Greetings everyone, hope your enjoying your day! this weeks Showcase was mentioned to be one of the best canidates for the Showcase. She hales from Adelaide, South Australia. Prior to British settlement, the Adelaide area was inhabited by the Kaurna Aboriginal tribe (pronounced "Garner" or "Gowna"). Acknowledged Kaurna country comprised the Adelaide Plains and surrounding regions - from Cape Jervis in the south, and to Port Wakefield in the north. Among their unique customs were burn-offs (controlled bushfires) in the Adelaide Hills which the early Europeans spotted before the Kaurna people were pushed out by settlement. By 1852, the total population (by census count) of the Kaurna was 650 in the Adelaide region and steadily decreasing. During the winter months, they moved into the Adelaide Hills for better shelter and firewood.
South Australia was officially settled as a new British province on 28 December 1836, near the The Old Gum Tree in what is now the suburb of Glenelg North. This day is now commemorated as Proclamation Day in South Australia. The site of the colony's capital city was surveyed and laid out by Colonel William Light, the first Surveyor-General of South Australia, through the design made by the architect George Strickland Kingston. In 1823, Light had fondly written of the Sicilian city of Catania: "The two principal streets cross each other at right angles in the square in the direction of north and south and east and west. They are wide and spacious and about a mile long", and this became the basis for the plan of Adelaide. Light chose, not without opposition, a site on rising ground close to the River Torrens, which became the chief early water supply for the fledgling colony. "Light's Vision", as it has been termed, has meant that the initial design of Adelaide required little modification as the city grew and prospered. Usually in an older city it would be necessary to accommodate larger roads and add parks, whereas Adelaide had them from the start. Adelaide was established as the centre of a planned colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution, based upon the ideas of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Wakefield had read accounts of Australian settlement while in prison in London for attempting to abduct an heiress, and realised that the eastern colonies suffered from a lack of available labour, due to the practice of giving land grants to all arrivals. Wakefield's idea was for the Government to survey and sell the land at a rate that would maintain land values high enough to be unaffordable for labourers and journeymen. Funds raised from the sale of land would be used to bring out working class emigrants, who would have to work hard for the monied settlers to ever afford their own land. As a result of this policy, Adelaide does not share the convict settlement history of other Australian cities like Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Hobart.
Adelaide's early history was wrought by economic uncertainty and incompetent leadership. The first governor of South Australia, John Hindmarsh, clashed frequently with others, in particular with the Resident Commissioner, James Hurtle Fisher. The rural area surrounding Adelaide city was surveyed by Light in preparation to sell a total of over 405 km² of land. Adelaide's early economy started to get on its feet in 1838 with the arrival of livestock from New South Wales and Tasmania. The wool industry served as an early basis for the South Australian economy. Light's survey was completed in this period, and land was promptly offered to sale to early colonists. Wheat farms ranged from Encounter Bay in the south to Clare in the north by 1860. Governor Gawler took over from Hindmarsh in late 1838 and promptly oversaw construction of a governor's house, Adelaide Gaol, police barracks, hospital, and customs house and a wharf at Port Adelaide. In addition, houses for public officials and missionaries, and outstations for police and surveyors were also constructed during Gawler's governorship. Adelaide had also become economically self-sufficient during this period, but at heavy cost: the colony was heavily in debt and relied on bail-outs from London to stay afloat. Gawler was recalled and replaced by Governor Grey in 1841. Grey slashed public expenditure against heavy opposition, although its impact was negligible at this point: silver was discovered in Glen Osmond that year, agricultural industries were well underway, and other mines sprung up all over the state, aiding Adelaide's commercial development. The city exported meat, wool, wine, fruit and wheat by the time Grey left in 1845, contrasting with a low point in 1842 when one-third of Adelaide houses were abandoned.
Trade links with the rest of the Australian states were established with the Murray River being successfully navigated in 1853 by Francis Cadell, an Adelaide resident.
South Australia became a self-governing colony in 1856 with the ratification of a new constitution by the British parliament. Secret ballots were introduced, and a bicameral parliament was elected on 9 March 1857, by which time 109,917 people lived in the province.
In 1860 the Thorndon Park reservoir was opened, finally providing an alternative water source to the turbid River Torrens. In 1867 gas street lighting was implemented, the University of Adelaide was founded in 1874, the South Australian Art Gallery opened in 1881 and the Happy Valley Reservoir opened in 1896. In the 1890s Australia was affected by a severe economic depression, ending a hectic era of land booms and tumultuous expansionism. Financial institutions in Melbourne and banks in Sydney closed. The national fertility rate fell and immigration was reduced to a trickle. The value of South Australia's exports nearly halved. Drought and poor harvests from 1884 compounded the problems, with some families leaving for Western Australia. Adelaide was not as badly hit as the larger gold-rush cities of Sydney and Melbourne, and silver and lead discoveries at Broken Hill provided some relief. Only one year of deficit was recorded, but the price paid was retrenchments and lean public spending. Wine and copper were the only industries not to suffer a downturn.
Electric street lighting was introduced in 1900 and electric trams were transporting passengers in 1909. 28,000 men were sent to fight in World War I. Adelaide enjoyed a post-war boom but, with the return of droughts, entered the depression of the 1930s, later returning to prosperity under strong government leadership. Secondary industries helped reduce the state's dependence on primary industries. The 1933 census recorded the state population at 580,949, less of an increase than other states due to the state's economic limitations. World War II brought industrial stimulus and diversification to Adelaide under the Playford Government, which advocated Adelaide as a safe place for manufacturing due to its less vulnerable location. 70,000 men and women enlisted and shipbuilding was expanded at the nearby port of Whyalla.
The South Australian Government in this period built on former wartime manufacturing industries. International manufacturers like General Motors Holden and Chrysler (now Mitsubishi) made use of these factories around Adelaide completing its transformation from an agricultural service centre to a twentieth-century city. A pipeline from Mannum brought River Murray water to Adelaide in 1954 and an international airport opened at West Beach in 1955. An assisted migration scheme brought 215,000 immigrants of all nationalities to South Australia between 1947 and 1973. The Dunstan Government in the 1970s saw something of an Adelaide 'cultural revival' - establishing a wide array of social reforms and overseeing the city becoming a centre of the arts. Adelaide hosted the Australian Grand Prix between 1985 and 1996 on a street circuit in the city's east parklands, before losing it to Melbourne.The 1992 State Bank collapse plunged both Adelaide and South Australia into economic recession, and its effects lasted until 2004, when ratings agency Standard & Poor's reinstated South Australia's AAA credit rating. Recent years have seen the Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race make use of sections of the former Formula One circuit.
Adelaide is located north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. The city stretches 20 km from the coast to the foothills, and 90 km from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Adelaide Metropolitan Region has a total land area of 870 km², and is at an average elevation of 50 metres above sea level. Mount Lofty is located east of the Adelaide metropolitan region in the Adelaide Hills at an elevation of 727 metres. It is the tallest point of the city and in the state south of Burra.
Much of Adelaide was bushland before British settlement, with some variation - swamps and marshlands were prevalent around the coast. However, much of the original vegetation has been cleared with what is left to be found in reserves such as the Cleland Conservation Park and Belair National Park. A number of creeks and rivers flow through the Adelaide region. The largest are the Torrens and Onkaparinga catchments. Adelaide relies on its many reservoirs for water supply, with Mount Bold Reservoir and Happy Valley Reservoir together supplying around 50% of Adelaide's requirements.
Adelaide has a Mediterranean climate, meaning that most of the rain falls in the winter months. Of the Australian capital cities, Adelaide is the driest. Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer. In contrast, the winter has fairly reliable rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80 mm. Frosts are rare, with the most notable occurrences having occurred in July 1908 and July 1982. There is usually no appreciable snowfall, except at Mount Lofty and some places in the Adelaide Hills.
There are 466,829 employed people in Adelaide, with 62.3% full-time and 35.1% part-time. In recent years there has been a growing trend towards part-time (which includes casual) employment, increasing from only 11.6% of the workplace in 1991, to over a third today. 15% of workers are employed in manufacturing, 5% in construction, 15% in retail trade, 11% in business services, 7% in education and 12% in health and community services. The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over is $447 per week, compared with $466 nationally. The median family income is $1,137 per week, compared with $1,171 nationally. Adelaide's housing and living costs are substantially lower than that of other Australian cities, with housing being notably cheaper. The median Adelaide house price is half that of Sydney and two-thirds that of Melbourne. The 3 month trend unemployment rate to March 2007 was 6.2%. The Northern suburbs' unemployment rate is disproportionately higher than the other regions of Adelaide at 8.3%, while the East and South are lower than the Adelaide average at 4.9% and 5.0% respectively. Well without further adue i give to you LEEANNE WATSON_ WE LOVE YOU LEANNE 
My name is Leanne and contrary to most people especially in Australia, rarely is my name shortened and I’ve never had a didn't last because I forgot. And now there's a few people I still see from that time but on the whole if people do shorten my name I often have to remind myself that they're talking to me.
I was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia. It’s a wonderful overgrown country town compared to a lot of capital cities, full of parks, churches and ‘pubs’ and the most wonderful beaches and wineries. I never thought I’d move away but I did. We moved to Melbourne, which compared to Adelaide is enormous (3 times the size).
And although I miss my family and friends very much we have a settled very well into Melbourne life and will probably never go back to Adelaide to live.
As a child I was an avid reader and if I wasn’t playing outside with my friends, I had my nose in a book. I never considered myself much of a writer until a failed marriage sent me back to University to update my qualifications to teach.
It was then as a returning student that my study partner pointed out to me how happy I was when I was researching and writing. It was at that time I truly laid claim to my love of learning and my passion for understanding behaviour and emotions and the wonderful complexity of relationships.
I’ve done a whole gamut of roles both in terms of relationships and career. I’ve been a child, grandchild, great grandchild and a parent, a sister, a cousin, niece and an Auntie, a girlfriend, a fiancé, a wife, a divorcee and as a result a single parent, I’m a life partner and I’ve raised two children with their natural father.
My life partner Tony and I have been together for just over 18 years, the last 8 of which we’ve lived and worked from home together.
A lot of my girlfriends think I’m nuts, but we’re very happy. He’s now taken on a role where he has to go to an office to work each day and I miss him terribly.
He spoils me something chronic (and I love it) and thinks I’m the Queen of the Fairy Princesses! He’s my rock, my best friend, my sounding board and my lover.
My Girls, from L-R, Elise 17, Zoe 26 and Siobhan 12. They are intelligent, loving, caring, ambitious and gorgeous and I am extremely proud of them.
Elise is a full-time dance student having left high school to follow her passion. Zoe was one of the youngest Senior Constables in the South Australian Police Force and Siobhan has just started High School, she’s made lots of new friends and is loving it.
Career wise, I’ve been a student, a teacher, a 24/7 cottage parent to behaviourally and emotionally disturbed children, a therapist, a counsellor and a coach, a mortgage broker and a spending planner coach, a business owner, and a partner and the bookkeeper.
My passion is behaviour and understanding why people behave the way they behave and feel the way they feel and empowering people to find the best in themselves and the people around them. And I’m an absolute classic at looking for the good in people and situations and seeing the other side of any issue. Zoe reckons I’m a soft touch (she would probably know ;) and could feel sorry for an axe murderer.
I am a person who is defined by my femininity and my strength, by my love of family and friends and the world in which I live. As an individual and as a professional I’m about inspiring and empowering myself and others to create the fulfilling, passionate and abundant lives we all deserve.
I haven’t ever seen the Matrix, but I found this amazing quote which came from it:
“Take the red pill or the blue pill … You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. Remember — all I am offering is the truth, nothing more."
I took the red pill! I live in Wonderland and what fascinates me is how deep the rabbit-hole goes.
I look for synchronicity and co-incidence everywhere I go and I love it when “the observer shows me in unexpected ways that s/he’s watching me! (Dr Joe Dispenza in What the Bleep).
What I’ve found is the clearer I get with wording my intentions the quicker the “co-incidences” happen. And then, the truly wonderful thing is the more notice I take of the coincidences the more the “co-incidences” occur. It’s quite incredible. Try it for yourself.
Did you know it IS possible to feel great whenever you choose to?
I'd love to share my secret resource with you
www.yoursuccessfulmind.com/feelinggreat.html http://community.adlandpro.com/go/LeanneW/default.aspx