An abandoned gun emplacement and a lighthouse (in your backyard). Blinking Billy Point, Sandy Bay. May 2011.
The above gun emplacement was originally intended to stop the Russians (not the Soviets, but the Russians). Yes, at the outbreak of the Crimean War the nervous folk of Van Diemens Land were quaking at the thought of the vicious Imperial Russian Navy. Alas, they were not really very interested.
Which leads me to today's Sunday Top Five: My Top Five Invading Hordes That I Wouldn't Be Too Fussed By!
- Finns, Swedes or Norwegians: any Scandinavian invasion would be welcome. They're a friendly mob, and have plenty of good-looking sheilas with liberal attitudes to beach attire. I think we'd cope.
- Liechtenstein: let's face it, it would have to be some kind of corporate takeover by European tax exiles.
- The Holy Roman Empire: any 'Empire' that manages to go by such a name despite the fact that it was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire, must have something going for it.
- Supermodels: [Ezra picked this one. See above]
- McDonalds: oh wait...
2 comments:
There was a certain amount of paranoia doing the rounds at that time. The Russians for whatever reason at that time was the great bogeyman.
It was just as much the case that when the Russian Imperial Navy were doing a goodwill tour just after the Crimean War, the Tasmanians realised that they were in no position to resist any kind of takeover.
It turned out that the Russians had no designs on that front anyway…
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