SUNNY DAYS - BRISBANE IN MARCH

Although we are nearly at the end of March the weather has been very warm.

Most days have been close to 30 degrees which promises a nice Easter break ahead.

 

Tony has a new wide-angle lens for his camera bought in anticipation of fantastic photo opportunities on our holiday.

But first he needed a trial run to see how he will be able to use it so we decided a few cityscapes were in order.

 

The pedestrian mall was bright and cheerful after a month of rain in February

 

 

and Brisbane is looking more like a sub-tropical city now we have had some rain

 

with colourful plants brightening up the gardens.

We walked down to this lovely square.

 

 

This is ANZAC Square- a small oasis of green right in the heart of the city set aside as a War Memorial.

At lunchtime during the week it is crowded with workers eating their lunches .

 

This statue stands guard at the entrance to the garden with the path behind it leading to the Cenotaph and the eternal flame.

 

The soldier is  Major General Sir William Glascow, a Queenslander born in Tiaro just north of Brisbane.

I didn't know anything about him so I did a little research and this is what I found:

 

 

"In March 1916 when the 4th and 5th Divisions were formed, Glasgow was promoted temporary brigadier and given the task of raising and commanding the 13th Infantry Brigade. He led his men in many important actions including those at Pozières, Messines, Passchendaele, Mouquet Farm and Dernancourt. He was appointed C.M.G. in June 1916 and C.B. in December 1917.

On 25 April 1918 the 13th Brigade, together with Harold Elliott's 15th Brigade, recaptured the town of Villers-Bretonneux after the Germans had overrun the 8th British Division under General Heneker.
 It was a feat subsequently described by Lieutenant-General Sir John Monash as the turning-point of the war.
Before the counter-attack Glasgow, having reconnoitred the position, demurred at British orders to attack across the enemy's front. 'Tell us what you want us to do Sir', he said to Heneker, 'but you must let us do it our own way'. He refused to attack at 8 p.m.: 'If it was God Almighty who gave the order, we couldn't do it in day-light'. They attacked successfully at 10 p.m.

He was appointed K.C.B. in recognition of his outstanding war service and was nine times mentioned in dispatches; the French government awarded him the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre; he also won a Belgian Croix de Guerre.

For twenty years he led the Anzac Day parade in Brisbane as general officer commanding the parade."

So there he stands and I'm sure that very few know anything about this fine soldier but I'm glad he has been recognised and honoured in this way.

 

Have you noticed the trees in this park?

Aren't they unusual?

 

They're  Queensland Bottle Trees

 

The bottle tree has one of the most visually interesting shapes. It's botanically known as Brachychiton rupestris, and is also commonly known as the Queensland bottle tree.

 

The common name derives from the tree's shape, which becomes bottle like as it ages at between five and eight years of age. Some people believe the tree is hollow but the swelling is due to the water held in its trunk. The bottle tree is semi-deciduous and reaches 18 to 20 metres.

 

 It is an icon of the Outback and can also withstand temperatures of -8 degrees up to +50 degrees celsius.

 

 

It is so nice to see them featured here.

 

 

The path leads from the statue to the Shrine of Remembrance which is on a higher level

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It is the centre of all ANZAC Day ceremonies.

 

(*  images from the Internet)

 

 

From there we walked down towards the river past more lovely trees.

 

 

I love the way they have been left in their own traffic island amongst all the new skyscrapers.

They are Curtain Figs .

 

The wide angled lens was getting plenty of work and providing some interesting shots.

 

By now we were at the river.

 

Look at the colour of it!!

 

No lovely clear water for us.

The river is normally brown and murky but after all the rain and releases from the dam it is flowing very strongly and it is very very muddy!

These riverside bars and eateries have been cleaned up once again after recently being flooded and are back open for business.

 

 



 

 

You certainly have to be resilient to keep going in these businesses but luckily they are very well patronised in their lovely position in the heart of our river city.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers.

 

ANZAC DAY FOOTBALL IN MELBOURNE

On ANZAC Day, Tony woke me up at 4:45 am !!

Yes, 4:45 am !!
That's about 2 hours earlier than I usually get up.
The reason for this early morning madness was a one day trip to Melbourne to attend the Anzac Day Football.
........

Now, before we go any further, I need to give those of you who live overseas a little background about "football" in Australia.

Firstly, the term "football" in Australia does not refer to Soccer.

In Australia Soccer is always called Soccer
 and "football" refers to Rugby League, Rugby Union or Aussie Rules.

If  you are male and come from Queensland, the ACT or New South Wales and went to a Private (fee paying) school then chances are you play Rugby Union.

If you went to a state run school you probably play Rugby League ......

and if you come from Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia or the Northern Territory you probably play Australian Rules Football (AFL)

........

Now, where was I ? Oh yes, we set off from home at around 5:30am to drive to the Gold Coast to pick up Sally. That's about 55 miles away ( approx one hour's drive along what is usually a very busy highway ).



I took this photo quickly through the windscreen as we drove along. It was just getting light and the day was cloudy but warm.
From Sally's place we drove to the Coolangatta Airport ( about 45 minutes ) to catch our flight to Melbourne.( a distance of about 1000 miles or 1700km ).
We had time to snatch breakfast before our 8:30 am flight which took about 2 and a half hours.

We arrived in Melbourne to 12 degrees C and showers accompanied by a brisk breeze.
( That's my kind of temperature ! )

 

On this occasion I can only give you a brief glimpse of Melbourne.

Because it is so far south they experience the seasons down there and Autumn is well under way.

Transport options are trams, trolley buses and trains.

After catching a bus from the airport ( the usual ripoff cost of $28 return ) we set out to walk towards the centre of the city along wet roads but no rain was actually falling.

The ANZAC Day parade had just finished and there were lots of football supporters going where we were headed.
These two friends who supported opposing teams were walking in front of us.

black and white for Collingwood - the Magpies ( or The Pies )
and red and black for Essendon - the Bombers.                       

We passed Flinders Street Station ( the old yellow building) and headed into Federation Square
with the cathedral in the background. 

Federation Square is a very modern construction

with the surrounding buildings covered in geometric shapes

 

We pressed on towards the Melbourne Cricket Ground - the MCG- walking along the banks of the Yarra River that winds through the centre of Melbourne.

 

In the distance you can just see the MCG.

We were joined by more and more people as we got closer to the MCG and when we turned around we were amazed to see how many. 

Most were decked out in the colours of their teams

Look closely at the photo below.
Can you see the MCG on the left and on the right at the top the Rod Laver Tennis Centre where the Australian Open is played in January every year?(click for a larger picture)

Here it is as we get closer.
The outside courts are all blue with Centre Court inside the stadium with its closing roof at the top of the photo.

Finally, after quite a long walk we were there.

Then it began to rain again and the glamorous rainwear came out !

We quickly went inside to find our seats were NOT under cover but we had about an hour till the proceedings started so we had a meat pie under cover and waited for the rain to stop.

On went the yellow ponchos and we were ready!

 

The ground gradually began to fill up and soon the ANZAC part of the day began.

Veterans of WWII and Vietnam were driven round the ground and were received with cheers and clapping as they made their way past the crowd who rose to their feet in a unanimous show of respect.

They looked like they were enjoying themselves very much.

Next came the playing of the Last Post and a minute's silence as we all remembered the fallen soldiers.

86 000 people stood completely silent.

You could have heard a pin drop.

Then it was time for the game to start.

Usually each team runs through their own teambanner but on this special day they run onto the field together through the same ANZAC banner.

Let the game begin!

In the end our team ( Collingwood ) won by ONE point !

We had a great time

then we walked back along the same route back into the city.

By then it was about 6:00pm so we walked back to the airport shuttle depot, ate a nice pizza at the airport for tea before catching an 8:30 flight back to the Gold Coast.

Eventually, our car pulled into our garage at home at 1:30 AM !

Needless to say we are both a bit weary today.

 I think we're getting old !!!

Cheers.