MEANDERING ALONG THE YORKE PENINSULA

Continuing our tour by car from Adelaide to Port Augusta, we stopped at Port Broughton for lunch. It is a sleepy little tourist town on the Yorke Peninsular and the east coast of the Spencer Gulf. It used to have a train which loaded grain onto Windjammer ships for England. It is an agriculture township.

 I loved the old architecture of the hotel. It overlooked the Gulf.

 The view was good.

 The seafood was nice too. Helen ordered prawns, they were different.

 After lunch we drove on to Port Pirie famous for lead and zinc smelting.

 The railway no longer exists here but the gorgeous old station is now a Museum. I was fascinated by pictures in the museum of trains running down the main road.

 Just as we were leaving the town Ann spotted this interesting old shop. We pulled over and took a closer look. 

 The door was shut but was displaying this poem.

Looking through the window it became obvious that it was an antique shop but it looked more like a junk shop. We had a giggle at the signs. " These two Died of boredom waiting for customers but will be resurrected when you telephone...."

A LITTLE BIT OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

After we completed our tour in Western Australia we  flew to Adelaide the capital of South Australia. We were still accompanied by our friends, Helen and Paul and we met our other friends, Ann and George at the Mercure Hotel.

The next morning we picked up a hire car big enough to fit all six of us and the luggage. Then we set off for Port Augusta at the tip of Spencer Gulf. We made a few stops on the way... you guessed it... for coffee and sight seeing. It was another dull day.

The people mover

 As we drove out of the city heading north through farm land we passed a collection of sculptures there were many more than I have shown here. They were made of recycled scrap metal. I wasn't that taken by them and thought they looked a bit like junk. However, after researching them I found out that is what they are .....recycled junk. They are called the Protest Sculptures and they were created by a local farmer, Steve Jones in 1998 in protest against a proposed landfill dump to be created close to the small town of Dublin. Steve's friends got together in a shed with a welder and produced a cockroach, fly and rat first to show what a dump would attract but then they continued to make a variety of sculptures to encourage recycling. Today 14 years later they stand as silent sentinels for conservation. (mmmm I'm not so sure that they don't look like a rubbish dump.) Unfortunately their protest was unsuccessful.

 We drove on and found a house in the middle of the road being transported elsewhere.

 Then we arrived in the lovely town of Kadina. Established in 1878 as a copper mining town. It was settled by miners from Cornwall in England. Mining ceased in 1938.

 There are many colonial and federation style buildings. 

South Australia has beautiful wild flowers too.

RESTING IN THE SUNSET

Before I take you on a tour of South Australia we will visit a cemetery in Clunes, New South Wales for Julie's Tuesday meme "Taphophile Tragics".

I don't have any interesting historical information about the graves or the cemetery but it is situated in a beautiful place. Clunes is a scattered village in the rolling hills of the Northern Rivers District of NSW.

 A few years ago we visited friends who live in Clunes. In the evening they took us for a walk to the top of a nearby hill. On the hill in pastures green there was an old cemetery where the residents had a lovely place to rest in the sunset. I liked the way the sun played on the fence.

 My friend told me that the Protestant and Catholic graves were separated. The majority of the graves were Protestant and just these few Catholics were by themselves in the far corner. ( I could have the religions the wrong way round). I was more interested in capturing the silhouette at the time.

The residents in the next paddock were quietly munching away in this beautiful, serene place.

A DULL DAY IN PERTH

During our last trip I left you all stranded at the Pinnacles. So I will take you back to the tour bus and we drive south for a few hours and arrive in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. I like Perth it is a modern city situated on the Swan River. It is a growing city and many people are moving there to work in the mining industry, which is booming at the moment, due to the demand of developing countries on our mineral resources.

We had a farewell dinner at the hotel as this was the last night of our Western Wildflower Wonderland Tour. The next day we didn't have to be at the airport until midday so we took an early morning walk through the streets of Perth. It was a dull, cold day and difficult to get good shots.

We found Hay St. Mall because, as usual, Bill needed to go to an Apple Store. I'm sure he wants to visit every Apple Store in the world. I've lost count of how many we've just had to visit.

Anyway, while waiting for him I saw this sculpture of Percy Button. He was a street entertainer between the 20's and 30's. The sculpture celebrates the spirit of the street. The artists were Charlie Smith and Joan Walshe-Smith.

Then I found a lane with interesting decoration. I thought Julie from Sydney Eye would like this.

After Bill had bought the latest Apple product we went looking for a coffee shop, another of his pleasures when supposedly sight

seeing. 

We came across London Court a gorgeous little lane that is full of interesting shops with an English feel. However, the clock at the entrance is a replica of the Great Clock of Rouen in France. Every 15 mins it chimes and 'The Tournement of the Armoured Knights' circle in the window above the clock.

We only looked at the chocolates but I still put on weight.

We found the always needed coffee shop and while waiting for the coffee I noticed this interesting group of sculptures through the window. They were business men through the ages walking to the entrance of the St Martins business centre.

Perth has many sculptures, almost one on every corner. This one in front of St George's Cathedral on St George's Tce is a beauty. It is a very modern interpretation of St George and the dragon. It had a beautiful flowing form. St George's cape is billowing around his lance. The sculpture is named Ascalon after the lance.

A $500,000 donation by Mark Creasy enabled the Dean and Chapter of the cathedral to commission local artists Marcus Canning and Christian de Vertri. They had Glen Swarbuick make the 18m cloak from a hybrid composite. The sculpture is said to "evoke a sense of righteous power and victory over a force of darkness and oppression"

 We were heading back to the hotel to pick up our bags and get driven to the airport when I saw a picture of our daughter Sonya's brother in law, Stephen Curry, on a bus stand. He is an actor and has the lead role in the film "The Cup".


Soon we were on the plane heading towards Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, where we would meet more friends for another tour. I hope you will join me.

KOALA BUSHLAND

In 1996 four local authorities got together and decided to work together to manage their conservation aims for the forests and parks that are all joined together in our area. So Daisy Hill, Venman, Neville Lawrence, Kimberley, Burnett and Ford Conservation areas all come under the one name  "The Koala Bushland Coordinated Conservation Area. This 1100 ha of natural bushland borders Logan City and Redland City. Koalas don't live in one area but move up and down a corridor munching their way through tons of gum (eucalyptus) leaves. Unfortunately housing development in these corridors is causing the decline in the number of koalas. This conservation area is to provide koalas with a safe corridor and to provide the community with opportunities for nature based recreation and education.

We are so lucky to live 15 min walk to the Daisy Hill Conservation Park, which I still call the Daisy Hill Forest as it was when we first moved here. There are many trails in the forest some are for walking, some for bikes, some for horses and some are shared with everyone.

There are car parks and picnic areas with many barbecues.

I walk to the forest most mornings and then do the ring road and return home. It usually takes me an hour. Sometimes I can convince Mr B to join me. One day last week we went for a gentle walk along the Tree Discovery Trail.

I love how the morning sunlight penetrates the forest and drenches the picnic and play area.

We often come across these cute but shy wallabies (a small species of kangaroo)

However, we only see koalas occasionally. Numbers are dwindling and they sleep high up in the trees well camouflaged during the day. They feed and move from tree to tree at night. Within the conservation park there is The Daisy Hill Koala Centre, which is an educational facility and it also cares for orphaned baby koalas, often taken from the pouches of mothers who have been hit by cars or mauled by dogs.

There are so many interesting things to see in the forest, vines, grasses and

and a variety of different coloured trees. Now that summer has arrived many are shedding their bark.

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Yesterday I joined the U3A Bushwalking Club for my second time with them.

They walk for two hours at a good pace stopping only a few times for a drink of water. This is not a gentle walk.

Each week they choose a different trail. The walks are all pretty and sometimes I wish I could stop to soak up the beauty and explore nature, but I guess we are on a fitness exercise.

We were on a shared path and the cyclist were good as they got off their bikes to pass us. I was so chuffed that I could keep up with the seasoned walkers although the steep hills nearly toppled me but, no, I made it! Now I'm looking forward to next Thursday.

TAPHOPHILIA IN MARREE

Marree is a tiny town in the middle of the desert in South Australia. It is 685k north of Adelaide and has a population of 70.

 From a plane it is a a collection of tiny dots near the horizon.

 It is situated at the intersection of the Birdsville Track and the Oodnadatta Track. The explore John McDouall Stuart passed through here in 1859 and his assistant Hergott discovered a spring nearby and called the place Hergott Springs but in 1918 the name was changed to Marree due to anti german sentiment during the war. Before trains arrived in the outback most travel and transport was carried out by cameleers called, Afghans. In actual fact most of them were from India.

 The small but very old cemetery is divided into three sections. Afghans, Aborigines and Europeans.If you enlarge this you can see arabic writing and then "In Memory of Wahub, Afghan died in 1855.

 It was the tradition that when a cameleer died his lead camel was killed and buried next to him. So there were many small graves and then bigger humps (pardon the pun) next to them.

We were in the European section when a whirlwind or Willy Willy (see it at the right) started to blow around and around and whipped up the sand and grass balls (see them in the sky). It stung our legs and hurt our eyes so off we went back to the bus.

GENERATOR

The Brisbane Powerhouse Theatre situated at New Farm on the banks of the Brisbane River is a stunning industrial creation for contemporary performing arts and a multi-arts venue.

The Powerhouse Theatre

Originally it was built to provide electricity for a huge tram network and local suburbs between 1928 and 1940. It was designed by R.R. Ogg. As trams gave way to buses the powerhouse was decommissioned in 1970. The derelict building provided shelter for the homeless, target practice for the army, a location for film makers and a canvas for graffiti artists.

The entrance

In 1989 the powerhouse was identified as being culturally significant and the concept of a centre for the arts was born. It was redeveloped by the council and designed by P. Roy.

The building comes alive when it is full of people

The Powerhouse Theatre was opened in 2000 and refurbished in 2007. There are theatres, restaurants, bars function and conference spaces.

There are many levels and open spaces.

The mayor and designers decided to keep as much of the original building as it was so it still looks like an industrial building but it has state of the art equipment for the theatres and multi-media spaces.

The pillars have been left in the state that they were in the derelict building but they have been painted with a clear enamel to keep them clean and safe for visitors. The light is made from electrical insulators found on the site.

Most of the graffiti has been kept also and is actually heritage listed. Offensive stuff was removed. Renown Graffiti artists Anthony Lister, Blek Le Rat and Kasino were commissioned to add more modern graffiti . It really gives the place a very modern, young atmosphere. It is an exciting building to visit and if you are into avant guard theatre productions, the shows are good too. 

We were visiting the theatre for a very proud moment. Our son in law, David, was commissioned to produce an audio guide for the building. He worked for over a year putting together a collection of interviews, sounds and music which tell about the history, the redesign, the art, and the spaces  of the building.

It has been developed as an Application called GENERATOR for an iphone or ipad and can be listened to while touring the building or at home. We have found it very informative and an excellent production.

So this night was the launching of the GENERATOR by David Pickvance. The audience was provided with cheese platters and wine.

David outlines the content and how he collected all the data for the audio tour.

David shows his brother and sister how the app works on a phone.