Thursday March 31st to Sunday April 3rd, 2011
So upon arrival back in Canberra, it appears that I did nothing, because I didn't take any pictures on Thursday. I think mostly I sorted my bag and filled out some paperwork. As we know, a couple days ago a Federal Election was called in Canada and although I am far away, I still feel it necessary for me to vote. It helped that I was in a city with a High Commission because they help with the paperwork.
Friday, April 1st, 2011
Friday I got up and had only business on my mind. I made my way over to the Canadian High Commission to pick up my passport and drop off my form so that I could vote by Special Ballot. From the High Commission they can actually fax the form for me which really sped up the process. Since I was still traveling I decided to have the ballot sent to a friend's house in Melbourne, hoping it would get there sometime when I did. Timing really worked out well.
Once all the business was taken care of, I headed off to see a couple more of Canberra's sights.
This is one part of the Captain James Cook Memorial that sits on the shores of Lake Burley Griffen. It was inaugurated on April 25th, 1970 by Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate the bicentenary of Captain Cooks first sighting of the east coast of Australia. The other part of the memorial is a water jet that shoots water straight up into the air at 260 km/hr (161 mph) to a maximum height of 147 metres (482 feet). It doesn't run all the time so I never got a picture of it because I was never around when it was on.
Dragon boat races on Lake Burley Griffen. Actually went on for a couple days. Some pretty serious paddlers there.
My walk around Lake Burley Griffen had a very specific purpose on this day as I was making my way to the Australian War Memorial. The Memorial sits at the end of Anzac Parade and looks towards the Lake. As you make your way up to the Memorial you pass a whole lot of other Memorials dedicated to the different branches of the Australian (and New Zealand) military was well as those who fought in individual conflicts. Here is a look at a few of them.
This is the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Memorial.
This is part of the memorial dedicated to Australian Service Nurses.
This is the Australian Army Memorial.
I loved the detail in this one. This is the Royal Australian Navy Memorial.
At the end Anzac Parade you will find the Australian War Memorial.
A look at the Australian War Memorial from the little court yard inside.
The Tomb of the Unknown Solider.
The Memorial is home to a small museum which I ended up not visiting due to my irritation with the staff. I had walked past 5 or 6 staff members and was part way into the museum when a 7th staff member came up to me to tell me I needed to leave my bag at the coat check. Now I have no problem removing my bag to visit museums. Many places make you do it to protect the exhibits. But I do have a big problem with places that don't tell you you need to cloak your bag before you are already in the museum.....especially when you walk by so many people who could tell you.
Anyway, my irritation took me back outside to the fresh air and the view.
From the steps of the Memorial looking down Anzac Parade. Look closely and you can make out Lake Burley Griffen, Old Parliament and then New Parliament with the giant flag pole above it. If The Honorable Julia Gillard (the current Prime Minister of Australia) was sitting at her desk right now.........she would be looking at me.
I also found this. In this picture you can see the HMAS Brisbane gun mount and bridge. Built in the USA in the 1960's, this Charles F. Adams class guided missile destroyer (DDG) was one of 3 that operated with the US 7th Fleet during the Vietnam War (The other 2 were the HMAS Hobart and Perth). The Brisbane was the only one to also serve in the First Gulf War. It was decommissioned in 2001 and in 2005 it was sunk off the Queensland coast and now serves as a dive site. Of course the bridge and gun mount were removed first and brought here.
The rest of the day was spent reading and relaxing and planning more travels.
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011
Saturday was another nice and relaxing day spent in Canberra. I spent most of the day close to my hotel, which happened to be on the ANU (Australia National University) campus. A very pretty campus with lots of parks and gardens and on a Saturday......not a lot of people.
I finally took a closer look at this. At first I wasn't sure what it was but on this day I could clearly see the shape. Can you see it? This is "Reclining Figure" by Olavi Lanu dated 1982. It has not been maintained very well and pieces of the fibreglass are starting to break off, but is one of many such sculptures that you will find on campus.
Later that afternoon I met up with a very distant relation who was recently found when Auntie Gladys was doing the family tree. Tara O'Brien has been living in Canberra for the last few years so we met up at the Botanical Garden for some tea. I totally forgot to get a picture of us but it was a nice afternoon.
Not normally on their own, we found this kangaroo in the gardens. Either he feels safe enough on his own or this is the one they let out of the cage during the day for tourists to take pictures of.
One of the walking paths in the gardens. I only spent a little bit of time there but in the Spring I imagine it is very beautiful and full of all kinds of flowers.
Sunday, April 3rd, 2011
Sunday I had very few other plans except to visit one final museum and then make my way to Melbourne. My bus didn't leave until almost midnight so I had a few hours to kill. So I slept in, got a late hotel check-out time had a leisurely brunch and then made my way over to the National Museum of Australia. It was a just a short walk from my hotel and free to enter and actually a really interesting place to visit.
The museum starts with a 12 minutes movie that takes you through the the history of the Australia. And from there it was off to look at the Australian Journeys Gallery. Here are a bunch of pictures from the gallery.
I found this vehicle a little funny but it would have been necessary to get around an un-infastructured (ok maybe it's not a word, but I'm using it here) Australia.
Never had turtle soup but I'm told it is very good.
A look at the full second floor gallery.
An example of the things you can find in the gallery. Shane Clements is a very famous cricket player from Western Australia. He died in 2001. This whole little display was dedicated to him. Not just sports stars though, there were little displays dedicated to Irish dance and ballet and football (Aussie rules) and garments made by a women whose fiancee never returned from World War I and so many others. In short the gallery explores the journeys of people to and from Australia and the social, political and economic impacts of those journeys.
My favourite part of the museum was a section that I could not take pictures in about The First Australians. This is an entire section dedicated to the history of Aboriginal people in Australia. There was a great show case of art and dancing (even a section where they teach you the moves so you can join in) and personal stories of tragedy and triumph. It was really enjoyable.
There was also a great section on the Stolen Generation. There has been a lot of controversy in Australia over the years in relation to the stolen generation. It was only in 2008 that the Federal Government of Australia publicly apologized to Indigebous Austrlians (and admitting that the Stolen Generation did in fact exist) but many people still dispute that the generation (often referred to as the Stolen Children) exist. Of course there is indisputable evidence that children were removed from their homes by federal and state governments from 1869 until sometime in the 1970's but the reason why they were removed is still disputed. Most government documents will say the removals were done due to neglect and child abuse in the aboriginal communities. Of course most people (especially those in the aboriginal community) felt they were removed because it was believed that the children would be better off if they were raised "white". During this time there were many strict laws and polices that attempted to manage and control aboriginals. They had to ask permission to marry, to work, to move around the country and to keep their own children. What resulted was the loss of language and culture and history and family that is still being felt throughout the aboriginal community today.
This was the one section of The First Australians exhibit that I could take a picture in. Just a look at the traditional ways aboriginals would have lived before European settlement.
A look outside the museum. It sits on a very beautiful piece of land.
This is the courtyard of the museum. It is representation of Central Australia. In a few steps you can travel a few 100 kilometres. It is a very quiet and peaceful place......that you can climb all over. It represents a fw different things including the journeys of explorers and settlers who surveyed the area but also the Aborigional Dreaming of the area.
Once I left the museum and got my bag, I made my way to downtown Canberra where I found a great restaurant to pass the rest of my time until my bus left. When asking what time the restaurant closed, I happened to be introduced to one of the managers, who was having a few drinks with some friends. So I was introduced to them. Eventually one by one they all had to leave but I was allowed to stay......even after the restaurant closed. I had all electronics plugged into the walls and I happened to get a few free drinks. Eventually, everyone had to go home......and it was just about time for me to catch my bus. It's always great when you meet nice people when you're not expecting to. The restaurant by the way was called Tosolini's. I can't say it was the best food I've ever had but certainly one of the nicest collective group of restaurant staff I have ever encountered. Certainly was an excellent final impression of Canberra.
The bus ride to Melbourne.....well it wasn't great. The bus was completely full and the French girl who sat next to me kept falling asleep on me (at least I was on the aisle so I could stretch the legs out a bit and I've been really lucky with the overnight bus trips I have taken so I was due to have an uncomfortable one). At the end of the bus trip was Melbourne so I guess I can't really complain.
Julie
