Our Youth page is for young people aged 13+ - if you are younger than this we have news for you in the Children's page. News items and articles run at the top of this page. Information, local resources, events and local organisations, sports groups etc. are at the base of this page. All Previous pages for you are listed in Past Features
2025 Irukandji's Australian Surfing Team Announced: Pittwater's Milla Brown to represent Australia again
August 20, 2025
Surfing Australia is proud to unveil the 2025 Irukandjis team representing Australia at the ISA World Surfing Games, to be held from September 5th - 14th, 2025 at El Sunzal, Surf City, El Salvador!
The ISA World Surfing Games is one of the sport’s most prestigious international events, marking a critical chapter in the global surfing calendar, but most importantly, it forms part of the official qualification pathway to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The Irukandjis team departed from Brisbane this afternoon, Wednesday August 20, with time to surf and prepare ahead of the competition and the ISA Opening Ceremony.
2025 Irukandjis Squad
Sally Fitzgibbons (NSW) - One of Australia’s most decorated surfers, with more than a decade on the Championship Tour, an Olympic appearance in Tokyo 2020, and a 4X ISA World Champion.
Ellie Harrison (VIC) - A rising star and 4X Australian Junior Champion, known for her explosive turns and strong performances on the WSL Challenger Series.
Milla Brown (NSW) - Current U18 Australian Champion making her debut on the senior Irukandjis team after a breakout year on the WSL Qualifying Series. Air specialist and WSL Pro Junior standout.
Morgan Cibilic (NSW) - 2021 Championship Tour Rookie of the Year, celebrated for his powerful rail game and outstanding performance under pressure. A strong performer on the WSL Challenger Series.
Callum Robson (NSW) - Past World Championship Tour surfer, renowned for his composure and clutch heats.
Dane Henry (NSW) - 2024 Junior ISA World Champion. An exciting young talent who earned his place in the squad through consistent results across the Qualifying Series and Pro Junior ranks.
Milla Brown. Credit: Surfing Australia
About the ISA World Surfing Games 2025
The 2025 ISA World Surfing Games will be staged at La Bocana and El Sunzal, two world-class breaks on El Salvador’s coastline. The event draws the best surfers from over 50 nations, competing for individual titles and national team glory.
Since 2022, the ISA Worlds have been integrated into Olympic qualification, making them a direct pathway for surfers aiming to compete at the Games.
Athlete Selection Reactions
Sally Fitzgibbons
"It’s a deep-rooted feeling of pride representing my country, my community, and everyone who has contributed to my journey throughout my career. What excites me most is the chance to connect with a fresh group of athletes in this team. Together, I believe we can bring an incredible amount of sting to the world stage."
"When you represent your country and the mighty Irukandjis, it becomes about more than just individual goals. It’s a collective vision of achieving ultimate team success. Each of us will be digging deep to contribute, and together we can be the rising tide that lifts the Irukandjis back to the top."
Callum Robson
"Watching the Olympic Games as a kid, it was always a dream of mine to represent Australia. With Brisbane set to host in 2032, Olympic qualification is something I think all Australians are excited about. Getting those valuable reps in at the ISA Worlds is a really important stepping stone towards achieving that goal."
"After falling off tour, I’ve focused on ramping up my skill development. I’m pushing to improve my surfing as much as possible so I can go head-to-head with the world’s best."
Ellie Harrison
"I competed at the ISA Open Worlds in 2023, so being selected again to represent Australia is really special. I’m really looking forward to spending time with the incredible team and making the most of the sick waves El Salvador has to offer."
Dane Henry
"It's pretty surreal to go from winning the ISA Junior World Title straight into the Open Irukandjis team. Last year, our junior team had one of its best runs ever, finishing with Gold, and to captain that team was incredible. I’m keen to get back into that team mindset, while stepping up my surfing at the same time."
"I’m excited to go in with no pressure and test myself against the older guys. La Bocana is such a high-performance wave, and I can’t wait to show my full repertoire and everything I’ve been working on."
Milla Brown said
"I’m so stoked! I’ve been to two junior ISA events now and learned so much from them, so I’m super excited to be heading to the ISAs for the first time as part of the senior squad. To be surrounded by such an epic crew of people I’ve looked up to for years is really special, and I just want to learn as much as I can."
"The Olympics are a major goal for my future, and this ISA event feels like the first real stepping stone towards that. I’m super keen to give it a good crack and test myself against some of the older crew."
Surfing Australia’s National High Performance Director, Kate Wilcomes, believes the squad has the perfect blend of seasoned champions and hungry newcomers.
"The 2025 Irukandji Opens team is a force to be reckoned with. With the most winning ISA surfer, Sally Fitzgibbons, leading the charge, and rising stars like World Junior ISA champions Dane Henry and Milla Brown stepping into the spotlight, this team blends elite experience with the fierce energy of the next generation. Australia is ready to make its mark at the ISA World Championships."
About the Irukandjis
The Irukandjis name was generously gifted to Surfing Australia by the Yirrganydji people of North Queensland. The team’s tagline — ‘Deadly in the Water’ — comes from the potent Irukandji jellyfish, reflecting both the cultural heritage and fierce competitive spirit of Australian surfers.
All elite Australian surfers, across Olympic, longboard, big wave, adaptive, SUP, junior, and masters disciplines, compete internationally under the Irukandjis banner and colours.
Here's some nice news for all who love encountering fairy penguins, based on Lion Island or at Manly, when in the waters offshore of our area. Details on further local Fairy Penguin news runs below.
Alan van Gysen, a renowned photographer and filmmaker based in Cape Town, has captured an amazing array of moments but says nothing was quite like this recent experience he and a group of surfers had with a penguin at Noordhoek Beach.
"From sharks to seals to whales and everything in-between, Cape Town in South Africa is renowned for wildlife encounters in the water. But it’s rare for surfers to see a penguin, let alone share a few waves with one – until this little guy came along." he says in the film, published August 16 2025
"It was one the most incredible wildlife experiences I've ever had in my 25 years of photography. You know, down this beach, and around Cape Town, I've had interactions with whales, seals, dolphins, and even sharks, but I've never experienced anything quite like this...I'm pretty blown away to be honest."
Coming from Mr. van Gysen , that's saying something. He's taken his camera all across the African continent as well as documented some of the most iconic waves in the world for the "Origin Series" by Now Now Media, the production company he runs with journalist Will Bendix. Together they've told the story of such waves like Puerto Escondido, Safi, Skeleton Bay, African Kirra, and more.
The creators state African Penguins are critically endangered. You can directly help efforts to save them by supporting organisations like SANCCOB. Visit: https://sanccob.co.za/
Two days later, Monday August 18, it was reported nine African penguins, rescued and rehabilitated by SANCCOB, were released back into the wild, marking a significant victory for marine conservation.
Following months of extensive care and rehabilitation at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), dedicated team members sporting the biggest smiles and holding back tears of joy witnessed the fruits of their labour culminate in a rewarding moment and step forward for marine conservation.
A video shared by SANCCOB shows the team carefully moving large boxes to the beach before opening them to reveal the penguins they had dedicated so much effort to treating and preparing for rewilding. The birds were guided out of their boxes and onto the beach, where they walked together into the water before swimming into the horizon to continue their life in their ocean home.
In the last century, African Penguins have lost 97% of their population. The penguins’ main food sources, sardines and anchovies, are being depleted by commercial fishing.
On March 18 2025 BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB secured a historic victory for South Africa’s Critically Endangered African Penguin when the Pretoria High Court issued an order of court after a hard-won settlement agreement was reached by the two conservation NGOs with commercial sardine and anchovy purse-seine fishers (subsequently endorsed by the State). The order provides for the delineations of no-take zones for the commercial sardine and anchovy fishery around six key African Penguin breeding colonies that lie within coastal areas where this commercial fishery operates.
SANCCOB stated: ''The six closures work together to secure biologically meaningful foraging areas for African Penguins in each of the west coast, southern Cape and Algoa Bay regions to help bring the species back from the brink of extinction. This settlement follows several weeks of exceptionally hard work and negotiations between the conservation NGOs and the commercial sardine and anchovy fishing industry.''
Surfing with a Penguin | Surf's Up for Real
A short film by Now Now Media presented by Monster Energy in association with O’Neill
Featuring Eli Beukes, Brendon Gibbens and others
Produced by Alan van Gysen
Written and Directed by Will Bendix
Primary pupils’ projects to protect Manly's little penguins
Peninsula public schools have teamed up with Taronga Zoo to help protect little penguin colonies. Jim Griffiths reports.
August 22 2025
Students from Brookvale Public School get a seal of approval from the penguins
The last onshore little penguin colony on Sydney’s northern beaches is overcoming threats to its survival thanks to a project involving Department of Education Zoo Education Team, Taronga Zoo and eight northern beaches public schools.
For 10 weeks, primary school students – with their high school mentors – undertake a range of activities to deepen their knowledge of Manly’s little penguins, threats to the colony and positive actions that we can all take to protect the species.
Relieving Zoo Education Advisor, Alexandra Heagney, said the primary school students had to solve one of the problems that the little penguins face, develop their own prototype solutions and create a community awareness campaign focused on protecting the penguins.
“What we hope to see out of this project is community awareness and students becoming advocates for the little penguin colony in Manly,” she said. “We also hope to see that they make changes when they become adults and teenagers too.”
During Project Penguin, the primary students are guided through the design thinking process and are supported by local high school student mentors.
The project follows a project-based learning framework implemented across a number of the department’s Zoo Education programs, with a focus on authentic cross-curricular learning focused on a locally threatened species.
The 22 best ideas were then shared at a Taronga Zoo expo attended by more than 640 students from Balgowlah Heights, Beacon Hill, Brookvale, Harbord and Manly West Public Schools and their mentors from Northern Beaches Secondary College Cromer, Balgowlah Boys and Mackellar Girls and The Beach School.
For example, one team from Harbord Public School developed a habitat with a surrounding pressure plate to detect anything heavier than a penguin.
Once activated, fox repellent and water are sprayed, along with noise from speakers to scare off any predator, with nets providing further protection from sea birds.
Brookvale Public School Year 3 student Neve Gordon enjoyed working on an idea to make better, storm-proof bins to reduce plastic pollution on the coastline.
“My favourite part of the project was working in groups and making things,” she said.
Harbord Public School students show their project at the ‘Project Penguin Expo’
WHY PENGUINS?
They’re an indicator species: Little penguins are at the top of the marine food chain for small fish and invertebrates. If their population declines, it can signal bigger environmental problems such as pollution, overfishing, or climate change.
They help maintain ecosystem balance: By feeding on small fish, squid, and krill, little penguins help keep prey populations in check.
They’re part of Sydney’s coastal identity: The Little Manly colony is the only breeding penguin colony left on the NSW mainland. They are a living connection to what Sydney’s coastline looked like long before the city grew around it, but they face challenges such habitat loss, pollution and the impacts of climate change.
They’re unique and irreplaceable: Little penguins are the smallest penguin species in the world, and the Little Manly colony is one of the most urban penguin populations anywhere. If they disappear here, they’ll never naturally return, it would be the end of a centuries-old population.
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A few insights from the news service from a few years ago.
In June 2019 we brought you some news about a project to put fireproof burrows on Lion Island for the colony that lives there - these penguins are seen in the Pittwater estuary and right along the coastal beaches. They used to have nests and colonies on the beaches all along our coast as well - at Turimetta Beach, Narrabeen and Long Reef in particular.
Here's some at Narrabeen in 1955 - and reports of them at Long Reef as well:
When summer comes . . .
HE MUST go down to the sea again, the lonely sea and the sky- but only for dinner. This hungry little chap couldn't wait for the rest of the flock that gathers for a nightly 3 a.m. party on the beach. Then they return to their nests to sleep all day.
HOUSING TROUBLES begin, at Mrs. E. Whittaker warns off a mother bird for squatting with its young beside her shed. But (inset) the penguin family sits tight till ready to vacate.
PENGUINS at the bottom of their garden
Spring comes with a difference to the gardens of waterfront homes in Ocean Street, Narrabeen, north of Sydney. It brings flocks of fairy penguins-the smallest of the breed-sauntering in from the sea to take up residence for their nesting season. As daytime guests they're welcome, but at nightfall they head down to the sea for food-making noises that keen everyone else awake, too. They stay for a few months.
HUNTING for invaders under the house, this family is helped by neighbors. Householders have M tried fencing and boarding around their houses, but still the penguins come to nest each year.
SIGNAL'S RIGHT, but the bus speeds on. For most people in Ocean Street, Narrabeen, the penguin novelty has worn off. They would rather have their sleep, which the birds' din disturbs. The noises vary from "woo-woo" to loud dog-like barks.
THE MAN who came to dinner takes it for granted he's welcome as Mr. W. Gillanty greets him. Residents, particularly light sleepers, now have to resign themselves to a trying time while the penguins, which are protected, are in charge. PENGUINS at the bottom of their garden (1956, December 12). The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), p. 23. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41852332
Marine Parade North Avalon resident and ornithologist Neville Cayley is mentioned in this one:
Two Little Penguins
AS Mr. Neville Cayley mentions in the 'Mail' that there is very little known regarding the length of time these penguins care for their young before turning them out, I thought the following account would be of especial interest to readers of 'Outdoor Australia.'
At a crowded Museum lecture Mr. Kinghorn told us this unusual incident. One morning towards the end of August, 1921, the peace and serenity of some dwellers at Collaroy Beach were disturbed by extraordinary noises and weird cries at the back door. When the astonished owner of the house opened the door in rushed two little penguins, which with loud voices announced their intentions of staying. Then they danced about and waved their little wings in a most ingratiating way. After a short time these noisy visitors were shown the door, and they disappeared for a while. But, having chosen their home, Mr. and Mrs. Penguin returned later, and as they could not get inside the house they went underneath as far as they could get, and there made their nest of seaweed. The noise every night was almost unbearable; they would scream and cackle, and later, after about six weeks their songs of joy were terrific, for two youngsters were hatched.
About four months after their arrival the penguin family suddenly departed. Where they wintered is their own secret: but late in the following August a terrible cackling outside advised these householders that they were back. When the door was opened Mr. and Mrs. Penguin marched triumphantly in, followed by two grown chicks, which were inquisitive and rather shy. Then followed extravagant dances of greeting and vociferous songs of 'Here we are again,' etc., in which the young ones also joined.
They could not be quietened, and the neighbours hastened across to see if someone had gone mad. The owners of the house put the whole family down on the beach and drove them away. It was then that the parents sent off the chicks to fend for themselves, and they themselves returned later and went under the house to their old nest. The celebrations were so overpowering that the householders took down some boards next day, got the noisy pair out, and drove them at night by car to Palm Beach, about twelve miles distant, and there left them. But next morning saw them back.
They were taken a second time, but returned, and were allowed lo stay; but a home was made for them in the far corner of the garden. The house side was netted off and a hole cut in the fence to allow them free access to the beach. They made a nest of seaweed, and later two eggs were laid. The birds look it in turn to sit on them, and there was always much shouting and scolding when one returned from the sea at night.
After about six weeks two sooty-brown chicks appeared, and the noise that night and the next few days while the celebrations lasted was tremendous. The parents took it in turn to fish and swim during the day that followed, but at night they often went out together to find a suitable supper, and about 9 p.m. would return, arguing together as they came up the beach. The following summer my father saw a young penguin land on the rocks at Coogee. I think it quite likely that it was one of the young ones turned out at Collaroy. It was evidently not very used to fending for itself, for a patch of feathers was torn from its shoulder, possibly through not being an adept at landing.
At the time of the lecture these queer visitors were still in residence at Collaroy, and what became of them I do not know. It is likely enough that the nesting-place on North Head mentioned by Mr. Cayley is occupied by these little penguins or their descendants. Outdoor Australia (1925, March 18).Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), , p. 10. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article159721727
It is recorded that two Fairy penguins for a number of years made seasonal visitations to Collaroy, near Sydney, and often laid their eggs under the floor of one of the houses there. — F.J.B. Quaint and Beautiful Sea Birds (1934, October 31). Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), , p. 56. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article166107257
The Lion Island colony was officially first protected in 1956 - although they had been protected decades prior to then:
PROTECTION OF PENGUINS.
Mr. Oakes (Chief Secretary), who is in charge of the Act relating to wild life, desires it to be generally known that all species of penguins are absolutely protected by law, and that anyone interfering with the birds is liable to a penalty. Apart from this he says citizens are requested to refrain from molesting this interesting bird, or driving it back to the sea, as, naturally, no water fowl liked getting wet when half-feathered.
Mr. Oakes remarked yesterday that fairy penguins, which were frequently seen off the coast, came ashore at this period of the year for moulting purposes for about three weeks. During that time they had not been observed to feed or enter the water. Many persons had offered specimens of the birds as exhibits to the Taronga Zoological Gardens, while others had made inquiries how to keep them alive in captivity. As this species of penguin only lived on live fish they could not be kept alive away from the sea. PROTECTION OF PENGUINS. (1923, December 18). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16127509
PENGUINS ON COAST ARE PROTECTED
A penguin caught to-day near Palm Beach was refused' by Zoo authorities. The birds are common along the coast at present, are protected by law, and do not live in captivity.
The secretary of the Zoo (Mr. H. B. Brown) said today that the public had been warned against molesting the birds. PENGUINS ON COAST ARE PROTECTED (1936, December 30). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), p. 12 (COUNTRY EDITION). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230907746
Opportunities:
I'm with the Band: Music Comp.
East Coast Car Rentals are giving grassroots artists the chance to take their music on the road - and into the spotlight with an opportunity to secure $2,000 cash, $10,000 PR package, and car hire to get you from gig to gig.
If you’re a busker or artist lighting up street corners with talent, hustle and a love for performing, they want to hear from you.
Skills Minister puts apprenticeship and traineeship reform front and centre: Feedback Invited
The NSW Government states it is continuing its work to rebuild the skills workforce and ensure NSW has the construction workers it needs to build more homes, with a comprehensive review of the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001 now underway.
This builds on the Government’s $3.4 billion investment in the 2025-26 Budget, the largest ever investment in skills and TAFE, ensuring we have the skilled workers to meet the state’s needs.
The Review begins with a statewide Have Your Say survey, inviting apprentices, trainees, employers, and training providers to share their experiences and shape improvements to the system.
The aim is to strengthen the apprenticeship and traineeship framework by making it easier to navigate, more flexible, and better matched to the real-world needs of priority industries like construction, care and support, technology, and clean energy.
It’s also about improving outcomes, especially for young people in regional NSW, and making sure the system supports more apprentices and trainees to complete their training and step into long-term, rewarding careers.
The Review is a key commitment of the NSW Skills Plan, and will be backed by roundtables with local employers, unions, training providers and apprentices and trainees across the state in the coming months.
Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan said:
“We’re rebuilding the skills system so that it delivers for NSW. Not just for now, but for the long term.
“This review is about making apprenticeships and traineeships work better for the people who use them - students, employers, and training providers.
“We want a system that reflects today’s economy and helps more people get the skills they need for good jobs, especially in the regions and in industries crying out for workers.
“The feedback we get from the community will play a huge role in shaping the changes. We’re committed to making this review practical, inclusive, and focused on results.”
Young Filmmakers Comp.
The highly anticipated Beaches Young Filmmakers Comp 2025 is back, now in its 21st year, offering a golden opportunity for budding filmmakers to showcase their talents and creativity.
Participants will have four days to bring their vision to life and submit their entries by 10 pm on Sunday, 31 August 2025.
With a total prize pool of $3000 and various industry prizes, aspiring filmmakers will also have the chance to see their films screened at the prestigious Finals and Awards Night on Thursday, 18 September at HOYTS Warringah Mall. Family, friends, and the public are invited to attend and celebrate the creative achievements of these emerging filmmakers.
Mayor Sue Heins expressed her enthusiasm for the competition and encouraged young filmmakers to take part.
"Beaches Young Filmmakers Comp is a wonderful way to learn the craft of filmmaking while having fun, picking up new skills and meeting like-minded people.
"If you’ve ever thought about making a short film, even if you have never done it before, why not enter? You never know where it may lead," said Mayor Heins.
Teams can consist of 1 to 12 members, aged between 12 and 24 years, with at least one member living, working, or studying on the Manly to Palm Beach peninsula.
The council stated it extends its heartfelt thanks to premium sponsor and long-time supporter, now for the thirteenth year, Miller Tripods, for their unwavering support, along with huge thanks to Screenwise and Canon for also being premium sponsors. Further thanks go to Australian Cinematography Society for their generous sponsorship of this year's competition.
Finalists’ films will be showcased on the council’s website following the Finals and Awards Night, providing further exposure for the talented young filmmakers.
Prize money is funded through entry fees, final night ticket sales and sponsorship.
Open Mic at Palm Beach
Come on down this Sunday from 2–5pm for our Open Mic Afternoon — happening every last Sunday of the month!
Show off your talent, enjoy great vibes, and be part of a supportive local music scene. Don’t miss it!
Club Palm Beach
Financial help for young people
Concessions and financial support for young people.
Includes:
You could receive payments and services from Centrelink: Use the payment and services finder to check what support you could receive.
Apply for a concession Opal card for students: Receive a reduced fare when travelling on public transport.
Financial support for students: Get financial help whilst studying or training.
Youth Development Scholarships: Successful applicants will receive $1000 to help with school expenses and support services.
Tertiary Access Payment for students: The Tertiary Access Payment can help you with the costs of moving to undertake tertiary study.
Relocation scholarship: A once a year payment if you get ABSTUDY or Youth Allowance if you move to or from a regional or remote area for higher education study.
Get help finding a place to live and paying your rent: Rent Choice Youth helps young people aged 16 to 24 years to rent a home.
Explore the School Leavers Information Kit (SLIK) as your guide to education, training and work options in 2022;
As you prepare to finish your final year of school, the next phase of your journey will be full of interesting and exciting opportunities. You will discover new passions and develop new skills and knowledge.
We know that this transition can sometimes be challenging. With changes to the education and workforce landscape, you might be wondering if your planned decisions are still a good option or what new alternatives are available and how to pursue them.
There are lots of options for education, training and work in 2022 to help you further your career. This information kit has been designed to help you understand what those options might be and assist you to choose the right one for you. Including:
Download or explore the SLIK here to help guide Your Career.
School Leavers Information Kit (PDF 5.2MB).
School Leavers Information Kit (DOCX 0.9MB).
The SLIK has also been translated into additional languages.
Download our information booklets if you are rural, regional and remote, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or living with disability.
Support for Regional, Rural and Remote School Leavers (PDF 2MB).
Support for Regional, Rural and Remote School Leavers (DOCX 0.9MB).
Support for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander School Leavers (PDF 2MB).
Support for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander School Leavers (DOCX 1.1MB).
Support for School Leavers with Disability (PDF 2MB).
Support for School Leavers with Disability (DOCX 0.9MB).
Download the Parents and Guardian’s Guide for School Leavers, which summarises the resources and information available to help you explore all the education, training, and work options available to your young person.
School Leavers Information Service
Are you aged between 15 and 24 and looking for career guidance?
Call 1800 CAREER (1800 227 337).
SMS 'SLIS2022' to 0429 009 435.
Our information officers will help you:
navigate the School Leavers Information Kit (SLIK),
access and use the Your Career website and tools; and
find relevant support services if needed.
You may also be referred to a qualified career practitioner for a 45-minute personalised career guidance session. Our career practitioners will provide information, advice and assistance relating to a wide range of matters, such as career planning and management, training and studying, and looking for work.
You can call to book your session on 1800 CAREER (1800 227 337) Monday to Friday, from 9am to 7pm (AEST). Sessions with a career practitioner can be booked from Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm.
This is a free service, however minimal call/text costs may apply.
Call 1800 CAREER (1800 227 337) or SMS SLIS2022 to 0429 009 435 to start a conversation about how the tools in Your Career can help you or to book a free session with a career practitioner.
Word of the Week remains a keynote in 2025, simply to throw some disruption in amongst the 'yeah-nah' mix.
Adjective
1. consisting in or characterised by the presence rather than the absence of distinguishing features. 2. full of hope and confidence, or giving cause for hope and confidence, constructive, optimistic, or confident. 3. with no possibility of doubt; definite. 4.(of a quantity) greater than zero. 5. containing, producing, or denoting an electric charge opposite to that carried by electrons. 6. (of a photographic image) showing lights and shades or colours true to the original. 7. Grammar; denoting the primary degree of an adjective or adverb, which expresses simple quality without qualification. 8. Philosophy; dealing only with matters of fact and experience; not speculative or theoretical. 9. Astrology; relating to or denoting any of the air or fire signs, considered active in nature.
Noun
1. a desirable or constructive quality or attribute. 2. a positive photographic image, especially one printed from a negative. 3. a result of a test or experiment indicating that a certain substance or condition is present or exists. 4. the part of an electric circuit that is at a higher electrical potential than another point designated as having zero electrical potential. 5. a number greater than zero. 6. Grammar; an adjective or adverb in the positive degree.
From: late Middle English: from Old French positif, -ive or Latin positivus, from posit- ‘placed’, from the verb ponere. - early 14c., originally a legal term meaning "formally laid down, decreed or legislated by authority" (opposed to natural),directly from Latin positivus "settled by agreement, positive" (opposed to naturalis "natural"), from positus, past participle of ponere "put, place".
The sense of "absolute" is from mid-15c. Meaning in philosophy of "dealing only with facts" is from 1590s. Sense broadened to "expressed without qualification" (1590s), then, of persons, "confident in opinion" (1660s). The meaning "possessing definite characters of its own" is by 1610s. The mathematical use for "greater than zero" is by 1704. Psychological sense of "concentrating on what is constructive and good" is recorded from 1916. Positive thinking is attested from 1953. The sense in electricity is from 1755.
Flashing mouthguards that signal a head injury will soon hit the rugby field – are they a game changer?
When the Women’s Rugby World Cup kicks off this weekend, spectators will witness more than the usual thrills, skills and physical brilliance the code delivers – they’ll also see something completely novel: flashing mouthguards.
Designed to help keep professional players safer, these smart mouthguards flash when a player experiences a collision big enough to potentially result in a concussion. This is an advance on existing instrumented mouthguards, used in the professional game since the 2023 men’s Rugby World Cup.
The mouthguards contain accelerometers and a gyroscope to measure the size of collisions. If a collision exceeds the threshold for a head injury assessment, a light-emitting diode (LED) will flash red, alerting the player and officials.
The smart mouthguards can measure collision impact forces, the direction of the impact and the number of collisions for any player during a game.
Collision impact is measured in “peak linear acceleration” (the g-force) and “peak rotational acceleration”. Based on the data, a decision can be made to pull a player from the game for a head injury assessment.
The threshold for male players is a g-force of 75 and for female players 65. But problems with Bluetooth capability meant there could be delays between a player receiving a head knock and the data being downloaded. The new flashing mouthguards are designed to overcome this delay.
A head injury assessment is done off-field by a trained medical professional. Background is collected about the collision and the player’s symptoms. The player then completes memory and balance tests. If they fail the assessment they’re out for the rest of the game.
World Rugby is using the women’s World Cup tournament to introduce the new LED mouthguards, ahead of using them at the top level of the men’s and women’s game in general. In time, we may see them become more common in non-professional and youth grades, too.
What about amateur and junior rugby?
The primary purpose of the new mouthguards is to improve surveillance of likely concussions by reducing the time between a sizeable impact being detected and then reported to officials.
In turn, this may reduce the likelihood of a player experiencing a second large collision – and therefore keep them safer. Like other smart mouthguards, these new ones will also record all collisions in a game for longer-term monitoring.
The high cost of these innovative safety technologies has so far been prohibitive for lower and non-professional leagues. Aside from professional franchises, really only researchers have had access, given the nature of the hardware, software and 3D-printing process involved.
But that might be changing, with recent innovations by mouthguard companies bringing their products into a more viable price range for community rugby.
High quality “boil and bite” instrumented mouthguards currently retail for A$350, which is only about $100 more than a dentist-fitted custom unit. As the technology evolves, the price will no doubt reduce more.
The advantage of smart mouthguards is the objectivity they can bring to collision assessment in community rugby, something not available in the past.
Using a phone app linked to the product, parents, coaches or referees can see the size of impact a player has received in a collision. That then allows them to make a more informed choice about removing a player from the field.
It would also be harder for a player to hide a concussion and therefore likely reduce under-reporting. As well, our research shows concussions for junior players can occur well below the adult thresholds, so this type of technology and information could be very helpful.
Benefits for brain health
While these safety developments are potentially beneficial, junior and community rugby still relies largely on non-medically trained staff to identify possible concussions.
Despite greater awareness and concern about concussions, research indicates there are still many youth athletes and parents who don’t know how to recognise the symptoms. There also appears to be a stigma about concussion reporting.
We know that in New Zealand, Māori and Pasifika players appear to suffer from higher rates of sport-related concussion, but are less aware of and less willing to report symptoms.
An early return to play following an unreported concussion can lead to a player suffering a second and worse concussion, which could have longer-term recovery implications for a young person.
Improved coach awareness is one area that would make a big difference, and there are already concussion recognition courses available such as RugbySmart in New Zealand and BokSmart in South Africa.
The flashing mouthguards on show at the Women’s Rugby World Cup can’t prevent concussions. But they represent another step towards better managing the risks and effects of concussions over a player’s season and career.
As prices drop and these technologies become more accessible, we will likely see greater uptake in community rugby, further improving player safety at the grassroots level.
The authors thank George Stilwell, Natalia Kabaliuk and Keith Alexander from the University of Canterbury for their contribution to this article.
Some of the most enduring ancient myths in the Persian world were centred around gardens of almost unimaginable beauty and opulence.
The biblical Garden of Eden and the Epic of Gilgamesh’s Garden of the Gods are prominent examples. In these myths, paradise was an opulent garden of tranquillity and abundance.
But how did this concept of paradise originate? And what did these beautiful gardens look and feel like in antiquity?
When the Achaemenid kings ruled ancient Persia (550–330 BCE), the development of royal paradise gardens grew significantly. The paradise garden of the Persian king, Cyrus the Great, who ruled around 550 BCE, is the earliest physical example yet discovered.
During his reign, Cyrus built a palace complex at Pasargadae in Persia. The entire complex was adorned with gardens which included canals, bridges, pathways and a large pool.
One of the gardens measured 150 metres by 120 metres (1.8 hectares). Archaeologists found evidence for the garden’s division into four parts, symbolising the four quarters of Cyrus’s vast empire.
Technological wonders
A feature of paradise gardens in Persia was their defiance of often harsh, dry landscapes.
This required ingenuity in supplying large volumes of water required for the gardens. Pasargadae was supplied by a sophisticated hydraulic system, which diverted water from the nearby Pulvar River.
The tradition continued throughout the Achaemenid period. Cyrus the Younger, probably a descendant of Cyrus the Great, had a palace at Sardis (in modern Turkey), which included a paradise garden.
According to the ancient Greek writer, Xenophon, the Spartan general Lysander visited Cyrus at the palace around 407 BCE.
When he walked in the garden, astounded by its intricate design and beauty, Lysander asked who planned it. Cyrus replied that he had designed the garden himself and planted its trees.
Perhaps the ultimate ancient paradise garden was the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Flowing water was a key feature, with elaborate machines raising water from the Euphrates river. Fully grown trees with vast root systems were supported by the terraces.
When the Sasanian dynasty (224–651 CE) came to power in Persia, its kings also built paradise gardens. The 147-hectare palace of Khosrow II (590–628 CE) at Qasr-e Shirin was almost entirely set in a paradise garden.
The paradise gardens were rich in symbolic significance. Their division into four parts symbolised imperial power, the cardinal directions and the four elements in Zoroastrian lore: air, earth, water and fire.
The gardens also played a religious role, offering a glimpse of what eternity might look like in the afterlife.
They were also a refuge in the midst of a harsh world and unforgiving environments. Gilgamesh sought solace and immortality in the Garden of the Gods following the death of his friend Enkidu.
The tradition of paradise gardens has continued in Iran to the present day.
Nine paradise gardens in Iran are collectively listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Eram garden, built in about the 12th century CE, and the 19th-century Bagh-e Shahzadeh are among the most splendid.
Today, the word “paradise” evokes a broader range of images and experiences. It can foster many different images of idyllic physical and spiritual settings.
But the magnificent enclosed gardens of the ancient Persian world still inspire us to imagine what paradise on Earth might look and feel like.
New research conducted at Walufeni Cave, an important archaeological site in Papua New Guinea, reveals new evidence of long-distance interactions between Oceania’s Indigenous societies, as far back as 3,200 years ago.
Our new study, published in the journal Australian Archaeology, is the first archaeological research undertaken on the Great Papuan Plateau. The findings continue to undermine the historical Eurocentric idea that early Indigenous societies in this region were static and unchanging.
Instead, we find further evidence for what Monash Professor of Indigenous Archaeology Ian J. McNiven calls the Coral Sea Cultural Interaction Sphere: a dynamic interchange of trade, ideas and movement over a vast region encompassing New Guinea, the Torres Strait, and north-eastern Australia.
Walufeni Cave is an important archaeological site in the Great Papuan Plateau.Bryce Barker
Tracking movement across Sahul
The goal of the Great Papuan Plateau project was to determine whether the plateau may have been an eastern pathway for the movement of early people into north-eastern Australia, at a time when New Guinea and Australia were joined in the continent of Sahul.
The two countries as we know them separated about 8,000 years ago due to sea levels rising after the last glacial period.
Our research in Walufeni Cave, located near Mount Bosavi in New Guinea’s southern highlands province, identified occupation dating back more than 10,000 years. We also found a unique and as yet undated petroglyph rock art style.
Petroglyph rock engraving from Walufeni Cave.Author provided
Our analyses of cave deposits reveals significant changes in how the site was used starting from just over 3,000 years ago. This includes changes to the frequency of occupation, to plant and animal use, as well as the sudden appearance of coastal marine shell.
Specifically, we found 3,200-year-old evidence for the transport of marine shell 200km inland, which has previously been recorded as coming from the southern coast of the Gulf of Papua, and from as far away as Torres Strait.
This suggests the long-distance maritime trade and interaction networks between the societies of coastal southern New Guinea, Torres Strait and northern Australia extended far inland – and much further than previously known.
The significance of marine shells
Archaeologists and ethnographers have widely documented the use of culturally modified marine shells as important items of trade and prestige in New Guinea.
These shells were used as markers of status and prestige, for ritual purposes, as currency and wealth, as tools, and to facilitate long-distance social ties between groups.
Despite the coastal availability of a large variety of shellfish, only a relatively small selection are recorded as being commonly used in New Guinea.
The most prominent of these are dog whelks (Nassaridae), cowrie shells (Cypraeidae), cone shells (Conidae), baler shell (Volutidae), and pearl/kina shell (Pteriidae). Many of these are significant for ritual and symbolic functions across the Indo-Pacific and indeed, globally.
Dog whelks were the predominant species we found in Walufeni Cave, along with olive shells and cowrie shells. These come from very small “sea snails”, or gastropods.
All of the shells we found had been culturally modified, such as to allow stitching onto garments, or threading onto strings.
Gastropod shells continue to be used by today’s plateau societies. They may be sewn onto elaborate ceremonial costumes, or offered in long strings as trade items, or as bridal dowry.
Images of modified marine shell found at Walufeni Cave. A and B are dog whelk, while C is cowrie shell and D is olive shell.Author
Pottery and oral tradition
Further evidence for long-distance voyaging between the southern coast of Papua New Guinea and the Torres Strait and Northern Australia comes in the form of pottery.
Researchers have found Lapita pottery at two archaeological sites on the south coast of New Guinea (Caution Bay and Hopo). These have been dated to 2,900 and 2,600 years ago, respectively.
Lapita pottery is a distinctive feature of Austronesian long-distance voyagers with origins in modern-day Taiwan and the Philippines. Lapita peoples bought the first pottery to New Guinea about 3,300 years ago, providing the template for later localised pottery production.
In a separate finding, Aboriginal pottery dating back to 2,950 years ago was reported from Jiigurru (Lizard Island), off the coast of the Cape York Peninsula. While this pottery isn’t stylistically Lapita, the technology used to make it is.
Similar pottery dating back 2,600 years ago has been reported on the eastern Murray Islands of Torres Strait, and in the Mask Cave on Pulu Island, western Torres Strait. Analysis of the Murray Island pottery indicates the clay was derived from southern Papua New Guinea.
These studies suggest the Lapita peoples’ knowledge of how to make pottery spread to Torres Strait and northern Australia via the interaction sphere.
Furthermore, the cultural hero Sido/Souw, who is present in oral tradition on the Great Papuan Plateau, is also present in oral tradition from the Torres Strait and southern New Guinea. This demonstrates sociocultural connections across a vast area.
Our research builds on the continuing reevaluation of the capabilities of Indigenous societies, which were often characterised by early anthropologists as static and unchanging.
There’s been a lot of buzz online about the August “black moon”, happening later this week.
While you’ve probably heard of a “blue moon” before, this might be the first time you’ve encountered its ominous-sounding counterpart.
You’re not alone. In fact, neither “blue moon” nor “black moon” are astronomical terms. They describe the moments when the lunar calendar and our calendar year fall out of alignment.
So what is a black moon? The current definition has nothing to do with the actual colour of the Moon.
Full moon, half moon, new moon
Let’s start by defining some key lunar terms. The Moon is “full” when its whole face or disc is illuminated by the Sun. We typically get treated to a nice, bright, full moon at night when the Sun and Moon are opposite each other with Earth in-between.
A “new” moon is when none of the Moon’s face is illuminated and the far side is illuminated instead. This happens when the Moon is up during the day, because the “far side” of the Moon is illuminated when the Moon is in-between Earth and the Sun.
Diagram showing how the phases of the Moon are caused by the position of the Moon relative to Earth and the Sun.NASA/JPL-Caltech, CC BY-SA
A lunar cycle – the time it takes for the Moon to go from new, to full, to new again – is approximately 29.5 days long. Most years there are twelve full moons and twelve new moons.
But the 29.5 day cycle doesn’t fit perfectly into a calendar year, so every now and then there are thirteen full or new moons in a calendar year. Seven years out of every nineteen years will have thirteen full or new moons instead of twelve.
Blue moon, black moon
A blue moon is when we get a thirteenth full moon in one calendar year. Conversely, a black moon is when we get a thirteenth new moon in one calendar year.
Because these terms are entirely colloquial, there are a couple of definitions used for these extra moons. One is based on seasons and the other on simple calendar months.
The four seasons of the calendar year are buffered by solstices and equinoxes.Bureau of Meteorology
Seasonal moons
A calendar year has four seasons, divided by equinoxes and solstices (see above).
Each season is roughly three months long and typically has three full moons. Some cultures give each of those seasonal full moons a special name – you’ve likely heard of “wolf moon”, “strawberry moon”, “harvest moon” and others from American folklore, for example.
Every two or three years, however, we get an extra full moon in a season. When that happens, the first, second and fourth full moons keep their usual names while the third one becomes a “blue moon”.
You’d think the idiom “once in a blue moon” comes from this name, but the folklore name is actually relatively recent. In the 16th century, saying the “moon is blue” was more likely a way to refer to something being false or absurd.
Meanwhile, the third new moon in a season with four new moons is a “black moon” – a term than can only be traced to around 2016.
Calendar moons
The other definition for blue and black moons is related to calendar months.
A blue moon is the second of two full moons in one calendar month, while a black moon is the second new moon in a calendar month.
The black moon this month is a seasonal black moon and it’s happening on August 23. The next calendar-month black moon will happen on August 31 2027.
The next seasonal blue moon will be on May 20 2027 and the next calendar-month blue moon will be on May 31 2026.
You can’t see a black moon, but look at the sky anyway
We can’t actually see the black moon. The Moon will be up during the day and the far side of it will be illuminated.
But new moons in general bode well for keen stargazers. The full moon outshines a lot of the night sky, because it’s about 33,000 times brighter than the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. When there’s a new moon, the night sky is nice and dark, giving you more opportunities to see stars and constellations.
During the black moon on August 23 this weekend, the celestial emu or Gugurmin will be beautifully positioned overhead soon after dusk in the southern hemisphere.
If you’re in the southern hemisphere somewhere very dark and free from light pollution, you’ll be able to spot the Magellanic Clouds, two small galaxies that are interacting with our Milky Way galaxy. Saturn will be visible all night, and Venus and Jupiter will be low on the northeastern horizon just before dawn.
Even though the black moon isn’t a significant astronomical event, it gives us the chance to take in the night sky on a dark, Moon-free night.
Astronomers have glimpsed the inner structure of a dying star in a rare kind of cosmic explosion called an “extremely stripped supernova”.
In a paper published today in Nature, Steve Schulze of Northwestern University in the United States and colleagues describe the supernova 2021yfj and a thick shell of gas surrounding it.
Their findings support our existing theories of what happens inside massive stars at the end of their lives – and how they have shaped the building blocks of the universe we see today.
How stars make the elements
Stars are powered by nuclear fusion – a process in which lighter atoms are squished together into heavier ones, releasing energy.
Fusion happens in stages over the star’s life. In a series of cycles, first hydrogen (the lightest element) is fused into helium, followed by the formation of heavier elements such as carbon. The most massive stars continue on to neon, oxygen, silicon and finally iron.
Each burning cycle is faster than the previous one. The hydrogen cycle can last for millions of years, while the silicon cycle is over in a matter of days.
As the core of a massive star keeps burning, the gas outside the core acquires a layered structure, where successive layers record the composition of the progression of burning cycles.
While all this is playing out in the star’s core, the star is also shedding gas from its surface, carried out into space by the stellar wind. Each fusion cycle creates an expanding shell of gas containing a different mix of elements.
Core collapse
What happens to a massive star when its core is full of iron? The great pressure and temperature will make the iron fuse, but unlike the fusion of lighter elements, this process absorbs energy instead of releasing it.
The release of energy from fusion is what has been holding the star up against the force of gravity – so now the iron core will collapse. Depending on how big it is to start with, the collapsed core will become a neutron star or a black hole.
The process of collapse creates a “bounce”, which sends energy and matter flying outwards. This is called a core-collapse supernova explosion.
The explosion lights up the layers of gas shed from the star earlier, allowing us to see what they are made of. In all known supernovae until now, this material was either the hydrogen, the helium or the carbon layer, produced in the first two nuclear burning cycles.
The inner layers (the neon, oxygen and silicon layers) are all produced in a mere few hundred years before the star explodes, which means they don’t have time to travel out far from the star.
An explosive mystery
But that’s what makes the new supernova SN2021yfj so interesting. Schulze and colleagues found the material outside the star came from the silicon layer, the last layer just above the iron core, which forms on a timescale of a few months.
The stellar wind must have expelled all the layers right down to the silicon one before the explosion occurred. Astronomers don’t understand how a stellar wind could be powerful enough to do this.
The most plausible scenario is a second star was involved. If another star were orbiting the one that exploded, its gravity might have rapidly pulled out the deep silicon layer.
Exploding stars made the universe what it is today
Whatever the explanation, this view deep inside the star has confirmed our theories of the cycles of nuclear fusion inside massive stars.
Why is this important? Because stars are where all the elements come from.
Carbon and nitrogen are manufactured primarily by lower mass stars, similar to our own Sun. Some heavy elements such as gold are manufactured in the exotic environments of colliding and merging neutron stars.
However, oxygen and other elements such as neon, magnesium and sulfur mainly come from core-collapse supernovae.
We are what we are because of the inner workings of stars. The constant production of elements in stars causes the universe to change continuously. Stars and planets formed later are very different from those formed in earlier times.
When the universe was younger it had much less in the way of “interesting” elements. Everything worked somewhat differently: stars burned hotter and faster and planets may have formed less, differently, or not at all.
How much supernovae explode and just what they eject into interstellar space is a critical question in figuring out why our Universe and our world are the way they are.
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) today announced the 2025 ARIA Awards in partnership with Spotify will return to Australia’s creative industries capital, Sydney, on Wednesday, 19 November.
Held for the fourth year running at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion, on Gadigal land, the 39th ARIA Awards will celebrate the very best of Australian music on its biggest global stage to date with a new presenting partner and network home.
In an exciting new chapter, the 2025 ARIA Awards will return to 10 and stream live on Paramount+, delivering a powerful celebration of Australian music to audiences across free-to-air and streaming platforms.
With millions of global listeners, custom in-app programming and integrated marketing campaigns, the ARIA Awards will be supercharged thanks to the support of Spotify, delivering maximum local and international visibility for nominees and winners alike. This partnership will transform award momentum into real opportunities for audience growth and music export, with curated playlists, editorial features, and high-impact media ensuring Australian music resonates globally.
In 2024, the ARIA Awards saw incredible homegrown talent claim Australian music’s most sought-after accolades: Sydney duo Royel Otis took home four awards, while international pop star Troye Sivan scooped up three pointy trophies, including Album of the Year, Best Solo Artist and Best Pop Release. Supergroup 3% claimed their first two ARIA Awards for Best Hip Hop / Rap Release and Best Cover Art (Daniel Boyd and Nomad Create) and the iconic Missy Higgins won Best Australian Live Act presented By DNSW and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
ARIA CEO, Annabelle Herd, said: “With so many of our local artists dominating on huge global stages in the past year, we have lots to celebrate – and this year we are taking the ARIA Awards to a whole new level. Spotify’s considerable backing with its powerful platform and proven ability to amplify music worldwide, as well as a new home with Paramount Australia, will be a gamechanger for the ARIAs and all of this year’s nominated artists.”
NSW Minister for Jobs and Tourism, Steve Kamper, said: “I’m delighted to see the ARIA Awards returning to the Hordern Pavilion. Sydney is the nation’s capital for creative industries, so it’s an honour to have one of our most iconic live music venues as the home of the highest accolade in Australian music. The Minns Labor Government has changed the rules around operating hours after dark to bring live music back across NSW and provide a platform for artists, while also supporting venues and businesses that rely on our state’s visitor and night-time economy. I thank ARIA for their advocacy for the music industry and for sharing our values for a thriving live music scene in NSW.”
Daniel Monaghan, SVP Content and Programming, Paramount Australia, said: “The ARIA Awards are an electrifying celebration of Australia’s bold, vibrant and creative music industry, and we can’t wait to share this iconic event loudly across multiple platforms. Showcasing the country’s rich and diverse homegrown talent, viewers won’t miss a minute of Australian music’s night of nights, with the ARIA Awards broadcast on 10, with live streaming on Paramount+.”
Playbill Venues CEO, Michael Nebenzah, said “Playbill Venues is thrilled to once again be hosting the ARIA Awards in the wonderful Hordern Pavilion. There is a perfect synergy holding this iconic music industry event at the Hordern – a venue loved by Australian performers and fans alike. The ARIA Awards is a highlight in the Hordern’s annual calendar.”
The 39th ARIA Awards is proudly supported by Destination NSW, celebrating Australia’s vibrant music industry and showcasing Sydney as a global hub for world-class entertainment and culture.
The ARIA Awards Presents program will return in 2025,providing opportunities for aspiring artists and industry professionals to celebrate Australia’s best established and up-and-coming talent, and facilitating important conversations to shape the future of Australian music. The line up of events for 2025 ARIA Awards Presents will be released at a later date.
The 2025 ARIA Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, 25 September.
Vikings were captivated by silver – our new analysis of their precious loot reveals how far they travelled to get it
In the archaeology galleries of the Yorkshire Museum, an incredible Viking silver neck-ring takes centre stage. The ring is made of four ropes of twisted rods hammer-welded together at each end, its terminals tapering into scrolled S-shaped hooks for fastening behind the neck. Weighing over half a kilo, it makes a less-than-subtle statement about the wealth and status of its Viking owner some 1,100 years ago.
The neck-ring was part of a large silver and gold hoard found in 2012 by metal detectorists Stuart Campbell and Steve Caswell near Bedale in North Yorkshire. As the first precious object out of the ground, it was initially mistaken by Campbell for a discarded power cable.
Six years later, I got the chance to analyse the Bedale hoard, as it is now known, for its isotopes and trace elements. Alongside the neck-ring and a gold Anglo-Saxon sword pommel (probably acquired in England by these Viking raiders), the hoard contained a spectrum of cast-silver artefacts spanning the Viking age: Irish-Scandinavian artefacts from Dublin, rings from southern Scandinavia, and many cigar-shaped bars or ingots that could have been cast anywhere.
As an archaeologist investigating the historical secrets held by jewellery such as this, picking up these heavy objects and turning them over in my hands was a visceral experience. I felt connected with the desires, ambition and sheer force of these invaders from the north who had wreaked havoc on communities in northern England around AD900.
Indeed, the entire Viking age (circa 750-1050) is often described as an “age of silver”. This form of wealth was so desired that its acquisition was a primary driver of the expansion out of Scandinavia that the Vikings are most famed for. To acquire it, they were prepared to risk their own lives – and take those of many others.
The story of the Bedale hoard’s discovery. Video by the Yorkshire Museum.
Tens of thousands of silver objects and coins are known from hoards and settlements across the Scandinavian homelands of Norway, Denmark and Sweden, as well as far overseas – from England to Russia and beyond. The study of this silver’s origins opens a window on the vast web of connections these warrior-traders established – a study invigorated in recent years by scientific techniques drawn from geochemistry.
Now, our analysis of the Bedale hoard and other Viking valuables promises to change the story of when their fellow-Scandinavians began travelling thousands of miles to the east to secure the silver that so captivated them.
The origins of these ‘violent chancers’
The word “Viking” comes from the Old Norse víkingr, meaning someone who participated in a sea raid or military expedition. The seeds of the outburst of piracy and overseas expansion that characterised the Viking age were sown in the 5th and 6th centuries, following the demise of the Roman empire.
While Scandinavia was never actually part of the Roman empire, its fall severed important trade links and led to factional fighting. In addition, volcanic eruptions in the mid-6th century induced prolonged climatic cooling, leading to crop failure and famine. Together, these events fractured Scandinavian society: archaeologists can point to abandoned settlements and cultivation fields as evidence for community displacement and decline.
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There was also a striking absence of silver in the region at this time, despite Scandinavia possessing native silver ores. While Roman silver plate and coin had previously reached Scandinavia and been melted down to make huge, stunning “relief” brooches worn by women, this flow of silver had declined sharply by the 6th century. In the following century, most jewellery was made of copper alloy – silver wasn’t being mined, and in this overwhelmingly agrarian society, precious metal was an unnecessary luxury.
In Scandinavia, where farming was challenging due to short summers and long harsh winters, wealth and power lay in good farming land and cattle – with payments typically made in butter, cloth, horses, sheep, hides and iron. As archaeologist Dagfinn Skre explains:
In an economy in which the supply of necessities was threatened, a man who had his moveable wealth in cows … would survive, but one who had it invested in metal would die. His metal would be close to worthless – for who would exchange their cows, butter or grain for metal in times of famine?
Yet out of this period of domestic struggle, a new and ambitious elite emerged in Scandinavia, particularly around the fjords of Norway and in the central Mälaren valley in Sweden – fertile regions which afforded access to both inland resources and coastal waterways.
Dubbed “violent chancers” by historian Guy Halsall, they seized abandoned land and valuable resources such as tar, furs and iron for weapons. They developed multiple, competing chiefdoms which they defended through a martial culture propped up by lavish consumption, trade and violence.
Archaeologists can point to tangible survivals of this culture: luxury imports such as glass claw beakers, elaborately furnished burials under huge mounds, monumental halls and full-on military kits. These warriors had shields decorated with bird-of-prey figures, crested helmets covered with silver foils, and swords with pommels covered in gold and garnets. They were not to be messed with.
Their success, coupled with these coastal people’s refined tradition of boat-building, enabled them to build and kit out fleets of ships. Surviving examples indicate these were long and narrow, with hulls made of overlapping (clinker) planking and shallow keels suitable for use in creeks, estuaries and beach landings. At first propelled by oar, the later adoption of sails enabled these ships to undertake long sea crossings.
In the late-8th century, Scandinavians began launching violent seaborne attacks on centres of wealth in neighbouring countries – first the coastal towns, monasteries and churches of modern-day Britain, Ireland and France, then later expanding their raids into Germany and Spain, and as far south as the north coast of Morocco. These centres of population provided human capital for the Viking slave trade, while enriching the invaders with portable wealth in the form of liturgical plates and reliquaries (from monasteries), silver coin and other high-status artefacts.
A raid on the north-east England island monastery of Lindisfarne in 793 – the first documented attack in the west – was probably launched from Norway. Its precise targeting suggests the raiders were well-informed about their destination, and no doubt attracted by stories of the riches held there. Writing afterwards, York cleric Alcuin described how the church had been “spattered with the blood of the priests of God, stripped of all its furnishing, exposed to the plundering of pagans”.
Alcuin blamed the attacks on his community’s “fornications, adulteries and incest” which have “poured over the land … even against the handmaids dedicated to God” – that is, nuns. The Vikings had made off not just with church treasure, but had also led away youths “into captivity”.
The capture of slaves was a common tactic. Some, like the boys from Lindisfarne, might have ended their days in Scandinavia or have been sold on at slave markets. But often, they were ransomed back to their communities for cash. After Vikings captured the abbot of St Denis in 858, for example, church treasuries “were drained dry” in order to meet their ransom demands of nearly 700lb of gold and 3,250lb of silver. “But even all this was far from being enough,” lamented the period’s chronicler Prudentius, bishop of Troyes.
The Viking pattern of raiding, looting and slaving is a dominant theme of 9th-century annals from Ireland, England and the Carolingian continent (spanning much of modern-day western Europe). In 842, Vikings made a surprise early-morning attack on the trading port of Quentovic in modern-day France. “They plundered it and laid waste,” recorded Prudentius, leaving “nothing in it except those buildings which they had been paid to spare”.
Accounts such as these record massive sums of silver extracted by the Vikings or offered as protection money. The extent of Viking accumulation of silver is staggering: the annals suggest that over the 9th century, the total loot in Viking hands amounted to 30,000lb of silver – or 7 million Carolingian pennies.
This stock is likely to have provided a stimulus to the economic development of nascent towns such as York and Lincoln in Scandinavian-settled areas of England, which are thought to have been more economically buoyant than their counterparts in “English” England.
Why did the Vikings come to value silver so highly? While the ownership of land and livestock was determined by strict laws of inheritance, silver could be obtained independently and with little resource investment, bypassing these normal routes of advancement. In this sense, silver embodied a new kind of dynamism coinciding with a different mode of behaviour.
These “nouveau rich” Vikings could not necessarily buy land with silver, but it gave them status – enabling people without inherited assets to acquire, and pass on, wealth. While the division of farmland and cattle upon marriage or death could be tricky, silver was ideally suited to such payments.
To these new generations of Scandinavians, silver became a standard of value that could guarantee investments, settle disputes and underwrite inheritance claims. It could be used to cement relationships – acting, as archaeologist Soren Sindbaek puts it, as a “virtual social glue”.
Silver analysis leads to a staggering result
But as well as value, silver stores information in its chemical composition that can reveal where it came from – something I have investigated as head of a research team over the last five years. We have analysed hundreds of silver Viking-age objects including from the Bedale hoard, with its rich mixture of rings and ingots cast by Scandinavians.
To make the hoard’s massive twisted silver neck-ring, for example, Viking metalcasters would have melted down numerous silver coins or small pieces of deliberately cut “hacksilver”. Once melted, the silver was cast into ingots, then gently hammered into long rods which were heated and twisted together to form the neck-ring.
However, this process masked the original sources of that silver. The only way to tell where it came from would require techniques from geochemistry – so I took the objects to the British Geological Survey’s laboratory in the suburbs of Nottingham, where isotope scientist Jane Evans drilled tiny samples from each silver object to measure them for lead isotopes.
Just like the isotopes (of oxygen, strontium and sulphur) that are laid down in bone and teeth – from which we can trace people’s childhood origins – isotopes of lead can be used to trace silver back to its source. Most silver ores contain trace amounts of lead, the four stable isotopes of which vary according to the ore’s geological age and composition. These lead isotopes give each ore a “fingerprint”, which carries over into silver coins and other artefacts made from it.
Given the location of the Bedale hoard in North Yorkshire, I was confident that much of the silver would have come from local Anglo-Saxon and also Carolingian sources in mainland western Europe. In England, the Vikings started to settle from around 865. How they did so – whether by seizing land, purchasing it, or settling previously uninhabited areas – isn’t entirely clear, but the loot seized during their raids must have helped the process.
Plotting the ratios of the lead isotopes in the Bedale hoard for the first time, many of the results were as expected: several silver objects matched the ratios of Anglo-Saxon and Carolingian coinage, and other objects had been refined to raise their silver content prior to casting, using local lead in the process of cupellation.
Geochemical analysis of Bedale hoard items
Charts comparing lead isotope ratios of items in the Bedale hoard ((black crosses)) with possible sources of these silver elements. The nine ingots plot closely with Islamic sources of silver (in blue).Jane Kershaw, CC BY-NC-SA
But while many of the artefacts in the Bedale hoard yielded predictable results, a group of nine ingots stood out. Rather than matching western silver sources or local lead, they had the same isotope ratios as the Islamic currency of dirhams.
Dirhams minted between AD750 and 900 by the Umayyads and Abbasids, in what is today Iran and Iraq, were a particularly close match. Two of these ingots were marked with a cross, although whether this carried Christian meaning or was simply a way of marking out ownership is unclear. Either way, these massive ingots must have been cast in Scandinavia from Islamic silver dirhams and brought over to England in Viking hands, before being buried in North Yorkshire.
This result is staggering. The names of villages around Bedale like Snape and Newton-le-Willows sound very far from Mesopotamia – yet the Bedale hoard contained a substantial component of silver minted in Baghdad, Tehran and Isfahan.
These results have made us question the timing of the Viking age’s eastern expansion. While Islamic dirhams are plentiful in Scandinavia, they predominantly date to the 10th century. However, our analysis suggests that dirhams were already arriving in Scandinavia in the 9th century in much larger quantities than previously thought – with many being melted down as a raw material for casting.
To understand how this happened, we need to meet the Scandinavians who looked east rather than west in search of silver and other riches.
Who were the Scandinavians who went east?
While the Viking raids on western Europe are best-known thanks to the many surviving written accounts, some of their fellow-Scandinavians – largely drawn from modern-day Sweden – headed east, establishing riverine, trade-based settlements in what is now Russia and Ukraine.
The route led across the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland into northern Russia, transporting furs and slaves from northern Europe to the markets of the Islamic Caliphate. Finds of dirhams in Scandinavia represent the profit from this trade and show that it, too, had silver at its heart.
Over time, these Scandinavians adapted to life on the eastern waterways, adopting some cultural practices from local people such as the nomadic Khazars. The 10th-century diplomat, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, gave a frank description of this new community of traders – known as Rus rather than Vikings – who he met on the River Volga in northern Russia:
They are the filthiest of God’s creatures. They do not clean themselves after urinating or defecating, nor do they wash themselves after having sex …They are like wandering asses.
In 921, Ibn Fadlan had been sent by the Abbasid caliph, al-Muqtadir, as part of an embassy to the king of the Volga Bulgars, located near the modern town of Kazan in Tartastan, Russia. His travelogue-style account, or risāla, of that journey has become famous for the many eyewitness accounts of people he met along the way – including the Rus from northern Europe, whom he met as they traded with merchants from the Islamic empire at the market of Bulgar on the River Volga, roughly midway between Scandinavia and Baghdad.
The Rus people’s long and difficult journey from Scandinavia would have taken several months, involving multiple rivers and portages – when their boats had to be dragged across land. They traversed boreal forest and the Eurasia steppe, which was populated by various nomadic tribes. In this landscape, the only option was to travel by river – or, in winter, to use the river as an ice highway, substituting boats for sledges. But for the Rus, travelling this perilous eastern route, the Austrvegr, was worth the risk.
Painting of trade negotiations between Rus traders and Eastern Slav locals in the 10th century, by Russian artist Sergey Ivanov (1909).Wikimedia Commons
According to Ibn Fadlan, the Rus acted as middlemen, acquiring furs and slaves from hunter societies in forested areas and organising their shipment down river via trading posts that later developed into permanent settlements. The goods were sent to major markets such as Itil (on the Caspian Sea) and Bulgar, where they would be purchased by merchants from the caliphate.
What the Rus wanted in return for slaves and furs was dirhams: the fine silver coins, weighing roughly 3g each, which made up the currency of the Islamic Caliphate. The early 10th-century writer, Ahmad ibn Rustah, explained how the Rus “earn their living by trading in sable, grey squirrel and other furs. They sell them for silver coins which they set in belts and wear around their waist.”
Ibn Fadlan’s highly detailed travelogue explains that once a trader amassed 10,000 dirhams, he melted them down to create a neck-ring for his wife. After 20,000 dirhams, he made two. This was no doubt an exaggeration – such a neck-ring would weigh 65lb of silver – but the notion that a smallish group of traders acquired tens of thousands of silver dirhams is supported by archaeology.
For these Rus “traders”, just as important as the fur trade was the trade in enslaved people, who seem mainly to have been captured from the Slavic lands and what is now northern Russia, rather than western Europe. Scholars sometimes describe the Austrvegr as a trading route, but human trafficking can hardly be described as “trade” in the mercantile way that we understand it today. It was based on coercion and violence – the terrorising nature of Viking activity in the west was replicated in the east.
The Rus “treat their slaves well and dress them suitably”, Ibn Rusta wrote, “because for them they are an article of trade”. Yet it’s also clear that female slaves were exploited for sex. These reports underscore the grim reality of the Rus “trade” – that their insatiable quest for silver entailed human suffering.
Astonishingly, some 400,000 dirhams survive in Scandinavia and the Baltic, making the dirham the most common archaeological find type for the Viking age. However, most of these coins date to the first half of the 10th century.
Yet according to our analysis of the Bedale hoard, rather than the Viking age “starting” in the west, the eastern and western expansions may have happened in parallel from the end of the 8th century – with the wealth of the east a prime motivator of the Viking movement out of Scandinavia.
Today, in some of the place-names near Bedale in North Yorkshire, we see evidence of Scandinavian settlement: Aiskew is Old Norse for “Oak Wood”, and Firby means “Frith’s village”. But now we also have evidence of a connection between the Bedale hoard and Rus traders bringing silver back to Scandinavia from their exploits in the east – up to a century earlier than had been thought.
Laser analysis brings new discoveries
In our analysis of the Bedale hoard, lead isotopes alone weren’t enough to draw definitive conclusions. We needed additional data to confirm the Islamic origin of the nine ingots.
Not only do lead isotopes differ between source ores – so do trace elements. Gold and bismuth levels are especially helpful in evaluating the origin of silver, because, unlike other elements, they do not change when silver is melted down.
After digesting the results of the lead isotopes, I returned to the suburbs of Nottingham. With Simon Chenery, we put the Bedale hoard objects under an excimer laser (a type of ultraviolet laser), ablating tiny amounts of silver in order to record the levels of trace elements. This time, thrillingly, the results came through in real time.
They showed, for the Islamic-looking ingots, the telltale pattern of low gold that is characteristic of Abbasid silver. Abbasid dirhams of this date typically have gold levels below 0.4%, reflecting the low-gold character of nearby silver mines in the Taurus mountains, whereas gold levels in coins from western Europe are higher – around 1% in the late 9th century.
We discovered, too, that other artefacts were probably made from a mix of both western and eastern silver sources. This was true of the massive silver neck-ring as well as a smaller neck-ring from the hoard. Indeed, these two items appear to have been made from the same silver stock, suggesting that they travelled from their source to Bedale together.
While both could have been made in Scandinavia, the contribution of western silver raises the possibility that they were produced locally in Yorkshire, by metal casters with access to both distant, Islamic dirhams and local, Anglo-Saxon silver.
Our analysis shows the Islamic contribution to the Bedale hoard is more significant than we would have expected for a Viking hoard from England. In all, the nine ingots weigh 715g, equivalent to around 240 dirhams. And taking into account the Islamic contribution to the “mixed” silver artefacts, Islamic silver comprises around a third of the total weight of silver from the hoard (weighing around 3,700g).
Clearly, the Vikings were not only extracting silver from areas they raided and conquered, they were also bringing it in via their long-distance trade networks in the east. This result reveals the unexpected connectedness of the Vikings’ eastern and western expansions. Far from being separate phenomena, the profits of one directly fed into the activities of the other. Gains made from the Austrvegr may have enabled a group of Scandinavians to launch raids to the west and acquire further wealth and land.
In the west, these raids lasted for around 70 years from the late 8th century, spanning two or three generations. But eventually, the Vikings decided to settle. In northern England, where Bedale is located, they proceeded “to plough and to support themselves”, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for 876 AD. Finds of female Scandinavian dress items from England suggest that whole families, not just retired warriors, settled there.
Many questions remain about the nature of this settlement – including whether the raiders-turned-settlers lived separately from or with the native Anglo-Saxon population, and how the settlement process was brokered. But the former Vikings and their families appear to have integrated relatively quickly, adopting Christian forms of burial, developing craft industries in towns, and embracing coinage as a means of exchange. Among the settled Scandinavian population, the violence ceased.
Silver remained an important medium for displaying values and even identities. From around 900, new Anglo-Scandinavian rulers minted their own coinage – sometimes preserving traditional features familiar to Anglo-Saxons, but also adding new aspects that proclaimed a Scandinavian background. Coins minted by the new rulers of York, a focus of Scandinavian settlement in northern England, could have a Christian cross on one side and a Thor’s hammer – an overt pagan symbol – on the other.
These Anglo-Scandinavian coins were in use across Scandinavian-settled regions of England and are testimony to the continued importance of silver to the Viking economy – now channelled into a form that was more regulated and acceptable to the local Anglo-Saxon community. Geochemical analysis of the silver in these coins also reveals glimpses of this process of assimilation. Our investigation of a handful of examples, using the same techniques of lead isotope and trace element analysis, suggests they were made mainly with Anglo-Saxon silver – but again with a modest contribution from Islamic dirhams.
The end of the eastern adventure
The geochemical analysis of silver helps reveal the reasons for the extraordinary expansion of the Vikings and their fellow Scandinavians – including pointing to the wealth gained in eastern markets as a major (and hitherto neglected) “pull” factor. To a greater degree than has traditionally been acknowledged, eastern silver travelled across the Scandinavian world of the Viking age.
The huge number of Samanid dirhams found in Scandinavia point to the 930s-940s as the most fruitful decades for the Scandinavian travellers’ trade with the east. The Rus’s slave and fur trade continued until around 950 – and silver analysis again helps to explain why it came to a fairly sudden end. Analysis of the silver content of dirhams shows their fineness declined sharply from the 940s and 950s – a reflection, no doubt, of the drying up of silver mines in Central Asia.
It did not take long for Vikings to seek out silver sources closer to home. They turned to coins from the area of modern-day Germany, struck with silver from the newly-exploited Harz mountains, which they obtained mainly through trade. The decline in the silver content of dirhams thus led to a major reconfiguration of Scandinavian trade routes.
From this point on, long-distance trade with the east declined significantly. The Vikings instead turned again to the west, establishing trade links with England and Germany. In the late 10th century, increasingly powerful Scandinavian kings also launched new seaborne raids, exploiting the weakness of English kings such as Æthelred II “the Unready” (978–1016) and initiating what has become known as the “second Viking age” in England.
These raids, launched from around 980, were bigger, more centrally organised, and successful. The Vikings obtained significant quantities of “Danegeld”: protection payments made in coin. Ultimately, in 1016, the Danish king Cnut established himself on the English throne. The nature of the relationship between England and Scandinavia during this period is also being explored through silver, in a project on coinage from the recently-discovered Lenborough hoard.
If the pattern identified for the Bedale hoard plays out across other Viking hoards, it will prompt a major re-evaluation of the movements of the earliest Scandinavian warrior-traders. As part of the same project, we have been analysing Viking silver hoards of a similar 9th-century date from Sweden and Denmark, the Carolingian continent, southern Scotland and the west coast of England. Preliminary results suggest a regional pattern, but with Islamic silver appearing to be dominant in many cases.
What’s clear is that in the 9th century, the Vikings were already awash in Islamic silver. Meanwhile, more undiscovered treasures like that found in Bedale lie quietly underground, waiting to reveal their secrets.
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Astronomers are living in a golden age of bigger and better telescopes. But even our most advanced technology pales in comparison to the power of nature’s own “cosmic magnifying glasses” – strong gravitational lenses.
With these lenses, we can look deep into the universe, and catch glimpses into the most puzzling of contemporary cosmic mysteries: dark matter and dark energy.
So, what are gravitational lenses and how do they work?
A spectacular demonstration of gravity
Gravitational lenses are the most visually spectacular demonstration of Albert Einstein’s theories of gravity.
According to Einstein, mass bends and warps the very fabric of space, in much the same way that a heavy bowling bowl placed on a mattress will bend the mattress beneath it.
Everything with mass (you, me, a leaf, an atom) bends space-time in this way.
But it’s only when an object is really massive – such as entire galaxies and clusters of galaxies – that this effect becomes so apparent. As light travels from distant objects and passes these massive galaxies, the warped space-time around them bends and focuses this light, magnifying it for us to see.
In this diagram, a cluster of many galaxies distorts the light-rays from another galaxy behind it. When viewed from Earth, we see the background galaxy as a warped and highly magnified arc around the foreground cluster.NASA, ESA & L. Calçada, CC BY
We’re not always in the right place to see this effect. Just like how you need to align a magnifying glass in front of your eye, we only observe the gravitational lensing effect when there is a chance alignment of the background object, the foreground lens, and us.
On the rare occasions when this happens, through our telescopes we see multiple, distorted but magnified versions of an object that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to see because it’s too faint.
The Hubble Space Telescope captures a striking gravitational lens called GAL-CLUS-022058s. Here, a cluster of galaxies is warping a background galaxy, giving us a close-up view of how this galaxy looked 9 billion years ago.ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Jha Acknowledgement: L. Shatz, CC BY
Revealing the invisible
Even Einstein couldn’t have predicted how important gravitational lenses would become to modern astronomy. In fact, he believed them impossible to observe at all.
This was because Einstein was thinking about gravitational lensing around individual stars, not galaxies. It wasn’t until decades later that astronomers came to realise just how massive galaxies are, and just how full of them our universe is.
Impressively, gravitational lenses can also reveal details about things we can’t see at all.
Theories predict about 85% of the matter that makes up the universe is invisible stuff called dark matter. The way a gravitational lens bends and warps light allows us to measure how much matter is in galaxies – not just the regular matter we can see, but dark matter as well.
Gravitational lenses can also help us map galaxy clusters across the universe, helping us to understand its shape. Is our universe perfectly flat like a sheet of paper? Or does it have curvature to it like a sphere, or flare outwards like a horse saddle?
Gravitational lenses typically make the background objects ten to 100 times brighter than they would be otherwise. This effect provides a high-definition view of the distant universe.
The James Webb Space Telescope has been taking advantage of this magnification boost to get a glimpse into what the universe was like in its infancy more than 13 billion years ago, shortly (300 million years) after the Big Bang.
Looking far into the past helps us piece together how our own celestial home, the Milky Way galaxy, formed and how it might change in the future.
The catch to all this is gravitational lenses are rare – akin to a needle in a cosmic-scale haystack. To find them, we need high quality images of large swaths of the night sky.
Euclid, which launched in 2023 and released its first batch of data earlier this year, will image a monumental one-third of the entire sky, with a clarity that only comes from being in space.
Conversely, the Vera Rubin Observatory will be working from the ground, but will image the entire southern hemisphere sky. It will create the most detailed time-lapsed view of the cosmos ever seen.
Over their lifetimes Euclid and the Vera Rubin Observatory are predicted to unveil 100,000 new gravitational lenses, 100 times more than we currently know.
One of the first images released by the James Webb Space Telescope, this cluster (called SMACS J0723.3−7327) is lensing many distant galaxies behind it.NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI
How do we find these 100,000 gravitational lenses among the billions of galaxies observed by these telescopes? It is not feasible for scientists to wade through that many images alone.
Instead, Euclid is relying on citizen scientists to help train AI models to know what to look for. By having people each look through a few images and classifying whether they are gravitational lenses or not, AI models can learn from these examples and can then search the entire dataset (if you want to get involved, check out their website).
From individual lenses providing unique new insights into distant galaxies, to studying the effect over large statistical samples to understand the very nature of the universe, gravitational lenses do it all. They are the Swiss Army knife in an astronomer’s toolkit, and we’re about to be spoilt for choice.
It was also revealed that executives at parent company Nestle and French government ministers tried to keep it all quiet. They allegedly covered up reports of contamination and changed the rules to allow micro-filtration.
Under EU law, for a brand to market their products as “natural mineral water” it has to remain unaltered. French mineral water companies are now awaiting a ruling on what level of filtration is considered illegal “treatment”. The result could mean that, after 160 years, Perrier will no longer be able to be call its product “natural mineral water”.
Strikingly, the same issue was debated extensively by scientists during the 18th-century European spring water boom. These men considered the effects of human intervention on the product and what was lost in the process.
A spa boom
In the 17th and 18th centuries, medical interest, in addition to factors like travel for leisure, resulted in the proliferation of new spa towns across Europe.
In England, Buxton and Tunbridge Wells developed in the 1620s and 1660s respectively, while Harrogate, Cheltenham and Leamington came in the 1710s, 1750s and 1790s. Historical survey’s place the number of spas and wells offering healing mineral waters at around 350 in the 18th-century heyday.
Spas like Bath, Buxton and the Bristol Hotwell were thermal, offering hot bathing. However, other spa sources in England were not heated. This meant that those who wished to bathe had to do so in the cold, which was both undesirable, and at that time, considered dangerous. This was due to fears that the English cold climate, when combined with bodily exposure to cold water, could disrupt bodily rhythms an cause illness.
Public Bathing at Bath, or Stewing Alive, by Isaac Cruikshank, 1825.Wikimedia
As a result, many of the cold spas focused on offering health benefits through drinking their waters. When hailing the qualities of the newly discovered waters at Scarborough in 1660, Yorkshire doctor Robert Wittie declared they had “gained such credit” that people: “Come above an hundred miles to drink of it, preferring it to all other medicinal waters they had formerly frequented.”
He later described the health benefits he gained from drinking them:
I had lost two pound and a half of my weight… I found after it better agility of body, and alacrity of spirit then before.
In 1654, the doctor Edmund Deane had similarly described the effects of the waters of Knaresborough: “Those waters at the Spaw doe presently heal, and (as it were) miraculously cure diseases, which are without all hope of recovery.”
Testing the waters
As the number of spas grew, so did the options for consumers. As a result, the 18th century saw increasing attention and experimentation on mineral waters by scientists. Rather than questioning the health benefits, they instead compared waters to one another, experimenting on them to determine processes that produced and changed healing properties.
For example, British doctor George Turner, who translated and expanded upon a German work about the spa of Bad Pyrmont, in 1733. His work discussed experiments on the waters of the spa and the minerals that could be determined within. It noted that if left standing, the carbonated water lost its potency: “Whence it is, that so spiritous a liquid does so easily turn to a flat insipid water.”
He also suggested that boiling caused mineral waters to lose some invisible element important to its proper function. “Why so many globules of air arise out of mineral waters when it is warmed?” he asked, only to conclude that when “spirits fly out of any liquid” they go “incognito without any tumult”. As they “flew”, so too did whatever gave these waters healing properties, making chemical recreation in a lab impossible.
Historians of science have suggested that works like this foregrounded the concept of “gas”, which came more conclusively later in the century.
During experiments on the Scarborough waters, doctor Peter Shaw and natural scientist Stephen Hales each sought to determine the nature of the “subtle sulphurous spirit” in which they felt the “principal virtue of the Chalybeate (flavoured with iron) Waters resided”.
Similar experiments also involved extensive filtering, with physician John Nott in 1793 adding solutions to the waters of Italy’s Pisa and France’s Verdun before filtering them and performing further tests on “what remains in the filter”.
Scottish physician, Thomas Short, had concluded previously that filtering waters was both an important natural process. He described “the several strange alterations that water undergoes, by being strained through different strata of minerals”. But also that the body inherently filtered “raw” mineral waters through its skin when bathing, allowing only those smaller minerals in to provide the health effect, he claimed.
These scientists used their burgeoning chemical understanding to conclude that processes performed on waters fundamentally changed them, going from “spiritous” cures to “flat insipid water”. Even lacking the full knowledge or vocabulary to express why, they felt their processes and tools were incapable of recreating the waters of nature.
Legacies of these ideas can be seen in our changing attitudes to food and drink. Modern branding and consumer value is placed on a lack of processing. We are increasingly concerned with capturing and consuming the natural as it is, before human intervention has muddied it.
In so doing, we continue the ideas of those concerned with mineral waters all that time ago. By filtering their waters, no matter how little Perrier claim it affected them, we feel as though some spirit of the natural has perhaps been lost.
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John Rivers, John Bailey, David Middleton, Leroy Major and Buck Godfrey – all teammates from the 1955 Cannon Street YMCA Little League All-Star team – left Charleston, South Carolina, on a bus on Aug. 18, 2025.
After a stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, for a couple days – where their story is included in an exhibit on Black baseball that opened in 2024 – they’ll head to Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
There, they’ll be recognized before the Little League World Series championship game on August 24, 2025 – 70 years after the players, then 11 and 12 years old, watched the championship game from the bleachers, wondering why they weren’t on the field living out their own dreams instead of watching other boys live out theirs.
When the Cannon Street team registered for a baseball tournament in Charleston in July 1955, it put the team and the forces of integration on a collision course with segregation, bigotry and the Southern way of life.
White teams refused to take the field with the Cannon Street team, who represented the first Black Little League in South Carolina. The team won two tournaments by forfeit. They were supposed to then go to a regional tournament in Rome, Georgia, where, if they won, they’d advance to the Little League World Series.
But Little League officials ruled the team ineligible for the regional tournament because it had advanced by winning on forfeit and not on the field, as the rules stipulated.
A 4-team Black league is born
The Civil Rights Movement is often told in terms of court decisions, bus boycotts and racist demagogues. It’s rarely told from the point of view of children, who suffered in ways that left physical and emotional scars.
The team’s story begins in 1953. Robert Morrison, president of the Cannon Street YMCA, petitioned Little League Baseball to create a league for Black teams, and Little League Baseball granted the charter. Dozens of Black 11- and 12-year-old boys were selected for the four-team league before the 1954 season.
Little League Baseball barred first-year leagues from the postseason tournaments. At some point during the 1955 season, the best players were selected for the league’s All-Star team. Cannon Street YMCA officials then registered the team for the Charleston city tournament, which included all-star teams from the city’s all-white leagues.
Little League Baseball officially prohibited racial discrimination. But in South Carolina, racial discrimination was still legal.
Dixie fights back
The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled a year earlier that segregation in schools was unconstitutional in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, paving the way for racial integration.
Few states resisted integration as fiercely as South Carolina, and no politician fought harder against racial equality than the state’s junior U.S. senator, Strom Thurmond.
So when the Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars registered for Charleston’s citywide tournament in July 1955, all the white teams withdrew. The Cannon Street team won by forfeit and advanced to the state tournament.
Danny Jones, the state’s director of Little League Baseball, petitioned the organization to create a segregated state tournament. Little League Baseball’s president, Peter McGovern, denied Jones’ request. He said that any team that refused to play the Cannon Street team would be banned from the organization.
Thurmond let it be known to Jones that an integrated tournament could not be permitted. In the end, Jones urged all the white teams to withdraw from the state tournament. He then resigned from Little League Baseball, created the Little Boys League and wrote the league’s charter, which prohibited Black players.
The official logo for Dixie Youth Baseball, which was originally established as an all-white league.Dixie Youth Baseball
The Little Boys League – which was rebranded as Dixie Youth Baseball – soon replaced Little League in other Southern states; within six years, there were 390 such leagues spanning most of the former Confederacy. It would be decades before Little League Baseball returned to South Carolina.
Having won the South Carolina tournament by forfeit, the Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars prepared for the regional tournament in Rome, Georgia, where the state’s governor, Marvin Griffin, objected to integration. If youth baseball could be integrated, so, too, could schools, swimming pools and municipal parks, he said.
Let them play!
Little League rules said that teams could advance only by playing and winning, so the Cannon Street’s state championship was ruled invalid because it had come by forfeit.
Most white-owned newspapers, whether in the South or North, had long stayed silent on the topic of racial discrimination. But the story of the Cannon Street All-Stars broke through. Editors and reporters may have wanted to avoid the topic of racism, but boys being denied the opportunity to play in a baseball tournament was too objectionable to ignore.
On July 31, 1955, New York Daily News columnist Dick Young asked Brooklyn Dodgers star Jackie Robinson, who had broken Major League Baseball’s color barrier eight years earlier, about the white teams that had quit the tournament rather than play against a Black team.
“How stupid can they be?” Robinson said. “I had to laugh when I read the story.”
Perhaps pressured by criticism, McGovern, Little League’s president, invited the team to be Little League’s guests for the championship game. So the team boarded a bus for Williamsport. They arrived the night before the championship game, which pitted Morrisville, Pennsylvania, against Delaware Township, New Jersey, an integrated team.
The Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars and their coaches were introduced before the game, and the players recall hearing a loud voice from the bleachers.
“Let them play!” it boomed.
Others in the crowd joined in, the players said.
“Let them play! Let them play!”
John Rivers, who played second base for the team, told me he can still “hear it now.”
After their brief moment on the field, the Cannon Street All-Stars returned to their seats and watched other boys live out their dreams. A photograph of the team in the stands reveals the disappointment on their faces.
On the following day – Aug. 28, 1955 – the team boarded its bus to return to Charleston. It was the same date that Emmett Till, not much older than the players on the team, was brutally murdered in Money, Mississippi, for reportedly whistling at a white woman.
The boys and girls who play in the 2025 tournament will forever remember the experience. The surviving members of the Cannon Street All-Stars, who are all in their early 80s, never forgot what they were denied.
Rivers, who went on to become a successful architect, says this is the moral of their story.
“It’s a tragedy to take dreams away from a youngster,” Rivers told The Washington Post in 2022. “I knew it then. I know it now, and I’ve seen to it that no one takes dreams away from me again.”
America has never fully reckoned with slavery or the decades of segregation, Rivers recently told me. “It just decided to move on from that ugly period in its history without any kind of therapy,” he said. “And now they are trying to sweep it all under the rug again.”
Portions of this article first appeared in an article published on Aug. 19, 2016.
With current advice to stay at home and self-isolate, when you come in out of the garden, have had your fill of watching movies and want to explore something new, there's a whole world of books you can download, films you can watch and art galleries you can stroll through - all from at home and via the internet. This week a few suggestions of some of the resources available for you to explore and enjoy. For those who have a passion for Art - this month's Artist of the Month is the Online Australian Art Galleries and State Libraries where you can see great works of art from all over the world and here - both older works and contemporary works.
Also remember the Project Gutenberg Australia - link here- has heaps of great books, not just focused on Australian subjects but fiction works by popular authors as well. Well worth a look at.
Short Stories for Teenagers you can read for free online
Storystar is a totally FREE short stories site featuring some of the best short stories online, written by/for kids, teens, and adults of all ages around the world, where short story writers are the stars, and everyone is free to shine! Storystar is dedicated to providing a free place where everyone can share their stories. Stories can entertain us, enlighten us, and change us. Our lives are full of stories; stories of joy and sorrow, triumph and tragedy, success and failure. The stories of our lives matter. Share them. Sharing stories with each other can bring us closer together and help us get to know one another better. Please invite your friends and family to visit Storystar to read, rate and share all the short stories that have been published here, and to tell their stories too.
StoryStar headquarters are located on the central Oregon coast.
NFSA - National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
The doors may be temporarily closed but when it comes to the NFSA, we are always open online. We have content for Kids, Animal Lovers, Music fans, Film buffs & lots more.
You can explore what’s available online at the NFSA, see more in the link below.
The National Library of Australia provides access to thousands of ebooks through its website, catalogue and eResources service. These include our own publications and digitised historical books from our collections as well as subscriptions to collections such as Chinese eResources, Early English Books Online and Ebsco ebooks.
What are ebooks?
Ebooks are books published in an electronic format. They can be read by using a personal computer or an ebook reader.
This guide will help you find and view different types of ebooks in the National Library collections.
Peruse the NLA's online ebooks, ready to download - HERE
The Internet Archive and Digital Library
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge." It provides free public access to collections of digitised materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, movies, videos, moving images, and millions of public-domain books. There's lots of Australian materials amongst the millions of works on offer.
Due to popular demand our meditation evenings have EXPANDED. Two sessions will now be run every Wednesday evening at the Hub. Both sessions will be facilitated by Merryn at Soul Safaris.
6-7pm - 12 - 15 year olds welcome
7-8pm - 16 - 25 year olds welcome
No experience needed. Learn and develop your mindfulness and practice meditation in a group setting.
It has been estimated that we will have more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050...These beach cleans are aimed at reducing the vast amounts of plastic from entering our oceans before they harm marine life.
Anyone and everyone is welcome! If you would like to come along, please bring a bucket, gloves and hat. Kids of all ages are also welcome!
We will meet in front of the surf club.
Hope to see you there!
The Green Team is a Youth-run, volunteer-based environment initiative from Avalon, Sydney. Keeping our area green and clean.
The Project Gutenberg Library of Australiana
Australian writers, works about Australia and works which may be of interest to Australians.This Australiana page boasts many ebooks by Australian writers, or books about Australia. There is a diverse range; from the journals of the land and sea explorers; to the early accounts of white settlement in Australia; to the fiction of 'Banjo' Paterson, Henry Lawson and many other Australian writers.
The list of titles form part of the huge collection of ebooks freely downloadable from Project Gutenberg Australia. Follow the links to read more about the authors and titles and to read and/or download the ebooks.
Ingleside Riders Group Inc. (IRG) is a not for profit incorporated association and is run solely by volunteers. It was formed in 2003 and provides a facility known as “Ingleside Equestrian Park” which is approximately 9 acres of land between Wattle St and McLean St, Ingleside. IRG has a licence agreement with the Minister of Education to use this land. This facility is very valuable as it is the only designated area solely for equestrian use in the Pittwater District. IRG promotes equal rights and the respect of one another and our list of rules that all members must sign reflect this.
Cyberbullying
Research shows that one in five Australian children aged 8 to 17 has been the target of cyberbullying in the past year. The Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner can help you make a complaint, find someone to talk to and provide advice and strategies for dealing with these issues.
Make a Complaint
The Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act 2015 gives the power to provide assistance in relation to serious cyberbullying material. That is, material that is directed at a particular child with the intention to seriously embarrass, harass, threaten or humiliate.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Before you make a complaint you need to have:
copies of the cyberbullying material to upload (eg screenshots or photos)
reported the material to the social media service (if possible) at least 48 hours ago
at hand as much information as possible about where the material is located
The Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner is Australia's leader in online safety. The Office is committed to helping young people have safe, positive experiences online and encouraging behavioural change, where a generation of Australian children act responsibly online—just as they would offline.
We provide online safety education for Australian children and young people, a complaints service for young Australians who experience serious cyberbullying, and address illegal online content through the Online Content Scheme.
Our goal is to empower all Australians to explore the online world—safely.
This Youth-run, volunteer-based environment initiative has been attracting high praise from the founders of Living Ocean as much as other local environment groups recently.
Pittwater Online News is not only For and About you, it is also BY you.
We will not publish swearing or the gossip about others. BUT: If you have a poem, story or something you want to see addressed, let us know or send to: pittwateronlinenews@live.com.au
All Are Welcome, All Belong!
Youth Source: Northern Sydney Region
A directory of services and resources relevant to young people and those who work, play and live alongside them.
The YouthSource directory has listings from the following types of service providers: Aboriginal, Accommodation, Alcohol & Other Drugs, Community Service, Counselling, Disability, Education & Training, Emergency Information, Employment, Financial, Gambling, General Health & Wellbeing, Government Agency, Hospital & GP, Legal & Justice, Library, Mental Health, Multicultural, Nutrition & Eating Disorders, Parenting, Relationships, Sexual Health, University, Youth Centre
Driver Knowledge Test (DKT) Practice run Online
Did you know you can do a practice run of the DKT online on the RMS site? - check out the base of this page, and the rest on the webpage, it's loaded with information for you!
The DKT Practice test is designed to help you become familiar with the test, and decide if you’re ready to attempt the test for real. Experienced drivers can also take the practice test to check their knowledge of the road rules. Unlike the real test, the practice DKT allows you to finish all 45 questions, regardless of how many you get wrong. At the end of the practice test, you’ll be advised whether you passed or failed.
Fined Out: Practical guide for people having problems with fines
Legal Aid NSW has just published an updated version of its 'Fined Out' booklet, produced in collaboration with Inner City Legal Centre and Redfern Legal Centre.
Fined Out is a practical guide to the NSW fines system. It provides information about how to deal with fines and contact information for services that can help people with their fines.
A fine is a financial penalty for breaking the law. The Fines Act 1996 (NSW) and Regulations sets out the rules about fines.
The 5th edition of 'Fined Out' includes information on the different types of fines and chapters on the various options to deal with fines at different stages of the fine lifecycle, including court options and pathways to seek a review, a 50% reduction, a write-off, plan, or a Work and Development Order (WDO).
The resource features links to self-help legal tools for people with NSW fines, traffic offence fines and court attendance notices (CANs) and also explains the role of Revenue NSW in administering and enforcing fines.
Other sections of the booklet include information specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, young people and driving offences, as well as a series of template letters to assist people to self-advocate.
Hard copies will soon be available to be ordered online through the Publications tab on the Legal Aid NSW website.
Hard copies will also be made available in all public and prison libraries throughout NSW.
It lists the group training organisations (GTOs) that are currently registered in NSW under the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001. These GTOs have been audited by independent auditors and are compliant with the National Standards for Group Training Organisations.
There are also some great websites, like 1300apprentice, which list what kind of apprenticeships and traineeships they can guide you to securing as well as listing work available right now.
BYRA has a passion for sharing the great waters of Pittwater and a love of sailing with everyone aged 8 to 80 or over!
headspace Brookvale
headspace Brookvale provides services to young people aged 12-25. If you are a young person looking for health advice, support and/or information,headspace Brookvale can help you with:
• Mental health • Physical/sexual health • Alcohol and other drug services • Education and employment services
If you ever feel that you are:
• Alone and confused • Down, depressed or anxious • Worried about your use of alcohol and/or other drugs • Not coping at home, school or work • Being bullied, hurt or harassed • Wanting to hurt yourself • Concerned about your sexual health • Struggling with housing or accommodation • Having relationship problems • Finding it hard to get a job
Or if you just need someone to talk to… headspace Brookvale can help! The best part is our service is free, confidential and youth friendly.
headspace Brookvale is open from Monday to Friday 9:00am-5:30pm so if you want to talk or make an appointment give us a call on (02) 9937 6500. If you're not feeling up to contacting us yourself, feel free to ask your family, friend, teacher, doctor or someone close to you to make a referral on your behalf.
When you first come to headspace Brookvale you will be greeted by one of our friendly staff. You will then talk with a member of our headspace Brookvale Youth Access Team. The headspace Brookvale Youth Access Team consists of three workers, who will work with you around whatever problems you are facing. Depending on what's happening for you, you may meet with your Youth Access Worker a number of times or you may be referred on to a more appropriate service provider.
A number of service providers are operating out of headspace Brookvale including Psychologists, Drug & Alcohol Workers, Sexual Health Workers, Employment Services and more! If we can't find a service operating withinheadspace Brookvale that best suits you, the Youth Access Team can also refer you to other services in the Sydney area.
eheadspace provides online and telephone support for young people aged 12-25. It is a confidential, free, secure space where you can chat, email or talk on the phone to qualified youth mental health professionals.
headspace Brookvale is located at Level 2 Brookvale House, 1A Cross Street Brookvale NSW 2100 (Old Medical Centre at Warringah Mall). We are nearby Brookvale Westfield's bus stop on Pittwater road, and have plenty of parking under the building opposite Bunnings. More at: www.headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/headspace-brookvale
Avalon Soccer Club is an amateur club situated at the northern end of Sydney’s Northern Beaches. As a club we pride ourselves on our friendly, family club environment. The club is comprised of over a thousand players aged from 5 to 70 who enjoy playing the beautiful game at a variety of levels and is entirely run by a group of dedicated volunteers.
Their Mission: Share a community spirit through the joy of our children engaging in baseball.
Year 13
Year13 is an online resource for post school options that specialises in providing information and services on Apprenticeships, Gap Year Programs, Job Vacancies, Studying, Money Advice, Internships and the fun of life after school. Partnering with leading companies across Australia Year13 helps facilitate positive choices for young Australians when finishing school.
NCYLC is a community legal centre dedicated to providing advice to children and young people. NCYLC has developed a Cyber Project called Lawmail, which allows young people to easily access free legal advice from anywhere in Australia, at any time.
NCYLC was set up to ensure children’s rights are not marginalised or ignored. NCYLC helps children across Australia with their problems, including abuse and neglect. The AGD, UNSW, KWM, Telstra and ASIC collaborate by providing financial, in-kind and/or pro bono volunteer resources to NCYLC to operate Lawmail and/or Lawstuff.
Kids Helpline
If you’re aged 5-25 the Kids Helpline provides free and confidential online and phone counselling 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 1800 55 1800. You can chat with us about anything… What’s going on at home, stuff with friends. Something at school or feeling sad, angry or worried. You don’t have to tell us your name if you don’t want to.
You can Webchat, email or phone. Always remember - Everyone deserves to be safe and happy. You’re important and we are here to help you. Visit: https://kidshelpline.com.au/kids/