Rylars Art Coffee Lounge
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
One of the most fascinating murals (or even paintings for that matter) I have ever seen can be found in my home town of Gawler, South Australila. Even more fascinating than the worlds biggest painting on canvas at Broken Hill in fact.
Rylars Art Coffee Lounge is home to one of the most detailed murals you're ever likely to find. The thumbnails above from the Coffee Lounges web site just doesn't do it justice. Not least because you can barely make out the detail but also because this mural circles the walls of the entire dining area. These images wouldn't even be 1% of the total mural.
Mostly black and white, the mural is still a work in progress even after three years. The best way to describe it is simply by quoting from Rylar's web site:
The artistic wizardry invoked within these walls is the culmination of a three year sojourn of indulgence and passion. This amazing work of art exemplifies an eclectic fusion of surrealism with medieval art, exercising an ability for intrinsic fine detail. Indulging and challenging, tempting your eyes to look further and deeper, taking you on a visual journey of fantasy and mystery with a curious blend of illusion and mysticism that will beckon you, as you attempt to unravel its diverse and arcane meanings.
Located at 41b Adelaide Road, Gawler (just next door to Dodd's Deli), Rylar is open Friday through to Monday, 5 - 9pm. My partner and I stopped there for dinner after seeing the movie I am Legend and were blown away by the detail, themes and overall impressive nature of the art.
We were there for around and hour and it was no where near enough time to take in everything. Definitely somewhere you'll want to visit more than once just to see what else you can find within the art.
You'll have no trouble going back either as the food is delicious and competitively priced with other restaurants, hotels and cafes in the region.
I wish I could show you better pictures of the mural just to give you more incentive to visit. It is really worth your while, even if you're not usually into art. This is truly one of Gawler's hidden tourist attractions.
Photography and Semaphore Beach.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Semaphore Beach, Port Adelaide, South Australia is a favorite place for Enigma and I to visit. Especially around sunset (you know the walk on the beach, kind of romantic type thing that people like). Ever since Enigma bought a professional standard digital camera (of the kind that you can attach all manner of specialized lenses to) we've used our trips to Semaphore as an opportunity to improve our photography.
I've had some training throughout my three years at art school on the technical side of working a manual SLR photography camera. Hence I know about apertures, shutter speeds, depth of field and other such technical things but I'm very rusty in applying that knowledge. I never really embraced the idea of me being a photographer even though my teacher said I had a great eye for photos.
Tackling the workings of a modern SLR digital camera can be quite a challenge. Most of the principles are the same as traditional cameras but finding your way around digital displays, menus and buttons unique to modern equipment is a task both Enigma and I muddle through together. I try to explain what should happen with the settings that we kind of work out together. Enigma does all the composition, framing and actually pushing the button to take a picture.
What makes it even harder is that Enigma's camera is able to use lenses that don't work with the cameras automatic functions. This means that we have to work out apertures and focusing ourselves. It's a bit hit and miss but thank god for the digital camera's ability to take hundreds of photos at virtually no cost (other than wearing down the batteries).
Whilst Enigma takes her photos I also carry around my point and shoot - any idiot could use - digital camera. It's fully automatic but does allow for some manual settings if you really want to get a bit arty. Mostly I leave it entirely on automatic. It doesn't have any kind of optical zoom lense (the digital zoom on it produces awful, pixelated images) so I'm pretty much stuck with having to physically move myself to frame my shots.
However something that we both learnt on our last trip to the beach was that sometimes automatic settings are the best to go with. The photo at the top of this post is one that I took of the Semaphore jetty with my basic camera. I just framed the shot so the brightest part of the sun was blocked out and the camera did the rest. Easy. How it should be. Technology working to assist creativity.
Enigma was trying out a new lense that was really struggling with the light once the sun was really low in the sky. Neither of us being that knowledgeable about lenses, we experimented with it quite a bit, until finally it just became obvious that the light just wasn't enough to get a decent picture. Even with the aperture open wide and the shutter set at a slow enough speed that was still good for hand held photography.
Noticing that my camera was still handling the light fairly well and producing well lit photos, I advised that Enigma should simply reattach the lense that came with her camera - the one that allows all of its automatic functions to work - and try that.
The suggestion worked a treat. Enigma was able to take well lit photos for quite some time after that. Even a few night shots too. Sometimes fully automatic is really the way to go. Especially if you're like us and aren't fully conversant with the settings.
More to the point. Photography is meant to be fun. If you are fighting with your camera, using manual settings, it doesn't hurt to switch back to auto for a while. Just so you can get back to the creative part of framing and composing your pictures.
Another tip I learnt during art school, that applies particularly to taking sunset photos, but is a good rule on any photography excursion. Always look behind, down and above, from your current position when taking a photo. Not all the best photos are right in front of you. Below are two examples of photos that I may not have seen if I hadn't taken a moment to look the other way. Both were taken roughly at the same time as the jetty photo above. (Note: if you weren't aware clicking on any image in my blog will usually show a larger version).
I can't remember the last time I had my own car. I've only ever owned one car, a Mazda 1500ss. I certainly remember buying it for AU$500 (obviously it was second hand at that price) and then spending another AU$500 on it to fix some minor issues and to completely re-detail the interior. I do remember selling it but I don't remember the year. I can safely say it was more than ten years ago.
Since then I've either walked everywhere or borrowed cars of people (mainly my sister) that I've lived with.
Last month, my partner, Enigma, was looking for a car suitable for her son and came across a great buy. A 1971, Chrysler Galant (pictured). It was recommended to her by her Mechanic who used to do all the servicing on it. In the meantime Enigma's son had found an alternative car that a friend was selling so he went with that. However the Gallant, for which the price had been negotiated down to the price of a fairly flash, brand new bicycle, was hard to pass up. So she bought it.
Now the Galant is a manual gear box. In our family only two people have recent experience driving a manual, Enigma's son and myself. Enigma has driven a manual but that was so long ago she's not sure if she really wants to relearn. Since her son now had a car, I'm the lucky one to finally have wheels again.
I've been for a few short drives so far. I love a manual car because it feels like you're actually doing the driving. Not like automatics where you just kind of push a pedal and steer.
This particular car is a year younger than me and comes from an era before cars got complicated with all kinds of technologies that anyone without a degree in rocket science and electrical engineering couldn't understand. The most technologically advanced things in cars back then was the radio. Since the Galant has had the radio removed there's nothing left to be confused by - except maybe the speedometer which is in miles per hour.
Some of you may be thinking what's confusing about miles per hour? Well, in Australia, we switched over to the metric system probably about the same time this car was made. I've never had to read a speedometer in anything other than Kilometers per hour. I've made myself a little conversion chart to refer to that I've stuck on the dash.
Anyhow I won't go on about having a car. It is good to have wheels but really I just wanted to record the occasion somewhere and share it with you. My readers.
If you're a YouTube artist and you have a web cam then I strongly encourage you to get involved in Daligoddess2006's, The Traveling Painting Project. It doesn't matter what your skill level is so long as you're over 18 years of age and don't mind spending a little bit of money on postage of a smallish canvas.
Considering how popular online video is, getting involved in projects such as this can have a bonus side effect of bringing more profile to your own art. The bigger the project gets the more people will be intrigued to find out more about the artists that have left their mark.
So, the traveling painting project is just what it says. A single canvas traveling from artist to artist, with each artist adding something to the painting before passing it along. Watch the video above for more information and visit the Ning network web site set up by YouTube artist Sherri Westfall.
Trains, Perth and Fremantle.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Road Trip Day 24: 15th June 2007
The one thing I wanted to do whilst visiting Perth was spend a day on my own, riding the train to visit the Perth CBD and Fremantle. Today was that day.
When I head out on my own I don't really do much except walk and observe. I enjoy walking and I like to get out and see how places have changed from when I was there last.
My morning started with a fairly long walk to the train station. On the way I passed through , what I imagine, is one of the largest Westfield Shopping Malls in the country. It's nearly big enough to have its own postcode. The Westfield was built before I left Perth. Apart from looking a little more lived in, it looked pretty much the same. Maybe a different shop here and there but that's about all.
I was a little worried that the trains ticketing system might be all different and I'd have to spend some time relearning it, however the basic system was unchanged. Put your money in a machine on the platform to buy your ticket. There is a new system called 'Smart Cards' which I guess are prepaid, multi trip tickets. On every station there is a reminder for you to 'tag on' and 'tag off' if you have one of these and gates have been built with the machines to do this placed as conveniently as possible.
Checking of tickets has become much tighter too. With gates having been installed across all exits at major stations so that guards can ensure you're not trying to fare evade. There's still a few ways you can get through the cracks. Traveling in off peak times they tend not to watch the exits and you can walk straight through unchecked.
My train arrived in the Perth CBD around 11am and I spent about an hour walking around. I was going to climb the Bell Tower on the foreshore of the Swan river but it was $10 to get in. I'd seen the museum inside the tower and the view from the top on an earlier trip so $10 for a quick look seemed a tad expensive.
Not a lot has changed in Perth. One very large building that used to be the home of the Myer shopping centre had been leveled to make way for Perth's new below ground railway station however it was early stages so really all you could see was the gap where the building used to be.
I reboarded the train and headed for the port city of Fremantle, a place I one day may choose to live should the opportunity arise. I like Fremantle because it is a very historical city with a great number of heritage buildings, plus it is by the beach. Whilst I'm not much of a swimmer I do like living right next to the coast where the sea disappears to the horizon. It has a feeling of possibility and opportunity about it that appeals to me.
Fremantle is very much a working port so you can see everything from cargo ships to ocean liners and naval ships coming and going. Heading out and disappearing over the horizon.
There is one particular spot in Fremantle that I always visit, a lookout located next to the Round House (an old convict prison). From here you can see out over the boat marina and the waders beach. It's a fantastic view at sunset and one that I once started to paint. You can observe so much activity. People doing all sorts of things. On this particular day I observed a girl taking photographs.
Not your usual holiday snaps. I first noticed her because she was fully dressed in jeans but wading up to just above her knees in the water on the beach below. Her camera was pointed straight down in such a way that she could only be taking a photo of the surface of the water and whatever could be seen below.
When she had done that she moved out onto the beach and started holding dried sea weed up to her lense and taking extreme close ups of that. I figured she had to be some kind of 'arty' type person.
She eventually made her way up to the look out where I was, taking some photos of the view before heading off. I last saw her when I left, laying flat out on the steps I had to use, taking photos of the ground. Strange but only at this look out are your chances of seeing this kind of odd activity greatly increased.
Fremantle hasn't changed a great deal. In my walking I went through the famous Fremantle Markets - busy as always - and the not so famous, E-Shed markets - not so busy as the stall holders would like. I was going to have some lunch at the E-Shed but all the outdoor tables were in full sunlight and I didn't particularly like the atmosphere in the indoor section of the food hall.
In the end, I boarded the train back to Perth CBD and had a late lunch in the Foodhall at the Carillion Centre. Nothing special just a roast meat roll with chips. During my meal a girl sat at a table directly opposite me. She was eating chips and gravy with a boost juice... I guess you'd call that a balanced meal, healthy and unhealthy!
That was pretty much my day. I caught the train home shortly after I'd eaten because by the time I got home it would be starting to get dark. Not exactly thrill a minute but it is nice to get out on your own sometimes.
Black Cockatoos and Driving in Perth.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Road Trip Day 20: 11th June 2007
Cockatoos.
This morning, at Rose's house, I was just about to start organising my breakfast when I heard a commotion in the backyard that was familiar and clearly a flock of Cockatoos (a species of parrot) feasting on the larger trees. Familiar because I've heard this sound many times in my home town of Gawler with the white cockatoos we get there.
I wouldn't even mention it except that when I went out to have a look (because watching all the debris rain down from the tree tops being stripped by cockatoos is quite a sight) I saw this was a flock of black cockatoos with yellow patches on each side of their heads (roughly where their ears might be if you could see bird ears). I've never seen black cockatoos doing this, not in my home town, nor have I ever seen it in Western Australia.
I tried to take a few photos but the birds were too high up to get a good shot. The photo shown here is about the best I managed.
Perth Driving.
Since being back in Perth I've done just a little bit more driving in traffic than I'm used to. In seven years since I moved, the areas I used to drive quite a bit have become far busier. The concentration of roads seems to have doubled and people seem to drive much faster and more aggressively.
Maybe I'm just not used to driving in this much traffic anymore. I don't remember it ever being this busy with this many cars - even in times when you'd expect it to be less busy. Roads are everywhere, built like ribbons across the city, going over and under yet more roads as well as railway lines. In some places you can't even see the buildings for the roads.
Perth is a rapidly growing city. It seems to have become much faster. I'm not enjoying driving here. Everybody tailgates if you don't accelerate fast enough, or even if you do. There are so many cars, so many roads. It's supposed to be much better to get to places. I'm sure it is. However, to me, a landscape dominated by roads is ugly.
Coolgardie and the Road to Perth.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Road Trip Day 17: 8th June 2007
West of Coolgardie is the Eastern end of the Great Eastern Highway. The road to Perth, Western Australia. When Rose and I turned into our motel last night the car headlights had picked out some curious characters across the road. Before heading off the next morning we just had to investigate.
Rose and I have been sticking with Central Standard Time (rather than change to Western Standard Time) in order to get earlier starts. This meant we had plenty of time to have a quick wander around, what turned out to be 'Ben Prior's Park', an outdoor museum featuring many historical machines and characters from the early gold rush days of the Coolgardie region.
One such character was this prospector, A.P. Brophy and his camel 'Misery'. Brophy is remembered for claiming the world record for riding his camel 600 miles without giving it a single drink back in 1895.
There are other characters in this museum but the majority of the display is old steam engines, wagons, farming tools, cars and more. All of which form a part of a collection owned by the late Ben Prior who was a long time resident of the town.
One particular character, who must surely be out of place, is this likeness of 'Ned Kelly' the famous Australian Bush ranger (unless Coolgardie had a copy cat bush ranger?). I suspect (though I'm only speculating) that this Ned Kelly may have been used at the BP service station across the road before being replaced by the Ned Kelly that is proudly displayed on the roof (see photo) - there is something of a likeness in their construction.
The rest of our day was taken with driving. We had somewhere around 590 kilometres to get through so the only stop we made was to have lunch at a roadhouse in Merredin.
Since this is my last post about driving there are one or two things I like to rant about:
1. If you're a truck driver being over taken by a car using a lane specifically designated as an overtaking lane. If that car is more than two thirds past you and the overtaking lane is running out, try easing up on the accelerator just a bit. Seriously. Would it kill you to slow down just a touch so the car can finish passing safely? I know it's not that hard to slow down vehicle's that large. I should 'cause I've followed behind road trains long enough to know exactly how much time is needed to slow down just a few kilometres per hour. It's not that long at all.
2. If you're a truck driver being over taken by a car, where there is no overtaking lane and the road is narrow and has rough edges, would it kill you to slow down a bit? Especially if your rig is being bumped around by strong cross winds, would it kill you?
3. If you're a truck driver stop pushing car drivers into unsafe practices simply because you have to travel at the maximum speed for trucks at all times regardless when hauling goods long distances. Would it kill you to slow down a bit?
4. If you're a truck driver, don't go commenting on my above rants. All car drivers are reckless, dangerous and should be banned from driving. I know - you don't need to list all the stupid things we do. Just slow down a bit and maybe next time I won't nearly crash into the side of your damn truck!
The only other thing I wanted to mention was that there is a heck of a lot of 'roadkill' on the WA side of Eyre Highway. Maybe it's just because it's such a large stretch of natural wilderness? Dead kangaroos were most common but I also saw a dingo and maybe a few other animals too (couldn't tell what they were after they'd been hit. Too small to be roos though).
The sea gulls of the desert (crows) were a bit of a worry too. All along the highway there were crows on the side of the road waiting for free lunch.
Rose and I finally got to Perth and pulled into her home just as the sun was going down. It was definitely good to finally be finished travelling for a while. I'll be staying in Perth for about a week before catching a plane back to South Australia.
There comes a point in some road trips where you want to make a certain distance by nightfall and the only way you can do it is to just drive. Rose wanted to make the town of Coolgardie by nightfall, a distance of more than 600 kilometres from Madura.
After driving the first 157 kilometres a sign at a place called 'Cocklebiddy' (don't ask how it got that name, I don't know) informed us that we were about to embark on Australia's longest straight piece of road. 155 kilometres of straight, flat road. I didn't really need to know that.
When you're driving these sort of distances 'speedo creep' can be a problem. The foot gets heavier and before you know it you're 20 kilometres over the speed limit - and it doesn't even feel like you're going fast.
Today was the day for over taking Road Trains. I did more over taking than I've done on any other day since we begun. One thing I've noticed is that if trucks are a the bane of car drivers then Winnebagoes (kind of like small truck with a mobile home on the back) must be the bane of truck drivers.
Winnebagoes are usually owned by early retires, still young enough to live their dream of travelling around the country side. Where trucks have a top speed (by law in Australia) of 100 kilometres per hour (cars can travel at the max speed of 110 kilometres per hour), Winnebago drivers insist on travelling at about 85 - 90 kilometres an hour. This means that big Road Trains are forced to change lanes. If you think over taking a road train in a car at speeds of 120 kilometres per hour can be a little hairy then imagine what it must be like if you're a road train driver over taking a Winnebago.
155 kilometres later a curious thing happens. Not only do you come to a bend but the road starts to go down hill. Not that curious except that it keeps going down hill for more than 100 kilometres. I didn't ever remember going up hill? It is quite disorientating. We went down hill for so long that I swear we should've been at least 200 metres below sea level!
Part way down this hill we stopped at the Ballidonia roadhouse and motel for lunch. Ballidonia is famous for having a piece of the ill fated space station, Skylab, crash in the region. What do you do when you recover a piece of a NASA space station?
You bolt it to the roof of your roadhouse and create a museum around it for the tourists of course. The museum wasn't open when we passed through but the restaurant did make me a very nice hot dog for lunch.
For once we did make our planned destination, the town of Coolgardie. Rose and I have been running on South Australian time, which is one and a half hours ahead of WA - giving us more light as we chase the sun. We arrived in Coolgardie just as the last rays of sunlight disappeared over the horizon. We're staying at the Coolgardie Motel in a twin share room that has a bunk bed. I get the top bunk - cool!! Last time I slept in a bunk bed I think I was fifteen years old.
Tommorrow we should make it to Perth if all goes to plan. Lets hope so.
The last time I travelled along the Eyre Highway from South Australia to Western Australia there was no such thing as ipods. In fact Music CD's were still years away from taking over from LP records and audio cassettes. There was no such thing as a digital camera and even video recorders were just starting to hit the markets as a home consumer item. That was May of 1978 and I'd just turned eight years old.
I don't remember much of the sights coming over because our families trip, back in 1978, was all about getting to Perth as quickly as possible. I think I spent a lot of the trip asleep in the back seat of the car. Most of my recollections of the journey relate to places we stopped for the night or for food on the way.
This time, Rose and I are taking a little longer so we can see a few of the breath taking views we missed the first time.
The Eyre Highway runs right along side the Great Australian Bight - the cliff top, bottom edge of Australia. Sometimes the highway is only a few hundred metres away from the edge. Travelling from SA to WA the first view of the bight you can experience is at 'The Head of the Bight'. This is the eastern most end of the Australian Bite and is a 14 kilometre detour off the Eyre highway.
What the sign doesn't tell you is that once you get to the visitor centre you can't get anywhere near to the view you're looking for without paying a AU$10 admission fee (adults). That's $10 each to see one end of the bite. All along the rest of the highway you can see the bight for free.
During the months between June and October you may also spot a whale or two all along the bite so maybe the admission fee relates to that? However there are no guarantees of seeing a whale. Rose and I weren't willing to pay $10 each to see a view. There are so many better ways they could raise money for maintaining the park and facilities without blocking access to the view.
Our next brief stop was to get petrol at the Nullabor Road House. This was one place my family stopped in 1978 due to a broken water pump (I think). We had to head around to a private residents home on a back road behind the Road House in order to get the car fixed. It is here that a photo of my family was taken with us all standing in the middle of a dirt airstrip, looking like we're really in the middle of nowhere.
Whilst at the road house I noticed a sign advising people not to feed the wild life on the Nullabor Plains (which is a huge, treeless, national park). I was surprised to see a picture of a dingo. I didn't think dingoes were this far south. As if to confirm that dingoes are indeed this far south we saw one running around in the bushland just off the side of the road.
There are some road signs you can only see in Australia. Ones like this (see photo) are common along the Eyre highway. I'm sure this sign means that somewhere within the next 96km you may have to watch for a camel chasing a wombat and a kangaroo.
As you travel along the Eyre Highway there are several lookout stops along the way where you can view the Australian Bite close up (like one more step and you'll fall off the country close up). Rose and I stopped at the first two.
On the first lookout we met a British Couple travelling in the opposite direction. They advised us that the next lookout gave the most spectacular views of the ones they'd visited so far. They even showed us some digital pictures of the Bight they'd snapped along the way.
Rose and I were well behind our travel schedule so we decided that we'd stop at the second lookout with the best views and then skip the rest.
The British couple were not wrong about the second lookout. You really can see all along the Bight - as you can see in the photo (with me looking like I've just returned from a South Pole expedition - well it was really cold!)
If you're wondering about the cliffs, you don't have to climb any hills to get to the top of them. Australia, at this point sits on a huge plateau that is several hundred feet above sea level. Once you get past the Eucla road house and motel the highway drops back down a lot closer to sea level. You feel like you're driving out of some hills with no memory of ever having gone up hill in the first place.
Speaking of the Eucla Road House and Motel, Rose and I stopped here for lunch. The roadhouse has one really memorable feature - a giant concrete whale in their playground. I remembered stopping here back in 1978 because Rose and I played on that whale. I think we even stayed in the motel here.
I do remember our family pulling in to this road house along with a small green truck (kind of thing) with some people in that we'd been over taking and they'd been overtaking us unwittingly at various points on the road.
Rose decided we should check the cars oil and water before setting off - both were fine but Rose noticed that the bolt that holds the engine in had vibrated loose and was falling out. Well okay that's an exaggeration... it was one bolt that helps to hold the alternator in place. It had lost the nut off one end and was well on its way to falling out. We had to borrow a spanner and get a nut from the motel manager who was very helpful despite being very busy with other customers.
One of the more unusual things that Rose and I encountered was the 'bottle man'. Rose had seen him on the way over and said she wanted to get a photo on the way back. I have no idea who made the bottle man, what he is about, or why bottles and other containers hang from the tree around him? If you live somewhere near Madura and know about the bottle man - leave a comment and tell me about him.
By the end of the day we didn't get as far as we had hoped. Tonight we're staying at the Madura Pass Oasis Motel. Ballidonia is still about three hours up the road. No doubt we'll pass through there tomorrow.
Elliston Sculptures on the Cliffs Streaky Bay, Eyre Highway.
Road Trip Day 14: 5th June 2007
Before leaving Elliston, Rose decided we should take a drive around the Elliston Cliff Top Tourist Drive which also happens to be the location of the Biennial Elliston Sculptures on the Cliff Event. Unlike the sculpture parks at Broken Hill and in the Barossa Valley these cliff top sculptures aren't all permanent so the ones you see on this drive are the few permanent sculptures that have remained after each event.
The tourist drive takes you along a dirt track that overlooks Anxious Bay. I wasn't entirely sure of what to expect but after seeing the view I was glad we decided to take this drive. I've lived in Australia all my life and seen these kind of 'edge of the continent' kind of views in brochures all the time but it's not often you actually get to see these views in person when you live in the cities. Just had to have my photo taken with this view to prove I was there.
Along the drive you come across various sculptures left behind from the 2002, 2004 and 2006 Sculptures on the Cliff events. The first one we came across was a pair of giant thongs (the Aussie kind you wear on your feet - otherwise known a 'flip flops' in other countries). Upon seeing the thongs I knew these sculptures were coming from a different place to those of Broken Hill and Barossa. A sculpture event with a sense of humor.
Not all the sculptures are humorous, though it's hard to tell how much humor is involved given that many of the less permanent sculptures have been removed. It's also disappointing that the permanent sculptures feature no plaques that credit the artists. If you're lucky you may still be able to read the temporary info sheets left to rot in their plastic envelopes. Something really needs to be done to rectify this.
One highly impressive sculpture was a face carved into a wall of brick. From a distance this face really stands out on the landscape and looks like some kind of mysterious monument that draws you to take a closer look. As you can see from the Photo Rose even climbed up the back of it.
The last sculpture I wanted to mention, though certainly I haven't mentioned all of them, was one that could actually be two separate artworks. I'm not exactly sure?
In the photo you can see a boat suspended on wires from a wooden roof structure. Then you can see me, apparently working at an art table, painting the boat sculpture. In actual fact the art table, complete with partly finished boat painting, paint tin and brushes is a sculpture in it's own right. Whether it's part of the boat sculpture is hard to say since the plaque for the boat doesn't give any clues. It simply says the boat artwork's title is 'Every person is a boat person' by Artist John Turpie. It is from the 2002 event.
If the art table is a separate sculpture then it again demonstrates the humor that some of the artists inject into this event.
Once again too, I'd like to compare this with Barossa's Sculpture park because even though these sculptures are spread out and only remnants of several events they still make better use of the spectacular backdrop. Their positioning has helped make them features of the landscape complimented by the view - giving them more presence and power. I think it would be amazing to see this event in full swing in 2008 (presumably that is the year of the next Sculptures on the Cliffs event).
Streaky Bay.
The tourist drive at Elliston delayed us a couple of hours so by the time we got to Streaky Bay we decided to stop for lunch. I didn't take a lot of photos here because our stop was so brief but I kind of liked this photo of the jetty that captures the glittery sparkle of the water in the midday sun.
We had lunch in a beautiful restaurant just up from the jetty called 'Mocean' that offers wonderful views of the bay to compliment your dining experience. If your in town look them up.
The Eyre Highway.
After Streaky bay our journey returned to the Eyre Highway after passing through the town of Ceduna. From this point we are once again following in my families footsteps from the same journey by car in 1978. The journey that changed all our lives so that 'home' from then on would be 'Perth' rather than 'Whyalla'.
The Eyre Highway is one of the longest and straightest highways you're ever likely to travel. Rose and I made it as far as the Nundroo Hotel/Motel/Caravan park where we've stopped for the night.
Tomorrow we hope to cross the border into WA and make it as far as Balladonia. The town whose claim to fame is having a piece of the ill fated Skylab space station fall down onto it.
Whyalla is, and always has been, a mining and steel making town. No visit would be complete without a tour of the steel works that was built and run by BHP until 2000 when it was sold off, by public float, to OneSteel.
Rose and I have a personal interest in the steel works in that our Dad used to be employed there by BHP pre 1978. I never really knew what he did or what part of the plant he worked in though I remember him one time, when I was kid, saying he worked in the coke ovens. That's about all I know about what he did and I'm not entirely sure if that's correct.
I'm not even going to try and describe the tour of the steelworks in great detail. There's a lot to see in the two hour bus ride around the plant. Our guide, Trish, explained a great deal about the production of steel and pointed out as many of the more spectacular processes as she could based on which areas were actually operating.
We did get a very good, close up look at the coke oven in operation. Coke (not the soft drink) is made from coal and is burnt in a blast furnace in order to produce enough heat to separate the iron content from the mined, raw materials (iron ore). The coke oven is a huge oven that bakes the coal at extremely high temperatures in order to turn it into coke.
OneSteel produces 'long form' steel products such as structural beams and railway lines. In fact it is the only company producing railway lines in Australia. Whilst OneSteel is the biggest steel producer in Australia, Trish said that in comparison to China (the biggest producer of steel in the world) they produce a quantity of steel in one day that OneSteel would produce in a year.
The OneSteel tour is quite long and I must admit the bus seats were starting to feel a little hard towards the end but it's not everyday you get to see equipment and machinery on this scale in action. Whyalla exists because of the mines and steel works and is central to the South Australian story. If you're looking into the history of mining around this region then a tour of One Steel's plant should definitly be on your list.
Leaving Whyalla.
After the One Steel Tour Rose and I headed out of Whyalla bound for Perth. When Rose drove over from Perth she followed the shorter route at this end along the Eyre Highway (which by passes Whyalla and takes you directly to Port Augusta. One the way back she wanted to take the coastal route down the Lincoln highway (to Port Lincoln) and up the Flinders highway before getting back to the Eyre highway.
The whole reason for this longer route was because it might be a nicer drive with coastal views.
Tonight we've made it as far as the fishing town of Elliston (part way up the Flinders Highway). Rose did the lions share of the driving so I had plenty of time to evaluate the scenery. If I was doing this again, I wouldn't take this detour just for the views.
Granted a few spots do have nice coastal views but to this point, most of the road has been far enough inland to not get a view of the coast. Not enough of it looks sufficiently different to the usual route to go quite so far out of the way.
If I came this way again it would be because I wanted to spend more time in the various towns along the way. Like the drive from Laura to Port Augusta there are many small towns with a lot of interesting history to be explored. Another time perhaps. Tomorrow we will be heading over the WA border. If we make good time my next post will be from Balladonia.
HMAS Whyalla and The Mt Laura Homestead Museum.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Road Trip Day 12: 3rd June 2007
In 1978 my Dad took me along to see the last of the large Carrier ships built at the BHP shipyards being launched. Two more smaller vessels were launched that year but 'The Iron Curtis' was the ship that signaled the end of production and closure of the shipyards.
The HMS Whyalla was the first ship built at the shipyards. Completed back in 1941 (almost a year in the making), it was one of several warships built for the Navy as part of the war effort. Back when Whyalla was simply known as 'SMC 47' to protect it from strategic attack by the Japanese.
As part of our trip to the Whyalla Maritime museum Rose and I went on a guided tour of 'The Whyalla' (formerly the HMS Whyalla), which proudly sits landlocked two kilometres away from the Shipyards where it was built, as centre piece of a very interesting history.
The Whyalla has been lovingly restored back to its former glory days as a mine sweeper and escort corvette after spending a number of years renamed as the 'RIP' working for the Victorian Ports and Harbours. The story of how it was brought back on land is fascinating in its self. The boat was bought by the Whyalla Council for a bargain $5000 and cost somewhere in the vicinity of $500,000 to shift onto land and a further $500,000 to restore. Whilst at the museum you can watch a ten minute video detailing every stage of the event.
There is a lot of history to learn about The Whyalla but of particular interest to me was the fact that it served a lot of time with the HMAS Gawler, a similar type of vessel that was also built in Whyalla.
Whilst the tour of the Whyalla is detailed and interesting there's much more to see at the Maritime Museum. Our war history is covered with interesting facts like which sea battles occured in our region during World War II (including an attack on Sydney Harbour by a Japanese Submarine - I'd never heard of that).
There is a section dedicated to the BHP Shipyards with information about every ship built there. A section looks at the history of Mathew Flinders and his mapping of the Australian Coastline. You can find out about some of the marine life in Spencer Gulf. Finally the link between the South Australian railways and the Shipyards is explored through one of the largest, working HO model railways you're ever likely to see.
Rose and I easily spent two hours wandering around the ship and the various other exhibits before heading to our next stop, the Mt Laura Homestead Museum.
The Mt Laura Homestead Museum is a community run museum typical of many National Trust Museums. It is a collection of old stuff going back as far as the early days of settlement in Australia. What sets this museum apart is that the collection is so large - covering several buildings and sheds, including a fully restored Historic Cottage.
Collections range from living implements to farm equipment, engines, telecommunications, printing presses, carriages and more. They're even developing and area dedicated to the railways.
A real highlight is a fully operational blacksmiths shed complete with old style forge. Rose and I talked to the blacksmith who not only demonstrated his craft but gave us a couple of his demonstration pieces to take away as souvenirs.
If you want to see a lot of history in one place then the Mt Laura Homestead Museum will not disappoint. You can learn a lot about Whyalla including how it is thought the name 'Whyalla' came about (contrary to what some people think the name is not related to any indigenous tribe or language and is not named after any known European settler).
Point Lowly is the location of a historic lighthouse that is no longer used for its original purpose but is kept functional by the Whyalla Council as a tourist attraction. It's a 20 minute drive from Whyalla and once you get there you can see... well... a lighthouse.
I can see on a warm summers day that Point Lowly would be a great family outing location. It has nice beaches, playground, picnic and toilet facilities. It's a paradise for shell collectors like Rose is.
On a cold winters day (though thankfully not raining or icy cold) you can walk on the beach and look at the lighthouse - and if you're up for a hike follow the walking trails that include information boards at key locations.
Rose and I weren't up for a hike (as most were more than 1 kilometre long) however we noted you could follow one of the walking trails by car for impressive views of the bay. The trail lead to Fitzgerald Bay, for which we had seen a sign on the road in and thought we might take a look on the way back. By following the trail we could do a kind of loop and head for home from Fitzgerald Bay.
The coastal trail doubles as the emergency exit for the local oil and gas storage facility that you pass on your way to Point Lowly. It's a very winding dirt road both up and down hills and left and right bends. You wouldn't want to have to follow it quickly in an emergency or you could find your vehicle in the bay.
We followed the trail, mostly in second gear for the six kilometres between Point Lowly and Fitzgerald Bay. If you're into four wheel driving and want a fairly amateur track to get you started this would be one to follow. There were one or two fairly steep inclines that I thought our little Subaru 4WD may not have handled but did effortlessly.
The view was worth the drive. Looking out over the bay you can see boats and the many enclosures that form part of a commercial fish farm all framed with the backdrop of the southern Flinders Ranges in the distance.
Fitzgerald Bay is really just a name on a map. We couldn't see a lot there (beyond of course the magnificent views) so we followed the road back to Whyalla.
Once back in town Rose and I stopped for some lunch then made our way to the only Art Gallery in town (well the only one mentioned in the tourist brochures). The Whyalla Art Group has a gallery that exhibits it's members work. Whilst the work was all very good it was fairly typical of your local community art group with a varying array of themes and subjects.
For the rest of our day Rose and I walked around the Ada Ryan Gardens - and old haunt of our family back in the days when we lived here. On many occasions we'd come to the gardens for a picnic before heading down to the beach.
The gardens themselves are not much different from any local park however what sets the Ada Ryan Gardens apart is something that I had forgotten. The Gardens feature several animal enclosures where you can see a range of Australian birds and a family of grey kangaroos.
When I saw these, I had immediate memories of walking around these cages as a child. I think both of my parents used to try and get the galahs and cockatoos to say 'hello cocky' (a mandatory thing to do whenever you see any kind of parrot). I don't think we had a lot of success back then with getting the birds to speak but this time around both the cockatoos and pink galahs came over and said 'hello cocky' without any prompting.
Ada Ryan Gardens isn't a very large park so Rose and I ventured back down to the beach and walked the length of it. Rose collected shells whilst I was kind of half looking out for the missing steam locomotive I used to play on as a child, perhaps it had been located further down the beach? I didn't find it.
That was pretty much our day. Tomorrow is our last full day in Whyalla then on Monday we'll do a tour of the One Steel factory in the morning before leaving for Perth. It will be good to get moving west again.
Life for me began in Whyalla. Rose wasn't born here (she was born in Elizabeth in Adelaide) however, since my family moved here when she was so young, she pretty much considers Whyalla to be her first home too.
I don't remember the first house we lived in here though I've seen photos of me playing in the yard there. Life for me begins on Noble Street, our second home in Whyalla where I lived until the age of eight years old. Then in 1978, when BHP closed the ship yards, our family moved to Perth, Western Australia.
Rose and I went for a drive around our old neighbourhood. Noble Street. The house we lived in is still there, though now it has two driveways and two carports and a garage - none of which were there in our day (well it only had the one driveway at least).
All the trees along our street are full grown and provide shade that wasn't there when we used to walk to school. I'm surprised that the reserves at each end of our block are still there. These were never properly cared for parks. Just bush land with a few well worn short cut trails. Only big enough to fit maybe two houses on these were a part of our playground when we got our first bicycles.
At the end of Noble street is the 'One Stop Shopping Centre'. Which is what is was called in our day though we referred to it as 'the brown shops' because the roof was painted brown and matched the bricks. This hasn't changed much. There is still a mini supermarket at one end and a deli at the other. No doubt owned by someone different but still the same.
A block or so over is our old primary school, Scott Street. It's no longer called Scott Street and in fact it was recently closed down. In our day the buildings were all shades of brown with rough, gravel like finish on the exterior walls. These days the buildings have been painted bright shades of yellow and blue. It's clear the school has been shut down. The gardens look over grown, the play grounds are looking worn and I noticed one or two window boarded up along with the first signs of graffiti. We didn't take any photos because it was kind of sad.
I've already mentioned the Westland Shopping Centre in a previous post. I used to think this was quite a distance from Noble street but on a previous trip back here I discovered you could actually walk there in under twenty minutes. Everything seems further away when you're eight or younger.
I have memories of the beach and Ada Ryan Gardens. Two places we used to visit for a day out as they are right next to each other. Sadly the beach, even though it is still there, looks nothing like I remember it. All but one of the huge metal shelters have been removed and the foreshore looks nothing like what I recall. There used to be an old steam locomotive that we played on which is now nowhere to be seen. I can't even remember exactly where it was. In fact I always thought the Ada Ryan Gardens (which is a popular park here still) was completely separate from the beach front but now they seem to kind of merge.
The biggest change to the beach is a boat marina and fishing jetty. Neither of which was there in 1978. No doubt these helped to shape the way this area looks today.
Other vague memories I have of Whyalla include watching the Christmas Pageant in the main street. I can't tell which road is the main street? I remember the pageant progressed through the 'city' part of Whyalla (because of the two storey buildings) though I'm not sure exactly which part of the 'city part' that was?
Rose and I have driven around Whyalla a bit and I've seen various buildings that I got a glimpse of pre 1978 and kind of recall. Whyalla seemed a much bigger place back when I was a kid. These days it seems much smaller and very, very different.
Whyalla. Hummock Hill and Flinders Lookouts.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Road Trip Day 10: 1st June 2007 (Afternoon)
Hummock Hill was here on the beach front in 1978, yet I don't remember it at all. In fact Whyalla used to be called 'Hummock Hill' before they changed the name to Whyalla for reasons no one really seems to be sure why?
I'm fairly certain the Hummock Hill lookout was built after 1978 as most of the dates on the commemorative plaques are dated long after my family left for Perth. This particular lookout provides some great views of the Iron Ore loading facility and the One Steel Steel works. It seems to have been built to celebrate the towns industrial history.
Second to that is the section of the look out dedicated to the soldiers that manned an anti aircraft gun on the site during world war 2. A similar gun to that which was used now stands as a monument to that time. It was thought that the Japanese could've attacked the BHP port which supplied Australias defence forces with steel during this period.
Of all the sights on our road trip to Perth, the only one I had on my list was the Flinders and Freycinet Lookout. The photo in the brochure showed two very contemporary looking sculptures of Mathew Flinders (who surveyed and named Spencer Gulf in 1802) and Louis Claude de Freycinet (who also charted the same coast line in 1803) that caught my eye and got me interested in wanting to see them up close.
Whilst the lookout offers fantastic views I found the two sculptures more interesting and thought them to be a fitting dedication to both the English and French expeditions to chart the coastline of South Australia.
As an artistic statement the two figures help to bring history into the minds of a modern audience by their non-classical design. They are intriguing to look at and you can't help but be interested in reading the information boards to find out more about the two historic men they represent. In my opinion this monument hits every mark in both purpose and design. The only let down is that I didn't see (or couldn't find) the name of the artist that created the figures.
Whilst I wouldn't like to see all monuments take this lead with 'puppet like' figures it does represent a new way of thinking about public sculptures dedicated to real people. For this particular lookout the figures work a treat. I'm glad I had this on my MUST SEE list.
The township of Iron Knob reminds me very much of Silverton in Broken Hill. It is a town that has been largely forgotten once the mines, that gave it life, were closed down in 1999. Like Silverton a few die hard locals still live there, doing what they can to breathe life into a town that truly is the Birth place of the steel industry in Australia.
The town no longer has a council, no one pays rates and consequently it is looking a little run down around the edges (and a bit in the middle too). However the town project committee is dedicated to building a tourist industry that will help build the town again. Either way, Iron Knob isn't destined to become a ghost town as the mines are being reopened. Property values in Whyalla have started to rise because of this and no doubt Iron Knob will follow.
Our tour of Iron Knob began at the Iron Knob Tourist Centre where our guide, Phil, showed us around the various exhibits and explained the history of the mine.
Broken Hill Proprietary Limited (or BHP as they came to be known) weren't the first to mine Iron Knob but were the first to get things going full steam and were largely responsible for building the Township. BHP came to the region in 1899 as it began developing its interests in the steel industry.
There is no definitive answer as to how the town got it's name. It is thought that the name comes from a very large piece of Iron Ore found protruding from the side of the hill (hence 'iron knob') however the actual name given was 'Iron Monarch' because the rock formation resembled a monarch sitting on his thrown (maybe the English monarch at the time was a bit of a 'knob'?). There are other mines in the region 'Iron Prince' and 'Iron Baron' the names of which were inspired by the royal theme begun with 'Iron Monarch'.
After watching a short video on the history of the mine the tour continues with a trip around the town and up into the original mine. You drive your own car with the guide in the back seat directing you to all the significant places.
The first part of the tour is the township. Phil says that he recently added this as part of the tour to create a more complete picture of the region's history. He points out many houses and talks about who used to live in them as well as injecting his own local knowledge of events - the kind of stuff that never makes it into tour brochures.
One of the more unusual sights is the town's public toilet facilities which Phil proudly announces is one of the most photographed toilets in Australia. Hardly surprising given that a local artist painted a very classy mural of the word 'Dunny' on the front wall. You can't get much more Aussie than that!
Next you head up to the only mine that you are able to view now that the lease is being reopened. It's a rather steep climb up a dirt road and on the way you pass an early 'digger' (electric shovel) which is kind of like a crane but with a shovel on the front.
At the top you look into one of the biggest 'hand dug' holes you're ever likely to see. This is one of the original mines and was worked by teams of men digging by hand, removing some 80-90 tons of ore (each) per day.
There is also a very spectacular view of the surrounding country side from here. After recent rain, Phil informed us that the view was about as green as you're ever likely to see it.
Once you've seen the mine, the tour is pretty much over as you head back to the tourist centre. Phil pointed out some final pieces of historic equipment within the grounds of the centre including one of the old electric trains used to haul ore.
Iron Knob is a town with a great potential for a thriving tourist trade. It could easily be as successful as Silverton. The surrounding country side at Iron Knob is every bit as inspiring for artists as Silverton. It is surprising that no local artists have set up a gallery (Phil said that the town's only recognised artist - who painted the Dunny mural - no longer lives in Iron Knob). There's a lot of history to be inspired by and a great opportunity to benefit from the initiatives of the town's project committee.
The tours are excellent value and comprehensive. Our guide, Phil, lives in the town and is part of the push to revive it. He's worked for BHP during the seventies and has many stories to tell. He believes enthusiastically in the townships future and really puts across a strong sense of community. Iron Knob is much more than a big hole in the ground.
Whyalla is our next major stop. The town where Rose and I grew up. The drive is about two and a half hours from Laura cutting through the Flinders Rangers and the town of Port Augusta.
During our journey, the drive between Laura and Port Augusta, has been one of the most scenic so far. Pretty country towns with the Flinders Ranges as a back drop then finally passing through the greenish blue hills of the Flinders Ranges themselves. Such a contrast to the long straight roads through the flat, dry country heading out to Broken Hill.
On this leg of the journey we only made a brief stop in Port Augusta just to stretch our legs after an hour and a half of driving. There's not much to say about the Port except that it is a fairly major town that is run by a fairly controversial local council. It probably has an important place in history given it's location but I've never really had the time to find out.
Between Port Augusta and Whyalla it's just over thirty minutes to drive. It's a long stretch of flat road that can get quite hairy when it comes to over taking.
I had particular difficulty trying to get past one road train. The first attempt failed due to on coming traffic (I got about half way past then had to drop back in behind). On stretches like this it's easy to think you'll have enough time, but at speeds of 110 kilometres per hour the on coming traffic approaches really quick. The second attempt I made it with out any problems.
We made it into Whyalla in time for a late lunch at the Westland Shopping Centre. My family used to shop here regularly. All the shops have changed and a food hall extension has been added since I was last here in 1978. The exterior supports a green roof instead of white. One thing that hasn't changed is the floor tiling in the old section. I'm fairly certain it's the same pattern I remember. The only other thing that is close to how it was in 1978 is the Doctors Surgery that my mum used to take me to is still operating as a surgery.
After a bit of a look around we headed to the Whyalla Tourist information centre to find out about tours of the Iron Knob mine and One Steel, Steel works as well as to find out as much information about local sites as possible.
One place on Roses list was Wilson Park which just happened to be up the road. The park is mentioned in the brochures mainly because it offers great views of the One Steel Factory. Which may not seem all that exciting but we're talking about THE FACTORY that is the whole reason for Whyalla's existence. However I'll go into that in a later post.
The other claim to fame that Wilson Park has is a giant ship rudder that was presented to the people of Whyalla in 1974 and serves as a monument to mark the jubilee naming of the township of Whyalla. The inverted rudder is 10 metres high and, these days has the towns logo emblazoned across it.
That was pretty much our first day in Whyalla. We ended the day by not being able to get a room in our chosen motel. Instead we headed over to the Alexander Motel which was a little more expensive than expected but the rooms come with free wireless internet access and dial up access too. A real bonus for us as this service wasn't mentioned in the accommodation guides.
Our room is nice too and is the first twin share we've been in that has two queen sized beds (usually rooms have one queen sized bed and a single bed).
Tomorrow is our first scheduled tour, which our motel staff kindly booked for us. The Iron knob mine.
Laura, C.J. Dennis, The Sentimental Bloke.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Road Trip Day 9: 31st May 2007 (Morning)
Rose and I managed to leave Peterborough in good time enroute to Laura and the C. J. Dennis Statue we'd tried to find in Auburn and Mintaro.
Peterborough is actually an important town in its own right with a strong history of the railway in South Australia. I know Rose wanted to look around more but we had a lot of ground to cover. As much as it would be nice to stop in every town we passed through (and there are many that look very interesting) you just have to hope you'll maybe get back another time.
We made our way down to the town of Laura (via Jamestown) in just under an hour. The town describes its self as the 'home of poet C. J. Dennis during his formative years', implying that he probably moved later in life. However C. J. Dennis is quoted describing his stay in Laura thus:
"Of all country places I know. Laura still remains for me the place of most pleasant memory..."
Hence, Laura can quite rightly claim C. J. Dennis as one of their own.
Had we entered the town from the main road we would've seen the statue straight away but, having followed an unsealed road that cut about 10-15 minutes off our travel time we arrived in the middle of the main street, turning in from a side road. A quick stop in the town's information centre and we were finally about to see the elusive C. J.
From the photo we had of the statue I had my suspicions that it was going to be small. It looked as if the statue had been photographed from a low angle in order to make it tower over a roof in the photos background. With no person in the photo to compare scale with, it just looked small.
The statue is located at the 'Dick Biles Gallery', home of the 'Big Bloke' sculpture. Big is an understatement. The statue, which is actually a sculpture made entirely from copper, is towering at four metres tall (that's gotta be close to 11 feet high!). Created by Adelaide artist David Griffiths it is certainly a fitting and some what imposing monument to C. J. Dennis, author of 'The Sentimental Bloke'.
Had the sculpture been small I think Rose and I would've been a little disappointed but, not expecting such a large structure, we both felt this had been worth the side trip to see.
It seemed like every artist in Broken Hill has had a go at painting the Living Desert Sculptures. I'd seen it in so many artworks, including The Big Picture, that it almost felt like there was no need to go and see the actual sculptures.
Today we were supposed to leave Broken Hill but after yesterday's down pours the morning greeted us with blue skies so Rose and I took the opportunity to make our final stop in Broken Hill a trip to the sculptures.
The Living Desert is actually the name of the flora and fauna park located near the Sculpture Symposium Park but the name Living Desert Sculptures seems to have caught on. Located nine kilometers from Broken Hill you can drive all the way to the sculpture park if you obtain a gate key from the visitor centre in town. Alternatively you can go to the second entrance that gives you access to the flora and fauna park and the sculptures via a 20 minute walk trail (up hill).
Rose and I opted for the walk trail entrance so we could head out of Broken Hill without any further stops. If you're fit then it is worth taking the trail as it offers some spectacular views of the landscape (which you will notice on the way back).
Having been unimpressed with the Barossa Sculpture Symposium and didn't have high expectations of the sculptures at Broken hill - especially as I had some idea from the many paintings of the kind of contemporary forms that had been created.
This Symposium seems to have been created at the whim of sculpture artist Lawrence Beck whom noted that Broken Hill had some of the best painters in Australia but no sculpture. Beck put the idea to council to create the park using Wilcannia Sandstone and in 1993 the project went ahead with council funding and community support.
Twelve sculptors from various locations around the world were invited to create a sculpture inspired by the environment, their own ideas and carvings created 30 000 years ago by local aborigines.
The centre piece sculpture (see photo right) is called "Bajo El Sol Jaguar" (Under the Jaguar Sun) by Antonio Nava Tirado from Mexico is surprisingly not in the centre. In fact the whole park is not laid out in the straight line that it is often depicted in paintings. This particular sculpture is arguably the most striking and contemporary and has become the centre piece because it looks great at sunset (for the brochures - you can do a sunset tour of the sculptures).
Rather than describing each sculpture, some are clearly more to my taste than others, I thought a comparison between this symposium and the one in the Barossa might be more worthwhile.
As a whole the Broken Hill Sculpture symposium works well and is quite a spectacular display. Where the Barossa Symposium struggles to make use of the sweeping vista it competes with, Broken Hill uses the view to enhance and compliment the art. It is very hard not to take a photo of each individual artwork without including the vast view behind as a backdrop. These works don't compete with the view, they are inherently part of the view.
All of the Broken Hill sculptures are quite close together forming a whole where as in the Barossa the sculptures are scattered and isolated. Many of the Barossa's sculptures require you to look back at the hill rather than out to the view thus making the art feel less monumental. No such problem exists at Broken Hill. Even the sculptures not to my liking still look impressive.
The Living Desert Sculpture Symposium is indeed as impressive and worthy of so many paintings. Artists in Broken Hill have clearly embraced it as an icon (it's a shame the Barossa Art community doesn't feel the same about their park). Rose and I didn't think we'd get to see it but thankfully we did. Another MUST SEE if you're planning a trip to Broken Hill.
With that our visit to the 'Silver City' was over and we undertook the drive back, en route to Whyalla. Tonight we've made it as far as Peterborough stopping at the Peterborough Motel. Tomorrow we're going to head out as early as possible heading for our detour to Laura (for the photo opportunity with the C. J. Dennis statue) then full steam ahead to Whyalla, our next major stop.
When in Broken Hill it is almost a requirement to look at as many galleries as you can. In fact the art gallery trail is a big part of the tourism trade here. Rose and I continued our tour visiting the galleries of Jack Absalom, Sue Hodge (Ochre Sands Gallery) and Andrea Blundell (The Homestead Gallery) and Pro Hart.
Jack Absalom is arguably Broken Hill's second most well known artist after Pro Hart. His gallery is all class and not what you'd expect of a bush landscape artist. Clearly Jack's done alright for himself and his art is complimented with an impressive display of Absalom branded opal jewelry.
Absalom's landscapes are all about the vastness of the Australian outback. Many of his paintings are of vast stretches of Australian scenery such as mountain ranges or wide open plains. Occasionally he ventures into the people of the bush but most of the work on display was focussed on the land, the light and hugeness of it all.
Sue Hodge is very much a painter of the local Broken Hill Landscape particularly around Silverton. Her work stands out because of her use of the palette knife to apply paint. Her technique has a roughness about it that enhances the harsh beauty of the Australian Outback.
Andrea Blundell's art has an almost super real brightness about it that catches your eye. A painter of flowers, wildlife and the Australian outback her use of bold colour cause's her art to leap out for your attention. Her emu paintings have become something of a trademark icon of her art.
No trip to Broken Hill is complete without a trip to Pro Hart's Gallery and Sculpture park (across the road). After visiting so many galleries I was expecting a little bit of the same format (i.e. a gallery filled mostly with the artists own work) but was surprised to discover that Pro's Gallery is as much about the art he collected during his life time as it is about his own paintings and sculpture.
Some of the artists in Pro's collection include Albert Tucker, Brett Whiteley, Picasso, Arthur Boyd, Norman Lindsay, John Perceval, Charles Blackman, Salvador Dali and more. Naturally the gallery features a sizable collection of Pro's Art too.
Pro Hart is more of an Australian icon, remembered as much for the way he applied paint (thanks to various TV commercials) as for the art its self. His signature dragonfly artworks are well represented but Pro's Art is much more about story telling than landscape painting even though much of his work features the Australian Landscape.
His early works depict stories about rural living as well stabs at politics, unions and religion. Later in life Pro's work evolved to a more impressionistic style as he experimented more and more with different ways to apply paint to the canvas (famously using a miniature canon to either burst bags of paint over the canvas or fire paint directly at the surface its self.
