Category: Australia

Brisbane River View – The Eagle

On By cjx07sterIn Australia, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

out there through the curtains of the 7th floor, through the window… other side of the river .. a tall fluted monument in that park.  Time for a walk.  It’s raining ! Not much.. don’t worry.. down the lift and out by the dawn.. Hotel lobby is quiet at least… slip out the front door in the quiet at 5:30am but its cool warm cool. No cars.  Round past the Breakfast Creek and up the road, down again and under the breakfast creek bridge, across to the Newstead park, past the ancient Cunningham fig crawling root fingers down the slope.  There’s white Jasmine on the bike path with a faint smell of romance from the night before.. A single hidden Kigelia,

IMG_2319_1
KIGELIA TREE [African Origin]
with its weighty pods just waiting to drop.  All the while the Brisbane river snakes past upstream in slow bends and boats so quiet you cannot hear a slithering as the tide comes in.

Finally, up there on the hill in the park, the American Australian monument appears. Placed in memory of WWII, mainly for Kokoda and the battle of the Coral Sea, commemorated with an eagle atop a column among the magpies and butcher birds — perched up in the trees – not sleeping perhaps — just above the signs saying ‘watch out’.  An so the eagle watches out over the Brisbane river and beyond. Standing sentinel like a standing stone, menhir and like something akin to the figures on Easter Island, looking out from the grounds of Newstead House, where the Americans camped during the war.

Brisbane River at Dawn
Brisbane River at Dawn

But enough then, the sun is coming up and like others, it’s time to get to work for the day.

All photos: All rights reserved.

Pieces or 8 or 8 Pieces

On By cjx07sterIn Australia, ExistentialismLeave a comment
Pieces of 8
A small collection of tool components for a RECORD 044 Plane – Circa 1934

“I got a bunch of old planes from a the bloke who I got that active respirator from.”

” he only wanted a few dollars,.. did you want to take a look at them ?” – My Dad said.

We went down to dad’s shed and he had three planes in a plastic bag.

” Can I try the handle – do you want to keep this one ?”

” Sure – if you can use it – why not have this one… I’ll keep the other two., you should be able to clean it up. – he said”

We searched through the pieces in a bag and dragged out the ones that looked like they fitted. I brought them home on the weekend and slightly been looking at them.  It turns out to be a slightly rusty but probably still useable Record Plough Plane, circa 1934, made in England and I’ve never used one before.  There are some pieces missing, but

The question is:-

1934 – it means its old, very old, pre-WWII – and apparently a collectors item – worth a lot more than even my dad paid for it. Maybe over 100 times what he paid for it.  So — should I keep it as a tool, as was my original intention, or sell it on e-Bay as a collectors item ? Should i keep it till it is 100 years old and then try to sell it on eBay in 2034 ?

I may do neither – I’ve seen British TV shows where heritage buildings are restored and preserved, but always with an idea that the original parts, preserved are still obviously the original.  So as a tool – i could use it and wear the original blades out. I could find new screws to replace the missing ones – making sure they are a different colour or head shape perhaps ?  It was made to be used or collected — that is the question.  And if collected – restored and collected ? and if used restored and used for another generation ?

I think this may be the beginning of a new journey.

Bull Ants at Bay

On By cjx07sterIn Australia, Innovation, Travel6 Comments
IMG_0542
Rotary Kitchen Canister Cabinet – c. 1912

 

It rotates, this thing.  It’s got drawers like something out of a Dali painting, but it rotates as well.  The drawers of course should be full of foodstuff like sugar, flour, and other commodities. The drawers are made of hot dipped zinc steel and the whole thing is very chic and perfect for the new gourmet kitchen without cupboards.  This is an imported Rotary Kitchen Canister Cabinet.  The interesting bit is the stand which has a circular cup around the axle.  This circular cup, you fill with water.  It keeps the bull ants at bay and out of the sugar.  The kitchen ant proof cabinet was made by an American company and this obviously a perfect import for the Australian bush.  If you are desperate to see one and muck around with the drawers looking for bull ants, you can find this one in the Berrima museum, NSW == not far south of Sydney.

https://open.abc.net.au/explore/60297

The Never Never

On By cjx07sterIn Art, Australia, Dreaming, TravelLeave a comment

ULURU

Australia, Girt by not just the blue ocean, but by it’s inner unknown sea. All red dirt and tufts of grass for the ‘roos to eat and the lizards to hide. A car drives past. At night the sky’s milky light from millions of stars above.

there a tracks in the earth

of red at this center of mine

under the milky black galaxy’s face

where the night owl’s pass the time

my country where the gravity pulls

hard and hot to Uluru’s place

there the never never lies sublime

 ever in timeless endless space