Welcome to Life Images by Jill

Welcome to Life Images by Jill.........Stepping into the light and bringing together the images and stories of our world. I am a photographer, writer and multi-media artist.
Focussing mainly on Western Australia and Australia, I am seeking to preserve images and memories of the beautiful world in which we live and the people in it.

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Sunday 30 June 2019

Menzies Town Hall without a clock, Western Australia

Whenever we travel we always pick up curious little stories about towns, people, places. They add interest to the history and fabric of the places.

This one - the town hall without a clock - we discovered in the town of Menzies, 130km north of Kalgoorlie in the Western Australian goldfields, when we travelled through Menzies last September on a circuit tour to Cue, once the centre of the Murchison goldfields. I blogged about it here - Cue, Queen of the Murchison

 There are many of these little towns scattered throughout the goldfields regions, which were once booming towns in their heyday of gold discovery. Some of them are now abandoned with only a few scattered bricks remaining.



In 1898 a town hall was built in the booming gold town of Menzies, in the Western Australian goldfields, however for many years the clock tower didn’t have a clock. This caused confusion between the residents as there was telegraph time, set many kilometres away, and mine whistle time, which was always twenty minutes earlier than telegraph time. 

This photo was taken of signage in the Menzies main street.
 
Finally in 1904 the Town Clerk was instructed to purchase a clock which was shipped from London on the steamer SS Orizaba. However in February 1905 the Orizaba ran aground off the port of Fremantle due to poor visibility caused by heavy smoke haze over the ocean from a month of bush fires along the coast. 




Within hours there was twenty feet of water in the engine room and the captain sent word to Fremantle via an Italian fisherman. By 7pm three tugs and three barges were alongside and started salvaging the cargo. The passengers, their belongings, and the mail were transferred to Fremantle. 


Six days later the captain and crew left the ship when it started breaking up. About 900 tonnes of cargo was recovered from the ship and several months later winter storms sent the rest of her to the bottom of the ocean. 


 The fate of the Menzies town hall clock is not known – whether it sunk with the ship, or was salvaged and sold – but the clock never reached Menzies. Nearly one hundred years later Menzies was still without a clock. 


In 1999 the Shire of Menzies allocated $16,000 for the purchase of four clocks, designed and built by Perth clockmaker, Derek Morrison, to fit the four faces of the town hall tower. The clocks were unveiled on New Year’s Eve 1999. 




In a final twist to history, recent research indicates that the original clock may not have been ordered as there is no record of the order or that it was on the Orizaba.  One theory is that the Attorney General used the ship sinking as an excuse not to pay for a clock for a town whose population was declining.  Or was there a Menzies clerk feeling relieved that his oversight was never discovered? 



 Menzies is a lovely little town to visit and explore some of the local historical gold-rush history if you are in the goldfields. They have a very neat caravan park in the centre of town. 

Gold was discovered in Menzies in 1894.  The population of 10,000 peaked in 1905 and the town boasted 13 hotels, 3 breweries and 3 banks. By 1910 the population had fallen to less than 1,000, due to the decline in gold production and further hastened by World War 1.  Population today is less than 200.

My article, which you have just read, was published in the November-December 2018 issue of On The Road Magazine. 


Recently I discovered that the Orizaba was indeed ill-fated. In 1889 there was a smallpox outbreak on board and the ship was quarantined in Melbourne. Late in 1889 it collided with the Clan Mackay en route from India. In early April 1903 a crew member was found to have the the plague and he was off-loaded in Egypt, but the ship was treated as an "infected ship" by health authorities when it reached Plymonth. In 1904 an explosion in the engine room killed six crew members. 
From "The Way We Were", Western Australian newspaper, 1 December 2018.  


Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed this little story about the Menzies clock. Travel can be so fascinating! To find out more about Menzies click here - Menzies

Old ship photos borrowed from the Internet. 
Photo of the town hall without a clock taken from heritage signage in the Menzies main street.
For more information on the Town Hall: WA Government Heritage council. 

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.

Tuesday 25 June 2019

Pooh, Piglet & Eeyore

 At times in everyone's life we need a Pooh and Piglet, don't you think?




It occurred to Pooh and Piglet that they hadn't heard from Eeyore for several days, so they put on their hats and coats and trotted across the Hundred Acre Wood to Eeyore's house. Inside the house was Eeyore.

"Hello Eeyore," said Pooh. 

"Hello Pooh. Hello Piglet" said Eeyore, in a Glum sounding voice.

"We just thought we'd check on you," said Piglet, "because we hadn't heard from you, and so we wanted to know if you were okay."

Eeyore was silent for a moment. "Am I okay?" he asked, eventually. "Well, I don't know, to be honest. Are any of us really okay? That's what I ask myself. All I can tell you, Pooh and Piglet, is that right now I feel really rather Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All. 
 Which is why I haven't bothered you. Because you wouldn't want to waste your time hanging around with someone who is Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All, would you now."

Pooh looked at Piglet, and Piglet looked at Pooh, and they both sat down, one on either side of Eeyore in his stick house.

Eeyore looked at them in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"We're sitting here with you," said Pooh, "because we are your friends. And true friends don't care if someone is feeling Sad, or Alone, or Not Much Fun To Be Around At All. True friends are there for you anyway. And so here we are."

"Oh," said Eeyore. "Oh." 

And the three of them sat there in silence, and while Pooh and Piglet said nothing at all; somehow, almost imperceptibly, Eeyore started to feel a very tiny little bit better.
Because Pooh and Piglet were There.
No more; no less.


Author - AA Milne
 Illustration - EH Shepard

Monday 17 June 2019

Dancing in the dark - Sol y Sombra

Hi everyone, it has been a busy week last week as I danced in two sections of the Bunbury Eisteddfod with my dance group - Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company and School of Dance. 
We were awarded first place in both our sections. 

Here are  a few photos....though none taken by me :) 

Wednesday - Over 25s theatrical style troupe -  dancing to Ricky Martin's la Copa de la Vida - a fun dance


my daughter in law and me

And Saturday night -   the flamenco dance Bulerias in the "Any age dance - National Troupe". This dance has no music, just keeping the rhythm and timing with clapping (palmas) and footwork. A more serious and precision dance. 

We just love these colourful sparkly shawls which were simply wrapped around our black leotard and black flamenco skirts.  And of course, add flowers and sparkly ear-rings!

These are all back stage photos as unfortunately they do not allow photos to be taken of the performances. 
That is our teacher and choreographer, Nicole, second from the left. 
I am 4th from left. 



 And our second teacher, wardrobe mistress and makeup artist - Susie, first on left.


 A huge thank you to my flamenco family and to Delia Dillon, our newest dance company member, for these images. All phone photos - I love the editing she has done on this last image. 

I've been a part of Sol y Sombra since 2012 after my daughter-in-law invited me to join. In 2015 we held our 25th anniversary celebration. I blogged about it here Ole - Celebration of 25 years of flamenco
 
Learning flamenco has been both daunting but wonderful too being with this amazing, kind, generous, talented and supportive group of ladies and our one male, Peter. 
I thank them all for their support and encouragement over the years. Flamenco is certainly not the easiest dance form to learn. And I didn't go to dance classes when I was young. I wish I had found flamenco in my 20s or 30s, not my 50s! 

Any form of dancing is great for exercise, co-ordination, memory, balance, timing, confidence, and personal growth being put out of your comfort zone when we perform on stage. And it is fun!

Do you dance? Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. Never think you are too old to start. My dance teacher also teaches an adult ballet class.  If this old bird, me, can learn, so can you!

 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.

Tuesday 11 June 2019

Stormy days

We finally got the rain we have been desperately waiting for. Pity it came on a day when I was doing a landscape photography workshop and we obviously had to go outside for the practical part..... still I got some shots I was reasonably happy with. 
Thank you Photography Group of Bunbury for the opportunity. 

My tip is, look for different angles ie down low, shapes and patterns. 
Remember to check for those water spots on your lens and wipe them off so you don't have to clone them out in post processing later.  
A sturdy tripod helps in the wind.

That's all from me for this week folks! Have a great week wherever you are and whatever you are doing.  

Ps... I am not complaining about the rain as it was long overdue and we really needed it. 


These bright shade sales were a welcome splash of colour on the slightly more sheltered Koombana Bay side.



The lighthouse with its light 


Stormy seas on the Indian Ocean facing basalt rocks at the back beach. A quick photo before we retreated to the bay.


Nice clouds over Koombana Bay.


Thank you so much for stopping by. Just a short post from me today due to having a big week ahead of me! However 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!