Taralga Rodeo

I visited my first rodeo at Taralga in 2012 and was keen to visit again, however I've decided I don't enjoy them. Apart from there being a serious accident and injury to one of the riders, I'm not convinced that the safety of the animals is paramount and I really object to the use of spurs. It was unsettling to observe the look of panic on the faces of some of the horses and steers.

Rodeos however are great locations for 'characters' and people watching and they provide a glimpse into country life in rural Australia - a healthier, happier, less hectic life in tune with the land.

One of the young cowgirls riding the ferris wheel

Travel Backlog

My stock of photographs is growing and I fear it may be almost impossible to catch up so I've decided to document them according to date and take it one small step at a time and hope I can make some headway. :-)
I have to say that now it's all itemised I've become even more fearful of never catching up. However I'm reassured by the fact that if it's the case, it really doesn't matter, because the fun is in the processing and recalling fond memories. Perhaps one strategy is to publish one image from each of the locations in the interim. So it's off to the post processing I go

January 4 - Hyde Park
January 7 - Sunflower fields at Quirindi
January 11 - Potter Point
January 17 - Clovelly
January 19 - Wilton sunrise, Austinmere and Tooths Brewery
January 25 - Wombarra
January 28 - Wollongong Lighthouse
January 28 - Taralga Rodeo

February 2 - Lightpainting
February 9 - Coledale
February 10 - Colour Run
February 23 - Wet day at Wollongong Lighthouse
February 24 - Mystery Tour to Warragamba

February 27- Sandon Point, Wombarra and Wollongong Harbour

March 2 - Sussex Inlet and Sandon surfers
March 4 - Glebe and Sylvania Jetty
March 13 - City sights

March 15 - Watamolla
March 17 - Oak Park 
March 24 - Clovelly to Coogee Walk

March 22 - Shelly Sunrise
March 27 - Shelly Sunrise
March 29 - Hydro Majestic Hotel and Lithgow Blast Furnace

March 31 - Shelly sunset

April 2 - Blue Mountains

April 5 - Canberra Balloons, Goulburn Orphanage and Sandon Sunrise 
April 12 - Cronulla sunrise
April 14 - Cahill Walk
April 16 - Graffiti
April 19 - South Coast Holiday
April 21 - Coastal drive home
April 23 - Cronulla Sunset
April 25 - Anzac Day March 
April  28 - Harbour Mystery Tour and Solander sunrise

May 4 - Autumn at Mt. Wilson
May 9 - Tamworth and Scone
May 17 - Potter Point
May 19 -Audley Walk
May 25 - Little Bay
May 26 - Yena Gap
May 28 - Foggy Day
May 29 - Pelicans

June 2 - Railway Tunnel
June 6 - The Nuns Pool and Shelley Beach
June 8 - Point Perpedicular
June 14 - The Leap
June 16 - The Big Swell
June 21 - Yena Surfing
June 25 - Stormy Day
June 28 - La Perouse
June 30 - Yena Gap

July 1 _ Bombo
July 7 - Little Austi
July 8 - Inscription Point
July 12 - Leura Waterfalls
July 21- Kites at Kurnell
July 26 - Cecil Hills
July 31 - Potter Point


2012
January 5 - Sydney Harbour
January 11 - Como
January 13 - Hyams Beach
January 26 - Australia Day at Cronulla

January 30 - Goulburn and Taralga Rodeo


February 12 - Mystery Tour 4
February 9 - Mogo

March 6 - Explorer Bus Trip
March 8/29 - QVB
March 13 - Norah Heads
March 13 - Newcastle
March 18 - Lavendar Bay


April 6 -  Moonrise
April 9 - Centennial Park
April 11 - Pelican Feeding
April 13 - Murrays Beach
April 15 - Bare Island
April 17 - Greycliffe
April 26 - Anzac Bridge
April 27 - Milsons Point


May 4 - Manly
May 6 - Airshow
May 6 - Full Moon at Wollongong
May 10 - Collector
May 12 - Canberra
May 13 - Goulburn and orphanage
May 18 - Auburn Botanic Garden

May 22 -  Callan Park

June 2 - Bats
June 8 - Lithgow Blast Furnace

July 2 - Cockatoo Island
July 6 - Parramatta
June 11 - Vivid
June 12 - Vivid 2
July 15 - Gosford Society Trip
July 16 - Parramatta
June 20 - Mystery Tour Tunnel


???? 25 - Port Kembla and dandelions

September 7 - Parramatta 2
October 4 - Symbio

October 9 - Bowral
October 10 - Tuggerah Lakes Jetty
October 10 - Passion Flowers
October 14 - Camden
October 15 - Banjo Patterson Cottage
October 16/November 19 - Loftus House
October 18 - Audley Weir
October 18 - Gladesville Mental Hospital
October 19 - Tram Museum
October 19 - Buddhist Temple  
October 23 - Goats Farm

October 25 - Sculpture by the sea
October 30 - Bat pups


November 3 - Tooths Brewery ( Mittagong Maltings) http://cosmicthunder.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/abanoned-beer-halls/


November 10 - Flannel Flowers

November 11 - Mystery Tour
November 13 - Port Kembla 
November 25 - City at night and ALs Party
November 29 - Bargo
November 30 - Northbridge

December 6 - Woy Woy
December 29 - Saddleback Mountain

Pelican Antics

I was mesmerised for over four hours watching pelican chicks in the pelican nesting colony situated at Woy Woy. The colony is on an island in the middle of the river and using my Canon Powershot like binoculars I was able to zoom in and observe the interaction. The island was a few hundred metres away so the images are very grainy but hopefully it won't be the last time I visit this colony so next time I'll inquire into renting a boat in order to get within a reasonable distance without disturbing them.

Feeding Time On The Island

Gladesville Mental Hospital

During my childhood days my family frequently drove past Gladesville Hospital (once known unfortunately as the Lunatic Asylum) on the way to my cousins’ home at Eastwood. For some unaccountable reason I was always intrigued by the notion of asylums and Gladesville’s appearance and somewhat clandestine history always appealed to my wild imagination.

It claims some architectural and historical significance, being the first purpose built lunatic asylum in the colony. It was constructed between 1880 and 1884, and received its first patients in October 1884. Originally named Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum in January 1869 Manning had it renamed the Gladesville Hospital for the Insane. The grounds cover a substantial area and contain a variety of incredible ruins from the 1870s. One which seems more derelict than the rest is a grey stone structure surrounded by a cyclone wire fence and totally overgrown with lantana. It is approached up a set of stone steps. The hospital was in effect decommissioned in 1997 when all in-patient services were transferred to Macquarie Hospital, North Ryde.

 Peter Colthorpe (Coordinator of the Friends of Gladesville Hospital) claims it began as a folly, an extravagant garden structure often built by the wealthy. It had been used as a staging post, where officers of the Colony could stay overnight on their way from Parramatta or back, and also as part of Frederick Norton Manning's (Superintendent of the Gladesville Hospital in the mid eighteen hundreds - a pioneer in the more humane treatment of the mentally ill) intent to use nature to help treat mental health patients. They had no drugs at the time. Today, the building is officially declared a 'garden remnant'. It was difficult to obtain a clear shot due to the wire fence and I was conscious that climbing amongst the lantana was probably not the most sensible of actions given my recently broken ankle. It would be a magical location for some light painting :-)

Biennale 2012

Held every two years, the Biennale of Sydney is Australia's largest contemporary visual arts event, showcasing bold and innovative contemporary art from around the world. The free exhibition is presented over 12 weeks in the heart of Sydney at leading contemporary art spaces and on world heritage-listed Cockatoo Island. The 18th Biennale of Sydney (27 June – 16 September 2012) was based on a collaborative framework and dynamic new exhibition model bringing together international artists to collaborate and create artworks, exploring new ideas from unexpected voices around the world.
A major disadvantage of being so far behind with my reviews of photography locations is the inability to document the titles of the artworks and artists. Hopefully I'll be better prepared next time.

The 19th Biennale will be held from 21 March – 9 June 2014. Inspired by a sense of ‘happy anarchy’, Cockatoo Island will feature numerous new site-specific projects, producing an atmosphere of joyful energy. In the Industrial Precinct, Danish artist duo Randi & Katrine will create an anthropomorphised wonderland in the style of a typical Danish village. Surrounded by a city wall with a forest at one end, and with buildings designed to have human features – rooftops as hair, windows as eyes, and doors for mouths – The Village (2014) promises to be a magical environment for visitors of all ages. Inside the cavernous Turbine Hall, Danish artist Eva Koch will present a towering life-sized, projection of Gljufrabui, the Icelandic waterfall, accompanied by a roaring soundtrack.
source: http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/events/biennale-2014.html

Callan Park Mental Hospital

In keeping with my fascination for abandoned buildings, orphanages and asylums I visited the Callan Park location.

 "............... The facility formerly known as Callan Park Hospital for the Insane (1878 to 1914) is located in the grounds of Callan Park, an area on the shores of Iron Cove in the Sydney suburb of Lilyfield in Australia. In 1915 the facility was renamed Callan Park Mental Hospital and again in 1976 to Callan Park Hospital. Since 1994, the facility has been formally known as Rozelle Hospital. In April 2008, all Rozelle Hospital services and patients were transferred to Concord Hospital. The Callan Park (Special Provisions) Act 2002 restricts future uses to health and education but the New South Wales Government has not revealed its intentions for the site. The former facility is now occupied by Sydney College of the Arts, the fine arts campus of Sydney University........." Gary Burton

My thanks to Garry Burton from Gary Burton Photography who provided great information and images on the following site

View Callan Park Tour by Garry Burton in a larger map

The Balloons That Never Launched

Decided to head to Canberra to see the balloons take off over Lake Burley Griffin and discovered the historic town of Collector along the way. 

When horse and bullock were the main means of transportation the town prospered as it was a day's journey from Goulburn. When Canberra was chosen as the national capital the town benefited as the Barton Highway passed through the town . Today the Federal Highway by-passes the town but it is still worth visiting for the historic Bushranger Hotel and the memorabilia associated with Ben Hall's bushranger gang.

On 26 January 1865 the bushranger Ben Hall and his gang held up the publican and made so much noise  that they attracted the attention of the town's constable,  38-year-old Samuel Nelson. One of the gang, when confronted by the constable shot him dead . 

The grave of Constable Samuel Nelson is located in the Church of England cemetery at the back.

Collector is also famous for the controversial sculpture Dreamers Gate by Tony Phantastes, built between 1993 and 1997 to commemorate his father's life. A Gothic structure of cement and chicken wire, the artist and the Gunning Shire Council have been in constant battle regarding the structure since 1999.

Information supplied by the SMH

Collector still attracts its fair share of visitors each year in May for their Pumpkin Festival.

The annual Pumpkin Festival celebrates the arrival of another harvest season. Funds raised go towards improving local facilities. There was still much evidence of the festival with the schoolyard littered with pumpkin people and large pumpkins placed strategically throughout the village.