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Gouda, South Holland

Gouda is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, between Rotterdam and Utrecht, in the  province of South Holland. Gouda has a population of 75,000 and is famous for its Gouda cheese, stroopwafels, many grachten, smoking pipes, and its 15th-century city hall. Its array of historic churches and other buildings makes it a very popular day-trip destination.

In the Middle Ages the Van der Goude family founded a settlement at the location of the current city and built a fortified castle alongside the banks of the Gouwe River, from which the family and the city took their names. Locals long called the settlement Ter Goude, or Tergou or Tergouw for short. The area, originally marshland, developed over the course of two centuries. By 1225, a canal was linked to the Gouwe and its estuary became a harbour. In 1272 Floris V, Count of Holland granted the town city rights.

History

Around the year 1100, the area of present-day Gouda was swampy and covered with a peat forest, crossed by small creeks such as the Gouwe. Along the shores of this stream near the current market and city hall, peat harvesting began in the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1139, the name Gouda was first mentioned in a document of the Bishop of Utrecht.

In the 13th century, the Gouwe was connected to the Oude Rijn (Old Rhine) by means of a canal and its mouth at the Hollandse IJssel was developed into a harbour. Castle Gouda was built to protect this harbour. This shipping route was used for trade between Flanders and France with Holland and the Baltic Sea. In 1272, Floris V, Count of Holland, granted city rights to Gouda, which by then had become an important location. City-canals (grachten were dug and served as transport ways through the town.

Great fires in 1361 and 1438 destroyed the city. In 1572, the city was occupied by les Gueux (Dutch rebels against the Spanish King) who also committed arson and destruction. In 1577 the demolition of Castle Gouda began.

1551 marked the founding of the oldest still-functioning inn, De Zalm, located on Markt 34, near the historic Waag building.

In 1574, 1625, 1636, and 1673, Gouda suffered from deadly plague epidemics, of which the last one was the most severe: 2995 persons died, constituting 20% of its population.

In the last quarter of the 16th century, Gouda had serious economic problems. It recovered in the first half of the 17th century and even prospered between 1665 and 1672. However, its economy collapsed again when the Franco-Dutch War broke out in 1672 and the plague decimated the city in 1673, even affecting the pipe industry. After 1700, Gouda enjoyed a period of progress and prosperity until 1730. Then another recession followed, resulting in a long period of decline that lasted well into the 19th century. Gouda was one of the poorest cities in the Netherlands during that period: the terms "Goudaner" and "beggar" were considered synonymous.

Starting in 1830, demolition of the city walls began. The last city gate was torn down in 1854. Only from the second half of the 19th century onward did Gouda start to profit from improved economic conditions. New companies, such as Stearine Kaarsenfabriek (Stearine Candle Factory) and Machinale Garenspinnerij (Mechanized Yarn Spinnery), gave impetus to its economy. In 1855, the Gouda-Utrecht railway began operations. At the beginning of the 20th century, large-scale development began, extending the city beyond its moats. First the new neighbourhoods Korte Akkeren, Kort Haarlem and Kadebuurt were built, followed by Oosterwei, Bloemendaal (Gouda), Goverwelle and Westergouwe after World War II.

From 1940 on, back-filling of the city moats and city-canals, the grachten, began: the Nieuwehaven, Raam, Naaierstraat, and Achter de Vismarkt. However, because of protests from city dwellers and revised policies of city planners, Gouda did not continue back-filling moats and city-canals, now considered historically valuable. In 1944, the railway station was damaged during an Allied bombardment which killed eight and wounded ten persons. This bombardment was intended to destroy the railroad connecting The Hague and Rotterdam to Utrecht.

After the war, the city started to expand and nearly tripled in size. New neighbourhoods, such as Gouda-Oost, Bloemendaal and Goverwelle were built. In recent years there has been a shift from expanding the city towards urban renewal and gentrification.

Economy
Gouda is known for its Gouda cheese, which is still traded on its cheese market, held each Thursday. Gouda is also known for the fabrication of candles, smoking pipes, and stroopwafels. Gouda used to have a considerable linen industry and several beer breweries.

Gouda cheese is not made in the city itself, but rather in the surrounding region. It derives its name from being traded in Gouda where the city council imposes stringent quality controls.

The economy of the city centre is based on tourism, leisure and retail, while offices are located at the outskirts of the city. Currently, there are over 32,000 jobs in the city, mainly in commercial and healthcare services.

Attractions

 * Old City Hall at the Markt square - built between 1448 and 1450, one of the oldest Gothic city halls in the Netherlands;
 * The Waag (weigh house) - built in 1667 across from the Old City Hall, this building was used for weighing goods (especially cheese) to levy taxes. It now is a national monument. It currently hosts a small cheese museum;
 * Grote or St. Jans Kerk (Great or Saint John's Church) - longest church in the Netherlands, famous for its stained glass windows which were made between 1530 and 1603, considered the most significant stained glass collection in the Netherlands. Even in the 17th century, it already was a tourist attraction;
 * Museum Gouda - museum about the history and arts of the city;
 * Verzetsmuseum - a museum about the Dutch resistance during World War II, the collection currently in storage as museum building closed in November 2018;
 * Museumhaven Gouda - small harbour with historic ships;
 * Goudse Schouwburg - large theatre;
 * Waaiersluis (Waaier Locks) - a historic lock on the Hollandse IJssel just east of Gouda.

Events

 * Gouda Cheese & Craft Market, every Thursday from 10:00 - 13:00h (April–August). According to Stichting Goudse Kaas, it attracted 60,000 tourists each year (as of 2017).
 * Gouda Ceramics Days, a yearly two-day event of ceramists from the Netherlands and several other countries. Several exhibitions. May 29 10:00 - 17:00h and May 30  10:00 - 16:00h around the Old City Hall.
 * Gouda's Monmartre, antique/curio/flea/collector's market, weekly on Wednesdays around the Old City Hall during summer from June 4 - Sept. 10, 2014.
 * Gouda Water City Festival weekend of June 21, 2014
 * Gouda by Candlelight - an annual Christmas event held in mid-December, featuring attractions in the city centre. In the evening, a Christmas tree, an annual gift from the sister city of Kongsberg, is lit in the market place. Carols are sung by famous Dutch singers accompanied by choirs. The windows of the Old City Hall and the surrounding houses are lit by Gouda candles.

Music

 * Warmaster, old school death metal band

Transport
Gouda is served by two railway stations, Gouda and Gouda Goverwelle. The main railway station is served by Intercity services to The Hague, Rotterdam, and Utrecht and local trains to Amsterdam and Alphen aan den Rijn/Leiden.

The city also lies alongside the A12 and A20 motorways.

Twin towns – sister cities
Gouda is twinned with:

Public thinking & public service

 * Gerard Leeu (1445–1493) was a Dutch printer of the incunabulum period
 * Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) a Dutch philosopher and Christian humanist, scholar of the northern Renaissance
 * Cornelius Loos (1546–1595) a Roman Catholic priest, theologian and professor of theology
 * brothers Cornelis de Houtman (1565–1599) and Frederick de Houtman (1571–1627) were explorers on the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies
 * Adriaen Maertensz Block (ca.1582-1661) commander and governor of Ambon 1614-1617,
 * Hieronymus van Beverningh (1614–1690) a diplomat, amateur botanist and patron of the arts
 * Roemer Vlacq (1637–1703) a Dutch naval captain, who blew up his ship to save it from capture
 * Hieronymus van Alphen (1746–1803) a jurist and wrote poems for children
 * Gerard Van Helden (1848–1901) Detective Superintendent in the Birmingham City Police Force
 * Gerard van Leijenhorst (1928–2001) a politician and chemistry teacher in Gouda 1955 to 1971
 * Wim Deetman (born 1945) a politician, teacher and municipal councillor in Gouda 1974 to 1981
 * Jan Oosterhaven (born 1945) economist and university professor
 * Hans van Leeuwen (born 1946) an educator, engineer, inventor, researcher and entrepreneur
 * Ad Melkert (born 1956) a Dutch politician, diplomat and nonprofit director

Science & business

 * Adriaan Vlacq (1600–1667) a Dutch author of mathematical tables and book publisher
 * Nicolaas Hartsoeker (1656–1725) a mathematician and physicist, invented the screw-barrel microscope
 * Gualtherus Johannes Cornelis Kolff (1826–1881) co-founder of G. Kolff & Co., a publishing company in Batavia, Dutch East Indies
 * Pieter Johannes van Rhijn (1886—1960) a Dutch astronomer
 * Jan Schilt (1894–1982) a Dutch-American astronomer, invented the Schilt photometer
 * Jan Gonda (1905–1991) a Dutch Indologist and academic
 * Leo Vroman (1915-2014) a Dutch-American hematologist, poet and illustrator
 * Peter van Mensch (born 1947) a Dutch scientist in the field of museology
 * Peter Stas (born 1963) a Dutch entrepreneur and author, CEO of Frédérique Constant

The arts

 * brothers Dirk Crabeth (1501—1574) & Wouter Crabeth I (1510-1590), Dutch Renaissance glass painters
 * Pieter Pourbus (ca.1523–1584) a Flemish Renaissance painter of portraits and religious scenes
 * Cornelis Ketel (1548–1616) a Dutch Mannerist painter
 * Cornelis Engelsz (1575–1650) a Dutch Golden Age painter
 * Jacob Block (1580–1646) a Dutch Golden Age painter
 * Daniël Tomberg (1603–1678) a Dutch Golden Age glass painter
 * Frederick de Wit (ca.1630–1706) a cartographer and artist, drew, printed and sold maps
 * Hendrik Bary (ca.1632–1707) a Dutch engraver
 * Pieter Donker (1635–1668) a Dutch Golden Age painter
 * Jan Willem van Borselen (1825-1892) a Dutch landscape painter of the Hague School
 * Cornelis Verwoerd (1913–2000) a Dutch Delftware painter, modeler, and ceramist
 * Koos de Bruin (1941-1992) a Dutch painter, draftsman, sculptor and graphic artist
 * Rozalie Hirs (born 1965) a Dutch composer of contemporary classical music and a poet
 * Marco de Goeij (born 1967), composer, reconstructed Concerto for Group and Orchestra by Jon Lord
 * Léon de Jong (born 1982) a Dutch politician and singer, a former musician and salesman

Sport

 * Dick van Dijk (1946–1997) football player with 250 club caps
 * Harry van der Laan (born 1964) a retired Dutch football striker with over 350 club caps
 * Ed de Goey (born 1966) former goalkeeper with 569 club caps, 31 caps with Netherlands national football team
 * Marcel van Vliet (born 1970) a Dutch truck racer
 * Gillian van den Berg (born 1971) a water polo player, team gold medallist at the 2008 Summer Olympics
 * Andrea Nuyt (born 1974) a retired speed skater, competed at the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics
 * Ellen Hogerwerf (born 1989) a rower and team silver medallist at the 2020 Summer Olympics
 * Froukje Wegman (born 1979) a rower and team bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics
 * Michel Breuer (born 1980) a retired Dutch footballer with 519 club caps
 * Paulien van Deutekom (1981-2019) a Dutch champion speed skater, competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics
 * Bianca de Jong-Muhren (born 1986) a Dutch chess Woman Grandmaster (WGM)
 * Mieke Cabout (born 1986) a water polo player, team gold medallist at the 2008 Summer Olympics
 * Ted-Jan Bloemen (born 1986) a Dutch-Canadian long track speed skater, gold and silver medallist at the 2018 Winter Olympics
 * Lex van Haeften (born 1987) a Dutch professional footballer
 * Michael van der Mark (born 1992) a Dutch motorcycle racer
 * Christiaan Messemaker (1821–1905) a Dutch chess master

title: Gouda, South Holland


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Port Campbell National Park

The Port Campbell National Park is a national park in the south-western district of Victoria, Australia. The 1750 ha national park is situated approximately 190 km south-west of Melbourne and approximately 10 km east of Warrnambool. The park is located adjacent to the Great Otway National Park and the Bay of Islands Coastal Park.

History
The Port Campbell National Park was dedicated on May 5, 1964, initially with 700 ha, in order to protect the limestone formations on and near the coastline adjacent to the Great Ocean Road. By 1981 the park had grown to 1750 ha; extending from the eastern side of Curdies Inlet at Peterborough to Point Ronald at Princetown. In 2002, the Port Campbell Professional Fishermen's Association unsuccessfully attempted to block the creation of a proposed marine national park at the Twelve Apostles location, but were satisfied with the later Victorian Government decision not to allow seismic exploration at the same site by Benaris Energy; believing it would harm marine life.

Features
The Port Campbell National Park features an array of sheer cliffs overlooking offshore islets, rock stacks, gorges, arches, and blow-holes. As part of the Shipwreck Coast, it hosts several tourist attractions; including The Twelve Apostles, the London Bridge, Loch Ard Gorge, the Gibson Steps, and The Grotto.

The park is subject to salt-laden breezes, and the cliff-tops are particularly exposed to the harsh weather conditions from the Southern Ocean. However, fragile grasslands and heaths are still able to develop, supporting plant species such as sun orchid and spider orchid. In protected areas, plant life includes beard-heath, bower spinach, coast daisy bush, daisies and cushion bush. The wilder terrain hosts an assortment of she-oaks, dogwoods, correa, messmate, trailing guinea-flower, woolly tea-tree and scented paperbark.

The fauna in the park is largely ornithological; and includes honeyeaters, southern emu and fairy wrens, swamp harriers, rufous bristlebird, peregrine falcons, pelicans, ducks, black swans and egrets. Penguins, terns and dotterels are located along the shoreline, with hooded plovers nesting in exposed locations. Australasian gannets, wandering albatrosses and short-tailed shearwaters live out at sea. Land animals in the park include southern brown bandicoot, swamp antechinuse and echidna.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Port Campbell National Park


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Snowy River National Park

The Snowy River National Park is a national park located in the Alpine and East Gippsland regions of Victoria, Australia. The 98700 ha national park is situated approximately 390 km northeast of Melbourne and 350 km southwest of Canberra, south of the Black-Allan Line that marks part of the border between Victoria and New South Wales.

On 7 November 2008, the park was added to the Australian National Heritage List as one of eleven areas constituting the Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves.

History
Some Aboriginal relics were discovered on the Snowy River which indicated that the Kruatungulung group of the Kurnai people used to hunt here. It was in the 1840s that cattlemen and miners visited the region and started using the higher land for summer grazing and introduced silver mining. The proposal for the national park was submitted in 1935, but the establishment took place in 1979.

Location and features
Declared on April 26, 1979, much of the park is classified as wilderness area, where vehicles are unable to visit. Within the national park is the Little River Gorge, Victoria's deepest gorge, with the Little River descending 610 m off the Wulgulmerang plateau over 14 km to the Snowy River at an elevation of 122 m above sea level.

The park provides one of the last natural habitats at the Little River Gorge for the endangered brush-tailed rock wallaby. Numbers for this species are estimated as extremely small, with the rugged terrain making it difficult to accurately monitor the species population. Over 250 native species have been recorded in the park, 29 of which are considered rare or threatened in Victoria, including the long-footed potoroo, spotted quoll (tiger quoll), giant burrowing frog and Cyclodomorphus michaeli.

McKillops Road is the northern park boundary, with the Alpine National Park to the north of the road. The road is designated unsuitable for caravans, trailers and semi-trailers due to its long, narrow, and steep descent down to McKillops Bridge which crosses the Snowy River near its juncture with the Deddick River. The park is also located adjacent to the Errinundra National Park, the Coopracambra National Park, and the nearby Croajingolong National Park and Cape Conran Coastal Park.

title: Snowy River National Park


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Tarra-Bulga National Park

The Tarra-Bulga National Park is a small national park located in the South Gippsland region of eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 240 km south east of Melbourne. The park is located 33 km south of Traralgon on the Traralgon-Balook Road and 24 km north of.

The 1522 ha national park is situated in the eastern part of the Strzelecki Ranges. The national park is home to one of the last undisturbed remnants of the native eucalypt temperate rainforest that once covered the Strzelecki Ranges until the last decades of the nineteenth century. The pocket of undisturbed mountain ash forest, fern gully communities and associated native Myrtle Beech stands within the park are of considerable biogeographical significance.

History
Alberton Shire Council asked the Victorian Government to set aside forest with fern gullies near Balook as a public park in 1903. The first area to be reserved was 20 ha in 1904 and named Bulga National Park after the Gunai language word bulga, meaning mountain.

In 1906 Tarra Valley National Park was designated nearby, temporarily comprising 303 ha, then later reduced to 40 ha. Tarra Valley is named after Indigenous Burra Burra man Charley Tarra, who guided Count Paweł Strzelecki on his expedition through this area of Gippsland in 1840.

The two parks were merged to form Tarra-Bulga National Park following recommendations by the Land Conservation Council. The parks were joined through a land exchange with APM Forests Pty Ltd. An enlarged and renamed park of 1230 ha hectares was declared on June 17, 1986. By 1990 Tarra-Bulga National Park covered 1625 ha, increasing to 2015 ha in 2005.

Kara Healey
Maori-Australian woman Kara Moana Healey was a park ranger in the Tarra Valley from 1952 to 1963, who was celebrated for her contribution to the park with a ceremony and plaque as part of the centenary celebration of the park in 2007.

A field collector, conservationist, preservationist and naturalist, Healey became the first female National Park Ranger in Victoria after responding to a call from the CSIRO to collect specimens for the National Herbarium of Victoria.

Over ten years, Healey collected specimens within the Tarra Valley, often visiting dangerous areas alone, where some of the unspoilt specimens were located and the nests of the lyrebird could be found. By 1961 Healey had collected over 160 specimens of fungi and including two new types that were named after her. The first was Poria healeyi, a fungus causing yellow straw rot in Mountain Ash, and the second was Lambertella healeyi, a fungus growing on another fungus.

Healey collected animal and insect specimens using dead animals that she found. In total, she collected over 500 specimens, including 80 species of moss. Subsequently, Tarra Valley was the most thoroughly studied and recorded area in Australia at the time.

Features
There are many walking tracks that emanate from the picnic areas. The Tarra Valley Rainforest Walk is a short and easy walk taking in Cyathea Falls, and the Fern Gully Nature Walk, passes over Corrigan's Suspension Bridge, which stretches through the rainforest canopy with views of the fern gully below. The three- to four-day 100 km Grand Strzelecki Track connects the park with the adjacent Morwell National Park.

The park is a popular tourist attraction with a visitor centre, picnic areas with tables, fireplaces shelters and toilets. The visitors centre is open on weekends and school and public holidays. It is staffed by members of the Friends of Tarra-Bulga National Park who also undertake restoration and monitoring activities.

Since 22 October 2010, the national park has been jointly managed by Parks Victoria in partnership with the Gunaikurnai people, who are the traditional owners of the land.

Flora and fauna
The deeply incised river valleys of the park are dominated by wet sclerophyll tall open forest of mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans), with an understory of blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon), hazel pomaderris (Pomaderris aspera) and tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis). Pockets of the park feature cool temperate rainforest, including Myrtle Beech Nothofagus cunninghamii. The ridges are dominated by open forest and low open forest of stringybark eucalypts and gums. The park is also noted for its diversity of Fungi species, which are prominent in autumn.

The rainforest is a haven for plants and wildlife, and is particularly well known for its giant mountain ash trees and lush fern gullies. There are a wide variety of birds residing in the park including the pilotbird, yellow tailed black cockatoo, eastern whipbird, and currawongs. In the evening possums, owls and bats emerge to feed. Lyrebirds, wombats, swamp wallabies, gliders and platypuses can also be found within the park.

title: Tarra-Bulga National Park


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Terrick Terrick National Park

The Terrick Terrick National Park is a national park located in the region of Victoria, Australia. The 3880 ha national park was declared in June 1988 and is situated approximately 225 km northwest of Melbourne, 4 km north of the town of Mitiamo and 65 km north of Bendigo. The national park is an important remnant of Box-Ironbark forests and northern grass plains and is close to Kow Swamp, the site of a major palaeontological find providing insight into the origins of Indigenous Australians. There are many walking tracks and one basic campground. Drinking water is not available in the park and must be carried.

Terrick Terrick National Park is one of the last remaining strongholds for the Plains-wanderer, an endangered Australian endemic bird species. The park is part of the Patho Plains Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International principally because of its importance for the conservation of Plains-wanderers.

The minimum elevation of the terrain is 82m, and the maximum is 196m.

title: Terrick Terrick National Park


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Bondage (BDSM)

Bondage, in the BDSM subculture, is the practice of consensually tying, binding, or restraining a partner for erotic, aesthetic, or somatosensory stimulation. A partner may be physically restrained in a variety of ways, including the use of rope, cuffs, bondage tape, or self-adhering bandage.

Bondage itself does not necessarily imply sadomasochism. Bondage may be used as an end in itself, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage. It may also be used as a part of sex or in conjunction with other BDSM activities. The letter "B" in the acronym "BDSM" comes from the word "bondage". Sexuality and erotica are an important aspect of bondage, but are often not the end in itself. Aesthetics also plays an important role in bondage.

A common reason for the active partner to tie up their partner is so both may gain pleasure from the restrained partner's submission and the feeling of the temporary transfer of control and power. For sadomasochistic people, bondage is often used as a means to an end, where the restrained partner is more accessible to other sadomasochistic behaviour. However, bondage can also be used for its own sake. The restrained partner can derive sensual pleasure from the feeling of helplessness and immobility, and the active partner can derive visual pleasure and satisfaction from seeing their partner tied up.

Bedroom
Many couples incorporate bondage into their sex lives, often sporadically but sometimes more regularly, and find sexual bondage to be relationship-affirming. This sometimes takes the form of a sex game or sexual fantasy enactment. Bedroom bondage games may be used for sexual arousal or as a form of foreplay, that requires and implies a level of trust and a surrender of control by the restrained to the active partner. The restrained partner (called a submissive) surrenders control to the other partner (called a dominant). This surrender of control happens voluntarily and under mutual understanding and consent.

The main feature of sexual bondage is that it renders the restrained person vulnerable to a variety of sex acts, including some that they may be inhibited from otherwise engaging. The restrained partner is dependent for their sexual satisfaction on the actions of their partner, who may treat the restrained partner as their sex object.

There are many reasons why people allow themselves to be bound. Some people feel a kind of freedom during corporal passivity, they can concentrate on their inner spirituality and feel at peace, as a participant in a study about motivation for bondage explained: "Some people have to be tied up to be free". Others experience helplessness, struggle against their bonds, and feel a degree of masochistic pleasure from the restraint and pain, as well as being unobstructed for erotic stimulation by their partner.

Bondage can be relatively simple to apply, enabling improvisation using household items and little experience, though sophisticated commercial apparatus is available. Bedroom bondage is usually mild bondage, with one partner voluntarily being put into restraints by being tied up or handcuffed. It may involve simple hand ties, bed restraints, being tied to a chair, etc. Blindfolds are a common part of bedroom play. The restrained partner may then be sexually stimulated by masturbation, manual sex, oral sex, a vibrator, intercourse or other sex acts. Bondage can also be used for purposes other than sexual foreplay, for example, it may be used in erotic tickling or for sexual teasing.

The free partner may derive erotic pleasure or achieve sexual arousal from being in a dominant situation, while the tied partner may achieve arousal from being in a largely "helpless" position in the hands of a trusted partner. Either way, the partners are usually acting out their sexual fantasies.

In 1995, psychologists Kurt Ernulf and Sune Innala from Sweden published an analysis based on answers from members of the bondage-oriented Usenet group alt.sex.bondage. Most of the answers (76%) were from men. In 71% of the answers, the active (restraining) role in bondage was played by heterosexual men, 11% by heterosexual women and 12% by homosexual men. 29% of the heterosexual men, 89% of the heterosexual women and 88% of the homosexual men played the passive (restrained) role. A third of the people who answered said they practised bondage in connection with sadomasochistic activities or at least thought bondage and sadomasochism belonged together.

In a survey of American students conducted by a magazine in 1996, 24% of the people who replied claimed to have sexual fantasies involving bondage. This was claimed by 40% of the homosexual and bisexual men, 32% of the lesbian and bisexual women, 24% of the heterosexual women and 21% of the heterosexual men. 48% of the lesbian and bisexual women, 34% of the homosexual and bisexual men, and 25% of the heterosexual men and women had had practical experiences of bondage. In a survey conducted in the US in 1985, about half of the men considered bondage erotic, but according to the 1993 publication Janus Report on Sexual Behavior, only 11% of the representatives had had practical experiences of bondage.

Types

Because of the diversity in its forms, bondage can be divided into various types based on its motivation.

Bondage for a purpose
This form of bondage is the best known in BDSM and denotes restraining the passive partner for an ulterior purpose, such as making them more accessible for a spanking session. Bondage for its own sake is not considered in this category.

Decorative bondage
In this form of bondage, the restrained partner is bound for a decorative purpose, to be used as an aesthetic object, for example for erotic photography, or a form of human furniture in a BDSM party.

Torture bondage
In this form of bondage, the restrained partner is purposefully bound in an uncomfortable or painful position, for example as a punishment in connection of a dominant/submissive sexual play. Almost any form of bondage, when the restrained partner is left tied up long enough, can be used as torture bondage. How long this punitive form of bondage is used varies greatly, however in bondage erotica such as John Willie's Sweet Gwendoline or Japanese bondage photography, it is often extensive and long-lasting.

Film bondage
Film bondage is a form of completely non-violent bondage for aesthetic purposes only. In this form of bondage, the restrained partner is bound lightly and is capable of escaping without great effort.

Meditative bondage
This form of bondage is seldom used in Western bondage. However, in Japanese bondage (Japanese: ), it is an important aspect, possibly originally having evolved from a religious tradition, where the interest is in the restrained partner's spiritual situation rather than their corporal situation.

Public

A subculture of gay men, sometimes called leathermen, were among the first groups to make obvious hints of their taste in bondage in public spaces. Other groups, including pansexual and heterosexual BDSM enthusiasts, later followed suit. Early public displays were mainly limited to the wearing of certain fashion items, such as collars and cuffs.

Over time, more explicit public displays arose. The most prominent examples are LGBT street fairs, such as the famous Folsom Street Fair. These events are few in number and highly controversial in most regions.

Exhibitionist displays are another manifestation of public bondage. They are typically undertaken by individuals who fetishize public displays of sex and sexuality. However, some exhibitionist bondage is done as a social or political statement. This could be an effort to raise awareness of alternative sexuality or a political metaphor for oppression.

BDSM clubs feature semi-public bondage. While the clubs and events are considered private, play parties feature open spaces where play occurs that allows other attendees to watch scenes in progress. Public play of this variety is more rooted in social activity and the safe space afforded by such clubs than exhibitionist fetishism.

BDSM

Bondage features prominently in BDSM scenes and sexual roleplay. It is the best-known aspect of BDSM even outside the BDSM scene, and does not require a BDSM-oriented sexual identity to practice. People who routinely engage in conventional sex sometimes become proficient in the technical aspects of tying their partners up.

Bondage has a sexual appeal to people of all sexes and all sexual orientations, in a switch, dominant (top) or submissive (bottom) role.

There are also some common fantasy settings in which bondage may be a component. These include: Self-bondage is more complex, and may involve special techniques to apply bondage to oneself, and also to effect a release after a lapsed period of time. Self-bondage is also notably risky: see the safety notes below. A large variety of bondage equipment is available for use in BDSM scenes for a number of results. These include rope, straps, or harnesses which can be used to hold limbs together; spreader bars, X-frames which can be used to keep limbs apart; the body or limbs can be tied to an object, such as to chairs or stocks; the body may be suspended from another object, as in suspension bondage; or it may used to restrict normal movement, such as use of hobble skirts, handcuffs, or pony harness. Bondage may also be used to wrap the whole body or a part of it in bindings, such as cloth or plastic (saran wrap or cling film "mummification") as well as sleepsack bondage.
 * Rape, ravishment or abduction: The top fictitiously seizes or abducts the consenting bottom and has complete control.
 * Dominance/submission: A training session occurs in which rewards for obedience and punishment for defiance are given. Erotic humiliation is usually involved.
 * Predicament bondage: In it a person is restrained with an option of placing themself in one of a pair of uncomfortable positions, such that the person keeps shifting between the two positions from time to time.

One of the purposes of bondage in BDSM is to restrain a person (typically called the bottom) in a BDSM position. This may involve simply tying the hands together in front or behind. Other positions involve the use of a waist belt to anchor the hands to the front, back or sides. Other popular positions are the spread eagle, with the limbs splayed out and fastened by wrists and ankles to bedposts, door frame or some other anchoring point; the hogtie, which secures each wrist to its corresponding ankle behind the back (wider, padded restraints such as bondage cuffs are recommended for this); the balltie, which secures wrists to ankles, in front, with the knees drawn up to the chest; the crotch rope, which involves pulling a rope between the labia to apply pressure to the female genitals. Sometimes a knot is placed in the rope at the position of the clitoris to intensify the sensation. A crotch rope can also be used on males, either placing pressure directly on the scrotum or including a tie to capture the scrotum. Other positions include the reverse prayer position (not recommended unless the subject has flexible shoulders), and an over-arm tie, in which the arms are brought over the head, and the wrists fastened together behind the head and then by a length of rope, chain or strapping to a belt at the waist.

The types of restraints used in bondage include rope, which is often preferred because of its flexibility. Rigging, however, requires considerable skill and practice to do safely. Other types of restraints include chains, handcuffs, thumbcuffs and belly chains. Institutional restraints, such as straitjackets may be used in some roleplays, and purpose-made bondage gear, such as monogloves, sleepsacks, bondage hooks and bondage tables, are also available.

Some BDSM play parties offer "bondage workshops", where couples, or people otherwise consenting with each other, can practice tying under the instruction and supervision of an experienced bondage rigger.

Safety
Bondage is safer when conducted between sober, trusted partners who are fully aware of the risks involved and the precautions necessary to ensure safety, such as informed consent. Partners who are in committed relationships may have a greater basis for trusting each other. Performing acts in a supervised location, such as a dungeon, or with a group of trusted friends may also increase safety.

There is also a subculture of people who seek out others interested in bondage and pursue such activities with people who they do not know well. This subculture has given rise to the set of principles known as safe, sane and consensual.

Precautions
Safety precautions include:

 * The use of a "safeword", or some clear way for the subject to indicate genuine distress and a wish to discontinue, temporarily stop or vary the activities of the play.
 * Never leaving a bound person alone.
 * Avoiding positions or restraints which may induce postural asphyxia.
 * Making sure that the subject changes positions at least once an hour (to avoid circulation problems).
 * Making sure that the subject can be released quickly in an emergency.
 * Avoiding restraints which impair breathing (gags or hoods which block the mouth can become asphyxial hazards if the subject vomits or the nose becomes otherwise blocked).
 * Remaining sober; alcohol and drugs should be avoided.

Accidents and lasting damage can generally be avoided by very simple security precautions and a rudimentary knowledge of the human anatomy. One very simple safety measure is to ask the subject every so often if they are all right. Another is to check body parts like hands and feet for numbness or coldness, which can happen if nerves have been pinched or blood circulation has been blocked. Another is to check for skin discoloration. Skin that does not get enough oxygen turns bluish. If blood can get in, but cannot get out because one of the veins has been blocked, that part of the body turns purple.

If the subject has been gagged or can otherwise not verbally communicate, a different form of the safeword is needed. For instance, they may hum a simple tune, or opening and closing one or both hands repeatedly, or releasing an object held in one hand (such as a rubber ball, or a scarf).

Suspension bondage by hanging upside-down can be especially risky. The danger most often associated with it is falling on your head. Other dangers include nerve compression, circulation problems and fainting due to increase in blood pressure.

Preparations
Some simple preparations may also be helpful:
 * Food. It is common for people (especially those on diets) to faint during a long session. Having a regular meal beforehand is recommended; being fed small snacks during play may also help prevent fainting.
 * Cutting tools. A pair of EMT scissors is recommended (useful for safely cutting rope and tape off skin).
 * Keyed-alike padlocks, if chains are being used.

Scenes depicted in bondage photographs and videos are chosen for their visual appeal and fantasy value. Sometimes these positions are dangerous or cannot be maintained for more than a few minutes (i.e., "don't try this at home") such as inverted bondage or suspension from the wrists and ankles. In many cases they cannot be "acted out" with good results and are only for extremely physically fit and very experienced BDSM participants. Especially in highly artistic Japanese bondage, years of experience of bondage is required to avoid the risks.

Self-bondage carries a higher risk, particularly because it violates an important principle of bondage safety; to never leave a bound person alone. For the feeling of being tied up to be as authentic as possible, practitioners of self-bondage can use time-limit clocks, freeze their keys in blocks of ice, or use self-invented devices, in order to temporarily abandon power over their own restraint and freedom (called "tunnel play").

Without someone to release them in the event of an emergency or medical crisis, self-bondage can lead to severe and permanent physical damage. Especially in combination with asphyxiation, self-bondage can be lethal to its practitioners.

Techniques

Bondage techniques can be divided into six main categories:
 * Binding body parts, such as arms or legs, together.
 * Spreading out body parts, such as arms or legs.
 * Binding the restrained partner to an outside object, such as a Saint Andrew's cross, a chair, or a table.
 * Suspending the restrained partner.
 * Hindering or slowing down the movement of the restrained partner, such as with a hobble skirt or a corset.
 * Wrapping the restrained partner up in soft, elastic material, thus restraining their entire body. This is known as mummification.

Many people feel that bondage must be "rough and tough", as seen in many images of bondage erotica, but this is not always true. In so-called "soft bondage", the active partner can simply hold the restrained partner's hands together with their own hands, handcuff the restrained partner, or simply order the restrained partner not to move their hands, without using any physical restraint. This latter case, called "verbal bondage", appeals to many people and is far more common than most people think.

A popular variant of bondage considers the artistic and aesthetic part of tying a person up more than the transfer of power and control, or the sexual pleasure. This type of bondage is called "shibari" or "kinbaku", and comes originally from Japanese bondage. Shibari / kinbaku can be practiced either in the traditional Japanese way or in conjunction with Western bondage.

Terms used in bondage

In the American-European bondage scene, specific terms have developed for different kinds of bondage. The terms most often used in the European bondage subculture are in English, although some bondage term come from the Japanese language, such as kata (bondage position) or musubime (bondage knot). Examples of simple bondage techniques are the "spread eagle", where the restrained partner's each limb is tied to a different corner of a bed, or the "hogtie", where the restrained partner's hands and feet are both tied, and the ropes tying these are connected with each other, holding the restrained partner in a bent position. A "crotch rope" is sometimes used, where a rope is passed between the partner's legs, applying pressure to the genitals.

Materials
Just about any material that can be used to hinder or restrain a person's movement can be used in bondage. Bondage can be performed with everyday objects or specially designed BDSM equipment.

In less BDSM-oriented vanilla bondage everyday objects, such as silk scarves, stockings, neckties and belts are often used. Soft objects such as these can also be used for binding in front of the restrained partner's eyes, temporarily blinding them.

"Verbal bondage" is bondage without physical restraint; the subject is simply given orders not to move, or only move in a restrained fashion. The technique is sometimes known as "honor bondage".

Rope

Rope bondage is perhaps the best known and most used form of bondage, and rope is very often used in bondage as a material for physical restraint. In the western world, almost any kind of rope can be used for bondage, such as cotton, artificial fibers, or other materials. However, in Japanese bondage (shibari), only ropes made of hemp or jute are usually used. In Japanese bondage, the rope is usually well prepared before it can be used, so that it becomes soft and easily bendable. Between bondage sessions, the rope is cleaned by washing it.

Regardless of the type of rope used for bondage, temporary superficial damage to the skin can appear where the rope has applied pressure, this is called "rope burns". In emergency situations, EMT scissors provide a quick way to free the restrained partner, however this destroys the rope.

There are several forms of rope bondage:
 * Rope wrapping: The rope is simply wrapped around the restrained partner's upper body, or in some cases, his/her entire body.
 * Rope weaving: A more complicated technique, where a rope is first wrapped around the restrained partner's body in a zig-zag pattern, and then a second rope is woven around it.
 * Double rope technique: The restrained partner is bound by two ropes at once, allowing decorative rope patterns to be applied quickly.
 * Single rope technique: A sure technique, most often used in conjunction with sadomasochism, where the restrained partner is bound by only one rope.

Metal

Metal bondage involves the use of a wide range of metal devices (usually steel) such as handcuffs, legcuffs, thumbcuffs, hooks and chains, specifically designed erotic furniture such as bondage chairs, and complex bar linkages. The metal is often used in combination with other materials.

In contrast to the use of rope bondage to secure a body, metal bondage normally requires greater preparation, since more complex devices have either to be built or bought from a specialist. Chains are occasionally preferred to rope for suspension bondage due to their tensile strength and ability to hold heavy weights.

Metal bondage appeals to some people because of the material's tough image and the fact that its physical hardness makes it difficult to struggle or escape from. The cold sensation and clanking sound of chains provides auditory and tactile sensory stimulation and can be used to enhance the atmosphere of a BDSM dungeon.

Leather, latex and polish
Products made of leather are often used in bondage because of their flexibility and resistance to tearing. Because leather is easy to acquire, care for and work upon, it is one of the most popular materials for home-made bondage items. Many people have a fetish for leather, latex and polish and use these materials in connection with bondage, for example for cuffs, belts or neck bands. There are special bondage skirts, trousers or sacks made of these materials, as well as clothing and equipment for BDSM role play that can be used in connection with bondage. For example, harnesses are used in pony play, but would not be used without the corresponding role play.

Other materials
Plastic cable ties are also sometimes used as a quick way to tie someone up securely. These ties can leave burn marks on the skin when applied too tightly, and because of their durability and resistance to struggling, must be handled carefully when applied to joints or being left in place for a longer time.

Bondage erotica
Some people regard bondage to be erotically stimulating or sexually arousing. Bondage features in some sexual fantasy scenarios. Bondage themes are present in some erotica and pornography.

Bondage pornography for heterosexual men almost overwhelmingly depicts bound women, rather than bound men, despite the fact that one of the most common fantasies in both sexes is being bound.

Bondage fantasies often involve dressing in a role outfit. Typical outfits for the submissive person invoke common icons of passivity or sexual innocence (e.g. a shepherdess, nun or schoolgirl outfit for women, or a leather slave harness and cuffs, thong, or ancient slave outfit for men). In a similar respect, the dominant person's attire often reflect images of power, control, and extreme discipline (a Nazi officer, military officer, police or prison warden uniform).

In bondage erotica, metal chains are often associated with historical torture and prison scenarios.

Examples of bondage erotica include Anne Desclos's Story of O (published under the pen name Pauline Réage), Frank E. Campbell's books and the artwork of Robert Bishop.

In art

Bondage is depicted in erotic art, such as some of the works of Gustave Doré and John Everett Millais. The mythical Andromeda was a popular subject for bondage in art by painters including Rembrandt's Andromeda Chained to the Rocks (1630), Théodore Chassériau (1840), Edward Poynter (1869) and Gustave Doré (1869).

Another popular scenario for bondage in art was that of Angelica from the 15th century epic poem Orlando Innamorato, which is itself a continuation of the romantic epic saga Orlando Furioso, which is similar to that of Andromeda in that the heroine is offered as a sacrifice to the sea gods. The traditional damsel in distress theme, also found in bondage art, was used in the motion picture serial The Perils of Pauline (1914), which found Pearl White in mortal danger on a weekly basis.

Depictions of bondage in art may be erotic, in which case they follow a heteronormative model and tend to depict a young woman in danger and fear. Examples can be found in Bizarre, which was a fetish and bondage magazine published between 1946 and 1959 by bondage artist John Willie. It included drawings and photographs using professional models in bondage or sadomasochistic scenes.

Sweet Gwendoline was the main female character in John Willie's works, and possibly the most famous bondage icon after Bettie Page. Sweet Gwendoline was repeatedly depicted as the stereotypical naïve blonde damsel in distress. A serial about that character was published in Robert Harrison's mainstream girlie magazine Wink from June 1947 to February 1950 and later in several other magazines over the years. Bettie Page was the first famous bondage model. Specifically, from late 1951 or early 1952 through 1957, she posed for photographer Irving Klaw for mail-order photographs with pin-up and BDSM themes, making her the first famous bondage model.

In popular culture
Bondage received a positive (if brief) treatment in The Joy of Sex, a mainstream sex manual popular in the 1970s.

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty was an erotic trilogy published in the 1980s by Anne Rice which contained bondage scenarios, as part of a wide range of BDSM acts.

A table in Larry Townsend's The Leatherman's Handbook II (the 1983 second edition; the 1972 first edition did not include this list) which is generally considered authoritative states that a grey handkerchief is a symbol for bondage in the handkerchief code, which is employed usually among gay male casual-sex seekers or BDSM practitioners in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. Wearing the handkerchief on the left indicates the top, dominant, or active partner; right the bottom, submissive, or passive partner. However, negotiation with a prospective partner remains important because, as Townsend noted, people may wear hankies of any color "only because the idea of the hankie turns them on" or "may not even know what it means".

By the 1990s, references to bondage could be found in mainstream prime-time television series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where equipment such as handcuffs or collars and concepts such as the safeword were included as a matter of course.

The publication of Madonna's book, Sex (1992), which included photographs of bound nudes, did a great deal to improve public awareness of the acceptance of bondage.

The Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L. James was first published in ebook in 2011 and subsequently went on to become a bestseller. The print edition of the first book, Fifty Shades of Grey, was published in 2012 and became the fastest selling bestseller, breaking multiple sales records. The trilogy revolves entirely around a fictional BDSM relationship, though it is widely considered a poor representation of BDSM relationships by those in the BDSM scene.

title: Bondage (BDSM)


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The Lakes National Park

The Lakes National Park is a national park in the East Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located approximately 245 km east of the capital city of Melbourne.

Location and features
The 2390 ha park is set on the east shore of the Gippsland Lakes, fringed by the waters of Lake Victoria and Lake Reeve. The park includes Sperm Whale Head peninsula and Rotamah and Little Rotamah Islands. The park is managed by Parks Victoria jointly with the traditional owners, the Gunaikurnai.

An area of 1451 ha was initially set aside as a nature reserve in 1927, with the park proclaimed in 1956. Rotamah Island and Little Rotamah Island were added to the park in 1978.

title: The Lakes National Park


text:
Flushing

Flushing may refer to:

Netherlands

 * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands

United Kingdom

 * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England
 * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, England

United States

 * Flushing, Queens, New York City
 * Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens
 * Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens
 * Flushing Meadows, a park in Queens which includes multiple venues, such as the location of the US Open tennis tournament
 * Flushing River, in Queens
 * Flushing, Michigan, a city in Genesee County
 * Flushing, Ohio, a village in Belmont County
 * Flushing Township, Belmont County, Ohio
 * Flushing Township, Michigan

Other uses

 * Flushing (military tactic), related to skirmishing
 * Flushing (physiology), the warm, red condition of human skin
 * Flushing dog, a hunting dog
 * Flushing hydrant, a device to flush water mains
 * Flushing Remonstrance, a demand for religious liberty made to Peter Stuyvesant, the Governor of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, in 1657
 * Flushing a flush toilet

title: Flushing


text:
Wyperfeld National Park

The Wyperfeld National Park is the third-largest national park in Victoria, Australia, located in the Mallee district, approximately 450 km north-west of Melbourne. The national park was declared in 1921 and has been expanded significantly since, to protect 357017 ha of mallee, woodland, and heathland. Along with the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, Murray-Sunset National Park, Lake Albacutya Park and Murray-Kulkyne Park, Wyperfeld National Park is managed as part of the Victorian Mallee Parks.

History
Like most of north-western Victoria, Wyperfeld was a shallow sea from about 25 million years ago until fairly recent times. The current landforms took shape as the sea gradually retreated from 40,000 to 15,000 years ago, leaving a vast expanse of sandy sediment which formed into sand dunes as it dried.

Before European settlement, a network of ephemeral lakes in the area filled and emptied, on average, about every 20 years, typically remaining dry for about half that period. More recently, agricultural irrigation and drainage projects in the surrounding areas have cut off a significant part of Wyperfeld's water supply. Consequently, the lakes have not been completely filled since 1975, and had drained again just two years later.

Environment
In good years, the Wimmera River fills Lake Hindmarsh to the south of the park, which overflows along Outlet Creek and then fills Lake Albacutya to the immediate south of the park. Given sufficient rain in the catchment, the water flows further north into Wyperfeld itself, forming a series of smaller lakes, which support rich floral and faunal communities based around black box and river red gum. Despite downstream flooding in 2011, the park has seen no inflow of water for many years.

The reserve is part of the Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for the conservation of malleefowl and other species of mallee birds.

title: Wyperfeld National Park


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Yarra Ranges National Park

Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the Central Highlands of Australia's southeastern state Victoria, 107 km northeast of Melbourne. Established in 1995 and managed by the statutory authority Parks Victoria, the park features a carbon-rich, temperate rainforest and a subalpine eucalypt forest on its northern plateau. It is home to large stands of mountain ash, the tallest tree species in Australia and among the tallest in the world. A wide diversity of fauna make their home across the park's 76,003 hectares, including kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, platypuses and 120 species of native birds. Among the conservation challenges facing Yarra Ranges National Park are climate change and invasive species of weeds.

In winter, Lake Mountain, located on the plateau at the northern end of the park, provides cross-country skiing on groomed and ungroomed ski trails.

Description
The Yarra Ranges National Park was created in December 1995, and spans 76,003 hectares within Victoria's Central Highlands. This National Park has been given "the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category 2 (National Parks) of the United Nations List of National Parks and Protected Areas". By being category 2, it means that the park is primarily managed for the ecosystem conservation and appropriate recreation within it. The park is made up of wet Mountain Ash Forest and Cool Temperate Rainforest, as well as a diverse range of flora and fauna species. Mount Donna Buang, standing 1,245 metres above the town of Warburton is the parks largest mountain. The park encompasses the headwaters of the Yarra, O'Shannassy and Taggerty Rivers, as well as their reservoirs, which make up 70% of Melbourne's water supply. This is because 84% of the park is within the Designated Water Supply Catchment Area (DWSCA) which is managed under the Government's Closed Catchment Policy. Because of this, much of the park has limited access to the public to better protect the water supply catchments.

Ecology
Victoria's Mountain Ash trees (Eucalyptus regnans) are among the most spectacular trees in the world being one of the world's tallest tree species, as well as the tallest flowering plant. The Mountain ash trees have a lifespan of 400 years and tower up to 90 metres, though have been known to grow taller with the highest ever recorded being the "Ferguson Tree," discovered near Healesville in 1872 standing at over 154 metres high. They grow in stands that have the highest above-ground biomass of any trees in the world, allowing them to store large quantities of carbon dioxide. In 2009, a study was conducted by Professor Brendan Mackey of the Australian National University, who found that Mountain Ash forests are the best in the world at locking up carbon, storing 1,867 tonnes of carbon per hectare. Once they have reached the end of their lifespan, their dead tree stumps and fallen logs continue to provide homes for at least 40 hollow-dependant species, including Victoria's faunal emblem – the endangered Leadbeater's Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) – as well as the Mountain Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus cunninghami) and the Greater Glider (Petauroides volans). There have also been nine epiphyte species that have been observed growing on the Mountain Ash trees, the most prevalent of these being Liverwort (Bazzania adnexa). Other than Mountain Ash trees, the park also contains several threatened species of flora, including the Slender Tree Fern (Cyathea cunninghamii).

The park provides a habitat for many native species of fauna. There are over 120 recorded species of native birds, with some notable species being the Pink Robin (Petroica rodinogaster), Yellow-tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus), Australian King Parrot (Alisterus scapularis) and the Grey Goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae). The park also contains three species of threatened owl – Sooty Owl (Tyto tenebricosa), Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) and the Barking Owl (Ninox connivens). Native mammals that are frequently seen within the park are Kangaroos, Wallabies and Wombats. The waterways are abundant with Platypuses, as well as many species of fish, including Redfin perch (Perca fluviatillis), European carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Golden perch (Macquaria ambigua). When it comes to insects, Mount Doona Buang is home to an endemic rare species known as the Mount Donna Buang Wingless Stonefly (Riekoperla darlingtoni).

Weeds and feral animals
One of the most major environmental threats against the Yarra Ranges National Park is invasive weeds. The park is rich with native plants that are being overcome by competition by the 200 species of weeds that are spreading into the park from private gardens. In the park there are three significant types of weeds:
 * Weeds of National Significance (WONS) are plants that have the most significant impacts across Australia both environmentally and economically, and are a priority for control. In the Yarra Ranges National Park some WONS are Willow (Salix app.), Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus spp.aggregate), Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera) and Bridal Creeper (Asparagus asparagoides).
 * Native species as weeds. There are some Australian native species that can have weed characteristics when they grow outside of their normal range and can cause harm to the park's environment. Some native weeds in the park are Bluebell Creeper (Billardieria heterophylla), Cedar Wattle (Acacia elata) and Cootamundra Wattle (Acacia baileyana).
 * Declared Noxious Weeds. These plants have been declared noxious under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. These plants have the potential to cause serious environmental harm and therefore must be managed. Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) and Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) are all declared noxious weeds.

Invasive pest animals can have detrimental effects on the park because they prey on native wildlife and can "out-compete and displace native animals by competing for their habitat, food and water resources". Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are an established pest animal in all of Victoria. When it comes to the Yarra Ranges National Park, mainly trapping methods are employed to manage the issue. In Victoria there is a program that rewards eligible Victorian hunters with a $10 bounty reward for each individual fox killed, subject to the Victorian Fox Bounty Terms and Conditions. Due to this, and the amount of foxes in the park, Parks Victoria opens up the park occasionally to allow hunters in to help manage the fox issue. Other pest animals within the park are European Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and feral cats.

Fires
Fires are a natural part of Australian environment because they are needed for the renewal of ecosystems; however, in recent times these bushfires have been occurring outside normal frequencies, intensities, seasons and scale of what fauna and flora can tolerate. To reduce the potential impact of fire on the park, controlled burns are conducted throughout specific months of the year and are carefully managed by Parks Victoria and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). The controlled burns are used to reduce the amount of fuel, such as dead wood, leaf litter, bark or shrubs that could easily catch alight during the summer months. A reduced amount of fuel decreases the impact of a bushfire because it lowers its intensity.

Climate change
Climate change is having a major impact on all ecosystems within Australia, and the Yarra Ranges National Park is no exception. As the temperature increases, the average rainfall decreases, meaning less water flowing in the waterways. Less water reduces water quality that is supplied to Melbourne and used by the fauna and flora within the park. The annual surface temperature is predicted to increase by 0.6-1C and wind speed is set to increase by 6%. All these changes will impact what makes up the park's ecosystem and how it functions.

Heritage
European colonists found it difficult to access the area. It was eventually settled in 1860 and was seen as a valuable area for timber. Soon after, the area was recognised as a good place for water catchments, so the Maroondah and Upper Yarra dams were built.

Management
Yarra Ranges National Park is managed by Parks Victoria, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and Melbourne Water. Parks Victoria released a Management Plan for the park in 2002 in which they outlined the significant management directions for the Park, all of which are still used today.

Parks Victoria aims to preserve significant conservation areas by; Preserving old-growth forests, as well as specific significant flora species. Parks will do this by improving knowledge of flora in the park by encouraging flora surveys and research on significant species to improve conservation management schemes for specific species. To provide special protection for significant plant species by actively managing threatening processes, such as weed invasion. To protect the parks native fauna species and maintain genetic diversity. This will be done by maintaining and enhancing fauna habitat through the control of potentially threatening processes, such as pest plant and animal control. To encourage surveys of fauna and faunal habitats in the park, giving priority to threatened species to ensure that the park continues to support viable populations of each endangered species. The last management strategy to protect fauna species is to communicate the policy of no feeding of wildlife in the park, and to prohibit the distribution and sale of birdseed within the park. When it comes to fire management, Parks Victoria allows open days for locals to come into the park and gather wood. This helps to get rid of fire fuel that is present in the understory of the forest.

Protecting water resources in the water supply catchments. This will be done by maintaining the Restricted Access Policy for the Designated Water Supply Catchment Area (DWSCA), by continuing to prohibit domestic pets and control feral animals in the DWSCA to protect the water resources from any potential forms of contamination. The DWSCA will also be protected from wildfire in accordance with the Draft Yarra Ranges National Park Fire Protection Plan. The last management strategy to protect the water supply catchments is to monitor the effects of roads and traffic that transverse the DWSCA to ensure that there is minimal soil erosion that could affect the water supply.

Are the management directions effective?
The current management strategies outlined in the Yarra Ranges National Park Management Plan regarding the Restricted Access Policy, is efficient at maintaining the parks water resources. By limiting human access to the Designated Water Supply Catchment Area (DWSCA) it prevents some forms of contaminants from entering the supply catchments because the area remains clear of rubbish. If rubbish left behind in the park by people entered the water catchments, it could have a damaging effect on the purity of the water that is supplied to Melbourne. The restriction on people feeding wildlife has also benefited the native species within the park because it allows the ecosystem to function and evolve without human interference.

One of the main reasons the park was established was to protect Mountain Ash trees, however, their numbers have declined due to climate change, bush fires and close-proximity logging to the park. Climate change cannot be prevented, but significant fire damage can be. To decrease the severity of fires within the Park, more planned burns to get rid of a majority of fire fuel could be implemented by Parks Victoria and DELWP. When it comes to close-proximity logging, the effect on Mountain Ash trees is detrimental. To help prevent the further loss of these endangered carbon-rich forests, a policy could be implement by the Victorian Government to prevent logging from occurring within a 20 kilometre area of the park.

With the number of Mountain Ash trees decreasing, faunal habitat is also being lost. This is of great concern when it comes to Victoria's faunal emblem – the Leadbeater's Possum, as well as many other threatened species of fauna within the park. Parks Victoria and DELWP have management strategies in place that do protect these threatened species from pest species and human interaction, however there are no measures to combat the increased threat of climate change. When it comes to protecting threatened species of fauna, there are breeding programs implemented in Healesville Sanctuary to increase specific species population rates. Once these animals reach a certain age, Zoo's Victoria coordinates their efforts with the Parks Ranger, to release these animals into the park. In regards to faunal habitat being lost, the parks open wood days may be displacing animals if people do not stick to the restriction for wood collection in the park. This cannot be managed, so the only way to prevent this is to find a way to manage it, or to stop the open wood days altogether.

To help better protect endangered fauna and flora within the area, there is a proposal for the creation of the Great Forest National Park. This proposed park will add 355,000 hectares to existing parks and reserves. The proposed park will supply over 4 million people with some of the highest quality drinking water, help to protect a greater portion of Mountain Ash forest and provide a greater area for protecting endangered and rare wildlife. Overall, the proposed park will protect approximately all of Victoria's Central Highlands.

title: Yarra Ranges National Park


text:
Robert Hofstadter

Robert Hofstadter (February 5, 1915 – November 17, 1990) was an American physicist. He was the joint winner of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics (together with Rudolf Mössbauer) "for his pioneering studies of electron scattering in atomic nuclei and for his consequent discoveries concerning the structure of nucleons".

Biography
Hofstadter was born into a Jewish family in New York City on February 5, 1915, to Polish immigrants, Louis Hofstadter, a salesman, and Henrietta, née Koenigsberg. He attended elementary and high schools in New York City and entered City College of New York, graduating with a B.S. degree magna cum laude in 1935 at the age of 20, and was awarded the Kenyon Prize in Mathematics and Physics. He also received a Charles A. Coffin Foundation Fellowship from the General Electric Company, which enabled him to attend graduate school at Princeton University, where he earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at the age of 23. His doctoral dissertation was titled "Infra-red absorption by light and heavy formic and acetic acids." He did his post-doctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania and was an assistant professor at Princeton before joining Stanford University. Hofstadter taught at Stanford from 1950 to 1985.

In 1942 he married Nancy Givan (1920–2007), a native of Baltimore. They had three children: Laura, Molly (who was disabled and not able to communicate), and Pulitzer Prize-winner Douglas Hofstadter.

Thallium-activated sodium iodide gamma ray detector
In 1948 Hofstadter filed a patent on this for the detection of ionizing radiation by this crystal. These thallium-activated sodium iodide detectors are widely used for gamma ray detection to this day.

Coining of the fermi (unit) and 1961 Nobel Lecture
Robert Hofstadter coined the term fermi, symbol fm, in honor of the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi (1901–1954), one of the founders of nuclear physics, in Hofstadter's 1956 paper published in the Reviews of Modern Physics journal, "Electron Scattering and Nuclear Structure". The term is widely used by nuclear and particle physicists. When Hofstadter was awarded the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics, it subsequently appeared in the text of his 1961 Nobel Lecture, "The electron-scattering method and its application to the structure of nuclei and nucleons" (December 11, 1961).

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and EGRET Telescope
In his last few years, Hofstadter became interested in astrophysics and applied his knowledge of scintillators to the design of the EGRET gamma-ray telescope of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory named for fellow Nobel Laureate in Physics (1927), Arthur Holly Compton. Stanford University's Department of Physics credits Hofstadter with being "one of the principal scientists who developed the Compton Observatory."

Awards and honors

 * 1958, elected to National Academy of Sciences.
 * 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics, joint winner with Rudolf Mössbauer, "for his [Hofstadter's] pioneering studies of electron scattering in atomic nuclei and for his consequent discoveries concerning the structure of nucleons."
 * Stanford University has an annual lecture series named after Hofstadter, the Robert Hofstadter Memorial Lectures, which consists of two lectures each year, one oriented toward the general public and the other oriented toward scientists.
 * 1970, elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
 * 1984 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
 * 1986, elected to the American Philosophical Society.

Publication list
Technical reports:
 * Hofstadter, R. "Detection of Neutrons with Scintillation Counters", Brookhaven National Laboratory, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (November 1948).
 * Hahn, B., Ravenhall, D. G. and R. Hofstadter. "High-energy Electron Scattering and the Charge Distributions of Selected Nuclei," Stanford University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), Office of Naval Research and United States Air Force, (October 1955).
 * Chambers, E.E. and R. Hofstadter. "The Structure of the Proton", Stanford University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Energy Research and Development Administration), Office of Naval Research and United States Air Force (April 1956).
 * Hofstadter, R. "Structure in the Proton and the Neutron", Stanford University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (June 1958).
 * Collard, H., Hofstadter, R., Hughes, E. B., Johansson, A., Yearian, M. R., Day, R. B. and R. T. Wagner. "Elastic Electron Scattering from Tritium and Helium-3", Stanford University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Office of Naval Research, Air Force Research Laboratory, (October 1964).
 * Hofstadter, R. "K-edge Subtraction Angiography with Synchrotron X-Rays: Final Technical Report, (February 1, 1984 to January 31, 1987)", Stanford University, United States Department of Energy, (September 1987).

title: Robert Hofstadter