5 October – Sunday
Today is the day to catch the Spirit and head back to Tasmania and it was an absolutely glorious spring day in Melbourne.
To be continued …
Sunday 5 October 2008
Sea Change
4 October – Saturday
Today was meet the Barrett cousins day. We were expected at Norm’s house, Portarlington, before lunch to give us plenty of time to talk and tour the Bellarine Peninsular prior to meeting the other cousins at dinner time.
We were amazed at how many vineyards were in the area, all boutique wineries with trendy little eateries attached. Also lots of canola grown in the district as well. Our first stop was at Queenscliff for a view of Port Phillip Bay and the Queenscliff/Sorrento ferries. The Rip was visible from here as well, although we had a much better view from the lighthouse at Port Lonsdale. A sign on the lighthouse warned that a siren would sound two minutes before the foghorn commenced and the area should be immediately vacated. The water movement (in all directions!) through the narrow opening was incredible – no wonder the Spirit goes up and down at this point! We continued to Barwon Heads, the town used for filming “Sea Change” and had our photos taken with the famous bridge in the background. Unfortunately, a rather yuppy restaurant has been built on the end of the pier next to Diver Dan’s boathouse.
Dinner was at the home of Norm’s brother, Milton and his wife. Also present were Milton’s son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters. As everyone was interested in the Barrett history, I was able to give them lots of information and stories. At one stage, we even had our computers lined up – duelling computers???
Today was meet the Barrett cousins day. We were expected at Norm’s house, Portarlington, before lunch to give us plenty of time to talk and tour the Bellarine Peninsular prior to meeting the other cousins at dinner time.
We were amazed at how many vineyards were in the area, all boutique wineries with trendy little eateries attached. Also lots of canola grown in the district as well. Our first stop was at Queenscliff for a view of Port Phillip Bay and the Queenscliff/Sorrento ferries. The Rip was visible from here as well, although we had a much better view from the lighthouse at Port Lonsdale. A sign on the lighthouse warned that a siren would sound two minutes before the foghorn commenced and the area should be immediately vacated. The water movement (in all directions!) through the narrow opening was incredible – no wonder the Spirit goes up and down at this point! We continued to Barwon Heads, the town used for filming “Sea Change” and had our photos taken with the famous bridge in the background. Unfortunately, a rather yuppy restaurant has been built on the end of the pier next to Diver Dan’s boathouse.
Dinner was at the home of Norm’s brother, Milton and his wife. Also present were Milton’s son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters. As everyone was interested in the Barrett history, I was able to give them lots of information and stories. At one stage, we even had our computers lined up – duelling computers???
Friday 3 October 2008
A Grave Day
3 October - Friday
Very hot morning, 28 degrees, before a typical Melbourne change after lunch and a drastic drop in temperature with rain.
We started the morning with another attempt to locate my maternal grandmother's grave at the Damdenong Cemetery. My previous attempt had given me the section and grave number, but as we didn't have a plan of the cemetery, our first call was to the administrative centre at the Springvale Cemetery. A rather ill-informed your lady told us that the graves were all numbered and there weren't any plans available. So off to Dandenong and the discovery that the graves are not numbered and if there is no headstone, there is no hope of working out which is the actual grave. So it was to Springvale and a more determined effort to see a plan. The same girl was quite happy to go and photocopy a copy of the non-existent plan, complete with the names of the "residents." Back to Dandenong and very quickly worked out where Kitty is buried. After months of effort, it was nice to finally have a positive outcome.
The remainder of the day we spent undertaking a little retain therapy.
Very hot morning, 28 degrees, before a typical Melbourne change after lunch and a drastic drop in temperature with rain.
We started the morning with another attempt to locate my maternal grandmother's grave at the Damdenong Cemetery. My previous attempt had given me the section and grave number, but as we didn't have a plan of the cemetery, our first call was to the administrative centre at the Springvale Cemetery. A rather ill-informed your lady told us that the graves were all numbered and there weren't any plans available. So off to Dandenong and the discovery that the graves are not numbered and if there is no headstone, there is no hope of working out which is the actual grave. So it was to Springvale and a more determined effort to see a plan. The same girl was quite happy to go and photocopy a copy of the non-existent plan, complete with the names of the "residents." Back to Dandenong and very quickly worked out where Kitty is buried. After months of effort, it was nice to finally have a positive outcome.
The remainder of the day we spent undertaking a little retain therapy.
Thursday 2 October 2008
Back to Melbourne
2 October – Thursday
An easy start today, not leaving Bendigo until 9.00 am. We travelled south to Castlemaine, but as we couldn’t find anywhere to park, continued on to Daylesford. We stopped here for a stroll and a late morning tea/early lunch – a pretty little town in the middle of the Victorian goldfields. We passed all those well known places like Kangaroo Flat and Frog Hollow, with old diggings virtually all the way. Farmers probably check the dirt very carefully when they dig new dams!
Instead of driving through the centre of Melbourne, we decided to go the long way round via the Western Ringroad, Eastern Freeway and the new Eastlink to get to Aunty Pat’s house at Dingley. All went well until after we had arrived, positioned the caravan with the usual blocks on one side to level it. I was inside the caravan when Les drove off – then the caravan moved off the blocks! A bit of a heart flutter happened at that stage. We had to rehitch, move the caravan and try again. Despite protestations to the contrary, I do believe a bit of muttering did occur.
Big family dinner tonight as it is both Brian and Jessica’s birthdays.
An easy start today, not leaving Bendigo until 9.00 am. We travelled south to Castlemaine, but as we couldn’t find anywhere to park, continued on to Daylesford. We stopped here for a stroll and a late morning tea/early lunch – a pretty little town in the middle of the Victorian goldfields. We passed all those well known places like Kangaroo Flat and Frog Hollow, with old diggings virtually all the way. Farmers probably check the dirt very carefully when they dig new dams!
Instead of driving through the centre of Melbourne, we decided to go the long way round via the Western Ringroad, Eastern Freeway and the new Eastlink to get to Aunty Pat’s house at Dingley. All went well until after we had arrived, positioned the caravan with the usual blocks on one side to level it. I was inside the caravan when Les drove off – then the caravan moved off the blocks! A bit of a heart flutter happened at that stage. We had to rehitch, move the caravan and try again. Despite protestations to the contrary, I do believe a bit of muttering did occur.
Big family dinner tonight as it is both Brian and Jessica’s birthdays.
Wednesday 1 October 2008
Shamrocks & Dragons
1 October – Wednesday
We had a full day to explore Bendigo, and it really wasn’t long enough. We started at Bendigo Pottery and even though some of their pottery is very reminiscent of the 1970s, they still have some very nice articles. They have just commenced a new line of hand thrown vases with a majolica glaze, very similar to John Campbell’s work.
Following this, we headed to the centre of the city and the Information Centre, where they had a very informative DVD displayed inside an old hawker’s coach, describing how the gold was extracted and with 3D diagrams of the diggings. We were amazed that the city hasn’t caved in!
A visit to the Shamrock Hotel was next (Charles and Diana were here in 1983), a beautiful building which still retains its tiled floor, columns, arches and stained glass. We were able to walk upstairs and out onto the verandah – it must have been very grand when first built, it still is.
One of us climbed to the top of the poppet head on Camp Hill (not has high as the first level of the Eiffel Tower) for a stunning view over the district, before walking through the gardens to the Chinese Museum. What a treasure this turned out to be – very interesting, lots of artefacts and some absolutely stunning parade dragons and banners. We spent quite a bit of time in here before heading for the Chinese garden, which made a lovely change from all the Japanese gardens we have seen.
After this it was off to the Town Hall for a guided tour – these are held on Wednesday afternoon and Sunday mornings, so we struck it just right. This lovely old building is really only used for council meetings and is still in the process of being restored. The large reception room has been completed and looks magnificent, with its gilding and frescoes.
It has been cloudy, warm and windy today, so after all the walking we had done – in shoes!!! – we had a rejuvenating half hour in the spa at the caravan park.
We had a full day to explore Bendigo, and it really wasn’t long enough. We started at Bendigo Pottery and even though some of their pottery is very reminiscent of the 1970s, they still have some very nice articles. They have just commenced a new line of hand thrown vases with a majolica glaze, very similar to John Campbell’s work.
Following this, we headed to the centre of the city and the Information Centre, where they had a very informative DVD displayed inside an old hawker’s coach, describing how the gold was extracted and with 3D diagrams of the diggings. We were amazed that the city hasn’t caved in!
A visit to the Shamrock Hotel was next (Charles and Diana were here in 1983), a beautiful building which still retains its tiled floor, columns, arches and stained glass. We were able to walk upstairs and out onto the verandah – it must have been very grand when first built, it still is.
One of us climbed to the top of the poppet head on Camp Hill (not has high as the first level of the Eiffel Tower) for a stunning view over the district, before walking through the gardens to the Chinese Museum. What a treasure this turned out to be – very interesting, lots of artefacts and some absolutely stunning parade dragons and banners. We spent quite a bit of time in here before heading for the Chinese garden, which made a lovely change from all the Japanese gardens we have seen.
After this it was off to the Town Hall for a guided tour – these are held on Wednesday afternoon and Sunday mornings, so we struck it just right. This lovely old building is really only used for council meetings and is still in the process of being restored. The large reception room has been completed and looks magnificent, with its gilding and frescoes.
It has been cloudy, warm and windy today, so after all the walking we had done – in shoes!!! – we had a rejuvenating half hour in the spa at the caravan park.
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