A Break Down South

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WHAT TO DO IN BUSSELTON

All the Open Studio information was online but I found the hard copy easier for us to plan our visits.

We love going Down South, the region beyond Bunbury along the south-western coast of Western Australia. Before setting off for our break last week we researched the artists we wanted to visit as part of the Margaret River Region Open Studios program. We found the guide’s recommendation to visit five to seven studios a day to be just right. The artists we visited were inspiring and we liked so many of the artworks we saw. I will be looking regularly to see if any of my favourites are offering workshops.

Adobe Stock

We stayed at a resort in Busselton. Once a sleepy little town famous for its 1,840m long wooden piled jetty, built in 1865, Busselton is now a vibrant and exciting place to visit. It spreads along the Indian Ocean coastline. There’s lots to see and do at the jetty including traveling on the jetty train, visiting the Underwater Observatory and the Interpretive Centre and Museum, going on Undersea Walks, enjoying a canoe tour and other seasonal activities.

Nearby the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse is packed with information and a whale watching platform (I was thrilled to see a whale breach earlier this year). There is also the Tuart Forest National Park and Ngilgi Cave and so many vineyards,breweries, specialist coffee roasters and the Chocolate Factory. Plus, all the artists!

The City of Busselton Council has just announced the development of a $38 million dollar Performing Arts and Convention Centre. The multi functional building will be integrated within existing art venues, between the foreshore and the town. The Council intends to promote Busselton as the events capital of Western Australia.

Adobe Stock

EATING IN BUSSELTON

The biggest change we noticed in Busselton was the food available. The restaurants and cafes offer such a diverse range of high quality and innovative food. The availability of beautiful local seafood was apparent .(Export markets have diminished due to CV-19) We ate great lunches and even went out for dinner one night but the other nights we resorted to our usual ‘bed’ picnics, not actually eaten in bed! These fairly light meals usually involve cold meat, cherry tomatoes, cheese, crackers and seasonal fruit in our accommodation.

Bistro Breton is a small bistro on the main street of Busselton. They offer typical Breton buckwheat (naturally gluten free) crepes and other French cuisine. We saw it mentioned online, made a lunch booking and are so glad we did as the food was very good. I had a Gratin de St Jacques, ( above) grilled scallops with a traditional Breton sauce. It was served with hand cut chips and salad leaves with a French vinaigrette. I’d return to Busselton just to eat this again! My husband had La Galette Saucisse, a traditional Breton sausage with onion fondue, potatoes, a French mustard sauce and salad leaves. He really enjoyed the rich flavours.

We wouldn’t normally have dessert at lunch but those on the menu were irresistible! I had La Tatin, a crepe with butter caramel sauce on apple, with chantilly cream and vanilla gelato. My husband had La Poire Belle-Helélène, poached pears, almonds, chantilly cream and vanilla gelato. Both delicious!

Followed by some good coffee and we were very pleased with our lunch and would recommend this bistro.

Dinner at Stilts, a casual venue with sea views, a pathway to our accommodation and great food! We shared three dishes. I really enjoyed the Scallop Tataki with XO sauce, avocado and a tapioca cracker and also the Kingfish creviche with hot sauce and grapefruit which was delicious!

The Grilled Octopus, with lemon myrtle, macadamia and garlic puree (above) was perfect! Also had shared a Boozy Coffee cake. Very rich but very nice!

Small but interesting menu, pleasant service, good wine list, great view so we’ll be back.

Our last night and a very small picnic dinner. Well, a mug of Simmo’s fine icecream actually and some leftover goats cheese.

STAYING IN BUSSELTON

There is every sort of accommodation available, too, from quite modest through to quite grand. Depends on your budget but it is apparent many people are holidaying within the state as we can’t travel overseas at this time. So many places are booked up for months ahead. We booked some time ago. I like to hear the waves crashing at night and I was not disappointed. Our stay in Busselton coincided with stormy weather!

Walkway from our unit to the beach.

Cold and windy on the beach, but beautiful, too.

SHOPPING

Hadn’t considered Busselton as a shopping destination but I discovered all the shops I never go to as they are geographically nowhere near where we live! So, visited Aldi, K-Mart and Spotlight and was very pleased with my purchases. There’s also a number of art and craft supply shops and many independent traders. Worth a wander around.

Did you know? Busselton was named after a family of early settlers, the Bussells, who established a farm there in 1835. The settlement was gazetted as a town in 1847.

Today is International Coffee Day, so that’s easy to celebrate, isn’t it?

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Visiting the Margaret River Region Open Studios

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Going ‘Down South’, the area south of Bunbury is always a lovely break but this time it has been great! The Margaret River Region Open Studios programme runs from 11th -26th of September and is a wonderful opportunity to view the works of many fabulous artists. The program covers four different areas and features over 140 local artists. The four regions are Busselton, Dunsborough, Cowaramup and Margaret River and their surrounding areas. It claims to be the biggest art event of this kind in Australia.

With over a 140 artists in their studios offering insights into their works we needed to make a manageable list as we only had a few days. Although the program was online I went to a local art shop and got a hard copy so we could both read everything on offer and choose those we most wanted to see. Then we were able to create a schedule of artists we wanted to visit in each locality.

Many art forms were on display. There were painters, textile workers, ceramicists, jewellers, printers, book makers, photographers, furniture makers, sculptors, tattoo artists and more. The south west is hopping with artistic talent. It was hard selecting the studios to visit but we were really pleased with the artists we chose. We have no room for more art works at home but had to resist temptation to buy quite often!

The artist were friendly and welcoming and willing to discuss their inspiration, approach to producing works and their stories about settling in the south west. Here are just thirteen of the artists we visited.

DOROTHY DAVIES Dorothy produces beautiful still life paintings mostly with botanical themes. Her designer background is evident in her orderly, calm paintings. Her works are detailed and lovely.

STEVE VIGORS Steve mostly paints landscapes and seascapes. He is inspired by the beauty of the south west and I thought his seascapes were wonderful. Steve does great waves!

GLORIA HAYDEN Gloria makes quirky little books using recycled and new paper. Her background as a librarian is evident in the books’ bindings and each has whimsical secret patterned pages and tiny envelopes. So pretty!

CHRISSY WELDON Chrissy’s botanical paintings are detailed and accurate. They are very beautiful. These delicate botanical paintings reveal her love of nature, detail and colour.

HEIDI EMMA Heidi Emma is a painter and mixed media artist. Her still life paintings are awash with light, colour and energy. I loved her botanical still life paintings, my husband favoured her seascapes

ADAM ASHDOWN I was so intrigued by Adam’s printing process I forgot to take a photograph of him! He has mastered the traditional Japanese method of printing fish, Gyotaku. Using traditional sumi ink and mulberry bark paper, Adam relies on a wet mounting technique known as urauchi. He creates very beautiful images of fish, before eating them!

The sargent baker fish was shaped and arranged within a foam template carefully cut to support its shape and fins.

The fish is wiped dry before Adam applied the water based ink to it, reducing the amount of ink on places where the fish was naturally lighter in colour.

The printing paper is applied to the fish and Adam gently rubs over the shape, ensuring he has captured the features such as the fins and tail. He will do several prints of the fish, reapplying ink where necessary.

These fish prints are very detailed and attractive. I found the process and Adam’s explanations fascinating! I keep thinking about these fish prints, not only because I’d really like to do one myself but I’d like own one of his.

MOLLY COY Molly’s beautiful, tactile, multi -media books feature her artwork plus typography created on a vintage tabletop letterpress. An Aladdin’s cave of treasures!

KARMA SHATTOCK Karma enjoys the unpredictability of painting in watercolour. She likes painting the Australian landscapes but I really liked her paintings with blue and white china and flowers. They were gorgeous!

MARTINE PERRET A photojournalist, Martine’s exhibition was mostly aerial photographs of landscapes. These are intriguing photographs. They made me think of traditional Aboriginal paintings in colour and shape. I found these photographs fascinating.

ELIZABETH WHITEMAN Elizabeth works with paint and textiles. She mainly paints landscapes and lovely, ethereal portraits. Her paintings are full of light and are very beautiful.

STUART MCMILLAN Stuart is a multidisciplinary artist working with paint, photography, sculpture and print media. I enjoyed his colourful, energetic works.

FI WILKIE Fi paints the flora and fauna of the south west of Western Australia. Her botanical works are an explosion of colour and wonderful energy. She also teaches drawing, painting and collage. Her works are original and vibrant and I loved them!

CHRISTINE CRESSWELL Christine paints beautiful and delicate watercolours of well known exotics and wildflowers endemic to the South West. Her paintings are detailed and calm and so pretty.

The Margaret River Region Open Studios program is an annual event. We will watching out for next year’s dates. There are so many interesting artists participating and I was disappointed we could only fit visits to thirteen studios. This was a wonderful break down south.

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Recycled Plastic Labels, Flowers and Books

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RECYCLED PLASTIC BOTTLES

This hard to read label says, “I used to be a plastic bottle. This label is made from 100% recycled plastic.” My new cardigan is made of 100% cotton except the buttons and has a label made from recycled plastic. Good.

West Australian solo sailor Jon Sanders found on his recent world circumnavigation that nearly every 100 litre of seawater sample collected contained around 300 particles per cubic metre of microplastics. Why is this a problem? The chemicals released from plastics contribute to infertility, immunity disorders and abnormal neurological development in children.

FLOWERS IN THE HOUSE

The Phalaenopsis orchids are showering themselves in glory! Very satisfying, very pretty.

Several vases of early ranunculus. I cut them on short stems as the remaining stems have so many buds.

I read on a gardening site that ranunculus have more flowers if the corms are soaked prior to planting. I’d never done this before so tried it this year. I shared the corms with my Mother who lives further south. Unsurprisingly, mine germinated and bloomed before hers did but they also seem to be stronger plants. From now on I will soak the corms before planting.

I love arum lilies. They are a weed in Western Australia but my lilies are contained within an isolated bed. The lush, thick leaves don’t die off totally in summer as they do in the wild. The flowers start appearing at the end of August. I like to put the beautiful lilies in vases indoors.

The last of the Glamis Castle roses. They’ve all been pruned now.

CHOPSTICK STORAGE

We use chopsticks regularly. They’ve been stored in a cardboard tube for the last twenty plus years. The tube they were stored in was getting tatty. I was about to throw this acrylic chocolate box in the recycling bin when I realised it would make a great storage box for the chopsticks!

It had a brand sticker on the lid. I tore it off slowly and carefully but it left a layer of sticky glue. Tried removing it with hand sanitizer which was within reach. Didn’t work. Sprayed the sticker with Isopropyl alcohol and the residual glue just wiped off. Gave the box a wash in hot soapy water, dried it and now it’s a perfect chopstick box.

READING

Dr Norman Swan is a well known Australian broadcaster and physician. When I saw his latest book, So You Think You Know What’s Good For You? on the XPRESS ( seven day limit on borrowing for very popular books) display at the library, I borrowed it. He answers the health questions he’s asked all the time, based on the latest evidence and with good humour. Easy to flick back and forward following items of interest, this book is full of information and sound advice. You can just avoid the bits that make you nervous!

PLANTING OUT HYDRANGEAS

These ‘sticks’ are from pruning existing hydrangeas. Take a piece with two growth buds, push it into soil and come back a few months later. Roots should have appeared. I will plant these new plants in a very shady place where I planted some last year, as a trial. The plants only grew a little bit but each one produced flowers. I hope in time they reach a height where they will get more dappled light and thrive. I really like their glossy leaves and big, blousey blooms.

PRESSING EARLY SPRING FLOWERS

I collected a hat full of early springs flowers to press. I’ll use them to make some gift tags so I snipped their stems short. If I was planning to use them to make a card or a picture for the wall, I’d leave a longer stem and include more foliage.

I’d already cleaned the dusty press and put four layers of lithograph paper ready for the flowers. I don’t use paper towel as delicate petals can end up with the pattern of the paper towel imprinted on them. I also avoid newspaper as the ink can seep through the paper and stain the flowers during the pressing process.

Arranged the flowers then covered them with another four sheets of litho paper. I used a wooden press as I have one, but heavy books are also effective.

Put the top layer of the press in place and screwed on the wing nuts not really tightening any of them until they were all in place. Then I tightened them until there was no more movement.

I’ll put the press somewhere cool and dry for the next month. It needs to be accessible as I’ll continue tightening the nuts every three or four days for about a month.

TRAVEL JOURNAL PAINTING

Visited Rowles Conservation Park near Ora Banda while we were in Kalgoorlie. This lagoon is very beautiful. I have done a quick water colour painting for my journal.

In Australia and New Zealand, Father’s Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of September, so we will be celebrating this Sunday. This is a lovely opportunity to get together with family members but it may not be possible for all families due to ongoing lock downs in New South Wales and Victoria. Wishing all Fathers, where ever they are, a lovely day. Happy Father’s Day!

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Four Days at Bunker Bay

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We have just returned from a four day break at a resort at Bunker Bay. We were lucky to have sunny, mild autumn weather and no rain. Had to water our garden as soon as we got home!

Anywhere past Busselton is called ” down south”, a favourite destination for so many people.

Included in this area are Busselton, Dunsborough, Yallingup, Cowaramup, Margaret River and Augusta. Once a sleepy farming and surfing area, down south is now a vibrant and busy part of Western Australia. Renown for vineyards, surfing, restaurants, amazing beaches, artists and beautiful bush land, this area is accessible from Perth, the capital and also affordable, offering all levels of accommodation from camping to super luxury cottages, hotels and purpose built retreats.

We had lunch when we arrived. My husband enjoyed his Margaret River Lamb Belly Ribs with Jarrah Honey, Cucumber, Fennel and Vietnamese Mint. We shared Roast Capel Heritage Potatoes, with Wood fired Bread Crouton, Rosemary Fleur de Sel and Truffle Oil. Wonderful.

I had Green Papaya Chicken Salad with a Peanut and Chilli Emulsion. Not so wonderful.

One of the bedrooms. Loved listening to the ocean crashing at night.

A view of one of the bathrooms.

We had a two bedroom, two bathroom villa. The entrance courtyard opened out to bush land and the front veranda looked over native plants to the ocean. Private, quiet and very comfortable.

This boardwalk crosses a lagoon and leads to the beach.

Due to regular shark alerts this is as far as I go into the sea, now days. The day before this photo was taken a man was killed by a shark in Queensland and the next day another man survived a shark attack at Broome.

After a big lunch we settled to our typical holiday dinner,” a bed picnic”, eaten in the sitting room!

Local businesses using local produce. Born, bred and frozen locally, this ice cream claims to be a combination of the freshest local produce and secret ingredients. It’s very good.

Our “bed picnics” became smaller and smaller each evening, probably due to indulging in double ice creams, made locally and tasty very special. The apples, with very dark skins and crisp flesh, are called Bravo. Unique to Western Australia, these apples have a distinct sweetness, high level of crispness and crunchiness and a dark, unusual burgundy skin. We really liked them!

Lovely places to walk around the resort.

Breakfast treats.

Green farmland en route to Dunsborough from Bunker Bay.

Approaching Yallingup. The green signs are Beach Emergency Numbers. This is a coding system to cut emergency response times. Each sign has a unique code at beach access points to ensure emergency vehicles can locate where they are needed quickly along the long coastline.

Driving into Yallingup, famous for surfing.

We enjoyed the car museum and the surfing museum at one of the vineyards.

Many vineyards in the region, some quite famous for their wines. Also emerging breweries. Many have cellar doors and restaurants.

Morning tea, a car picnic!

View from restaurant at Bunker Bay. So lovely.

Jetty at Busselton in the early morning light.

This shows the beginning of the Busselton Jetty, the longest timber piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. The jetty is 1.8km long. The buildings also house one of only six Underwater Observatories in the world. There’s an Interpretive Centre, Interactive Museum, a gift shop and a jetty train which travels on the jetty out to sea.

We were so lucky to experience lovely weather while we were down south. We had such a relaxing time, visiting some favourite places and a few we hadn’t been to before, eating at favourite cafes and restaurants and enjoying art galleries and, of course, the amazing coastline.

Our next holiday, booked for next week, has been cancelled due to an out break of Covid in Melbourne. We were going to Canberra for the Bottecelli to Van Gogh Exhibition, then to Melbourne to visit the She-Oak and Sunlight Exhibition, 250 Australian impressionist Works and also the French Impressionism From The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. So disappointing!

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Emily in Paris and Mending

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EMILY IN PARIS

Have you been watching Emily In Paris? It had been recommended to us but the description didn’t really appeal until I read a blog written by an American woman living in the south of France. Her thoughtful comments on sophistication and cultural differences apparent in the series interested me. Time to find out what was causing the furore.

Emily, played by Lily Collins, is a social media marketing guru. She’s unexpectedly sent from Chicago to Paris when the company she works for buys a small French PR company, Savoir. Non-French speaking Emily is on a mission to get the French company using social media for their luxury branding company, the American way, of course! Energetic, determined and totally culturally unaware, she finds herself in every clichéd situation imaginable.

Sometimes funny, sometimes painful and often unbelievable, this fairy tale takes you on a great journey through Paris. Written by Darren Star who also wrote Sex In The City, there’s beautiful people, gorgeous clothes and all the famous Parisian sites plus glittering events.

I think we kept watching because we’ve been in a similar position. We moved to a country where few people spoke English. We’d been there quite a few times before and had worked hard on being culturally aware. We knew some local staff members. My husband had a driver and interpreter but I needed to find an apartment, organise schooling, sort out shopping for food (mostly from the local market down the road) plus furniture and everything else we needed to live there for some years. I didn’t have an interpreter most of the time. I learnt what I call “market” language. Room for many misunderstandings! We had to live in a compound with other expat families who luckily also spoke English, which was helpful.

bike leaning against handrail in front of concrete building at daytime

Emily is extremely confident, creating some obvious opportunities for cultural awkwardness. She slowly becomes more attuned to the nuances of French behaviour. Sometimes funny, always fast moving, very glamorous this is an entertaining series. There’s a second series scheduled for this year. Cleverly, the announcement was issued under the letterhead of Savoir, the luxury promotions company Emily works for in the series. It includes her bosses comment; “We hope that by extending her time in Paris Emily will…delve deeper into our culture and perhaps pick up a few words of basic French.” We’ll be watching.

MENDING

MENDing 1

One of the planters on this narrow ledge was disintegrating. This is the top of a retaining wall and gets good sunlight during the day. I have two planters both planted with blueberry bushes. I couldn’t find a replacement planter of the right size. I would have to replace two, as well, as they sit side by side and something different would look strange. I went hunting for a way to repair the one falling apart. The planters are made of fibreglass.

Lots of online research led me to Builders Filler, a two part filler intended for repairing metal, wood, concrete and fibreglass. Following the directions I thoroughly cleaned the surface to be repaired and then read and re-read the instructions.

Preparation involved mixing the filler and the hardener and then using it immediately. The job was done with the blueberry and soil remaining in the planter as it was too hard to do it any other way.

The filler dried very quickly. It is as hard as the fibreglass and filled the hole well.

Left to cure for several hours then sanded the patched area.

Used a damp cloth to remove the dust created by sanding the planter box and then painted over the mend. It’s not perfect but looks a lot better.

mending 2

This shabby chic/rustic bird house came from an open garden day on a farm down south. The farmer had used leftover scraps of timber to make a few bird houses. They were pretty rough but that was part of the appeal. I’ve had this one for at least five years and bits were beginning to fall off the front.

Quick clean then I used Liquid Nails to glue the pieces back on. All pretty rough. My usual clamps are pegs but the wood was too thick, so I used masking tape. Left it over night to cure. I realise this piece does not have a long life expectancy but it’s fine for now!

MENDING 3

This mohair rug is thrown over our doona most nights. We have used it for about 20 years. During that time I have repaired it a few times as it is quite loosely woven. The latest problem occurred when the dog jumped onto the bed and his claws got caught in the fringing.

Spread it out on the table to assess the damage. Hard to see what a tangled mess it’s in but I’ve repaired this rug before and got to work. The pulled threads were a mess. I used a long, blunt needle to gently push the weft threads back up. Then I had to thread the two lengths pulled out of place and stitch them back where they belonged.

All good….until next time!

Now it has become a chair throw instead of a bed throw. It was really fiddly mending this rug. It took more than two hours to repair and is so loosely woven it could easily become damaged again. Much safer on the chair.

Did you know modelling predicts it will take 550 years for a disposable nappy to decompose entirely?

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8 Things About Summer

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It is the middle of summer in the Southern Hemisphere and Western Australia is at the end of a heatwave. It has been very hot and unusually humid. Summer brings its own activities and for many Australians, a ten day break between Christmas and the New Year. The school year finishes before Christmas and goes back at the beginning of February.

What does summer mean to you? What are the seasonal foods and recipes, the daily occupations, the things you do that are particularly related to the long, hot summer days?

FOODS

Stone fruit, watermelon and rock melon (cantaloupe), cherries, grapes, figs and so many salad vegetables. Masses of different tomatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers. They’re all in the shops in an array of amazing colours and aromas. We shop at a greengrocer who only has seasonal fruit, vegetables and herbs. All delicious.

Luscious seedless grapes.

2. SUMMER FLOWERS

pink roses in close up photography

Masses of roses, lilies, hydrangeas and agapanthus, but almost nothing in my garden! A recent heatwave has decimated everything except the hydrangeas although the roses are beginning to bloom again.

3. SUMMER ACTIVITIES

River picnics, going to the beach, barbecues and eating outdoors when the sea breeze comes in (aka the Fremantle Doctor) and watching the cricket. Lots of time spent reading. Walking the dog after dinner; it is still light and much cooler. Jugs of iced water with lemon or lime and maybe mint. Anything to stay cool. Many of my friends are teachers and still working. It is the Summer Holidays for them, nearly six weeks off, so lots of lunches and catching up, which I really enjoy.

4. SUMMER ENTERTAINMENT

The Fringe Festival in Perth, running from 15th January until 14th February, has attracted over 500 local and Australian acts, but travel between the states is limited due to CV-19 hot spots in other states. Some overseas acts were already here and have stayed. I’ve been to two shows so far. I’m off to another comedian this evening. Enjoy a good laugh!

The first was a British standup comedian, Gordon Southern, who was working on a cruise ship which terminated in Sydney due to CV-19 cases, so he stayed. A comedian for over 23 years, ‘Nicolation’ (pronounced Nice-o-lation) was Southern’s fast paced commentary about making the most of his year ‘stuck’ in Australia. Had a good laugh!

This was followed by ‘Brassy Broads’ which pays homage to some legendary jazz and cabaret singers. Some of the amazing women featured were Eartha Kitt, Edith Piaf, Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald. Energetic, loud and very entertaining.

5. SUMMER SHOES

This summer means espadrilles, old ones and new ones. The espadrille fashion first occurred for me when I was at university and involved lacing long cotton tapes around and around our ankles and partially up our legs. The next time the fashion came around I had a beautiful pair with soft leather ties. I loved them! They were cream and went with the floaty, pale clothes of that summer. I wore them all the time and eventually the rope soles began to disintegrate so off they went!

I have bought two pairs this season, mainly because I’ve bought dresses this year. I haven’t really worn dresses for so long but bought one for a wedding. Then I bought another one and since then two more. They are cool and easy to wear. So are espadrilles.

6. SUMMER HOLIDAYS

Western Australia’s hard border fluctuates depending on CV-19 cases in the eastern states. This makes any travel plans outside W.A. risky. Australians can’t plan overseas trips either. When we return from anywhere outside our state, we need to quarantine for two weeks.

Perth across the Swan River.

This has resulted in a boom in travel within W.A. We have no travel plans for a few months but many West Australians have flocked to coastal resorts. Cafes and restaurants are full. We’re able to freely visit the cinema, Fringe Festival events and shopping centres. Social distancing is evident but not always enforced as in W.A. we have been Covid free for over 200 days.

Rottnest Island, everyones’ favourite island holiday destination.

January and February are very hot months here. Activities centre around the river, pool and the beach. Light food and casual clothes rule. Thongs (flip-flops) are popular!

AUSTRALIA DAY

Australia Day is celebrated on the 26th January every year marking the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships to arrive at Port Jackson in New South Wales. It’s a public holiday in Australia. Four out of five Australians consider this an important day of celebration, not just a ‘day off’. Over 16 000 immigrants choose to become new citizens on this day every year.

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10 Things to do in York, Western Australia

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York is the oldest inland town in Western Australia. It is situated on the Avon River, in the wheatbelt. York has been recognised for it’s important buildings with Historic Town Status. Established in 1835, the area was important for cattle, sheep and wheat, sandalwood harvesting and goat, pig and horse breeding. York now attracts visitors for its buildings, festivals and fairs.

It’s an easy 90 minute drive from Perth to York on good roads. The forecast temperature was 35°C so we left Louis, our dog at home and took hats. I’d made a list of things TO DO and it was easy to complete the list. York is a compact town with many interesting things to see and do with guided walking and cycling maps available at the Visitor Centre.

One of the most interesting aspects of the townsite is the hotels, homes and shops. You can drive around the streets of York and admire the architecture. Most of the houses are privately owned and many have been carefully restored and maintained.

10 Other Interesting Things to do in York

1. VISIT MT. BROWN LOOKOUT

We started at the Mt Brown Lookout to put the town into perspective. Standing here we could view the York townsite and across the Avon Valley. The lookout is a short drive from the town.

2. GALLERY 152

The York Botanic Art Prize 2020 Exhibition of the Finalists is what originally motivated us to go to York at this time of the year. Usually we’d wait for a cooler day so we could walk around the town, enjoying a slow look at the old buildings and parks, especially along the Avon River.

The Gallery has an exhibition area, a gift shop and a cafe all housed in a beautiful old building with outdoor eating areas. The York Botanic Prize, the current exhibition, featured paintings, prints, jewellery, ceramics, pencil and photographs all based on local wildflowers. There are regular exhibitions throughout the year. We enjoyed the coffee there, too, despite the slow service! I think they forgot our order.

3. THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE

The original suspension bridge crossing the Avon River was built in 1888, but was totally renovated in 1988. It’s a bit wobbly but fun to walk across.

4. THE YORK MOTOR MUSEUM

The Motor Museum, established in 1979, is in the main street. There’s so many exhibits, plan to spend quite a bit of time here. There are motor cars, motor cycles and pedal cars. See cars once owned by the rich and famous, land speed record breaking cars, vice regal cars, racing cars and old and rare cars. Knowledgeable staff, too.

5. COURTHOUSE COMPLEX

The Courthouse Complex is a collection of colonial buildings also in the main street. Construction began in 1852, prompted by the need uphold colonial law and order. See the lofty court room and the stark prison cells complete with graffiti and other archaelogical finds.

6. PENNY FARTHING SWEETS

A shop full of old fashioned sweets. Intriguing for young and old. Delicious finds. We weren’t the only adults gleefully recognizing old fashioned lollies and buying childhood favourites, too. Also in Avon Terrace, the main street.

7. THE YORK TOWN HALL

The imposing Town Hall, built in 1911 and renovated in 2000 also houses the York Visitor Centre. Here you can collect maps and local information. While you’re there, enjoy the imposing Hall. Go upstairs for the best view.

8. THE YORK RESIDENCY MUSEUM

The Residency Museum is currently closed for renovations. It is undergoing remedial works to strengthen the building and chimneys against earthquakes and other natural disasters. It is expected to be open again in July.

We have visited in the past and hope it retains many of the displays we saw and enjoyed. This included displays about the Aboriginal people in the area and interactive displays for children.

9. THE PARISH CHURCH OF HOLY TRINITY

The Holy Trinity Church of York was consecrated in 1858. The tower plus other additions to this beautiful building were added between 1891 and 1905. There’s an Alfred Pearse pipe organ and windows designed by well known West Australian artist, Robert Juniper.

Across the road is the Holy Trinity Rectory, although only the kitchen remains from the original building.

10. THE FLOUR MILL

Now housing antique shops, crafts shops and bookshops plus a gallery and cafe, the Flour Mill was built in 1892. It played an important role in a region well know for its wheat and grain exports. Milling ceased in 1967.

We ate lunch here at the Mill Cafe. There’s indoor and outdoor seating. The Visitor Centre has a list of the cafes and restaurants and their opening times. We ate here as we met my brother and sister in law for lunch and they’d eaten there before. Very generous sized meals!

Near the Suspension Bridge along the Avon River is the Avon Pioneer Park, with picnic facilities, public toilets, a barbecue area and really interesting looking play equipment. There’s easy parking available. We found parking easy everywhere we went in York.

There are many shops housed in the historic buildings along the main street, Avon Terrace. There’s intriguing antique shops and second hand shops, plus clothes, furniture and craft, a supermarket, a chemist, a Chinese restaurant, a vet and the amazingly tempting sweet shop. There’s several old hotels on street corners, many with restaurants, plus several cafes. The sporting club also has a restaurant.

The Visitor Information Centre can help with accommodation and there are many options online if you want to book somewhere to stay. Enjoy your visit!

Apparently, yesterday 21st January was Hugging Day. I think every day should be Hugging Day!

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A Week In Kalgoorlie (Part Two)

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buildings of boulder

Wandered up and down the main street of Boulder looking at the beautiful buildings. The streets in Kalgoorlie and Boulder are very wide. This was necessary 120 years ago so that the Camel Wagons could be turned around in the streets. It was too hot, dry and remote for horses to be used for haulage transport. Many buildings from the Gold Rush era have been retained and restored.

This is the old Town Hall. It currently houses a very good War History museum and the famous Phil W. Goatcher (1851-1931) curtain covering the stage. Regular guided walks of the Town Hall are offered.

Boulder was gazetted as a townsite in 1896. It merged with Kalgoorlie to create the City of Kalgoorlie Boulder in 1989.

Monument to the miners who have worked in this area in hot and dangerous conditions in the past.

The Goatcher Curtain, Boulder Town Hall

Philip Goatcher, born 23rd November, 1851, worked as a law clerk before becoming apprenticed to a shipping company . He sailed to Melbourne in 1867, jumped ship and set off for Ballarat, in the height of the gold rush.

He then went to New Zealand and then to San Francisco, where he met J C Williamson, an American actor and later theatre director in Australia. Williamson paid for him to return to Australia where Goatcher painted for most of Williamson’s opera and drama productions. He moved to Perth in 1906.

Goatcher painted the Boulder Town Hall curtain in 1908.The canvas was intended to complement and close the “picture” frame stage. This ‘Bay of Naples’ curtain is believed to be the only surviving theatre curtain from this era in the world. It measures 6.25 metres x 8.46 metres. It is signed and dated Phil W Goatcher, 1908 and was delivered on 11th June, 1908. It was restored in 1991. The restoration cost $224,000.

buildings of kalgoorlie

Streetscape.

The head frame at the left of this photo is at the Mining Museum.

Almost every corner in the main streets of Kalgoorlie boast a two storey, old hotel, some in excellent condition, others rather neglected. Their wide verandas offer shade on the footpath when Kalgoorlie is really hot.

This is a vibrant city with many cafes and restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, schools and shops.

Courthouse.

Old Commonwealth Bank, intact but boarded up in McDonald Street.

some street art in Kalgoorlie

I followed the HEARTWALK map to look at street art. The original project was intended to transform the Kalgoorlie CBD into a vibrant arts and cultural precinct. It must have been great to have all these works dotted around the central area of the town. The only remaining artworks are those painted on buildings, walls and fences. Originally, many of the pieces were in empty shopfronts, but these have since gone to make way for new businesses.

Kado and Deeva Muir, a multi-disciplinary duo living in Leonora.

Lundy Carol Thompson form Kalgoorlie Boulder and Tjubriin Valma Wicker-Schultz from Norseman who has also exhibited at the Olympic Games in London.

Danny and Nikki Ulrich, Kalgoorlie Boulder.

Unattributed.

Brenton See, Perth, paints small sized canvases up to large scale interior and exterior wall murals.

As the heat increased we headed for the Goldfields Art Centre. There are two galleries but no permanent Goldfields collection on display. There was no traveling exhibition, either, despite this being a huge, central building. Bit of a surprise.

This Stormie Mills painting was on a wall in the car park. Mills relies on a limited palette, usually white, black, grey and silver. He has morphed from street artist to working on canvases and is hung in many galleries.

summary

We have really enjoyed our week in Kalgoorlie. The diverse population is reflected in the town. We’ve visited Kookynie, Menzies, Boulder, Kambalda and the main town of Kalgoorlie. The wide open spaces, the colours of the bush, meeting up with a friend I haven’t seen for a long time, the buildings, the artworks and food all added up to a great break for us. We were able to take Louis, our dog with us as we stayed at our son’s house. We really enjoyed staying with him and catching up. I hadn’t seen where he lives before this visit. CV-19 has had an impact on many businesses but the town seems to be managing this quite well. Now Western Australia has opened the hard border between us and the other states, we will wait to see if our “safe” situation remains.

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A Week in Kalgoorlie (Part One)

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We’ve just spent a week in Kalgoorlie, staying with our son who has lived there since February. He works in the resource industries. He also went to the School of Mines in Kalgoorlie fifteen years ago.

Kalgoorlie, 600 kilometers (400 miles) from Perth, is most famous for gold mining. On June 17th, 1893, a prospector, Paddy Hannan filed a Claim, resulting in the Gold Rush. Kalgoorlie and surrounding towns are a fascinating mixture of very old buildings from the Gold Rush and new, plus everything in between.

Statue of Paddy Hannan who discovered gold in Kalgoorlie. It is at the corner of Hannan and Wilson Streets.

Gold continues to be the leading industry in the region, most evident in the Superpit which is close to town. Nickel is also mined in the area.

We set off to look at Boulder, almost a suburb of Kalgoorlie with many old, gracious buildings reflecting the wealth of the Gold Rush era . Then on to the Superpit, originally a consolidation of local mining companies called KCGM. Mid 2020 KCGM was bought by Saracen and Northern Star. The Superpit, an open cut mine, is getting bigger and mining will go underground, adding many years to the life of the pit. At the moment it is approximately 5km long, 1km wide and 500m deep.

Three haulpaks parked about a third of the way to the bottom of the pit.

The haulpaks are enormous.

From there we set off for Kookynie via Yarri Road, which is mostly gravel, passing remnants of ghost towns and signage for many small mines. The soil along the road was red, pink, cream and sometimes black, with shrubby bush and small trees.

The gravel road to Kookynie.

Are we there yet?

Evidence of several long gone towns along the road.

Stopped at the Kookynie Hotel, thinking we’d have lunch, but we were too early. Met Willie, the Hotel horse. I’d taken him an apple, which he obviously enjoyed and he snuffled around us, thinking we had more somewhere. Then he drank the water in Louis’s collapsible dog water bowl! He accompanied us from the ute to the Hotel door, where he made it impossible for us to enter without paying him more attention.

Willie, the Grand Hotel Horse arrived as soon as we parked.

He drank the water from Louis’s traveling water bowl.

Willie preventing us from entering the Hotel until we paid him more attention. He is a lovely, gentle horse

He is a beautiful horse. Kookynie is a long way from anywhere else and he just turned up one day, very thin and ragged. He drank and drank and then ate and then just settled in. Researching his brand information, it was discovered he had been a race horse. When he was retired from racing he apparently was moved to a station (a very big farm) but obviously didn’t like it there, so he left. A sad story, but Willie is now a well fed, much admired horse and a local attraction. He visits all the town people each morning and then settles at the Grand Hotel, ready to greet visitors.

From there to Menzies, still thinking we’d get lunch. No luck, so we settled for a muesli bar and some crystallized ginger. Set off to Lake Ballard famous for its Sir Antony Gromely sculptures. The lake is a salt pan at this time of the year.

Sir Antony Gromely, an acclaimed English sculptor, was commissioned by the Perth International Arts Festival to create the sculptures to celebrate it’s 50th anniversary in 2003.

Gromley persuaded 51 locals to strip and be digitally scanned to create life sized models which were then cast in a stainless steel alloy. Standing in the shimmering heat haze looking over the now dry saltpan, the view is as unexpected as it is amazing. The sculptures throw interesting shadows. There are 51 “people” in an area of 10 square kilometres.

“It is one of the greatest artistic installations I have ever seen” Sir Ian McKellen

On a previous visit I walked around almost the entire area to look at every sculpture but this time it was too hot and dry.

Quite a climb to the top in the heat. Looking down at the footprints going from sculpture to sculpture looks like a massive Aboriginal dot painting, as people don’t seem to walk in straight lines.

Lake Ballard from Snake Hill Lookout.

Fire pit with frame for hanging the billy for heating water.The frame swings over the fire pit. A billy is a covered pot. Once the tea leaves have been added to the boiled water you put the lid back on it and swing the pot around to settle the tea leaves.

Finished the day with a visit to our son’s office and warehouse, then drove around a big industrial area. Kalgoorlie is a vibrant and interesting City.

A slow start the next day, which was Sunday, as the galleries we wanted to visit didn’t open until later in the morning. This meant our son had time to make us pancakes and I pottered in his garden in the warm sun. It got very hot later in the day.

Then we discovered the three galleries online information wasn’t current and none of the galleries open on Sunday. CV-19 has changed the hours galleries are open and how many people can enter at a time. Set off to look at Kambalda, known for nickel mining, then back to Kalgoorlie. Made a late lunch and spent some time looking at our photos and wandering around the neighbourhood, giving Louis, the dog, a good walk. It also meant I could look at the houses, too. So many places around my son’s house have put up dazzling Christmas decorations, including the house next door with four metre high deer in the garden. Their heads move and Louis likes to stop and look at them. The two rottweilers who live there don’t like Louis stopping and bark and bark!

We are really enjoying our visit and already planning on returning.

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Going Down South to Bunker Bay

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For many West Australians, holidays means “going down south,” to swim, visit vineyards, eat local foods, go for beach or forest walks, meet friends and eat icecream. We like to flock down south, referring to the area south of Bunbury. This region abounds in beaches, vineyards, forests and interesting, small towns. There’s galleries and boutiques, restaurants and cafes, whales and wild flowers and beautiful coastal walks, plus unique animals. Lots of good fishing spots, plus, at the moment, sharks!

We have spent this week at a resort at Bunker Bay, a beautiful bay, quite close to more amazing beaches, wineries, galleries, restaurants and a lighthouse. The weather has be perfect, the resort lovely and the beaches are beautiful. I bought a new rashie, a long sleeved swimming top, to protect me from the sun after having basal cell carcenomas burnt off and cut out lately, only to find a seal colony on the peninsula is attracting sharks close to shore. There’s been several sightings of 3 – 5 metre sharks along the coast, so beach walks and pool swims, unfortunately. So no beach swimming.

After we’d checked into the resort we set off for the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse. Built in 1903, it was manned by a shift of three men until 1987, when it was automated. The three lighthouse keepers’ houses are now an entrance point to the precinct, an interpretive centre and a cafe.

There’s a viewing platform in front of the lighthouse. This is where you can see the migrating whales between September and December. We did, too, which was very exciting. We peered out into the ocean, sometimes locating white, disturbed areas and after about twenty minutes, saw a whale break the surface and then one appear out of the water! All happened too fast to take a photo.

There’s lots of information about several lovely walks around the coast of Cape Naturaliste National Park, some taking sixty minutes, some taking hours. Take water, a hat and beware of snakes on warm days.

Looking back across the bay to the resort.

We had coffee and cake on the trip down and stopped in Dunsborough for lunch so settled to a “bed picnic” for dinner. We often do this when we’re traveling and have had a big lunch. Some of these treats were part of a ‘welcome’ platter with additional tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, goats’ cheese and more cold meats and crackers. This spread fed us for two nights!

Red and pink bottlebrush. Up close they were covered in bees. Endemic to Australia, bottlebrush are now widely cultivated throughout the world

White grevillea, also full of bees. Native to Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Sulawesi and some other Indonesian Islands.

The next day we went to the Vasse Felix vineyard in Cowaramup to visit the Holmes à Court Gallery. The exhibition was titled “Tracing the Swan” . The black swan is endemic to Western Australia and features in this exhibition, which aims to show how historically WA was presented as an ideal destination, although history reveals the harsh realities of this era were very different. The river going from Guildford, though Perth and on to the ocean at Fremantle is called the Swan River.

An etching from 1800 of the iconic black swan.

The swan was a significant creature in Indigenous folklore. Represented here by Deborah Bonar 2012.

An interesting exhibition focusing on aspects of our history not often described in terms of wildlife, in this case, the black swan.

Met this chap in the tasting room on the way out.

Gunyulgup Gallery and Little Fish Restaurant where we enjoyed a very good lunch. Simple ingredients, beautifully cooked and presented.

Fresh fillet of local fish, a rack of lamb and a trio of local icecream.

Walked along the beach later in the afternoon hoping for a pretty sunset, but it was too cloudy.

Another beautiful day and we set to do some jobs in Dunsborough. Met Craig Silvey in the local bookshop. He is the multiple award winning author of “Rhubarb”, 2004, “The World According to Warren”, 2007, “Jasper Jones” 2009, made into a film 2015 and his latest, “Honeybee”, just published.

Set off for another art gallery then a silver smith’s studio. Saw so many lovely things but we’re at a stage where we want less, not more! Besides, we have no wall room for more art, and I thought the silver smith’s work was very beautiful but I don’t wear the precious pieces I already have, so no more for me! Then we heading to a brewery where we’d booked for lunch.

The trimmed lavender hedge looks very pretty. Each block has a big cauldron like pot in the middle on a limestone plinth with contrasting red geraniums.

Hardy plantings needing little upkeep except regular trimming. Very big koi in the ponds under the walkway to the entrance.

More highly fragrant lavender swaying in the afternoon breeze plus contrasting foliage and clusters of seed pods hanging from the tree.

Two views of Gracetown, mainly a holiday house destination. The town is about 21 kilometres northwest of Margaret River, set on the Indian Ocean. Gracetown offers world class surfing breaks close to the town.

Gracetown was named after local heroine, Grace Bussel who, in 1876, rode into the surf in a terrible storm to rescue the crew of the SS Georgette which was sinking off the coast.

Two views of Meelup Beach. Protected in the bay with miles of white sand. So pretty.

Lush, cool forest in the Meelup Regional Park. Wish you could hear the birdsong, too.

Today we are on our way back to Perth. This has been a wonderful holiday, with beautiful weather, lots of lovely things to see and do and some great food. The resort was been very good, too, and we hope to return soon.

Did you know today is World Food Day? No, neither did I, but I’m willing to celebrate by eating whatever is necessary!

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