Sky High

Back in 1975 Australia's first martial arts film, 'The Man From Hong Kong', was released to Australian and International acclaim. In the opening sequence a young spunky (70's speak) Rosalind Spiers hang glides into the Royal Hong Kong Police Training School in pretty spectacular fashion, while the hip tune 'Skyhigh' performed by British Jigsaw (not to be confused with the Australian band Jigsaw, again a 70's thing) provided the soundtrack. Later on in the movie hang gliding sequences were filmed at Stanwell Park on the Australian South Coast and then also used in a spectacular finale for the film. 

So this was probably the first time that this sport was introduced to the Australian public via the mass media.

I was reminded of all this the other week, when having a spare few minutes at work, I drove up to Newcastle's spectacular Strzelecki Scenic Lookout to just take in the wonderful Newcastle coastal vista. While I was there, the guys from Air Sports - Newcastle were preparing  to perform a couple of tandem flights and so I grabbed my trusty go anywhere friend, the Sanyo S1275 camera to capture the fun, colour and excitement of a tandem hang glide. However, I must admit that I hadn't kept the batteries in the camera fully charged and a result I could only take a limited amount of shots on this occasion before the batteries expired. Not very professional at all on my behalf!  

My failing battery issue aside, these flights look spectacular as they leap from the sheer cliff face, over the azure blue ocean and soar up to 3.000ft, taking in what must be one of the most unique sightseeing adventure tours in New South Wales, if not in the whole of Australia. 

Now you may not want to hang glide into a Chinese Police compound and you may not even want to take on an evil Australian drug lord in the Sydney CBD, but if you want to get a different perspective of Newcastle then contact the crew at Air Sports - Newcastle http://www.air-sports.com.au/  and jump into adventure.


Also make sure you always take your camera on your travels and make sure the batteries are always fully charged!  

     

Living the steam dream

The first signs are quite evident in the cool autumn morning, it starts with the unmistakable sound of 'choof, choof, choof', then in the distance the first clouds of steam and smoke gather over the Main Northern Line, which can only mean one thing .... the Hunter Valley Steamfest is upon us once again.

Sooty

Although not generally known, the Hunter Valley region was virtually built on the ribbons of steel, which finally reached Maitland in 1880 (or West Maitland as it was known until 1949). This enabled local produce to be taken directly to the important Sydney markets without having to rely on the vagaries of river transport and the cost associated with the multiple handling of goods. For over 100 years steam trains were a familiar sight on the tracks around the Hunter Valley, with the last steam engine ceasing operations on the South Maitland Railway (SMR) in 1983, which makes the SMR the 2nd last railway to use steam haulage in Australia.

36 Class locomotive

The Hunter Valley Steamfest just isn't about trains, a significant focus is also on the various steam engines that played a huge part economic development of the area. The bigger traction engine were used extensively in the farming, forestry and road construction industries, but also there were multiple uses for smaller steam engines to power generators, water pumps, shearing rigs and almost anything else that required a stable power source.

So this year I decided that I would attend this wonderful Hunter Valley festival for the first time and so arming myself with Canon 400D, I headed off to Warabrook railway to catch the local train to Maitland. Now the Steamfest is unique in that steam trains operate continually throughout the weekend and so even as I waited for my local train, one of the historic steam trains passed through, the beautifully restored 1902 built C-32 class 'Hunter'  No. 3265 locomotive. The 3265 still holds a special place in the hearts of Hunter train buffs, as it is last of the 32 class locomotives still operational and still carries the Hunter nameplate.




Once at the rally grounds there were so many excellent examples of steam propulsion it is nearly impossible to know where to begin to describe the displays. However, what I'll do is give a very short overview of just some of the examples of a technology that once dominated the landscape of 20th century Australia.

McLaren No . 1170

The J & H. McLaren No.1170 - This Traction Engine or 'road locomotive' as they were commonly known), is a great example of the type of equipment that would have been found working around the Hunter region around the start of the 1900's. Typically they were single cylinder of around 7 - 8 horse power capacity and would have been in great demand around harvest and  shearing time.

Christina

Christina - Unlike the McLaren, this John Fowler & Sons model, plate No. 16770 appears to had a life in the road construction industry as a road roller. Although very similar to the J & H. McLaren Traction Engine models the road rollers had a wider front track and  smooth rear wheels for compacting the road surface. Both factories were located in the English town of Leeds and the two competing factories even shared a common boundary. At the height of their manufacturing heyday the John Fowler Steam Plough Works occupied a 15 acre site and employed over 2,500 workers.


Sooty - Another John Fowler & Sons road locomotive, built in Traction Engine configuration, plate designation No. 16605 . 

Aveling & Porter Type D

The Aveling & Porter Type D Road Roller - This is great example of the road rollers that were imported into Australia in their 1,000's during the 1920's as road construction became a priority as more and more vehicles began using the roads after World War One and demand was high for better construction techniques. A lot of these 8 ton, 6 horse power road rollers were imported by Noyce Brothers in Sydney and were sent throughout the state. The cost of one of these machines was apparently around £1321, or around $360,000 today! 

Hazel

Hazel - This is a very rare example of a Traction Engine built by Wm. Allchin of Northhampton in England. The Allchin plant was very small when compared to others of the period and they only produced around 220 machines by the time they stopped building in 1925. Out of the 220 machines produced today it is believed that there are only 20 left in existence and of these 17 are in England, with three believed to be in Australia ... Hazel being one of them.

Marshall Traction Engine

1905 6 horse power Marshall, Sons & Co Traction Engine - Marshall, Sons & Co, located in Gainsborough, England   was one of Englands largest agricultural machinery manufacturer and were one of the early adopters of the internal combustion engines for tractors, which ironically sounded the death knell for steam operated tractors.

1920's Super Sentinel

1920's Super Sentinel Steam Waggon -  At least 100 Sentinel Steam Waggons were imported into Australia between 1921 to 1927 from the Shrewsbury factory in England and there is believed to be only 15 examples of these unique vehicles still surviving today. These odd looking trucks found a niche in our early motoring history, being able to haul over 6 tons and had an achievable top speed of around 20kph from their two cylinder engines, making them more powerful than the horse drawn drays of the time. However, by the 1930's they had all but disappeared off our roads as the petrol engine began to be more readily available to the transport industry. The slow, cumbersome Sentinels were no match for the newer technology and 'choof, choofed' into automotive history.

Vernier Tractor

While it is nostalgic to look back on the age of steam as representative of a gentler era, it must be remembered that this form of propulsion was dirty, high maintenance and very inefficient. An example of this were the early steam wagons that used around 200 kilos of coke, 150 litres of water and had an operational time of around 3 hours which made them very energy inefficient. Also, the steam trains were filthy, smelly and had a bad habit of setting fire to the Australian bush from their embers.


So well it may have been a bit of fun to have a tactile engagement with the past, but I think the age of steam has past and is best left to the industrial romantics. 

A walk to Whibay Gamba

view to Nobbys Beach & Fort Scratchley

On the 10th May 1770 Captain James Cook whilst sailing up the east coast of Australia on his journey of discovery, sailed close enough to the coast to notice, what he described in his journal as, "A small clump of an island lying close to shore...". It was in fact Nobbys Head, the former island that marks the entrance to what we know today as Newcastle harbour and provides Newcastle with an iconic natural landmark.


Now the history of this little island goes way back further than James Cook and was also part of the local Aboriginal Dreamtime stories, with the island which they named Whibay Gamba. The local Aborigines, the Awabakal tribe, tell the story of how  a kangaroo was chased from the mainland by the Wallaby clan after disobeying their laws and under the cover of a heavy fog, swam to Whibay Gamba to hide under the rocky outcrop. The Wallaby clan believed that the mischievous kangaroo had drowned, however, he survived his ordeal and is still hiding there to this very day, hiding under the island. Apparently the kangaroo lets us know that he is still there by thumping his tail, which causes the occasional earthquake around the Hunter region. 


The island itself has changed since the time of Captain Cook with the island now being less than half of its original  height, now standing at 27.2 metres. Although there is now evidence from the Coal River Working Group that the island wasn't as tall as the officially accepted height of 62 metres and was more like 43 metres, which is about the height of the current signal station. What we do know is that changes began to take place as far back as 1818 when Governor Macquarie started work on a pier to link the island with the mainland with convicts using rock from the island to construct the breakwall. Then again in the early 1850's  the height was reduced  another 10 metres to assist navigation, as the island took the wind out of the sails of the sailing ships entering the harbour and then to aid the construction of the lighthouse (completed in 1858) another 2 metres were taken off the top of the island. 

the 1858 lighthouse 

Now due to the isolation of Nobbys and especially since the erection of the Signal Station and Lighthouse, public access to the site has been very limited, however a change in the use of the former island is allowing public to enter the site through a series of limited open days.


I was lucky enough to join many other Novocastrians on one of those days and walked up to the site that offers a different perspective on our wonderful city. The day was another perfect Newcastle day, fine, sunny and with a nor' easterly keeping the edge off the heat. Also taking advantage of the carnival atmosphere were the anti coal protest group Rising Tide, who decided to form a  mini blockade of the harbour in their canoes and other energy efficient water-craft to make their point known. Newcastle Ports, which knew of the protest, just rescheduled the port operations for that day and so no coal loading was hindered that day. While I don't agree with all the aims of Rising Tide, I do appreciate that they give the community a conscience, that there may be another way to live our modern lives and to me, that isn't a bad thing.


So next time Nobbys is open to the public, make sure you grab your best walking shoes, some water to keep hydrated and of course your camera to make the one of Newcastle's most unique photographic locations.


I just hope that the kangaroo who is still hidden beneath Nobbys doesn't get to upset with all the activity above his rock home and start thumping his tail!  

           

One Lovely Blog Award

Sometimes you get some good feedback on your blogsite, but more often of not it seems that most of the time you are writing these musing for no ones benefit but your own.

So imagine how surprised I was to find out that a complete stranger, Geniaus from the http://genimates.blogspot.com/ has nominated 'Thru My Lens' in the (now) prestigious One Lovely Blog Award.

The rules for accepting the award are;

* Accept the ward, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who granted the award and their blog link.  

* Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. 

* Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. 

Now unfortunately I don't subscribe to 15 blogs, so I'll be honest & only nominate the ones I do visit & enjoy. They are;

http://davidkusumoto.blogspot.com/ - Hows It Going To End, David Kusumoto

http://grapegoddess.blogspot.com/ - Sonoma Harvest, Lynda

http://thehandofhavoc.blogspot.com/ - The Hand Of Havoc, Nathan Pitt 

http://wheremountainsmeetthesea.blogspot.com/ - Where The Mountains Meet The Sea,

Doin' Lunch

When did lunch time become so complicated in our busy, fast paced modern lives?


These days lunch times seem to be a period when it has to filled with some kind activity, such as power walking, bike riding, checking emails, updating Facebook, surfing the net ... whew, the list just goes on. Even when do get around to 'doing' lunch, it seems we have to do it with someone else, where we can unload the burdens of our private lives and our frustrations of work upon some other hapless soul, while gorging on some overprice takeaway trash.


We seem to fill this midday void with anything rather than just getting some quiet contemplation and a chance to unwind, to restore our restless soul.


Over the past few weeks I have been lucky enough to be having my meal break in the Maitland area and once again I decided to take advantage of the wonderful Walka Water Works picnic grounds and a secluded spot at Melville Ford crossing on the Hunter River. This may sound strange, but thanks to shift work I actually have my lunch between 9 - 10am and so, without sounding selfish, it does mean that my lunch is usually taken when there aren't a lot of people around to disturb my bit of downtime during this magic time of the day.


During my lunch lately at Walka Water Works I have been visited by a very inquisitive Magpie who seems to taken quite a shine to my lunchtime meals, coming down to visit as soon as I pull up and then waits for me to give him a few nuts (is that healthy for birds? ... whatever), after that he then just takes off. This regular occurrence has taken place over the past few months and even though I don't visit that area every day (it was over a week between visits this time), or at the same time, my new found lunch mate flies down for his visit no matter what. Not only do I have my Magpie mate, there are also the cows lowing in the paddocks, a flock of quarrelsome Cockatoos and a large mob of Kangaroos that regularly graze in the area, making my lunch breaks something special.

Sure beats sitting in a sterile McDonalds fighting the cappuccino sipping pensioners for the last soggy Newcastle Herald!    

When it's a ton in the sun, working ain't much fun

"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; 

to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language"

It is quite apparent that Henry James, who is attributed to the above quote and one of the leading lights in19th century literary realism, never spent any of his summers in the Pokolbin vineyards during an Australian summer. I'm sure if he had, I bet he would not be so bloody fond of summer afternoons!

Once again I was tasked to work in what is generally a fairly good working outdoor environment, plenty of exercise, excellent photographic location and just a pleasant way to spend a working day. However, the first week of February this year saw the area gripped in an oxygen sapping heatwave with a high of around 47° Celcius (116.6° Fahrenheit) and low of 42°Celcius (107.6° Fahrenheit)   and just to add to the unpleasantness it was accompanied by a hot dry wind. Although the cab of the truck is air conditioned, the temperature in the cab remained at a blistering 37° Celcius and provided very little relief from the outside heat.

Everywhere you looked the landscape was listless, like it was conserving energy until a cooler change moved into the area to provide some relief, however that relief never came and by the end of the week the area surrounding vineyards was in heat distress, no rain came. Given the conditions, what I was trying to capture with the Sanyo S1275, were the fumes that are released by the native eucalypt trees and give the Australian bush that unique blue/purple haze. It is ironic that this beauty also provides the bush a highly flammable fuel during extreme bushfire conditions as the super heated fumes explode in the crown of the trees and is one of the reasons Australian bushfires are so destructive.

The hot, dry weather did provide the vignerons the opportunity to continue the fruit picking without being knee deep in glutinous red clay and remove the last of the grapes for harvest, hoping that it will make the 2011 Hunter vintage one of the best on record. 


While the weather was generally regarded as a boost for the harvest, the sweltering unrelenting heat must have effected tourist numbers, as visitors stayed closer to the coast to take advantage of the cooler weather and the perfect swimming conditions. And who could blame them! No such options for us tasked to work in those searing conditions, the fruit pickers still were out in the vines (albeit finished by midday), roadwork gangs were still out repairing roads, delivery drivers were still out on their rounds and of course there was Australia Post, picking up the wine, making sure it arrived secure and delivered on time, both for domestic and international consumption.


"It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the drivers and vehicles that stand along the road, each vehicle and driver at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat (even if its 47°) nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed."  apologies to Herodotus, Herodotus, trans. A.D. Godley, vol. 4, book 8, verse 98, pp. 96–97 (1924).

So when the temperature hits a ton, working in the sun ain't much fun ... believe me!              

Australia Day The Newcastle Way

Australia Day is so big in Newcastle these days is that they have to hold it over two days ... unfortunately we still only get one day off!

This Australia Day the Newcastle City Council decided to combine our national holiday with our annual Maritime Festival, which in some ways is a great idea, like having heaps more activities around the harbour, however it does rob us of another weekend festival on our wonderful harbour later during the year! 


So starting on Australia Day Eve, the harbour came alive as all types of water craft assembled on the harbour, from  the Police vessel 'Intrepid' right through to riders on stand up paddle boards to participate in the 'Harbour Lights Boat Parade'. Then at 9pm the sky erupted as a spectacular fireworks display from Dyke Point showered Newcastle with an awesome light display. One of the local cruise operators decided to offer a supper cruise for less than $100 to those who wanted to take advantage of the festivities but didn't want jostle with the crowds. I love harbour cruises, so I decided to spend the dollars and take part in a unique Australia Day experience on the harbour.


Australia Day itself was another picture perfect Newcastle Day and although some may contend that it was a bit on the warm side, long you kept hydrated, with plenty of sunscreen applied, there were plenty of activities to enjoy and participate in such as;


* Beach Volleyball,
* Ski Boat racing,
* Tugboat Ballet,
* Maritime Naval Salutes,
* Aerobatics,
* F/A-18 flyovers,
* Boat building competitions &
* various multi cultural stalls and displays that highlighted our unique Australian culture.


If you couldn't find something to please you in Newcastle on Australia Day, you are very hard to please.


Of course if you are planning to visit Newcastle for Australia Day next year, if possible utilise the wonderful public transport system, make sure you bring plenty of water, wear some very comfortable walking shoes and of course ... make sure you bring the most important item, your camera!      

Australia Day the Newcastle way is a unique way to celebrate everything that is great about our wonderful country ... see you next year!