Geography 4- Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger, born in Perth, Australia in 1979, was an tv and film actor. He built up his acting career in Australia, by mostly doing small television roles.
When he was 16, Heath left school to persue his acting career. In 1992, he landed himself a small role in "Clowning Around", the first part of a two-part television series, and to work on the TV series Sweat. From 1993 to 1997, he also had parts in the Perth television series "Ship to Shore", "Roar" and in 1997, Heath appeared in the popular Australian show, "Home and Away". He also got himself a role in the Australian film "Blackrock" which was his feature film debut.
In 1998, Heath moved to the USA, to develop his film career further. While in the US, he starred in 19 films, including "10 Things I Hate About You", "The Patriot", "Monster's Ball", "A Knight's Tale", "Brokeback Mountain", and "The Dark Knight". While in the US, he also directed music videos and tried to persue a career in film direction.
Heath won the 2005 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and the 2006 "Best Actor" award from the Australian Film Institute and was nominated for the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actor as well as the 2006 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for his powerful portrayal as Ennis Del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain", in 2005. Heath was nominated and won awards for his portrayal of the Joker in "The Dark Knight", which was filmed just before his death in 2008. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, a Best Actor International Award at the 2008 Australian Film Institute Awards, for which he became the first actor to win an award posthumously. He also won the 2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the 2009 BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
On 22nd January 2008, Heath was found unconscious in his apartment in Manhattan, by his housekeeper. Emergancy medical technicians arrived within minutes, but were unable to revive him. Heath was pronounced dead and his body was removed from his apartment. A number of autopsys were done and it was confirmed that Heath died from an accidental toxic combination of prescription drugs, at the age of 28.

Geography: Uluru, aka Ayers Rock is a large sandstone formation, found in the Northern Territory of central Australia. Uluru is sacred to the Aṉangu, the Aboriginal people of the area. It has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site. Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural icons. It is known for changing colours as the different light strikes it at different times of the day and year, with sunset when it glows red.
Even though rainfall isnt common in Australia, when it does rain, Ayers Rock turns a silvery-grey colour, with streaks of black algae forming on the areas where the water flows. Uluru has provided Australia with tourism over the years. Tourists climb the famous rock. There have been 35 deaths recorded from people climbing the rock. Climbing Ayers Rock is popular with tourists but the local Aṉangu people dont climb it as it is of great spiritual significance to these people. They request that visitors do not climb the rock, partly due to the path crossing a sacred traditional Dreamtime track, and also for the safety of visitors. The Aṉangu also request that visitors do not photograph certain sections of Uluru, for reasons related to traditional Tjukurpa beliefs.