and publishing businesss in 1987. He returned with a merger of Rural Press in 2007 only to sell out at a loss in 2011.

 

The Fairfax family have not lived at Elaine in more than 20 years and it is now effectively a redundant asset.

It is currently tenanted but the lease is due to expire shortly, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Tenants have included venture capitalist and media player Cameron O’Reilly, son of media mogul Tony O’Reilly. Rent was $6300 a week when rented by Mr O’Reilly in 2000.

It is understood the 1870s building requires substantial renovation.

A Fairfax family spokesman told The Australian that the home held a special place in the family’s history and Mr Fairfax, 71, believed it was now time for a new family to enjoy it.

Once occupied by Lady Nancy Fairfax, who moved out in 1994, it includes a ballroom and stables.

 

Mr Faifax’s family’s private company, Marinya, severed ties with Fairfax Media in November 2011 when it sold its 9.7 per cent stake for $200m. Four years earlier, the family’s 14 per cent stake in the media group had been valued at $1.1 billion.

A source close to Mr Fairfax dismissed any suggestion the sale of Elaine was forced because of the family’s financial position.

The family has been rationalising its investments in property, shares, debt and other financial instruments since the Fairfax media share sale.

The estate will be marketed extensively offshore.

And for the rare few with $100 million to spare, here’s what else your money could buy:

With tropical Queensland islands priced from $2 million, you could have many of these of these.

 

At $800,000, more than 100 Lamborghini Aventadors.

 

She’s not for sale, but at an estimated worth of at least $10 million, about 10 Black Caviars.

 

More than 3000 people contributed to an online poll aimed at raising awareness of unsightly species that play an important role in the ecological web.

The blobfish, a squidgy pink creature capable of enduring otherwise crushing pressures at great depth, is becoming a casualty of deep-sea trawling.

It was a clear winner, snatching 795 votes, said Coralie Young of the British Science Association, which announced the results at an annual festival in Newcastle, north-eastern England.

Runner-up was the kakapo, a rare flightless owl-like parrot that lives in New Zealand, and third was the axolotl, a Mexican amphibian also called the ‘walking fish’.

Other candidates were the proboscis monkey, which has red genitalia, a big nose and a pot belly, and the Titicaca water frog, which also goes under the less-than-scientific moniker of ‘scrotum frog’.

A total of 88,000 people visited the website where the polling took place, reflecting wide interest in the issue, Young said. “It’s a lighthearted way to make people think about conservation.”

The blobfish’s reward is to be enshrined as the official mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society, a loose association of stand-up comedians who humorously champion endangered but visually unappealing species.

“The Ugly Animal Preservation Society is dedicated to raising the profile of some of Mother Nature’s more aesthetically challenged children,” it says on its website.

“The panda gets too much attention.”

 

 

Kevin Rudd addressed caucus and said he bears “no malice” towards anyone who speaks out against him.

The former prime minister addressed the meeting for 10 minutes after nominations were formerly open.

Mr Albanese spoke after Mr Rudd and attacked the Murdoch media.

MPs now face the task of electing a new Labor leader.

Bill Shorten announced yesterday he would be a candidate and it is understood Anthony Albanese will nominate too.

Mr Albanese entered the caucus room alone.

Mr Shorten entered with fellow Victorian Richard Marles.

In a funny turn of events Labor Senator Kate Lundy walked into the wrong room for caucus.

Coalition party room and caucus meetings were held at the same time but the rooms switch over when government changes hands.

“Lol! I just walked into Govt party room,” she tweeted.

Nominations in caucus for for the leadership opened shortly after the meeting begun.

Kevin Rudd addressed the meeting before nominations opened.

He said he had “no malice” to those attacking him.

Earlier today, Albanese was coy on the leadership question, avoiding media questions when he arrived at Canberra airport.

“That’s a matter for the caucus rather than you with due respect,” he said.

READ: BILL SHORTEN PUTS HIS HAND UP TO LEAD

GOING: MIRABELLA’S COLLEAGUES EXPRESS SYMPATHY

Asked if he would nominate for the position of leader the former Deputy Prime Minister said: “That’s a matter for the caucus, I respect my caucus colleagues.”

“One of the things we need to do as a Labor Party is actually run our internals,” he said.

“There’s a reason for that word – it’s called internal.”

Asked on Bill Shorten his potential opponent, Mr Albanese simply said: “it’s a matter for the party”.

Chris Bowen will be Labor’s acting leader for a month if there is a leadership ballot between Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese.

The former treasurer assumes the post because he is the next most senior Labor MP in the House of Representatives.

Arriving in Canberra Mr Shorten said he was “determined to make Labor as competitive as possible”.

Asked specifically on Mr Albanese he avoided questions on the matter.

“It’s nice to be back in Canberra,” Mr Shorten said.

Both men will front a meeting of the Labor caucus today where MPs will vote on who they think should be leader.

Tanya Plibersek said she was also waiting till the caucus meeting to see who nominated before publicly backing a candidate.

“We’ll see today who nominates,” Ms Plibersek said as she arrived at Canberra airport.

“We’ll have a decision today or we’ll have a month of democracy.”

Asked about comments yesterday that Bill Shorten made indicating she could be his deputy Ms Plibersek said: “Well normally you have a leader and a deputy from different states and different factions”.

“I am very grateful that we have two such fine people (Albanese and Shorten) to choose from,” she said.

“I would be very happy for both to nominate, I would be very happy to have a democratic process but beyond that we just have to wait and see what happens. There is no hurry with any of these things.”

 

Bill Shorten yesterday announced his intention to run and said he would be the best person to return Labor to an election winning position.

Labor MP Richard Marles said he would be backing Mr Shorten in any ballot today.

But he said Mr Albanese would also be an “outstanding leader” if elected.

Brisbane MP Shayne Neumann said his vote would also be going to Mr Shorten because of his achievements on the NDIS and other programs.

Labor national secretary George Wright also landed in Canberra ahead of the caucus meeting.

“I think we’ve got some good candidates and we’ll leave it with the caucus to decide,” Mr Wright said.

Penny Wong said that she would reserve her position until caucus met.

“I look forward to discussing the matter with my caucus colleagues,” she said.

Jenny Macklin and Mark Dreyfus remained coy on their positions.

Betfair is favouring Anthony Albanese to be the next Labor leader.

Bill Shorten was favourite at $1.61 this morning, but is now the $2.30 outsider in the market.

“Bill Shorten was all the rage as late as this morning, but after being as short as $1.32, he’s now a big outsider to lead Labor,” said the agency’s spokesperson, Daniel Bevan.

Meanwhile Barnaby Joyce has been voted Deputy Leader of the National Party in his first party room meeting since being elected to the House of Representatives.

The freshly elected Member for New England will be deputy to Nationals leader Warren Truss, who has had his position confirmed.

Liberal MPs have also confirmed Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop as their leader and deputy leader.

Mr Abbott is expected to finalise his front bench within days before being officially sworn in as Prime Minister next week.

That’s according to the 2013 World Happiness Report, which has ranked 156 countries around the world based on their joy factor.

Denmark came out on top with a rating of 7.693 out of 10, followed by Norway (7.655), Switzerland (7.650) and the Netherlands (7.512).

Australia was ranked number 10 on the list at 7.350, closely followed by Israel and Costa Rica.

Scroll down for a list of the 10 happiest countries

The survey was conducted between 2010 and 2012 for the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

It’s the second of its kind released by a team of researchers including John F. Helliwell of the University of British Columbia and Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and Richard Layard from the London School of Economics.

 

They used data from the Gallup World Poll to rank the countries on ‘happiness’ topics including life expectancy, freedom to make life choices and social support.

It found the world has become “a slightly happier and more generous place over the past five years”. However, economic and political upheavals have impacted well being in some nations.

The countries that scored lowest in the happiness stakes were Togo, Benin, the Central African Republic, Burundi and Rwanda.

After a period of political turmoil, Egypt had the greatest fall in happiness levels, averaging 4.3 out of 10 last year, compared to 5.4 in 2007.

The authors encouraged a higher spend on mental illness, which was found to be the biggest “determinant of misery” around the world.

The top 10 happiest countries:

1. Denmark (7.693)

2. Norway (7.655)

3. Switzerland (7.650)

 

4. Netherlands (7.512)

5. Sweden (7.480)

6. Canada (7.477)

7. Finland (7.389)

8. Austria (7.369)

9. Iceland (7.355)

10. Australia (7.350)

Just 10 days into spring, Sydney’s western suburbs, its northern fringes and the Blue Mountains were wrapped in thick smoke as firefronts raged.

 

Winds gusting to 70km/h fanned the flames which were sparked by record September temperatures of more than 32C – 12 degrees above the average.

The conditions were eased by a cool change which swept across the city’s west in the early evening.

 

 

A home was destroyed in a 10ha grassfire near Grange Ave at Marsden Park, in the western suburbs, which was being fought by 70 firefighters.

There were reports a fire truck had been destroyed as 150 crew members, using 30 appliances, battled a major grassfire at Castlereagh and Londonderry on the city’s northern borders.

More than 3000 homes in the Richmond and Londonderry areas lost electricity as a result of the fires.

There were also reports a fish farm had been destroyed at South Windsor.

RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said having so many fires in such a concentrated area around Sydney’s greater west was a challenge.

 

Large fires also burned at Cessnock, Wyong, Bathurst, the Snowy Mountains, the Bega Valley on the south coast and the Clarence Valley on the north coast.

In Winmalee, in the Blue Mountains, some residents rushed to pack belongings while others brought out deck chairs to watch the clouds of smoke.

Police went door-to-door and the RFS told residents to evacuate as the fire erupted late yesterday morning.

There are fears yesterday’s infernos are a sign of things to come after an unseasonably dry winter.

 

 

 

NSW Fire Commissioner Greg Mullins, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons and Police and Emergency Services minister Mike Gallacher last night visited crews in the Blue Mountains.

Mr Mullins said: “We hope this is not a portent of things to come.”

He said a wind change was sending the fire toward Hawkesbury Heights.

“It is a big body of fire that is going to take days to bring under control,”RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said: “This is not good news for the next three months and is not a good sign for summer.

“The fact we have had the hottest start ever to spring is a big concern.

“We have a situation where a lot of the vegetation is already dry and if you add continuing dry weather, then days of hot weather with strong winds and you have a very worrying situation.”

“Today should serve as a wake-up call to everyone – you must be prepared for bushfires before they are on your doorstep.”

 

 

 

Walter Markowski, 67, lives on Devlin Rd, Castlereagh, and spotted the flames about 1km from his property.

“I got an old tank of water from the roof and started putting out spot fires,” he said. “The wind was changing quite rapidly. It was a whirlwind going back and forward.

“I put a spot fire out from the roof of my work shed. My home is all right.

“The wind was like a tornado and it kept changing the fire all the time.”

Neighbour Jason Laurence rounded up his racing dogs as the fire approached.

“I have 12 dogs and I had to decide which ones to save. Luckily my mate came around with an eight-dog trailer and put eight in the trailer and four in my car and got out of there,” he said.

 

 

Premier Barry O’Farrell told parliament yesterday that at one point there were 59 bush and grass fires blazing in NSW, 40 of them uncontained.

Mr O’Farrell said more than 500 firefighters and 200 appliances are responding to the fires across NSW. Two aircraft dropped water at Winmalee and another two were doing their vital work at Castlereagh yesterday.

At Londonderry, where students from the public school were evacuated to the Penrith regatta centre, anxious residents were told to leave their homes. Some huddled at a petrol station as they waited to hear if their properties were safe.

The smell of bushfire smoke was wafting across Sydney’s CBD.

Yashmin Narsamma said: “The coppers are at the front gates evacuating everybody. I’ve got horses, dogs, cats, kids in there.

Sonia Kovacek added: “I wanted to stay, I wanted to protect my cows.

Resident Kate Alexander opted to remain at her home. The farm owner did not know if her cattle, horse and sheep were safe. Ms Kovacek said a bushfire threatened a similar area three years ago and called for more back burning over the winter.