Sir Robert Ramsay Mackenzie Bt. (21 July 1811 - 19 September 1873) was premier of Queensland, Australia from August 1867 to November 1868. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 424 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (708 × 1,000 pixels, file size: 61 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) 1 means the typographical arrangement and layout of a published work. ... List of Premiers of Queensland Before the 1890s there was no formal party system in Queensland. ... is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 329th day of the year (330th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Robert George Wyndham Herbert (1831-1905), was the first Premier of Queensland, Australia. ... Sir Charles Lilley was a former premier (1868-70) and chief justice of Queensland (1879_93). ... is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the US Federal Agent designation, see Special agent. ... Ross-shire (Siorrachd Rois in Gaelic), or simply Ross, is a traditional county of Scotland bordering on Sutherland, Cromartyshire (of which it contains many enclaves), Inverness-shire and on an exclave of Nairnshire. ... This article is about the country. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the country. ... A magistrate is a judicial officer. ... For the brush-footed butterfly species, see Euthalia nais. ... is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the US Federal Agent designation, see Special agent. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Slogan or Nickname: Sunshine State, Smart State Motto(s): Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Anna Bligh (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd...

Early life

I really do live a charmed life in some regards. Comparatively, I have nothing to complain about except that I live in a country I really don’t like, dealing with a culture that confounds me. The more I figure out, the less I know. Dealing with assholes on a daily basis and having to scrounge up enough courage to go out into this Deutscher world that is really not all that warm and fuzzy and friendly and nice. I miss random acts of kindness that Americans can be counted on to perform. Its like Germans are too fucking stingy to give away a random act of kindness, yet they depend on the kindness of others.

I avoid my nosey neighbors because they are constantly asking me when I’m going to learn the language, what did I buy at the store, where am I going? Then tell me its been ages since they’ve seen me, where have I been? I swear to god, I’m going to go freakin’ postal on the next German who asks me or tells me that I need to learn the language. Really.

“Wow, I have never heard that before. I mean, it would never occur to me on my own. Thanks, that a really good idea. If it weren’t for you, I might never learn this frustrating, spit filled, monotone way of communicating that is considered an actual language. I was wrong, Germans are capable of random acts of kindness.”

I miss my family, I miss my language and I miss the ease that comes with actually understanding every word that is said automatically. I miss understanding the cultural mores and folkways as second nature. I miss my country and the independence I had. I miss my name and I hate how Frau is constantly put in front of my married name. I’m just Jen or Jennifer or to my family Jenny. I do not want the Frau. You can keep the Frau.

I miss not having to defend my weight, my clothes, my car. I miss people being happy for you when things are good. I miss common sense and personal space and people who move their grocery carts out of the middle of the god-damn aisle because they know they are not the only fucking person in the world. And to that effect I miss smokers smoking in guilty pleasure, knowing that at any moment a non-smoker can read them the riot act unapologetically because smoking really a filthy habit. I used to smoke. There are two kinds. The kind that is aware of other people, smokers and non-smokers alike and the rude assholes who don’t give a shit as along as they can smoke in every hospital, gym, day care center and café. I’m sick of smelling like smoke.

I need to feed my spirit right now. It has been force-fed a diet of German verbs, manners and fashion taste for the last three years and frankly, I’d rather eat flax seed for a month.

See the thing is, this expat shit is really pissing me off. The longer I stay here the less I like Germany. I’m here because my heart is here and my heart has a mother that I would never allow to be abandoned. So to that effect, we are here for the long run. And that long run, recently, looks really, really long.

So I just shut up and hole up and my natural tendency towards depression takes it from there.

What happened today to break my silence?

Sparky needed a ride to the train station and my cat needed to go to the vet. I forced myself to get up and get out, one foot in front of the other. And from there the universe gave me the gentle nudge I needed. The scale was kind in solid “try-it-three-times-to-make-sure” numbers. The jeans I was hesitant to put on after the wash/dry shrinkage effect fit and are actually loose. My eye-make up went on perfectly, both eyes even. My hair worked with just a brush through and the blouse I put on, not expecting it to work, worked. And my extra courage leopard print bra was clean and could be worn under said blouse. I felt almost pretty leaving the house.

I took the cat to the vet for her allergy shot. (I hope someone sees the irony in a cat needing an allergy shot.) I got in and out in five minutes without waiting the hour I usually wait.

I went to my Dr. for my B12 shot. Again, no waiting. And the nice nurse did it. The one that speaks English without the lecture about the merits of learning German.

I got my nails done without forcing myself to workout first. I work out constantly and I hate it and I use getting my nails done as a sort of reward. Well, today I said fuck it. I parked in the gym lot and walked right past it. I got a whiff of stinking non-deodorant wearing-cigarette-smoking-IN-the-gym assholes on my way to Nail and Spa USA and got myself a mani/pedi in a spa chair, American style, by a Vietnamese woman from Santa Barbara.

How is that for a boon from the gods?

I need to get the hell out of dodge and back to the states so I can remember how frustrating life there can be too. At this point it really is the land of milk and honey and streets made of gold or at least filled with shoe stores that actually have cute shoes that don’t have Adidas stripes or are the color of putty. I would kill for a kitten heel Mary Jane and a smooth sidewalk to wear them on. Cobblestones are cute for like 2 weeks then they’re just a broken ankle waiting to happen.

And as you can see, once the damn breaks, you just can’t shut me up.

And thanks Dorian D. for asking. Sometimes that’s all a person needs.

gratuitious cat photo

New South Wales

In April 1832 Mackenzie arrived on the Wave in Sydney, New South Wales, with £750 joining his brother James. He purchased sheep for £500 and grazed them at Riddlesdale (near Dungog, New South Wales). After land speculation with his brother James, Robert Mackenzie bought a station, got into debt and borrowed money from his Scottish relatives. His financial situation worsened and he was declared bankrupt in 1844. In 1846 he was discharged from bankruptcy and was appointed a magistrate in 1847, living in Clifton, New England. This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... NSW redirects here. ... Dungog is a small town in New South Wales, Australia. ... Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administration—see text) in the United Kingdom. ... The New England region of Australia, here showing Mt Duval Approximate location of New England within New South Wales; red a narrow definition, yellow a broader definition New England is the name given to a region in the north of the state of New South Wales, Australia. ...

Political career

Queensland was declared a separate colony in 1859, Mackenzie entered politics and became colonial treasurer on 18 December 1859 in the ministry of Robert Herbert. Mackenzie represented Burnett in the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1860–1869. Mackenzie formed a government on the resignation of Arthur Macalister, taking on the roles of premier and colonial treasurer. He resigned on 25 November 1868. is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Robert George Wyndham Herbert (1831-1905), was the first Premier of Queensland, Australia. ... The division of Burnett is an electoral district in central Queensland, Australia. ... The Legislative Assembly. ... Arthur Macalister (1818-1883) was twice Premier of Queensland, Australia. ... is the 329th day of the year (330th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Late life

Robert Mackenzie succeeded his brother William on his death on 21 December 1868 to the baronetcy and Robert returned to live on the family estate in Scotland in 1871. is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... There have been a number of creations of baronets with the surname Mackenzie. ... This article is about the country. ...

References

• R. B. Joyce, 'Mackenzie, Sir Robert Ramsay (1811 - 1873)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, MUP, 1974, pp 171-172.
• Serle, Percival (1949). "Mackenzie, Robert". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. 

The Dictionary of Australian Biography is a reference work containing information on notable people associated with Australian history. ... Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne (Australia). ... The Dictionary of Australian Biography, first published in 1949, is a reference work by Percival Serle containing information on notable people associated with Australian history. ...

Additional resources listed by the Australian Dictionary of Biography

• C. A. Bernays, Queensland Politics During Sixty Years (Brisb, 1919)
• J. F. Campbell, ‘Discovery and early pastoral settlement of New England’, JRAHS, 8 (1922)
• Brisbane Courier, 28 July 1862
• The Times (London), 24 September 1873, p 5
• P. D. Wilson, The Political Career of Hon. A. Macalister (B.A. Hons thesis, University of Queensland, 1969)
• Bankruptcy papers, 1250 (State Records New South Wales)
• Land and Colonial Secretary's files (Queensland State Archives).

v • d • e Premiers of Queensland
Herbert • Macalister • Mackenzie • Lilley • Palmer • Thorn • Douglas • McIlwraith • Griffith • Morehead • Nelson • Byrnes • Dickson • Dawson • Philp • Morgan • Kidston • Denham • Ryan • Theodore • Gillies • McCormack • Moore • Forgan Smith • F Cooper • Hanlon • Gair • Nicklin • Pizzey • Chalk • Bjelke-Petersen • Ahern • R Cooper • Goss • Borbidge • Beattie • Bligh