Learning About Moving Water At The Cunderdin Museum No 3 Pumping Station

How do you move water 350 miles by pipe? Time to pump. From just east of Perth in Mundaring to the edges of the Outback in Kalgoorlie, there's a major water pipe. Along the way, a series of pump stations.

The station in Cunderdin is now a museum, filled with items related to the famous pipe and also a semi-random assortment of relics from its wheat belt region, past wars, old closets.

Pump. Steamy.

Early signs of development, a scout tent and tools.

Recreated schoolhouse.

Water pipe details. Pipes were constructed from half sections, threaded with a connector. When steel was in short supply, wood was used, reinforced with external wire.

Tools of the agriculture trade, way back when.

Going For The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme

One of the iconic, yet strange sites while driving out to Kalgoorlie from Perth is a large, endless water pipe. It's above ground, snakes back and forth from each side of the road, goes through fields, is ever present. Someone really was thirsty somewhere.

Turns out, it was the boom town of Kalgoorlie and surrounding areas. Gold was discovered, people flocked to the area and then toilets needed to be flushed. Long story short. Let's build a pipe. It was completed in 1903.

The pipe to everywhere.

It's a non-stop juggernaut. Impressive, still in use today. The system still includes some original pipe sections and original bases.

Paying homage in a diorama at a pump station that's now a museum.

Old water tower. The pipe, transitioning from field to forest.

Going and going....

Roaming Rural Australia, Part One

Time to road trip to Southwest Australia, wander the two lane bands of asphalt, see some old industry, nature, curiosities.

Grain elevator, distant train cars.

Westonia. Watching out for the local fauna.

Sarah at sunset.

Big Orange in Harvey. Classic roadside vernacular architecture. Local flora, in bloom.

The surf in Esperance.

Hopping In To Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park

There's a nice, reserved cemetery north of Perth called Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park. It's more of a park than a traditional graveyard, think less stone, more green.

People have left lots of plastic items, flowers, toys.

Wait, what?

Yup, kangaroos. Lots of them. Turns out, one of the best places to see these hoppers is Pinnaroo.  Who knew?

Some other fauna roams the park. More plastic.

Momma with the next generation.

Western Australian Botanic Garden In Perth

Perth has a great botanic garden, right in the center of the city. Inviting.

Beyond the central lawn and lake, plenty of flora to admire. The landscaping is subtle, no showy beds of flowers, just rambling sections of nicely mixed area plants.

If you don't like the local plants, there's a section of jumbo images of natural highlights of Australia.

Getting close, digging a bee doing its work and a look at an iconic Aussie flower, the kangaroo paw.

Beyond the botanic garden is a large park, complete with a wilderness section.

More looks at the flora.

Wall o' distant palms.

Awesome Australia

James and Sarah took a recent trip Down Under to see what's up. They started in the western city of Perth, headed out to Kalgoorlie, down to the beach town of Esperance, over to wine country in Margaret River. A road trip full of Aussie diversions.

Clean, calm Perth.

The view of the harbor in Albany, site of the Anzac convoy for WWI. Gnomes. Yes, gnomes.

Sarah in a field of rapeseed plants with the sun setting. And a rainbow.

Curiosities. Scary wax figures and super pits (apologies to David Bowie).

Silos as art projects.

More curiosities. Bridges and belters.

Yea, gotta watch out for those -roos.

Reveling In The Richness Of The Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum

Wanna see how the 1 percent lived in Melaka back at the turn of the 20th century? Head to the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum and tour the mansion, fantasize about playing mahjong with the Chinese titans of yesteryear.

The house is a combination of three shophouses, bought and renovated by a Chinese planter named Chan Cheng Siew. He moved his family there in 1896 and descendants still own the property, occasionally returning to it for reunions and to pay respects to deceased ancestors.

Impressive facade.

Inside, every room opulently decorated. On the right, re-creating marriage customs and costumes.

An open air courtyard that provides cooling breezes, a standard shophouse feature preserved.

Kitchen and tile work detail.

The bright upstairs.