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H2O: Just Add Water
File:H2O- Just Add Water.jpg Logo for H2O: Just Add Water
Genre	Children's television series
Created by	Jonathan M. Shiff
Directed by	Colin Budds (2006) Jeffrey Walker
Starring	Claire Holt Phoebe Tonkin Cariba Heine Angus McLaren Burgess Abernethy Brittany Byrnes Craig Horner
Theme music composer	Shelley Rosenberg
Opening theme	"No Ordinary Girl"
Composers	Ric Formosa Ricky Edwards Danny Beckerman
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Jonathan M. Shiff Kay Ben M'Rad (2006) Julia Adams (2007)
Producers	Jonathan M. Shiff
Production location	Gold Coast, Queensland
Cinematography	Bruce Phillips (2006) Zenon Sawko (2007)
Editors	Geoff Lamb Strutts Psyridis
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Original release
Network	Network Ten
Release	July 7, 2006 – Present

H₂O: Just Add Water is an Australian television programme for teens, preteens, and children that is filmed on location at Sea World and other locations on the Gold Coast. It first screened on Australia's Network Ten in 2006 and later on Disney Channel Australia, and currently runs on channels in over one hundred countries worldwide. The show's premise revolves around three teenage girls facing everyday teen problems with an added twist: they're mermaids with powers over water. The theme song "No Ordinary Girl" is performed by Ellie Henderson in series one and by Kate Alexa in series two.

The series was nominated for the 2007 Logie Award for "Most Outstanding Children's Program", as well as a 2007 Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Award for "Best TV Show". H₂O won "Best TV Drama Show" at the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards 2008.

Although planned for only two seasons and a total of 52 episodes, executive producer Jonathan M. Shiff has confirmed that a third series will be produced for airing in early 2009. He said that, "there is lots of potential for a third season with normal teenagers who have super powers," and that open water filming may be an option in addition to the filming done at Sea World and the Broadwater.

Plot

Emma, Cleo and Rikki are sixteen year old girls growing up on the sun-drenched beaches of the Gold Coast. Emma is confident, brilliant, responsible, and athletic. Cleo is slightly insecure, sweet, and awkward while Rikki is an aloof and rebellious new girl.

The girls find themselves stranded at sea one day, floating towards the mysterious Mako Island. The three girls explore the eerie jungle-covered island before deciding to jump into a pool in an ancient cavern under a volcano on a lark. As they enter the pool, the light from a full moon illuminates the water, creating a mysterious glow. Discovering an underwater channel, they decide to swim to safety where they are rescued by the harbor patrol. The next day, the three girls discover that life is never going to be normal again; ten seconds after they touch water, they turn into mermaids. After further experimentation, they find they have supernatural powers; Emma can freeze water, Rikki can boil water and Cleo can manipulate the amount and shape of water.

The girls enlist the help of their friend Lewis, who considers himself a scientist, and he attempts to discover the secret behind their transformations.

Everyday situations turn tricky as the girls struggle to cope with their new-found powers, which have numerous advantages and disadvantages, while also trying to keep them a secret from everyone else.

In the second season, a new girl arrives named Charlotte who seems friendly at first. When Cleo leaves Lewis, though, Charlotte quickly moves in and snags him. Charlotte is very controlling and is later revealed to be the granddaughter of Gracie - one of the original three mermaids. Charlotte deliberately becomes a mermaid herself, causing more problems for the girls, most of all Cleo, who later gets back together again with Lewis.

Characters

Emma Gilbert

Emma, or Em to her friends, first became a mermaid one morning while swimming at the beach. She has the ability to freeze any object or liquid containing water. In the second season, under the power of a full moon aligned with various planets, she develops a much stronger icy power and, with help from Rikki & Cleo, has the power to summon on a hurricane like storm. She liked Byron in the first season. In the second season, she eventually found love in boy named Ash, who is currently her supervisor at the Juicenet café and was previously a riding instructor who taught Emma's little brother to ride a horse. Emma couldn't stand Ash at first, but with prodding from her friends Cleo and Rikki, she realizes her love for him. At the end of season two, she reveals her secret to Ash.

Cleo Sertori

Cleo first becomes a mermaid while taking a bath. She has the power to manipulate the form of water and mould it into a different shape. She can mystically create more water to form a "branch" from a small cup. She can also control wind. She is shy but very bright and a loyal friend. During the first full moon in the first season, she was turned into a siren from touching water. She is in love with Lewis and is jealous of every other girl who also likes Lewis, such as Dr. Denman and Charlotte. She dumps Lewis near the beginning of the second season but can't really stay away from him and misses him. They reconcile and proclaim their love near the end of the second season.

Rikki Chadwick

Rikki first became a mermaid when she was hit by water from the park sprinkler system. She was the last to gain her powers. She is able to boil water or anything containing water. In the second season, she develops the ability to start fire and summon lightning. She is a rebellious new girl and a self-confessed loner who finds an attraction in the local bad boy, Zane Bennett. They first fall in love when trapped on a balcony together. They briefly date but find they have too many differences at the end of the first season. Shortly into the second season, they rekindle their relationship, although somewhat casually.She was originally at odds with Miriam, Zane's original erstwhile girlfriend, seen only in the first season.

Lewis McCartney

Lewis has been Cleo's friend since they were five, and following the girls' transformation, he also becomes friends with Rikki and Emma. He is academically gifted, thinks of himself as a scientist and has a passion for fishing. He discovers the girls' secret early on in the series and becomes determined to find the cause. He is in love with Cleo, who reciprocates the feeling and the two form a relationship late in series one. After first full moon of series two, Cleo breaks up with Lewis. They stay friends but remain a little embarrassed. Lewis develops a friendship with Charlotte, the new girl, who has a crush on Lewis and becomes his controlling girlfriend. At the end of series two, Lewis dumps Charlotte because of her behaviour towards the other girls, mostly Cleo. After he saves Cleo from a shark reef, they get back together.

Charlotte Watsford

Charlotte is the new girl in town and is the girls' rival during series two. She enjoys various forms of art, appreciates the sciences and 'becomes' Lewis's controlling girlfriend after Cleo leaves him. She hates Cleo as well as Rikki and Emma, who hate her back, a dislike made even stronger after she becomes the fourth mermaid late in series two, armed with the powers of all three girls. Charlotte is eventually revealed to be the granddaughter of Gracie, one of the original three mermaids who 50 years earlier gave her powers up to the 50 year full moon. In the end of the second season, she becomes increasingly jealous of Cleo and asks Lewis to stop talking to the other girls. She then knocks Cleo down and takes Gracie's locket, which the girls had found in the early part of season one, hiding Lewis' cell phone when Cleo tries to call him. Charlotte then gives Lewis an ultimatum, Cleo or her, and Lewis says that there is no choice, he of course picks Cleo. Charlotte then tries to get revenge by planning to force Emma, Rikki and Cleo into the moon pool during the full planetary alignment, which would strip them of their mermaid powers and abilities, so that Lewis would only care for her. In the end, she is the one who loses everything.

Zane Bennett

Zane is the local bad boy, and seems to think that he can get away with anything because his dad is rich. He appears to be arrogant, but has been seen to have a softer side. He desperately wants to impress his father, local land developer Harrison Bennett, who is more arrogant. Zane is an excellent swimmer. After becoming trapped on a sinking boat, he is rescued by Emma, and sees the end of her tail before she is able to slip away. Because of this, Zane becomes obsessed with finding the "sea monster". Later on in the first season, to the disappointment of Miriam who assumed that she was with Zane, Rikki and Zane develop feelings for each other after being locked out on a penthouse balcony in a hotel that Harrison Bennett is giving an advertising speech at. While they later break up at the end of the first season because they are "too different" from each other, they rekindle their relationship in the second season after Zane discovers the girls are still mermaids.

Ash

Ash is the current supervisor of the Juicenet Cafe (to Emma's disappointment at first, since she wanted the job). Ash is a keen horse rider and has worked as a riding coach. He and Emma have formed a relationship and have gone out on a few dates. In the middle of the second season, in the episode 'Moonstruck', Emma was affected by the full moon (with Cleo and Rikki) and almost revealed her secret by calling him into the bathroom when she was wet with a tail. Luckily, Lewis steps in and stops him. During the season two finale, Emma reveals that she is a mermaid to Ash, and he only has time to smile and say, "Cool" before the end credits roll. Ash also has a falling out with Zane in the Juicenet Cafe, causing the girl's group to split for an episode.

Louise Chatham

Louise Chatham, or Miss. Chatham as she's typically called, is a mysterious elderly woman who Cleo meets while working at the marine park. She hints to Cleo that she knows the girls secret and warns them about the effects of the full moon.Later,an altercation that she has with Zane leads to her boat being declared unseaworthy and Emma invites her to stay at her place. That night,however,Miss Chatham sneaks out at night and sails off with her boat.After an altercation on the boat with Zane, she suffers a heart attack and is taken to a hospital by Lewis.Before going to a retirement residential home,she reveals to the girls that she once was a mermaid too,but that "the burden became too great",so she "had to give it up",hinting that there is a way to give up their powers.

Dr. Linda Denman

Dr. Denman is a Marine Biologist who finds one of Cleo's nail clippings that Lewis left behind, after he applied for a job working for her so he could use her equipment to study it. She tries to get Lewis to tell her where he found the samples, but he refuses to reveal the source. In the end, she offers to Lewis prestige and a fast track through school and a large wage to travel with her for her work (especially her work on the scale) but he decides to stay with Emma, Cleo, and Rikki. In the season one finale, she returns and sets up underwater cameras around Mako Island, discovering the girls' mermaid secret, which she shares with Zane and Zanes father Harrison. But in the end, she believes that the girls have lost their powers after going into the Moon Pool during a lunar eclipse, though in truth they only lost their powers for 12 hours.

Max K. Hamilton

An elderly man (who is a scientist like Lewis and 50 years ago published studies similar to the ones that Lewis has done), he was a friend and confidant of the original mermaids. His first appearance was in "The Gracie Code" late in the second season when Lewis discovers his old research on Mako Island. Max reveals that he truly loved Gracie, just like Lewis truly loves Cleo, and that he created the three lockets (that the girls wear) for the three original mermaids. He gives Lewis all his old research and pictures of the original mermaids. He declares that Cleo and Lewis are meant for each other, but Lewis ignores them because he was dating Charlotte at the time. Lewis realizes what Max meant when Cleo went missing and Lewis realized how much he cared for her. Max was the one who told Charlotte about mermaids after she declared that she was Gracie's granddaughter. He also revealed that the 50 year moon lines up with all the planets and will possess enough power to take away a mermaid's powers forever with no chance of ever regaining them back.

Complications

The majority of the series deals with the girls having to cope with their new-found abilities that more often than not complicate their regular teenage-girl activities. A number of complications arise, especially when the girls have to hide their powers for fear of the consequences of being found out.

Discovery

Zane is mad at Miss Chatham for crashing his waterbike, so he follows her boat and jumps aboard. Zane confronts Miss Chatham and demands compensation for his wrecked jet ski, saying that he heard her say that she had treasure on board. During the confrontation, Miss Chatham has a mild heart attack and passes out. Emma and Lewis arrive and take Miss Chatham to the hospital, while Zane is left behind on the boat. He searches for the treasure, only to find that the only thing of value is an old locket which he disgustedly drops on the floor just as the old engine gives way and a steam explosion jams the cabin door as the ship begins sinking. Zane can't get out and Emma realizes that only she can save Zane. When Emma saves Zane, he sees the back half of her tail just before he passes out. Zane decides to find the "sea monster" and looks everywhere near Mako island. When Emma returns to the boat to take the picture of the old mermaids, she's spotted by Zane, but because she'd tried to dye her hair (while a mermaid), she had red hair and Zane didn't recognize her. Zane always talks about mermaids, which makes the girls uncomfortable. During the end of season one, Dr. Denman returns and puts small underwater cameras near the cave and the moon pool. The cameras spot the girls swimming to and from the cave and expose them. Zane is somewhat upset when he finds out that Rikki is a mermaid but he saves the girls with Lewis' help, just before Dr. Denman was about to run tests on them. Miss Chatham tells the girls that if they are in the moon pool during the lunar eclipse time, they will lose their powers. The girls see no other alternative to stop Dr. Denman from chasing after them and jump into the pool in front of her. A magical light show follows and they are able to "prove" to Dr. Denman that they no longer have their powers. The next day, the girls discover that they actually only lost their powers for twelve hours.

Cleo's diary

In "Something Fishy", Cleo's sister Kim finds Cleo's diary, which contains the short history of Cleo, Rikki and Emma being mermaids. The diary has all the details of their powers and even drawings of their tails but was written in code (which Kim breaks). The diary causes Kim and Emma's brother Elliot to believing that Cleo is a monster of some sort. Kim plots with Elliot to expose Cleo on stage at the Miss Sea Queen Pageant, which Cleo enters to try and spite the girls' season one arch-enemy Miriam. Eventually, Kim's plan backfires spectacularly with Cleo using her powers to protect herself from a water hose. Cleo tells Kim that the diary is an English assignment and was fiction. In the end of the episode, Cleo discards the diary on the bottom of the moon pool.

Lockets

The three lockets were made by Max Hamilton for the original three mermaids, (Louise Chatham, Gracie Watsford and Julia Dove). Emma discovers the first one at the bottom of the moon pool on Mako Island. Later Emma gives it to Cleo to keep after Miriam almost manages to steal it. Cleo is later told by Miss Chatham that this locket belonged to Gracie. Near the end of season two, Cleo fights with Charlotte and Charlotte steals Cleo's locket saying "This was my grandmother's and now it's mine". In the end of season two, Lewis takes the locket from Charlotte and returns it to Cleo.

The second locket belonged to Miss Chatham, but unfortunately sank with her boat. Miss Chatham was devastated after it was lost because it was the 'treasure' that she had spoken fondly of. Emma, feeling sorry for her, went down to the wreck of the boat, found it and gave it back to Miss Chatham, who then gratefully gave it to the girls.

The third locket, which belonging to Julia, was found by Rikki in a jewellery store after Julia dies and her estate sells it. Zane considers buying it for Rikki and asks Miriam about whether girls like that type of jewelry and Miriam then goes and buys it for herself while the three mermaids and Lewis try to raise the money to buy it themselves. Miriam teases Rikki with it and starts a fight. Later, Miriam (who's fed up with the locket), tries to get Zane back by telling him to kiss her while Rikki is behind him at the café. After being brutally talked down to by Zane, Miriam throws the locket into the Broadwater next to the Juicenet café. Zane dives into the water to find it before Emma can get there and tries to give it to Rikki. Cleo hints that she will get a tail if she touches it while its wet. Rikki realises this and pretends to drop it so she can heat it up and keep it. Rikki however feels it is selfish to keep it, and returns the locket to Miss Chatham. Miss Chatham gives the locket back to Rikki, and gives hers to Emma, saying "It feels right they are all together."

As stated by Max in "The Gracie Code", all three are slightly different, most noticeably in the crystals at the top of the lockets: Emma has a white stone, Rikki has a red one and Cleo's is purplish blue. On the back of the lockets is what seems to be waves represented by 3 wavy lines.

The moon

The moon is the source of how Cleo, Emma and Rikki receive their powers in the pool on Mako Island. The moon also affects each of them differently, and different moon cycles affect them differently as well.

Effects of the full moon

During the series it is revealed that a full moon has very strange effects on the girls. These effects are explored over a number of various episodes. These effects only last for 12 hours after being affected or as long as the full moon is in the sky. During a full moon, the moon pool on Mako Island sometimes protects the girls from the moon's strange effects (this however is not really explored too much throughout the series). The girls never remember what happened when they were under the influence of the full moon, except for the two times that they were in the moon pool cavern during the latter half of season two.

Emma is the first to fall under the effects of the full moon, which turns her into a wild and carefree mermaid--exactly the opposite of her normally organised self. In this state, she freely tells everyone exactly what she thinks of them, regardless of whether it would offend them or not. It also causes her to change into a mermaid, unable to transform back, and draws her to Mako Island. While under the effect of the full moon, Emma feels inexplicably drawn to water and develops a craving for fish as well as a craving for Byron. She becomes somewhat seductive and kisses Byron on several occasions. By the time the moon is completely gone, everything is once again normal but Emma remembers nothing.

By the next full moon, the girls are better prepared; however, Cleo accidentally sees the moon's reflection in a sink full of water and falls under its effects. She does not turn into a mermaid, instead becoming a siren, attaining a beautiful singing voice which causes all the young men who hear it to fall in love with her, including Zane, Lewis and Byron. She calls a radio station and is recorded on the phone. However, her singing seems to have no effect on older men like her father, who merely tells her she sounds good. Then when the moon is gone, Cleo regains her normal voice

Rikki is the third to experience the effects of the full moon, which causes her power to overload. Instead of merely heating liquids, she begins to heat up the air and set fire to objects around her. During this time, Zane comes to Mako Island to try and find the "sea monster", and discovers Rikki sitting amongst a circle of flames. Rikki kisses him, causing Zane to quickly overheat and pass out, becoming dehydrated and appearing sunburnt. The girls realise that Rikki's power is the most volatile and must be tightly controlled.

In the first episode of the second season, all three girls are affected by the full moon, which causes them to swim to the moon pool on Mako Island. Because of a particularly rare planetary alignment which was taking place at the time, their powers are enhanced, and they use their new abilities to attack and blow away Lewis, who followed them to make sure everything was okay. Following their reversion to their normal state, the girls struggle to control the effects of these new powers: Cleo creates a storm while upsetting a glass of orange juice her sister is carrying, Emma manages to freeze the entire kitchen bench as well as the fridge and freezer, and Rikki manages to set her laundry on fire while trying to speed up line drying on her clothes line. She repeats this later in the episode with Lewis's pants.

The next full moon is on the same date as the camping trip for the Sertori family. Their choice of location could not have been any worse: Mako Island. To ensure that none of the girls fall under the spell of the moon, Cleo brings Emma and Rikki along. Lewis joins the trip as well, bringing Charlotte at her insistence. Even though the girls sleep in a "moonlight-proof" tent, Cleo is affected once more when Kim opens the tent, while searching for Charlotte, who had gone into the forest with Lewis. When Lewis comes back and warns the other girls, the two girls decide that they have been afraid of the moon for too long, and venture outside to rescue their friend despite the danger. Both are instantly struck by the moonlight, but somehow manage to channel the effects and find Cleo. Rather than exhibiting ridiculous or flamboyant behaviour, they become single-minded and emotionally indifferent, as well as being somewhat vicious in their reaction to threats. Charlotte follows Cleo to the moon pool and is about to touch the water, but Emma freezes it just before she does, preventing Charlotte from becoming a mermaid. This is one of the two times that the girls remember what they did, as Rikki and Emma later talk about how Emma managed to freeze the water just as Charlotte touched it.

By the following full moon, the girls have finally sealed off the house completely. Things are spoiled when Ash pays a surprise visit to Emma, and Cleo catches a glimpse of the full moon, causing her to become giddy and childish in her behaviour. While Emma has her "date" with Ash, Rikki keeps Cleo locked up in the bedroom because she has been 'moonstruck'. However, Cleo causes Rikki to see the moon as well by pulling down the cardboard covering the window and the second mermaid falls into a similar state of giddiness. Together they lure Emma into the bathroom, toss her in the bath and make her see the moon as well. They plan to let Ash see Emma as a mermaid, and he is on the verge of entering the bathroom when Lewis, being called earlier by Emma, bursts in and stops him. Later on in the episode, Emma admits her feelings for Ash and the two kiss.

By the next moon, Charlotte has become aware of her grandmother's past and uses the moon pool to become a mermaid herself. The other girls remain in Cleo's room and manage to avoid seeing the moon.

Effects of a lunar eclipse

In the series one finale, "A Twist in the Tail", it is revealed by Miss Chatham that the girls are able to lose their mermaid powers while they are in the moon pool of Mako Island while a lunar eclipse takes place. The girls, knowing that Dr. Denman and her men would not let them rest until they got what they wanted, decide to take this opportunity and fight off Dr. Denman's men just before jumping into the pool and letting the moon draw away their powers. This helps the girls trick Dr. Denman into believing that they are no longer mermaids. Lewis later reveals that Miss Chatham told him that their powers are only lost for twelve hours, not forever, and that Miss Chatham did not tell them so that even the girls would believe they had lost their powers.

The 50 year full moon

During the last episode of season 2, "Finale", Max reveals to Lewis that every 50 years a special full moon occurs, during which all the planets are aligned with the moon and earth, making its effect extremely strong. Strong enough to take away a mermaid's powers forever if they enter the moon pool while it is in its active state. However, this moon also enhances a mermaid's powers and makes them much stronger, as shown during this episode when Charlotte suddenly develops a fit of anger, and uses her powers to make the plumbing and water system of Emma's house go haywire, out of spite toward the girls. Because Ash was in their presence, the girls were unable to fight back.

Leading Lewis to believe that she was under the influence of the full moon, Charlotte lures him to Mako Island in order to trick the girls into coming after them.

At the end of the episode, while the moon is over the moon pool, a big show down begins at Mako Island. Charlotte tries to nudge all three girls into the moon pool while it is active, in an attempt to make them lose their powers forever, so that she will be the only "true mermaid". However, they then combine their powers to fight back and win, making Charlotte fly into the air and drop into the moon pool, resulting in her losing her powers forever.

During the battle, it is revealed by Charlotte that this full moon event is how Gracie, her grandmother and one of the original three mermaids, gave up her powers 50 years ago.

Power advancement

At the beginning of season two, the girls are once again affected by a full moon. After entering the Mako Island moon pool during a rare planetary alignment, the girls' powers advance to a new level. Although the girls can still do what they could before, new and more powerful abilities begin to form. Cleo can now control the wind; Rikki can create fire at will and summon lightning; and Emma can freeze any object regardless of the presence of water by using the water in the air and create blizzards, and in "Control" is shown having some control over the weather. and when all three girls use their powers together they can create storms. At first, the girls had difficulty controlling both their old and new powers, but by the end of "Fire and Ice" had regained some discipline.

When Charlotte becomes a mermaid there is a normal full moon but the strange thing is that not only does she have all three original powers (which is probably because the moonpool divides the powers amongst those in it, so if there is only one person in it, she will acquire the three powers) but for some unknown reason she develops the additional powers as well.

Production

The mermaid costumes took six months to build, with the tails made from body casts and comprising individually hand-crafted scales. The finished product weighs between 12 and 15 kilograms. Once in costume, the girls have to be lifted into the water. On-screen, the zip on the mermaid suit is visible from the back, though attempts were made to minimise this, such as adding extra scales and crafting a ridge of material around the length of the zip. The tail fin itself was designed with a foot pedal to assist the actresses with swimming. This, along with the fin, adds two feet to the length of the costume.

There are three different types of tails: the tails the girls swim in, the "floppy tail" used for bath and shower shots and the "hard tail" for stunts.

Due to the recently developed third season the creator of the show says, "Thank goodness we saved those mermaid tails in a preservation storage!" because originally the show was supposed to be only two seasons.

Episode list

DVD releases

Six DVD sets have either been released or announced for Australia. Each set features four or five episodes and bonus feature.

See also

• H₂O: Just Add Water (soundtrack)

References

• "Media Kit (Series 1)" (PDF). ZDF-Enterprises.de (Press release). Retrieved 2007-10-17.

1. ^ "'H2O - Just Add Water' nominated for Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award Series" (Press release). LifePR. 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
2. "2007 TV Week Logie Awards: Most Outstanding Children's Program". Yahoo7.com.au. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
3. "KCA 2008". Nickelodeon.com.au. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
4. "Magical mermaids will spin more tales on Gold Coast". GoldCoast.com.au. 2007-09-06. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
5. "Making a Splash Around the World" (PDF). ZDF Enterprises NewsFocus. 2008. p. 20. Retrieved 2008-04-28.

External links

• H₂O: Just Add Water - Official website
• H₂O: Just Add Water - ZDF Enterprises promotional website
• H₂O: Just Add Water - Official Channel TEN website
• H₂O: Just Add Water - Australian Television Information Archive
• H₂O: Just Add Water at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com

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• 2006 Australian television series debuts
• Australian children's television series
• Australian science fiction television series
• Fictional mermen and mermaids
• Network Ten shows
• Nickelodeon shows
• Shapeshifting in fiction
• Teen dramas
• Television shows set in Queensland