HI everyone - I am taking a little blogging break.
Back soon! Until then stay well and safe.
It's been cold and wet. This is just a little play with my 100mm macro lens between the showers.
Welcome!
PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO GO TO MY RED BUBBLE STORE.
Monday 2 September 2024
Monday 26 August 2024
Bunbury street walk with camera, Western Australia
Hi everyone. I hope you and yours are doing well. We have had a bout of Covid and then a cold in our household, but all good now.
Just a short post from me today.
Last weekend I did a little street walk with the Photography Group of Bunbury taking some pics of detail around our city. And then we had a nice catch-up over coffee and cake.
Here are a few of my pics, which shows if you look for detail there is always something to photograph. I did a photography group workshop and blog post a couple of years ago about Urban Abstracts if you would like some tips to get you started.
All photos were taken with a 50mm lens. It was good practise to photograph without relying on a zoom. Only one sneaky person shot - and I knew them - I'm not good at taking images of people in the street.
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| Twigs |
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| Door on a heritage listed building |
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| Fancy car |
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| Growing on a shingle roof |
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| Fallen leaves on the step |
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| Street Art by Rone |
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| Window |
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| Kangaroo paws |
You might also like -
Australia Day and Re-Discover Street Art
Wet weather street photography
Bunbury street art on a Sunday morning
Urban Abstracts photography - some how to tips - 2022
Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.
Until then, enjoy your day... it won't be back.
Sunday 18 August 2024
Blooming Art 2024 - Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, Western Australia
Over a cold, wet and blustery weekend, it was time for the Blooming Art 2024 exhibition, in conjunction with the Floral Designers Club of Bunbury.
Held annually in the beautiful Chapel Gallery of the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery (built in 1897, as the Convent of Mercy), the blooming art brightens up a winter's day.
As well as various categories of competitions for Floral Designers Club members, the club invites a number of artists and related art groups to participate by choosing artwork from the City of Bunbury Art Collection and responding to it by making an ephemeral artwork with flowers and plant material.
Here I share some of them.
Jacqueline Gibsons interpretation of Kangaroo Hill by Phillip Hansen
Donna Fortescue's interpretation of Guy Grey-Smith's Landscape 1969
Deanne Wenn-Mayne's interpretation of Eigma 33 by Janis Rudolfs Nedela - includes little yellow ducks and invited children to draw a picture of a duck with the provided pencils and take a duck home. Deanne who lives with Functional Neurological Disorder dedicated her piece to all the children who visited.
Kaylene MacLoughlin created a beautiful felted vase as part of her interpretation of "Waiting for the Boat 1986" by Helen Grey-Smith.
Merle Topsy Davis's interpretation of Drawing for Painting by Ted Snell
Carolyn Nicholls's showcases the plight of the Red Tailed Cockatoos in her interpretation of Occupied Territory by Kay Gibson
Kathleen Pinkerton's interpretation of The Silent Camp by Graham 'Swag' Taylor represents a campfire and the loss of children taken from aboriginal camps. "Some is missing forever, will they ever be returned".
The centrepiece this year put together by members of the Floral Designers Club was a mermaid
Among all the wonderful floral art works by the designer club members I couldn't go past Catherine Meads display which won Best In Show and 1st Class 1 - Designer of the Year 2024. Obviously the judges couldn't either.
In 2014 I was an invited artist for Blooming Art. You can read about my experiences here: Blooming Art 2014. Below is my exhibited piece. The painting is by Alisa Small, called Up The Gorge to Tallering Peak.
To find out more about the Flower Designers Club of Bunbury and see more of the exhibition and the work they do. Flower Designers Club of Bunbury
A few images of the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery. It really is a beautiful space. I've just realised that they covered up the chapel stain glass windows for the exhibition.
More about the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, it's history and exhibitions: Bunbury Regional Art Gallery
Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.
Until then, enjoy your day... it won't be back.
Monday 12 August 2024
Convict built Spiky Bridge, Tasmania, Australia
Hi everyone. I hope you are all doing well. Today for my post, I have travelled to Australia's island state of Tasmania, the worlds 26th largest island, lying 240 kilometres off the south eastern tip of Australia.
At least one-fifth, or 20%, of Tasmania is a World Heritage Area. The area which covers 1.58 million hectares includes national parks, marine, and forests reserves
Here is a map to orientate yourself. The red dot on the map shows the location of Spiky Bridge. I live way on the other side of Australia between Perth and Margaret River.
Just over seven kilometres south of Swansea on Tasmania’s east coast is Spiky Bridge, a curious relic of Tasmania’s convict era and one of many convict built bridges in Tasmania. In fact you will find many buildings, bridges etc built by convicts throughout Tasmania and Australia during the convict period. Between 1788 and 1868 more than 162,000 convicts were transported to Australia.
Looking at a side view of the bridge you can see a water channel running down the wall from a slot at the base of the roadway to the arch beneath the bridge, allowing water to drain off the road.
By the 1820s European settlement was pushing northwards along the east coast from Hobart, drawn to the area by farming and whaling. Workers were not abundant in the area until the Rocky Hills Probation Station was constructed in 1841, providing free convict labour to build roads, bridges, clear land, and construct station buildings including the prison.
The
reason why the bridge was decorated with these upright stones is the subject of
speculation. One theory says it was to stop cattle falling into the gully or to
prevent suicide jumpers. Another suggests that the convicts building the bridge
used it as a form of revenge. It is questionable how they could do this whilst
under supervision. Either way, the Spiky
Bridge is now a curious stopping point for tourists.
Popular history says the bridge was built after Irishman Edward Shaw of Redbanks gave his friend Major de Gillern, Superintendent of the Rocky Hills Probation Station, a ride home one night after a game of piquet (pee-kay). Shaw had repeatedly requested that improvements be made to the road between Swansea and Little Swanport, particularly the steep gully south of Swansea. His requests had evidently fallen on deaf ears so to prove his point Shaw drove his gig and his passenger, the Major, through the gully at full gallop. It must have been a thoroughly uncomfortable trip because the bridge was erected shortly afterwards.
Initially the bridge was called Lafarelle’s Bridge after surveyor and civil engineer Thomas Lafarelle who was Assistant Superintendent at Rocky Hills Station between 1843 and 1845 and who probably supervised the building of the bridge. On the nearby hill overlooking the bridge are the remains of the Governor’s cottage.
The Rocky Hills Probation Station
only lasted eight years, coming to an end during an economic depression in the
late 1840s. Under the convict probation system during the 1840’s, all convicts
had to serve time in a government work gang. Previously, convicts had been
assigned to work for private settlers when they first arrived in the colony, clearing
land and planting crops.
Swansea is Tasmania’s oldest seaside town.
It was first settled by the Welsh in the
1820s who named it Waterloo Point. It was
renamed Swansea in 1842.
There are many convict built bridges in Tasmania, which can be explored on Tasmania's Convict Trail.
Below are three of them - Red Bridge at Campbell town which was built on dry land and then had the river diverted under it; Richmond Bridge, 25 kilometres north of Hobart, built in 1825, is Australia’s oldest surviving large stone arch bridge; and Ross Bridge built from sandstone in 1836, according to a 2006 Engineers Australia report, the only example of a stone bridge in the World that includes carvings along all of its arches
Where is it?
Turnoff
is on the western side of the Tasman Highway, 7.5km south of Swansea on
Tasmania’s east coast, 127km north of Hobart.
Piquet – (pronounced
pee kay) – is a trick-taking card game for two players, using a 32-card pack
consisting of the seven to the ace only.
More information at:
Discover Tasmania – Tasmania’s Convict Trail
Tasmanian Expeditions- Fascinating Facts About Tasmania
National Museum of Australia-Convicts
Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed this little visit to Tasmania.
You might also like on my blog:
Searching for Platypus - Great Short Walks in Australia
Wombling with Wombats in Tasmania
I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.
Until then, enjoy your day... it won't be back.
Sunday 28 July 2024
Four Aces and One Tree Bridge, Nannup, Western Australia
Hi all, I hope you are doing well. A couple of weeks ago I took you down to Nannup in Western Australia's south west where we explored some of the walk trails over a weekend. If you missed it you can see it here - Weekend away and bushwalking in Nannup, Western Australia
As promised, this week I am taking you to the Four Aces and the One Tree Bridge located 37 kilometres east of Nannup via Vasse Highway and then Graphite Road towards Manjimup. We decided to park at the Four Aces picnic area about one kilometre short of the bridge. From here you can follow a 400 metre loop walk through the karri trees before walking the one kilometre (each way) to One Tree Bridge.
But first the drive through the karris. Karris are my favourite tree of the southern forests.
Western Australia’s southern forests are dominated by Karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) trees which grow only in WA’s wettest corner. Belonging to one of the 900 Australian eucalypt species, many of the Karri trees are over 400 years old. Reaching a maximum height of about 90 metres they are one of the tallest forest trees in the world - behind the Californian Sequoia Redwood and the Australian Mountain Ash. Karri’s are easily identified. Their long straight trunk has a smooth bark which is shed every year, and changes colour as it matures. Interspersed with the Karri are Tingles, Jarrah, Marri, Bullich and Blackbutt trees and a stunning display of over 1500 wildflower species from September to November.
From here there is a 400 metre Karri Glade loop walk trail through the karri forest, suitable for all levels of fitness. It was a pleasant walk through the forest. Take your time to appreciate the forest.
Unfortunately we were too early for wildflower season, but there is always something to photograph.
The yellow flower below is I believe the Cape Leeuwin Wattle (Paraserianthes lophantha). It has a fern type leaf and is common in karri forest, though I don't think I have seen it in flower before. There are invasive wattles from the Eastern states in the south west forests, so I was glad to learn this is not one of them.
Below that is bracken fern, a fungi, and a fallen leaf.
We then walked the one kilometre through the karri forest to One Tree Bridge.
At One Tree Bridge you can see the remains of a bridge built from a single karri log over the Donnelly River. In 1904 there was no bridge over the river, so settlers Herbert and Walter Gilblett felled the giant karri across the 250 metre wide river, forming the basis of the bridge. Jarrah tree wood was used to complete the building of the bridge. Only part of this bridge survives today.
In 1948 a second bridge was constructed. In 1955 a new bridge was constructed to cater for heavy log trucks. This is the bridge that operates today, with a foot bridge adjacent. You can see the remains of the old bridge below here and the new bridge and footbridge below that.
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| The early days of One Tree Bridge (Manjimup Historical Society) |
The 1,000 kilometre Bibbulmum Track from Perth to Albany and the Munda Biddi bike trail crosses the river here at One Tree Bridge south of Donnelly River township.
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| Munda Biddi markers on left, Bibbulmun Track on right. |
From One Tree Bridge we returned to Four Aces and had our lunch under the picnic and information shelter while the rain drizzled. It is a beautiful spot to just sit and absorb the forest sights and sounds.
Below clockwise from top left - Water Bush (Bossiaea acquifolium) - it's amazing the amount of rain water it drops on you when you brush past, Karri Hazel (Trymalium floribundum), Tassel Flower (Leucopogon verticillatus) and a native orchid leaf emerging. Sadly none in flower!
There are 21 campsites surrounding a central grassy cleared area suitable for tents, camper trailers and small caravans. Jack and Irene Green first settled here in 1929 with the hopes of growing tobacco. Unfortunately the venture failed and they left after several years of hard work.
On our way back to Nannup we stopped in at Tank 7 Mountain Bike Park - two kilometres east of Nannup on Brockman Highway. Here there are many mountain bike trails for all levels of experience. I am not a bike rider, let alone a mountain bike rider, so I don't have more photos to share. The bike trails are colour coded easy, moderate, difficult and extreme. I suggest you select the correct one for you! There is a good guide here - Tank 7 Mountain Bike Park
Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.
Until then, enjoy your day... it won't be back.
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