Art work at Laratinga Wetlands
No Comments »16th August, 2015; Category: Adelaide, Adelaide Hills, Art Galleries, Mt Lofty Ranges, Parks and Gardens, South Australia
Art work at Laratinga Wetlands
On a recent visit to the Laratinga Wetlands in Mt Barker I was intrigued to see four very large pieces of art work on display in the picnic grounds. This was the first time I had seen these paintings. By large I estimate that they are about 3m x 1m in size. Both their size and subject matter make an immediate impact on the viewer.
The Laratinga Wetlands are a series of about a dozen ponds on the eastern edge of Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. They about a half hour drive from the Adelaide CBD and a similar distance from my home. The wetlands make up the purification plant for the local sewage works, the clean water being recycled for watering and irrigation in local parks and farms.
I can find no reference online to the history of these works. If any of my readers can shed a light on this art installation, please leave your information in the comments, or use the contact form and send me an email.
I would appreciate some help.
In fact, I would dearly love my readers to add comments to this post, and other posts on this site. There is a wealth of information scattered throughout this site and it can be access via the archives or the links on the side bar.
Art work at Laratinga Wetlands
Art work at Laratinga Wetlands
Art work at Laratinga Wetlands
E S and A Bank Terowie South Australia
E S and A Bank Terowie South Australia
On a recent visit to Terowie in the mid-north of South Australia I took several photos of the old E.S. & A. Bank in the main street. This old building was built in 1884 in the heyday of this important historic, rural town. The 1880s saw this town boom in size due mainly to the rapidly expanding agriculture in the region as well as the establishment of the railway lines serving this area.
The photo below shows the bank in 1909. The photo appears on the State Library of South Australia Terowie collection which shows many historic photos of the town (click here to view).
The building today is used as a Pioneer Gallery.
As an interesting aside I was not aware of the meaning of the letters in the name of the bank until I did some research. E.S. & A. Bank’s full title was the English Scottish and Australian Bank. There were many branches in Australia in earlier times. The first was opened in 1853 in Sydney. The bank merged with the Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) in 1970 to become the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.
Over the last week or so I have shared more articles and photos of Terowie. Look back through my posts to read them, or go to the archives link above.
ES & A Bank Terowie South Australia
Peterborough Town Hall, South Australia
Peterborough Town Hall
Over recent days I have been sharing some photos of various aspects of Peterborough in the mid-north of South Australia. We often go there to visit family. My wife grew up and went to school in the local school, and her sister and brother-in-law still live there.
One of the more prominent buildings in the main street is the Town Hall, featured in today’s photos. According to the date on the top of the façade it was completed in 1926, but the fact sheet put out by the council says 1927.
Marvel at one of the largest heritage listed Town Halls in country South Australia.
Commissioned by a very proud outgoing council in 1926, the Town Hall was
completed in 1927. The original five shop fronts are now converted into council
offices and the Mayoral chambers are situated up the ornate stair-cases. The
left hand foyer is known as the Federation Foyer and is where you can see and
hear about the magnificent Federation quilt, donated to the community from the
Peterborough Patchworkers. The right hand foyer is the Memorial Foyer where you
will find Keith Payne’s Victoria Cross display and the Citizen of the Year honour roll.
Please pop your head in to witness the grandeur of the beautiful building.
The town hall is used for many functions throughout the year. Every Easter we attempt to visit Peterborough for the annual Art and Cultural Festival, held around Easter time. Included in the festival is a huge art and photographic exhibition and competition. Every time I go I comment that I must enter some of my photos; the family is still waiting.
Peterborough Town Hall
Martindale Hall, Mintaro, South Australia
No Comments »29th June, 2015; Category: Art Galleries, Clare Valley, Historic places, Museums, South Australia
Martindale Hall, Mintaro, South Australia
On our recent visit to Clare in the mid-north of South Australia we stayed with our daughter. At her suggestion we travelled the short distance to the small historic township of Mintaro, just a few minutes south east of Clare. It actually took us quite a lot longer than the usual 15 minutes because we found ourselves caught up in the South Australian Road Cycling Championships. Because of the hilly terrain the safety cars would not allow us to overtake the cyclists. Despite that, we were only a few minutes late for our lunch booking at the wonderful Reilly’s Wines and Restaurant (highly recommended by the way).
After our delicious and very filling lunch we drove the short distance to Martindale Hall featured in today’s photos. This beautiful old mansion in one of our state’s most magnificent homesteads. Sadly it was too late to do a tour of the inside of the building as it was approaching closing time. This wonderful building gained some notoriety when many scenes of the movie Picnic at Hanging Rock were filmed here.
You can read more on the sign below, or you can access one of several websites featuring this historic spot, including this one.
Martindale Hall, Mintaro, South Australia
Martindale Hall, Mintaro, South Australia
Martindale Hall, Mintaro, South Australia
Martindale Hall, Mintaro, South Australia
Sheep sculptures in Clare
Sheep Sculptures in Clare
A few weeks ago we went to visit our daughter who teaches at Clare in the mid-north of South Australia. We used to live there when she was still in primary school and love visiting the well-known wine growing district whenever we can. During our stay we went for a drive around town, noting the many changes that have occurred since we lived there over 30 years ago.
A recent addition has been some sculptures of sheep, a sheep dog and a shepherd. These sculptures have been installed to honour the place of the wool and sheep industry in the Clare district. Although wine grapes have largely taken over as the main agricultural pursuit, sheep and wool remain very important to many of the farmers of the district. Cereal crops also play an important role, as does tourism and some light industry.
I think that these sculptures are brilliantly done and something like this should appear in many more of our rural districts here in South Australia.
Sculptures in Clare
Sheep Sculptures in Clare
Sheep Sculptures in Clare
Sculptures in Clare