Monday 30 June 2014

Reflections on Lake Leake, Tasmania, Australia

Lake Leake is the name of both a lake and a small township in the eastern midlands of Tasmania. The lake can hold 22.076 gigaliters of water. The lake was named after Charles Henry Leake a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council.
The lake is used for recreational fishing, for brook trout, brown trout and rainbow trout.
The village is built on land owned by the Northern Midlands Council. Inhabitants must purchase a license to have a building there, are restricted in the number of days per year they can live there. The main purpose is to accommodate recreational anglers.

The photos are taken in Winter, which is now. I like these photos I took as they are simple.





 

Friday 27 June 2014

The Bushranger - Ned Kelly

Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. Kelly's legacy is controversial; some consider him to be a murderous villain, while others view him as a folk hero and Australia's equivalent of Robin Hood.

A final violent confrontation with police took place at Glenrowan on 28 June 1880. Kelly, dressed in homemade plate metal armour and a helmet, was captured and sent to jail. He was convicted of three counts of wilful murder and hanged at Old Melbourne Gaol in November 1880. His daring and notoriety made him an iconic figure in Australian history, folklore, literature, art and film.

Born 1854 Beveridge, Victoria. Died 1880 in Melbourne, Victoria.

There is a museum at Glenrowan which is interesting.  It's a small town in country Victoria.







Tuesday 24 June 2014

Busy day

Yesterday was a very busy day especially in the morning and at 15degC = 59degF a rainy dreary winter's day, I started the washing, commenced making two banana loaves, visitors came, then the plumber.  My father phoned me from the hospital to have a chat. Then more visitors came from South Africa, the first visitors left as sister in law came, and I managed to talk and make my loaves, make a cup of tea all before they left at 1.30pm.  Then immediately I headed to the hospital to visit my dad. There are several car park associated with the hospital and the rate is $1.50 per hour AUD.

So today the renovations are complete, so the cleanup of the house will begin in my spare time.

The daisy growing in the front area of the garden. Photo taken at the weekend.


Friday 20 June 2014

Reflections on the Tamar River.

Update on my Dad. The link to my first post.
So the update is that he is now in the main hospital in the city where I live which is much easier for me to visit him.  He isn't travelling well, and we don't know how long he's got with us.
The Dr's are trying to keep the pain away but it's proving to be difficult for them and my dad.
Dad still has his sense of humour, and he said to me two days ago, "I tried to die last night, but I couldn't"!

The Tamar River (indigenous name: kanamaluka) is a 70-kilometre (43-mile) with the mouth being at Low Head which goes into Bass Strait. Tasmania.
The River is very near our small city, and one can walk beside the river, take a cruise or dine at the eating houses near by.

I took these photos just before sunset on a calm winter's day and was lucky to get a reasonable reflection.




Tuesday 17 June 2014

Australian Camels.

Australia is set to begin exporting thousands of live camels to the Middle East after one of Saudi Arabia's richest men invested tens of millions of dollars in a ship designed to open up the trade.
The ship, on its way to Fremantle in Western Australia after being launched in Singapore this week, features super-sized doorways and two decks designed for adult camels.
The businessman made the investment after picking up on international coverage of Australia shooting thousands of feral camels causing environmental damage in the outback.
A local exporter said the camels could be exported from Broome, Fremantle and Adelaide as soon as they became available in sufficient numbers.
The Federal Government culled about 160,000 camels over four years as part of a $19 million program that ended last year.
The feral camel population was estimated at one million at the start of the cull, about 40 per cent of them on Aboriginal-controlled land.
International Livestock Export director Graham Daws said the trade in camels had been held back by the lack of a purpose-built vessel. "It is very exciting, especially for indigenous people," he said. "There is a whole new business there."
The man behind the venture, Hamood al Khalaf, has imported more than $1 billion worth of livestock over a long career.
He has spent $100 million converting the Awassi Express for sheep, cattle and camel exports and on associated infrastructure in Australia and Saudi Arabia.
Mr Khalaf will charter the vessel for sheep, cattle and camel shipments to the Middle East, pending a breakthrough agreement between Saudi Arabia and Australian to reopen live exports.


Camels on Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia.
These camels are used to take people on a ride along Cable Beach at Sunset, it's where I took these photos a few years ago.




Waiting for a ride.

Sunday 15 June 2014

Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Austalia

The view of the town from the hill at Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.


The War Memorial with the Australian Flag and the Flag of the Northern Territory.


Not keen for photos are the black people.





Thursday 12 June 2014

John Flynn & Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.

As we drove into Alice Springs we saw Camels  and discovered that Alice was having their annual Camel Race, so hence the accommodation places were near enough full. Luck was on our side, we found a place to park the caravan in one of the local caravan parks for a couple of days.

John Flynn & Alice Springs.
*John Flynn was born in 1880 and educated in Melbourne. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1911 he was commissioned by his church to visit the Northern Territory in 1912 and report on its missionary needs. The vast distances of the Territory and the lack of adequate medical facilities concerned Flynn and from 1917 onwards he founded a series of nursing services in remote locations. Taking advantage of the rapid development of aviation in the 1920s, Flynn was instrumental in the formation of the AIM Aerial Medical Service in 1928. The effectiveness of the service was ensured by the invention of the Traeger pedal radio in 1929. With several name changes, the AIM Aerial Medical Service became the Royal Flying Doctor Service in 1954.
Flynn was also concerned with providing shelter for the older population of Central Australia and in 1949 he designed the first cottage to be built at the Old Timers' Settlement in Alice Springs.* *Taken from the Archives.

Camels photo, taken from the car not far from Alice.




John Flynn's Church.


John Flynn's Hospital.

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Diagnosis for Dad = Cancer!

Today I travelled to the city where my dad lives, to the hospital to be exact. Dad phoned me on Saturday morning to say he couldn't move in bed. I rang the ambulance and to cut the story short, he was admitted to hospital. I travelled down, then again on Sunday, then today. The journey is 1..1/2 hours one way. The Dr. came late this afternoon to tell dad and myself, that he has bone cancer, no cure, and it had most likely gone elsewhere. That's life. Have no idea how long he has, but rest assured I will be not far away...

Monday 9 June 2014

On the Way to Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.

Some years ago we visited Alice Springs in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia.
Back in those days Digital Cameras were not common as they are today.  It was a problem to have the photos taken off the 'card'. When I found a place it was the same price as getting films developed. Thank goodness technology moved on and places in the outback came to have the facility. Laptops were expensive back then as well.  However, with extra cards for my digital camera I managed.

The two photos are on the way to Alice Springs (Alice) and I am sure many people remember the movie 'A Town Like Alice', plus the book.

Alice Springs is the third largest town in the Northern Territory, Australia. The town straddles the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. The surrounding region is known as Central Australia, or the Red Centre, an arid environment consisting of several different deserts. In Alice Springs temperatures can vary dramatically with an average maximum temperature in summer of 35.6 °C (96.1 °F), and an average temperature in winter of 19.8 °C (67.5 °F), however it does get rather cold in the night during winter.






Friday 6 June 2014

York Park, Launceston, Tasmania.

York Park is a sports ground in the Inveresk and York Park Precinct, Launceston, Australia. Holding 21,000 people—more than any other stadium in Tasmania—York Park also known as Aurora Stadium and is home to the Hawthorn Football Club and the Launceston Football.  
Football here is AFL and not Soccer.
I am not a football fan, and I don't even watch it on TV or listen to it on the Radio.






Jim Bacon (a late Premier of Tasmania) was the driving force behind the rebuilding and getting the Hawthorn Football Team from Melbourne, Victoria to come to Tasmania and play, plus to call it their home ground.


Photo borrowed from the Internet.

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Graffiti in Melbourne, Victoria.

Graffiti is predominant in the inner city of Melbourne, Victoria, in the lane ways.  A cousin of my husbands sent me these photos taken yesterday.

Hosier Lane is a bluestone cobbled vehicular and pedestrian laneway on the southern edge of the central city grid of Melbourne, Australia. Hosier lane is a much celebrated landmark in Melbourne mainly due to its sophisticated urban art.






Monday 2 June 2014

Kitchen is finished plus Tambo, Queensland, Australia.

 At last my kitchen is totally finished and I have cooked in the new oven.  It's a bit different from my old one, doesn't seem as hot. The en suite has been commenced so it's into the main bathroom and one of the spare beds to let the builder have a free run.

A few years ago we visited Tambo is a great little outback town.  With only about 340 to 500 locals and a pub or two , Tambo makes a great little stopover on the drive from Charleville to Longreach.  Located around 1000km north west of Brisbane on the Landsborough Highway.
Originally established in the 1860's, to service local pastoral properties, today Tambo boasts a healthy economy supported by wool and beef.
The average temperature in July is 21.2C or 70.2F. Winter time.
Summer time the average temperature is 34.9C or 94.8F.

We have travelled to Tambo a few times in the past. 


The Road to Tambo.


Farm land on the way to Tambo.


A Hotel and the Butcher's Shop.


The Library.


The Visitors Centre.

Tambo is prone to droughts, floods and fires.