Muston Park
Muston Park is an urban park of 2.0186 hectares, situated in the suburb of Chatswood, seven kilometres north of Sydney, Australia. History The local indigenous Australian people, the Cammeraygal occupied this area for at least 5,800 years. The park is named after William Thomas Muston, the original European owner of the land and Mayor of Willoughby in 1890. His house ‘Penshurst’ stood in the middle of the area and was sold in 1921. By 1938 cows were still grazing in the park. Circuses performed here, such as Sole Brother's Circus in 1939 and Wirth's Circus in 1942. In the second world war, parts of the park were used by the military. In 1952, plantations of gum trees were created, named King George VI Memorial Grove in the north made of Spotted Gums, and Queen Elizabeth II Grove in the south near the children's playground composed of the similar looking Lemon scented gums. At the same time, the Wisteria walkway was created. Geography Average annual rainfall is at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cumberland, New South Wales
Cumberland County is a county in the State of New South Wales, Australia. Most of the Sydney metropolitan area is located within the County of Cumberland. The County of Cumberland stretches from Broken Bay to the north, the Hawkesbury River to the north-west, the Nepean River to the west, the Cataract River to the south-west and the northern suburbs of Wollongong to the south. It includes the area of the Cumberland Plain. History The name ''Cumberland'' was conferred by Governor Arthur Phillip in honour of Prince Henry Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn at a gathering to celebrate the birthday of his brother, King George III, on 4 June 1788. The county has been marked on maps since the start of the colony, as shown along the key on 1789 mapdescribing Port Jackson as being within the county of Cumberland. In the nineteenth century, parts of the county were in the South and North Riding electoral districts from 1856 to 1859, which were replaced by Central Cumberland. There was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ashfield Shale
Ashfield Shale is part of the Wianamatta group of sedimentary rocks in the Sydney Basin. It lies directly on contemporaneously eroded Hawkesbury sandstone or the Mittagong formation. These rock types were formed in the Triassic Period. It is named after the Sydney suburb of Ashfield. Some of the early research was performed at the old Ashfield Brickworks Quarry. This rock type is often associated with the Inner West and North Shore of the city. However, it has also been recorded at Penrith, Revesby, Bilpin and Mount Irvine. Description Ashfield Shale comprises black mudstones and grey shales with frequent sideritic clay ironstone bands. The thickness ranges between 45 and 64 metres. It is 20 metres thick at the Sydney Olympic Site. The chemistry of the rock is typical of shales, with high iron levels, and some iron sulphide and low calcium levels. The geology of the shale lenses within the Hawkesbury Sandstone is chemically similar to the Ashfield Shale. At Turra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Australian Brush Turkey
The Australian brushturkey or Australian brush-turkey or gweela (''Alectura lathami''), also frequently called the scrub turkey or bush turkey, is a common, widespread species of mound-building bird from the family (biology), family Megapode, Megapodiidae found in eastern Australia from Far North Queensland to Eurobodalla on the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast of New South Wales. The Australian brushturkey has also been introduced to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It is the largest extant representative of the family Megapodiidae, and is one of three species to inhabit Australia. Despite its name and their superficial similarities, the bird is not closely related to Meleagris, American turkeys, nor to the Australian bustard, which is also known as the bush turkey. Its closest relatives are the wattled brushturkey, Waigeo brushturkey, and malleefowl. Biology Description It is a large bird with black feathers and a red head. Its total length is about and a wingsp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Australian Water Dragon
The Australian water dragon (''Intellagama lesueurii''), which includes the eastern water dragon (''Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii'' ) and the Gippsland water dragon (''Intellagama lesueurii howittii'' ) subspecies, is an arboreal agamid species native to eastern Australia from Victoria northwards to Queensland. There may be a small introduced population on the south-east coast of South Australia. Etymology The specific name, ''lesueurii'', is in honor of French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur. Description Australian water dragons have long powerful limbs and claws for climbing, a long muscular laterally-compressed tail for swimming, and prominent nuchal and vertebral crests. (A nuchal crest is a central row of spikes at the base of the head. These spikes continue down the spine, getting smaller as they reach the base of the tail.) [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sulfur-crested Cockatoo
The sulphur-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua galerita'') is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests. A highly intelligent bird, they are well known in aviculture, although they can be demanding pets. Distribution In Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos can be found widely in the north and east, ranging from the Kimberley to as far south as Tasmania, but avoiding arid inland areas with few trees. They are numerous in suburban habitats in cities such as Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. Except for highland areas, they occur throughout most of New Guinea and on nearby smaller islands such as Waigeo, Misool and Aru, and various islands in the Cenderawasih Bay and Milne Bay. There are four recognised subspecies: Introduced species Within Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos of the nominate race have also ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pacific Black Duck
The Pacific black duck (''Anas superciliosa''), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east. It is usually called the gray duck in New Zealand, where it is also known by its Maori name, . Taxonomy The Pacific black duck was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other ducks, geese and swans in the genus ''Anas'' and coined the binomial name ''Anas superciliosa''. Gmelin based his description on the "Supercilious duck" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. The naturalist Joseph Banks had provided Latham with a water-colour drawing of the duck by Georg Forster who had accompanied Jam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quercus Robur
''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widely cultivated in temperate regions elsewhere and has escaped into the wild in scattered parts of China and North America. Description ''Quercus robur'' is a large deciduous tree, with circumference of grand oaks from to an exceptional . The Majesty Oak with a circumference of is the thickest tree in Great Britain. The Brureika (Bridal Oak) in Norway with a circumference of (2018) and the Kaive Oak in Latvia with a circumference of are among the thickest trees in Northern Europe. The largest historical oak was known as the Imperial Oak from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This specimen was recorded at 17.5 m in circumference at breast height and estimated at over 150 m³ in total volume. It collapsed in 1998. The species has l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Moreton Bay Fig
''Ficus macrophylla'', commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig or Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the family Moraceae native to eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region in the north to the Illawarra in New South Wales, as well as Lord Howe Island. Its common name is derived from Moreton Bay in Queensland, Australia. It is best known for its imposing buttress roots. ''Ficus macrophylla'' is called a strangler fig because seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree, where the seedling lives as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground, when it enlarges and strangles its host, eventually becoming a freestanding tree by itself. Individuals may reach in height. Like all figs, it has an obligate mutualism with fig wasps; figs are pollinated only by fig wasps, and fig wasps can reproduce only in fig flowers. Many species of birds, including pigeons, parrots, and various passerines, eat the fruit. ''Ficu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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White Booyong
''Argyrodendron trifoliolatum'' is an Australian rainforest tree. It is native to eastern Queensland and northeastern NSW, Australia, where it is known as white booyong. Booyong, New South Wales is named after the tree. It can grow up to 45 metres tall.Floyd, A. 1990: ''Australian Rainforests in New South Wales, Volume 1''. Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty Ltd, Chipping Norton, NSW. Its flowers, produced from July to September, are in great numbers and are creamy-colored bell-shaped. The most distinctive feature of ''Argyrodendron trifoliolatum'' is that the trunks form large characteristic buttresses. The natural habitats of the species are subtropical and dry rainforests and scrubby watercourses. It is a shade tolerant climax species and one of the main tree species in warm subtropical rainforests. Image:White Booyong - Alstonville2.jpg, White booyong - Davis Scrub Nature Reserve Image:White Booyong - Booyong Reserve.jpg, Twin white booyong - Booyong Flora Reserve Image:White Booyong ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hoop Pine
''Araucaria cunninghamii'' is a species of ''Araucaria'' known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ... and explorer Allan Cunningham (botanist), Allan Cunningham, who collected the first specimens in the 1820s. Habitat The species is found in the dry rainforests of New South Wales and Queensland and in New Guinea. The trees can live up to 450 years and grow to a height of 60 metres. The bark is rough, splits naturally, and peels easily. Description The leaf, leaves on young trees are awl-shaped, 1–2 cm long, about 2 mm thick at the base, and scale-like, incurved, 1–2 cm l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bunya Pine
''Araucaria bidwillii'', commonly known as the bunya pine and sometimes referred to as the false monkey puzzle tree, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the plant family Araucariaceae. It is found naturally in south-east Queensland Australia and two small disjunct populations in north eastern Queensland's World Heritage listed Wet Tropics. There are many old planted specimens in New South Wales, and around the Perth, Western Australia metropolitan area. They can grow up to . The tallest presently living is one in Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland which was reported by Robert Van Pelt in January 2003 to be in height. The bunya pine is the last surviving species of the Section ''Bunya'' of the genus ''Araucaria''. This section was diverse and widespread during the Mesozoic with some species having cone morphology similar to ''A. bidwillii'', which appeared during the Jurassic. Fossils of Section ''Bunya'' are found in South America and Europe. The scientific name ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Camphor Laurel
''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern Japan, Korea, India and Vietnam, and has been introduced to many other countries. It grows up to tall. In Japan, where the tree is called ''kusunoki'', five camphor trees are known with a trunk circumference above , with the largest individual, , reaching 24.22 m. The leaves have a glossy, waxy appearance and smell of camphor when crushed. In spring, it produces bright green foliage with masses of small white flowers. It produces clusters of black, berry-like fruit around in diameter. Its pale bark is very rough and fissured vertically. Certain trees in Japan are considered sacred. An example of the importance of a sacred tree is the 700-year old camphor growing in the middle of Kayashima Station. Locals protested against moving the t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |