Christmas festivities over, I’ve gone back over my photos of Bendigo. An unexpected delight was the Golden Dragon Museum.
Tag: Australia
A Couple of Days in Bendigo
For some reason, I’d never had a good look around Bendigo and thought it was about time I did.
Bendigo is a prosperous city, 90 minutes north-west of Melbourne, begun when gold was discovered in 1851. The original finds were the first of 9 billion dollars worth of gold found in the Bendigo area, making it the seventh richest gold field in the world.
I was able to find a motel right in the middle of town, and so left the car in its spot and spent the two days I was there mostly on foot.
Werribee Mansion, Melbourne.
I’ve featured several heritage mansions in the past but I think the queen of them all would have to be Werribee Mansion. Part of the Werribee Park Estate, it’s an insight into how the other half lived when the other half had so much money they didn’t know what to do with it. Continue reading “Werribee Mansion, Melbourne.”
Emerald and Puffing Billy.
There comes a time when you absolutely have to get out of your house away from routine and what feels like duty and into the real world. Last Thursday was one of those days.
I headed up into the hills, to a nice little village with the delightful name of Emerald. It’s one of the stopping points for the Puffing Billy Heritage Railway. The century-old steam train runs for 24 kilometres on its original track through the forests and farmland of the Dandenong Ranges, from Belgrave to Gembrook.
The Edge of the World: Next Stop Cape Horn
This week, I’m blatantly using my blog as an advertisement. My ebook, The Edge of the World: Next Stop Cape Horn, has been for sale on Amazon for two years and at last I have it available in print. 
In 2006, I set out in my little hatchback to begin the first of four road trips around the island of Tasmania, south of where I live in Melbourne, Australia.
Continue reading “The Edge of the World: Next Stop Cape Horn”
Cockington Green Gardens, Canberra
On my way out of Canberra, I stopped off at Cockington Green Gardens, a display of meticulously handcrafted, miniature buildings from around the world, set in beautifully landscaped gardens. I love miniature villages. They give permission for my child to come out again just for a little while.
You can’t really get the full experience of these lovely creations without actually seeing them in the flesh, so to speak, but I hope my photos will give you a bit of look at them.
Old Parliament House, Canberra
Having passed through Old Parliament House briefly years before, this time I wanted to have a good look.
It’s a lovely building, I think, anyway. There’s a warmth and comfort about it, not something you’d expect considering what it was used for, politics not being particularly warm and comforting. It served as the home of the Australian Parliament from 1927 till 1988.
Canberra, Australia
While waiting for The Cartier Exhibition to open, I wandered along Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin in the sunshine.
Cartier Exhibition Canberra
Last week, I took the 7-8 hour drive up to Canberra for the Cartier Exhibition at the National Gallery.
Louis-Francois Cartier founded the firm in 1847. It was taken over by his son, Alfred in 1874, who was later joined by his three sons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques. By the early 1900s, they had branches in Paris, London and New York, and the House of Cartier became the world’s most prestigious designer of jewellery, luxury accessories and timepieces.
Walhalla, Gippsland
Continuing my exploration of Victoria’s Gippsland, I decided to check out the historic gold-mining town of Walhalla.
