South Australia was officially declared an English colony on 28th December 1836 near where the “old gum tree lies in the suburb of North Glenelg. Colonisation history took a different path to the likes of Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Brisbane. The approach to South Australia was a planned colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution. Land would be surveyed and sold at a rate too expensive for labourers and journey man, this was to raise funds to immigrate working class settlers. These ideals were originated by Edward Gibbon Wakefield after reading about Australian settlements when he was serving time in prison for attempting to abduct a heiress. The ambition of a free settler colony was to create a utopian style crime free civilisation. Not even a Gaol was in the plans. This changed quickly in 1837 when there were reports of escaped convicts on the run from New South Wales on the South Australian Register. While a temporary Gaol was put on the cards, a burglary, a murder and two attempted murders occurred, this forced South Australia’s first governor John Hindmarsh to make the decision to employ the state’s first ever police force in 1838. Adelaide was off to a slow start economically until wool and livestock imports arrived in 1838 from Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. By 1860, wheat farms expanded as far as Encounter Bay to Clare, alongside producing wool, fruit, meat and wine, which were all strong exports in Adelaide. Through the mid 1800’s Adelaide was seeing large economic growth through it’s exports, the boom brought gas lighting, a university, a couple of reservoirs and the South Australian Art Gallery to the city. The 1890’s brought on an economic depression, the value of South Australia’s exports almost halved leaving their two main exports as wine and copper. Mining towns like Burra and Broken Hill lent an economical hand with Copper, Lead and Silver. The 1900’s brought in electric lighting and a tram network to Adelaide. The finish of World War 1 started a prosperous postwar boom, its growth made Adelaide the third most populous metropolitan area in Australia. The boom was short-lived with the droughts and great depression in the 1930’s. World War 2 times transformed Adelaide’s industry from agriculture to manufacturing. Companies like General Motors took advantage of Adelaide’s more safer location to bring the manufacturing industry to life, driving the city into the 20th century. The 1950’s brought an Airport and the Murray River pipeline, the 60’s was Flinders University and Medical Centre. The 1970’s started a social reform with the Adelaide Festival of arts, which created a cultural revival in the city. More recent highlights for Adelaide was being the host for the Formula 1 grand prix in the 80’s and V8 supercars to now, which shuts off parts of the city for cars to paint the roads with tyre marks. South Australia has had quite a progressive history, leading the nation and the world by example. It was the first Australian capital city to be connected to London by telegraph in 1872. In 1895, South Australia was the first place in the world to allow women to stand for parliament, in that year women were also granted the right to vote. In 1936 Adelaide was the first city to generate public housing for families in need known as the South Australian Housing trust. The first Aboriginal flag was raised in 1971 on Victoria Square to support land rights for Aboriginal people. In 1975, South Australia was the first state to decriminalise homosexuality. In 1977 South Australia introduced a 10 cent refund on every can or bottle recycled, which was a first. In more recent times, South Australia is still reputable for a progressive approach to combat issues. In 2017, U.S Company Tesla installed the worlds biggest lithium ion battery pack just outside Jamestown to combat wind power outages around the state, its response rate to power outages is within milliseconds beating its hydro, coal and gas competitors by well over 2 minutes. Although South Australia gets forgotten about by its east coastal neighbours, they’re a step ahead of the country. On our first day in Adelaide, we took a train into the city to do a walking tour. Our guide Graham met us at the Parliament building steps away from the train station.Graham took us around the city and enriched us with his knowledge on Adelaide’s history. We started off with no idea about Adelaide and South Australia and finished the tour with a new founded appreciation of Australian History. Our walking tour inspired us to visit the Adelaide City Library, the Art Gallery of South Australia and the South Australia Museum. The Art Gallery journeyed us through many eras of art ranging from Ancient Egyptian Art right up to modern contemporary art. Its variety of paintings and sculptures take you on a trip around the world and back in time with out a plane ticket. Adelaide’s South Australian Museum is filled with a wealth of natural history knowledge. The museum had an impressive display of taxidermied animals from around the world, the realness of the specimines leaves you waiting for them to come to life. The museum features a level of Australian Indigenous History and a level of Papua New Guinea History, all filled with paintings, clothing and beautifully handmade tools for hunting and gathering. The four story high squid keeps you interested, although just a plastic replica, it is 11 metres long and based on a real squid caught in New Zealand, the largest one caught at that time, the most recent largest recording stands at 13 metres. After hours of fuelling our minds with art, culture and science, we went for a walk around the Mortlock Wing, the first building of the Adelaide library. The Library was opened in 1884 to the public, and now still stands strong with a collection of 23,000 books. Every part of the library is so well preserved it feels like it hasn’t aged since the day it was built. Walking through the entrance feels like you’ve blasted through a time machine making you feel a part of the history. Its a beautiful inspiring place to wonder around, relax or maybe even read a book. On one of our days in Adelaide, we took a walk up to Mount Lofty, Adelaide’s lookout. The track begins at Waterfall Gully, named for obvious reasons, it has two running waterfalls which flow elegantly at the start of the track. It made for a very active day out in Cleland Conservation Park’s nature. Nestled on Adelaide’s shore is the coastal suburb Glenelg, its gorgeous town hall and Anzac memorial was surrounded by unfortunate lifeless feeling beach apartments. While walking around Glenelg we felt like it lacked a lot of atmosphere, shops lacked colour, cafes lacked taste and people lacked excitement of being there. Adelaide has spoilt us with a large amount of convenience. Everything to do there was just…..easy. Everything there just felt so easy to do, getting to a beach, getting to the city, getting groceries, a franchise acai bowl cafe we loved called Delicia would pop up every where we go and even to park a car somewhere, barely a sweat! Although Adelaide can lack hype compared to its other cities, it filled our days with some good solid chill.
Flagstaff Hill Maritime VillageAdmittedly this wasn't one of the most exciting tourists attractions we'd experienced, but we did learn many interesting maritime facts, including the Shipwreck Coast, that stretches 120 kilometres from Apollo Bay to Portland is aptly named as it has claimed over 100 ships, with many coming to grief at Lady Bay in Warrnambool, Port Fairy and Cape Otway. Most famously the Loch Ard ran aground on Muttonbird Island, near what is now known as Loch Ard Gorge in 1878. Of the 54 passengers on board only two survived, Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael, Pearce saving Carmichael's life by dragging her from the wreckage to safety before leaving her in a cave whilst he went to raise the alarm. A peacock made by Minton Earthenware and sent from England to be displayed at the Great Exhibition at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne due to be held in 1880 also survived the wreck. Amazingly the peacock was pulled from the wreckage of the Loch Ard two days after the disaster, remaining for many years displayed in the hallway of a Geelong residence before being purchased by Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum in 1975. The peacock is currently valued at over $4million and was the highlight of museum, standing at 152 cms tall the detail and colours are stunning and worth paying the $18 entrance fee just to see.
Around TownShovel and I really enjoyed the relaxed slower pace of Warrnambool and had a wonderful four days exploring the area. The township of Warrnambool was first surveyed in 1846 with the name Warrnambool derived from local indigenous language meaning volcanic cone. But it was back in 1800 that the area now known as Warrnambool was first documented by Europeans when James Grant sailed past in the Lady Nelson. A replica of the ship is displayed at the Visitor's Centre in Mount Gambier. Warrnambool became an important shipping port, but due to the advent of the railway and the devastating coast line the port was closed in 1942.
Jimmi Buscombe a local artist created the "wombat" drawing out of chalk on a rail underpass near his home as a practice run for street art he was commissioned to complete for the local city council. A local graffiti removalist loved the image so much that instead of removing it painted over it with an automotive clear paint immortalising the art work and providing an accidental platform for future commissions for the artist. We were told of this story by a lady in a beautiful homewares store called, Ink and Feathers.
Sheep farming began in Geelong in 1835 and in 1868 the first woollen mill was opened. Geelong was known for many years as the 'wool centre of the world' and in 1988 the first wool museum in Australia was opened in Geelong in an iconic 1872 bluestone wool store on Moorabool Street near Geelong's waterfront. The museum takes you through the wool harvest, an interactive and hands on display from fleece to fabric, learning the techniques of scouring, combing, spinning and weaving. There is also a Reminiscence Cottage; rooms in the design of the way a home may have been between the decades from 1930s to 1950s, this is a multi-award winning sensory experience for people that may have difficulty communicating. We also enjoyed viewing the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition.
Our first day in Canberra we got ourselves down to the Australian War Memorial, a national memorial dedicated to members of the military who have died or served in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia. It sits directly across and in line with the parliament house, which is connected via Anzac parade. We walked from the car park through the nicely manicured garden and found ourselves looking up to the gorgeous shrine and courtyard of the memorial, while behind us was Anzac parade, perfectly lined up with the parliament house. Walking up the stairs took us into the commemorative area, a courtyard with walls filled with the names of deceased war veterans and a sea of red poppies. Through the sea of red poppies took us into the hall of memory, a Byzantine style building that was completed in 1941 to commemorate the fallen heroes of World War One. Inside the Hall of Memory is 3 large stained glass windows. The southern side represents personal qualities: resource, candour, devotion, curiousity and idependence. The west window expresses social qualities: Comradeship, Ancestry, Patriotism, chivalry and loyalty, while the east window represents the fighting qualities of youth and enterprise: Coolness, control, audacity, endurance and decision. Surrounding us in between the windows are mosaics that were completed after World War 2, each artwork represents the four services in the Wars: The Women’s Services, Army, Navy and the Airforce. Central of the Hall of Memory is the tomb of the unknown soldier, once buried at Adelaide Cemetery in Villers-Brettoneaux in France, the body was transported over with French soil and buried in the hall to commemorate the 75th World War One anniversary on 11th of November 1993. After taking a look around the memorial, we walked around the surrounding museum. Divided into World War 1, World War 2, aircraft hall and Anzac hall, the museum enriched us with artefacts and stories of Australia’s military history. You would need several days to take in the information that is there, its a day in itself just looking at the machinery and equipment that was used. Anzac hall put on some cinematic displays with the equipment, one was a display of a Japanese Navy midget submarine, and the story (called the battle of Sydney) of how close the war was to our home soil. The midget got tangled up in nets that were deployed at the western boom gate. Two Navy vessels were sent out to investigate and found the submarine demolished after the Japanese crew chose the warriors death option charging a torpedo into the vessel. After a huge intake of history we witnessed a last post ceremony, which is held at the end of every day to commemorate an individual soldier’s sacrifice made to the country. The story of the soldier is told, the ode is recited by Australian Defence Personnel and the sound of the last post is played beautifully through the bugle to conclude a day of Australian military history.
The Iningai people are the traditional owners of the land and this Nature Reserve located only a few kilometres out of town has been created in their honour in an effort to respect the land and showcase the area's natural flora and fauna. The long reach over the Thomson River is how Longreach received it's name. The river was named in 1847 by explorer Edmund Kennedy in honour of Sir Edward Deas Thomson. We first heard about Edmund Kennedy on a walking track in Mission Beach (Edmund Kennedy Track). The river is a life source in this outback town, situated about 700 kilometres from the east coast as it consistently flows with a slight gradient towards the Lake Eyre Basin in South Australia. Walking through the business centre of Longreach creates a pleasant vibe, its a very relaxed atmosphere. Older original buildings like the water tower, fire department, railway station and the old local car dealership have been well looked after over the years, small businesses along the main street and well manicured gardens give you a sense of pride taken in the town. We explored around the tracks in the Iningai Nature Reserve. The track is fully dirt, with foot holes deep enough to know that it could be a little unforgiving in the wet season. There are several tracks, but the one we took journeyed us alongside riverbeds, coolibah trees and iconically Australian wildlife. Theres nothing more in sync with nature than running on the flat open plains of outback Queensland, it also gives you an appreciation of water too.
The "City of Bunbury" was landed in Longreach on 16th of November, 2002. This 747 was named after Bunbury to mark the 150th anniversary of Western Australia. The city of Bunbury went into commission on 10th of December 1979 until its last landing in Longreach. During its service it flew over 82.54 million kilometres and clocked just under 20000 landings. Most of the Aircraft's life was with Qantas, while doing some time with Air Pacific and seeing out the end of its service with a Bali bombing rescue flight in 2002.
Exploring around one of the world's most reliable aircrafts and seeing behind the panels and inside compartments tells you that taking a flight isn't just about you, the passenger getting from one place to the other and ensuring that you get a window seat. It's an engineering masterpiece, a city of hydraulic lines and motors with busy motorways of electrical wiring, to turn 300 tonnes of aluminium and send it in the right direction at speeds just shy of sound. Going from one end of the 747 to the other makes you realise that a lot can change in just a 71 metre walk, seating for over 400 passengers, toilets and kitchens to accomodate them all and an upstairs bar to let the good times roll miles into the sky. Sitting in the cockpit was next level sophistication, it felt like there was a endless sea of gauges and switches. Putting our feet on the rudders and hands on the control wheel made us feel like the world would turn with every move we make. Walking out on the wing was the lookout of this flying city, looking back you get the best view of all the plane. Looking out you can see the history of the 707 that brought us into the jet age, the DC 3 that muscled its way through World War 2 and in the distance the Royal Flying Doctor Service's Beechcraft King Air putting the wheels on the tarmac. In 2006 the Qantas Founders Museum purchased this aircraft, which was a British Airlines reject, left to rust away at a scrap yard in England for £1 plus VAT. It took 10 days to fly from England to the Australia as it was only capable of flying short distances and enjoyed a stop over in America, where it was paired up with a fellow Boeing 707 owned by John Travolta. This particular Boeing 707 Jet built in America in the 1950's serviced Qantas under VH-EBA for many years before being operated by other airlines and private operators. With an abundant and varied history this aircraft definitely has some stories to tell. For example in 1981 an American firm decided to refurbish the aircraft and sell it to the new emerging market of private jet ownership. In its infancy the only people looking to purchase in this new market space were Saudi Princes. Therefore, the firm went Opulent with a Capital 'O' decking out the interior with teak timber, gold trim and white leather seats. The asking price was $51 million... But, when taken to a Saudi airline expo it didn't sell. Not for the enormous price tag, but because the American firm had used pig skin to cover the seats. The Saudi's weren't interested in sitting on what they deem to be a filthy animal so the aircraft was taken unsold back to America. A few months later a Perth business man purchased the magnificently lavish plane for an undisclosed price. It doesn't appear the price paid though was anything close to the asking price, as the American firm went bankrupt shortly afterwards. The gold has since been removed and the leather seats replaced, but the teak timber detailing still exists, which makes it hard to imagine why it was left derelict. Amazing work to the volunteers that worked tirelessly to bring it back to Australia and restored it with life.
An outing with Shovel's Niece provided us with a great opportunity to visit the Riversleigh Fossil Centre in Mount Isa. This museum and subsequent display of fossils from the Riversleigh World Heritage area provides visitors with an insight into the type of fossils collected and discovered at Riversleigh. We had a fabulous few hours being shown around the display and laboratory by Alan an old mining colleague of Shove's Dad and a dedicated volunteer of thirty-three years, who has worked and continues to work tirelessly in the laboratory searching for fossil fragments and hosting daily tours.
The first flight of what is now known as the Royal Flying Doctors Service flew from Cloncurry in 1928. In the early 1900’s Flynn worked in Outback Queensland setting up hostels and saw the hardships of people living on the land. His vision was to provide a ‘mantle of safety’ for people of the bush. The museum was a fascinating insight into the man himself and of the beginnings of the RFDS. We learnt Qantas donated the first aircraft to the service and that pilots communicated with people on the ground by dropping cans painted red with a red and white stripe strip, containing messages to assist them to land and get the patient out efficiently. Many of the service’s pioneers were heroic and the stories inspirational. Flynn died of cancer in 1951, but his legacy will forever fly on.
The museum showcases relics from the now defunct uranium mining township of Mary Kathleen, closed in 1983 and Kuridala, another mining township, which closed in 1928. The museum also boasts Burke and Wills artefacts from their ill-fated 1863 journey to the Gulf and includes a tree stump with the carved initials, B + W CIII. This camp and the subsequent tree, were discovered out of town on the way to Mount Isa, where an obelisk has been erected in its place. There is also a controversial water bottle, said to be that of Burke’s, but is most likely a replica… although no one seems to be quite sure…
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November 2023
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