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Joske's Thumb
Joske's Thumb is a precipitous volcanic plug that rises in the skyline to the west of Suva, Fiji. It is located 15 kilometers west of Suva and its base is accessible from Naikorokoro Road, which connects Naikorokoro Village to Queens Road. Other sources note that Naikorokoro Road, the road toward Joske's Thumb, intersects on the north side of Queens Road, west of the Lami Bay Hotel outside Lami. Sir Edmund Hillary, the mountaineer made famous for being the first climber (with his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay) confirmed as having reached the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, was defeated in his first attempts to reach the peak of Fiji's Joske's Thumb. Sir Hillary was conscripted into the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II. He served as a navigator aboard Catalina flying boats in New Zealand's No. 5 Squadron based at the flying boat base in the Suva Point neighborhood, currently the location of the University of the South Pacific's Lower Campus. He made two attempts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volcanic Plug
A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if rising volatile-charged magma is trapped beneath it, and this can sometimes lead to an explosive eruption. In a plinian eruption the plug is destroyed and ash is ejected. Glacial erosion can lead to exposure of the plug on one side, while a long slope of material remains on the opposite side. Such landforms are called crag and tail. If a plug is preserved, erosion may remove the surrounding rock while the erosion-resistant plug remains, producing a distinctive upstanding landform. Examples of volcanic plugs Africa Near the village of Rhumsiki in the Far North Province of Cameroon, Kapsiki Peak is an example of a volcanic plug and is one of the most photographed parts of the Mandara Mountains. Spectacular volcanic plugs are present in the center of L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1953 British Mount Everest Expedition
The 1953 British Mount Everest expedition was the ninth mountaineering expedition to attempt the first ascent of Mount Everest, and the first confirmed to have succeeded when Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit on 29 May 1953. Led by Colonel John Hunt, it was organised and financed by the Joint Himalayan Committee. News of the expedition's success reached London in time to be released on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, on 2 June that year. Background Identified as the highest mountain in the world during the 1850s, Everest became a subject of interest during the Golden age of alpinism, although its height made it questionable if it could ever be climbed. In 1885, Clinton Thomas Dent's ''Above the Snow Line'' suggested that an ascent might be possible. Practical considerations (and World War I) prevented significant approaches until the 1920s. George Mallory is quoted as having said he wanted to climb Everest "Because it's there", a phrase t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fijian Dollar
The Fijian dollar (currency sign: FJ$, $; currency code: FJD) has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents. History Decimalisation origins Fiji followed the pattern of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand in that when it adopted the decimal system, it decided to use the half pound unit as opposed to the pound unit of account. The choice of the name dollar was motivated by the fact that the reduced value of the new unit corresponded more closely to the value of the US dollar than it did to the pound sterling. Second dollar (1969–present) The dollar was reintroduced on 15 January 1969, replacing the Fijian pound at a rate of 1 pound = 2 dollars, or 10 shillings = FJ$1. Despite Fiji having been a republic since 1987, coins and banknotes continued to feature Queen Eliza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Pacific Hotel (Fiji)
The Grand Pacific Hotel is a historic hotel built in 1914, located on the main sea front, on Victoria Parade in Suva, Fiji. History In 1910 the Managing Director of the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, Sir James Mills, commissioned plans for a hotel run by the company to serve the needs of passengers on its transpacific routes. A two-acre site on land reclaimed from Suva Harbour was chosen on the landing spot for the original Suva village, called ''Vu-ni-vesi'' after the trees nearby, and the hotel itself was designed by Salmond & Vanes ARIBA FNZIA, architects of Dunedin. Their design of the hotel was to make the passengers think they had never gone ashore, with rooms designed like first-class staterooms, complete with saltwater bathrooms and plumbing fixtures identical to those on an ocean liner. All rooms were on the second floor, and guests could step outside on a -wide veranda overlooking the harbour and walk completely around the building — as if walking on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peregrine Falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey ( raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest bird in the world, as well as the fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a '' National Geographic'' TV program, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is . As is typical for bird-eating raptors, peregrine falcons are sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males. The peregrine's breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests; the only major ice-free land ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pink-billed Parrotfinch
The pink-billed parrotfinch (''Erythrura kleinschmidti'') is a species of estrildid finch found on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji. Commonly found at undisturbed mature forest in the centre and east of Viti Levu, e.g. Joske's Thumb near Suva. This species is found at mid-height along tree-trunks and branches, usually alone or in pairs but also joining mixed-species flocks, feeding primarily on insects, but also on flower buds and fruits. Taxonomy The parrotfinches are a genus of estrildid finches found in southeast Asia and Australasia. They are small birds with short rounded wings and tails. Most species have green bodies, and all but one have the red tail that gives the genus its scientific name ''Erythrura'',Clements (1993) p.397 which is derived from the Ancient Greek , 'red',Brookes (2006) p. 306 and , 'tail'.Brookes (2006) p. 1058 The pink-billed parrotfinch was initially described as ''Amblynura kleinschmidti'' by German naturalist Otto Finsch in 1878. The binomial name c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Honeyeater
The duetting giant honeyeater (''Gymnomyza brunneirostris''), formerly known as the giant honeyeater, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Fiji. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is endemic Viti Levu island. It was formerly considered conspecific with the yellow-billed giant honeyeater. Both showed phenotypic and behavioural differences. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that they also differed significantly in their mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ... sequences and suggested that ''G. v. brunneirostris'' should be promoted to the species level. The International Ornith ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masked Shining Parrot
The masked shining parrot (''Prosopeia personata''), also known as the masked parrot, masked musk parrot, or the yellow-breasted musk parrot is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to Viti Levu in Fiji. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, arable land, and rural gardens. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... Description It is 47 cm long and weighs 322 g. It has a black mask on its face, and has a mainly bright green body. The center of its breast is yellow, turning into orange towards the abdomen. The outer webs of the primary fathers on the wing are blue or purple. Its tail feathers are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example ''Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. ''Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Married And Maiden Names
When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name (" birth name" is also used as a gender-neutral or masculine substitute for maiden name), whereas a married name is a family name or surname adopted by a person upon marriage. In some jurisdictions, changing names requires a legal process. When people marry or divorce, the legal aspects of changing names may be simplified or included, so that the new name is established as part of the legal process of marrying or divorcing. Traditionally, in the Anglophone West, women are far more likely to change their surnames upon marriage than men, but in some instances men may change their last names upon marriage as well, including same-sex couples. In this article, ''birth name'', ''family name'', ''surname'', ''married name'' and ''maiden name'' refer to patrilineal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliament Of Fiji
The Parliament of the Republic of Fiji is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Fiji. It consists of 55 members elected every 4 years using open list proportional representation in one multi-member nationwide constituency. History Establishment The Fijian Parliament dates from 10 October 1970, when Fiji became independent from the United Kingdom. The Parliament replaced the former colonial legislative body, the Legislative Council, which had existed in various forms throughout the entire colonial period. A grandfather clause in the 1970 Constitution, which was adopted on independence, provided for the old Legislative Council to be renamed as the House of Representatives and remain in office, pending the first post-independence elections in 1972. Interruptions Since independence, Parliamentary rule has been interrupted three times. The first interruption was from 1987 through 1992, owing to two coups d'état in 1987 instigated by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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