Marilyn Quirk

TROPICAL DARWIN - AUSTRALIA

2008-04-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

THIS IS DARWIN - AT THE TOP END OF AUSTRALIA.

The Ghan arrives at 8 am and passengers

disembark for their full day tours.

Beautiful Katherine Gorge by boat is not to be missed,

The Ghan arrives about 5 pm and the Darwin station is 40 km from the city! Buses wait to transport passengers. One tour takes us to see artificial and live crocodiles. The one in the centre is a basking concrete croc and the one on the right I call the 'happy croc.'

THESE ARE REAL CROCODILES!

THE ONE ON THE LEFT IS JUST CRUISING.

THE ONE ON THE RIGHT IS JUMPING FOR AN OFFERING OF BAIT

Lichfield National Park abounds with birds and water fowl. It is sometimes swampy but always a lovely sight.

The centre anthill is called magnetic because the tenants build it to a particular compass point.

The ant hill on the right hand side is very tall and stands only metres of the magnetic hill.

The aborignal artist of this bark painting is MAGANI

It was completed in 1976.

Its location is GADJI

This type of representation is typical of aboriginal art.

The Darwin Sunday sunset market is very popular,
displaying wares of all types.

Much of it comes from Timor and Indonesia in the north.

The musician is cleverly playing four didgeridoos

at the same time and he soon gathers an audience.

After a champagne or two on an old pearling lugger we set sail for a cruise around Darwin harbour.

The sun comes down fast in the tropics and this is a typical Darwin sunset.

Alice Springs

2008-04-25T20:38:00.001-07:00

THIS IS THE OUTBACK - ALICE SPRINGS!

To disembark at Alice Springs airport is to experience the senses of the outback - warmth, colour, isolation.

It can be a culture shock if you have left the cityscapes only hours before.

Comfortable accommodation awaits you and be ready to choose your outback experiences for the next day.

There's Ayers Rock, The Olgas, The Ochre Pits, the Gorges, and much more.

Look at those beautiful ochre colours used by the local aboriginal tribes. You canot take any ochre from this place. The Ochre Pits are well worth the visit.

Other things to do and see :

Simpsons Gap about 8 am!

A camel ride at dawn or sunset followed by a hearty breakfast or dinner is a real outback experience.

Can you see any rock wallabies?

They are well camouflaged

on the steep rocks.

It was then all aboard the Ghan for Darwin.
First class of course!

DARWIN NEXT STOP!

Hydro electric dev. Tas.

2008-02-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

My book 'Echoes on the Mountain' was launched in 2006 and has just had a second print. There are ten gripping tales of the migrant workers who brought the Tasmanian highlands to life in all its post-war uniqueness. They came from the ashes of Europe, some had fought side by side with the Australians at Tobruk, some had endured forced labour camps under the Germans and then the Soviets, all had suffered the horrors of war.
With hope in their hearts they set out for far away Tasmania to work on the hydro electric schemes. The Hydro needed workers, particuarly pick and shovel men, to transform the inhospitable landscape and build the dams and pipelines that would industrialise the island state. So they came, often with nothing but an old uniform and a blanket, and they settled into tiny huts for two-year contracts in the villages of the Central Highlands of Tasmania.
'It was a min-United Nations where the villages and workplaces reverberated to the tunes of many languages. We wanted to prove that we could be good citizens and good Australians."

This map shows the Central Highlands of Tasmania where the men worked in the villages of Bronte Park, Tarraleah, Butlers Gorge, Wayatinah and Waddamana.
This Hydro, Tasmania map also shows the power stations under construction in the 1980s and some of the towns and cities mentioned in the book.
Hobart is the state capital in the south on the River Derwent and Launceston is the second biggest city in the north on the River Tamar.
The nationalities of the people in the stories are: Italian, Czech, English girl twins, Lithuanian, Berlin, Polish. They all contributed to this state, helping to finally industrialise a small island with the hydro electric schemes that were built.
This island began as one of the early convict settlements with prisoners at Port Arthur (south) and Sarah Island (west)Convict labour built roads and buildings that can still be seen today.

Premier Eric Reece beame known as 'Electric Eric' because under his the development of the power stations and dams took place. A west coast notice reads: REECE DAM
Pieman River Power Development - Hydro Tasmania (west coast).
Reece dam is a concrete faced rockfill dam containing some 2.6 million cubic m of material 120 m high with an overall length of 353 m. The dam is 105 m above sea level enclosing a storage surface area of 22 square km. With a storage volume of 640 million cubic m the spillway has a capacity of 4700 cubic m per second.

This is a 1938 photograph of the gateway with a gatekeeper to the settlement of Tarraleah, later to become one of the main villages for settlement when power stations and dams were under construction.

Cruise ships sail into port

2008-01-30T21:48:00.000-08:00

BURNIE CRUISE SHIP ARRIVES

TASMANIA

Who would want to live anywhere else? It is never too hot in the summer on the north west coast where I live, just west of Devonport shown on the map. Why were we left off the map?

It is never too cold in the winter. Today it is 22 degrees C and elsewhere in the state it is probably 25. However, a mild summer breeze is blowing this afternoon.

Today, the city of Burnie, pop 21,000 is much quieter than yesterday. There was a beautiful cruise ship called 'Silver Whisper' in the port and the passengers disembarked to see some of the sights. It costs about $1,000 per day per passenger to sail on some of these cruise ships. When these ships dock many passengers travel on a day trip to Cradle Mountain in the centre of the state. The views from the outlying peaks are fantastic and nestled below is Dove Lake and a few buildings. However, in one day they will be limited to the length of the walks they can take. There are waterfalls to see near Burnie, Table Cape jutting out into Bass Strait from Wynyard about 15 minutes away.

Other passengers stay in the town to do some shopping or gain their land legs before boarding to sail away once again.
We hope they enjoyed their stay.
Thursday 31 January 2008

On the right is beautiful Lake Burbury inland from Burnie.
The reflections are magnificent.
It is within an easy drive of Burnie and the countryside is great.

This spectacular waterfall
is situated on a farm nearby
about 10 km from Burnie.

COME AND SEE FOR YOURSELF - OR SEARCH THE CITY WEBSITE

website: http://www.burnie.net/