A Winter's Tale

Well the last of the Australian winter spread its frosty breath across the Hunter as August gave way to September and winter drifted back into our memories for another year.

Actually there was nothing remarkable about the 2012 winter, it wasn't exceptionally cold, no unseasonable warmth, we didn't get any miserable August wind storms, neither were we slammed by continual East Coast Lows (although we did get hit by a couple of these nasty weather events)  and so winter in the Hunter just petered out to Spring. Overall, according to the Bureau of Meterology, Australia had an extremely average winter, with temperatures close to normal and rainfall just a bit below the average, like I said ... nothing remarkable. 

One thing I was able to this year is photograph more Rugby League. This was due to a change in the national competition where the local team, the Newcastle Knights, decided to enter a Reserve Grade side in the NSW Cup and so I was able to brush up my sports photography.

Personally, one of the saddest aspects of Winter 2012 is that due to a change to my work structure, I won't be spending as much time in the Hunter vineyards, so my ability to get out and photograph the continual changing scenery in and around the vineyards will be curtailed in the short term. I will still be able to visit the Polkolbin and Lovedale area, however my time will be limited to the weekends, not during the week, as I was able to do in the past. Although the disappointing, the changes at work does open up more opportunites to photograph some different aspects of the Hunter region that I may have missed out on in the past, so change may end up being a good thing!  

So as winter slipped away into Spring the changing seasons has already bought the warmer weather and so it won't be long till we are complaining about the heat, the drought and uncomfortable nights lulled to sleep by the 'swish-swish' of the ceiling fans.

 Maybe we will look back on winter 2012 with a fondness in January! 

The Perfect Stillness

"It was about eight minutes to six when the balloon quitted her moorings, and in twenty minutes she had become a mere speck, a homeopathic globule in the far distance, serenely and steadily sailing onwards, as though native to and rejoicing in the buoyant element." - Melbourne Argus 2nd February 1858 

The above newspaper report describes the first manned balloon flight in Australia which occurred in Melbourne the previous day, 1st February 1858. The new fangled flying machine was piloted by Mr Joseph Dean in a gas-powered balloon 'Australasian', imported and own by Mr George Coppin. The balloon which rose to a height of 3,000ft (915 metres) and lasted for about half an hour, landed safely on Heidelberg Road was watched by thousands of spectators crammed around Cremorne Gardens.

This was such an important event in Melbourne society that even a special medal was struck to commemorate this outstanding achievement.

Even though ballooning has now been occurring in Australia for over 150 years, when you come across these beautiful machines ,it can still be as awe inspiring to the casual observer as it was to the crowds that lined Cremorne Gardens to watch Aeronaut Joseph Dean make his first Australian flight. and secure his place in history. 

And so it was for me.

I was working in the Hunter Valley near Branxton the other morning when I noticed in the distance that a hot air balloon was operating over the Lovedale vineyards and while I thought it look spectacular rising above the early morning mist I never gave it much more thought. As I drove out of Greta, I noticed that the balloon was closer than I anticipated and as I continued to drive the balloon began to descend rather rapidly. I couldn't pass up such an opportunity, so I pulled safely off the highway and took out my go everywhere camera, the trusty Sanyo S1275. Luckily the position I selected to stop also coincided with the flight path of the fast descending aircraft and I as soon as I was able to get the camera out of the bag the balloon crossed directly overhead and landed safely in a nearby paddock..

Once again the little portable 'point & shoot' Sanyo digital camera proved its worth and I was able to capture the image of a hot air balloon in very close proximity. 

I have often thought about going up in a balloon, so my next task is to actually book a flight on one of the worlds most endearing aircraft and experience ballooning over some of Australia's most picturesque landscapes, the Hunter Valley. If you want to give ballooning a try, I'm sure locally based Balloon Safaris will be more than happy to scratch that itch, you can find more info at http://www.balloonsafaris.com.au/

I'd like to thank the online resources at National Library of Australia, Museum Victoria and Balloon Safaris for providing the unique photographic opportunity

       

16 In A Box

“I am not guilty of the crime with which I was charged, and I told the judge so, but he would not believe me. May the Lord have mercy on our souls. Goodbye all.” - were the last words muttered on this earth by Charles Hines before the hangman, Robert  'Nosey Bob' Howard, pulled the bolt securing the trapdoor at Maitland Gaol May 21st 1897 at 9.07am, making Charles Hines the last man hanged at Maitland Gaol.

I could think of no better place to visit on a cold blustery June weekend than a mid 19th century penal establishment, so armed with my compact Sanyo S1275 camera, rugged up against the biting winds, I ventured through the gates of Maitland Gaol, entering into a world of confinement, razor wire, barred windows and surveillance.


The Maitland Gaol, which is actually situated in East Maitland (at the time the old Government/Administrative part of the Maitland district), along with Court House, sits along the grand axis of the Sir Thomas Mitchell town plan which was drawn up in 1829. The foundation stone was laid in 1844 and the reception of the first prisoners occurred in December 1848 (although some records indicate that this didn't happen until 1st January 1849). The first stage of the prison was designed by the NSW Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis, which makes Maitland Gaol the only remaining "Inspector's Gaols" and it is also the oldest substantially intact prison in NSW


The prison was constructed using local sandstone from quarries at Morpeth and Farley, with Messrs. Brodie & Craig awarded the contract (Maitland Mercury 11/3/1846). The cost of the first stage of construction is hard to ascertain, however it would seem that the initial contract cost £2,500 and was awarded  in 1846 (Maitland Mercury 2/9/1846), down from an initial estimated cost of construction of £6,327 (Sydney Gazette 19/6/1841) .      


The second stage of construction (1861 - 1887), which included the 3 storey 'B' Block and the  East Wing or 'C' Block (commenced in 1883) was designed by James Barnet, who was also responsible for the design of a lot of the regions Post Offices, including East Maitland, West Maitland (Maitland), Lambton and Singleton. 


In 1896 the prison also became listed as one of the Colony's principle prison for women inmates and they were housed in 'C' Block. 


It is a truly terrifying image as you wander around the site and note the harsh conditions that greeted all the inmates that were transported through the massive main gates. 


In 1972 the gaol was upgraded (electricty was added to 'B' Block around this time!) and from 1977 it became a Maximum Security institution, which eventually housed some of NSW's most notorious criminals including Darcy Dugan, Ray Denning, Ivan Milat, Neddy Smith, the Anita Cobby and Janine Balding murderers. 


The most chilling section, besides the Gallows (located at the front gate), is the clinical high security 5 Wing, which  was opened in 1993 to house the states worst prisoners and would have to be the most soul destroying part of the tour, with its segregation, the use of stainless steel and minimal human contact makes it  truly awful experience for casual observers And we were only there for 10mins, not 10 years! 5 Wing had all the charm of a dog pound and the ambiance of a morgue and although the other cell blocks were constructed in the 19th century, I would prefer to spend time in the notorious 'B' Block than be confined to the odious 5 Wing.           


The Maitland Gaol continued as a fully functioning prison up until its closure in 1998, then after 150 years of service it ceased its function as a prison as the cost of maintaining and securing a 19th century prison close to a heavily populated area was becoming prohibitive, so without fanfare the prisoners were transferred to other prisons in the system. The prison was then handed over to the community, which besides providing tourists a real insight into the history NSW's penal system, the prison also caters for a variety of events from Laser Skirmish to theatre groups and  ghost tours. 


If you do intend to visit Maitland Gaol, try and do the tour with a guide (self guided tours are available) for it is the stories that add real depth to the tour. Our guide was Peter Fraser, an ex-inmate, who was quite authentic in his descriptions of the day to day existence of prisoners at Maitland Gaol during latter part of the prisons life and his recollections of those days were enough to convince me that prison is not the place for me!


As for the '16 In A Box'  title for this post, well 16 prisoners were hanged in the prison and their mortal remains left in a box ... however it would seem that some of the departed souls decided to 'hang' around a bit longer!         
           

I'd like to thank the staff at Maitland Gaol, the online resources of the National Library of Australia & the NSW Office of Heritage and Environment for their assistance in my research for this blog. 

The Low Blow

When storms are approaching, most sensible people take cover, however, some less stable individuals grab their camera's and head out into the maelstrom.

Living in Newcastle we are fairly lucky with the weather,  we have a fairly temperate climate with hot summers and mild winters, all in all it is a pretty nice place to live, no cyclones, no hurricanes, no tornadoes, no ice storms, we don't even get snow!


This isn't to say that Newcastle isn't totally immune from extreme weather events and recently  we had our brush with our most unpredictable climatic visitor ... the East Coast Low (ECL). Now ECL's seem to feature on the Australian east coast around the start winter when warmer waters in the Tasman Sea (prior to this years event the sea surface temperature was around 21°) form eddy's off the coast and mix with a cold front moving through southern Australia. Although an ECL can form any time of the year, in my opinion, they seem to occur between April and late June.(more info on ECL's  can be found at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology )  

Our latest ECL occurred on the 5 - 6 June, when a low deepened off Victoria and then moved up Australian east coast bringing with it 7 mtr swell, wind speeds of 94 kp/h and 20 mm of rain. In terms of severity this storm was only a minor weather event and quickly blew itself out over two days. Which kind of makes  this latest ECL a baby when compared to the 2007 'Pasha' Storm, where Newcastle had a 14 mtr swell, wind speeds of 124 kp/h, over 200 mm of rain and caused the grounding of the 76,000 tonne bulk carrier the Pasha Bulker, or the 1974 'Sygna' Storm which had wind speeds of 165kp/h recorded at Nobbys Head! 


Since I was holidays, I like a lot of other hardy fools, braved the howling wind and driving rain to head down to Newcastle to capture what was unfolding along the coastline.


Although the conditions were nowhere near the intensity of the '07 'Pasha' storm, the conditions were spectacular, especially around the southern breakwall to Newcastle Harbour, where waves continually pounded over the walkway, quite a sight. Another rare event that was occurring  were surfers were taking advantage of perfect sets that were entering the harbour on the lee side of the breakwall and were making the most of this unique opportunity! Unfortunately  even getting as close as you could to the pounding surf the camera could not capture the awesome beauty of 7 metre white crested waves that were being continually pushed up the coastline by the intense low pressure system.


So next time you are on the Australian east coast and you hear about an East Coast Low forming in the Tasman Sea, grab the camera, clear the memory card, charge the batteries, prepare the wet weather gear and head out Although you will be cold and wet, to get this close to nature at its unpredictable fury, is truly an unforgettable event.  

      
A word of warning though, if you are silly enough to venture out in these conditions be very mindful of the extremely hazardous conditions that you are exposed to, especially near the coast       

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! 

When heavenly shades of night are falling

Ok, I know the title of this post is a clichéd rip off of that famous Platters song "Twilight Time", but it is the best way to describe the view of sunset on Lake Macquarie yesterday.

One of the best things about my job is that I'm always presented with different photographic opportunities every day. Not only are the locations and seasons varied, but also are the times of day that I'm out and about, including that most sort after photographic time, the 'Golden Hour' (the hour before and after sunrise/sunset).


This week I happened to be around the western shores of beautiful Lake Macquarie, from around 4pm - 5pm, so remembering some of the stunning sunsets from previous years, I made sure that my Sanyo S1275 was packed and fully charged to take advantage of any photographic opportunity that may present itself. Because time wasn't on my side (I was actually working), as I drove around on Monday and Tuesday I made mental notes on what locations would be suitable to quickly capture this wonderful painted landscape. My reconnaissance was done with almost military precision and execution, I call it guerrilla style photography, because as with a military style operation, you only have a few seconds to capture the shot. So you .. plan, stop, shoot and then evacuate.

Another factor in my favour this week is that it is winter and so that means that the air is very still, clean and crisp. In July/August the winds in Newcastle come predominately from the WSW, which pushes the moisture laden humid air out to sea, leaving the atmosphere almost pristine and allowing the even light to enhance the vivid sunsets without distortions of  humidity, which can be the curse of summer coastal photography.


So if you are ever on the western side of Lake Macquarie in winter, make sure you take your camera, upload into your iPod, 'Twilight Time - The Platters' and marvel at the stunning vista that is presented as the day slowly fades into night ... 

♫♫ Heavenly shades of night are falling

It's twilight time

Out of the mist your voice is calling

It's twilight time

When purple colored curtains

Mark the end of the day

I hear you my dear at twilight time ♪

♫♫ Deepening shadows gather splendor

As day is done

Fingers of night will soon surrender

The setting sun

I count the moments darling

Till you're here with me

Together at last at twilight time ♪