Mighty Sites In Murtoa

Murtoa, Australia is a tiny town with a few big attractions.

By far, the biggest attraction of all is The Stick Shed. What? No doubt, it's big.

The shed was built in 1941 as a jumbo grain storage facility, to house the grain that wasn't being exported due to WWII. Gotta pile it somewhere.

The stick name comes from the 560 large poles that hold up the shed. On one end, light holes do a dance.

Another look at the impressive grid of sticks.

Maintenance sign, keeping those foundations firm. Elsewhere in Murtoa, an historic old brick water tower, now a museum.
Rails, still in use. Graffiti adds a nice, NYC 1970s touch.

Back On The Silo Art Trail In Australia

Remember those great silos scattered around Australia that have been turned into amazing murals? No matter where you are in the country, there are always more art silos to see. Time to hit the trail again.

First stop, St. James. The mural depicts local industry and a business titan.

It's Sir John Coles, who started the Coles grocery store chain, one of the two big grocers today in Australia. Horses and wagons built the town.

Next stop, Tungamah. The silos feature local birds, Brolgas and Kookaburras.

A colorful detail. Moving on, hello Rupanyup and hello young man.

The full mural, a depiction of the town's youth.

One more look in Rupanyup. The final stop, Fyansford. The silos are part of a cement-making complex, now closed. Sometimes art isn't accessible.

The view of Fyansford through a fence. The subjects are important people in the area's history.

A Corporate COVID Christmas

Sarah and James are back in the United States, having finished a three-year posting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It's been a....well, you know what kind of year it's been.

Currently, they're living in a corporate apartment in Arlington, Virginia. Why are they there? Sarah is getting training for the next posting. Scroll past the images for the big reveal.  

The apartment building is perfectly fine, if a bit generic. The management and tenants do their best to bring some holiday cheer to the blah environment.

Time for a great Silk Road adventure: Tashkent, Uzbekistan, summer 2021!

Ansett Airways

Reginald Ansett was the Ted Turner, Richard Branson of Australia, a swashbuckling entrepreneur who started a big business, molded in his own image. For Ansett, he started with a bus company in the 1930s, moving into air service. Ansett Airways lasted until 2002 when its parent company liquidated the operations.

There's now a museum in the original hangar in the town where Ansett started. It's a bit of a homemade, labor of love affair. Definitely a nice slice of Aussie entrepreneurship.

The hangar.

Inside, a bit like peeking into grandma's attic. Packed. Supposedly, 96% of the collection is in storage. Ouch. Plenty of uniforms on fashion runway ready mannequins are scattered around the hangar.

Cutout from one of their early planes. Impressive, made of wood, hand painted. Just don't sit in the bulkhead row.

Another model. They love the uniforms, all the way down to the shoes, which sometimes don't fit the poser.

A row of old seats in a sort-of airplane mock up. that's Reginald Ansett in the photograph above the seats.

The classic airline souvenir, the hand luggage with logo. Yet another model, slick.

The other classic souvenir, the model airplane.

Taking A Walk Around Cape Bridgewater

Near Portland on the Great Ocean Road is the lovely, sparsely visited Cape Bridgewater. You can hike along the edge of it, head around its horn, maybe see seals way down from the cliffs and be surprised by a certain marsupial along the trail.

Heading out, glorious.

A natural tunnel, lovely. Views of rugged coastline and Antarctic blue water, spectacular.

"Whaddya lookin' at?" Oh boy. James took a quick turn on the path and ran into this gang of kangaroos. They look much bigger in real life.

Someone left a little wood sculpture to the Aussie gods. Windmills in a desolate land.

The cape has a variety of features. How about a little petrified forest? Amazing.

Cape Otway Lightstation

A Great Ocean Road needs a great lighthouse and it can be found way down Cape Otway way. The light station is Australia's oldest one, built in 1848, and most significant. The views can be, er, killer.

The big boy.

Crow's nest with a stunning view. Inside the top of the lighthouse, cramped.

Did we mention the view? A decent surf out aways over a shoal.

Elsewhere on the property, other, non-lighthouse features. An old telegraph office and quarters.

Closer to the shore, a WWII era bunker. Seems zero thought went into disguising its purpose. Solid.

Pictures Of Portland, Australia

Portland is an old, industrial stop along the Great Ocean Road, a hardscrabble-looking town with some British roots.

Appropriate name, putting the port in Portland.

Old influences, architecture and all. College and church.

Naked house.

World War I monument and seafood store interior decoration.

Today's catch.