and Kaff-eine’s homage to country folk. Rosebery is 40km south of Lascelles.
Next stop – Rosebery …
Tag: Victoria
Silo Expansion …
The Silo Art Trail in western Victoria has grown a bit since I last drove it.
At Lascelles Rone has painted local farming couple Geoff and Merrilyn Horman, part of a family that has lived and farmed in the area for four generations. They occupy one silo each facing in opposite directions. Maybe they’re not talking to each other …
It has an unwanted effect for the photographer. When Geoff is nicely lit Merrilyn is contra jour.
I’ll have to go back on an overcast day. Although the sky that day was being generous in other ways …
Authentic Orchids …
It’s not only time for the orchid society to flaunt the seasonally gaudy it’s also time for Victoria’s native orchids to show off their more subtle and delicate flowers. Here’s a couple that I’ve found in the past week.
This first one was in open woodland in the Grampians …
This one was in the Wail State Forest …
Disclaimer … When it comes to matters botanical my id skills are suspect. Treat these names with caution.
The Ballarat Orchid Show …
The Bright Lights of Bendigo …
Bendigo, another of Victoria’s gold rush towns, is just a little smaller than Ballarat but I think it offers a little bit more to the night photographer.
The plans hit paper in the late 1890’s, consecration occurred in 1901, the building was finished in 1977. It is the second tallest church in Australia (86.64 metres or 284 feet 4 inches). It’s the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst.
The fountain is 8.5 m (8.5m) tall in a 15 m (50 feet) diameter pool. Do not dive in it’s only 61cm (2 feet) deep. The grand opening was in 1881 and was attended by Princes Albert and George, sons of Alexandra Princess of Wales in whose honour the fountain was named.
Opened for business in 1887, they knew how to build them in those days.
The Shamrock began life in 1854, as a small hotel known as The Exchange Hotel, servicing miners during the Victorian gold rush including a Cobb and Co. office and a concert hall known as the Theatre Royal.
The hotel’s patronage had grown quickly with the booming goldfields and it was renamed the Shamrock in 1855. The same year the Theatre Royal hosted Lola Montez, performing for the diggers who threw gold nuggets at her feet, many of which the Shamrock staff took as tips while cleaning. Wikipedia.
A golden era indeed.
The Bright Lights of Ballarat …
The gold rush to Ballarat began in 1851. The gold hasn’t completely run out even now. The city has a population of around 100,000 making it the third largest in the state of Victoria and also the third largest inland city in Australia.
By Australian standards the central district is rich in heritage buildings and at night it’s quite a vibrant place …
Gateway to the Avenue of Honour which extends westwards for 22km in remembrance of those that died in the First World War. It was opened by the Prince of Wales on 3 June 1920.
Turn smartly around and head east instead and you’re on the main drag – Sturt Street.
… And in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. But keep heading east.
The original town hall was destroyed by fire, this one was commenced in 1859.
Around the corner in Lydiard Street something more modern …
Well worth a visit.
Seaside sojourn …
Port Fairy again. Why not?
Surf was up yesterday.
A good day to clamber about on the rocks in pursuit of mountainous waves … but that deserves a post by itself.
Feathers were ruffled …
Whoever named this bird was wearing rose-tinted hearing aids.
This morning dawned fair, less windy than yesterday.
Goorambat …
I was so impressed with the silos painted by Dvate at Rochester that I headed to Goorambat near Benalla to see his work there. Impressive. It was painted as part of the 2018 Wall to Wall Festival. The bird is a Southern Boobook.
700 metres away there is a mural in the church painted by Adnate …
Another Day, Another Silo …
Rochester this time, a small town on the Campaspe River in northern Victoria.
The artist is Jimmy Beattie aka Dvate and the subjects are a Squirrel Glider and a Sacred Kingfisher. The glider is a rare resident in the woods along the Campaspe while the kingfisher is a fairly common and colorful summer visitor. The medium is acrylic on silo.
Dvate has painted another silo near Benalla which I hope to catch up with soon.
Many more places possessed of silos are queueing up for a painting. As an art critic I am entering a burgeoning field. I hear there are some north of the border as well.
Big Picture …
Another silo beautified, this one in a more urban setting. It is the old cement works overlooking Fyansford on the outskirts of Geelong, Victoria. The artist is Rone who has done great things in New York and London and has come home to Geelong for this project. The subjects are local folk. From left to right we have Corinna Eccles, a Wadawurrung elder, Cor Horsten who worked at the site for 35 years and Kelly Cartwright, an athlete who won gold in the long jump and silver in the 100 metres at the London Paralympics in 2012.
bobmcgee 