Maybe colonisation isn't too bad

Why is it that Papua New Guinea is behind neighbours Australia and New Zealand technologically, financially and economically?

There is one main reason why this is the case,which is this,colonisation. Australia was turned into a penal colony in 1787 by the Brits. Over one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) people went to Australia. Mainly criminals who were sent there for their crimes but also freemen who wanted to start a new life. This meant that thousands of educated people went to Australia. People such as Francis Greenway, an architect who went to jail for 14 years because he forged an official document. Greenway designed many of Sydney's early buildings, some of which are still around today. Sydney was ruled in its early days by someone called Captain Arthur Phillip. Phillip was determined to develop Sydney and Australia in general.It was people like him who started Australia's growth towards where it is today. Places such as Victoria and New Zealand were started by freemen who wanted to start anew outside of Sydney. An interesting fact: New Zealand was originally going to be part of the federation of Australia, made up of the different states, but it opted out at the last moment. There is still a line in the Australian Constitution that says if NZ wanted to join the federation at a later date it would be possible. It's still there after 109 years. If you Kiwis are interested in that option, then run the video at this address in your country:  http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruentransfer/thepitch.htm

The case of Papua New Guinea (PNG) was totally different. Between the 1600s and the 1960s there was a large amount of colonisation going on around the world as the Europeans started to trade more. Now, the Germans came into the game rather late, in the late 1800s. So they tried to colonise everything that they could in the fastest time possible, including PNG. Now the British thought that the taking of PNG by the Germans would upset the balance that the colonial powers had in the Pacific. So they ruined the Germans' party and hopped into PNG as well. Now what must be taken into account is that the Dutch controlled one half of the island, so there was only one half left for the taking. This half was split in half: the northern half was German, the southern British.The British were only there to stop the Germans, so they didn't develop anything big in their half. The Germans for some reason didn't either.

 So PNG wasn't developed for a while, then World War One occurred and the Germans were kicked out. Australia was put in charge by the British. After World War Two the new United Nations decided that PNG was not ready to be independent, it was not advanced enough. Australia was put in charge of getting it in to shape, so PNG was a late starter in the modernisation process compared to Australia and New Zealand. It only became independent in 1975.

This is why Australia and side-kick New Zealand are so far "ahead" of PNG: colonisation. We started modernising before they did, basically. So, if you want your country to get ahead, get colonised!
http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/images/media/lighthouse.JPG
BTW I am Australian and therefore biased.

This is
AlexK
Signing out

Mangroves, Why I Care

I have just been on a overnight field trip to a nature park in Kuala Selangor. Kuala Selangor is unique in that large amounts of pteroptyx tener, a species of firefly, congregate there on a nightly basis. The fireflies come because of a type of mangrove tree known as Sonneratia Caseolaris, locally known as the Berembang tree. So naturally the mangrove forests here are greatly valued by the community. During this stay my class and I planted some Rhizopora mangrove trees in an area that was in great need of environmental help. The society that arranged this opportunity has an aim to plant 200 mangrove trees per month.

So, each member of my class attempted to plant one of these trees. Some didn't, but that's another story. Now the fact that I planted this tree is rather important. It helped the society reach its aim of 200 trees a month, leading to an achievement that might help them get more donations to help the mangroves. Leading hopefully to a goal which helps the environment even more.

Now, you've seen the title and you probably prefer it if I actually answered the question of why I care about these mangroves. The first reason is the animals that live in these mangroves, which I don't think should become extinct. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a "tree-hugger", in fact I support urbanization in some areas of the world, but I think that no species should become extinct and that all species are equal. But it's still survival of the fittest and right now humans are the fittest.

Mangroves are extremely important when it comes to sea-based natural disasters. They prevent strong winds from hitting villages, as the mangroves are banded together and do not fly into the air. They also have a large amount of roots tangled through each other that go into the sea. This prevents large tidal waves from getting through. These two features combined lead to an ideal protection against large storms and hurricanes, saving lives and property.

This is why I care about mangroves, they save and support both animal and human lives. If you want to know more about mangroves, go to this website to find out more: http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/forests_main/the_malaysian_rainforest/types_of_forests/mangrove_forests/

This is
AlexK
Signing out