Dr.H.Sudradjat SB.
Penyebab dan perantara penularan.
Penyakit ini disebabkan oleh suatu virus, yaitu virus rabies yang
menyebabkan gangguan pada susunan saraf pusat (SSP).
Vektor yang berperan dalam penularan penyakit ini adalah anjing dan
binatang-binatang liar seperti kera, kelelawar dsb.
Manifestasi penyakit
Sesudah masa tunas / inkubasi selama 10 hari sampai dengan 7 bulan, orang
yang tertular dapat mengalami / menderita penyakit ini dengan gejala-gejala
sebagai berikut :
Diawali dengan demam ringan atau sedang, sakit kepala, tak nafsu makan,
lemah, mual, muntah dan perasaan yang abnormal pada daerah sekitar gigitan
(anjing/binatang liar tsb).
Gejala di atas kemudian dengan cepat diikuti hiperestesi dan hipereksitasi
mental serta neuromuskular, diikuti dengan kaku kuduk dan kejang-kejang
otot-otot yang berfungsi dalam proses menelan dan pernafasan. Sedikit
rangsangan berupa cahaya, suara, bau ataupun sedikit cairan dapat
menimbulkan reflex kejang-kejang tersebut.
Keadaan tersebut selanjutnya berkembang menjadi kekejangan umum dan
kematianpun umumnya terjadi pada tahap ini.
Pengobatan. Pengobatan dilakukan dengan memberikan imunisasi pasif dengan
serum anti rabies, dan pengobatan yang bersifat suportif dan simtomatik.
Luka gigitan dirawat dengan tehnik tertentu dengan tujuan menghilangkan dan
menonaktifkan virus. Immunisasi aktif dengan vaksin anti rabies sebelum
tanda-tanda dan gejala muncul sekaligus merupakan usaha pencegahan bila ada
kecurigaan binatang yang menggigit mengidap rabies.
Pencegahan. Pencegahan dilakukan dengan menghindari gigitan anjing atau binatang-binatang liar. Bila sudah terjadi maka binatang tersebut harus diobservasi oleh dokter hewan untuk kemungkinan rabies. Bila binatang tersebut menunjukkan tanda-tanda rabies atau bahkan mati dalam waktu 10 hari maka harus dilakukan pemeriksaan laboratorik terhadap otak binatang tersebut untuk memastikan diagnosa.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Brisbane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is
the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of
approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in
Australia.
The city is situated on the Brisbane River on a low-lying floodplain between
Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range in southeastern Queensland. The
local indigenous people knew the area as Mian-jin, meaning 'place shaped as
a spike'.
Brisbane is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales
from 1821 to 1825. Brisbane's demonym is a Brisbanite.
The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony at Redcliffe,
28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the Brisbane central business district, in
1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825.
Free settlers were permitted from 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital
when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in
1859.
At a municipal level, the city is governed by the Brisbane City Council. In
1925, the City of Brisbane Act was passed by the Queensland Government,
abolishing 20 local government authorities in the city and forming the
largest local authority in Australia.
The city played a central role in the Allied campaign during World War II as
the South West Pacific headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur.
Brisbane is fast becoming a world city renowned for its culture,
architecture and landscape. The metropolitan area is surrounded by many
national parks, and contains many rivers, bays and inlets. The main airport
serving Brisbane is Brisbane International Airport, located 14 km north-east
of the CBD
Brisbane has hosted many large cultural and sporting events including the
1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo '88 and the 2001 Goodwill Games. In 2008
Brisbane was classified as a gamma world city+ in the World Cities Study
Group's inventory by Loughborough University.
History
Brisbane was inhabited before European settlement by the Turrbal people
whose ancestors migrated to the region from across the Torres Strait. They
knew the area as Mian-jin, meaning 'place shaped as a spike'.
The Moreton Bay area was initially explored by Matthew Flinders, landing and
naming "Red Cliff Point" – after the red-coloured cliffs visible from the
bay, known today as Woody Point – on 17 July 1799. In 1823, Governor of New
South Wales, Thomas Brisbane, instructed that a new northern penal
settlement be developed, and an exploration party led by John Oxley further
explored Moreton Bay.
Oxley discovered, named and sailed up the Brisbane River as far as Goodna,
some 20 km upstream from the Brisbane central business district. Oxley
recommended Red Cliff Point for the new colony, reporting that ships could
land at any tide and easily get close to the shore. The party settled in
Redcliffe on 13 September 1824, under the command of Lieutenant Henry Miller
with 14 soldiers, some with wives and children, and 29 convicts.
However, this settlement was abandoned after one year and the colony was
moved to a site on the Brisbane River now known as North Quay, 28 km south,
that offered a more reliable water supply. Chief Justice Forbes gave the new
settlement the name of Edenglassie before it was named Brisbane. Non-convict
European settlement of the Brisbane region commenced in 1838.
German missionaries settled at Zions Hill, Nundah, as early as 1837, five
years before Brisbane was officially declared a free settlement. The band
consisted of two ministers, Christopher Eipper (1813-1894) and Carl Wilhelm
Schmidt, and lay missionaries whose names were Haussmann, Johann Gottried
Wagner, Niquet, Hartenstein, Zillman, Franz, Rode, Doege and Schneider.
They were allocated 260 hectares and set about establishing the mission,
which became known as German Station. Free settlers entered the area over
the following five years and by the end of 1840 Robert Dixon began work on
the first plan of Brisbane Town in anticipation of future development.
Queensland's first Government House was completed in 1862 and is located
within the grounds of the Queensland University of Technology near the City
Botanic Gardens
Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony on 6 June 1859 with Brisbane
chosen as its capital, although it was not incorporated as a city until 1902
Brisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is
the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of
approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in
Australia.
The city is situated on the Brisbane River on a low-lying floodplain between
Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range in southeastern Queensland. The
local indigenous people knew the area as Mian-jin, meaning 'place shaped as
a spike'.
Brisbane is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales
from 1821 to 1825. Brisbane's demonym is a Brisbanite.
The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony at Redcliffe,
28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the Brisbane central business district, in
1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825.
Free settlers were permitted from 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital
when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in
1859.
At a municipal level, the city is governed by the Brisbane City Council. In
1925, the City of Brisbane Act was passed by the Queensland Government,
abolishing 20 local government authorities in the city and forming the
largest local authority in Australia.
The city played a central role in the Allied campaign during World War II as
the South West Pacific headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur.
Brisbane is fast becoming a world city renowned for its culture,
architecture and landscape. The metropolitan area is surrounded by many
national parks, and contains many rivers, bays and inlets. The main airport
serving Brisbane is Brisbane International Airport, located 14 km north-east
of the CBD
Brisbane has hosted many large cultural and sporting events including the
1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo '88 and the 2001 Goodwill Games. In 2008
Brisbane was classified as a gamma world city+ in the World Cities Study
Group's inventory by Loughborough University.
History
Brisbane was inhabited before European settlement by the Turrbal people
whose ancestors migrated to the region from across the Torres Strait. They
knew the area as Mian-jin, meaning 'place shaped as a spike'.
The Moreton Bay area was initially explored by Matthew Flinders, landing and
naming "Red Cliff Point" – after the red-coloured cliffs visible from the
bay, known today as Woody Point – on 17 July 1799. In 1823, Governor of New
South Wales, Thomas Brisbane, instructed that a new northern penal
settlement be developed, and an exploration party led by John Oxley further
explored Moreton Bay.
Oxley discovered, named and sailed up the Brisbane River as far as Goodna,
some 20 km upstream from the Brisbane central business district. Oxley
recommended Red Cliff Point for the new colony, reporting that ships could
land at any tide and easily get close to the shore. The party settled in
Redcliffe on 13 September 1824, under the command of Lieutenant Henry Miller
with 14 soldiers, some with wives and children, and 29 convicts.
However, this settlement was abandoned after one year and the colony was
moved to a site on the Brisbane River now known as North Quay, 28 km south,
that offered a more reliable water supply. Chief Justice Forbes gave the new
settlement the name of Edenglassie before it was named Brisbane. Non-convict
European settlement of the Brisbane region commenced in 1838.
German missionaries settled at Zions Hill, Nundah, as early as 1837, five
years before Brisbane was officially declared a free settlement. The band
consisted of two ministers, Christopher Eipper (1813-1894) and Carl Wilhelm
Schmidt, and lay missionaries whose names were Haussmann, Johann Gottried
Wagner, Niquet, Hartenstein, Zillman, Franz, Rode, Doege and Schneider.
They were allocated 260 hectares and set about establishing the mission,
which became known as German Station. Free settlers entered the area over
the following five years and by the end of 1840 Robert Dixon began work on
the first plan of Brisbane Town in anticipation of future development.
Queensland's first Government House was completed in 1862 and is located
within the grounds of the Queensland University of Technology near the City
Botanic Gardens
Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony on 6 June 1859 with Brisbane
chosen as its capital, although it was not incorporated as a city until 1902
Over twenty small municipalities and shires were amalgamated in 1925, to
form the City of Brisbane which is governed by the Brisbane City Council.
1930 was a significant year for Brisbane as it had gained some landmarks
which would define the identity and character of the city. The Story Bridge
and Brisbane City Hall, the city's tallest buildings were both completed.
Additionally, the Shrine of Remembrance, in ANZAC Square, became Brisbane's
main war memorial.
During World War II, Brisbane became central to the Allied campaign when the
AMP Building (now called MacArthur Central) was used as the South West
Pacific headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur, chief of the Allied
Pacific forces.
MacArthur had previously rejected using the University of Queensland complex
as his HQ, as the distinctive bends in the river at St Lucia could have
aided enemy bombers. Also used as a Headquarters by the American troops
during World War II was the T & G Building.
Approximately 1,000,000 US troops passed through Australia during the war,
as the primary coordination point for the South West Pacific. In 1942
Brisbane was the site of a violent clash between visiting US military
personnel and Australian servicemen and civilians which resulted in one
death and several injuries. This incident became known colloquially as the
Battle of Brisbane.
Postwar Brisbane had developed a "big country town" stigma, an image which
the city's politicians and marketers were very keen to shake. Despite
growing steadily, Brisbane was punctuated by infrastructure problems.
The State government under Joh Bjelke-Petersen began a major program of
change and urban renewal beginning with the CBD and inner suburbs. Trams in
Brisbane were a popular mode of public transport and Brisbane and the city
became the last Australian city to completely close its tram network in 1969
The 1974 Brisbane flood was a major disaster which temporarily crippled the
city.
During this era Brisbane grew and modernised rapidly becoming a destination
of interstate migration. Some of Brisbane's much loved landmarks were lost
including the Bellevue Hotel in 1977 and Cloudland in 1982, demolished in
controversial circumstances by the infamous Deen Brothers demolition crew.
Major public works included the Riverside Expressway, the Gateway Bridge and
later the redevelopment of South Bank starting with the Queensland Art
Gallery.
Brisbane staged the successful 1982 Commonwealth Games and the 1988 World
Exposition (known locally as World Expo '88) during 1988. These events were
accompanied by a scale of public expenditure, construction and development
not previously seen in the state of Queensland.
Brisbane's population growth has exceeded the national average every year
since 1990 at an average rate of around 2.2% per year.
Geography
Brisbane is in the southeast corner of Queensland, Australia. The city is
centred along the Brisbane River, and its eastern suburbs line the shores of
Moreton Bay. The greater Brisbane region is on the coastal plain east of the
Great Dividing Range.
The city of Brisbane is hilly. The urban area, including the central
business district, are partially elevated by spurs of the Herbert Taylor
Range, such as the summit of Mount Coot-tha, reaching up to 300 metres (980
ft) and the smaller Enoggera Hill. Other prominent rises in Brisbane are
Mount Gravatt and nearby Toohey Mountain. Mount Petrie at 170 metres (560
ft) and the lower rises of Highgate Hill, Mount Ommaney, Stephens Mountain
and Whites Hill are dotted across the city.
The city is on a low-lying floodplain. Many suburban creeks criss-cross the
city, increasing the risk of flooding. The city has suffered two major
floods since colonisation, in 1893 and 1974. The 1974 Brisbane flood
occurred partly as a result of "Cyclone Wanda". Heavy rain had fallen
continuously for three weeks before the Australia Day weekend flood (26 – 27
January 1974).The flood damaged many parts of the city, especially the
suburbs of Oxley, Bulimba, Rocklea, Coorparoo, Toowong and New Farm. The
City Botanic gardens were inundated, leading to a new colony of mangroves
forming in the City Reach of the Brisbane River.
Urban Structure
The Brisbane central business district (CBD) lies in a curve of the Brisbane
river. The CBD covers only 2.2 km2 (0.8 sq mi) and is walkable.
Central streets are named after members of the royal family. Streets named
after female members (Adelaide, Alice, Ann, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Margaret,
Mary) run parallel to Queen Street and Queen Street Mall (named in honour of
Queen Victoria) and perpendicular to streets named after male members
(Albert, Edward, George, William).
The city has retained some heritage buildings dating back to 1820s, The
Windmill in Wickham Park and the Old Commissariat Store on William Street
are considered to be the oldest surviving buildings in Brisbane. Both were
built by convict labour in 1828. The Windmill was originally used for the
grinding of grain and a punishment for the convicts that manually operated
the grinding mill. The Windmill tower's other significant claim to fame,
largely ignored, is that the first television signals in the southern
hemisphere were transmitted from it by experimenters in April 1934—long
before TV commenced in most places. These experimental TV broadcasts
continued until World War II.
The Old Commissariat Store, originally used partly as a grainhouse, has also
been a hostel for immigrants and used for the storage of records. Built with
Brisbane tuff from the nearby Kangaroo Point Cliffs and sandstone from a
quarry near today's Albion Park Racecourse, it is now the home of the Royal
Historical Society of Brisbane. It contains a museum and can also be hired
for small functions.
The city has a density of 379.4 people per square kilometre, which is high
for an Australian city and comparable to that of Sydney. However like many
western cities, Brisbane sprawls into the greater metropolitan area. The
lower population density reflects the fact that most of Brisbane's housing
stock consists of detached houses.
Early legislation decreed a minimum size for residential blocks resulting in
few terrace houses being constructed in Brisbane. Recently the density of
the city and inner city neighbourhoods has increased with the construction
of apartments, with the result that the population of the central business
district has doubled over the last 5 years and closing the gap on Sydney and
Melbourne.
Brisbane has a lower inner city population density than Australia's two
largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, although constant population growth
The high density housing that existed came in the form of miniature
Queenslander-style houses which resemble the much larger traditional styles
but are sometimes only one quarter the size. These miniature Queenslanders
are becoming scarce but can still be seen in the inner city suburbs.
Multi residence accommodations (such as apartment blocks) are relatively new
to Brisbane, with few such blocks built before 1970, other than in inner
suburbs such as New Farm. Pre-1950 housing was often built in a distinctive
architectural style known as a Queenslander, featuring timber construction
with large verandahs and high ceilings. The relatively low cost of timber in
South-East Queensland meant that until recently most residences were
constructed of timber, rather than brick or stone. Many of these houses are
elevated on stumps (also called "stilts"), that were originally timber, but
are now frequently replaced by steel or concrete.
Currently, Brisbane has only two buildings greater than 200 metres in height
The tallest is a residential tower, Aurora Tower and the second is a mixed
use tower Riparian Plaza. There is also a further three buildings over 200m
metres which are either under construction or have had construction put on
hold.
Climate
Brisbane has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen climate classification Cfa)
with hot, humid summers and dry, mild winters. From late Spring through to
early Autumn, thunderstorms are common over Brisbane, with the more severe
events accompanied by large damaging hail stones, torrential rain and
destructive winds.
The city's highest recorded temperature was 43.2 °C (110 °F) on 26 January
1940. On 19 July 2007, Brisbane's temperature fell below the freezing point
for the first time since records began, registering −0.1 °C (31.8 °F) at the
airport.
Brisbane's wettest day was 21 January 1887, when 465 millimetres (18.3 in)
of rain fell on the city, the highest maximum daily rainfall of Australia's
capital cities.
From 2006, Brisbane and surrounding temperate areas have experienced the
most severe drought in over a century, with dam levels dropping below one
quarter of their capacity. Residents have been mandated by local laws to
observe level 6 water restrictions on gardening and other outdoor water
usage. Per capita water usage is below 140 litres per day, giving Brisbane
one of the lowest per capita usages of water of any Western city in the
world.
Dust storms in Brisbane are extremely rare however on 23 September 2009, a
severe dust storm blanketed Brisbane, as well as other parts of eastern
Australia.
Governance
Brisbane City Hall houses the Museum of Brisbane and offices of the Brisbane
City Council.
Main articles: Brisbane City Council and Government of Queensland
Unlike other Australian capital cities, a large portion of the greater
metropolitan area of Brisbane is controlled by a single local government
entity, the Brisbane City Council. Since the creation of the Brisbane City
Council in 1925 the urban areas of Brisbane have expanded considerably past
the City Council boundaries. Prior to that, a far smaller area (comprising
the inner suburbs of Brisbane today) was controlled by the Brisbane
Municipal Council.
The City of Brisbane is divided into 26 wards, with each ward electing a
Councillor as their community representative. The Lord Mayor of Brisbane and
Councillors are elected every four years by popular vote, in which all
residents must participate. The current Lord Mayor of Brisbane is Campbell
Newman, who was elected to the position in March 2004 and re-elected in 2008
Brisbane City Council is the largest local government body (in terms of
population and budget) in Australia. The Council, formed by the merger of
twenty smaller councils in 1925, has jurisdiction over an area of 1,367 km2
(528 sq mi). The Council's annual budget is approximately $1.6 billion, and
it has an asset base of $13 billion.
Economy
Brisbane's economy has white-collar and blue-collar industries. White-collar
industries include information technology, financial services, higher
education and public sector administration generally concentrated in and
around the central business district and recently established office areas
in the inner suburbs.
Blue-collar industries, including petroleum refining, stevedoring, paper
milling, metalworking and QR railway workshops, tend to be located on the
lower reaches of the Brisbane River and in new industrial zones on the urban
fringe. Tourism is an important part of the Brisbane economy, both in its
own right and as a gateway to other areas of Queensland.
Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Queensland State Government has
been developing technology and science industries in Queensland as a whole,
and Brisbane in particular, as part of its "Smart State" initiative. The
government has invested in several biotechnology and research facilities at
several universities in Brisbane. The Institute for Molecular Bioscience at
the University of Queensland (UQ) Saint Lucia Campus is a large CSIRO and
Queensland state government initiative for research and innovation that is
currently being emulated at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Campus at Kelvin Grove with the establishment of the Institute of Health and
Biomedical Innovation (IHBI).
Brisbane is one of the major business hubs in Australia. Most major
Australian companies, as well as numerous international companies, have
contact offices in Brisbane, while numerous electronics businesses have
distribution hubs in and around the city. DHL Global's Oceanic distribution
warehouse is located in Brisbane, as is Asia Pacific Aerospace's
headquarters. Home grown major companies include Suncorp-Metway Limited,
Flight Centre, Sunsuper, Orrcon, Credit Union Australia, Boeing Australia,
Donut King, Wotif.com, WebCentral, PIPE Networks, Krome Studios, NetBox Blue
Mincom Limited and Virgin Blue.
Brisbane has the fourth highest median household income of the Australian
capital cities at $40,973.
Port of Brisbane
The Port of Brisbane is on the lower reaches of the Brisbane River and on
Fisherman's Island at the rivers mouth, and is the 3rd most important port
in Australia for value of goods. Container freight, sugar, grain, coal and
bulk liquids are the major exports. Most of the port facilities are less
than three decades old and some are built on reclaimed mangroves and
wetlands.
The Port is a part of the Australia TradeCoast, the country's
fastest-growing economic development area. Geographically, Australia
TradeCoast occupies a large swathe of land around the airport and port.
Commercially, the area has attracted a mix of companies from throughout the
Asia Pacific region.
Retail
Brisbane has a range of retail precincts, both in the Central Business
District and in surrounding suburbs. The Queen Street Mall has a vast array
of cafes, restaurants, cinemas, gift shops and shopping centres including:
Wintergarden, Broadway on the Mall, QueensPlaza, Brisbane Arcade, Queen
Adelaide Building, Tattersails Arcade and The Myer Centre.
The majority of retail business is done within the suburbs of Brisbane in
shopping centres which include major department store chains. There are 3
major Westfield shopping centres in Brisbane located in the suburbs of
Chermside (Westfield Chermside), Mt Gravatt (Westfield Garden City) and
Carindale (Westfield Carindale).
Other large shopping centres exist at Indooroopilly (Indooroopilly Shopping
Centre), Toombul (Centro Toombul) and Mitchelton (Brookside Shopping Centre)
Other major shopping centres through-out the metropolitan area include
North Lakes (Westfield North Lakes), Strathpine (Westfield Strathpine) and
Loganholme (Logan Hyperdome).
The 2006 census reported 1,763,131 residents within the Brisbane Statistical
Division, making it the third largest city in Australia. Brisbane recorded
the largest growth rate of all capital cities in the last Census, with an
annual growth rate of 2.2%. The median age across the city was 35 years.
The 2006 census showed that 1.7% of Brisbane's population were of indigenous
origin and 21.7% were born overseas. Of those born outside of Australia, the
three main countries of birth were New Zealand, South Africa, and the United
Kingdom.
Approximately 16.1% of households spoke a language other than English, with
the most common languages being Mandarin 1.1%, Vietnamese 0.9%, Cantonese 0
9%, Italian 0.6% and Samoan 0.5%. Areas of significant overseas populations
were in the southern region of Moorooka where those of African descent
reside. Most of the Vietnamese population reside in the suburb of Inala
while those from Mainland China are often found not in one particular area
but all around Brisbane. Sunnybank is where most of the majority of the
Chinese population reside, comprising mainly of people from Taiwan and Hong
Kong. Brisbane has the highest population of Republic of China (Taiwan)
citizens in Australia. It has been estimated that the population has grown
to an estimated 35 000+, making them the highest Asian population in
Brisbane. Consequently, Sunnybank and its surrounding suburbs have often
been dubbed as the 'Real Chinatown' and 'Taiwan Town'.
The inner southern suburbs were considered the most densely populated areas
of Southern European descent, primarily Greek and Italian. There are also a
major number of Bosnians, Croatians, Indians, Pakistanis, South Africans and
Fijians in the city.
Sister Cities
Brisbane has sister city relations with the following cities
* Japan Kobe, Japan (1985)
* New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand (1988)
* People's Republic of China Shenzhen, China (1992)
* Indonesia Semarang, Indonesia (1993)
* Republic of China Kaohsiung, Taiwan (1997)
* South Korea Daejon, Republic of Korea (2002)
* People's Republic of China Chongqing, China (2005)
* United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi, UAE (2009)
* United States Brisbane, California, USA
Justifikasi Kapitalis Atas System Bunga dan Kritik Terhadapnya
Banyak anggota masyarakat saat ini bertanya-tanya mengapa suku bunga acuan
Bank Indonesia atau BI rate sudah turun sampai dengan level 6,5% tidak
dibarengi dengan turunnya suku bunga pinjaman bank. Suku bunga pinjaman pada
Agustus 2009 masih berkisar pada level 14%. Para ahli ekonomi nasional
mencoba menjelaskan dengan berbagai analisisnya mengapa bisa terjadi seperti
itu, ada ekonom yang mengatakan hal itu disebabkan karena kebijakan
penurunan BI rate bertubrukan dengan kebijakan Menteri Keuangan yang
menerbitkan surat utang dengan tingkal imbal hasil atau yield sampai 13%.
Dan ada juga ekonom yang mengatakan hal tsb karena terhambatnya laju
pertumbuhan suplay uang ke system ekonomi kita, sehingga di tengah
permintaan uang naik tapi suplai uang yang berkurang menyebabkan suku bunga
pinjaman sulit untuk turun.
Bank Indonesia atau BI rate sudah turun sampai dengan level 6,5% tidak
dibarengi dengan turunnya suku bunga pinjaman bank. Suku bunga pinjaman pada
Agustus 2009 masih berkisar pada level 14%. Para ahli ekonomi nasional
mencoba menjelaskan dengan berbagai analisisnya mengapa bisa terjadi seperti
itu, ada ekonom yang mengatakan hal itu disebabkan karena kebijakan
penurunan BI rate bertubrukan dengan kebijakan Menteri Keuangan yang
menerbitkan surat utang dengan tingkal imbal hasil atau yield sampai 13%.
Dan ada juga ekonom yang mengatakan hal tsb karena terhambatnya laju
pertumbuhan suplay uang ke system ekonomi kita, sehingga di tengah
permintaan uang naik tapi suplai uang yang berkurang menyebabkan suku bunga
pinjaman sulit untuk turun.
Apapun jawaban analisis para ekonom nasional tsb semuanya dibenarkan oleh
ahli keuangan dan perbankan dari Columbia Univesity , Prof.Frederic S
Mishkin. Dalam bukunya yang berjudul " The Economics of Money, Banking and
Financial Markets " pada Bab tentang Perilaku Suku Bunga , Ia menjelaskan
bahwa suku bunga dipengaruhi oleh penawaran dan permintaan obligasi
negara/swasta dan juga dipengaruhi oleh penawaran dan permintaan uang dalam
system perekonomian. Ia juga mengakui bahwa tingkat suku bunga sangat
berfluktuasi tajam dan sangat sulit diprediksikan kapan naik dan turunnya,
seringkali para ahli yang paling top sekalipun meleset dalam meramal tingkat
suku bunga.
Tingginya tingkat volatilitas suku bunga tsb mengakibatkan tingginya tingkat
ketidakpastian dalam finansial market sehingga mendorong para pemberi
pinjaman dan peminjam uang meninggalkan sector riil , uang hanya beputar
dari satu instrument finansial ke instrument lainnya tanpa pernah
bersinggungan dengan aktivitas produktif. Keadaan ini membuat finansial
market semakin aktif dan memanas yang merupakan salah satu penyebab
ketidakstabilan ekonomi.
Dengan melihat kondisi seperti itu sebenarnya sudah cukup mematahkan
justifikasi kalangan kapitalis bagi bunga yang dibebankan oleh kreditor
kepada debitor dengan menginterprestasikannya sebagai hak modal atas
sebagian profit yang dituai debitor berkat uang yang dipinjamnya, karena
pada kenyataannya debitor banyak yang memakai uang pinjamannya bukan untuk
aktivitas produktif (sector rill) seperti perniagaan barang dan jasa tapi
untuk memutarkan uang tsb pada sector yang berbau spekulatif seperti untuk
mengambil keuntungan pada instrument finansial market.
Kita tentu masih ingat, pada waktu MUI pada tahun 2003 mengeluarkan fatwa
bunga bank haram, banyak kalangan intelektual termasuk sebagian ulama yang
menentang fatwa MUI tsb dengan menjustifikasi atas bunga yang dibebankan
oleh kreditor kepada debitor merupakan hak modal atas sebagian profit yang
dituai debitor berkat uang yang dipinjamnya. Sehingga masyarakat muslim
Indonesia banyak yang percaya kalau system bunga kapitalis adalah tidaklah
haram dengan tetap menyimpan uangnya di bank yang memakai system bunga.
Inilah yang merupakan salah satu yang menghambat dalam perkembangan bank
syariah nasional sekarang ini, yaitu pola fikir masyarakat muslim Indonesia
yang tidak tepat dalam memandang system bunga kapitalis.
Dalam Islam, bukannya tidak mengakui hak modal atas sebagian profit yang
dituai debitor tapi caranya adalah dengan system profit sharing (bagi hasil)
atau yang disebut dengan persekutuan mudharabah., dimana pemilik modal
(penabung/deposan) hanya akan mendapatkan keuntungan bila bank memang
mendapatkan keuntungan dari sector riil. Ini berbeda dengan mengakui hak
modal dengan system bunga kapitalis yang menggaransi pendapatan bagi pemilik
modal (penabung/deposan) tanpa melihat hasil yang dicapai oleh bank dalam
menyalurkan pembiayaan (kredit).
Sebagai penutup tulisan artikel saya ini, saya ingin menegaskan sekali lagi
bahwa sebenarnya banyak sekali justifikasi kalangan kapitalis atas bunga.
Namun yang paling kuat yang mampu meyakinkan masyarakat muslim di Indonesia
system bunga tidaklah haram, adalah justifikasi kalangan kapitalis atas
bunga yang dibebankan oleh kreditor kepada debitor merupakan interprestasi
sebagai hak modal atas sebagian profit yang dituai debitor berkat uang yang
dipinjamnya. Padahal pada kenyataannya debitor banyak yang memakai uang
pinjamannya bukan untuk aktivitas produktif (sector rill) seperti perniagaan
barang dan jasa tapi untuk memutarkan uang tsb pada sector yang berbau
spekulatif seperti untuk mengambil keuntungan pada instrument finansial
market.
Untuk mendorong kemajuan ekonomi bangsa dengan menggerakkan sector riil
bukanlah dengan system bunga tapi dengan system bagi hasil (profit sharing)
karena system bagi hasil pada bank syariah mengharuskannya adanya sector
riil yang dibiayai (underlying assetnya).
Ya Allah Maha Suci Engkau tidak ada ilmu pada diriku kecuali yang telah
Engkau Ajarkan kepadaku sesungguhnya Engkau Maha Mendengar dan Maha
Mengetahi.
Salam
Al-Faqir
Alihozi http://alihozi77.blogspot.com
Bagi yang ingin mengajukan KPR BMI bisa menghubungi Ali Hp:0813-882-364-05 atau email ali.hozi@yahoo.co.id
Monday, October 26, 2009
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Population : 122,731 (2006)[1] (14th)
Density : 250.9/km² (649.8/sq mi) [1]
Established : 1876
Coordinates : 16°55′32″S 145°46′31″E / 16.92556°S 145
77528°E / -16.92556; 145.77528
Area: 488.1 km² (188.5 sq mi) [2]
Time zone: AEST (UTC+10)
Location:
* 1707 km (1,061 mi) NW of Brisbane
* 2420 km (1,504 mi) NNW of Sydney
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia. The city
itself was named after William Wellington Cairns (the then Governor of
Queensland). It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River
goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was discovered
from Port Douglas. It later developed into a railhead and major port for
exporting sugar cane, gold, metals, minerals and agricultural products from
surrounding coastal areas and the Atherton Tableland region.
The city is rapidly expanding, with a population of 122,731 at the 2006
census. Tourism is the largest income producer for the region, followed
closely by the sugar industry.
Cairns is located about 1,700 km (1,056 mi) from Brisbane, and about 2,420
km (1,504 mi) from Sydney by road. It is a popular travel destination for
foreign tourists because of its tropical climate and proximity to many
attractions. The Great Barrier Reef can be reached in less than an hour by
boat. Daintree National Park and Cape Tribulation, about 130 km (81 mi)
north of Cairns, are popular areas for experiencing a tropical rainforest.
It is also a starting point for people wanting to explore Cooktown, Cape
York Peninsula, and the Atherton Tableland.
The city has used its natural surroundings to its advantage, with the
construction of several small theme parks for tourists. Among them are
Rainforestation Nature Park, Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, and Kuranda
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, which extends for 7.5 km (4.7 mi) over World
Heritage rainforest.
A notable feature of the Cairns esplanade is a swimming lagoon with
adjoining barbecue areas. In May 2003, the then Cairns Mayor Kevin Byrne
declared that topless sunbaking is permitted here, as the area is a
gathering point for people from around the world who may wish to do so. A
boardwalk allows pedestrians and cyclists to move along the foreshore from
the lagoon in a sustainable manner.
Geography
Cairns is located on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula on a coastal
strip between the Coral Sea and the Great Dividing Range. The northern part
of the city is located on Trinity Bay and the city centre is located on
Trinity Inlet. Some of the city's suburbs are located on flood plains. The
Mulgrave River and Barron River flow within the city's boundary but not
through the city itself. The city centre's foreshore is located on a mud
flat.
Cairns is a provincial city, with a linear urban layout that runs from the
south, at Edmonton, to the north, at Ellis Beach. The city is approximately
52 km (32 mi) from north to south. Cairns has experienced recent urban
sprawl, with suburbs occupying land previously used for sugar cane farming.
The Northern Beaches consist of a number of beach communities extending
north along the coast. In general, each beach suburb is located at the end
of a spur road extending from the Captain Cook Highway. From south to north,
these are Machans Beach, Holloways Beach, Yorkeys Knob, Trinity Park,
Trinity Beach, Kewarra Beach, Clifton Beach, Palm Cove, and Ellis Beach.
The suburb of Smithfield is located inland against the mountains of the
Great Dividing Range, between Yorkeys Knob and Trinity Park. It serves as
the main hub for the Northern Beaches, with a modern shopping arcade, called
Smithfield Shopping Centre.
Located south of Smithfield and inland from the Northern Beaches along the
edge of the Barron River flood plain are the suburbs of Caravonica,
Kamerunga, Freshwater, and Stratford. This area is sometimes referred to as
Freshwater Valley, though it is actually the lower part of Redlynch Valley;
further up the valley are the suburbs of Redlynch, on the western side of
Redlynch Valley, and Brinsmead on the eastern side. Stratford, Freshwater,
and Brinsmead are separated from Cairns city by Mount Whitfield (elevation
365 m (1,198 ft)) and Whitfield Range. Crystal Cascades and Copperlode Dam
are also located behind this range. This area is serviced by the Redlynch
Central Shopping Centre, a relatively new shopping centre, located in the
fast growing area of the Redlynch Valley. This shopping centre is also due
to be expanded in the future.
The city centre of Cairns is adjacent to the suburbs of Cairns North, and
Parramatta Park, Bungalow, Portsmith, and in close proximity to Westcourt,
Manunda, Manoora, Edge Hill, Whitfield, Kanimbla, Mooroobool, Earlville,
Woree and Bayview Heights. The small suburb of Aeroglen is pressed between
Mount Whitfield and the airport, on the Captain Cook Highway between Cairns
North and Stratford.
Southside Cairns, situated in a narrow area between Trinity Inlet to the
east and Lamb Range to the west, includes the suburbs of White Rock, Mount
Sheridan, Bentley Park and Edmonton. The townships of Goldsborough, Little
Mulgrave, and Aloomba are in close proximity to Gordonvale, located on the
Mulgrave River. This area is serviced by the Bruce Highway, which is to be
developed into a motorway between Woree and Gordonvale to address increasing
traffic congestion.
Nearby localities
Several other small towns and communities within Cairns' jurisdiction are
sparsely located along the Bruce highway, the furthest being Mirriwinni, 66
kilometres (41.0 mi) south of Cairns city; the largest of these townships is
Babinda, about 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) from Cairns.
The town of Kuranda is located upstream on the Barron River on the western
side of the Macalister Range, part of the Great Dividing Range. Kuranda is
located in the Tablelands local government area and, due to the geography of
the Macalister Range, is not part of the Cairns urban area; however, it
forms part of the Cairns economic catchment.
History of Cairns, Queensland
The land originally belonged to the Walubarra Yidinji people, who still
recognise indigenous property rights in the area. The area upon which the
city has been built is known in the local Yidiny language as Gimuy.
In 1770, James Cook first mapped the future site of Cairns, naming it
Trinity Bay. Closer investigation by several official expeditions 100 years
later established its potential for development into a port.
Cairns was founded in 1876, hastened by the need to export gold discovered
on the tablelands to the west of the inlet. The site was predominantly
mangrove swamps and sand ridges. The swamps were gradually cleared by
laborers, and the sand ridges were filled in with dried mud, sawdust from
local sawmills, and ballast from a quarry at Edge Hill. Debris collected
from the construction of a railway to Herberton on the Atherton Tableland, a
project which started in 1886, was also used. The railway opened up land
that was later used for agriculture on the lowlands (sugar cane, corn, rice,
bananas, pineapples), and for fruit and dairy production on the Tableland.
The success of local agriculture helped Cairns to establish itself as a port
and the creation of a harbour board in 1906 helped to support its economic
future.
During World War II, Cairns was used by the Allied Forces as a staging base
for operations in the Pacific. After World War II, Cairns slowly reinvented
itself as a centre for tourism. The opening of the Cairns International
Airport in 1984, and the building of the Cairns Convention Centre
established the city's overseas reputation as a desirable destination for
the tourism and business conference markets.
Climate
Cairns experiences a warm tropical climate, specifically a Tropical monsoon
climate (Am) under the Köppen climate classification. A wet season with
tropical monsoons runs from December to April, with a relatively dry season
from May to November, though showers are frequent for most of this period.
Mean rainfall of Cairns is 1,992.8 millimetres (78.5 in). The township of
Babinda at the southern end of the city is one of Australia's wettest towns,
recording an annual rainfall of over 4,200 millimetres (165.4 in). It has
hot, humid summers and milder temperatures in winter. Mean temperatures vary
from 25.7 °C (78.3 °F) in July to 31.4 °C (88.5 °F) in January. Monsoonal
activity during the wet season occasionally causes major flooding of the
Barron and Mulgrave Rivers, cutting off road and rail access to the city.
Tropical cyclones
Like most of North and Far North Queensland, Cairns is prone to tropical
cyclones, usually forming between November and May.
Notable cyclones that have affected the Cairns region include:
* Cyclone Larry, 2006
* Cyclone Abigail, 2001
* Cyclone Steve, 2000
* Cyclone Rona, 1999
* Cyclone Justin, 1997
Cyclone Larry
Tropical Cyclone Larry struck areas to the south of Cairns at 7 a.m. on 20
March 2006. Cyclone Larry crossed land near the town of Innisfail, 100 km
(62 mi) south of Cairns as a category five cyclone. It was downgraded to a
category four cyclone shortly before midday, and further downgraded to a
category three cyclone a few hours later. Wind gusts of up to 300 km/h (186
mph) were recorded around the Cairns region, with wind gusts up to 180 km/h
(112 mph) reported in the city. It is estimated that about one in four
houses in Cairns and surrounding areas were affected by Cyclone Larry
[citation needed]
Governance
Cairns is part of the Cairns Region local government area which is governed
by a Regional Council. The Council consists of a directly elected mayor and
10 councillors, elected from 10 single-member divisions (or wards) using an
optional preferential voting system. Elections are held every four years.
The Cairns Region consists of three former local government areas. The first
was the original City of Cairns, consisting of the Cairns City region as
listed above. The second, which was amalgamated in 1995, was the Shire of
Mulgrave (comprising the other areas, namely the Northern Beaches, Redlynch
Valley and Southside). The town of Gordonvale was once called Mulgrave. The
third area is the Shire of Douglas, which amalgamated in 2008 during major
statewide local government reforms.
At the time of the 1995 amalgamation, Cairns City had a population of
approximately 40,000 and Mulgrave Shire had a population of approximately 60
000. Both local government authorities had chambers in the Cairns CBD. The
old Cairns City Council chambers has been converted into a new city library.
In a controversial decision, new Council chambers were constructed on
previously contaminated land in the mainly industrial suburb of Portsmith.
Cairns has three representatives in the Queensland Parliament, from the
electoral districts of Barron River, Cairns and Mulgrave. The city is
represented in the Federal Parliament by representatives elected from the
districts of Leichhardt and Kennedy.
Prior to the abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Commission (ATSIC), the indigenous people in Cairns were represented by the
Cairns and District Regional Council. The Council had twelve Councillors,
who elected a chairperson from among them. The Cairns area was represented
on ATSIC by the Commissioner for Queensland North Zone. The last
Commissioner for Queensland North was Lionel Quartermaine, who also served
as ATSIC's Deputy Chair.
Economy
Cairns serves as the major commercial centre for the Far North Queensland
and Cape York Peninsula Regions. It is a base for the regional offices of
various government departments.
Tourism
Tourism plays a major part in the Cairns economy. According to Tourism
Australia, the Cairns region is the fourth-most popular destination for
international tourists in Australia after Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
While the city does not rank amongst Australia's top 10 destinations for
domestic tourism, it attracts a significant number of Australian holiday
makers given its distance from major capitals. The city's proximity to the
Great Barrier Reef, the Wet Tropics of Queensland, and the Atherton
Tableland makes it a popular destination. The city contains hundreds of
hotels, resorts, motels and backpackers hostels. Activities in the region
include golf, white water rafting, cruises to the Great Barrier Reef, and
coach tours to the Daintree Rainforest, Atherton Tableland and Paronella
Park. There are also scenic flights, day trips to Kuranda, crocodile farms,
and a food-and-wine tour visiting tropical fruit wineries.
Commercial
Several shopping centres of various sizes are located throughout Cairns. The
largest of these are Cairns Central shopping centre, located in the central
business district, and Stockland Cairns, located in the suburb of Earlville.
In Westcourt, one of the city's oldest shopping centres has been refurbished
with the city's first Direct Factory Outlet. To service the needs of
suburbs further from the city centre, shopping complexes are also located at
Mount Sheridan, Redlynch, Smithfield, and Clifton Beach.
The city is becoming a significant economical centre in not just tourism,
but in services as well, with many new office towers being built and planned
for the near future, including the Cairns Corporate Tower #2.
Media
The Cairns Post is a daily newspaper published in the city; a weekly paper,
The Cairns Sun, is also published. The Courier-Mail is a daily
Queensland-wide newspaper published in Brisbane. The Australian newspaper
also circulates widely.
The Cairns Bulletin (cairnsbulletin.com.au) is the only independent suburban
newspaper in circulation in Cairns. It is distributed from Palm Cove in the
north to Gordonvale in the south.
Cairns is served by regional affiliates of the three Australian commercial
television networks (Ten, Nine and Seven) and the two public broadcasters
(ABC and SBS). Austar Limited provides subscription satellite television
services.
Cairns radio stations include a number of public, commercial and community
broadcasters. The ABC broadcasts ABC Radio National, ABC Local, ABC Classic
FM and the Triple J youth network. Commercial radio stations include 4CA-FM,
AM846, HOT FM, SeaFM, 4CCR-FM, 87.6 XFM, 98.7FM, 101.9 Coast FM, and 104.3
4TAB sports radio.
Industry and agriculture
The land around Cairns is still used for sugar cane farming, although this
land is increasingly under pressure from new suburbs as the city grows.
Within the Cairns City Council area, sugar mills operate in Gordonvale and
Babinda.
The Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station is located nearby in Kuranda,
and provides green power for some of the city's needs.
Transport
Cairns is an important transport hub in the Far North Queensland region.
Located at the base of Cape York Peninsula, it provides important transport
links between the Peninsula and Gulf of Carpentaria regions, and the areas
to the south of the state. Cairns International Airport is essential to the
viability of the area's tourism industry.
Roads
The Bruce Highway runs for 1,700 km (1,056 mi) from Brisbane, and terminates
in the Cairns CBD, from which the Captain Cook Highway (also referred to as
the Cook Highway) commences, which runs for approximately 76 km (47 mi) from
Cairns to Mossman to the northwest.
A need for future upgrades to the Bruce Highway to motorway standards
through the southern suburbs to Gordonvale has been identified in regional
planning strategies to cope with increasing congestion from rapid population
growth. This will result in overpasses at all major intersections from Woree
to Gordonvale. The motorway will divert from Bentley Park to Gordonvale,
bypassing Edmonton to reduce the affects of road noise on residential areas.
The Kennedy Highway commences at Smithfield on the Barron River flood plain
north of Cairns, and ascends the Macalister Range to the township of Kuranda
The highway then extends to the town of Mareeba on the Atherton Tableland,
and continues to communities of Cape York Peninsula. There are plans to
construct an overpass as part of the Kennedy Range Motorway, which will run
from Smithfield to Kuranda.
The Gillies Highway commences at the township of Gordonvale, and ascends the
Gillies Range (part of the Great Dividing Range) to the town of Atherton on
the Atherton Tableland, passing through the township of Yungaburra on the
way.
The controversial private road, Quaid Road, was constructed in 1989 through
what is now a Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, and links Wangetti, on the
coast just north of Cairns, to Southedge, just south of Mount Molloy. The
road is not open to the public and is not used for general traffic.
[edit] Coaches
Cairns is served by long-distance coaches to Brisbane, and regional cities
to the south. Coaches also operate west to Mount Isa via Townsville, and to
Alice Springs and Darwin in the Northern Territory. The longest running
locally owned Coach company is Tropic Wings Coach Tours, originally
established in 1981 and opperated under the name of "Blue Wings Coaches"
changing to "Tropic Wings Coach Tours" in 1984. Tropic Wings Coach Tours was
the first local company to service Kuranda on a regular basis and has
continued to service North Queensland to this day.
Public transport
A public transport network is operated throughout the city by Marlin Coast
Sunbus. A transit mall is located in the CBD, through which all services
operate. Services include most parts of the city, from Palm Cove in the
north, to Gordonvale in the south. Bus services operated by Whitecar Coaches
run to Kuranda and to the Atherton Tableland. A smaller minibus service, Jon
s Kuranda Bus runs between Cairns and Kuranda. Cairns also has one major
taxi company, Black and White Cabs, which services the Cairns region.
Rail
Cairns is the terminus for Queensland's North Coast railway line, which
follows the eastern seaboard from Brisbane. Services are operated by
Queensland Rail (QR). In April 2009, the high speed tilt train service from
Brisbane to Cairns was suspended due to safety concerns but resumed service
on 4 May. Freight trains also operate along the route, with a QR Freight
handling facility located at Portsmith.
Pacific National Queensland (a division of Pacific National, owned by
Asciano Limited) operates a rail siding at Woree. It runs private trains on
the rail network owned by the Queensland State Government and managed by QR
s Network Division.
The Kuranda Scenic Railway operates from Cairns. The tourist railway ascends
the Macalister Range and is not used for commuter services. It passes
through the suburbs of Stratford, Freshwater (stopping at Freshwater
Station) and Redlynch before reaching Kuranda.
Freight services to Forsayth were discontinued in the mid-1990s. These were
mixed freight and passenger services that served the semi-remote towns west
of the Great Dividing Range. There is now a weekly passenger-only service,
The Savannahlander, that leaves Cairns on Wednesday mornings. The
Savannahlander is run by a private company, Cairns Kuranda Steam Trains.
Cairns is served by a narrow gauge cane railway (or cane train) network that
hauls harvested sugar cane to the Mulgrave Mill located in Gordonvale. The
pressure of urban sprawl on land previously cultivated by cane farmers has
seen this network reduced over recent years. There has been discussion that
these railway corridors may be used for a possible future light rail mass
transit system, however no plans have been drawn up.[citation needed]
The use of the existing heavy rail line for commuter services between
Redlynch and Gordonvale is occasionally discussed; however this is not a
favoured option under the FNQ 2010 Regional Plan, which recommends the use
of buses.
Cairns International Airport
Cairns International Airport is located 7 km (4 mi) north of Cairns City
between the CBD and the Northern Beaches. It is Australia's seventh busiest
domestic airport and sixth busiest international airport. In 2005/2006 there
were 3.76 million international and domestic passenger movements.
The airport has a domestic terminal, a separate international terminal, and
a general aviation area. The airport handles international flights, and
flights to major Australian cities, tourist destinations, and regional
destinations throughout North Queensland. It is an important base for
general aviation serving the Cape York Peninsula and Gulf of Carpentaria
communities. The Cairns airport is also a base for the Royal Flying Doctor
Service.
Sea port
The Cairns Seaport, located on Trinity Inlet, is operated by the Cairns Port
Authority. It serves as an important port for tourist operators providing
daily reef trips. These consist of large catamarans capable of carrying over
300 passengers, as well as smaller operators that may take as few as 12
tourists. Cairns Port is also a port of call for cruise ships, such as
Captain Cook Cruises, cruising the South Pacific Ocean. It also provides
freight services to coastal townships on Cape York Peninsula, the Torres
Strait and the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Yearly cargo through the port totals 1.13 million tonnes. Almost 90% of the
trade is bulk cargoes including petroleum, sugar, molasses, fertiliser and
LP gas. A large number of fishing trawlers are also located at the port.
There is also a marina that houses private yachts and boats used for tourist
operations.
The Royal Australian Navy has a base in Cairns (HMAS Cairns). The base has a
complement of 900 personnel, and supports fourteen warships, including the
four Armidale class patrol boats of Ardent Division, four of the six
Balikpapan class landing craft, and all six ships of the Royal Australian
Navy Hydrographic Service.
The Trinity Wharf has recently been the subject of a major redevelopment to
improve the area for tourist and cruise ship operations. The freight wharves
are located to the south of Trinity Wharf further up Trinity Inlet.
Sister cities
* Papua New Guinea Lae, Papua New Guinea (Morobe Province) since 1984
* Japan Minami, Japan (Tokushima Prefecture) since 1969
* Japan Oyama, Japan (Tochigi Prefecture) since June 15, 2006
* Latvia Riga, Latvia since 1990[24]
* United States Scottsdale, Arizona (USA) since 1987
* Canada Sidney, British Columbia (Canada) since 1984
* People's Republic of China Zhanjiang, People's Republic of China
(Guangdong province) since 2004
Education
Cairns has numerous primary and secondary schools. Separate systems of
private and public schools operate in Queensland. There are 20 state primary
schools and 16 state high schools operated by the Queensland state
government Department of Education within the Cairns City Council area,
including 6 schools in the predominantly rural areas south of Gordonvale.
Roman Catholic schools are operated by Catholic Education Cairns. The Roman
Catholic system encompasses nineteen primary schools, six secondary colleges
and one P-12 college. There are almost 6,000 primary students and 3,250
secondary students enrolled in the Roman Catholic school system.
The Cairns Campus of James Cook University is located at Smithfield. The
city is also home to a TAFE college, and a School of the Air base, both
located in the inner suburb of Manunda.
Health
The Cairns Base Hospital is situated on the Cairns Esplanade and is the
major hospital for the Cape York Peninsula Region. The smaller Cairns
Private Hospital is located nearby. On the north side of the Base hospital
is located the Australian Red Cross Blood Service
Cairns is a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which operates clinics
and provides emergency evacuations in remote communities throughout the
region.
Sport and recreation
Notable sporting grounds include Barlow Park, Cairns Showground and Cazaly's
Stadium, the Cairns Convention Centre (basketball), and the Cairns Hockey
Centre.
Cairns also has a National Basketball League (NBL) team, the Cairns Taipans.
The Skill360 Australia Northern Pride Queensland Cup rugby league team
played their first season in 2008, and act as a feeder team to the North
Queensland Cowboys who play in the National Rugby League. There is also a
growing base for Rugby Union in Cairns. In Cairns Australian rules football
is followed, and there is an active local league.
Cairns is a major international destination for scuba diving due to its close proximity to the Great Barrier Reef. Other recreational activities popular with tourists include whitewater rafting, skydiving, kitesurfing and snorkelling.
Population : 122,731 (2006)[1] (14th)
Density : 250.9/km² (649.8/sq mi) [1]
Established : 1876
Coordinates : 16°55′32″S 145°46′31″E / 16.92556°S 145
77528°E / -16.92556; 145.77528
Area: 488.1 km² (188.5 sq mi) [2]
Time zone: AEST (UTC+10)
Location:
* 1707 km (1,061 mi) NW of Brisbane
* 2420 km (1,504 mi) NNW of Sydney
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia. The city
itself was named after William Wellington Cairns (the then Governor of
Queensland). It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River
goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was discovered
from Port Douglas. It later developed into a railhead and major port for
exporting sugar cane, gold, metals, minerals and agricultural products from
surrounding coastal areas and the Atherton Tableland region.
The city is rapidly expanding, with a population of 122,731 at the 2006
census. Tourism is the largest income producer for the region, followed
closely by the sugar industry.
Cairns is located about 1,700 km (1,056 mi) from Brisbane, and about 2,420
km (1,504 mi) from Sydney by road. It is a popular travel destination for
foreign tourists because of its tropical climate and proximity to many
attractions. The Great Barrier Reef can be reached in less than an hour by
boat. Daintree National Park and Cape Tribulation, about 130 km (81 mi)
north of Cairns, are popular areas for experiencing a tropical rainforest.
It is also a starting point for people wanting to explore Cooktown, Cape
York Peninsula, and the Atherton Tableland.
The city has used its natural surroundings to its advantage, with the
construction of several small theme parks for tourists. Among them are
Rainforestation Nature Park, Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, and Kuranda
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, which extends for 7.5 km (4.7 mi) over World
Heritage rainforest.
A notable feature of the Cairns esplanade is a swimming lagoon with
adjoining barbecue areas. In May 2003, the then Cairns Mayor Kevin Byrne
declared that topless sunbaking is permitted here, as the area is a
gathering point for people from around the world who may wish to do so. A
boardwalk allows pedestrians and cyclists to move along the foreshore from
the lagoon in a sustainable manner.
Geography
Cairns is located on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula on a coastal
strip between the Coral Sea and the Great Dividing Range. The northern part
of the city is located on Trinity Bay and the city centre is located on
Trinity Inlet. Some of the city's suburbs are located on flood plains. The
Mulgrave River and Barron River flow within the city's boundary but not
through the city itself. The city centre's foreshore is located on a mud
flat.
Cairns is a provincial city, with a linear urban layout that runs from the
south, at Edmonton, to the north, at Ellis Beach. The city is approximately
52 km (32 mi) from north to south. Cairns has experienced recent urban
sprawl, with suburbs occupying land previously used for sugar cane farming.
The Northern Beaches consist of a number of beach communities extending
north along the coast. In general, each beach suburb is located at the end
of a spur road extending from the Captain Cook Highway. From south to north,
these are Machans Beach, Holloways Beach, Yorkeys Knob, Trinity Park,
Trinity Beach, Kewarra Beach, Clifton Beach, Palm Cove, and Ellis Beach.
The suburb of Smithfield is located inland against the mountains of the
Great Dividing Range, between Yorkeys Knob and Trinity Park. It serves as
the main hub for the Northern Beaches, with a modern shopping arcade, called
Smithfield Shopping Centre.
Located south of Smithfield and inland from the Northern Beaches along the
edge of the Barron River flood plain are the suburbs of Caravonica,
Kamerunga, Freshwater, and Stratford. This area is sometimes referred to as
Freshwater Valley, though it is actually the lower part of Redlynch Valley;
further up the valley are the suburbs of Redlynch, on the western side of
Redlynch Valley, and Brinsmead on the eastern side. Stratford, Freshwater,
and Brinsmead are separated from Cairns city by Mount Whitfield (elevation
365 m (1,198 ft)) and Whitfield Range. Crystal Cascades and Copperlode Dam
are also located behind this range. This area is serviced by the Redlynch
Central Shopping Centre, a relatively new shopping centre, located in the
fast growing area of the Redlynch Valley. This shopping centre is also due
to be expanded in the future.
The city centre of Cairns is adjacent to the suburbs of Cairns North, and
Parramatta Park, Bungalow, Portsmith, and in close proximity to Westcourt,
Manunda, Manoora, Edge Hill, Whitfield, Kanimbla, Mooroobool, Earlville,
Woree and Bayview Heights. The small suburb of Aeroglen is pressed between
Mount Whitfield and the airport, on the Captain Cook Highway between Cairns
North and Stratford.
Southside Cairns, situated in a narrow area between Trinity Inlet to the
east and Lamb Range to the west, includes the suburbs of White Rock, Mount
Sheridan, Bentley Park and Edmonton. The townships of Goldsborough, Little
Mulgrave, and Aloomba are in close proximity to Gordonvale, located on the
Mulgrave River. This area is serviced by the Bruce Highway, which is to be
developed into a motorway between Woree and Gordonvale to address increasing
traffic congestion.
Nearby localities
Several other small towns and communities within Cairns' jurisdiction are
sparsely located along the Bruce highway, the furthest being Mirriwinni, 66
kilometres (41.0 mi) south of Cairns city; the largest of these townships is
Babinda, about 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) from Cairns.
The town of Kuranda is located upstream on the Barron River on the western
side of the Macalister Range, part of the Great Dividing Range. Kuranda is
located in the Tablelands local government area and, due to the geography of
the Macalister Range, is not part of the Cairns urban area; however, it
forms part of the Cairns economic catchment.
History of Cairns, Queensland
The land originally belonged to the Walubarra Yidinji people, who still
recognise indigenous property rights in the area. The area upon which the
city has been built is known in the local Yidiny language as Gimuy.
In 1770, James Cook first mapped the future site of Cairns, naming it
Trinity Bay. Closer investigation by several official expeditions 100 years
later established its potential for development into a port.
Cairns was founded in 1876, hastened by the need to export gold discovered
on the tablelands to the west of the inlet. The site was predominantly
mangrove swamps and sand ridges. The swamps were gradually cleared by
laborers, and the sand ridges were filled in with dried mud, sawdust from
local sawmills, and ballast from a quarry at Edge Hill. Debris collected
from the construction of a railway to Herberton on the Atherton Tableland, a
project which started in 1886, was also used. The railway opened up land
that was later used for agriculture on the lowlands (sugar cane, corn, rice,
bananas, pineapples), and for fruit and dairy production on the Tableland.
The success of local agriculture helped Cairns to establish itself as a port
and the creation of a harbour board in 1906 helped to support its economic
future.
During World War II, Cairns was used by the Allied Forces as a staging base
for operations in the Pacific. After World War II, Cairns slowly reinvented
itself as a centre for tourism. The opening of the Cairns International
Airport in 1984, and the building of the Cairns Convention Centre
established the city's overseas reputation as a desirable destination for
the tourism and business conference markets.
Climate
Cairns experiences a warm tropical climate, specifically a Tropical monsoon
climate (Am) under the Köppen climate classification. A wet season with
tropical monsoons runs from December to April, with a relatively dry season
from May to November, though showers are frequent for most of this period.
Mean rainfall of Cairns is 1,992.8 millimetres (78.5 in). The township of
Babinda at the southern end of the city is one of Australia's wettest towns,
recording an annual rainfall of over 4,200 millimetres (165.4 in). It has
hot, humid summers and milder temperatures in winter. Mean temperatures vary
from 25.7 °C (78.3 °F) in July to 31.4 °C (88.5 °F) in January. Monsoonal
activity during the wet season occasionally causes major flooding of the
Barron and Mulgrave Rivers, cutting off road and rail access to the city.
Tropical cyclones
Like most of North and Far North Queensland, Cairns is prone to tropical
cyclones, usually forming between November and May.
Notable cyclones that have affected the Cairns region include:
* Cyclone Larry, 2006
* Cyclone Abigail, 2001
* Cyclone Steve, 2000
* Cyclone Rona, 1999
* Cyclone Justin, 1997
Cyclone Larry
Tropical Cyclone Larry struck areas to the south of Cairns at 7 a.m. on 20
March 2006. Cyclone Larry crossed land near the town of Innisfail, 100 km
(62 mi) south of Cairns as a category five cyclone. It was downgraded to a
category four cyclone shortly before midday, and further downgraded to a
category three cyclone a few hours later. Wind gusts of up to 300 km/h (186
mph) were recorded around the Cairns region, with wind gusts up to 180 km/h
(112 mph) reported in the city. It is estimated that about one in four
houses in Cairns and surrounding areas were affected by Cyclone Larry
[citation needed]
Governance
Cairns is part of the Cairns Region local government area which is governed
by a Regional Council. The Council consists of a directly elected mayor and
10 councillors, elected from 10 single-member divisions (or wards) using an
optional preferential voting system. Elections are held every four years.
The Cairns Region consists of three former local government areas. The first
was the original City of Cairns, consisting of the Cairns City region as
listed above. The second, which was amalgamated in 1995, was the Shire of
Mulgrave (comprising the other areas, namely the Northern Beaches, Redlynch
Valley and Southside). The town of Gordonvale was once called Mulgrave. The
third area is the Shire of Douglas, which amalgamated in 2008 during major
statewide local government reforms.
At the time of the 1995 amalgamation, Cairns City had a population of
approximately 40,000 and Mulgrave Shire had a population of approximately 60
000. Both local government authorities had chambers in the Cairns CBD. The
old Cairns City Council chambers has been converted into a new city library.
In a controversial decision, new Council chambers were constructed on
previously contaminated land in the mainly industrial suburb of Portsmith.
Cairns has three representatives in the Queensland Parliament, from the
electoral districts of Barron River, Cairns and Mulgrave. The city is
represented in the Federal Parliament by representatives elected from the
districts of Leichhardt and Kennedy.
Prior to the abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Commission (ATSIC), the indigenous people in Cairns were represented by the
Cairns and District Regional Council. The Council had twelve Councillors,
who elected a chairperson from among them. The Cairns area was represented
on ATSIC by the Commissioner for Queensland North Zone. The last
Commissioner for Queensland North was Lionel Quartermaine, who also served
as ATSIC's Deputy Chair.
Economy
Cairns serves as the major commercial centre for the Far North Queensland
and Cape York Peninsula Regions. It is a base for the regional offices of
various government departments.
Tourism
Tourism plays a major part in the Cairns economy. According to Tourism
Australia, the Cairns region is the fourth-most popular destination for
international tourists in Australia after Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
While the city does not rank amongst Australia's top 10 destinations for
domestic tourism, it attracts a significant number of Australian holiday
makers given its distance from major capitals. The city's proximity to the
Great Barrier Reef, the Wet Tropics of Queensland, and the Atherton
Tableland makes it a popular destination. The city contains hundreds of
hotels, resorts, motels and backpackers hostels. Activities in the region
include golf, white water rafting, cruises to the Great Barrier Reef, and
coach tours to the Daintree Rainforest, Atherton Tableland and Paronella
Park. There are also scenic flights, day trips to Kuranda, crocodile farms,
and a food-and-wine tour visiting tropical fruit wineries.
Commercial
Several shopping centres of various sizes are located throughout Cairns. The
largest of these are Cairns Central shopping centre, located in the central
business district, and Stockland Cairns, located in the suburb of Earlville.
In Westcourt, one of the city's oldest shopping centres has been refurbished
with the city's first Direct Factory Outlet. To service the needs of
suburbs further from the city centre, shopping complexes are also located at
Mount Sheridan, Redlynch, Smithfield, and Clifton Beach.
The city is becoming a significant economical centre in not just tourism,
but in services as well, with many new office towers being built and planned
for the near future, including the Cairns Corporate Tower #2.
Media
The Cairns Post is a daily newspaper published in the city; a weekly paper,
The Cairns Sun, is also published. The Courier-Mail is a daily
Queensland-wide newspaper published in Brisbane. The Australian newspaper
also circulates widely.
The Cairns Bulletin (cairnsbulletin.com.au) is the only independent suburban
newspaper in circulation in Cairns. It is distributed from Palm Cove in the
north to Gordonvale in the south.
Cairns is served by regional affiliates of the three Australian commercial
television networks (Ten, Nine and Seven) and the two public broadcasters
(ABC and SBS). Austar Limited provides subscription satellite television
services.
Cairns radio stations include a number of public, commercial and community
broadcasters. The ABC broadcasts ABC Radio National, ABC Local, ABC Classic
FM and the Triple J youth network. Commercial radio stations include 4CA-FM,
AM846, HOT FM, SeaFM, 4CCR-FM, 87.6 XFM, 98.7FM, 101.9 Coast FM, and 104.3
4TAB sports radio.
Industry and agriculture
The land around Cairns is still used for sugar cane farming, although this
land is increasingly under pressure from new suburbs as the city grows.
Within the Cairns City Council area, sugar mills operate in Gordonvale and
Babinda.
The Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station is located nearby in Kuranda,
and provides green power for some of the city's needs.
Transport
Cairns is an important transport hub in the Far North Queensland region.
Located at the base of Cape York Peninsula, it provides important transport
links between the Peninsula and Gulf of Carpentaria regions, and the areas
to the south of the state. Cairns International Airport is essential to the
viability of the area's tourism industry.
Roads
The Bruce Highway runs for 1,700 km (1,056 mi) from Brisbane, and terminates
in the Cairns CBD, from which the Captain Cook Highway (also referred to as
the Cook Highway) commences, which runs for approximately 76 km (47 mi) from
Cairns to Mossman to the northwest.
A need for future upgrades to the Bruce Highway to motorway standards
through the southern suburbs to Gordonvale has been identified in regional
planning strategies to cope with increasing congestion from rapid population
growth. This will result in overpasses at all major intersections from Woree
to Gordonvale. The motorway will divert from Bentley Park to Gordonvale,
bypassing Edmonton to reduce the affects of road noise on residential areas.
The Kennedy Highway commences at Smithfield on the Barron River flood plain
north of Cairns, and ascends the Macalister Range to the township of Kuranda
The highway then extends to the town of Mareeba on the Atherton Tableland,
and continues to communities of Cape York Peninsula. There are plans to
construct an overpass as part of the Kennedy Range Motorway, which will run
from Smithfield to Kuranda.
The Gillies Highway commences at the township of Gordonvale, and ascends the
Gillies Range (part of the Great Dividing Range) to the town of Atherton on
the Atherton Tableland, passing through the township of Yungaburra on the
way.
The controversial private road, Quaid Road, was constructed in 1989 through
what is now a Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, and links Wangetti, on the
coast just north of Cairns, to Southedge, just south of Mount Molloy. The
road is not open to the public and is not used for general traffic.
[edit] Coaches
Cairns is served by long-distance coaches to Brisbane, and regional cities
to the south. Coaches also operate west to Mount Isa via Townsville, and to
Alice Springs and Darwin in the Northern Territory. The longest running
locally owned Coach company is Tropic Wings Coach Tours, originally
established in 1981 and opperated under the name of "Blue Wings Coaches"
changing to "Tropic Wings Coach Tours" in 1984. Tropic Wings Coach Tours was
the first local company to service Kuranda on a regular basis and has
continued to service North Queensland to this day.
Public transport
A public transport network is operated throughout the city by Marlin Coast
Sunbus. A transit mall is located in the CBD, through which all services
operate. Services include most parts of the city, from Palm Cove in the
north, to Gordonvale in the south. Bus services operated by Whitecar Coaches
run to Kuranda and to the Atherton Tableland. A smaller minibus service, Jon
s Kuranda Bus runs between Cairns and Kuranda. Cairns also has one major
taxi company, Black and White Cabs, which services the Cairns region.
Rail
Cairns is the terminus for Queensland's North Coast railway line, which
follows the eastern seaboard from Brisbane. Services are operated by
Queensland Rail (QR). In April 2009, the high speed tilt train service from
Brisbane to Cairns was suspended due to safety concerns but resumed service
on 4 May. Freight trains also operate along the route, with a QR Freight
handling facility located at Portsmith.
Pacific National Queensland (a division of Pacific National, owned by
Asciano Limited) operates a rail siding at Woree. It runs private trains on
the rail network owned by the Queensland State Government and managed by QR
s Network Division.
The Kuranda Scenic Railway operates from Cairns. The tourist railway ascends
the Macalister Range and is not used for commuter services. It passes
through the suburbs of Stratford, Freshwater (stopping at Freshwater
Station) and Redlynch before reaching Kuranda.
Freight services to Forsayth were discontinued in the mid-1990s. These were
mixed freight and passenger services that served the semi-remote towns west
of the Great Dividing Range. There is now a weekly passenger-only service,
The Savannahlander, that leaves Cairns on Wednesday mornings. The
Savannahlander is run by a private company, Cairns Kuranda Steam Trains.
Cairns is served by a narrow gauge cane railway (or cane train) network that
hauls harvested sugar cane to the Mulgrave Mill located in Gordonvale. The
pressure of urban sprawl on land previously cultivated by cane farmers has
seen this network reduced over recent years. There has been discussion that
these railway corridors may be used for a possible future light rail mass
transit system, however no plans have been drawn up.[citation needed]
The use of the existing heavy rail line for commuter services between
Redlynch and Gordonvale is occasionally discussed; however this is not a
favoured option under the FNQ 2010 Regional Plan, which recommends the use
of buses.
Cairns International Airport
Cairns International Airport is located 7 km (4 mi) north of Cairns City
between the CBD and the Northern Beaches. It is Australia's seventh busiest
domestic airport and sixth busiest international airport. In 2005/2006 there
were 3.76 million international and domestic passenger movements.
The airport has a domestic terminal, a separate international terminal, and
a general aviation area. The airport handles international flights, and
flights to major Australian cities, tourist destinations, and regional
destinations throughout North Queensland. It is an important base for
general aviation serving the Cape York Peninsula and Gulf of Carpentaria
communities. The Cairns airport is also a base for the Royal Flying Doctor
Service.
Sea port
The Cairns Seaport, located on Trinity Inlet, is operated by the Cairns Port
Authority. It serves as an important port for tourist operators providing
daily reef trips. These consist of large catamarans capable of carrying over
300 passengers, as well as smaller operators that may take as few as 12
tourists. Cairns Port is also a port of call for cruise ships, such as
Captain Cook Cruises, cruising the South Pacific Ocean. It also provides
freight services to coastal townships on Cape York Peninsula, the Torres
Strait and the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Yearly cargo through the port totals 1.13 million tonnes. Almost 90% of the
trade is bulk cargoes including petroleum, sugar, molasses, fertiliser and
LP gas. A large number of fishing trawlers are also located at the port.
There is also a marina that houses private yachts and boats used for tourist
operations.
The Royal Australian Navy has a base in Cairns (HMAS Cairns). The base has a
complement of 900 personnel, and supports fourteen warships, including the
four Armidale class patrol boats of Ardent Division, four of the six
Balikpapan class landing craft, and all six ships of the Royal Australian
Navy Hydrographic Service.
The Trinity Wharf has recently been the subject of a major redevelopment to
improve the area for tourist and cruise ship operations. The freight wharves
are located to the south of Trinity Wharf further up Trinity Inlet.
Sister cities
* Papua New Guinea Lae, Papua New Guinea (Morobe Province) since 1984
* Japan Minami, Japan (Tokushima Prefecture) since 1969
* Japan Oyama, Japan (Tochigi Prefecture) since June 15, 2006
* Latvia Riga, Latvia since 1990[24]
* United States Scottsdale, Arizona (USA) since 1987
* Canada Sidney, British Columbia (Canada) since 1984
* People's Republic of China Zhanjiang, People's Republic of China
(Guangdong province) since 2004
Education
Cairns has numerous primary and secondary schools. Separate systems of
private and public schools operate in Queensland. There are 20 state primary
schools and 16 state high schools operated by the Queensland state
government Department of Education within the Cairns City Council area,
including 6 schools in the predominantly rural areas south of Gordonvale.
Roman Catholic schools are operated by Catholic Education Cairns. The Roman
Catholic system encompasses nineteen primary schools, six secondary colleges
and one P-12 college. There are almost 6,000 primary students and 3,250
secondary students enrolled in the Roman Catholic school system.
The Cairns Campus of James Cook University is located at Smithfield. The
city is also home to a TAFE college, and a School of the Air base, both
located in the inner suburb of Manunda.
Health
The Cairns Base Hospital is situated on the Cairns Esplanade and is the
major hospital for the Cape York Peninsula Region. The smaller Cairns
Private Hospital is located nearby. On the north side of the Base hospital
is located the Australian Red Cross Blood Service
Cairns is a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which operates clinics
and provides emergency evacuations in remote communities throughout the
region.
Sport and recreation
Notable sporting grounds include Barlow Park, Cairns Showground and Cazaly's
Stadium, the Cairns Convention Centre (basketball), and the Cairns Hockey
Centre.
Cairns also has a National Basketball League (NBL) team, the Cairns Taipans.
The Skill360 Australia Northern Pride Queensland Cup rugby league team
played their first season in 2008, and act as a feeder team to the North
Queensland Cowboys who play in the National Rugby League. There is also a
growing base for Rugby Union in Cairns. In Cairns Australian rules football
is followed, and there is an active local league.
Cairns is a major international destination for scuba diving due to its close proximity to the Great Barrier Reef. Other recreational activities popular with tourists include whitewater rafting, skydiving, kitesurfing and snorkelling.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Port Vila
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 17°45′S 168°18′E / 17.75°S 168.3°E / -17.75; 168.3
Country Vanuatu
Province Shefa Province
Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. Situated on the south
coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, the city population at last
census (1999) was 29,356, an increase of 55% on the previous census result
(1989). This suggests a 2007 population of about 40,000 or around 65% of the
province's population. Port Vila is the economic and commercial centre of
Vanuatu.
History
The area occupied by Port Vila has been inhabited by Melanesian people for
thousands of years. In 1606, the first Europeans arrived at the island, led
by Pedro Fernández de Quirós and Luis Váez de Torres. In the 19th century,
French settlers established the municipality of Franceville, which declared
independence in 1889 and became the first self-governing nation to practice
universal suffrage without distinction of sex or race. Although the
population at the time consisted of about 500 native islanders and less than
50 whites, only the latter were permitted to hold office. One of the elected
presidents was a U.S. citizen by birth, R.D. Polk.
After 1887, the territory was jointly administered by the French and the
British. This was formalized in 1906 as an Anglo-French Condominium. During
World War II, Port Vila was an American and Australian airbase. In 1987, a
cyclone severely damaged the city. Another powerful earthquake in January
2002 caused extensive damage in the capital and surrounding areas.
Economy
Port Vila is Vanuatu's most important harbour and the centre of the country
s trade. The international airport, Bauerfield International (VLI) is also
located in the city.
Major industries in the city remain agriculture and fishing. Tourism is also
becoming important, especially from Australia and New Zealand. There were
over 50,000 visitors in 1997.
Vanuatu is a tax haven, and offshore financing in Port Vila is an important
part of the economy.
Vanuatu is still dependent on foreign aid, most of which comes from
Australia and New Zealand, although in recent years aid has also come from
the People's Republic of China. Examples of aid have been New Zealand paying
to train doctors selected from the local community, then paying part of
their wages during the first year after qualification. Australia has paid
consultants to work in Port Vila Central Hospital.
35.7% of exports leave from Port Vila and 86.9% of imports arrive in Port
Vila.
Demographics
The population is around 38,000; predominately Melanesian, with small
Polynesian, Asian, Australian and European populations, mainly French and
British.
Language
Bislama is spoken by everyone as the day-to-day language. In addition,
English and French are also widespread. Other Indigenous languages are also
spoken in the city.
Religion
Christianity is the predominant religion across Vanuatu, followed by more
than 90% of the population. The largest denomination is the Presbyterian
Church, followed by one third of the population. Roman Catholicism and the
Church of Melanesia are also common, each about 15%.
Climate
Port Vila has a tropical climate, with a dry season and a hot, wet season.
Rainfall averages about 2,360 millimetres (94 in.) per year. The area also
has south-east trade winds.
Education
Port Vila is one location of the University of the South Pacific, an
educational institution co-owned by twelve Pacific countries. The Vanuatu
campus is the only law school in the university, and it also teaches
languages.
World Heritage
Port Vila was the location in August 1999 for the important UNESCO meeting "2nd World Heritage Global Strategy Meeting for the Pacific Islands Region". One of the major topics with reference to Vanuatu and the Pacific region was the question of the suitability of underwater heritage for inscription on the World Heritage List.
Coordinates: 17°45′S 168°18′E / 17.75°S 168.3°E / -17.75; 168.3
Country Vanuatu
Province Shefa Province
Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. Situated on the south
coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, the city population at last
census (1999) was 29,356, an increase of 55% on the previous census result
(1989). This suggests a 2007 population of about 40,000 or around 65% of the
province's population. Port Vila is the economic and commercial centre of
Vanuatu.
History
The area occupied by Port Vila has been inhabited by Melanesian people for
thousands of years. In 1606, the first Europeans arrived at the island, led
by Pedro Fernández de Quirós and Luis Váez de Torres. In the 19th century,
French settlers established the municipality of Franceville, which declared
independence in 1889 and became the first self-governing nation to practice
universal suffrage without distinction of sex or race. Although the
population at the time consisted of about 500 native islanders and less than
50 whites, only the latter were permitted to hold office. One of the elected
presidents was a U.S. citizen by birth, R.D. Polk.
After 1887, the territory was jointly administered by the French and the
British. This was formalized in 1906 as an Anglo-French Condominium. During
World War II, Port Vila was an American and Australian airbase. In 1987, a
cyclone severely damaged the city. Another powerful earthquake in January
2002 caused extensive damage in the capital and surrounding areas.
Economy
Port Vila is Vanuatu's most important harbour and the centre of the country
s trade. The international airport, Bauerfield International (VLI) is also
located in the city.
Major industries in the city remain agriculture and fishing. Tourism is also
becoming important, especially from Australia and New Zealand. There were
over 50,000 visitors in 1997.
Vanuatu is a tax haven, and offshore financing in Port Vila is an important
part of the economy.
Vanuatu is still dependent on foreign aid, most of which comes from
Australia and New Zealand, although in recent years aid has also come from
the People's Republic of China. Examples of aid have been New Zealand paying
to train doctors selected from the local community, then paying part of
their wages during the first year after qualification. Australia has paid
consultants to work in Port Vila Central Hospital.
35.7% of exports leave from Port Vila and 86.9% of imports arrive in Port
Vila.
Demographics
The population is around 38,000; predominately Melanesian, with small
Polynesian, Asian, Australian and European populations, mainly French and
British.
Language
Bislama is spoken by everyone as the day-to-day language. In addition,
English and French are also widespread. Other Indigenous languages are also
spoken in the city.
Religion
Christianity is the predominant religion across Vanuatu, followed by more
than 90% of the population. The largest denomination is the Presbyterian
Church, followed by one third of the population. Roman Catholicism and the
Church of Melanesia are also common, each about 15%.
Climate
Port Vila has a tropical climate, with a dry season and a hot, wet season.
Rainfall averages about 2,360 millimetres (94 in.) per year. The area also
has south-east trade winds.
Education
Port Vila is one location of the University of the South Pacific, an
educational institution co-owned by twelve Pacific countries. The Vanuatu
campus is the only law school in the university, and it also teaches
languages.
World Heritage
Port Vila was the location in August 1999 for the important UNESCO meeting "2nd World Heritage Global Strategy Meeting for the Pacific Islands Region". One of the major topics with reference to Vanuatu and the Pacific region was the question of the suitability of underwater heritage for inscription on the World Heritage List.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Suva, Fiji
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Suva is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is located on the southeast
coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Central Division, Rewa Province, of
which it is the administrative centre. In 1877, it was decided to make Suva
the capital of Fiji when the geography of former main European settlement at
Levuka on the island of Ovalau proved too restrictive. The administration of
the colony was moved from Levuka to Suva in 1882. At the 2007 census the
city of Suva had a population of 85,691. Including independent suburbs, the
population of the Greater Suva urban area was 172,399 at the 2007 census
[not in citation given].
Physical Characteristics
Suva is the commercial and political centre of Fiji, though not necessarily
the cultural centre, and the largest urban area in the South Pacific outside
of Australia and New Zealand. It is Fiji's main port city.
Although Suva is on a peninsula, and almost surrounded by sea, the nearest
beach is 40 kilometres (25 mi) away at Pacific Harbour, and the nearby coast
is lined by mangroves. A significant part of the city centre, including the
old Parliament Buildings, is built on reclaimed mangrove swamp.
Suva is noted for its considerable rainfall, it has a markedly higher
rainfall than Nadi and the western side of Viti Levu, which is known to Suva
citizens as "the burning west". The First Governor of Fiji, Sir Aurthur
Gordon, allegedly remarked that it rained in Suva like he had seen no where
else before and that there was hardly a day without rain.
Landmarks
A well-known landmark is the Suva City Library or the Carnegie Library,
built in 1909 as well as many other colonial buildings.
The Government buildings complex sits on what was once the flowing waters of
a creek. This was drained in 1935 and over five kilometres of reinforced
concrete pilings were driven into the creek bed to support the massive
buildings to be erected. After the foundation stone was laid in 1937, the
building was completed in 1939; a new wing was completed in 1967. Parliament
however, was moved to a new complex on Ratu Sukuna Road in 1992.
Government House was formerly the residence of Fiji's colonial Governors and
following independence in 1970, Governors-General. It is now the official
residence of Fiji's President. Originally erected in 1882, it had to be
rebuilt in 1928, following its destruction by lightning in 1921.
The Suva campus of the University of the South Pacific (USP) occupies what
was once a New Zealand military base. It is the largest of the many USP
campuses dotted throughout the South Pacific and the largest University in
the Pacific islands outside Hawai'i.
The Fiji Museum, located in Thurston Gardens, was founded in 1904 and
originally occupied the old town hall, but moved to its present location in
1954. The museum houses the most extensive collection of Fijian artifacts in
the world, and is also a research and educational institution, specializing
in archeology, the preservation of Fiji's oral tradition, and the
publication of material on Fiji's language and culture.
Suva has around 78 parks, these include the new Takashi Suzuki Garden, Apted
Park at Suva Point which is a popular spot for viewing sunrise and sunset,
Thurston Gardens which was opened in 1913 and has flora from throughout the
South Pacific.
Suva also has many shopping and retail areas, notably Cumming street, which
has since colonial times, been a vibrant and colourful shopping area.
Features of these street include the original colonial buildings and narrow
roads. More modern shopping malls, such as the Suva Central Shopping Mall,
Mid-City Mall as well as the MHCC are all part of the developments to give
the city a modern and sophisticated look.
Demographics of Suva
Suva is a multiracial and multicultural city. Indigenous Fijians and
Indo-Fijians, the two principal ethnic groups of Fiji, comprise the bulk of
Suva's population, but the city is also home to the majority of Fiji's
ethnic minority populations, which include Caucasians (Europeans or
Kaivalagi), Part-Europeans (of European and Fijian Descent) and Chinese,
amongst others. The majority of expatriates working in Fiji are also based
in Suva. The most widely spoken language is English, but Fijian, Hindustani,
Cantonese, and other Indian languages are also spoken by their respective
communities.
Institutions
Suva is host to more international and regional intergovernmental agencies
and NGOs than any other Pacific Island capital. Some of the bodies with a
presence in Suva are:
* The TRAFFIC Oceania South Pacific Programme - funded by the UK Foreign and
Commonwealth Office, is located in Suva, in the offices of the WWF South
Pacific Programme. The programme assists in the implementation of CITES, but
also strengthens collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature.
* The Fiji School of Medicine - which is now classed as a regional agency
and a member of the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific
* The University of the South Pacific which operates a campus in Suva as
well as at other South Pacific locations.
* The Fiji Institute of Technology which is a major polytechnic in Fiji and
caters students from many small Pacific Island nations. It also has centres
in other Fiji towns of Nadi, Ba and Labasa.
* The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
* The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
* The South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission.
Municipal government
Suva has municipal status and is governed by a Lord Mayor and a 20-member
city council. However, The current interim-government has reformed and
restructured all municipal councils as of October, 2008 and the position of
Mayor is now void.
History
In return for a promise to pay off debts owed to the United States by the
Bauan chieftain, Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the Australian-based Polynesia
Company was granted 5000 km² of land, 575 km² of it near what was then the
village of Suva, in 1868. The original intention was to develop a cotton
farming industry, but the land and climate proved unsuitable.
Following the annexation of the Fiji Islands by the United Kingdom in 1874,
the colonial authorities decided to move the capital to Suva from Levuka in
1877. The transfer was made official in 1882. Colonel F.E. Pratt of the
Royal Engineers was appointed Surveyor-General in 1875 and designed the new
capital, assisted by W. Stephens and Colonel R.W. Stewart.
Following the promulgation of the Municipal Constitution Ordinance of 1909,
Suva acquired municipal status in 1910. The town initially comprised one
square mile; these boundaries remained intact until 1952 when the Muanikau
and Samabula wards were annexed, expanding its territory to 13 square
kilometers. In October that year, Suva was proclaimed a City - Fiji's first.
Tamavua was subsequently annexed; the most recent extension of the city
boundaries has been to incorporate the Cunningham area to the north of the
city. Urban sprawl has resulted in a number of suburbs that remain outside
of the city limits; together with the city itself, they form a metropolitan
area known as the Greater Suva Area.
The city hosted the 2003 South Pacific Games, being the third time in the
event's 40 year history that they had been held in Suva. As part of the
hosting of the event a new gymnasium and indoor sports center, swimming pool
and stadium, field hockey pitch and stands were built in the area around
Suva, funded by the government and a $16 million People's Republic of China
aid package.
Transportation
Nausori International Airport caters mainly to the domestic market, but can serve smaller international aircraft. It also has service to its immediate Pacific neighbors such as Tuvalu and Tonga.
Monday, October 19, 2009
International Date Line
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line on the surface of the
The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line on the surface of the
Earth opposite the Prime Meridian where the date changes as one travels east
or west across it. Roughly along 180° longitude, with diversions to pass
around some territories and island groups, it mostly corresponds to the time
zone boundary separating −12 and +12 hours Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
(Greenwich Mean Time – GMT). Crossing the IDL travelling east results in a
day or approximately 24 hours being subtracted, and crossing west results in
a day being added. The exact number of hours depends on the time zones.
Geography
For part of its length, the International Date Line follows the meridian of
180° longitude, roughly down the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In order to
keep from crossing nations internally, however, the line deviates to pass
around the far east of Russia and various island groups in the Pacific.
In the north the date line swings to the east through the Bering Strait and
then west past the Aleutian Islands in order to keep Alaska (part of the
United States) and Russia, which are due north and south of each other in
that region, on opposite sides of the line and in agreement with the date in
the rest of those countries. As a result of this line-adjusting, the right
to call itself "The Last Place on Earth" (that is, the latest place) goes to
the westernmost Aleutian Island of Attu.
The date line passes equidistantly between the two Diomede Islands—Little
Diomede Island (US) and Big Diomede Island (Russia)—at a distance of 1.5 km
(1 mi) from each island.
The date line circumvents the territory of Kiribati by swinging far to the
east, almost reaching the 150° meridian.
In the South Pacific the date line swings east such that Wallis and Futuna,
Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand's Kermadec Islands have the same date but Samoa
is one day earlier.
The International Date Line can cause confusion among airline travelers. The
most troublesome situation usually occurs with short journeys from west to
east. To travel from Tonga to Samoa by air, for example, takes approximately
two hours but involves crossing the International Date Line, causing
passengers to arrive the day before they left. This often causes confusion
in travel schedules, like hotel bookings (unless those schedules quote times
in UTC, but they typically do not since they must match domestic travel
times, local transport, or meeting times). Some examples of time zone
adjustments for real air trips are: Alaska-Siberia 21 hours, New
Zealand-Cook Islands 22 hours, and Samoa-Tonga 24 hours.
If someone circumnavigates the globe in an airplane from east to west (the
same direction as Magellan), they should subtract one hour for every 15° of
longitude crossed, losing 24 hours for one circuit of the globe; but 24
hours are added when crossing the International Date Line (from east to
west). The International Date Line must therefore be observed in conjunction
with Earth's time zones: the net adjustment to one's watch is zero. If one
crosses the date line at precisely midnight, going westward, one skips an
entire day; while going eastward, one repeats the entire day.
For two hours every day, at UTC 10:00–11:59, there are actually three
different days observed at the same time. At UTC time Thursday 10:15, for
example, it is Wednesday 23:15 in Samoa, which is eleven hours behind UTC,
and it is Friday 00:15 in Kiritimati (separated from Samoa by the IDL),
which is fourteen hours ahead of UTC. For the first hour (UTC 10:00–10:59),
this phenomenon affects inhabited territories, whereas during the second
hour (UTC 11:00–11:59) it only affects an uninhabited maritime time zone
twelve hours behind UTC.
Cultural references
The first date line problem occurred in association with the
circumnavigation of the globe by Magellan's expedition (1519–1522). The
surviving crew returned to a Spanish stopover sure of the day of the week,
as attested by various carefully maintained sailing logs. Nevertheless,
those on land insisted the day was different. This phenomenon, now readily
understandable, caused great excitement at the time, to the extent that a
special delegation was sent to the Pope to explain this temporal oddity to
him.
The effect of ignoring the date line is also seen in Jules Verne's book
Around the World in Eighty Days, in which the travelers, led by Phileas Fogg
return to London after a trip around the world, thinking that they have
lost the bet that is the central premise of the story. Having traveled the
direction opposite to the one taken by Magellan, they believe the date there
to be one day later than it truly is.
Lest anyone accuse Fogg of cheating by obtaining one extra day, this is not
so. Assuming a constant eastward speed, each travel day was 18 minutes short
of a full 24 hours, accumulating to one full day, which they failed to
correct as we would by setting our calendar back a day in mid-Pacific. Also,
similar information is found in The Twenty-One Balloons.
The date line is also a central factor in Umberto Eco's book The Island of
the Day Before, in which the protagonist finds himself on a becalmed ship,
with an island close at hand on the other side of the International Date
Line. Unable to swim, the protagonist's writings indulge in increasingly
confused speculation of the physical, metaphysical and religious import of
the date line.
De facto and de jure date lines
The IDL drawn on the map on this page and all other maps is now and always
has been an artificial construct of cartographers—it is de facto. No
international organization nor any treaty between nations has fixed the
straight line" segments and their junctions. All nations unilaterally
determine their standard time zones, which are applicable only on land and
adjacent territorial waters. These national zones do not extend into
international waters. Indeed, the 1884 International Meridian Conference
explicitly refused to propose or agree to any time zones, stating that they
were outside its purview. The conference resolved that the Universal Day
(midnight-to-midnight Greenwich Mean Time), which it did agree to, "shall
not interfere with the use of local or standard time where desirable".
The nautical date line is a de jure construction determined by international
agreement. It is the result of the 1917 Anglo-French Conference on
Time-keeping at Sea, which recommended that all ships, both military and
civilian, adopt hourly standard time zones on the high seas. The United
States, for example, adopted its recommendation for US military and merchant
marine ships in 1920. This date line is implied but not explicitly drawn on
time zone maps. It follows the 180° meridian except where it is interrupted
by territorial waters adjacent to land, forming gaps—it is a pole-to-pole
dashed line. Ships must adopt the standard time of a country if they are
within its territorial waters, but must revert to international time zones
(15° wide pole-to-pole gores) as soon as they leave its territorial waters.
In reality they use these time zones only for radio communication etc.
Internally in the ship, e.g. for work and meal hours they use a suitable
time zone of their own wish. The 15° gore that is offset from UTC by twelve
hours is bisected by the nautical date line into two 7.5° gores that differ
from UTC by ±12 hours.
Historical alterations
The Philippines, as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, long had its most
important communication with Acapulco in Mexico, and was accordingly placed
on the east side of the date line, despite being at the western edge of the
Pacific Ocean. 00:01 Tuesday in London was 17:21 Monday in Acapulco and
about 08:05 Monday in Manila. During the 1840s, trade interests turned to
China, the Dutch East Indies and adjacent areas, and the Philippines was
changed to the west side of the date line. Monday, 30 December 1844 (ending
up as a 365-day year, despite being a leap year) was followed by Wednesday,
1 January 1845.
Until 1867, Alaska began Russia's day, with the date line following the
partially defined border between Russian Alaska and British North America,
including the colony of British Columbia. The day before the purchase by the
United States took effect, it was Friday, 6 October 1867, in the Julian
calendar (used by Russia at the time), which would have been 18 October in
the Gregorian calendar. The time in New Archangel would have been 12:00 when
it was 12:02, Thursday, 17 October, at the future site of Whitehorse, Yukon,
and 12:49, 17 October, at the future site of Vancouver, British Columbia.
With the transfer of governance, the date line was shifted (moving Alaska
back a day), and the calendar was changed (moving Alaska ahead 12 days), and
being effective at midnight the calendar moved ahead one day as well, for a
net change of 11 days. Friday, 6 October, was followed by Friday, 18 October
(not Saturday, 7 October).
Samoa changed in 1892, eight years following the international conference
that would result in de facto development of the Date Line. The king was
persuaded by American traders to adopt the American date, being three hours
behind California, to replace the former Asian date, being four hours ahead
of Japan. The change was made at the end of the day on Monday, 4 July 1892,
so there were 367 days (1892 being a leap year), including two occurrences
of Monday, 4 July.
The central Pacific Republic of Kiribati introduced a change of date for its
eastern half on 1 January 1995, from time zones −11 and −10 to +13 and +14.
Before this, the country was divided by the date line. This meant that the
date line in effect moved eastwards to go around this country. As a British
colony, Kiribati was centered in the Gilbert Islands, just west of the old
date line. Upon independence in 1979, the new republic acquired the Phoenix
and Line Islands from the United States and the country found itself
straddling the date line. Government offices on opposite sides of the line
could only communicate by radio or telephone on the four days of the week
when both sides experienced weekdays simultaneously. A consequence of this
time zone revision was that Kiribati, by virtue of its easternmost
possession, the uninhabited Caroline Atoll at 150°25′ west, started the year
2000 on its territory before any other country on earth, a feature which the
Kiribati government capitalized upon as a potential tourist draw. But Ariel
and Berger comment that the international community has not taken this date
line adjustment very seriously, noting that most world atlases still ignore
this Kiribati dateline shift and they continue to represent the
International Date as a straight line in the Kiribati area.
Jewish date lines
The concept of an international date line is first mentioned in a 12th
century Talmudic commentary which seems to indicate that the day changes in
an area where the time is six hours ahead of Jerusalem (90 degrees east of
Jerusalem, a line running through the Philippines). This line which he
refers to as the K'tzai Hamizrach (the easternmost line) is used to
calculate the day of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. According to some
sources it is alluded to in the Talmud (Rosh Hashana and Eruvin) as well as
in the Jerusalem Talmud.
The date line poses a problem for religious travelers relative to the day on which to observe the Shabbat and Holidays. The Shabbat is on the seventh day of the week which is constant if you stay on the same side of the date line. The problem occurs when a Jewish traveler crosses the line and for him it is Friday but for the city he is visiting, it is Saturday. Most authorities[by whom?] hold that he should keep his own calendar (so it is still Friday for him) until he meets locals for whom it is Saturday and only then would he use the local calendar.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Origin of Samoa
The origin of Samoa, according to the stories told by the chiefs, is that Samoan people are actually from unknown land call "Savaiki", which most people believe is in Savaii. According to the ancient Samoan belief, everyone in the Polynesian area is from Savaiki. This is in accord with folk stories from other cultures in the Polynesian area: The Tongans believed that they are from Hauaiki, Maori people believe that they are from Hawaiki, Hawaiians believed that they are from Hawaii. It was originally believed that all Polynesians migrated from Hawaii, but DNA analysis indicates that these cultures are closely related to Samoans. It is thought that migration patterns from Samoa led the Polynesian people northward to Hawaii, southward to Maori, eastward to Fiji and westward to Tonga.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Tutuila, Pago Pago, American Samoa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pago Pago is located in American Samoa
Coordinates: 14°16′46″S 170°42′02″W / 14.27944°S 170.70056°W / -14.27944;
-170.70056
Country United States
Territory American Samoa
Pago Pago in English, by native Samoan speakers, Pango Pango, is the
capital of American Samoa. Its 2000 population was 11,500. The village is
located in Pago Pago Harbor, on the island of Tutuila. Tourism,
entertainment, food, and tuna canning are the primary industries here. From
1878 to 1951, this was a coaling and repair station for the U.S. Navy. A
portion of the docks at Fagatogo in Pago Pago Harbor. In the background is
the Rainmaker (Pioa) Mountain. Fagatogo was struck by a tsunami on 29
September 2009, causing moderate damage and rock slides.
A statue of Starkist Tuna mascot Charlie the Tuna at the company cannery in
Atu'u, Pago Pago, American Samoa
Pago Pago is one of the several villages in the Urban agglomeration of Pago
Pago along the shore of Pago Pago Harbor located at the very eastern part
(inside) of the embayment. The area includes a number of villages, among
them Fagatogo, the legislative and judicial area, and Utulei, the executive
area.
However, because the name Pago Pago is associated with the harbor itself -
the only significant port of call in American Samoa - Pago Pago is now
generally applied not only to the village itself, but to the whole harbor
area and to the villages in it. It is in this sense that Pago Pago becomes
the de facto capital town of American Samoa.
Pago Pago is a mixture of colorful semi-urban communities, a small town,
tuna canneries (which provide employment for a third of the population of
Tutuila) and a harbor surrounded by dramatic cliffs, which plunge almost
straight into the sea. A climb to the summit of Mt. Alava (see National Park
of American Samoa) provides a magnificent bird's-eye view of the harbor and
town.
In January 1942 Pago Pago Harbor was shelled by a Japanese submarine, but
this remained the only action on the islands during World War II.
Until 1980, one could experience the view from the peak by taking an aerial
tramway over the harbor, but on April 17 of that year a U.S. Navy plane,
flying overhead as part of the Flag Day celebrations, struck the cable; the
plane crashed into a wing of the Rainmaker Hotel. The tram remains unusable,
although according to Lonely Planet, plans have been put forth to reopen it.
Less spectacular, but worth the drive, is the view from the top of the pass
above Aua Village on the road to Afono.
Both the port itself and the legislature of American Samoa — known as the
Fono" are in Fagatogo, a village adjacent to Pago Pago. Similarly, the once
famous Rainmaker Hotel (now closed) is in the village of Utule'i, adjacent
to Fagatogo along the south shore of the long harbor. The canneries are in
Atu'u, on the harbor's north shore. It is suggested that one must avoid
eating any fish or invertebrate caught in Pago Pago Harbor because they are
contaminated with heavy metals and other pollutants.
On September 29, 2009, an earthquake struck in the South Pacific, near Samoa
and American Samoa, sending a tsunami into Pago Pago and surrounding areas.
The tsunami caused damage ranging from moderate to severe to villages,
buildings and vehicles and caused an unknown number of deaths.
Alasan Mengapa Harus Membunyikan Klakson Saat Melintasi Rel Kereta Api
Menurut teori analisis, induksi magnetik dari gesekan roda kereta dan
rel, mengganggu elektrisitas kendaraan yg ada diatas rel. Itupun kalau
mesin kendaraan dalam kondisi idle (langsam). Maka mesin akan mati.
(Tapi bila mesin dalam kondisi di-gas kencang, medan magnet tak cukup
kuat mematikan listrik kendaraan). Untuk memicu arus listrik awal, maka
pencetlah klakson cukup lama. Karena klakson langsung dapat arus dari
accu. Pancingan arus inilah yang dipakai untuk mulai starter lagi.
rel, mengganggu elektrisitas kendaraan yg ada diatas rel. Itupun kalau
mesin kendaraan dalam kondisi idle (langsam). Maka mesin akan mati.
(Tapi bila mesin dalam kondisi di-gas kencang, medan magnet tak cukup
kuat mematikan listrik kendaraan). Untuk memicu arus listrik awal, maka
pencetlah klakson cukup lama. Karena klakson langsung dapat arus dari
accu. Pancingan arus inilah yang dipakai untuk mulai starter lagi.
Darmawacana Prabu Darmayasa di Pura Agung Tirta Buana Bekasi
Pada tanggal 5 April 2009, Prabu Darmayasa memberikan darmawacana di Pura
Bekasi jam 10.00 pagi di acara arisan Tempek Harapan Jaya. Dalam acara
tersebut Prabu menguraikan beberapa hal sbb:
1) Mantram penyucian diri
Setiap membicarakan hal-hal suci biasakan kita membaca mantram penyucian
diri walaupun di rumah sudah mandi dengan bersih. Untuk mandi ada berbagai
macam mandi yaitu mandi dengan sabun, mandi dengan abu suci dan mandi dengan
srawanam. Disamping itu ada juga mandi dengan mantram dan salah satu
mantramnya adalah sbb:
OM APAWITRA PAWITROWA
SARWAWASTANG GATOPI WA
YAH SMARET PUNDARIKAKSAM
SA BAHYA ABHYANTARA SUCIH
SRI WISNU, SRI WISNU, SRI WISNU
ARTINYA:
Ya Tuhan, apakah hamba dalam keadaan suci atau tidak suci, atau dalam
keadaan apa pun hamba, -- dengan mengingat Pundarikasam (Tuhan YME) di dalam
hati, mohon hamba disucikan lahir bathin.
Jika membersihkan diri dengan air, sebelum mandi ucapkan mantram berikut
pada air yang akan disiramkan ke tubuh
OM GANGGE CA YAMUNA CAIWA
GODAWARI SARASWATI
NARMADE SINDHO KAWERI
JALE'SMIN SANNIDHIM KURU
Artinya:
Om , Ya Dewi Gangga, Dewi Saraswati, Dewi Yamuna, Dewi Godawari, Dewi
Narmada, Dewi Sindhu dan Dewi Kaweri, semoga Anda semua berkenan datang dan
berkumpul di dalam air ini untuk menyucikan diri hamba lahir batin.
Mantra itu bukan kata-kata yang tersusun secara biasa yang dibuat oleh
seseorang tapi mantra itu adalah suatu formula yang didapat oleh resi-resi
dari Tuhan. Mantra ini banyak bertebaran di angkasa. Para resi disebut resi
karena beliau sudah mampu melihat mantra. Mantra ini diturunkan oleh Tuhan
sudah menjadi formula Sama halnya dengan obat sudah menajadi formula untuk
menyembuhkan suatu penyakit. Demikian pula mantra ini sudah diturunkan jadi
formula untuk tujuan-tujuan tertentu.
Dengan mengucapkan mantra, maka mantram akan langsung bekerja didalam diri
kita sendiri. Jika mantra penyucian diri yang tersebut diatas diucapkan
berkali-kali maka mantra itu suatu saat akan dapat menyucikan diri kita.
Bukti mantra bukan sembarang kata-kata dapat dilihat pada air yang diberi
mantra lalu dicipratkan pada orang yang kesurupan, maka orang kesurupan itu
langsung jadi sadar.
2) Belajar Bhagawadgita
Bhagawad gita yang di pelajari di Pura bekasi yaitu Bhagawadgita BAB VI
sloka 21.
PRAPAYA PUNYA KRTAM LOKAM
USITVA SASVATIH SAMAH
SUCINAM SRI MATAM GEHE
YOGA BHRASTO BHIJAYATE
Artinya:
Sesudah seorang yogi yang tidak mencapai sukses menikmati selama
bertahun-tahun di planit-planit mahluk yang saleh, ia dilahirkan dalam
keluarga orang saleh atau dalam keluarga bangsawan yang kaya.
Bhagawadgita sangat perlu dibaca atau dikumandangkan di rumah setiap hari
tidak perlu banyak-banyak cukup satu sloka setiap hari maka rumah akan
terasa damai tenang dsbnya. Perlu diketahui kalau belajar Bhagawadgita
sebaiknya dari bahasa aslinya yaitu bahasa sansekerta. Walaupun tidak
mengerti artinya tapi begitu membaca bhagawad gita langsung nyambung dengan
Tuhan.. Karena Bhagawadgita diturunkan dalam bahasa aslinya langsung oleh
Tuhan.. Jika jari tangan dimasukkan kecolokan listrik kita terasa kena strum
maka begitupula bila kita membaca bhabagawad gita kita langsung kena strum
walaupun kita tidak mengerti arti sloka itu.
3) Membentuk Pribadi anak
Pada umumnya orang tua mengutamakan membentuk anaknya menjadi anak yang
pintar dan sukses. Begitu sukses anaknya bukannya menghormati orang tua tapi
anak sering menajdikan orang tua sebagai musuh. Bahkan tidak jarang orang
tua dijadikan pembantu di rumahnya. Inilah kesalahan orang tua dalam
membentuk pribadi anak. Seharusnya orang tua dalam mendidik anak harus
mengutakamakan pembentukan pribadi anak yang baik atau suputra. Karena anak
suputra akan dapat menyelamatkan orang tua dari neraka dan anak suputra juga
dapat menebus dosa leluhur maupun keturunannya seperti yang dikatakan oleh
sloka Manawa Dharmasastra III.37 sbb:
Dasa puurwaanparaan wamsyaan
Aatmaanam caikavimcakam.
Braahmiiputrah sukrita krnmoca
Yedenasah ptrrna
Artinya:
Putra yang lahir dari perkawinan Brahma Wiwaha, jika melakukan hal-hal yang
baik dan berguna, Putra itu akan dapat menebus dosa sepuluh tingkat leluhur
dan sepuluh tingkat keturunnanya. Ia sendiri sebagai orang yang kedua puluh
satu manikmati pahala perbuatan baik itu.
Ada salah satu teknik yang mudah untuk membentuk pribadi anak agar menjadi
anak yang baik.
a) Pagi-pagi saat brahma muhurta bangunlah dan duduk mehadap ke timur. Sebut
nama Tuhan beberapa kali setelah itu lakukan meditasi. Setelah meditasi
bayangkan wajah anak dan doakan anak menjadi anak yang baik atau suputra dan
menghormati orang tua. Doakan pula si anak agar menjadi anak yang sukses.
Hal ini lebih baik dilakukan oleh si ibu setiap pagi.
b) Ambil foto anak dan dupa dinyalakan kemudian dupa diputar-putar didepan
foto sambil membayangkan mengambil sifat-sifat buruk dari si anak lalu dupa
di tancapkan di depan halaman rumah. Sangat penting menyalakan dupa didepan
foto anak karena dupa dapat mengambil keburukan-keburukan anak dan
membuangnya ke udara.
Setelah prabu Darmayasa menguraikan hal-hal seperti diatas, lalu dilanjutkan
dengan diskusi. Nampaknya para pendengar sangat antusias sekali mengikuti
dharmawacana ini sampai-sampai waktu sudah melewati jam makan siang tidak
terasa.
Demikian resume yang dapat saya sampaikan dan jika terdapat hal-hal kurang
berkenan mohon dimaafkan. Bagi anggota Hdnet yang hadir pada waktu itu mohon
koreksi jika ada kesalahan.
Tulisan ini diresume oleh I Made Winadi Yasa
Bekasi jam 10.00 pagi di acara arisan Tempek Harapan Jaya. Dalam acara
tersebut Prabu menguraikan beberapa hal sbb:
1) Mantram penyucian diri
Setiap membicarakan hal-hal suci biasakan kita membaca mantram penyucian
diri walaupun di rumah sudah mandi dengan bersih. Untuk mandi ada berbagai
macam mandi yaitu mandi dengan sabun, mandi dengan abu suci dan mandi dengan
srawanam. Disamping itu ada juga mandi dengan mantram dan salah satu
mantramnya adalah sbb:
OM APAWITRA PAWITROWA
SARWAWASTANG GATOPI WA
YAH SMARET PUNDARIKAKSAM
SA BAHYA ABHYANTARA SUCIH
SRI WISNU, SRI WISNU, SRI WISNU
ARTINYA:
Ya Tuhan, apakah hamba dalam keadaan suci atau tidak suci, atau dalam
keadaan apa pun hamba, -- dengan mengingat Pundarikasam (Tuhan YME) di dalam
hati, mohon hamba disucikan lahir bathin.
Jika membersihkan diri dengan air, sebelum mandi ucapkan mantram berikut
pada air yang akan disiramkan ke tubuh
OM GANGGE CA YAMUNA CAIWA
GODAWARI SARASWATI
NARMADE SINDHO KAWERI
JALE'SMIN SANNIDHIM KURU
Artinya:
Om , Ya Dewi Gangga, Dewi Saraswati, Dewi Yamuna, Dewi Godawari, Dewi
Narmada, Dewi Sindhu dan Dewi Kaweri, semoga Anda semua berkenan datang dan
berkumpul di dalam air ini untuk menyucikan diri hamba lahir batin.
Mantra itu bukan kata-kata yang tersusun secara biasa yang dibuat oleh
seseorang tapi mantra itu adalah suatu formula yang didapat oleh resi-resi
dari Tuhan. Mantra ini banyak bertebaran di angkasa. Para resi disebut resi
karena beliau sudah mampu melihat mantra. Mantra ini diturunkan oleh Tuhan
sudah menjadi formula Sama halnya dengan obat sudah menajadi formula untuk
menyembuhkan suatu penyakit. Demikian pula mantra ini sudah diturunkan jadi
formula untuk tujuan-tujuan tertentu.
Dengan mengucapkan mantra, maka mantram akan langsung bekerja didalam diri
kita sendiri. Jika mantra penyucian diri yang tersebut diatas diucapkan
berkali-kali maka mantra itu suatu saat akan dapat menyucikan diri kita.
Bukti mantra bukan sembarang kata-kata dapat dilihat pada air yang diberi
mantra lalu dicipratkan pada orang yang kesurupan, maka orang kesurupan itu
langsung jadi sadar.
2) Belajar Bhagawadgita
Bhagawad gita yang di pelajari di Pura bekasi yaitu Bhagawadgita BAB VI
sloka 21.
PRAPAYA PUNYA KRTAM LOKAM
USITVA SASVATIH SAMAH
SUCINAM SRI MATAM GEHE
YOGA BHRASTO BHIJAYATE
Artinya:
Sesudah seorang yogi yang tidak mencapai sukses menikmati selama
bertahun-tahun di planit-planit mahluk yang saleh, ia dilahirkan dalam
keluarga orang saleh atau dalam keluarga bangsawan yang kaya.
Bhagawadgita sangat perlu dibaca atau dikumandangkan di rumah setiap hari
tidak perlu banyak-banyak cukup satu sloka setiap hari maka rumah akan
terasa damai tenang dsbnya. Perlu diketahui kalau belajar Bhagawadgita
sebaiknya dari bahasa aslinya yaitu bahasa sansekerta. Walaupun tidak
mengerti artinya tapi begitu membaca bhagawad gita langsung nyambung dengan
Tuhan.. Karena Bhagawadgita diturunkan dalam bahasa aslinya langsung oleh
Tuhan.. Jika jari tangan dimasukkan kecolokan listrik kita terasa kena strum
maka begitupula bila kita membaca bhabagawad gita kita langsung kena strum
walaupun kita tidak mengerti arti sloka itu.
3) Membentuk Pribadi anak
Pada umumnya orang tua mengutamakan membentuk anaknya menjadi anak yang
pintar dan sukses. Begitu sukses anaknya bukannya menghormati orang tua tapi
anak sering menajdikan orang tua sebagai musuh. Bahkan tidak jarang orang
tua dijadikan pembantu di rumahnya. Inilah kesalahan orang tua dalam
membentuk pribadi anak. Seharusnya orang tua dalam mendidik anak harus
mengutakamakan pembentukan pribadi anak yang baik atau suputra. Karena anak
suputra akan dapat menyelamatkan orang tua dari neraka dan anak suputra juga
dapat menebus dosa leluhur maupun keturunannya seperti yang dikatakan oleh
sloka Manawa Dharmasastra III.37 sbb:
Dasa puurwaanparaan wamsyaan
Aatmaanam caikavimcakam.
Braahmiiputrah sukrita krnmoca
Yedenasah ptrrna
Artinya:
Putra yang lahir dari perkawinan Brahma Wiwaha, jika melakukan hal-hal yang
baik dan berguna, Putra itu akan dapat menebus dosa sepuluh tingkat leluhur
dan sepuluh tingkat keturunnanya. Ia sendiri sebagai orang yang kedua puluh
satu manikmati pahala perbuatan baik itu.
Ada salah satu teknik yang mudah untuk membentuk pribadi anak agar menjadi
anak yang baik.
a) Pagi-pagi saat brahma muhurta bangunlah dan duduk mehadap ke timur. Sebut
nama Tuhan beberapa kali setelah itu lakukan meditasi. Setelah meditasi
bayangkan wajah anak dan doakan anak menjadi anak yang baik atau suputra dan
menghormati orang tua. Doakan pula si anak agar menjadi anak yang sukses.
Hal ini lebih baik dilakukan oleh si ibu setiap pagi.
b) Ambil foto anak dan dupa dinyalakan kemudian dupa diputar-putar didepan
foto sambil membayangkan mengambil sifat-sifat buruk dari si anak lalu dupa
di tancapkan di depan halaman rumah. Sangat penting menyalakan dupa didepan
foto anak karena dupa dapat mengambil keburukan-keburukan anak dan
membuangnya ke udara.
Setelah prabu Darmayasa menguraikan hal-hal seperti diatas, lalu dilanjutkan
dengan diskusi. Nampaknya para pendengar sangat antusias sekali mengikuti
dharmawacana ini sampai-sampai waktu sudah melewati jam makan siang tidak
terasa.
Demikian resume yang dapat saya sampaikan dan jika terdapat hal-hal kurang
berkenan mohon dimaafkan. Bagi anggota Hdnet yang hadir pada waktu itu mohon
koreksi jika ada kesalahan.
Tulisan ini diresume oleh I Made Winadi Yasa
Captain James Cook – The Discoverer
James Cook was born in Yorkshire, England in 1728 to a farmhand from
Scotland. His first exposure to the sea came at the age of 18 when he was
apprenticed to John Walker, a well-known ship owner. At 21, he was rated
"able seaman" and worked on board ships in the North Sea trade. Being some
of the most challenging seas in the world, this was good training for his
future career. After 8 years at sea and working up the ranks, he was
offered the command of a bark. He chose instead to become an able seaman for
the Royal Navy. A tall man with a striking appearance and an excellent
power of command, he again rose through the ranks, and at the age of 29 he
was made Master of the HMS Pembroke. During the Seven Years War with France
(1756 - 1763), he was active in the Royal Navy and afterward began his
career in exploration.
In 1768, the Royal Admiralty organized the first scientific expedition to
the South Pacific and appointed James Cook as Commander of the HMS Endeavor.
He was called on to find the mysterious southern continent, or Terra
Australis, which was believed by philosophers to exist in order to balance
the northern continents. On this voyage, Cook charted all of New Zealand
and in 1770 came across the southeast coast of Australia. With the success
of this voyage behind him, he began to organize a more ambitious voyage.
Cook was sent with two ships to make the first circumnavigation and
penetration of Antarctica. On this voyage (1772-1775), he successfully
completed the first circumnavigation in the high latitudes and charted Tonga
Easter Island, New Caledonia, the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia
Island.
The third voyage (1776-1779) was in search of a northwest passage around Canada and Alaska or a northeast passage around Siberia. This was unsuccessful because a passage navigable by sail ships did not exist. However, he did succeed in charting much of the North American coast. It was this voyage that led to his death. During an argument, he was slain by Polynesian natives on the beach at Kealakehua Bay, Hawaii. James Cook's discoveries extended to the fields of anthropology, natural science, medicine, seamanship, navigation and geography. His contributions changed the map of the world more than any single man in history.
Scotland. His first exposure to the sea came at the age of 18 when he was
apprenticed to John Walker, a well-known ship owner. At 21, he was rated
"able seaman" and worked on board ships in the North Sea trade. Being some
of the most challenging seas in the world, this was good training for his
future career. After 8 years at sea and working up the ranks, he was
offered the command of a bark. He chose instead to become an able seaman for
the Royal Navy. A tall man with a striking appearance and an excellent
power of command, he again rose through the ranks, and at the age of 29 he
was made Master of the HMS Pembroke. During the Seven Years War with France
(1756 - 1763), he was active in the Royal Navy and afterward began his
career in exploration.
In 1768, the Royal Admiralty organized the first scientific expedition to
the South Pacific and appointed James Cook as Commander of the HMS Endeavor.
He was called on to find the mysterious southern continent, or Terra
Australis, which was believed by philosophers to exist in order to balance
the northern continents. On this voyage, Cook charted all of New Zealand
and in 1770 came across the southeast coast of Australia. With the success
of this voyage behind him, he began to organize a more ambitious voyage.
Cook was sent with two ships to make the first circumnavigation and
penetration of Antarctica. On this voyage (1772-1775), he successfully
completed the first circumnavigation in the high latitudes and charted Tonga
Easter Island, New Caledonia, the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia
Island.
The third voyage (1776-1779) was in search of a northwest passage around Canada and Alaska or a northeast passage around Siberia. This was unsuccessful because a passage navigable by sail ships did not exist. However, he did succeed in charting much of the North American coast. It was this voyage that led to his death. During an argument, he was slain by Polynesian natives on the beach at Kealakehua Bay, Hawaii. James Cook's discoveries extended to the fields of anthropology, natural science, medicine, seamanship, navigation and geography. His contributions changed the map of the world more than any single man in history.
Memaksimalkan Potensi Kepemimpinan dalam Diri Kita (Hindari Kesombongan)
Oleh: Grace Sabarus
Wajah Alexander Hamilton tercetak di uang kertas sepuluh dollar Amerika.
Dialah orang pertama yang menjadi pejabat sekelas pemimpin puncak Bank
Indonesia. Dia mendesain sistem keuangan negeri itu dan merupakan pahlawan
dalam perang revolusi. Tapi, ketika sejumlah nama diperhitungkan sebagai
American Founding Fathers, Hamilton tidak termasuk di antaranya. Mengapa?
Kesombongan.
Wajah Alexander Hamilton tercetak di uang kertas sepuluh dollar Amerika.
Dialah orang pertama yang menjadi pejabat sekelas pemimpin puncak Bank
Indonesia. Dia mendesain sistem keuangan negeri itu dan merupakan pahlawan
dalam perang revolusi. Tapi, ketika sejumlah nama diperhitungkan sebagai
American Founding Fathers, Hamilton tidak termasuk di antaranya. Mengapa?
Kesombongan.
Sikap Hamilton yang mementingkan diri sendiri dan ketidakmampuannya
mengatasi performance feedback dari orang-orang yang bekerja dengannya
menyabot karirnya. Ego benar-benar telah membunuhnya. Ini bukan ungkapan.
Dia tertembak dan terbunuh ketika terjadi duel dengan politisi Aaron Burr.
Kepemimpinannya jauh dari efektif dan rekonsiliasi tidak ada dalam kamusnya
ketika berada dalam perselisihan pendapat dengan rekan kerja. Sikap tidak
menerima masukan tertumpuk menjadi tembok batu dan membayangi hubungannya
dengan orang lain. Kesombongan mendahului kehancuran, pepatah kuno ini
terbukti.
Problem Terbesar
Pride dalam Bahasa Inggris bisa berarti harga diri dan penghargaan pada diri
sendiri. Saya lebih suka menggunakan istilah Self-Image atau Gambar-Diri
untuk pengertian ini. Tapi, pride juga bisa berarti kejahatan mematikan yang
mempertontonkan kesombongan dan arogansi. Ketika seseorang dipenuhi oleh
kesombongan, ia akan menjadi kaku, keras kepala dan menciptakan perselisihan
dengan orang lain. Kesombongan menghalangi pemimpin mengenali kekuatan
anggota tim. Karena sikapnya yang self-centred, berpusat pada diri sendiri,
ia gagal mengapresiasi kekuatan mereka. Dia merendahkan manfaat kerja sama,
dan mengandalkan kekuatannya sendiri untuk menyelesaikan masalah dan
memajukan organisasi.
Kesombongan juga mendorong kita menjadi sulit diajar. Pemimpin yang merasa
sudah menguasai semua hal tidak tertarik untuk mengalami pertumbuhan pribadi
Egonya menuntun dia untuk yakin bahwa dia telah tiba di puncak dan menolak
untuk belajar dari kehidupan, dari orang lain maupun dari setiap situasi
yang dihadapinya. Kesombongan juga menutup pintu hati dari umpan balik orang
lain pada kita. Stephen Covey menulis di bukunya yang terkenal The Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People, "It takes humility to seek feedback. It
takes wisdom to understand it, analyze it, and appropriately act on it."
Ketika pertama kali bekerja dengan pemimpin saya, feedback yang saya terima
sangat menyakitkan. Pola pikir masing-masing seperti jurang lebar yang
panjang dan tidak jelas titik temunya. Satu tahun saya membangun tembok batu
dan interaksi sehari-hari semakin tajam. Sampai suatu titik saya tidak kuat
lagi memelihara kesombongan yang mengacaukan efektivitas kepemimpinan.
Memilih untuk melakukan apa yang Covey katakan memberi kelegaan. Memeluk
kerendahan-hati dengan mengakui kesombongan serta meminta maaf kepada
pemimpin. Malu hati? Pasti. Tapi, tidak layak dipertahankan, karena kelegaan
yang saya alami jauh lebih berharga. Satu wisdom saya peroleh, semakin hari
semakin mudah menerima feedback, karena kerendahan-hati mulai bekerja hari
demi hari. Belum sempurna, karena terkadang hati masih terasa panas.
Feedback dan kritikan tetap berlangsung sampai hari ini. Tepi, ada perubahan
respon karena kesadaran emosi mulai bertumbuh.
Mengakui kesalahan juga merupakan penghalang terbesar seorang pemimpin
menjadi efektif. Teriakan Duke of Wellington kepada bawahannya menjadi
lelucon korporasi, "God knows I have many faults, but being wrong is not one
of them!" Kesombongan tidak memberi ruang untuk gagal. Boss will never be
wrong. Salahkan orang lain dan tolak bukti kesalahan, inilah filosofi
kesombongan.
Kesombongan akan mencegah Anda mengalami hidup yang lebih baik. Lebih baik
mempertahankan status quo daripada terbuka kepada pembaharuan. Apalagi bila
perubahan dilakukan pemimpin baru yang ingin merombak sistem yang
dibangunnya. Bertahan dengan kantong kulit tua akan membuatnya pecah ketika
anggur baru dituang di organisasinya. Akan sulit bagi pemimpin membuat
rencana pengembangan potensi pribadi, karena kesombongan menghalanginya
untuk melakukan self-assessment. Jalan menuju visi hidupnya tidak tampak.
Kesombongan tidak mengizinkan ia menjadi pribadi yang maksimal. Ketika
menderita dikendalikan oleh kesombongan, setiap hari memikirkan kritikan
atasan. Setelah mengakui kesalahan dan meminta maaf, fokus shifting kepada
visi organisasi dan visi pribadi.
Yang paling tragis, kesombongan menghancurkan hubungan. Lawan kata dari
menghargai orang lain bukanlah membenci orang lain tapi mementingkan diri
sendiri. Ketika pemimpin menjadi self-absorbed atau fokus terhadap hidup dan
kepentingan diri sendiri, ia akan mengisolasi dirinya dari kehangatan
hubungan dengan orang lain. Kepedulian sejati terhadap orang lain bukan
diuji dengan berapa besar kesetiaan kita kepadanya ketika ia jatuh. Apakah
kita merasakan semangat kegembiraannya ketika ia sukses, itulah ukuran
kepedulian sejati.
Salah satu klien saya tidak mendapatkan promosi jabatan selama enam tahun
sekali pun prestasinya diakui. Penderitaannya sangat terasa sehingga saya
turut prihatin dan berharap bersamanya. Ketika ia memberitakan promosinya
tahun lalu, tidak ada kegembiraan melebihi rasa syukur saat ia mengalami
salah satu terobosan hidup: bertekun dalam penantian. Bukan saya otoritas
yang memberinya promosi atau pembawa kabar baik itu. Tapi, saya peroleh
wisdom: ketika saya turut dalam penderitaannya dengan memberi pengharapan
dan dorongan, saya turut serta dalam kegembiraannya. Ini memberi gairah baru
untuk semakin berfokus kepada keberhasilan orang lain mengalami pertumbuhan.
Bagaimana Memperbaikinya?
Pepatah kuno berkata, "Bila kesombongan menguasai seseorang, ia akan
merendahkan orang lain. Tapi, di mana ada kerendahan-hati, wisdom akan
mengikutinya."Salah satu cara memperoleh kerendahan-hati dimulai dengan
mengakui kesombongan kita. Rendah hati adalah lawan kata sombong. Inilah
demonstrasi sikap kita menghargai orang lain dan memuliakan Penguasa Tunggal
hidup kita.
Setelah mengakui kesombongan, carilah tuntunan dan koreksi. Latih diri
menjadi pribadi yang mudah diajar dan dibentuk. Selain itu, jadilah pelayan
bagi orang lain dengan memenuhi kebutuhan utamanya: kata-kata yang
mengangkat kekuatan batin. Bersyukur atas posisi kepemimpinan dan bersyukur
atas sejumlah bawahan yang dipercayakan kepada kita juga akan menolong
menghancurkan ego. Bagaimana dengan mentertawakan ego yang selalu berusaha
menguasai kita? Baik juga untuk meningkatkan self-awareness.
Setiap Anda masuk dalam peran kepemimpinan, ingatlah Alexander Hamilton.
Kita bisa saja memiliki banyak pencapaian namun tanpa kerendahan-hati dan
bersyukur, pemimpin dalam diri kita tidak menjadi maksimal. Membereskan
problema kesombongan akan meningkatkan hubungan-hubungan Anda dan mengangkat
kredibilitas sebagai pemimpin.
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