HM Prison Pentridge was an Australian prison built in 1850 in Coburg, Victoria. The first prisoners arrived in 1851. The prison was closed on 1 May 1997.
Pentridge was often known by the nicknames "The Bluestone College", "Coburg College" or the "College of Knowledge". The grounds were originally landscaped by renowned landscape gardener Hugh Linaker. Since closing, much of the prison has been pulled down to make way for a housing development. Large buildings have been built and a 16 floor modern apartment block is being planned.
The northern section of the prison being developed by Valad Property Group and the other areas by Pentridge Village. The National Trust does not like the development plans approved by Heritage Victoria. These plans include taking down sections of the outside walls and building apartments between the historic prison buildings.
The prison was split into many divisions, named using letters of the alphabet.
Jika Jika, opened in 1980 at a cost of AU$7 million. It was a 'gaol within a gaol', designed to hold Victoria's toughest and longest serving prisoners. It was awarded the 'Excellence in Concrete Award' by the Concrete Institute of Australia. It was closed after the deaths of five prisoners in 1987.
Jika Jika had six separate units each at the end of radiating spines. It had electronic doors, closed-circuit television and remote locking. This meant it could use less staff but still have maximum security. The furnishings were sparse and prisoners exercised in escape proof yards.
In 1983 four prisoners escaped from ‘escape proof’ Jika Jika. When two prison officers were disciplined in relation to the Jika Jika escape a week-long strike occurred.
Inmates Robert Wright, Jimmy Loughnan, Arthur Gallagher, David McGauley and Ricky Morris - from one side of the unit - and Craig 'Slim' Minogue and three other inmates on the other side sealed off their section doors with a tennis net. Mattresses and other bedding were then stacked against the doors and set on fire. They covered windows in the day room with paper so the prison officers could not see which prisoners caused the damage.
Prisoners Robert Wright, Jimmy Loughnan, Arthur Gallagher, David McGauley and Ricky Morris died in the fire. Convicted Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue and three other inmates survived as they were evacuated when the fire started.
The graves of executed prisoners were unmarked in a corner of the prison. In 1929, 32 bodies were moved from the Melbourne Gaol during the building of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. These graves were found in 2008. The skeleton of bushranger Ned Kelly was among those discovered.
There were 11 executions at Pentridge. The gallows beam and the trapdoor were moved from the Melbourne Gaol and put into "D" Division in 1924.
When the gaol was closed, the beam and the trapdoor were taken back to the Melbourne Gaol to be part of its historical display.
Ronald Ryan was the last man executed at Pentridge Prison and in Australia. Ryan was hanged in "D" Division at 8.00 on 3 February 1967. He had been convicted of murdering a prison officer during an escape from the same prison. Later that day, Ryan's body was buried in an unmarked grave within the "D" Division. There is still debate about his hanging.
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon is an American author. His first novel was called "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" and published in 1988. Chabon was 25 years old. The book made him famous among writers. He has also written genre fiction. Chabon published "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" in 2000. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001.
Michael Chabon was born in Washington, DC to Robert Chabon, a physician and lawyer, and Sharon Chabon, a lawyer. He knew he wanted to be a writer when he was a child. He studied at Carnegie Mellon University for a year before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree there in 1984. Then Chabon went to graduate school at the University of California, Irvine and earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing.
In 1987, Chabon married the poet Lollie Groth. They divorced in 1991, and he married the writer Ayelet Waldman in 1993.
Amit
Amit is a common given name. It is common in India, Nepal, Israel, Pakistan, Iran, Middle East, and Bangladesh.
In Hindi and Bengali, Amit () means infinite or immeasurable or boundless. It is part of Amitabh Bachchan. It is one of the 108 names of the Hindu God Shri Ganesha. It also means an eternal friend of everyone in Hindi, Nepali and Sanskrit.
In Hebrew, Amit () means colleague, friend.
In Arabic, Amit () means being highly praised, beloved and victorious. In Islam Amit refers to the traditional Arabian gesture. During battles the Muslim army yelled "Yā manṣūr Amit!" and attacked.
Izumi Province
Izumi Province was created during the reign of Empress Genshō.
In the Meiji period, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures. Maps of Japan and Izumi Province were reformed in the 1870s.
"Ōtori Shrine" was the chief Shinto shrine ("ichinomiya") of Izumi.
Settsu Province
The ancient capital city of the province was Osaka.
In the Meiji period, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures. Maps of Japan and Settsu Province were reformed in the 1870s.
"Sumiyoshi taisha" was the chief Shinto shrine ("ichinomiya") of Settsu.
Chloris
Chloris ("Khloris" or Χλωρίς, from "Khloros" or χλωρός, meaning "greenish-yellow," "pale green," "pale," or "fresh") refers to several figures in Greek mythology. Some stories refer to different characters. Others refer to the same Chloris, but have different details.
Chloris was a Nymph. She represented spring, flowers and new growth. Her Roman equivalent was the goddess Flora. She was kidnapped by and later married Zephyr.
Meliboea was one of Niobe and Amphion's fourteen children, and the only one not killed when Artemis and Apollo killed the children as revenge. Meliboea was so scared by this that she turned permanently pale. She changed her name to Chloris ("pale one").
She later married Neleus and became queen in Pylos.
Chloris married the seer Ampyx (son of Elatus). She had a child called Mopsus, who also became a famous seer and later joined the Argonauts.
Portable Network Graphics
Portable Network Graphics (Often shortened to PNG) is a bitmapped image format that uses lossless data compression.
Their most common use is within transparent images, as it does support an alpha channel along with a 16-bit color channel.
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island country in the Caribbean Sea. It is one of the ABC islands and is just a short distance north of the Venezuelan Paraguaná Peninsula, and it forms a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Willemstad is the capital of Curaçao.
The largest ethnic group belongs to the Afro-Caribbean group with about 85% of the entire population (also includes mulattos). The remaining 15% are people of mainly European (mainly Dutch) descent, but there are also Indonesians, Colombians, Venezuelans, and others.
Papiamentu, Dutch, and English are the three official languages of Curaçao. Papiamentu is by far the most spoken language while sizable minorities speak the other two official languages.
Curaçao has a tropical climate. The temperatures are usually constant. The trade winds bring cool breeze during the day and the same trade winds bring warmth during the night. The coolest month is January with an average of 26°C in temperature and the warmest month is September with an average temperature of 28.9 °C (84 °F). The year's average maximum temperature is 31°C. The year's average minimum temperature is about 25°C.
The island broke off from the Netherlands Antilles in 2010. It has a very long history set all the way back to the 1800s.
Ox Mountain
Ox Mountain () is a story by the Chinese philosopher Mencius. In his time this mountain was in very bad shape, and everybody knew how it looked. Here is the story: