A week of winter wanderings at work

One of the distinct advantages of being employed as an Australia Post driver is the continual changing of the work environment. This week, whilst not typical of what I do every week, had me travelling from the Hunter Valley wineries, into Newcastles' peak hour traffic flows, to late afternoons around Raymond Terrace and over to the wonderful sunsets around east Lake Macquarie.

Of course, on these wonderful adventures, tucked safely away, but always ready, was my take anywhere friend, the Sanyo S1275.


On Monday I was taken off my shift and asked to cover a heavy truck run up to the wineries. The day itself was a cold blustery day that made any task outside totally miserable and was a day only suited for sitting in the cabin of the truck, no inspiration there I'm afraid!


On Tuesday, once again I was sent up to the wineries, only this time the weather was perfect and a great day to practice a bit of photography, so my S1275 was put to good use. However, I was fairly busy and really didn't have a lot to time to spare, so I was confined to short period of photography during my lunch break.
  
On Wednesday I was finally on my normal run which takes around much of the local area and involves a lot of driving through the afternoon traffic, which isn't much fun. However, if you push really hard, you can sometimes grab a 15 minute break at Toronto on the east side of Lake Macquarie and use the time to relax. Unfortunately due to traffic delays it meant that I didn't have any time to stop and reflect on the beauty of the area.       

On Thursday I was back out to Toronto in the afternoon, only this time I managed to work in 15 minutes of camera time and so as soon as I could I had the camera out, marvelling at the beauty of a late winters afternoon on Lake Macquarie.


On Friday I was asked to cover a shift that incorporated the Raymond Terrace area and to me this was a real bonus. I had been wanting to photograph King Street in Raymond Terrace for some time, not only for it's time capsule streetscape and 1850's feel, but it was also used as a location for the current Australian movie "Tomorrow, When The War Began". So utilising my lunch break, I was able to wander around King St and the Hunter River, photographing one of the most wonderful film locations in the Hunter Valley.


So that was a week of my winter wanderings at work ... now I can't wait for Spring! 

The Lost Post Offices of Australia - Singleton (2330)

Singleton Post Office holds one of the most unique claims to fame in Australian postal history, it was the first country Post Office to have Private Letter Boxes installed. The new 40 box installations were supposed to be installed in time for the opening of the new Singleton Post Office, however, construction delays denied this event for nine months, and eventually they were ready for use on the 7th August 1879. These boxes were based on an American design, which had a copper alloy frame and doors to ensure security and according to the Maitland Mercury each of the boxes had an individual key and "that the little locks are marvels of ingenuity". So how much would you pay to have access to your mail 24/7, how about £1 per year (plus 5s key security)!


The delay in the Private Letter Boxes did not dampen the enthusiasm of the Patricks Plains community when their purpose built Post Office was finally completed at 25 -27 George St (the New England Hwy) Singleton and officially opened on the 16th November 1878.


I doubt whether Singleton had ever witnessed such a pompous and officious affair than this auspicious occasion and when the Postmaster, Mr Joseph Kelf, officially declared the Post Office open for the business at 12pm, the speeches commenced. The longest of course went to the local MP, Mr W.C. Browne MLA for Patricks's Plains, who was deputising for the Postmaster-General and during his sonorous speech declared -


"The people of the district of Patrick's Plains would appreciate the conveniences provided for them in this commodious building, which was an ornament to this important and rising town, and a credit to the architect who had designed it."


The architect was of course James Barnet, who designed this Post Office in his usual ' Victorian Italianate' two storey design, which featured beautiful arched colonnades and slate roof. The interior of this wonderful building was also enhanced with solid cedar tables, cedar cupboards, leather upholstered stamping table, ten hanging pendant lamps and various table lamps. The total cost for this wonderful building, including the land, was £3,670 ($3.2 million), which was an extraordinary amount for any similar designed Post Office of the period (e.g. Campbelltown PO was built for £2400).


Through the years there were various additions or alterations to the building as the community continued to  grow and prosper. Then, in 1924, for some inexplicable reason Walter Vernon was commissioned to design a new front verandah and he came up with the ugliest design ever imagined. Walter Vernon did not show any empathy at all for Barnet's original design and came up with a Federation style verandah and roof line, that totally destroyed the flow of Barnets Italianate architectural beauty.


The poor citizens of Singleton were burdened with this monstrosity for another 50 years, until on the 26th August 1974, after two years of construction and $191,200, the current Post Office was completed in John Street. This new building once again heralded a new lease of life for Australia Post as the ugly old George Street building had become cramped and being right on the highway, it was difficult for customers to access due to the increasing traffic flows. This was such an important event, the local paper, The Singleton Argus, even dedicated a 4 page spread to the official opening, which was quite an honour indeed.


Part of the newspaper supplement included the history of postal services in the Singleton area and highlighted the area's rich postal history. This history dates as far back as 1829 which was when the first Post Office was established at Darlington on Benjamin Singleton's property and located in The Plough & Horse Inn with Mr Alfred Glennie appointed Postmaster (Alfred Glennie also served as Clerk to the Patrick Plains Chamber of Magistrates at the same time).


The town of Singleton was proclaimed in 1835 and blocks of land were quickly snatched up for £13.13.5 ($19,500). With the increasing population came the pressure for better postal facilities and so on the 1st December 1841, the Darlington Post Office was then renamed Singleton, with  local Singleton shopkeeper, Mr G. Lloyd, appointed Postmaster. This was a trend that was continued until 1st September 1862 when the Singleton Post Office was at last to become an Official Post Office, although it still was still separate from the Telegraph Office (which had arrived in 1861).

The Post Office continued to move, much to the dismay of the locals and when the Telegraph and Post Office were finally combined in January 1870 the Post Office was moved from Campbell Street to John Street, which caused a flurry of Letters To The Editor, complaining of  "this thoughtless proceeding on the part of the Government - a proceeding on a par with the rest of the pettyfogging retrenchment transactions of the Robertson Administration". Mr John Nesbitt was then appointed the Postmaster, a position he held until Mr Joseph Kelf assumed the position after a fire nearly destroyed the Singleton Post Office on the 20th June 1876. Mr Kelf proved to be a very popular Postmaster with the local community and they were saddened when he left to take up a new position in Bourke in June 1901. Their gratitude was so great that they gave him a proper farewell (attended by 50 guests), a silver tray and hand drawn certificate to show their appreciation.


Today the former 1878 James Barnet/Walter Vernon designed George St Post Office is still standing, however, it wasn't renovated to its former glory and is now used as low cost accommodation with all the ambience that goes with a building located on a major highway. This heritage listed former icon of the Hunter Valley can never be restored to reflect it's former Barnet inspired beauty as the indignities inflicted by Walter Vernon make that a thing of the past and today his federation inspired alterations make it a sad sight to behold.

I'd like to thank the Singleton Council Library and The Newcastle Family History & Historical Society for all their assistance in compiling this blog.

Finding gold on the Gold Coast

Looking for gold on the Gold Coast is not a real hard task, especially if you use the Golden Hour Calculator. The calculator which is freely available online at http://www.golden-hour.com/ or as a downloadable iPhone application from iTunes, is a great resource in determining the best photographic times, especially sunrise and sunset from any worldwide location. The Golden Hour, or sometimes better known as the Magic Hour, is the first or last hour of daylight, where you can get out and take some wonderful photographs, as the light is arguably at its best.


Now whilst holidaying on the Gold Coast I thought I'd take advantage of the Golden Hour and see what gold I could find during the glorious sunrises and the wonderful sunsets that can be found in this part of Australia. So being based at North Burleigh, it gave me the opportunity to access some of the best coastal photographic locations on the Gold Coast, from beach, to cityscape, to ocean and to bushland settings, a true smorgasbord of backdrops to chose from..

So armed with both my camera's, the Sanyo S1275 and the Canon 400D I headed out to capture that glorious golden moment.

For the morning shoot I grabbed the Canon 400D and went up onto the rocky headland at North Burleigh to capture to the first rays of dawn creeping across the Surfers Paradise cityscape. This is a great place to photograph from because you have the advantage of sweeping views south to Coolangatta and north to along the crescent shape beaches north to Southport. Although not a classic spectacular sunrise, I was lucky enough to capture a morning with enough broken cloud to scatter the morning rays.

For the afternoon shots, I was lucky enough to be at Burleigh Heads and walking around the Burleigh Heads National Park armed with my go anywhere friend, the Sanyo S1275. Although the Sanyo has some restrictions, especially with the lens choice and zoom quality, it is still a handy bit of equipment. Afternoons on Burleigh Beach are special, there is always something happening on the beach, in the surf, or with people just making use of  the National Park and the walkways. I was lucky enough to be in the area just at the right time, with the late afternoon sun capturing the essence of a perfect day on the Gold Coast.

So if  you planning to holiday on Australia's premier holiday destination around Surfers Paradise, make sure you pack your camera, check out the Golden Hour website and you too will find gold on the Gold Coast.

Romancing The View

I was up in the Cessnock wineries the other week and so once again I armed myself with my 'go anywhere' camera, the Sanyo 1275s.


Because I have done quite a few photographic essays up in that beautiful region, including a pretty comprehensive look at the wine industry with my "Last of the Summer Wine" entry, I decided to use a Photoshop post production 'watercolour' effect and see if I could achieve a different take on this beautiful region. I have used this effect before, so I thought this would be a great way to get in some more practice and give the wineries a different perspective. If you are interested in using this effect it can be found for free at;


http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/watercolor-painting/

The above photo was taken from Robyn Drayton Wines carpark (Cnr of McDonalds and Pokolbin Mountain Roads, Pokolbin. Phone: 02 4998 7523) and looks back toward the Ivanhoe Wines Cellar Door. In this photo I deliberately went out to capture the advisory sign, the fence and the gum trees, which I thought would perfectly capture the rural scene.

The gum tree to the right was taken from Mt View Estate Winery (Mt View Road, Mt View. Phone: 02 4990 3307). I know this may sound a bit weird, but I have always found this tree intriguing and is representative of the Australian landscape. It has a wonderful look and texture to the bark, which stands out against the vivid colours of the vineyards behind. Unfortunately a lot of native vegetation was cleared by the early pioneers of the Pokolbin district and now due to the care on the current owners (& government legislation), we have more trees of this type in the vineyards. It gives the wineries a truly a wonderful iconic Australian vista.

This is a wonderful view back to Cessnock and Kurri Kurri from the Petersons Wine Cellar Door (552 Mount View Rd. Mount View. Phone: 02 4990 1704). I love this shot because of the clouds, which were threatening rain all day, but as often is the case in Australia, never delivered.

Ivanhoe Wines (Marrowbone Road, Pokolbin. Phone: 02 4998 7325) is such a special winery in the Hunter Valley, mainly due to its spectacular location, nestled on a hillside and surrounded by vineyards. I have never, in all my time up in the wineries, ever seen this winery in anything less than picture perfect condition. Is that a red Australia Post truck in the shot? 

Mt Pleasant Estate Wines (401 Marrowbone Road Pokolbin Phone: 02 4998 7505) is one of the oldest wineries in the Pokolbin area, with the first vines planted 1880. The Mt Pleasant Estate winery, at the foot of  the spectacular Brokenback Range, was established in 1921 and continues operations to this day


I'd like to thank all the wineries for providing the wonderful backdrop to the blog. If you are ever in the Hunter Valley wineries, make sure you pack your camera, marvel at the wonderful views and enjoy some of Australia's best wine. 

Lunch Breaks In Photoshop

Once again I was lucky enough to be able to get out and about during my lunch breaks and photograph some of the best scenery in NSW, much of it located around Lake Macquarie. Situated 150 kilometres north of Sydney, Lake Macquarie covers an area of 110 sq kilometres, which makes it the largest coastal lake in Australia. This also makes it the largest permanent saltwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere! 


Being such a large body of water there are also ample photographic opportunities for the amateur photographer to get out and capture some of the beauty of the lake.


The photo's showcased here were taken around Swansea, Belmont (on the eastern shoreline) and Bolton Point (on the western shoreline) and were taken using my new pocketsize friend, the Sanyo S1275 camera.

Although the natural beauty of the area is enough to hold the eye, for something a bit different I decided to play around in Photoshop to see if I could achieve something just that bit different. Using the programme  "Photoshop Tutorials - Watercolor Painting Effect" (which is a free programme and can be found at -

http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/watercolor-painting/page-2.php, I think I have achieved an interesting effect.

While some photographic purists frown on excessive use of Photoshop post editing and prefer the lens to capture the moment, sometimes it good to experiment, just to see where you can go using modern computing power as an artform.