Australia
Day 17 Sydney
A large mural on a 10-story apartment building near the entrance to Darling Harbor. It’s an enormous image of Aboriginal elder Jenny Munro painted by Matt Adnate. Ms. Munro fought long and hard against State Government plans to dislocate public housing tenants to build new developments. On the way to Paddy’s Haymarket, a surprise lane with hanging cherubs and …
Day 15 Phillip Island afternoon and evening
This afternoon I toured three conservation centers on Phillip Island, south of Melbourne. It took about an hour and a half to get here through flat agricultural lands. All three centers are operated by nonprofit conservation groups set up to preserve the environment and wildlife. The first stop is a working farm where this ranger …
Day 13 Melbourne
This morning I saw these women all dressed up in black and white. Turns out it’s Derby Day, the opening of the Melbourne Cup. Everyone dresses to the hilt, the women in black and white, with fancy hats. They crowd the streets of Melbourne, heading for the race course. A very Australian look..somewhat like what …
Day12 Melbourne
This morning I started off for the Immigration Museum. I wasn’t sure if it was worth returning to see the exhibits, but it turned out to be an excellent choice. The first exhibit room has an identity theme with interactive displays. As you walk into the exhibit room, you see life-size holograms of different people …
Day11 Ballarat
Today I took a train to Ballarat, the largest town in the gold country, to visit the Gold Museum and a place called Sovereign Hill. Sovereign Hill is similar to our colonial Williamsburg. It shows visitors what it was like in the town of Ballarat, headquarters for the gold rush of the 1850s.
Day10 Carlton…Little Italy
I spent most of this rainy day at the Italian Museum and its research center in Carlton, where many Italian immigrants settled after WWII. Here is Borsari’s Corner, named after Nino Borsari, a member of the Gold medal winning Italian cycling team at the 1932 Olympics. He was competing in Australia when World War II …