Black Swan

Ballarat

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October 29th 2012
It is bright and sunny here in Ballarat. At home, Hurricane Sandy is pummeling the East Coast. What a difference being on the other side of the world makes! My thoughts are with all my friends there as the power begins to go out and updates on Facebook are made more and more from cell phones. Ballarat is an old gold mining town. It's a regional center with a population of about 100,000. Cut ... read more

Oceania » Australia » Victoria » Ballarat

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Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name... ... read more