For those that fear coming to Australia!

[Horsetan]

There's nothing wrong with the hook turn idea (apart from other motorists). In fact, when I had the hired Holden, I went into the CBD just to have a go (several times; it probably looked a bit mad on CCTV if anyone was watching) at the relevant junctions. The idea works!

 

Harold Holt. I think there was a public swimming pool named after him.

 

Racehorses tend to have physically-bigger hearts than "ordinary" horses, given the power and effort they are trained to generate when working.

[SRman]

There's nothing wrong with the hook turn idea (apart from other motorists). In fact, when I had the hired Holden, I went into the CBD just to have a go (several times; it probably looked a bit mad on CCTV if anyone was watching) at the relevant junctions. The idea works!

 

Harold Holt. I think there was a public swimming pool named after him.

 

Racehorses tend to have physically-bigger hearts than "ordinary" horses, given the power and effort they are trained to generate when working.

 

The hook turns work fairly well and keep the tram tracks clear. They take a little getting used to, but they are logical when you see how they work.

 

The Harold Holt Memorial Pool is in East Malvern. The primary school in that suburb was my first school in Australia, in 1966, but only for a short spell while my family found more permanent accommodation.

[monkeysarefun]

The legal way to do a hook turn.

 

 

It actually makes sense, because it leaves one lane, entirely for traffic going straight ahead. But you do have to watch out for red light runners, before you move off!

 

 

Speaking for anyone who lives anywhere other than Melbourne, that is a little mental to  get your head around. Turn right from the  left hand lane but only after the lights have gone red for you?

 

I think dad  drove about 500km out of our way to avoid doing one of those turns.

[Horsetan]

Speaking for anyone who lives anywhere other than Melbourne, that is a little mental to get your head around. Turn right from the left hand lane but only after the lights have gone red for you?...

Reminds me of the principles in cornering on opposite lock: turn left to go right.

[St Enodoc]

The Harold Holt Memorial Pool is in East Malvern.

It might just be me, but I find that quite hilarious. Don't think I'd want to go in there - I might disappear for ever...

[allan downes]

 

I wonder how that would work over here during the 4x4 lady guided missiles school run. Could be fun if not downright entertaining !

[monkeysarefun]

Reminds me of the principles in cornering on opposite lock: turn left to go right.

 

 

I was trying to find a dimly remembered 1960's  film  showing you how to do a hook turn, involving a young  lady with rather impressive bossoms  but found this instead - a 1960's steam driven Ford Falcon.

 

How much better would the Hardie Ferodo have been if steam powered cars had taken over?  Especially V8 steam powered cars..

 

Edited December 22, 2017 by monkeysarefun

[Horsetan]

It might just be me, but I find that quite hilarious. Don't think I'd want to go in there - I might disappear for ever...

The naming of the pool seems to have been an example of irreverent Aussie humour. I haven't come across any reports complaining at that time about the choice of name.

[monkeysarefun]

Also this week Lady Flo passed on,

 

For non- Queensland readers, Joh Bjelke-Petersen was a much beloved premier of that state through-out the late 60's until the mid eighties. His wifeFlo  scored a Federal senate seat by the lucky coincedene of having her husband b eing  the QLD premier, That sounds like she would be just a federal mouthpiece for her husband but looking back on her career and voting pattern there she did have an independent streak in her and did actually vote against his interests a couple of times.

 

Famous for her pumpkin scone recipe

 

However, as wife to Joh, her death has high-lighted some of his more contentious policies H ere are some fun facts  courtesy of the Gaurdian . From the perspective of now they seem pretty incredible, given that these laws and decisions were voted on by sun loving 1970's Queensland....

 

The Joh Bjelke-Petersen government:

• Came to power by threatening to pull the Country party (as the Nationals were then called) from the Coalition.
• Ignored longstanding traditions and protocols when appointing senators to fill vacancies in the federal upper house, including rejecting the opposition’s nominee and appointing Bjelke-Petersen’s own. His appointment of Albert Field became one of the dominos that led to the dismissal of Gough Whitlam.
• Wielded “state of emergency” declarations as a political weapon to put down dissent.
• Declared a month-long state of emergency to head off anti-apartheid demonstrations during the Springboks’ 1971 tour.
• Banned street marches entirely in 1978.
• Opposed Medicare, which the premier saw as socialism.
• Encouraged the creation of a police state, where opponents and journalists were regularly harassed by uniformed police.
• Openly supported police strong-arm tactics, including the raid of a north Queensland commune where officers burned huts for being “poisonous”.
• Withdrew advertising from a newspaper that printed critical articles, redirecting it to rivals

 

• Launched publicly funded defamation actions against opposition MPs.
• Blocked Indigenous groups from being able to own large tracts of land.
• Bjelke-Petersen told one of his ministers (who later forced him out as premier) to allow HIV to wipe out Indigenous communities.
• Banned condom machines, public safe sex campaigns and school sex education programs during the HIV crisis.
• Emboldened the police commissioner, Terry Lewis (later jailed for corruption), to crack down on the gay and lesbian community; attempted to ban gay men – who were publicly denounced as “deviants” – from entering pubs and clubs; encouraged raids (and the closure) of premises suspected of being LGBTI-friendly; arrested men suspected of being gay; considered banning gay men from swimming pools, claiming there was a risk they would contaminate the water with HIV; tried, as other states were decriminalising homosexuality, to make Queensland the first jurisdiction to make being a lesbian illegal.
• Repeatedly warned that “southern homosexuals” were attempting to take control of Queensland.
• Demolished historic buildings, including Brisbane’s much loved Bellevue Hotel, which was destroyed in the middle of the night after public outcry.
• Oversaw raids on suspected abortion clinics.
• Tried to ban women from flying to New South Wales or Victoria if it was suspected they wanted to terminate a pregnancy.
• Fought the 40-hour working week.
• Published the names and addresses of striking electrical workers and encouraged public harassment of them.
• Later sacked 1,100 striking electrical workers, only hiring back those who signed no-strike contracts with worse conditions.
• Was responsible for large tracts of infrastructure, including dams, major expressways and universities (which most likely would still have been built) but oversaw the culture that created the “white shoe brigade” among developers, particularly on the Gold Coast, where bribes for special treatment became common.

Bjelke-Petersen was charged with perjury for evidence he gave at the Fitzgerald inquiry, but his 1991 trial ended in a hung jury. A second trial was scrapped, given his age.

Edited December 22, 2017 by monkeysarefun

[kevinlms]

I was trying to find a dimly remembered 1960's  film  showing you how to do a hook turn, involving a young  lady with rather impressive bossoms  but found this instead - a 1960's steam driven Ford Falcon.

 

How much better would the Hardie Ferodo have been if steam powered cars had taken over?  Especially V8 steam powered cars..

 

Very good, but any luck finding the other video?

[kevinlms]

The legal way to do a hook turn.

 

 

It actually makes sense, because it leaves one lane, entirely for traffic going straight ahead. But you do have to watch out for red light runners, before you move off!

And why we have them!

 

[monkeysarefun]

Very good, but any luck finding the other video?

That depends if you re more interested in the  bossoms or the hook turn instructions , because either way I can probably come up with an alternative to suit you!

[kevinlms]

And why we have them!

 

More tram rules

 

 

You DO NOT want to fall foul of the yellow safety zone ramps. Guaranteed to put your vehicle on its side!

[Horsetan]

Also this week Lady Flo passed on,

 

For non- Queensland readers, Joh Bjelke-Petersen was a much beloved premier of that state through-out the late 60's until the mid eighties. His wifeFlo scored a Federal senate seat by the lucky coincedene of having her husband b eing the QLD premier, That sounds like she would be just a federal mouthpiece for her husband but looking back on her career and voting pattern there she did have an independent streak in her and did actually vote against his interests a couple of times.

 

Famous for her pumpkin scone recipe

 

However, as wife to Joh, her death has high-lighted some of his more contentious policies H ere are some fun facts courtesy of the Gaurdian . From the perspective of now they seem pretty incredible, given that these laws and decisions were voted on by sun loving 1970's Queensland....

 

The Joh Bjelke-Petersen government:

• Came to power by threatening to pull the Country party (as the Nationals were then called) from the Coalition.
• Ignored longstanding traditions and protocols when appointing senators to fill vacancies in the federal upper house, including rejecting the opposition’s nominee and appointing Bjelke-Petersen’s own. His appointment of Albert Field became one of the dominos that led to the dismissal of Gough Whitlam.
• Wielded “state of emergency” declarations as a political weapon to put down dissent.
• Declared a month-long state of emergency to head off anti-apartheid demonstrations during the Springboks’ 1971 tour.
• Banned street marches entirely in 1978.
• Opposed Medicare, which the premier saw as socialism.
• Encouraged the creation of a police state, where opponents and journalists were regularly harassed by uniformed police.
• Openly supported police strong-arm tactics, including the raid of a north Queensland commune where officers burned huts for being “poisonous”.
• Withdrew advertising from a newspaper that printed critical articles, redirecting it to rivals

• Launched publicly funded defamation actions against opposition MPs.
• Blocked Indigenous groups from being able to own large tracts of land.
• Bjelke-Petersen told one of his ministers (who later forced him out as premier) to allow HIV to wipe out Indigenous communities.
• Banned condom machines, public safe sex campaigns and school sex education programs during the HIV crisis.
• Emboldened the police commissioner, Terry Lewis (later jailed for corruption), to crack down on the gay and lesbian community; attempted to ban gay men – who were publicly denounced as “deviants” – from entering pubs and clubs; encouraged raids (and the closure) of premises suspected of being LGBTI-friendly; arrested men suspected of being gay; considered banning gay men from swimming pools, claiming there was a risk they would contaminate the water with HIV; tried, as other states were decriminalising homosexuality, to make Queensland the first jurisdiction to make being a lesbian illegal.
• Repeatedly warned that “southern homosexuals” were attempting to take control of Queensland.
• Demolished historic buildings, including Brisbane’s much loved Bellevue Hotel, which was destroyed in the middle of the night after public outcry.
• Oversaw raids on suspected abortion clinics.
• Tried to ban women from flying to New South Wales or Victoria if it was suspected they wanted to terminate a pregnancy.
• Fought the 40-hour working week.
• Published the names and addresses of striking electrical workers and encouraged public harassment of them.
• Later sacked 1,100 striking electrical workers, only hiring back those who signed no-strike contracts with worse conditions.
• Was responsible for large tracts of infrastructure, including dams, major expressways and universities (which most likely would still have been built) but oversaw the culture that created the “white shoe brigade” among developers, particularly on the Gold Coast, where bribes for special treatment became common.

Bjelke-Petersen was charged with perjury for evidence he gave at the Fitzgerald inquiry, but his 1991 trial ended in a hung jury. A second trial was scrapped, given his age.

I remember reading about Bjelke-Petersen and marvelled at how it was seemingly possible to establish and run a pseudo-feudal banana republic in a part of Australia.

 

Nowadays that sort of thing is probably quite mild compared to how Zimbabwe has developed, and how South Africa seems to be going...

[monkeysarefun]

And why we have them!

 

 

 

See, because you live  in Melbourne that is outrageous and makes sense that someone had done something wrong, but I have no idea at all what that was all about or what I'd have done if I'd had a tram up my clacker.

 

Its like the NFL games  that I have to watch every Monday without having any idea of why they do what they are doing and have therefore  unintentially made ozexpatriate think that I was having a go at him, which I wasn't in any way!

 

So before I also insult Melbourne drivers who have to turn right  - can we clear this up ?

 

I reckon that we can use the power of rmweb to recruit the non Melbourne and non-NFL compliant interdependent contributors  like Allan Downes.  Can you blokes  adjudicate on this  - what is more confusing:- the  NFL  or Melbourne  hook turns??

[monkeysarefun]

I remember reading about Bjelke-Petersen and marvelled at how it was seemingly possible to establish and run a pseudo-feudal banana republic in a part of Australia.

 

Nowadays that sort of thing is probably quite mild compared to how Zimbabwe has developed, and how South Africa seems to be going...

 

Joh - making Queensland look modern, or at least making it look like the US south around  the same time....

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlGYJse4lSY

[Horsetan]

... we can use the power of rmweb to recruit the non Melbourne and non-NFL compliant interdependent contributors like Allan Downes. Can you blokes adjudicate on this - what is more confusing:- the NFL or Melbourne hook turns??

NFL, by miles.

[kevinlms]

See, because you live  in Melbourne that is outrageous and makes sense that someone had done something wrong, but I have no idea at all what that was all about or what I'd have done if I'd had a tram up my clacker.

 

Its like the NFL games  that I have to watch every Monday without having any idea of why they do what they are doing and have therefore  unintentially made ozexpatriate think that I was having a go at him, which I wasn't in any way!

 

So before I also insult Melbourne drivers who have to turn right  - can we clear this up ?

 

I reckon that we can use the power of rmweb to recruit the non Melbourne and non-NFL compliant interdependent contributors  like Allan Downes.  Can you blokes  adjudicate on this  - what is more confusing:- the  NFL  or Melbourne  hook turns??

That's easy. The black car goes forward, even though facing a red light for right hand turns. If the driver had waited for the red arrow to go out, he wouldn't put himself, in front of a tram.

 

Remember, this is NOT a Hook Turn location.

 

But see how Sydney drivers (such as yourself) are easily confused, but perhaps its mainly because they ignore red lights 'back home'!

 

Edit to add. Mission accomplished!

Edited December 22, 2017 by kevinlms

[monkeysarefun]

That's easy. The black car goes forward, even though facing a red light for right hand turns. If the driver had waited for the red arrow to go out, he wouldn't put himself, in front of a tram.

 

Remember, this is NOT a Hook Turn location.

 

But see how Sydney drivers (such as yourself) are easily confused, but perhaps its mainly because they ignore red lights 'back home'!

 

Edit to add. Mission accomplished!

 

 

 

I have just rewatched the video  a few times before I type stuff here in case I embarrass myself,   and I'm not trying to be a thicko, but what you seem to be  saying isi that the black car was in the wrong because he didn;t drive through a red light, but instead waited for it to go green ?

 

Evem the bloke on the  bike is laughing at him so obviously there is some weird secret Melbourne thing going on that is trapping innocent NSW and overseas travellers in their web of right turn trickery in order to scam our insurance and make Victoria great again. Wolf Creek series 3 could just be shot in Flinders St and the plot would be Miick just watching innocent non Victorians being killed driving through green lights.

 

Well sir, I for one shall not partake of that plot and when I next visit your admitedly very agreeable and civilised state, it will be by your refreshingly modern (now you've got the gauge right)  railway,

 

-  and I shall walk to the penguins.

Edited December 22, 2017 by monkeysarefun

[ikks]

Also this week Lady Flo passed on,

 

For non- Queensland readers, Joh Bjelke-Petersen was a much beloved premier of that state through-out the late 60's until the mid eighties. His wifeFlo  scored a Federal senate seat by the lucky coincedene of having her husband b eing  the QLD premier, That sounds like she would be just a federal mouthpiece for her husband but looking back on her career and voting pattern there she did have an independent streak in her and did actually vote against his interests a couple of times.

 

Famous for her pumpkin scone recipe

 

However, as wife to Joh, her death has high-lighted some of his more contentious policies H ere are some fun facts  courtesy of the Gaurdian . From the perspective of now they seem pretty incredible, given that these laws and decisions were voted on by sun loving 1970's Queensland....

 

The Joh Bjelke-Petersen government:

• Came to power by threatening to pull the Country party (as the Nationals were then called) from the Coalition.
• Ignored longstanding traditions and protocols when appointing senators to fill vacancies in the federal upper house, including rejecting the opposition’s nominee and appointing Bjelke-Petersen’s own. His appointment of Albert Field became one of the dominos that led to the dismissal of Gough Whitlam.
• Wielded “state of emergency” declarations as a political weapon to put down dissent.
• Declared a month-long state of emergency to head off anti-apartheid demonstrations during the Springboks’ 1971 tour.
• Banned street marches entirely in 1978.
• Opposed Medicare, which the premier saw as socialism.
• Encouraged the creation of a police state, where opponents and journalists were regularly harassed by uniformed police.
• Openly supported police strong-arm tactics, including the raid of a north Queensland commune where officers burned huts for being “poisonous”.
• Withdrew advertising from a newspaper that printed critical articles, redirecting it to rivals

 

• Launched publicly funded defamation actions against opposition MPs.
• Blocked Indigenous groups from being able to own large tracts of land.
• Bjelke-Petersen told one of his ministers (who later forced him out as premier) to allow HIV to wipe out Indigenous communities.
• Banned condom machines, public safe sex campaigns and school sex education programs during the HIV crisis.
• Emboldened the police commissioner, Terry Lewis (later jailed for corruption), to crack down on the gay and lesbian community; attempted to ban gay men – who were publicly denounced as “deviants” – from entering pubs and clubs; encouraged raids (and the closure) of premises suspected of being LGBTI-friendly; arrested men suspected of being gay; considered banning gay men from swimming pools, claiming there was a risk they would contaminate the water with HIV; tried, as other states were decriminalising homosexuality, to make Queensland the first jurisdiction to make being a lesbian illegal.
• Repeatedly warned that “southern homosexuals” were attempting to take control of Queensland.
• Demolished historic buildings, including Brisbane’s much loved Bellevue Hotel, which was destroyed in the middle of the night after public outcry.
• Oversaw raids on suspected abortion clinics.
• Tried to ban women from flying to New South Wales or Victoria if it was suspected they wanted to terminate a pregnancy.
• Fought the 40-hour working week.
• Published the names and addresses of striking electrical workers and encouraged public harassment of them.
• Later sacked 1,100 striking electrical workers, only hiring back those who signed no-strike contracts with worse conditions.
• Was responsible for large tracts of infrastructure, including dams, major expressways and universities (which most likely would still have been built) but oversaw the culture that created the “white shoe brigade” among developers, particularly on the Gold Coast, where bribes for special treatment became common.

Bjelke-Petersen was charged with perjury for evidence he gave at the Fitzgerald inquiry, but his 1991 trial ended in a hung jury. A second trial was scrapped, given his age.

An absolute Dick.........we could not believe this guy when we first arrived here.........but then Billy McMahon was the Prime Minister. This ain't political, just plain common sense.

Unbelievable garbage we lived with then. Thank goodness our Aussie cricket team can restore some belief in our Land.

Mike

[MarkC]

I wonder how that would work over here during the 4x4 lady guided missiles school run. Could be fun if not downright entertaining !

I don't think that 'fun' would be quite how someone falling victim to one of these 4x4 muppetmobiles running a red light would see it, tbh...

[PhilJ W]

I wonder how that would work over here during the 4x4 lady guided missiles school run. Could be fun if not downright entertaining !

In my experience they do right turns from as close to the left hand kerb as possible.

[Ozexpatriate]

Also this week Lady Flo passed on,

Yes, famous for her pumpkin scones. Despite her husband's shenanigans Lady Flo was always beyond reproach. 

 

You've missed many of the more egregious of Sir Joh's 'achievements'. It would be tiresome to add them to your already long list. His response to your list would have been "Don't you worry about that" anyway.

 

 

My dad had a fun story from the late '70s, it may not be true, but it sounded true.  

 

The Queensland Police had heard rumours of illegal gambling going on in Brisbane but were reported in the press that they weren't able to find them. 

 

Somewhere in The Valley (Fortitude Valley for non-locals, which is close to the CBD) a crane was being used to hoist a large gaming table (presumably for craps, roulette or similar) into an upper story window. It was too big to fit through the 'speakeasy' door. As you might guess a large crane in the street in the Valley was disruptive to traffic. A Queensland Policeman came upon the scene and did exactly what you would think he might. He directed traffic around the crane.

 

They could never find the illegal casino though.

Edited December 22, 2017 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

I remember reading about Bjelke-Petersen and marvelled at how it was seemingly possible to establish and run a pseudo-feudal banana republic in a part of Australia.

Is it though?

 

Murdoch-owned media (The Courier Mail). Inveterate racism. Blatant kleptocracy. Elections by a Gerrymandered vote of well under 50% of the electorate.

 

They didn't call Queensland the 'deep north' for nothing. Where on earth could I find such politics today I wonder?

[Ozexpatriate]

• Later sacked 1,100 striking electrical workers, only hiring back those who signed no-strike contracts with worse conditions.

There's a long back-story to this little bullet, like there is to every one of your bullets.

 

The Queensland power grid at the time was unstable. The largest power station was built in Gladstone for proximity to the Comalco* aluminium smelter nearby. This meant that much of the power supplying Brisbane had to travel  450km to reach the load. The crummy old power stations in Brisbane were needed, not to supply the load, but to prop up voltage at the end of the line and stabilize the network. 

 

* Now Rio Tinto Alcan I believe.

 

Ultimately when a new power station was built, Joh had the Tarong power station constructed in his electorate near his home in Kingaroy. This really did nothing for network stability.

 

The result of this was that whenever the opposition wanted to make things uncomfortable for the government, the coal handlers union would go on strike in one location, reducing generation there. This was all it took to make the power transmission network unstable, resulting in load shedding, brown outs or even black outs, mostly in the Brisbane area - where most of the electrical power load was. Joh would blame the unions so other unions (including one run by a future Premier of Queensland) would strike in sympathy.

 

Sir Joh's insistence on having Tarong power station in his electorate was one of those decisions that effectively empowered the unions.  It was all crazy all the time.

 

Don't get me started about the minister for everything and the off ramp he built for his pub.

Edited December 23, 2017 by Ozexpatriate