Royal tours of Australia by the British royal family have been taking place since 1867. Since then, there have been over fifty visits by a member of the Royal Family, though only six of those came before 1954. Elizabeth II is the only reigning monarch of Australia to have set foot on Australian soil; she first did so on 3 February 1954, when she was 27 years old. During her sixteen journeys, the Queen visited every Australian state and the two major territories.

19th century

Prince Alfred's visit 1867–1868
The first member of the Royal Family to visit Australia was Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, son of Queen Victoria, in 1867.

The trip was fraught with disaster. Prince Alfred arrived on board HMS Galatea, of which he was also Captain, as part a world cruise. On 31 October 1867, he landed at South Australia and spent three weeks there. He toured South Australia, then attended the funeral of one of his ship's crew, who had accidentally drowned at Glenelg. He departed for Melbourne on the 22nd, and was met by Governor of Victoria on board the Victoria, who escorted the Galatea back to Melbourne. He officially landed on the 25th.

During the welcome ceremonies, 10,000 people gathered to meet him. An image of William of Orange defeating the Catholic armies at the Battle of the Boyne was erected on a hall in Melbourne. Someone fired shots from inside the hall into the Irish Catholic crowd who had gathered outside to throw stones at the hall, a Catholic boy was killed, and a riot between Irish Catholics and Protestants subsequently broke out.

On the 27th, the public banquet the Prince was supposed to attend broke out into rioting after Prince Alfred cancelled his attendance, concerned about security. He then visited Geelong, where large crowds gathered, leading the organising committee to flee. Prince Alfred then visited Bendigo, where a wooden model of the Galatea was erected as the center of a fireworks display. Three boys climbed into the model and burned to death when fireworks they let off set it on fire. A ball was then planned in the newly opened Alfred Hall, named in his honour. It caught fire and burned to the ground before the ball.

Prince Alfred then left for Tasmania on 28 November. He arrived in Hobart on 6 January, and was met by the steamship Southern Cross and escorted down the Derwent River. Hobart lit enormous bonfires on the hills around the city to mark the occasion. Prince Alfred's visit to Tasmania was relatively uneventful. He laid the foundation stone of St David's Cathedral, Hobart, and several events were held in his honour. He was then taken by road to the north of the state, and stayed at the country estate of Robert Kermode, Mona Vale. He then visited Ross, Campbell Town, Cleveland, Perth and Launceston, where he planted trees in Prince's Square and turned the first sod for the construction of the Launceston railway terminus.

Prince Alfred then visited Sydney for a tour. During his tour of the Australian Museum, the Colonial Secretary, Henry Parkes produced a live snake, and the museum curator Gerard Krefft, produced a 'Timor Mongoose', which subsequently ignored the snake. Parkes then produced another mongoose from a bag, which attempted to escape before fighting and killing the snake for the Prince's entertainment. The Prince then kept the mongoose as a pet, and took it with him when he left Australia.

Prince Alfred then departed for Brisbane. Upon his return to Sydney in March, the Duke was shot by Henry James O'Farrell in an assassination attempt while picnicking on the beach in the Sydney suburb of Clontarf, on 12 March 1868. The Duke recovered fully and continued on to New Zealand seven months later.

Other visits
Prince George of Wales, aged 15, visited Australia with his older brother, Prince Albert Victor of Wales, aged 17, in 1881, as midshipmen in training on .  They arrived at Albany, Western Australia in May, crossed to South Australia in a passenger vessel, travelled overland to Melbourne and from there sailed on a naval vessel to Sydney.

Early 20th century (1901–1950)

In 1901, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and his wife Alexandra were planning an Empire tour. However, the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901 meant that the couple had to prepare for a coronation in 1902. Consequently, Edward's son Prince George, Duke of Cornwall and York, and his wife, Princess Mary, were assigned to undertake the voyage instead. Arriving at Albany, Western Australia, on , they sailed to Melbourne, where he opened the first Australian federal parliament. The royal couple later travelled by train to Sydney. They visited Queensland from 20 to 25 May, where they laid the foundation stone of St John's Cathedral (Brisbane).

1920s
Edward, Prince of Wales arrived in Victoria on 26 May 1920, representing his father, George V (previously Prince George, Duke of Cornwall and York), to thank Australians for their participation in the First World War. He was accompanied by Lord Louis Mountbatten.

During the tour, his railway carriage overturned near Bridgetown, Western Australia. However, the Prince remained unharmed and made light of the situation, emerging from the wreck with some important papers and a cocktail shaker, an act which endeared him to Australians and caused them to give him the nickname the "Digger Prince".

In 1926, Prince Albert, Duke of York, and wife Elizabeth had their first child, Princess Elizabeth, who would later become Queen Elizabeth II. The following year they undertook a Royal Tour without the baby. Queen Elizabeth was, in her own words, "very miserable at leaving the baby". Their journey by sea took them via Jamaica, the Panama Canal and the Pacific; Elizabeth fretted constantly over her baby back in Britain, but their journey was a public relations success. In New Zealand, the Yorks enjoyed the local fishing in the Bay of Islands accompanied by Australian sports fisherman Harry Andreas.

When they sailed into Sydney harbour on , they attracted Australia's first gathering of more than one million people. The principal duty of the Prince on this visit was to open the provisional Parliament House in Canberra, on 9 May 1927. They spent 12 days in New South Wales, seven in Queensland, four in Tasmania, eleven in Victoria, six in South Australia, six in Western Australia and three in the Australian Capital Territory, with the remaining 10 for travelling and recreation.

According to a report by the director-general of the royal visit, Cyril Brudenell White, "the Royal Visitors had expressed the wish that when travelling through the States they might have opportunities of seeing and of being seen by, the greatest number of the general public. They especially desired to meet returned soldiers, new settlers and school children."  On 9 May, Prince Albert reviewed over 2,000 Australian troops with various air squadrons flying overhead. One aircraft, piloted by Flying Officer Charles Ewan, crashed, killing Ewan.

1931–1950

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester the third son of George V, visited for an extensive 67-day tour in 1934, (4 October – December), the main purpose being to open the centenary celebrations of Victoria on 18 October. He arrived on  at Fremantle, then travelled by train to Adelaide and ship to Melbourne. He also visited the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. While in Melbourne, the Duke dedicated the Shrine of Remembrance on 11 November and later opened the ANZAC War Memorial in Sydney on 24 November 1934. He sailed to New Zealand from Brisbane, before returning to England.

The Duke served as Governor-General of Australia from 20 January 1945 – 10 March 1947, the first and only royal Governor-General of Australia.

On 6 March 1948 it was announced that the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth would embark on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand the following spring, accompanied by their daughter Princess Margaret. Plans were already well advanced when, on 23 November, it was announced that the tour would have to be cancelled owing to the King's declining health. An attempt to reschedule the tour, in scaled-back form, for early 1952 also foundered and plans for Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip to visit instead were put on hold when the King died in February of that year.

Late 20th century (1951–2000)

1950s
Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch of Australia to set foot on Australian soil, coming ashore at Farm Cove, Sydney, on 3 February 1954. She had two years earlier been en route to Australia when her father died while she was on a private visit to Kenya, forcing her to return to the United Kingdom. Once finally in Australia, with her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, she undertook a journey through the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, including greeting 70,000 ex-servicemen and women at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and opening the Australian Parliament in Canberra. In all, the Queen travelled 10,000 miles by air, making approximately 33 flights, 2000 miles by road (130 hours in cars in 207 trips), visiting all capitals except Darwin and 70 country towns, many by special "royal trains". On one such train trip they visited Leuralla, at Leura, in the Blue Mountains. Twenty-seven years earlier, Harry Andreas of Leuralla had acted as a fishing guide for the Queen's parents, whilst the young Princess "Lillibet" was left at home with her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary. This extensive travel allowed some 75 per cent of the Australian population to see the Queen at least once during the tour. Elizabeth was so popular with the Australian people they came out in their thousands, lining the streets for an opportunity to see her drive past or attending formal events where she was the honoured and most distinguished guest. Adoring crowds hoped for the opportunity to shake her hand, give her a posy of fresh flowers or to engage in a short conversation with her as she walked by. At the conclusion of the tour the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, stated in an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald:

"It is a basic truth that for our Queen we have within us, sometimes unrealised until the moment of expression, the most profound and passionate feelings of loyalty and devotion. It does not require much imagination to realise that when eight million people spontaneously pour out this feeling they are engaging in a great act of common allegiance and common joy which brings them closer together and is one of the most powerful elements converting them from a mass of individuals to a great cohesive nation. In brief, the common devotion to the Throne is a part of the very cement of the whole social structure."

In 1956, the Duke of Edinburgh opened the Olympic Games in Melbourne, and opened the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, while on a tour through Western Australia, New South Wales and the ACT. In 1965 he opened the Royal Australian Mint, and in 1968 went to Australia to open the Duke of Edinburgh Study Conference.

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother visited in 1958 to attend the British Empire Service League Conference in Canberra. She travelled to the Australian Capital Territory, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania, Adelaide and Perth, as well as many provincial and country areas during the time of her visit 14 February – 7 March.

Princess Alexandra of Kent visited in 1959 for Queensland's centenary celebrations. She arrived at Canberra and travelled to New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

1960s

Planned as a less formal tour than the one in 1954, the Queen and Prince Philip returned in 1963, touring all the states and territories, with the primary purpose being to lead the Canberra jubilee celebrations commemorating the 50th anniversary of the naming of the capital. The Queen's itinerary was prepared around the use of the Royal Yacht Britannia to convey Her Majesty to each capital city in Australia. Having spent 8 weeks travelling to every part of Australia in 1954, the decision to use the Royal Yacht Britannia as a permanent base meant she could entertain aboard ship and rest between each port as she travelled the 9,000 miles around Australia's coastline.

During this trip she also toured the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia base in Alice Springs. In preparation for this tour, Sir Roy Dowling, the Queen's Australian Secretary for the visit, was warned about Northern Territory mosquitoes. Dowling was warned, "You could be placed in an extremely embarrassing situation if the Queen's skin was marked and if the press published pictures and stories about those marks." Cities and towns visited included Hobart, Melbourne,<ref>Itinerary </></ref> Sydney, Canberra, Darwin, Kununurra, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Coolangatta, and Koolan Island.

Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent visited between 26 September and 8 October 1964 for the British Exhibition in Sydney and to open the new Gladesville Bridge. She travelled in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory before leaving, with a brief stop in Brisbane on the return flight.

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and his wife Alice visited the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland between 20 March and 26 April 1965. The new Tasman Bridge was opened by the Duke in Hobart. He also opened the Royal Easter Show in Sydney and a hydro-electric power station in the Snowy Mountains.

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother attended the Adelaide Festival of Arts as its patron, and opened Flinders University, also travelling to Western Australia, the Snowy Mountains and the Australian Capital Territory between 22 March and 7 April 1966.

Charles, Prince of Wales attended the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School for one term in 1966.  This was not an official trip as the Prince was there primarily for schooling. A press release of 10 January 1966 made this clear, stating that he should be left alone by journalists: "The Prince of Wales will be engaged in full time study in Australia and will not undertake any official engagements. The Queen and the Commonwealth Government have requested that the Prince's visit should be treated as a private one and that he should be allowed the same freedom from public attention as any other schoolboy."

He returned in 1967 as the Queen's representative at the memorial service for Prime Minister Harold Holt, and again in 1970.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh helped in 1967 to organise the third Commonwealth Study Conference to be held in May 1968. He travelled to the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania, where he helped volunteer fire fighters to fight a local fire.

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and his wife Katherine made a 25-day tour between 9 August and 3 September 1969, of the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland as well as Papua New Guinea. The Duke opened the South Pacific Games in Port Moresby on 13 August.

1970s

The Queen, Prince Philip, Charles, Prince of Wales (for part of the tour only) and Princess Anne made an extensive tour of Australia in 1970 in connection with the bi-centenary of Captain James Cook sailing up the east coast of Australia in 1770. This was a very popular tour and large crowds turned out to see the Queen. One large gathering occurred when the royal yacht HMY Britannia sailed up the Brisbane River, mooring just below the historic Newstead House in Brisbane. In January 2009, a retired police detective revealed an unsuccessful attempt to derail the Royal Train near Bowenfels on 29 April 1970.

The Queensland tour began on 12 April when the royal yacht Britannia entered Moreton Bay at Caloundra, sailing into Newstead Wharf. Her Royal Highness Princess Anne accepted an invitation to spend three days on a working sheep station in south-west Queensland. She flew to Cunnamulla on 14 April, travelling  by road to Talbarea Station unaccompanied. Princess Anne arrived in Cunnamulla in a government jet a little ahead of schedule. She travelled around the district in a maroon Rolls-Royce which was unloaded from the back of a Royal Australian Air Force carrier plane. Princess Anne was given a demonstration of sheep shearing and wool classing on the working property and was accompanied on a horse ride during her stay.

After several days of engagements in the city of Brisbane, Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh commenced their regional tour flying to Longreach on Wednesday 15 April. The primary purpose for their stopover in Longreach was to visit the first operational base of Queensland's first airline which became Australia's overseas airline. During the visit they viewed an exhibition of Qantas memorabilia, including a replica of the company's first aircraft, the AVRO 504K of 1921. The occasion marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of Qantas.

Next on the tour was Mount Isa and while there the royals were driven to Kalkadoon Park where the royal couple witnessed a programmed event under the guidance of Ringmaster Mr. J. O'Shea. Kalkadoon Park was the original site of the famous Mount Isa rodeo. The following day, on 16 April, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was taken on an underground tour of the Mount Isa mine while Queen Elizabeth stayed above ground. The Marshalling Area around R62 Shaft Winder Tower was cleaned, and a display was set up using operational mining equipment from underground so the queen could see it in action. The display was designed to demonstrate the operation of an EIMCO air powered rail mounted rocker shovel loading ore.

The tour continued from Mount Isa and the Royal Family travelled to Mackay, Townsville, the Great Barrier Reef, Cooktown and Cairns. The visit to Mackay in the evening followed a late afternoon flight from Mount Isa on 16 April. Their Royal Highnesses were taken to the Anglican Parish Hall at the intersection of Sydney and Gordon Streets for a civic reception, held in honour of their arrival.

The royal party had a leisurely cruise to Townsville, taking four days to arrive after their departure from Mackay. On the morning of 20 April, the day's program began with a cavalcade of progress at the Townsville sports reserve. The grounds were filled with crowds and children waving their Australian flag. It was a spectacle for the royal visitors and the local community who came out on the day.

Following lunch on board Britannia, the royal family were driven to the site of Queensland's newest university, the James Cook University, Townsville campus. In the presence of many dignitaries, the queen formally granted autonomy to North Queensland's new educational institution. In 2020, James Cook University celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Treasures exhibition, showcasing 50 collection items from Special Collections, Eddie Koiku Mabo Library, James Cook University, Townsville.

The rare collection item – 'James Cook University Development: Pimlico to the First Chancellor archival footage, 1960 – 1970' was one of the Treasures selected for the anniversary year. The 12min film preserved on NQHeritage, the University Library's Special Collections online repository, shows footage of the queen arriving at the official ceremony and being introduced to the official party. Their Royal Highnesses first appear in the film at 6:06 minutes.

According to the formal schedule, the Royal Yacht Britannia arrived off Green Island on the morning of 21 April, after leaving Townsville the day before. The scheduled visit to Green Island was dependent on the weather. All three members of the Royal family were taken by Royal Barge to the Green Island jetty. The visit only lasted 30mins, before Britannia left for Cooktown by 10:15am the same day.

Timed to coincide with the Australian Bicentenary celebrations of James Cook's landing in Cooktown two hundred years earlier in 1770, the Far North Queensland Bicentenary Committee planned a re-enactment of Cook's landing for the royal visitors. The esplanade alongside the Endeavour River was filled with spectators expecting to see the Royal family during their short stopover in Cooktown. Following the re-enactment, the queen officially opened the newly renovated James Cook Museum which was established in 1888 as the St Mary's Convent and boarding school run by the Sisters of Mercy originally from Dungarvan, Ireland. Since that time, the James Cook Museum has been renamed Cooktown Museum, acknowledging the First Nations history and culture that is intrinsically linked to the iconic region.

The Royal family arrived at Berth No. 3, Cairns Wharf the next day on the morning of 23 April. To catch a glimpse of the Royal family, spectators crowded the wharf car park and lined the streets along the official route to the airport. A Ceremonial Farewell was conducted at Cairns Airport involving Governor Alan Mansfield and Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. After the queen inspected the Guard of Honour, the official party were escorted to their plane in preparation for the flight to Canberra.

The Queen returned to Australia again in 1973 to open the Sydney Opera House and also in 1974 to open the Australian Parliament in Canberra. This time the Queen returned to London on 28 February for a General Election in Britain, cutting short the tour, which the Duke of Edinburgh completed.

A royal tour of Australia was made in March 1977 as part of the Silver Jubilee of the queen's reign.

Prince Charles made a brief visit in May 1978 to attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies. Wearing the full dress uniform of a commander of the Royal Navy, the prince read from the book of Ecclesiasticus chapter 44: "Let us now praise famous men . . .".  He arrived and departed at Melbourne Airport aboard a Royal Air Force Vickers VC10.

1980s

In the 1980s the Queen made short tours to open the new High Court of Australia building in 1980 as well the City Square in Melbourne, then again to open the new National Gallery of Australia in 1982 and the Parramatta Stadium in 1986. During the 1986 visit, at a ceremony held in Government House, Canberra, she signed a proclamation that brought into effect the Australia Act 1986, which severed the final constitutional link between Australia and the United Kingdom.

Lady Diana Spencer, later Princess of Wales, made a short private visit to Australia with her mother and step-father to their sheep station at Yass, north of Canberra, in early February 1981. Prince Charles had proposed to her less than a week before.

The Prince of Wales visited Australia shortly after the announcement of his engagement and prior to his July wedding in 1981.

The Queen attended the 1981 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), held in Melbourne in September.

On 20 March 1983, the Prince of Wales, this time with the Princess of Wales, and their son Prince William, landed in Alice Springs for an official visit. 26 October – 8 November 1985 visited Victoria for 150th anniversary of the state. This tour included visits to Brisbane and Canberra. The Prince and Princess of Wales also made a visit during the bicentenary celebrations in 1988.

The Duke and Duchess of Kent visited Queensland in April 1985 to open the Performing Arts Complex at Southbank. They visited Toowoomba on 24 April following an invitation by Steven Rafter to visit the Toowoomba Grammar School.

The Queen and Prince Philip also made a popular visit in 1988 as part of the bicentenary celebrations. On Saturday 30 April 1988, the Queen opened the World Expo in Brisbane before opening the new permanent Parliament House in Canberra on Monday 9 May.

During the bicentenary celebrations, Australia was also visited by The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Duke and Duchess of York and The Duke and Duchess of Kent.

1990s
In 1992 the Queen returned to the sesquicentenary of the incorporation of the city of Sydney. This tour included visits to regional towns, in Dubbo she visited the Western Plains Zoo.

In the last years of the decade she did not visit the country to avoid being embroiled in the debate about future of the monarchy. Her next tour was timed to be made well after the 1999 referendum on the republic. The Australian government of John Howard had advised the Queen on the timing.

In 1994, Charles III then Prince of Wales, visited Australia. He was giving a speech in Darling Harbour during the Australia day celebrations. David Kang ran up to the Prince and fired two blanks before falling onto the ground; he was arrested by many cops. The Prince was unhurt and was ushered off the podium.

After her divorce in 1996, Diana, Princess of Wales made one subsequent visit prior to her death in 1997.

21st century

In 2000 the Queen made an extended tour in the states of Australia which was followed by another visit in 2002 when she attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2002: the second such meeting held in Australia.

On 11 March 2006, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex visited Australia to announce the winners of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. He also had lunch with the Prime Minister, John Howard, visited a neo-natal unit in Heidelberg, visited victims of bush fires in Victoria and attended the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

One day later, the Queen and Prince Philip arrived in Melbourne where the Queen opened the Commonwealth Games.  As well, the royal couple opened a new section of the Sydney Opera House, attended a Commonwealth Day ceremony in Sydney, had official meetings with the Prime Minister, Governor-General and Leader of the Opposition at Government House in Canberra, lunched with former governors-general, met with firefighters in Canberra, attended and made a formal speech at an official dinner at Parliament House in Canberra to commemorate her 80th birthday and watched some of the events at the games.

Anne, Princess Royal attended the memorial in Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Victoria on Sunday, 22 February 2009, for victims of the 2009 Victorian bushfires.

2010s
On 19 January 2010, Prince William arrived in Sydney for a three-day visit to Australia.

A visit was made in early 2011 by Prince William to flood damaged areas of Queensland and Victoria.

In October 2011, Queen Elizabeth II visited a number of cities in her role as Queen of Australia and Head of the Commonwealth. At a reception in her honour held at Parliament House in Canberra on 21 October 2011, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, described the Queen as "a vital constitutional part of Australian democracy". The Queen in her speech at the same reception stated that,
"It has been a difficult year for this country in many ways despite the successes. The world witnessed the anguish of Australians as they lived through a summer of national disasters. We were all inspired by the courage and resolution shown by those affected in the face of crippling desolation. Ever since I first came here in 1954 I have watched Australia grow and develop at an extraordinary rate. This country has made dramatic progress economically in social scientific and industrial endeavours and above all in self-confidence."
The Queen visited Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth during the tour. In Perth she attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Prince Charles travelled to Australia in November 2012 with the Duchess of Cornwall as part of a visit to Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand on behalf of the Queen of each respective Realm in the year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Also in 2012 Prince Edward, Duke of Kent visited from 28 January to 1 February and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester visited from 21 to 26 May.

In October 2013, Prince Harry visited Sydney for the centenary celebrations of the Royal Australian Navy. Representing his grandmother, the Queen, he took the salute from  alongside Governor-General Quentin Bryce. The prince made a further visit to SAS forces in Perth before departing for the United Kingdom.

In November 2014, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, visited Australia at the invitation of The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award – Australia. He attended 18 engagements in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

In April 2014, Prince William arrived in Australia for a ten-day tour with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, and their son, Prince George. The family's itinerary took them to Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Uluru and Adelaide.

Before reporting for duty to the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Harry visited the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on 6 April 2015. In May 2015, Prince Harry made a farewell walkabout at the Sydney Opera House and visited Macquarie University Hospital. In November 2015, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney, Albany and Perth. Prince Charles and the Duchess returned again in 2018 for events associated with the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

In April 2018 Prince Edward visited Australia to attend the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games as Vice Patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation. Whilst in Australia Prince Edward, in his capacity as Chair of the Trustees of the International Award Foundation he attended 40 functions to support the development of The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award – Australia. Prince Edward visited Melbourne, Ballarat, Romsey, Hobart, Brisbane, Adelaide, Seppeltsfield. Prince Edward continued his international fund raising challenge playing a set of Real Tennis on every real tennis court in the world, including the 5 courts in Australia. In addition to visiting schools and youth organisations to promote the Duke of Ed, he also conducted round table meetings with the university sector, business and sporting organisations.

In June 2018, Kensington Palace announced that Prince Harry and his wife the Duchess of Sussex would tour Australia around the time of the Invictus Games which was held in Sydney in October 2018. Later, Prince Andrew, Duke of York undertook a 9-day tour of the country's eastern states in November. During this trip, Meghan announced that she and Harry were expecting their first child.

In September 2019 Prince Edward visited Australia to in his capacity as Chair of the Trustees of the International Award Foundation to assist celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award in Australia. He attended 25 functions in Sydney, Wollongong, Alice Springs and Darwin, including presenting nearly 400 Gold Awards at a ceremony held in Sydney Town Hall. Prince Andrew also visited Western Australia in October 2019 as part of his Pitch@Palace initiative, although the Prince did no media interviews during the tour and kept a low profile during the visit due to controversy surrounding his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

2020s

The Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, toured Australia from 9 to 11 April 2022. On the first day of her visit, she opened the 200th Sydney Royal Easter Show, which she first opened with her parents and brother Charles in 1970. She had last attended the event in 1988. She had an engagement as patron of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth, before attending a dinner at the Sydney Olympic Park. The couple also met with representatives of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, the Royal Australian Corps of Signals and Royal Australian Corps of Transport.

Visits to external territories
The Queen visited the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in 1954 while the territory was still administered by Singapore.
A visit was made to Norfolk Island in 1974.

See also
 List of official openings by Elizabeth II in Australia
 Transportation of the Prime Minister of Australia
 Victorian Railways Royal Train

References

External links

 Footage of 1970 Royal Visit as part of the Bill Rahmann Films collection 1948-ca 1987, State Library of Queensland

Elizabeth II

Royal tours of Australia


Key is a Japanese company that makes visual novels. They were formed on July 21, 1998 in Kita, Osaka, Japan. In 1999 they released their first visual novel, Kanon. They have created many popular visual novels, many of which have been turned into anime series.

Games
They have created the following games:

Kanon
Air
Clannad
Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume
Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life
Little Busters!
Little Busters! Ecstasy
Kud Wafter
Rewrite
Rewrite Harvest festa!

1998 establishments in Japan
Japanese entertainment companies
Organizations based in Osaka

Key (company)


Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Mikhailov (April 26 (N.S. date, April 14 O.S.), 1888, Morshansk - September 29, 1983) was an astronomer who was a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. He worked at Pulkovo Observatory from 1947 to 1982. He was its director until 1964 and is credited with leading its post-war revival after the fall of Leningrad.

One of his first published papers concerned the appearance of Halley's comet.

Oddly, Josef Stalin had ordered the destruction of the Pulkovo Observatory, but then ordered its reconstruction. Mikhailov was pivotal in the work leading up to its official reopening in May 1954. Its research mission included  observing and forecasting solar activity as well as various projects that could take advantage of the radio astronomy instruments.

Mikhailov's opinion on a wide variety of astronomy topics was sought throughout his career. In 1959, he was quoted in a Time article about Soviet Moon exploration by Luna 3, which sent photographs of the Moon to Earth via radio transmission. "The next step in lunar exploration," he said in the interview, "would be to land a station on the moon without damaging the instruments." He had weighed in  that same year on the Cold War space race, stating that "The biggest problem," for manned space exploration, he told a Time reporter in January of that same year, "is safe return, and they do not intend to risk a man until they are sure of getting him back alive."

In addition to his career as an astronomer, he translated many key scientific works into Russian.

Colleagues remembered him as "open-hearted and honest and demanded the same of others."

Personal life and legacy

Mikhailov married Zdenka J. Kadla in 1946. She was also an astronomer who worked at the observatory and published work about the Moon. The couple had one son.

He had a passion for optical devices and reportedly had a large collection of photographic equipment. He is remembered as being conversant in a wide number of subjects including music, literature, and art.

Mikhailov died in his home at the observatory.

The asteroid 1910 Mikhailov,  discovered by Lyudmila Zhuravlyova was named in his honor. It is a main-belt asteroid.

References

 Evaluating Soviet Lunar Science in Cold War America, Ronald E. Doel, Osiris, 2nd Series, Vol. 7, Science after '40 (1992), pp. 238–264

 Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, edited by Hockey, Trimble, et al., Springer (2007), p. 781

1888 births
1983 deaths
People from Morshansk
Soviet astronomers
Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences

Aleksandr Mikhailov (astronomer)


The Edison and Ford Winter Estates contain a historical museum and 21 acre (8.5 ha) botanical garden on the adjacent sites of the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford beside the Caloosahatchee River in Southwestern Florida. It is located at 2350 McGregor Boulevard, Fort Myers, Florida.

On April 18, 2012, the American Institute of Architects' Florida Chapter placed the Edison and Ford Winter Estates  on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.
The American Chemical Society recognized the Edison Botanical Research Laboratory at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates as a National Historic Chemical Landmark on May 25, 2014.

History
The present site dates from 1885, when Edison first visited Southwest Florida and purchased the property to build a vacation home. He had traveled down to St. Augustine, Florida during the winter of 1885 at the behest of his doctor, who thought that the warmer climate would help cure an illness that Edison was suffering from. After recuperating in St. Augustine, he ended up traveling first across the state to Cedar Key, and from Cedar Key to Fort Myers.  His home, completed in 1886 and later dubbed "Seminole Lodge", served as a winter retreat and place of relaxation until Edison's death in 1931. Edison's good friend, Henry Ford, purchased the adjoining property, "The Mangoes" from Robert Smith of New York in 1916.  Ford's craftsman style bungalow was built in 1911 by Smith. In 1947, Mrs. Mina Edison deeded the Edison property to the City of Fort Myers in memory of her husband for the enjoyment of the public. It was opened for public tours soon after.

In 1988, the adjacent Henry Ford winter estate was purchased and opened for public tours in 1990. In 2003, the governance of the site was transferred from the City to a new non-profit corporation, Thomas Edison & Henry Ford Winter Estates, Inc. (dba Edison & Ford Winter Estates, Inc.) whose mission is to protect, preserve and interpret the site. The new corporation completed a $14 million restoration project in the following years. A separate fundraising arm, Edison-Ford Winter Estates Foundation, Inc. was created to assist the restoration project with no function in governance.

Gardens

Edison's botanical garden contains more than a thousand varieties of plants from around the world, including African Sausage Trees and a  banyan tree planted in the mid-1920s.
The gardens feature plants grown for industrial purposes (such as bamboo, used in light bulb filaments) and those which Mina Edison planted for their beauty, including roses, orchids and bromeliads. The Moonlight Garden was designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman.

Before Hurricane Irma the collection included: Acalypha hispida, Arenga pinnata, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Billbergia spp., Blighia sapida, Bougainvillea glabra, Bougainvillea spectabilis, Calliandra haematocephala, Cananga odorata, Cattleya hybrid, Cattleya spp., Chorisia speciosa, Citrus spp., Clerodendrum speciosissimum, Cordyline terminalis, Cycad spp., Dendrobium, Dombeya spp., Epidendrum ciliare, Ficus auriculata, Ficus benghalensis, Ficus saussureana, Hibiscus schizopetalus, Holmskioldia sanguinea, Ibosa riparia, Ixora chinensis, Kigelia africana, Leea coccinea, Malvaviscus arboreus, Musa spp., Parmentiera cereifera, Plumbago auriculata, Solandra nitida, Spathoglottis plicata, Tabernaemontana corymbosa, Tecoma stans, Thunbergia erecta,  Pleroma semidecandrum (syn. Tibouchina semidecandra), and hundreds more.

Rubber laboratory

During the period of 1914–1918 (World War I), Edison became concerned with America's reliance on foreign supplies of rubber. He partnered with Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford to try to find a rubber tree or plant that could grow quickly in the United States and provide a domestic supply of rubber. In 1927, the three men contributed $25,000 each and created the Edison Botanic Research Corporation in an attempt to find a solution to this problem. In 1928, the Edison Botanic Research Corporation laboratory was constructed. It was in Fort Myers, Florida that Edison would do the majority of his research and planting of his exotic plants and trees.

After testing over 17,000 plant samples, Edison eventually discovered a source in one of the species of flowering goldenrod, Solidago leavenworthii. Thomas Edison died in 1931 and the rubber project was transferred to the United States Department of Agriculture five years later.

Visitors

Visitors to the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers can view more than  of historical buildings and gardens including the 1928 Botanical Laboratory and the Edison Ford Museum. There are also a variety of programs, tours and activities.

Edison Ford also offers school and education tours for all ages, an extensive summer camp program, science and engineering class for homeschool students,  emerging inventors programs for children ages 18 months – 5 years as well as travel and offsite tour opportunities. Other specialty programs include holiday nights, antique car shows, garden talks and a variety of special events throughout the year. The site can be reserved for events, weddings, corporate functions, meetings and group tours.

Edison Ford Winter Estates is a National Register Historic Site and received the Award of Excellence for restoration from both the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Garden Clubs, Inc. The site is a Florida Historic Landmark and has been designated as a National Historical Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society, the first site in the state of Florida to receive this honor.

The Edison and Ford Winter Estates research library and archival materials are also available for viewing by appointment. The research library contains over a thousand books on Fort Myers history and botany, as well as biographies on Thomas Edison and Henry Ford and their families.

Open to the public since 1947, Edison Ford Winter Estates receives more than 200,000 visitors annually. Designated as an educational and charitable not-for-profit organization, Edison Ford is governed by a board of trustees, professional staff and a large volunteer group.

Gallery

See also

The Henry Ford
List of Botanical Gardens in the United States
List of historic houses in Florida
List of museums in Florida

References

Bibliography

External links

 Edison and Ford Winter Estates
 Lee County listings at National Register of Historic Places
 Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
 Lee County listings
 Lee County markers
 Great Floridians of Fort Myers

Historic house museums in Florida
Botanical gardens in Florida
Museums in Lee County, Florida
Science museums in Florida
Buildings and structures in Fort Myers, Florida
Houses in Lee County, Florida
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida
National Register of Historic Places in Lee County, Florida
Henry Ford
Tourist attractions in Fort Myers, Florida
American Craftsman architecture in Florida
Victorian architecture in Florida
Thomas Edison
1886 establishments in Florida

Edison and Ford Winter Estates


inyongo okanye igall yinto ekrakrayo, ingamanzi le nto, imbala uluhlaza de ubuhlaza bayo bubengathi bubamnyama iye isiba buqanda bumdaka, le nto iputyuzwa sisibindi senkoliso [[izilwanyana|yezilwanyana ezinethambo lomqolo, inceda ekusilweni kwamafuma omzimba emathunjini amancinane. Ebantwini, inyongo ihlala iputyuzwa sisibindi (isibindi senyongo), igcinwe yaza yafunjwa kwisingxobo senyongo (isingxobo senyongo), size sithi ke xa sisitya isilwanyana eso, yona ibe iputyuzeka kwithumbu laso elikhulu ekuthiwa yiduodenum. Inyongo le yenziwe ngamanzi angama-97%, 0.7% iityuwa zenyongo, 0.2% yebilirubin, 0.51% fats (cholesterol, fatty acids and lecithin), and 200 meq/l inorganic salts.

umsebenzi wenyongo
Poes inamaxesha okusebenza njengesurfactant, oko kukuthi inceda ekunyibilikiseni amafutha ekutyeni. Ityuwa yenyongo iianions zihydrophilic kwelinye icala ziphinde zibehydrophobic kwelinye; iziphumo zoko, zidla ngokuqokolelana ngakumaqabaza amafutha ekuthiwa zii(triglycerides nangakwiiphospholipids) ukuze zenze iimicelles, with the hydrophobic sides towards the fat and hydrophilic sides facing outwards. The hydrophilic sides are negatively charged, and this charge prevents fat droplets coated with bile from re-aggregating into larger fat particles. Ordinarily, the micelles in the duodenum have a diameter around 14–33 μm. Yebo

The dispersion of food fat into micelles thus provides a greatly increased surface area for the action of the enzyme pancreatic lipase, which actually digests the triglycerides, and is able to reach the fatty core through gaps between the bile salts. A triglyceride is broken down into two fatty acids and a monoglyceride, which are absorbed by the villi on the intestine walls. After being transferred across the intestinal membrane, the fatty acids reform into triglycerides, before being absorbed into the lymphatic system through lacteals.  Without bile salts, most of the lipids in food would be excreted in feces, undigested.

Since bile increases the absorption of fats, it is an important part of the absorption of the fat-soluble substances, such as the vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Besides its digestive function, bile serves also as the route of excretion for bilirubin, a byproduct of red blood cells recycled by the liver. Bilirubin derives from hemoglobin by glucuronidation.

Bile is alkaline and also has the function of neutralizing any excess stomach acid before it enters the duodenum, the first section of the small intestine. Bile salts also act as bactericides, destroying many of the microbes that may be present in the food.

Causes of Biliary Obstruction
Biliary obstruction can be caused by a variety of dietary factors. Majority of the time biliary obstruction is caused by the high consumption of sugar, fat and processed foods. These above mentioned foods can cause gallstones. Primarily biliary obstruction is caused by blockage in the bile ducts. Bile ducts carry bile from the liver and gallbladder through the pancreas. A huge amount of the bile is then released into the small intestine duodenum. The remaining bile is stored in the gallbladder. After food consumption the bile in the gallbladder is released to help with digestion and fat absorption.

Clinical significance
 In the absence of bile, fats become indigestible and are instead excreted in feces, a condition called steatorrhea.  Feces lack their characteristic brown color and instead are white or gray, and greasy.  Steatorrhea can lead to deficiencies in essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins.  In addition, past the small intestine (which is normally responsible for absorbing fat from food) the gastrointestinal tract and gut flora are not adapted to processing fats, leading to problems in the large intestine.
 The cholesterol contained in bile will occasionally accrete into lumps in the gallbladder, forming gallstones.  Cholesterol gallstones are generally treated through surgical removal of the gallbladder.  However, they can sometimes be dissolved by increasing the concentration of certain naturally occurring bile acids, such as chenodeoxycholic acid and ursodeoxycholic acid.
 On an empty stomach – after repeated vomiting, for example – a person's vomit may be green or dark yellow, and very bitter.  The bitter and greenish component may be bile or normal digestive juices originating in the stomach. The color of bile is often likened to "fresh-cut grass", unlike components in the stomach that look greenish yellow or dark yellow. Bile may be forced into the stomach secondary to a weakened valve (pylorus), the presence of certain drugs including alcohol, or powerful muscular contractions and duodenal spasms.

Intlalo nesiko
In medical theories prevalent in the West from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, the body's health depended on the equilibrium of four "humors", or vital fluids, two of which related to bile: blood, phlegm, "yellow bile" (choler), and "black bile". These "humors" are believed to have its roots in the appearance of a blood sedimentation test made in open air, which exhibits a dark clot at the bottom ("black bile"), a layer of unclotted erythrocytes ("blood"), a layer of white blood cells ("phlegm") and a layer of clear yellow serum ("yellow bile"). Excesses of black bile and yellow bile were thought to produce depression and aggression, respectively, and the Greek names for them gave rise to the English words cholera (from Greek kholé) and melancholia.

Those same theories explain the derivation of the English word bilious from bile, the meaning of gall in English as "exasperation" or "impudence", and the Latin word cholera, derived from the Greek kholé, which was passed upon several Romance languages in words meaning "anger" such as colère (French) and cólera (Spanish).

Isepha yenyongo
Bile from deceased mammals can be mixed with soap. This mixture, called bile soap, can be applied to textiles a few hours before washing and is a traditional and rather effective method for removing various kinds of tough stains.

Inyongo ekutyeni
A dish in the Philippines called "Pinapaitan" uses bile as a sort of flavoring for this dish.

Principal bile acids

Masiguqule
BODY FLUIDS

Inyongo


Clăbucetul Taurului ("the bull's cap") is a mountain in Romania, part of Baiu Mountains in the Southern Carpathians. The highest peak is  high.

Located on the border of Brașov and Prahova counties, it is in the vicinity of Predeal, and features rich pastures. In 1844, the mountain was purchased by Alecu Filipescu-Vulpea. Pursuant to a deed issued by Prince Gheorghe Bibescu Filipescu granted it to Predeal Monastery later that year. It remained with the monastery until the 1863 secularization of monastic estates in Romania. Near the end of the 19th century, it passed to the crown domains, established in 1884.

Notes

References
Paulina Brătescu, Ion Moruzi, C. Alessandrescu (eds.), Dicționar geografic al județului Prahova. Târgoviște: Tipografia și Legătoria de Cărți Viitorul, Elie Angelescu, 1897.

Mountains of Romania
Geography of Prahova County
Geography of Brașov County
Mountains of the Southern Carpathians

Clăbucetul Taurului


Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment.

Placer mining is frequently used for precious metal deposits (particularly gold) and gemstones, both of which are often found in alluvial deposits—deposits of sand and gravel in modern or ancient stream beds, or occasionally glacial deposits. The metal or gemstones, having been moved by stream flow from an original source such as a vein, are typically only a minuscule portion of the total deposit. Since gems and heavy metals like gold are considerably denser than sand, they tend to accumulate at the base of placer deposits.

Placer deposits can be as young as a few years old, such as the Canadian Queen Charlotte beach gold placer deposits, or billions of years old like the Elliot Lake uranium paleoplacer within the Huronian Supergroup in Canada.

The containing material in an alluvial placer mine may be too loose to safely mine by tunnelling, though it is possible where the ground is permanently frozen. Where water under pressure is available, it may be used to mine, move, and separate the precious material from the deposit, a method known as hydraulic mining, hydraulic sluicing or hydraulicking.

Etymology
The word placer derives from the Spanish placer, meaning shoal or alluvial/sand deposit, from plassa (place) from Medieval Latin placea (place) the origin word for "place" and "plaza" in English. The word in Spanish is thus  derived from placea and refers directly to an alluvial or glacial deposit of sand or gravel.

An alternative etymology derives the English word from American Spanish placer (placer, sandbank), from earlier placel, apparently from obsolete Portuguese placel (placer, sandbank).

History

Placers supplied most of the gold for a large part of the ancient world. Hydraulic mining methods such as hushing were used widely by the Romans across their empire, but especially in the gold fields of northern Spain after its conquest by Augustus in 25 BC. One of the largest sites was at Las Médulas, where seven 30 mile long aqueducts were used to work the alluvial gold deposits through the first century AD.

In North America, placer mining was famous in the context of several gold rushes, particularly the California Gold Rush and the Colorado Gold Rush, the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and the Klondike Gold Rush.

Placer mining continues in many areas of the world as a source of diamonds, industrial minerals and metals, gems (in Myanmar and Sri Lanka), platinum, and of gold (in Yukon, Alaska and British Columbia).

Deposits

An area well protected from the flow of water is a great location to find gold. Gold is very dense and is often found in a stream bed.  Many different gold deposits are dealt with in different ways.  Placer deposits attract many prospectors because their costs are very low.  There are many different places gold could be placed, such as a residual, alluvial, and a bench deposit.

Residual
Residual deposits are more common where there has been weathering on rocks and where there hasn't been water.  They are deposits which have not been washed away yet or been moved.  The residual usually lies at the site of the lode.  This type of deposit undergoes rock weathering.

Alluvial
Alluvial or eluvial deposits are the most common type of placer gold, and are often the richest. They contain pieces of gold that have been washed away from the lode by the force of water, and have been deposited in sediment in or near watercourses or former watercourses. Therefore, they are mostly found in valleys or flood plains.

Bench
Bench deposits are created when gold reaches a stream bed.  Gold accumulations in an old stream bed that are high are called bench deposits.  They can be found on higher slopes that drain into valleys.  Dry stream beds (benches) can be situated far from other water sources and can sometimes be found on mountaintops.  Today, many miners focus their activities on bench deposits.

Deep leads
Deep leads are created when a former stream bed is covered over by later sediments or by igneous rock from a volcanic eruption. Examples existed in the goldfields of Gulgong and Creswick in Australia. The gold bearing gravel is accessed by shafts and drives similar to underground mining techniques but is typically processed as if alluvial gold. The heat associated with an igneous lava flow, in some cases, altered the gold bearing gravel so that it needed to be crushed first to extract the gold; an example of this kind of deep lead was found at Forest Reefs, also in Australia. If vegetation was buried along with the old stream, by a volcanic eruption, the effect of heat and decay upon that buried vegetation can result in the presence of harmful amounts of carbonic acid gas (), as occurred in the deep lead deposit at Creswick.

Methods
A number of methods are used to mine placer gold and gems, both in terms of extracting the minerals from the ground, and separating it from the non-gold or non-gems.

Panning

The simplest technique to extract gold from placer ore is panning. This technique has been dated back to at least the Roman Empire. In panning, some mined ore is placed in a large metal or plastic pan, combined with a generous amount of water, and agitated so that the gold particles, being of higher density than the other material, settle to the bottom of the pan.  The lighter gangue material such as sand, mud and gravel are then washed over the side of the pan, leaving the gold behind.  Once a placer deposit is located by gold panning, the miner usually shifts to equipment that can treat volumes of sand and gravel more quickly and efficiently. Gold panning was commonly used on its own during the California gold rush; however, it is now rarely used for profit since even an expert gold prospector can only process approximately one cubic yard of material for every 10 hours of work.

Rocker

A rocker box (or "cradle") is capable of greater volume than a gold pan; however, its production is still limited when compared to other methods of placer mining. It is only capable of processing about 3 or 4 yards of gravel a day. It is more portable and requires less infrastructure than a sluice box, being fed not by a sluice but by hand. The box sits on rockers, which when rocked separates out the gold, and the practice was referred to as "rocking the golden baby". A typical rocker box is approximately 42 inches long, 16 inches wide and 12 inches deep with a removable tray towards the top, where gold is placed. The rocker was commonly used throughout North America during the early gold rush, but its popularity diminished as other methods that could handle a larger volume became more common.

Sluice box

The same principle may be employed on a larger scale by constructing a short sluice box, with barriers along the bottom called riffles to trap the heavier gold particles as water washes them and the other material along the box.  This method better suits excavation with shovels or similar implements to feed  ore into the device.  Sluice boxes can be as short as a few feet, or more than ten feet (a common term for one that is over six feet +/- is a "Long Tom"). While they are capable of handling a larger volume of material than simpler methods such as the rocker box or gold panning, this can come at the cost of efficiency, since conventional sluice boxes have been found to recover only about 40% of the gold that they process.

The sluice box was used extensively during the California gold rush for larger scale operations. When streams became increasingly depleted, the grizzly and undercurrent variants of the sluice box were developed. The grizzly is a set of parallel bars placed at a 45 degree angle over the main sluice box, which filter out larger material. The undercurrent variety includes additional, auxiliary sluice boxes where material is initially filtered. It then travels through a trough into the primary sluice box where it is filtered again. Both the grizzly and undercurrent are designed to increase efficiency, and were often used in combination.

Dry washing

Sluicing is only effective in areas where there is a sufficient water supply, and is impractical in arid areas. Alternative methods developed that used the blowing of air to separate out gold from sand. One of the more common methods of dry washing is the Mexican dry wash. This method involves placing gravel on a riffle board with a bellows placed underneath it. The bellows is then used to blow air through the board in order to remove the lighter material from the heavier gold. The amount of gravel that can be processed using the Mexican dry wash technique varies from 1 1/2 to 4 cubic yards per day, and can be processed at a maximum efficiency of 80%. Another form of dry washing is "winnowing". This method was most commonly used by Spanish miners in America, and only requires a blanket and a box with a screen on the bottom. The material is first filtered through the box so only the finer material is placed onto the blanket. The material on the blanket is then flung into the air so that any breeze can blow away the lighter material and leave the gold behind. While this method is extremely simple and requires very few materials, it is also slow and inefficient.

Trommel

A trommel is composed of a slightly inclined rotating metal tube (the 'scrubber section') with a screen at its discharge end. Lifter bars, sometimes in the form of bolted in angle iron, are attached to the interior of the scrubber section. The ore is fed into the elevated end of the trommel.  Water, often under pressure, is provided to the scrubber and screen sections and the combination of water and mechanical action frees the valuable minerals from the ore. The mineral bearing ore that passes through the screen is then further concentrated in smaller devices such as sluices and jigs.  The larger pieces of ore that do not pass through the screen can be carried to a waste stack by a conveyor.

Gold dredge

Large-scale sifting of placer gold from large volumes of alluvial deposits can be done by use of mechanical dredges. These dredges were originally very large boats capable of processing massive amounts of material; however, as the gold has become increasingly depleted in the most easily accessible areas, smaller and more maneuverable dredges have become much more common. These smaller dredges commonly operate by sucking water and gravel up through long hoses using a pump, where the gold can then be separated using more traditional methods such as a sluice box.

Underground mining

In areas where the ground is permanently frozen, such as in Siberia, Alaska, and the Yukon, placer deposits may be mined underground. As the frozen ground is otherwise too hard and firm to mine by hand, historically fires were built so as to thaw the ground before digging it. Later methods involve blasting jets of steam ("points") into the frozen deposits.

Deep leads are accessed by techniques similar to conventional underground mining.

Environmental effects
Although this procedure is not required, the process water may be continuously recycled and the ore from which the sought-after minerals have been extracted ("the tailings") can be reclaimed.  While these recycling and reclamation processes are more common in modern placer mining operations they are still not universally done.

In earlier times the process water was not generally recycled and the spent ore was not reclaimed. The remains of a Roman alluvial gold mine at Las Médulas are so spectacular as to justify the site being designated UNESCO World Heritage status.  The methods used by the Roman miners are described by Pliny the Elder in his work Naturalis Historia published in about 77 AD. The author was a Procurator in the region and so probably witnessed large-scale hydraulic mining of the placer deposits there. He also added that the local lake Carucedo had been heavily silted by the mining methods.

Environmental activists describe the hydraulic mining form of placer mining as environmentally destructive because of the large amounts of silt that it adds to previously clear running streams (also known as the "Dahlonega Method"). Most placer mines today use settling ponds, if only to ensure that they have sufficient water to run their sluicing operations.

In California, from 1853 to 1884, "hydraulicking" of placers removed an enormous amount of material from the gold fields, material that was carried downstream and raised the level of portions of the Central Valley by some seven feet in affected areas and settled in long bars up to 20 feet thick in parts of San Francisco Bay. The process raised an opposition calling themselves the "Anti-Debris Association". In January 1884, the North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company case banned the flushing of debris into streams, and the hydraulic mining mania in California's gold country came to an end.

Examples
 The Witwatersrand Basin in South Africa is an example of a placer deposit, as it is a 3 billion-year-old, alluvial sedimentary basin containing at least 70 ore minerals.
 The Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896 when nuggets of gold were found in the Klondike region of Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. The nuggets were found in running water, making the Klondike Gold deposit an alluvial placer mining deposit, which it soon became when 30,000 gold-seekers trekked the region.

See also

 Gold in California
 Gold mining in Alaska
 British Columbia gold rushes
 Gold prospecting
 Quartz reef mining

References

Notes

Further reading

 Assembling California, by John McPhee, published 1993 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New Jersey
 West, Robert C. Colonial Placer Mining in Colombia. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press 1952.

External links

Economic geology
Gold mining
Surface mining
History of mining
Mining techniques

Placer mining


Spirit of Purity is the debut album by the Swedish Christian black metal band Sanctifica, released on Little Rose Productions and Rivel Records in March 2000.  With this album the band established itself as one of the leading Christian black metal bands of the early 2000s (decade), representing technical and chaotic style.  Considered by many as the band's best album, Spirit of Purity was well received by both the press and fans, although the style quickly earned Sanctifica their "Emperor clone" label, which the band later tried to escape by switching the music style. Music videos were shot for the songs "The Dark Desires" and "Spirit of Purity," released on the video compilation Power from the Sky.

Recording
With the line up consisting of Hubertus Liljegren (vocals, guitar), Jonathan Jansson (bass), Henrik Georgsson (guitar), Aron Engberg (keyboard), and Daniel Thelin (drums), Spirit of Purity was recorded at Studio Berghem in 1999, produced and engineered by Mick Nordström and Sanctifica. Guest vocals on "The Wanderer" were performed by Per Hagström. The album was published by Finnish Little Rose Productions in March 2002 and Rivel Records. The album was distributed by House of Kicks Distribution.

Two of the album's songs are sung in Swedish, "Riket" and "Allhärskaren", although all the lyrics are printed in English in the booklet. Sonically, the album is chaotic, emphasizing on melodic, technical tremolo riffing, very fast tempos, full soundscapes with keyboards and blast beats mixed to the background. "Riket (The Empire)" begins with a haunting, wintery keyboard intro before starting the black metal output. Some songs such as "Allhärskaren" focus more on the groovy, melodic songstructures, while others such as "The Wanderer" take a slightly more progressive approach. The lyrics deal with themes of grief and Christianity.

The album was considered an improvement over the band's debut EP In the Bleak Midwinter, gaining positive reviews from the press, and earned the band a devoted fanbase. Some considered the album to be too chaotic, while some called it a "masterpiece."

Track listing
"Riket (The Empire)" - 4:35
"The Dark Desires" - 3:51
"Released From Pain" - 4:24
"Spirit of Purity" - 6:38
"Allhärskaren" - 5:19
"Landscape" - 3:14
"The Dark Embrace of Night" - 4:57
"The Wanderer" - 4:30

References

External links
Spirit of Purity at Metal-Archives
"The Dark Desires"  video at YouTube

2000 debut albums
Sanctifica albums

Spirit of Purity


Friends with benefits relationships (FWB or FWBR) is a term commonly used to reference a relationship that is sexual without being romantic. Typically, these relationships can be between people that consider themselves platonic and friends. These non-committal relationships can be short term, or evolve into serious romantic relationships. FWB relationships are enjoyed by both women and men, which is in contrast to casual sexual encounters, more prevalent among men.

Description

Purpose
Research shows five different motivators for starting friends with benefits relationships:

 Just sex (purely sexual motivation)
 Emotional connection (the desire for increased closeness and/or intimacy)
 Relationship simplicity (wanting an easy, natural, and stress-free relationship)
 Avoidance of a more serious relationship (purposeful avoidance of the exclusive and/or romantic elements)
 Wanted an FWBR (couples who "...became single and took advantage of the opportunity").

The parties involved in FWB relationships enter it with the understanding that the relationship will end at some point in time. This differs from romantic relationships in that the unsaid goal of a romantic relationship is for both people involved to stay in the relationship long term.

However, as FWB relationships continue to evolve, individuals involved often have changing motivations for why they continue the FWB relationships. The motivation for many of these relationships is typically companionship.

Types of sexual relationships
Unlike more casual relationships (i.e., sexting, one-night stands, and other brief sexual encounters), FWBs continue to have a sexual relationship and romance. Although it seems similar, FWB relationships differ from casual sex relationships in that FWB relationships are a commitment to continuous casual sex. One-night stands are brief encounters with limited information exchanged. The parties involved typically part the next day without any additional communication. Booty calls are between people that are already acquainted, but not necessarily friends. Booty calls are usually recurring and do not develop into anything more. Sugaring involves exchanging gifts or money for companionship.

Challenges with friends with benefits relationships
FWB relationships include friendship and sexual interactions without romance. In some ways, the success of this type of relationship is rooted in avoidance. Even with the rise in popularity in friends with benefits relationships, there is not a high success rate of continued friendship at the end of a friends with benefits relationship. Although these relationships are established to safely connect with a partner without the emotions, often these relationships are not genuine. Research on deceptive affection shows that people often hide their honest feelings because of concern that they will not be mutual or well received. Deceptive affection ends up being used as a tool to protect personal feelings so that no one gets hurt. Ultimately, these relationships continue to be complex despite the attempt to be void of emotions, the lines become blurred and feelings are sometimes developed by one partner that are not always well received by the other.

History

Terminology
The origin of the term "friends with benefits" is difficult to trace, even though the phrase is in regular use and a familiar part of the current social lexicon. The earliest known use of the term is documented in Alanis Morissette's 1995–1996 song "Head over Feet" in the lyric "you're my best friend, best friend with benefits".

Cultural movements

Third wave feminism
According to research, women often report that they do not feel their needs are being met in FWB relationships. Third wave feminism is the evolution of second-wave feminism. Third-wave feminism is the belief that "young women should not be inhibited either by traditional norms of sexuality that stigmatize female sexual experimentation in non-committed relationships, nor by a sense that one form of sexual practice is more "feminist" than another (Williams & Jovanovic, pp. 158)." Third-wave feminism is often described in comparison to its past versions as "more evolved and sexually expressive, and third wave feminists defy the expectation that women's sexuality is simplistic." Third-wave feminists also reject the notion that young women engaging in casual sex, FWB relationships, etc. should be labeled as "sluts". Arguments can be made by third wave feminists on both sides about the positives and negatives of FWB relationships. On the one hand, FWB relationships allow women to explore their sexuality in an affaire de coeur that can be considered "safe", even if it is non-committal, giving them the space to communicate their needs. On another hand, FWB relationships may not help women navigate the full extent of their sexual agency without exploitation.

Portrayal in media
In 2011, the film Friends with Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, was released which depicted a friends with benefits relationship between the two co-stars. Within the same year, the film No Strings Attached, starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher was also released. It as well depicted a friends with benefits relationship between its own two co-stars. Since then, the concept has become a phenomenon that is frequently referenced in popular culture and adopted by society.

Research and studies
There are many studies that examine how FWB relationships progress among college aged students.

In an era of increased sexual liberation, casual sexual relationships continue to become more prominent. Studies show that an increasing number of college students, both male and female, report having a friends with benefits relationship at some point. Men tend to view FWB relationships as casual, while women tend to view them as friendships. Men are also more likely to have sexual relations with someone that they are not in a romantic relationship with.

Themes that emerged from one study on FWB at a university in southern California included "(1) FWB relationships as empowering to young women, (2) FWB relationships as not empowering to young women, (3) FWB relationships as providing a safe option in place of hook-ups, and (4) control and power in FWB relationships" (Williams & Jovanovic, pp. 167)."

Another study proved that individuals who avoid attachment experience less sexual satisfaction in relationships. This study also found a correlation between attachment anxiety and sexual satisfaction.

As FWB relationships continue to be a topic of interest, research on the subject is starting to lose its negative connotation. FWB relationships continue to grow in popularity amongst young people and older people without young children.

Theories

Affection exchange theory
Affection exchange theory asserts that "individuals need to give and receive affection in order to survive and procreate". When individuals are a part of healthy relationships that allow them to show affection without question, they have less anxiety in other, more involved relationships. Some FWB relationships can withhold affection, whereas other FWB relationships can provide the opportunity for participants to give and receive affection, even though they may only see their relationship as "low-maintenance": Post sex communication like pillow talk, cuddling, and kissing can have positive outcomes. When this affection does not happen, but is desired, individuals who desire affection and who are aware of a partner's longing for it can both harbor hostility.

Research shows that relationships (like some FWB relationships) that do not include healthy post sex engagement can experience attachment avoidance due to lack of affectionate communication. In order for individuals to feel sexual satisfaction, it is important to understand the attachment needs of the parties involved in the sexual relationship.

Self-determination theory
Stein, Mongeau, et al. (2019) claim that part of the allure of friends with benefits relationships ties into self-determination theory (SDT). SDT delves into the human need to continuously search for new challenges. So many people find FWB relationships attractive because of the allure of the easy-going non-committal relationship.

The root of SDT is the need to have goals that are either approach focused, or avoidance focused. Approach-focused goals are centered on what an individual can gain from a relationship – in a FWB situation this necessarily includes sex. Avoidance-focused goals look at failures that can be avoided. In the case of FWB relationships, an individual can avoid a romantic relationship with a negative ending.

See also

 Back-up partner
 Fornication
 Group sex
 Open relationship
 Promiscuity
 Sociosexual orientation
 Casual relationship
 Forms of nonmonogamy
 Open marriage
 Casual sex

References

Casual sex
Friendship
Human activities

Friends with benefits relationships


The third USS Delaware of the United States Navy was a 74-gun ship of the line, named for the state of Delaware.

She was laid down at Norfolk Navy Yard in August 1817 and launched on 21 October 1820. She was roofed over and kept at the yard in ordinary until on 27 March 1827, when she was ordered repaired and fitted for sea.

Delaware put to sea on 10 February 1828 under the command of Captain J. Downs to become the flagship of Commodore W. M. Crane in the Mediterranean. Arriving at Algeciras Bay, Spain on 23 March, she served in the interests of American commerce and diplomacy in that area until returning to Norfolk on 2 January 1830. According to Ned Myers, who shipped on her maiden voyage, "...it required some little time to get her trim and sailing. She turned out, however, to be a good vessel; sailing fairly, steering well, and proving to be an excellent sea-boat."

Delaware was decommissioned on 10 February, and lay in ordinary at Norfolk until 1833. Recommissioned on 15 July 1833, she received President Andrew Jackson aboard on 29 July, firing a 24-gun salute at both his arrival and departure. The following day she set sail for the Mediterranean where she served as flagship for Commodore D. T. Patterson and cruised on goodwill visits and for the protection of the rights and property of American citizens until her return to Hampton Roads on 16 February 1836. She was placed in ordinary from 10 March 1836 until recommissioned on 7 May 1841 for local operations from Norfolk.

Delaware sailed on 1 November for a tour of duty on the Brazil Station as flagship for Commodore Charles Morris. She patrolled the coasts of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina to represent American interests during political unrest in those countries. On 19 February 1843, she sailed from Rio de Janeiro for another cruise in the Mediterranean. Delaware returned to Hampton Roads on 4 March 1844 and was decommissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard on the 22nd. Still in ordinary there in 1861, she was burned on 20 April along with other ships and the yard facilities to prevent their falling into Confederate hands.

Notes

External links
Howard Chapelle, The History of the American Sailing Navy: the Ships and their Development (New York: Norton, 1949)
Remarks and Occurrences on Board the U.S. Ship of the Line Delaware, 1835-1836, MS 16 held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy

Ships of the line of the United States Navy
Ships of the Union Navy
1820 ships
Ship fires
Shipwrecks of the American Civil War
Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast
Ships built in Portsmouth, Virginia
Maritime incidents in April 1861

USS Delaware (1820)


Residence is a heritage-listed detached house at 50 Guy Street, Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built . It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. It is currently used as a church by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

History
The residence situated at 50 Guy Street, Warwick was constructed for Vodeville Francis Dourjere, a local merchant.

Warwick was established as an administrative centre of the emerging Darling Downs regions in 1847, with a post office being established in the town in 1848. This year saw the first survey work of the embryonic town completed by surveyor, James Charles Burnett, with further surveys in 1850, and the first sale of crown land in July 1850. On May 25, 1861, Warwick was granted the status of a municipality (the Borough of Warwick), and discussions soon after for the introduction of the Southern railway line which was in elementary stages of planning in Queensland.

The property, being 1 rood 35 perches, on which the house was constructed was acquired by Deed of Grant by William Tidman of Ipswich in September 1860, and transferred the following year to Henry Clinton of Main Range, and then to Arnold Weinholt of Maryvale in June 1862. Elizabeth Bridget Dourjere, a widow, acquired the property in July 1880 and on her death on 26 August 1882 the property was left to Vodeville Dourjere and Diamantina Dourjere. The Warwick rate books for this period indicate that a house, valued at £35 was indeed on the property from 1888. These books show that Vodeville Dourjere who is variously described as a draper, grocer and storeman both dwelt in and owned the property from 1891, when its value increased from £35 to £150. This sudden rise in value seems to indicate that a house may have been constructed in this year.

William Kennedy Hyslop acquired the property at 50 Guy Street in May 1903 and retained it until November 1929 when the property was transferred to his wife, Mary Maria Hyslop. 50 Guy Street passed from the Hyslop family in February 1940 after the death of Mary Hyslop, when it was transferred to Alice May Charles. It changed hands many times and then, in 1985, was purchased by the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To accommodate the auditorium of the church in the residence internal walls were removed to turn three rooms on the north of the central hallway into a small auditorium.

Description
The former residence at 50 Guy Street is a one storeyed timber building with simple rectangular plan and encircled by verandahs on three sides. The building, which is slightly elevated from the ground level on short timber posts, is timber framed and clad externally with horizontal chamfered timber boards. The hipped roof of the building is clad with sheets of corrugated iron. The verandahs, on the principal facade to the east and on the northern and southern facades of the building have a bull nose curved corrugated iron awning supported on paired timber columns with decorative cast iron brackets. The verandahs are lined with cast iron balustrading.

Centrally located on the symmetrically arranged eastern facade of the building is the entrance door which is emphasised with a gable projecting from the main roof and projecting above the verandah line of the building. The gable features a triangular pediment supported on paired timber posts, projecting forward from those supporting the verandah, and these are infilled below the pediment to the level of the verandah line with timber fretwork panels. The principal entrance, a four panelled unpainted timber door, with the upper panels removed and glazed substituted for the panelling.

Internally the former residence is planned around a central hall from the front door which terminates at a rear deck on the western side of the building. All the major rooms of the building are accessed on either side of this hallway, which features a silky oak round headed archway about mid way along its length. The four panelled timber doors providing access to the internal rooms from the hallway have transom openings above, infilled with timber fretwork panels.

Heritage listing
Residence was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.

The residence at 50 Guy Street demonstrates the growth of Warwick at about the turn of the century, and also, more recently, the spread of American Christian religions to regional areas of Queensland.

The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.

The house is a well-composed Victorian timber building which contributes to the Guy Street streetscape.

References

Attribution

External links

Queensland Heritage Register
Warwick, Queensland
Houses in Queensland
Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Australia
Churches in Queensland

Residence, 50 Guy Street, Warwick


The Pink Triangle Trust is a UK-registered charity that offers educational materials about LBGTQ issues and the application of humanism to the study of these issues. Its long-standing secretary was George Broadhead.

History

The Trust was established in 1992.  It is named after the pink triangle, a symbol originally used as a badge in Nazi concentration camps to identify gay men, but which has since become an international symbol of gay pride and the gay rights movement. The Pink Triangle Trust offered affirmation ceremonies for same sex couples.

Gay & Lesbian Humanist

The PTT was the publisher of Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine, more commonly known as G&LH. From 1994 to 2005, G&LH was a print-only magazine, and was published quarterly. During this time, it was edited by George Broadhead (1994–2000) and Andy Armitage (2000–2005). In 2008, G&LH was relaunched as an online-only magazine, with Mike Foxwell as its editor. The Gay Humanist Quarterly (GHQ) replaced the G&LH when South African journalist Brett Lock took over the editorship from 2005 – 2007.

In 2011, the PTT launched a new on-line magazine, The Pink Humanist, under the editorship of veteran gay journalist Barry Duke, who also edits the Freethinker magazine.

The PTT also has a presence on Facebook.

See also
 LGBT Humanists UK

References

External links

1992 establishments in the United Kingdom
Humanist associations
LGBT organisations in the United Kingdom
Secularism in the United Kingdom

Pink Triangle Trust


This is a list of historic properties in Wickenburg, Arizona, which includes a photographic gallery of some of the towns historic structures. Some of these structures are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Others are listed as historical by the Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce. Also included are the photographs of the Vulture Mine and of various of the remaining properties and ruins of Vulture City, a ghost town situated at the site of the defunct Vulture Mine. These include the Vulture Mine–Assay office, built in 1884, Henry Wickenburg's Settlers Home and Rita's Brothel.

Brief history

The Vulture Mine was a gold mine which was discovered in 1863. It was the most productive gold mine in the history of Arizona. From 1863 to 1942, the mine produced 340,000 ounces of gold and 260,000 ounces of silver.
The Vulture mine was discovered when Henry Wickenburg,  a prospector from California's gold rush, stumbled upon a quartz deposit containing gold while traveling in Arizona. Wickenburg began mining the outcrop himself.

In 1863, after Henry Wickenburg discovered the Vulture mine, Vulture City, a small mining town, was established in the area. Vulture City's post office was established on October 4, 1880, and Henry Wickenburg was the town's first Post Master. The town had more than five boarding houses and several buildings. The huge Vulture Mine-Assay Office building, built in 1884, still stands today. The town also had cookhouse and mess hall plus stores, saloons and even a school.
The town once had a population of 5,000 citizens. The town was marked by violence. Eighteen men were hung on an ironwood tree located by the ruins of Henry Wickenburg's house.

In 1863, miners, ranchers and farmers who built their homes along the fertile plain of the Hassayampa River, also founded the town of Wickenburg. Along the town's main historic district, early businesses built many structures that still form Wickenburg's downtown area.

The fact that a property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places does not guarantee that the owner of the same will not have the property demolished. Unfortunately many of the historic sites are in grave danger of collapsing or destruction. According to Jim McPherson, Arizona Preservation Foundation Board President: "It is crucial that residents, private interests, and government officials act now to save these elements of our cultural heritage before it is too late."

The following structures serve as examples of historic properties which no longer exist.
 The Santa Fe Bunk House – Listed in 1986; reference #86003761.
 The Sunset Telephone Co. – Listed in 1986; reference #86003863.
 The PJ Thompson House – Listed in 1986; reference #86001591.
 The Masonic Hall – Listed in 1986; reference #86001583.
 The Wickenburg Ice and Cold Storage – Listed in 1986; reference #86001596.

Historic Structures
The following photographs are of some of the historic structures in Wickenburg listed in the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places.

The following photographs are of some of the historic structures in Wickenburg listed in the Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce.

Further reading
 "Arizona's Haunted History"; by: Jill Pascoe; Publisher: Irongate Press;
 "Ghost Towns and Historical Haunts in Arizona"; Publisher: Golden West Publishers;
 "Wickenburg (Images of America)"; by: Lynn Downey; Publisher: Arcadia Publishing;
 "Wickenburg Will and the Jail Tree: An Outlaw's Tale"; by: Patrick H. Boles; Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform;

See also

 Wickenburg Massacre
 National Register of Historic Places listings in Maricopa County, Arizona

References

Wickenburg
Wickenburg
History of Maricopa County, Arizona
Cemeteries in Arizona

List of historic properties in Wickenburg, Arizona


Huw William Merriman (born 13 July 1973) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexhill and Battle in East Sussex since the 2015 general election. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as Minister of State for Rail and HS2 since October 2022. He previously chaired the Transport Select Committee between January 2020 and October 2022. Prior to his parliamentary career, Merriman was a barrister and a local councillor.

Early life and career
Merriman was born on 13 July 1973 in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England to Richard and Ann Merriman. His father was a local council worker and his mother was a teacher. He grew up in Buckingham and attended Buckingham County Secondary Modern School and Aylesbury College. Merriman studied law at Durham University, where he was president of the Young Conservatives branch in 1994. After graduating, he qualified as a barrister at the City Law School. He initially worked in criminal law before working in financial law for 17 years. His last role was as managing director of a team of lawyers tasked with unwinding the Lehman Brothers' European estate following the financial services firm's collapse in 2008.

Political career
He moved to East Sussex in 2006 and was elected to Wealden District Council for the Rotherfield ward in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011. Merriman stood as a Conservative candidate for North East Derbyshire in the 2010 general election. He came second to the incumbent Labour MP Natascha Engel.

Merriman was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Bexhill and Battle in November 2014. Other contenders for the seat included future MPs Suella Fernandes (now Braverman) and James Cleverly. He won the seat in the 2015 general election with 30,245 votes and a majority of 20,075 (36.4%). During the 2015–2017 parliament, he sat on the Procedure Committee. From July 2017 to August 2018, he was a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in the Department for Work and Pensions. Merriman was appointed as PPS to then Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond.

He supported the UK remaining within the European Union (EU) in the 2016 UK EU membership referendum. Merriman voted for then Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement in early 2019. In the indicative votes held on 27 March, he voted for a referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Merriman supported Jeremy Hunt in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election. He voted for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit withdrawal agreement in October 2019.

Merriman was the chair of the Transport Select Committee between January 2020 and October 2022. He had previously been a member of the committee since September 2017 and was also a member of the Liaison Committee between May 2020 and October 2022. Merriman was appointed as Minister of State for Rail and HS2 in October 2022.

Personal life
Merriman married Victoria Powdrill in 2001 and they have three daughters. They separated in 2019.

References

External links

1973 births
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Living people
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–present
Alumni of University College, Durham
People from Brackley
People from Rotherfield

Huw Merriman