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Copyright: NZ Historic Places Trust. Taken By: Heather Bauchop. Date: 1/11/2006.
The registration includes part of the land in Certificate of Title 17935, as indicated in Figure 3, Appendix 3 of the Registration Report, Edendale Homestead, including the tree-lined entrance way, the stables and barn and the mature tree plantings surrounding the homestead.
Edendale Homestead Complex has outstanding historical significance. The history of the homestead is intertwined with the pioneering development to the Edendale Dairy Factory in the early 1880s. The Homestead was built in 1883 as the manager's residence for the resident manager of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company's Edendale Estate. The Edendale Dairy Factory was established just previous to the construction of the homestead, and until the early twentieth century, when it was sold to the former manager of the Estate, it was the focus of the Estate's operations in Edendale, including oversight of the dairy company's operations.
The Edendale Dairy Factory was a pioneering operation, suggested by William Davidson and Thomas Brydone as forming a basis for economic development in the region which would facilitate the sale of land in Southland. Davidson provided information on the plans and equipment for the factory on a trip to Canada, while Brydone was responsible for the execution. The Dairy Factory was the first set up to work on a large scale factory system, and it won the government bonus for the first dairy export over 50 tons. In addition on the first shipment of frozen meat aboard the Dunedin in 1882, was a small quantity of butter from the Edendale factory, which successfully survived the journey. The history of Edendale is as important of that of Totara Estate in relation to the establishment of the dairy and meat industries of New Zealand.
Edendale Homestead has outstanding historical significance. The history of the homestead is intertwined with the pioneering development of the Edendale Dairy Factory in the early 1880s. The Homestead was built in 1883 as the manager's residence for the resident manager of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company's Edendale Estate. The Edendale Dairy Factory was established in the just previous to the construction of the homestead, and until the early twentieth century, when it was sold to the former manager of the Estate, it was the focus of the Estate's operations in Edendale, including oversight of the dairy company's operations.
The Edendale Dairy Factory was a pioneering operation, suggested by William Davidson and Thomas Brydone as forming a basis for economic development in the region which would facilitate the sale of land in Southland. Davidson provided information on the plans and equipment for the factory on a trip to Canada, while Brydone was responsible for the execution. The Dairy Factory was the first set up to work on a large scale factory system, and it won the government bonus for the first dairy export over 50 tons. In addition on the first shipment of frozen meat aboard the Dunedin on 15 February 1882, was a small quantity of butter from the Edendale factory, which successfully survived the journey. The history of Edendale is as important of that of Totara Estate in relation to the establishment of the dairy and meat industries of New Zealand.
The Edendale Homestead has architectural and aesthetic significance. The house and its outbuildings are representative of the kind of buildings necessary for the functioning of large estates. The Homestead is a representative example of a large timber villa-style residence of a style suitable for a manager's residence.
The Complex has aesthetic significance in its design and setting. The house is handsomely detailed and is set within established grounds. The landscaping is notable, with the tree-lined entrance way a notable feature.
The Homestead had social significance as an illustration of the lifestyle and activities associated with a large estate in the nineteenth century. The grand setting, the many rooms, and formal living areas illustrate the manner and style of that period. In addition the stable and homestead illustrate the service areas associated with the running of an estate, and particularly the importance of horses.
Edendale Homestead reflects important aspects in New Zealand history to a significant degree. The house itself is representative of the kind of dwelling constructed for the large pastoral holdings of the land companies in the nineteenth century. These places represent the development of a network based around the pastoral centres throughout Southland and Otago.
Edendale Homestead, as the Edendale Estate headquarters for the New Zealand and Australian Land Company from 1883 until the early twentieth century has a strong association with two figures who were outstandingly important to the development of the dairy industry in New Zealand Thomas Brydone and William Davidson. Through the vision and support of these men the Edendale Dairy Factory was established, the first of its type in the country. The Homestead was the administrative centre of the Estate. Donald Macdonald, the last New Zealand and Australian Land Company manager of the Edendale Estate oversaw the operation of the dairy factory from the homestead.
The Homestead therefore has special association with the Brydone and Davidson, as well as the establishment of the dairy industry in New Zealand.
(e) The community association with, or public esteem for, the place.
Edendale Homestead is held in high esteem. This is shown by the part the homestead and the Macdonald family played in the jubilee celebrations for the Edendale Dairy Factory. In addition the Homestead is valued on a district level, as shown by its inclusion in the Southland District Council District Plan.
In its design and layout the Edendale Homestead, outbuildings and grounds are representative of the kind of complexes that grew up around the extensive pastoral holdings of the nineteenth century. The homestead is a good example of a manager's house associated with a large estate, and illustrates the requirements of this position in its scale and grandeur.
(h) The symbolic or commemorative value of the place.
The Edendale Homestead, as the surviving building on which the nationally pioneering development of the dairy industry in Southland, centred on Edendale, has commemorative value.
The Edendale Homestead Complex, as one of the early estates in the Southland area is part of a network of pastoral enterprises in the area. These estates were owned by the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, and their use and subdivision forms the underlying pattern for settlement in this part of Southland. In addition the homestead itself, with its outbuildings and grounds forms a historical landscape.
Edendale Homestead Complex is worthy of consideration as a Category I historic place because of its outstanding significance as the centre of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company's Edendale Estate, with its association with Thomas Brydone and William Davidson and their central role in the pioneering development of the dairy factory industry at Edendale.
Thomas Robertson served an apprenticeship as a carpenter in Invercargill. He was employed by the New Zealand and Australian Land Company and worked on the Morton Mains and Edendale estates for fifteen years. He built the Edendale Dairy Factory and the Edendale Homestead.
Edendale Homestead, built in 1883 as residence for the estate manager for the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, is located in inland Southland, some 40 kilometres from Invercargill, on the main road between that town and Gore. The area, noted for a stand of bush set amongst swampy ground on the Mataura Plains, was known to Maori as Mairirua (and has been spelt a number of ways including Mararua and Maorirua).
The land on which Edendale Homestead sits was part of Run 97, and was first taken up by Scottish shepherd John MacKenzie in 1854. MacKenzie was a man of some notoriety, with a long standing local story of sheep stealing and other adventures, for which he was eventually arrested. He failed to stock the run and had to forfeit the holding.
The next applicant for the Run 97 was Irishman Robert Develin, who selected the Mataura Plains run which included Edendale. Develin camped rough on the run along with his sheep. In August 1856 a rough hut was built on the run, near Tuturau. Develin sold out to Robert Stuart in June 1857 for £1064.
Stuart stocked the run with over 300 ewes, and built a wooden house at Stuart's Bush, formerly known as Edendale Bush, with Stuart noting his address as Marirua Station, Mataura Plains. An undated survey plan by C. Maling shows a station beside Mararua Bush, at the site of the present day Edendale homestead, at the time the Hundreds were surveyed. (Stuart was the first runholder to establish a permanent dwelling in the vicinity of the current Edendale Homestead. This area became the heart of development on the Edendale Plains.
Southland lands were declared Hundreds from 1856 onward, including Stuart's run. Land was being surveyed off into 2000 acre blocks to interest capitalists in large scale investments. Among the first purchasers either direct or through agents was the New Zealand and Australian Land Company.
In January 1862 the land in Run 97 was transferred to Matthew Holmes. Holmes, representing Holmes and Co. bought properties including Seaward Downs and Mataura Estate. Two ships were chartered by Holmes and arrived with goods and passengers for the working of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, of which Holmes was the general manager in 1862. In 1865 W. S. Davidson became the superintendent of the estates, and in 1867 Thomas Brydone (1837-1904) became the General Manager of the New Zealand Estate. The Company had a vast holding with land in Southland, North Otago, Canterbury and Australia.
Local historian Patricia Wilson claims that James Douglas (agent and manager for the Company until 1870) gave the area the name Edendale, apparently after the Garden of Eden, but also notes the history associated with Holmes. It seems likely that both men acted as agents for the Company. Land title information indicates that title to the larger area within which the homestead stands was issued to the New Zealand and Australian Land Company in 1885, having been previously issued to Douglas and another in 1871.
The Company was a powerful concern that gave impetus to development in Southland, including the construction of the railway from Invercargill to Gore, the establishment of the Woodlands Meat Preserving Works in 1873, and the development of the dairy factory at Edendale in the early 1880s.
The Edendale Estates were divided into three groups Oteramika Downs, Waimumu Downs and Mataura Valley. The Company eventually owned about 125,000 acres which was known as the Edendale Estate. Local historian Miller writes that the Company made a very real contribution to the advancement of agriculture in Southland. A homestead was constructed at the Bush at Mararua (close to the present day house) which was considered the very heart of the district. Edendale was the centre of the Company's estate in Southland, with successive managers living in the homestead. The house was also leased for a time to Shand Brothers.
William Davidson (1846-1924) served until 1878 when he was recalled to Glasgow to succeed Morton as the General Manager of the land company. By 1878 some £57,500 had been spent on buildings and fencing, and over £200,000 on cultivation of grasses. The Estate carried 62,000 sheep and 5,700 cattle. Expenditure was largely confined to 35,000 acres, half of which were in the Mataura Valley, but even with this money the estates failed to prosper. A number of expensive steam engines were imported for working the ploughs and harrows, but these heavy machines sunk in the boggy tracks and were unsuccessful. Davidson lamenting: 'When riding over the numerous estates in Southland, it made one sad to reckon up the fruitless expense that had taken place, and my climax was reached when I saw a large shed filled with a number of steam engines for working ploughs and harrows, the original cost of which was enormous. Such a system of cultivation being entirely unsuitable to Edendale.' Large sums were spent on bridges and road in an attempt to navigate the swampy area.
Ultimately the Company found its holdings a drain on resources: the inclement winter weather, the rabbit plague and the poor soil effects combining, resulting in a loss to the Company. They decided to sell their holding. Selling the property proved an issue. In 1881 Thomas Brydone suggested the development of dairying and this was approved, with Brydone authorized to acquire a herd of 300 dairy cows. A factory would provide a market for local dairy produce. Mervyn Palmer, writing in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography considers that Brydone's contribution to dairying in New Zealand (at Edendale) is, 'if less heralded, perhaps even more noteworthy' than his well recognized outstanding role in the development of the frozen meat industry.
Davidson visited Canada and reported back to Brydone on the dairy industry there, sending a report complete with plans for a model factory and the necessary machinery. The Dairy Factory at Edendale, the first of its kind in New Zealand, was built at a cost of £1200, against which the Land Company gained a bonus of £500 offered by the Government for the first export of 50 tons of cheese or 25 tons of butter, to encourage the factory system of manufacture.
Historically the importance of the Edendale Dairy Company is without parallel in the establishment of the factory system of dairying in New Zealand. It was the second, not the first, of our dairy factories, and originally it was a proprietary not a co-operative concern. But while the greatest credit is due to the courage and enterprise of the small band of eight dairy farmers who not only started but successfully operated for several years the co-operative dairy company established on the Otago Peninsula in 1871, the influence of the Peninsula Pioneer Co-operative Cheese Company, Ltd., brand 'Pioneer,' was almost entirely local, whereas the Edendale company spread its beneficial influence over the whole Colony.
Philpott writes that Edendale's only serious competitor for the Government's bonus was Flemington (near Ashburton), which commenced operations on 30 October 1882, but whose output of 30 tons for the season failed to comply with the 50 tons minimum requirement. There were only two other large cheese factories in full operation at the time (Te Awamutu and Lepperton).
The Company have erected a most extensive building as a cheese factory. It is placed on a private siding at the Railway Station of timber and concrete, floor and cellar concrete, walls double, eight inch walls overall with sawdust between. Ground floor 42ft x 68 ft divided into a receiving room, selling room, cheese making room, drum room, buttermaking room, wash room, boiler room with an h.p. engine. The concrete cellar 20ft x 12ft x 8ft high, cheese curing room upstairs 68 ft by 20 ft all thoroughly fitted with steam power throughout and capable of manufacturing the milk of 1200 cows.
The factory was under the active supervision of the manager of the Edendale Estate (at first Robert McCallum, and presumably later Donald McDonald).
The Edendale dairy factory is regarded as the 'true pioneer' of New Zealand's dairy factories, more than a just a cheese factory it combined the dairy factory function with experimentation and a highly valued training school (the first in the country, begun in 1895). In addition, the ship Dunedin which carried the first shipment of frozen meat to England in February 1882, carried a small quantity of butter made at the Edendale factory. The Edendale factory was closely followed by one at Flemington near Ashburton in August 1882. While the Edendale Homestead was not completed until 1883, as the residence of the Estate manager, who played an important role in managing the Company's interest in the factory, it embodies the New Zealand and Australian Land Company's Edendale Estate and its role and support of the development of the dairy industry in Southland, and as a pioneer in the country as a whole. Instructors for the dairy school were the guests of Donald MacDonald at Edendale Homestead.
Davidson considered that the building of the factory and the purchasing of milk helped facilitate the sale of thousands of acres in the area. A booklet was prepared and published in Scotland fully describing the estates for sale, and was designed to attract Scottish immigrants. Most of the first purchasers, however, were already in New Zealand. The Otago Witness reported that the whole estate had been subdivided into paddocks of 150-200 acres surrounded by gorse fences for shelter. Two windmills had been working for several years to supply water for 1000 acres.
On 14 January 1882 the Southland Times advertised farms on Edendale Estate for sale. The farms were 30-180 acres, suburban sections 2-12 acres, and town sections ¼ acre.
In 1883 W.S. Davidson reported to the company that a new homestead had been built at Edendale at a cost of £2,201, replacing the earlier homestead which had been sold. The timber for the house was from the Company's mill at Kamahi Bush.
By 1886 the Land Company had liquidated its southern holdings. During this time the manager of the estate was Robert McCallum, living in the old homestead opposite the gates of the present homestead.
In 1888 Donald Macdonald became the manager of the Edendale Estate. He was the last of the Company's managers for Edendale. He had come to New Zealand in 1877 at the age of nineteen, and was employed by the Land Company at Acton Station, Rakaia, and later at Clydevale in the Clutha District. Donald Macdonald encouraged his employees to buy land around Edendale. He would let settlers contract for him in winter to help with their rents. Macdonald is remembered as a larger than life figure: as 'Long Macdonald', 'the Laird', the 'Big Chief', demanding a 'tremendous amount of work' from his men, and living at the new homestead. He was known for his love of horses, with the brick-floored stables housing ten Clydesdales and ten fine hacks, and the estate's horses noted throughout the district.
Another notable contribution of Macdonald was his encouragement of farmers in the application of lime to the pastureland, which had a huge effect on the production of the land. Settlers were struggling with their rent, and at a meeting with Thomas Brydone and Donald Macdonald in 1889 expressed their concerns. Brydone seemed willing to reduce rents, but Macdonald said that they were to be given free lime. Local historian Wilson writes: 'If any one thing could be singled out among many, that have been the making of Edendale, lime perhaps could have the honour.' Excursion trains were run from Dunedin to illustrate what could be achieved by putting lime on the paddocks: turnips were so large they were displayed on the fence in view of train passengers and the pastures thrived.
In 1902 Donald Macdonald visited Scotland and purchased most of the unsold portion of Edendale Estate from his employers. Around this time the homestead appears to have been extended to the rear, with a bathroom, kitchen and additional bedrooms added. With the exception of the Homestead Block of 2,000 acres and some leased properties most of it was sold to the Government for subdivision under The Land for Settlements Consolidation Act of 1900. The Edendale Estate was subdivided into 122 farms under lease in perpetuity. The annual rental was fixed varying on the type of country. The land could be freeholded.
In 1903 the dairy factory became a cooperative (as Thomas Brydone had hoped from its inception in 1882). The New Zealand Dairyman (Nov 1903) reported that the settlers on Edendale Estate had purchased the dairy factory from Donald Macdonald. Macdonald apparently refused some lucrative private offers to allow the settlers to buy the factory. The property at that time included the factory, plant, cheesemaker's residence, men's cottage, six acres of land and a large piggery. In December 1903 the first directors of the company were elected, including Donald Macdonald who served for about a year, guiding the new recruits into the business of running a dairy factory.
In 1909 Donald Macdonald subdivided a portion of the homestead block. 1100 acres were subdivided into 12 farms, ranging from 60-120 acres, designed to encourage settlers into dairy farming. Macdonald retained 700 acres around the homestead for himself.
In 1936 the old wooden making room at the Edendale Dairy Factory which had served for 54 years was rebuilt.
Donald Macdonald lived on Edendale Estate till is death in 1939. His obituary in the Otago Daily Times 27 Nov 1939) noted that his focus on the farm was fattening cattle for market, Hereford breeding, and a love of horses, particularly Clydesdales. Hilda Macdonald died in 1940. After this time the family engaged a working manager, who with a housekeeper and a gardener cared for the homestead and estate.
In 1946 a 400 acres was acquired by the Government for three dairy farms under the Rehabilitation Scheme for returned servicemen.
In 1960 the estate was acquired by the current owner, grandson of Donald Macdonald. The homestead was relined and restored, with some reconfiguration of the service areas of the house to suit modern living.
The Edendale Homestead was one of the centres for 80th Jubilee celebrations for the Edendale Dairy Factory. A procession involving Donald Macdonald's original buggy, driven by his grandson, with his daughter and great-grandson as passengers (as well as a local dressed as Sir Thomas Brydone) paraded up the grand tree-lined driveway watched by some 2000 people at the homestead.
In 2007 the homestead remains in the ownership of Macdonald's descendents.
Edendale Homestead is located about one kilometre outside Edendale, a small town in Southland. The Edendale district is 45 kilometres inland from Invercargill, and is a farming area focused on dairying. The large Edendale dairy factory is located nearby.
A kilometre long sequoia-lined drive leads from State Highway I (Edendale-Woodlands Highway) to the Homestead. The Homestead sits next to Mararua Bush (a substantial remnant native forest). Surrounding the house itself are well developed gardens and grounds, including many mature trees which may date from the nineteenth century.
The house faces north and looks over the well-grassed paddocks. The viewscape from the house is protected by a covenant on the title of the adjoining block which was recently subdivided and sold.
To the west of the house are the outbuildings associated with the homestead: the former stables (more recently used as a grain processing area), and the building incorporating the dairy/cart shed and barn. A small pump house shelters the pump and bore that provides water for the homestead.
The outbuildings formerly included a men's quarters and cottage (since demolished), and a motor garage (destroyed by fire). The concrete foundations of these buildings remain.
Edendale Homestead is a substantial two-storey timber villa-style residence. The form of the building is basically a large return bay villa, with additional gables and lean-tos added to the south and east elevations. It has restrained detailing, most notable being the paneling and dentils around some of the bay windows.
The principle north elevation has a projecting gable on the right side. This gable has square bay windows with decorative paneling and corbels, with a hipped roof on the first floor. The windows are double-hung sash. The windows at the end of the hallway are round-headed and divided into six-lights. There is a veranda on the ground floor and a balcony on the first floor with carved balusters.
The east elevation has a faceted bay window projecting from the ground floor.
The west elevation has a square bay window, topped with a separate gable on the first floor. There are two single storey square bay windows with dentils and decorative paneling on this elevation. A metal fire escape (with window access from the bedrooms) runs the length of the first floor of the west elevation.
The house faces north, with the formal entrance on the north elevation.
The south elevation provides access to the service areas of the house, and is U-shaped. It has a single-storey lean-to porch. There is a narrow brick single storey brick addition, topped with a single gable timber structure which houses the bathroom on the ground floor, and a storage cupboard on the first floor.
The house is arranged around central hallways on the both floors. On entering the front door a wide hallway has provides access to the rooms alongside. The entrance doors, as with much of the joinery in the formal parts of the house in varnished. There is a timber arch over the entrance into the hallway.
The formal parlour is the first room on the right. The parlour has a decorative fire timber surround with a built in mirror. The plaster ceilings are a notable feature of this room. There is a dado rail.
Across the hallway is the formal dining room. This is an opulent room decorated in rich red tones (a colour noted to have been used in that room is the past, and chosen by the current owners for this reason). There is a decorative timber fire surround with tiling and an inbuilt mirror. There is an alcove formed by the bay window with a shallow arch above. The timber and paneling in the bay are varnished and are notable features of the room.
To rear of the house what is now the informal open plan living, dining room and kitchen. This area has been opened up. The original toilet room is notable for its pressed metal walls and ceiling (matching that in the upstairs bathroom). This area has been remodeled to suit modern requirements.
A staircase rises from the left side of the hallway, leading to the first floor landing, and the bedrooms. The staircase has a turned timber balusters and newel posts.
The upstairs landing runs the length of the first floor. There are eight bedrooms opening off the hall. Much of the house has been relined in Gibraltar board. Some of the bedrooms have fireplaces, others do not.
There is a small bathroom on the first floor, notable for its pressed metal ceiling and walls.
The outbuildings are located to the west of the homestead. The stables and the barn (which housed the cart shed, dairy as well as storage) are both single storey timber buildings.
The stable is a single gable structure with a lean-to addition to the north elevation. It originally provided stalls for 20 horses (four sets of stalls for five horses each, only 1 of those stalls remain. The stable was adapted for use as a granary in the 1960s and now houses several grain silos and other equipment associated with processing grain. Some parts of the stable are suffering from rot and water damage.
The barn is an L-shaped timber structure. It housed the cart shed, barn and work room in one wing, and the milking space for the house cows in the other. The dairy still has the stalls in place for the cows. The remainder of the building is now largely used for storage. Some parts of the barn are suffering from rot and water damage.
To the north of the stables and barn there are the concrete foundations of the garage and a cottage. There is also a small single gable pump shed which houses the bore and pump that provides water for the property. This and its accompanying storage tank used to provide gravity fed water supply to much of the farm. Of the storage tank, the concrete anchors for the legs survive.
The Homestead and outbuildings are situated in mature grounds. The kilometre-long driveway from the main road is a Wellingtonia-lined avenue and is a notable feature of the estate. The house and outbuildings are surrounded by other mature trees, and these make a significant contribution to the heritage value of the property. An undated plan of the Homestead Timber notes that the plantings included mature plantings of Pinus insignis, Sycamore, Cyprus lawsoniana, Macrocarpa, and Larch.
The history of Edendale is one of a pioneering association with the dairy industry, in particular the role of Thomas Brydone and William Davidson and the New Zealand and Australian Land Company in providing international examples of technology and context for factory dairy production in Canada, and then using that information to build a factory which led the way in dairy exporting in New Zealand.
The role of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company and the significance of Edendale as the centre of the Company's operations is similar in importance to Totara Estate and its contribution to the frozen meat industry. Totara Estate has a range of buildings associated with the operation of the farm in the nineteenth century - including the Carcass Hanging Shed, Granary, Stables, Men's Quarters and Cookshop (all Category I), and Homestead (Category II).
While Edendale does not have such a complete range of buildings the historical association and importance of the place is as strong as Totara, particularly given that the original dairy factory building has been replaced by the huge modern complex nearby at Edendale. The homestead in particular stands as the reminder of the importance of this period in the history of the dairy industry.
The NZHPT has registered a variety of buildings associated with the dairy industry including a dairy company office, examples of dairy workers' houses, and seven dairy factory buildings (the majority of them dating from the twentieth century. All but two are Category II; the exceptions are the Old Dairy Factory at Palmerston North (Record Number 7180), constructed in 1928; and, Springfield on the Otago Peninsula was the site of the first cooperative dairy factory in the country (Record Number 4715, Category I).
Springfield was the home of the Otago Peninsula Cheese Factory Company formed in 1871, and which operated from an 1860s farmstead and its ancillary buildings, until it moved first to a purpose built brick factory at nearby Pukehiki, eventually absorbed into the Taieri and Peninsula Dairy Company. This company focused on production for the domestic market, whereas Edendale was focused on export.
Homestead, stables and barn, tree-lined drive and mature planting surrounding the homestead.
Edendale Homestead is constructed of timber and has a corrugated iron roof.
Stables, Milking Shed and Barn are timber with corrugated iron roofs.


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Researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK and CNRS in Grenoble, France, have fabricated an ultrafast "mode-locked" graphene laser. The result – which comes as quite a surprise, given the absence of a band gap in graphene – paves the way to photonic devices based on the material.
Since its discovery in 2004, graphene has continued to amaze scientists thanks to its unique electronic and mechanical properties that make it useful for a host of device applications. The "wonder material", as it is called, might even replace silicon as the electronic material of choice in the future. Graphene consists of a planar single sheet of carbon arranged in a honeycombed lattice and electrons travel through the material at extremely high speeds thanks to the fact that they behave like relativistic, or "Dirac", particles with no rest mass.
Now, Andrea Ferrari and colleagues say that graphene might be used in optoelectronics applications too, by demonstrating an ultrafast laser made from the material.
Ultrafast lasers are widely used in science and technology, and there is an increasing demand for compact, tunable laser sources. Today, the dominating technology in so-called mode-locked lasers – that is, lasers that produce ultrashort pulses at a very high repetition rate – is based on semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs). However, such devices are complicated and expensive to make, and are severely limited in their bandwidth.
The new ultrafast laser exploits graphene and graphene layers as mode-lockers.
"In principle, this is quite a surprising result because graphene has no band gap, which is a key requirement for mode-locking in SESAMs," said Ferrari.
The team studied how light is absorbed in graphene and how photo-excited charge carriers behave in the material. In particular, they highlighted the key role of "Pauli blocking" in saturating the light absorption. Because of the Pauli exclusion principle, when pumping of electrons in the excited state is quicker than the rate at which they relax, the absorption saturates. This is because no more electrons can be excited until there is "space" available for them in the excited state.
Since the Dirac electrons in graphene linearly disperse, this means that it is the most wideband saturable light absorber ever, far out-passing the bandwidth provided by any other known material.
The researchers made their laser by starting with a graphene-polymer composite, obtained from a solution of graphene. Next, they placed this composite between two optical fibres in a laser cavity.
"Graphene is the ideal wideband saturable absorber, able to operate from the UV to visible and far-infrared wavelengths," Ferrari told nanotechweb.org. "Our graphene-based ultrafast laser, which harnesses the wideband optical nonlinearity of graphene, with no need for band gap engineering, extends the practical application of this novel material from nanoelectronics to optoelectronics and integrated photonics."
The team are now in the process of optimizing a fully functioning wideband tunable laser based on graphene, as well as trying similar experiments with graphene oxide.

industry_corpus2: Technology & Research


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A couple years ago I purchased a great homemade snowshoe shelf at one of my favorite antique stores. My Christmas vignettes on the shelf include snowmen, Santas, jar with Christmas bulbs, a vintage look wood candy cane advertising painted box, a small crock with candy canes and a tin pail with candles including a snowman led candle.
Thanks Debbie. Snowshoes are common decor here "Up North". Have a very Merry Christmas!
Adorable. Wish we had need of snow shoes but sadly no. Love the old bulbs in the jar too.
What a cute idea! Thanks for sharing. Hope you had a delightful Christmas.
Olive, we barely have snow here in northern Minnesota this year. It was raining today. Thanks for your comments!
Thanks to CJ and Sarah for their great comments!

industry_corpus2: Others


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This week the temperature reached 20 degrees on the Celsius scale (70F), and the Norwegian spring season is on schedule. This weekend is the last bank holiday of the spring, as the 2nd day of Pentecost is on Monday. I will travel to our summer home for the first weekend of the 2008 season. First weekend means cleaning floors, dusting, but also enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside.
I love to explore countries, cultures, and cities. Equally I feel great comfort returning to a place going back to the time when Elizabeth I reigned Great Britain. Our family took over the house located not far from Arendal by the Norwegian South Eastern coastline, as late as 1773, making us the 6th generation to live here.
So I enjoy all the best of all worlds, traveling abroad at leisure, taking part of the hectic life of Oslo, and when you are fed up with it all, you may retreat to the peace and quiet by the coast.
Who can ask for more.
Coming up in May, - Lyon, France!!

industry_corpus2: Travel & Geography


text: The figure measures appx 7" from fingertip to toe, suspended by strong wire appx 5" long and strung with beautiful glass beads. Sculpted using borosilicate (or Pyrex) glass, the strongest most crack resistant glass available, and then kiln-annealed for added durability. Comes lovingly wrapped in a gift box.

industry_corpus2: Manufacturing


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First published in - Private Eye.
Exhibitions - Kowalsky Gallery, London, 2009.
Specific expertise - Gag Cartoons, Business Cartoons, Illustrations.

industry_corpus2: Film & Entertainment


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Run, fools! There are only carpets!
Carpets are now outside as well. They are coming for you.


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I am investing in a dairy business. Do I have to pay zakaah on the cows owned by this business, or on the net profits that result from it, as is the case with investments in real estate or cars? How can we pay the zakaah for agricultural corporations which produce agricultural and dairy products – knowing that their shares are traded on the market. May Allaah reward you and guide you.
Zakaah is obligatory on the money that is made from the profits of the business, if it reaches the nisaab (minimum amount) and one full (hijri) year passes from the time when the money was obtained. The rate of zakaah is one-quarter of one-tenth, i.e. 2.5%. Zakaah is also due on the profits of the shares in agricultural and dairy businesses and the like, if they reach the nisaab and one full (hijri) year has passed, if they are purely for investment. However, if they are shares which are for sale, the zakaah is payable on them and on their profits. And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace.

industry_corpus2: Agriculture & Fisheries


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“Catastrophic devastation.” is how Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds describes the carnage from the second major flood along the Missouri River within a decade.
Reynolds toured flood-impacted southwest Iowa Monday with stops in Council Bluffs, Glenwood, Pacific Junction and Hamburg.
Hamburg Mayor Cathy Crain told Reynolds citizens fought valiantly, but water swamped all but the northern portion of the community.
Flooding knocked out the city’s water plant, but also Hamburg’s City Hall, fire station and almost all the businesses in the community.
The mayor says virtually all the equipment the city owned is gone.
An elementary school is now serving as Hamburg’s temporary city hall.
Reynolds also heard concerns about how this latest flooding incident will impact the local farming community.
Fremont County Supervisor Dustin Sheldon says many residents were still recovering from the floods of 2011.
Others expressed anger that federal officials forced the city to remove fortifications to a levee which helped protect Hamburg during the 2011 flooding.
The governor says she intends to review that levee issue.
Interstate 29 remains closed in southwest Iowa due to flooding.

industry_corpus2: Water Resources & Marine


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When Is a Service Agreement Used?
Sample Service Agreement More than just a template, our step-by-step interview process makes it easy to create a Service Agreement. Save, sign, print, and download your document when you are done.
TidyForm provides a large number of free and hand-picked Service Agreement Template, which can be used for small, medium and large-sized enterprises. You can find practical, colorful files in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF formats. A Service Agreement, also sometimes called a General Services Agreement, is a document between a service provider and a client. In a Service Agreement, the service provider agrees to provide certain services - these can be any type of services, from small, individual-oriented services like dog walking to larger, more professional /5().
Customize a free Service Agreement for yourself, a corporation, or a small business with our easy-to-follow questionnaire. A Service Agreement outlines the terms of a service or job provided by one party in exchange for compensation, and can be used in industries from construction to technology. Available in all states. Like a business proposal template, this sample service contract template outlines the agreed upon services to be provided.


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First off I just wanted to take a couple of secs to wish you an yours an awesomely Merry Christmas!
Thank YOU so much for your support in 2015. It truly means the world to me.
As you might know 2015 has been absolutely mind-boggling here at Sublime Science as I truly hope it was for you too.
For 2016 I have one simple (but not easy!) goal. To make 2016 the best year ever. That’s the exact same wish I have for you.
Before I dive into my self-indulgent recap. Please take a moment to think about something awesome that you’ve done this year.
In all the manic-busyness it’s all too easy to overlook. Anyway, let me know what the most awesome part of your 2015 was and what you’re aiming for in 2016. I’d love to know!
So, What did you get up to in 2015?
I took on the Dragon’s in the Den!
I walked in to the Den wearing my trusty lab coat, covered in slime and started firing smoke rings at the Dragons.
I contained (some!) of my nerves…had a chat with the wall on my own on national TV for a while…and ultimately walked out with two awesome Dragons to help make Sublime Science even more awesome.
Richard Branson is a true entrepreneurial hero and to get even the smallest amount of recognition from him just fires me up to do bigger and better things.
The passion of enthusiasm from these guys is absolutely infectious.
It was awesome to be able to help to bring some tricky scientific subjects to life and generally have a bit of a giggle too!
I’m pretty passionate about the awesome work that the Prince’s Trust do with encouraging young people to start their own businesses.
It’s absolutely awesome to be able to encourage and help young people getting started. Real privilege to be able to do it!
The picture is of me speaking at their Celebrate Success event where I got to hear all about the most successful young people within the Prince’s Trust this year. Some incredible stories.
Won A Great British Entrepreneur Award!
What an absolute honour and what a way to finish such an awesome year!
I’m so patriotic and Great Britain has such an incredible history of incredible science so to actually win a Great British Entrepreneur Award for making science awesome was just incredible.
We also booked our 10,000th Sublime Science Party, helped out the awesome folks over at East African Playgrounds and made science awesome for 100,000’s children.
And had less than the optimal amount of sleep.


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Emily Glazer was first to report that Dish Network Corp. was pulling its bid for the telecommunications firm LightSquared Inc. The reversal, after Dish last year put in a bid for $2.2 billion, marks the latest twist in the high-profile case, in which LightSquared has hit a number of speed bumps in its effort to emerge from bankruptcy.
Dish Network Corp. is officially pulling its bid for LightSquared Inc., the telecommunications firm in bankruptcy that has wireless “spectrum” Dish has been coveting, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The reversal, after Dish last year put in a bid for $2.2 billion, marks the latest twist in the high-profile case, in which LightSquared has hit a number of speed bumps in its effort to emerge from bankruptcy.
Dish is expected to disclose its letter of termination of the bid as soon as Thursday morning, the person said.

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


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What happened between my boss and I that day happens in all aspects of our lives as adults. It is normal behavior to expect that every once in a while people are going to miss a deadline. In the classroom, we as teachers know that students will miss deadlines from time to time. When they do, we do what any normal teacher would do—we become compassionate and flexible. Just like in real life with adults, we only start to worry about the behavior of missing deadlines when it goes from once in a while to chronic.
In the real world the chronic misbehavior of missing deadlines is rarely tolerated. People can lose jobs over too many missed deadlines. They can miss out on first-come-first-serve situations where demand exceeds supply like those popular concert tickets that went on sale at noon and are gone within the hour. What about students? When I was a teacher ten years ago my students lost the ability to get the best possible grade when they missed a deadline. I was a big fan of policies such as ten points off for each day late or if you don’t do the work you will have to take a zero on the assignment and suffer the consequences. I was always shocked to have students who would take the time to calculate which assignments they could afford to take a low grade on by not doing (or doing late) and still get the final course average they were hoping for, until I realized that I did the same thing when I was a student.
Winger (2009) described this scenario as an unintended consequence of a broken traditional grading model—a model in which “students received so much credit for completing work, meeting deadlines, and following through with responsibilities that these factors could lift a student’s semester grade to a B or an A, even as other indicators suggested that the student had learned little.” That grading system wasn’t fair to me when I was a student, and it isn’t fair to students who live with it today. Wormeli (2006) argues, “a grade represents a clear and accurate indicator of what a student knows and is able to do—mastery.” Deadlines are important, but if we factor in the behavior of turning an assignment in on time or not into an overall assignment grade, then we are watering down our whole grading system.
My school, like many across the country, has abandoned traditional grading and reporting for a competency-based approach. In such a model, traditional grades have changed for the better. Academic grades are separated from academic behaviors like meeting deadlines, participating in class, and leaving perfect margins. No longer do teachers combine academic indicators of what students have learned with academic behaviors like a big pot of beef stew that just blends everything together into a monotone flavor. Competency-based schools report out on the level of mastery students achieve for each and every course competency, as well as their mastery of key academic behaviors.
2. The school needs to have an effective system in place to monitor and communicate academic behaviors, thus holding students accountable for their behavior.
Is the system in place at my school designed to address misbehavior perfectly? It is far from it. On a regular basis we look at the types of misbehaviors our students engage in and we make adjustments to our system to more effectively manage those behaviors. We are constantly developing how we use this system. I expect we will continue to do this until the day comes when we don’t have any student misbehaviors. The key to this approach is that we have identified academic behaviors as a school-wide issue with common expectations for student behavior and developed responses—as a school—when they don’t meet those expectations.
Guskey, T. (2009). Practical Solutions for Serious Problems in Standards-Based Grading. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
O’Connor, K. (2009). How to Grade for Learning, Third Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Winger, T. (2009). Grading what Matters. Educational Leadership, 67(3), 73-75.
Wormeli, R. (2006). Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Brian M. Stack is the National Association of Secondary School Principals 2017 New Hampshire Secondary School Principal of the Year. He is Principal of Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston, NH, an author for Solution Tree, and also serves as an expert for Understood.org, a division of the National Center for Learning Disabilities in Washington, DC. He lives with his wife Erica and his five children Brady, Cameron, Liam, Owen, and Zoey on the New Hampshire seacoast. You can follow Brian on Twitter @bstackbu or visit his blog.
Hi — You can print the articles by clicking by first clicking on the title to get the full article and then clicking on the green button that says print. It is pdf form but is in pretty good shape for sharing.
Well as a teacher I have deadlines! My grades are due at a specific time, and teachers who miss them can be reprimanded. But ironically my school is SBG school and kids have no due dates!
So I have NON-flexible deadlines! So does my friend the Wedding Photographer!
Greg — This is such an important insight!!!! Policies have to be inclusive and clear about the impact on students and teachers. There is a big difference between operational expectations and flexibility for what it takes to learn something. What is often missing from schools are clear habits of work that help students get feedback about the importance of learning to manage their time. Some of the more developed schools only allow flexibility in time if students are meeting more operational expectations — attendance, homework and participation. To just leave dates open for students without any expectations is just asking for trouble. Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
So, ultimately deadlines DO result in affecting a grade? If a student never turns in assignments, he/she will fail the class due to a behavior, not for failure to show mastery of the skill. Seems to me that the problem is not what grading system is chosen but how it is applied by the teachers and school. Wouldn’t a teacher being flexible on a deadline be just as effective in a A-F grade scale class as it would in a SBG class?
This was a good article that helps me to remember that we are helping are students become responsible for the work they do. This can be done with work as well as behavior. Both responsibility and behavior are what make up a active positive students.
I enjoyed this article it reminds me that we are helping our students become more responsible by handing in assignments as well as having good behavior. This is how children become productive adults.
We have no deadlines at our school. It is a disaster. Students are not mastering concepts, they are playing the system and think it’s funny, they are turning in work at the very last minute, leaving teachers with impossible stacks of papers to grade at the very end of the quarter, and they are sometimes simply copying the work of others, who turned in the work months earlier. A total nightmare resulting in very little student mastery or care. Am I really supposed to contact every single parent each time a student doesn’t have an assignment? At what point do high schoolers have to face some kind of accountability that they care about and take responsibility into their own hands? Most teachers now are simply moving to all in-class assessments, like tests and quizzes, because it’s too much of a nightmare to get anything else turned in.
Hi – thank you for your email. it sounds like you don’t have all the pieces in place. First it sounds like the concepts of student agency haven’t been put into place in which students begin to understand that this their education and that they need to take responsibility for it. You might want to read some of the pieces by Courtney Belolan about how schools and teachers build shared vision and codes of cooperation to begin to instill responsibility into students. Second, there is always an explicit conversation about “pace” and what it is going to take to get everything done and everything learned. Deadlines can be important to helping students build skills around time management. Do you have explicit habits of work such as time management that students can reflect upon? You might also want to read up on how Casco Bay manages some of this dynamic — students can continue to keep learning and take assessments again only if they have met all of the basics of strong learning skills (turning things in, attending class, etc). Finally, it’s not clear to me that the focus is on students mastering skills or covering content or standards. Competency education only works if everyone shares the goal of helping students master explicit and transparent learning goals. It’s very sad to hear that in response to it not working smoothly yet teachers are responding in this way. I’d take a step back and ask what is missing in your approach. Perhaps there is a school near by that has worked out some of the kinks.
Great ideas to help instill both learning and life skills!

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


text:
It is important that you know how to look for the right discounts and deals when searching for the furniture you need. This article is going to help you with that. Keep in mind what you’re about to read, and make sure you pay attention so that you can know what to do.
When you are looking for a new piece of furniture, go to a large store’s clearance area. They often have older pieces which are no longer trendy. These departments can be a great source of solid items at low prices.
Read all color description before buying any furniture from online. many times people select furniture based on the way that it looks. In many cases people that do this end up with mismatched furniture. A brown loveseat with a black chair won’t look so good, so read the descriptions thoroughly.
Consider taking someone with you to the store when you are shopping for furniture. This can be a family member, a trusted friend or a fashion forward neighbor. This person is your second set of eyes, and they might notice small details that you have missed. They can also help you to negotiate price if you find that perfect piece.
Now that you have read this article, you surely feel better about the furniture purchases that lie ahead of you. It’s time to use the tips that you have been given so that you can find the furniture you need. You will be glad that you did, as you will have furnished at a discount.

industry_corpus2: Real Estate & Construction


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2010: Time for some major changes!
It may not seem at all logical but a major change occurred in 2010 and it was all due to this wheel.
It's a long story, both in terms of time and in terms of how it leads to the outcome of this year's entry in my 78 Trans Am journal.
What we see above is an 8 inch wide Pontiac "Snowflake" wheel. The snowflake was initially introduced for 1977 as the optional upscale 7 inch aluminum wheel for the Trans Am, as a replacement for the heavier "Honeycomb" wheel that was used from 1970 until 1976. The base wheel remained the 7 inch Rally II, which were still on my base '78 Trans Am. These wheels were popularized by their use on the black and gold Trans Am used in the film Smokey and the Bandit. In 1978 Pontiac introduced an improved handling option on the Trans Am with the order code WS6, and this included an 8 inch version of the wheel, as shown above.
The WS6 option was available on any Trans Am, not just the black/gold (and later gold/black) Special Editions. On non-SE cars, they were painted a silver/grey in the spoke insides, whereas on the gold wheels they were uniformly gold for 1978 and as in the image above for 1979 and later. They could be distinguished from the narrower non-WS6 snowflakes by the additional shiny lip on the edges, helping to achieve the extra width.
How this pertains to me and the photo above: in late 2001, I purchased four fairly used wheels from a fellow Trans Am owner in Toronto... he had held on to them from the days when he owned a 1979 Trans Am. They were worn and somewhat corroded, with the grey paint flaking off from the spokes, but far from restorable. The idea all along was to fix them up and use them on my 1978 Trans Am. The intention was the keep the car black when it would be repainted, and probably stick to the graphics colors as used on silver cars. I'm not big on change, and I really liked the way the grey/orange bird worked on a black car with a red interior. I figured restoring the wheels to their original stock grey colour would work best, although many had skipped the repaint process and opted for a plain polished look which was also incredibly sharp looking.
So the wheels languished in my basement, through a move to a new house, until the day came in 2009 when I handed them to a local wheel "specialist" to get them done up. I decided on the gold theme, with the '79-'81 treatment of having the spoke edges polished and clear. It cost me a near fortune, but the results were FAR less than stellar. In fact, I was downright enraged: I'd seen plenty of worse condition wheels restored to near-new condition, and these were pathetic in comparison. Even after I provided them plenty of reference photos to colour match from, they still managed to screw up the hue! The tint ended up NOTHING like the factory used, and it left me sort of depressed due to the fact that refinishing them was no longer possible (save for manual sanding and lots of hard work). Even the clearcoat was far below expectations of quality. I didn't even bother unwrapping the rest of them, I just left them in the corner for now.
After the fantastic repair job on my GTA after the little incident in late 2008, I had asked to be put on a waiting list for getting a nice paint job done on my '78. With the gold wheels, I had begun to entertain the idea of building a quasi-SE, with some of the SE items I liked and avoiding those cues I did not (one of which was the gothic lettering, but that's a long story). So in mid 2010, the call came and it was time to bring it in for the makeover. The night before, I gave it a good scrub but little did I know what lay ahead of me.
The first order of business was to get the front passenger fender finally patched up. While digging in there it was noticed that some sections of the floor boards would need patching, as well as a section in the rear by the tail panel. I had been collecting parts for the past decade, in preparation for this moment. Everything from rear frame rail extensions to an entire red deluxe interior (albeit for a 1979, it turns out... just a little different in terms of pattern but new replacements are available now). The first phase went well, the front fender looked awesome and with the subframe mount fixed up (improperly welded at the factory), the car rode better than ever!!

industry_corpus2: Automobiles