STANTHORPE'S AUTUMN COLOURS

Stanthorpe is a lovely country town in the area called the Granite Belt. It is a 3 hour drive south west from Brisbane up into the highlands. It is the coldest town in Queensland and therefore can show off some autumn colours, which we don't get in many other areas of Qld.

We went to Stanthorpe for a reunion of a few members of the Port Moresby Judo Club. 50 years ago we all belonged to the club in P/NG. We stayed for 2 nights in a motel which was on the banks of Quart Pot Creek. I went for a walk along the creek, I was enthralled with the beauty.

 The Granite Belt area is famous for its wine. The grape vine is showing off its colours.

This house is called a Queenslander as the architecture is what was used in the early days of settlement. The houses were built up off the ground and with  big wrap around verandas to keep them cool.

I mistakenly grabbed the wrong lens for my DSLR camera when I left home. I was mad with myself and so I had to make do with my phone and the macro lens which I had brought by mistake

GENEROUS GEORGE

We are so lucky to have wonderful friends. Ann and George came over to our house today to lop a tall tree that looked like it was dying.

 George climbed up a ladder and managed to cut off the lower branches and then finally the top of the tree. It was a Callistemon Tree. (Bottlebrush)

 George not only brings his chain saw but also his trailer and drives the rubbish to the "dump" for us.

 Even TOH (The Other Half), who doesn't have any interest in gardening came out of his den to help. He's the best OH. He loves cooking, I love gardening so the two halves make a happy whole.

 Explaining the finer details of gardening, like different trees have different leaves. (only joking). TOH wasn't convinced the tree was dying because he found some big bright healthy leaves on one of the branches, but they were actually from a nearby tree that had been caught as the branches came down.

However, it turned out that he was right, George said the tree wasn't totally dead yet and it might reshoot. That would be good, but it is a very old tree for a native.

I added some more garden waste and then the trailer was full. The boys went off to the dump and I went to chat to Ann, who had been taking these photos from the deck. Ann had also brought Easter Buns for morning tea. What fabulous friends we have. Later we took them out for lunch, to say thank you. They just saved us hundreds of dollars that it would have cost if I had to call a professional tree lopper.

LAB LIFE AND FAREWELL ORANTES in 1960

In early 1960 I was working as a Laboratory Assistant at Sydney University because I had missed out on a place for PE teaching.  There was only one college in Sydney offering PE teaching and it was part of the Sydney University. One of my tasks at work was to take data from my boss, a research scientist, to "George". George was the name of the university's computer. Yes, that's right just one computer and it filled a whole building. The walls were covered with huge machines with wheels spinning and it all looked wondrous to me. I was one of the few of my peers, who had actually seen a computer.  A few days later, I would be sent back to George to get the results. I remember carrying spools of tape which had random holes punched into it. On the way to George, I had to pass the teacher's college where I sometimes I saw the students learning to play softball. I would slow down and dawdle past, wishing that I was one of them. I was sure I could do a better job than some of them, who were even overweight. I reckon they were taken on their brains not their ability in sport. I had a bad case of sour grapes.

................................................................

The 'Orantes' a cruise ship of the 60's had arrived in Sydney. It was time for our English visitor to return home. Dad drove us all to the docks, which were at Pyrmont then, now they are at Circular Quay. We went on board to say goodbye to Mrs R and to have a look around the ship. We all wished that we could afford to go home to England for a visit. My parents hadn't seen their parents, my four grandparents for eleven years now. In fact, all except one had died by the time my parents could afford a trip home. 

My mum on the left was always dressed fashionably. She sewed her own clothes and mine too.

Mrs R waving goodbye. 

These ships were full of many migrants returning for a holiday or to stay. There were also hundreds of young Australians seeking fun and fortune in the old country. It was before affordable air fares. The trip took four to five weeks.

Lots of colourful streamers, cheering, shouting and crying farewell.

There she goes down the beautiful harbour back to our homeland. Maybe one day we will get there.

A WALK IN THE PARK 2

It was time to take TOH (The Other Half)  out for another airing walk. This time he chose Undrewood Park.

There is a manicured part of the park that is used for weddings and other functions.

 It is very pretty and has plenty of water birds.

This messes with your eyes.

 A little further away there is a more natural wetland with a boardwalk around the lake.

 TOH is not smiling

But he took an arty farty shot.

FRIENDLY RIVALRY

from the web

As I have mentioned before, I got my love of photography from my dad.  Although my parents were not well off back in the forties and fifties, my dad did own a camera. It was one that opened up with bellows. He took photos of our Migration to Australia and of our Settling in Australia, which are in my first book.

At the end of 1959 my mum made me a new dress to wear to the end of year dance, which is now called the school formal. My dad took some photos of me. He made me pose this way and that and I was feeling embarrassed. I was happy when it was over.

Mum and dad on the ship coming to Australia 1949.
Dad has his camera case over his arm.

A few weeks later the photos had been printed. Remember those days when you had to wait ages  to get the prints. (My dad would have loved the digital age, he passed away in 1983.) We had a friend visit and my dad was showing him the photos he took of me, he was quite proud of them. Our friend, John, said that he could take better photos and so a friendly rivalry began. I was the guinea pig. So John asked me to pose this way and that and smile. Now I had just been told that I had missed out on a place in Teachers' College and I didn't feel like smiling and posing for anybody but I did.

Dads photo. Dec 1959 (17yrs)

John's Photo. Jan 1960, (17 yrs)

     

A WALK IN THE PARK 1

 I'm trying to convince TOH (The Other Half) to walk regularly to maintain fitness and maybe lose weight. It is an uphill battle, but now and then he relents and agrees to go for a walk. He gets bored with doing the same walk every time so my challenge is to find a different places. 

The first place I chose from the brochure of parks in our local area was Cornubia Nature Reserve. When we arrived the path was almost non existent but we bushwhacked through for only a few hundred metres when we came to a lagoon.

 Unfortunately there were no paths around the lake. I think this park is in need of an upgrade. However it was very pretty in the afternoon light. Two Magpie Geese were on the other side a long way off. I had to stretch the zoom to its limit.

 "What do you think sweetie, coming for a paddle"

There were many dragonflies but I couldn't get one to sit still.

They were tiny, fluffy water lilies.

A HEAT WAVE OF DISAPPOINTMENT

In January of 1960 we had a heatwave and a visitor from England. Mrs R was the mother of my  parents' friend, Ida from Mudgee. Mrs R was on her way back to England from Mudgee. She stayed with us for a while before boarding a ship in Sydney.

 In these days before air conditioning, we often went to the beach to cool off. This time we went to Wottamolla Beach in the Royal National Park just south of Sydney and not far from where we lived in Loftus. It was a beautiful spot, pristine.

 There was a lagoon , which emptied into the sea. It was a great place for swimming either in the sea or the lagoon. The little dots on the beach are people. I took this shot from the top of the waterfall at the beginning of the lagoon.

Mum and Mrs R sitting on top of the waterfall.

The waterfall was only a trickle as it had been a dry summer obviously. Often there were brave stupid people diving off the top of the waterfall.

It was very hot and I was miserable. The exam results had been published. I had passed the Leaving Certificate and qualified for teachers' college, which initially had me happy and excited. However, over 250 applicants had applied for PE teaching at Sydney Teachers' College and only 80 were accepted and I wasn't one of them. I was so disappointed but my Dad was very supportive and encouraged me not to give up. He even took me to demonstrate outside government house against the low number of applicants accepted into colleges and universities. It had no effect. We were told to try again the next year, when more places would be offered.

My Dad then helped me to look for a job while I waited for the next year's intake. With his help I decided on laboratory work. I applied for quite a few lab assistant jobs. After a few knockbacks I finally landed a job with the Animal Husbandry Dept. at the University of Sydney. Meanwhile, my snail mail romance continued with LB in Newcastle.

Wottamolla Beach today, still beautifully kept in its natural state. (Photo from the web)