religious

It's an intriguing background that almost seems in a whirl. Impressive early bokeh?

Accidental or deliberate, it works, and is oddly dizzying...

wonderful photo, the background does make me dizzy too!

Agree about the background, lens aberration?

She looks tiny next to the chair.

'Incredible mystery': The Indigenous soldiers of the Light Horse Brigade The Indigenous contribution at the charge of the Light Horse Brigade at the Battle of Beersheba is not widely known, but one man is determined to shine a light on these soldiers and their stories. Pastor Ray Minniecon is a man on a mission. The Kabi Kabi man is trying to understand the life of his grandfather, James Lingwoodock, who was involved in the 1917 Battle of Beersheba - viewed as Australia's most significant victory of World War One. Private Lingwoodock was also a Kabi Kabi man from Queensland who worked in cattle and was known to be a good horseman. "And one of the things that is very interesting is that the Light Horse had the highest number of Indigenous soldiers in any regiment within the ADF in World War One." At the outbreak of the war, Private Lingwoodock was among 1000 Indigenous Australians who would answer the military's call. "A lot of Indigenous troopers were mates of the white Australian troopers and they enlisted together," he says. "They couldn't enlist as their Indigenous name so a lot of them just changed their name to John Smith and with the connivance of the recruiting officers they were allowed to join up." Private Lingwoodock found himself caught up in the Battle of Beersheba in 1917, a pivotal event in the war in which 800 Australian light horsemen charged the heavily fortified Turkish stronghold. "The Indigenous troopers were considered to be equal by the other troopers because they were all riding horses and surviving in the desert, eating at the same campfires," he says. "Everybody had to pull their weight. " But it was a different story on their return from war. "It was a tragedy when the Indigenous troopers came back to Australia from the Light Horse, cos they went from being equal troopers along with their white fellas to persona non grata. Source: www.sbs.com.au/news/article/incredible-mystery-the-indige...

John Geary was 22 years old when he first enlisted in the AIF in August 1917. Born near Bundaberg in 1894 to William Geary and Rosie Broom, Geary was a stockman on Tantitha Station near Bundaberg. Like Lingwoodock, Geary’s skills as a horseman were well-suited to the Light Horse where he was assigned, and he joined several similarly skilled Indigenous recruits as part of the 20th Reinforcements. They trained at the Light Horse camp, at Rifle Range, Enoggera, just outside Brisbane, and made ready to embark overseas in December 1917. John left behind his new wife Alice Bond. On 7 May 1918, the 11th Light Horse Regiment, encamped in the Jordon Valley, was subjected to an early morning raid by enemy airplanes. Bombs were dropped on the camp, resulting in numerous casualties. During this attack Geary was severely wounded, receiving a large wound to his head. He was initially treated by the 4th Light Horse Field Ambulance and then transferred to the 14th Australian General Hospital in Port Said, where his condition deteriorated. Geary underwent surgery twice, suffering severe headaches, fits and partial paralysis to his left arm and leg. Despite making a good recovery, medical authorities decided he should be sent home, and he was discharged from service. Geary left Egypt in July 1918 and returned home to his family at Tantitha Station. His son, John Robert, was born a year later. Sadly, tragedy stuck in 1921 when John’s mother, son and wife passed away. In 1925 he married Warri Adelaide Drumley, with the couple and their family residing in the Beaudesert area. John Geary died in 1953 at the age of 60. Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/james-lingwoodock-and-john-geary-...

1880 - St James' Church enlargement Having become the Cathedral of the new diocese, St James’ Church was enlarged, extending the nave and north and south aisles 1883 Plans for a new and larger cathedral began when members of the church formed a committee to raise the funds 1884 The proposal to build a cathedral was approved by a church synod and the Cathedral Building Committee was appointed. An organ, donated by Miss S.E. Holland (an English friend of Bishop Stanton), was added to the church. 1885 Arthur Blackett of Sydney, son of Edmund Blackett (the New South Wales colonial architect) was commissioned to design a new cathedral. The initial designs called for a cathedral constructed of sandstone with granite columns which would hold 1000 parishioners. Source: www.stjamescathedral.com.au/the-cathedral/history/ The nave would be 37 feet (11 m) wide, transepts would be 24 feet (7.3 m) wide and the total interior length from chancel to bell tower would be 115 feet (35 m). 1887 Many features of these designs were rejected upon review by the diocese and three revisions were necessary before a final plan was approved. The final design was for a church built in stone, with a low wide central tower that would act as a ventilation shaft, and a single tower at the northern door. It was to cost £24,000 but was built in sections. The diocese called tenders for the construction of the Cathedral. The first sod was turned on the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria on June 22nd. 1892 The building was erected by Townsville contractors MacMahon & Cliffe. Subsequent financial constraints forced changes to the design, and the Cathedral was constructed in brick, with concrete facings, a temporary roof, and no towers. This first stage of the Cathedral was consecrated on October 27th by the second Bishop of North Queensland, Christopher Barlow. 1896 On 26 January, Cyclone Sigma struck Townsville; however, the Cathedral was relatively unaffected by this 1903 On March 9th, Cyclone Leonta struck Townsville, destroying the 1871 St James’ Church and the temporary roof of the Cathedral. The Cathedral was promptly rebuilt with higher walls and a more permanent roof at a cost of £2,500. The gas lights, seen here, remained until 1922. They were replaced by electrical lights when it became available until 1959 The second stage of the Cathedral was designed in 1955 by Melbourne architect Louis Williams, with Townsville architects Black and Paulsen responsible for the building between 1959-1960. 1959-60 Although Blackett’s design had a strong Byzantine flavour, with its magnificent pointed arches and the apsidal east end, at one stage of the design he envisaged having a dome above the nave. Williams favoured a Gothic design, which was popular for churches up to the end of the 1960s. The nave and the Western façade with the bell tower and stature of St James were all added Evidence of the extension can be seen as although the brick makers, Scott Brothers, reopened the original clay pit to make new bricks for the extension, a slight difference of colour can be seen due to the aging of the bricks. Evidence can also be seen in the ceiling where the original rough sawn, lapped timber was replaced with machine sawn, tongue-in-groove. The final foundation stone was laid in 1960 marking the completion of the Cathedral.