If you are not pressured for time, or are not tied to the tried and true, or are not worried by a hour or two on a lonely, dirt road without take-aways or cafe latte then the Great North Road is for you.
There you can get in touch with the days of convict work-gangs and early settler-pioneers as you follow this alternative path to Sydney through pleasant contrasting scenery from the Hunter valley via Wollombi, Bucketty, St Albans, Wisemans Ferry, Dural and originally on to Ryde and Five Dock in inner Sydney.

Convicts build the road between 1826 and 1836 and their civil engineering can be seen at various points while a section of special interest is by-passed altogether with access given only to walkers and bicycles (according to the official brochures). It was the path that the early settlers took to reach the Hunter Valley.

Beginning at the village of Wollombi the route south takes in Laguna and Bucketty. (Several turn-offs go to other destinations including a sealed road to Central Mangrove which offers another route to Wisemans Ferry etc).


Above is Murrays Run culvert: The most elaborate of the culverts just beside the road between Wollombi and Bucketty and restored by the local community. Other sites of interest can be found along there.
Near the intersection at Bucketty is Mt McQuoid Bucketty precinct.
Above is a rock cutting with the road surface cut into the bedrock and below, a large culvert with winged walling are among the structures in the precinct which is beside the busy road.
The Great North Road continues, possibly as a dirt road to the South West as St Albans Road, while the other road, typically buzzing with motor bikes, goes to Central Mangrove.

Soon the St Albans Road Ramp is found and forms a section of the road, seen above. Two stone walls up to 4m high and 50m long support the roadway. Over 170 years of continuous use shows the lasting quality of the workmanship.

In this vicinity, somewhere near the Mt Manning intersection and sign, (still north of the Mogo Camp Ground) the Great North Road itself continues south and disappears into the bushland to emerge at Wisemans Ferry.

This special section of the road is extensive and has steep grades and many features of note that can be seen by hikers as it is closed to vehicles (although they have invaded the initial area).

Instead, any car tour will continue south-west on the dirt of the St Albans Road.
Below, the Mogo Camp Ground, off St Albans Road, south of the featured Road Ramp, has basic amenities, camping ground and shade trees.



Above, once-upon-a-time, an intrepid little Renault 4 had no trouble on the dirt. Only very heavy rain would make four wheel drive de rigueur.
Saint Albans Common has a unique feature. Other historical features can be sought out along the way.
From the hilly tree-country a descent is made by interesting narrow winding road to an unusal valley and a lakeside drive.
The small village of St Albans has an old working pub and a rustic beer garden under the trees. The Macdonald River is close by, the valley has narrowed and is crossed by a large wooden bridge which at that time was 'held together' by Bailey bridge sections. The river floods at times.

It seems that one can drive south either on the east or on the west side of the Macdonald River to roll on down to the Hawkesbury River, which is still some distance away, so, one can cross this bridge near the pub for the western side for a pleasant drive to the Hawkesbury which is a wide river and crossed by the additional, up-stream vehicular ferry (which is not far from the Wisemans ferry itself).

From the south, the 'closed' section of the Great North Road can be approached, on foot etc, near the area of the Wisemans Ferry crossing.











An informative, artistic booklet named Explore the Convict Trail Great North Road is from Tourism New South Wales and the RTA and has been used for data and it explains the whole story and refers to more historical features on the Sydney side.

All from the archives. Above, live improvised sound and outdoor cinema

Filming at the corner King and Watt, Newcastle.

Former Victoria Theatre, Newcastle
Filming at Nobbys Beach, Newcastle.
Former Regal Theatre - a 'one man band'

The 'nerve centre' of the Dungog Film Fest was 'getting traction' before the event and was 'spade ready'.
'Done Sundance, done Cannes, Dungog'!

Dungog Film Festival is specially for those who love Aussie films. Stone Bros, shown at the opening last night, was yet another classic and many others are shown over these three days. Simply the best!

In this very small, quiet, conservative country town, an hour or so north of Newcastle, last night's dinner was nicely up-market and 'song' from the outlandish Paul Capsis was just right.
Although, small is beautiful, the arrangments grow more complex so as to appease big city visitors. Mining interests are an assertive sponsor of the event.

Xhibitionalists

Seen in Sydney

Hours spent in driving instruction never go astray!

Art Gallery of NSW.

Kana-Cross.
cana.....cross....Sunday...

An avenue of trees leads to the small church of Saint James in Morpeth 1837.
Edward Close ( of Closebourne, see previous post) promised that if he survived the Spanish Peninsular War he would build a church as an act of thanksgiving. Rightly or wrongly.
(The pulpit is a replica of the thirteenth century lectern in Beaulieu Abbey where Tyrrell had served before his appointment to the Newcastle diocese.)
I noticed a shell motif in the church and the scallop shell of Saint James is associated with the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela which ends at the large ornate cathedral of Saint James (the antithesis of that at Morpeth) in which, I read, is the Botafumeiro - a hugh cencer that dispenses thick clouds of incense as it swings. (Maybe it rivals Faultcults Pendulum mentioned here recently). The Botafumeiro is operated by a pulley and manpower and takes 40 kg of charcoal and incense and swings almost to the roof of the transept reaching speeds of 60 km/h !

Morpeth and Spain, our mind has the power to make leaps and bounds but for how long? A new type of search engine - for want of a better word, Wolfram Alpha, aims to make all knowledge immediately accessible to everyone in a new cross-referenced form - as I understand. A wonderful advance but will it spoil all the fun of the chase?

Two Bunya Pine trees grow near this home built in Georgian style in Morpeth and believed to be called Closebourne built in 1829 (which is very early by our standards). In this unshelted position the trees have become caricatures of more robust specimens.
The Bunya Pine, Araucaria Bidwilli, is indigenous to a small area north of Brisbane, north-east of Dalby and around the green Bunya Mountains where tall stands can be seen and walked amongst.

The female fruit cones are very large (football sized) and very heavy and contain segments with 50 to 100 edible nuts. The Aborigines would gather in those mountains to feast on this rich source of food. The taste is ok and the fruit can be used to make flour.

The avenue of trees in the photo on the right leads from this house to an Anglican church. Early on, the property, Closebourne, had gone to the Bishop of Newcastle, William Tyrell, and the church has maintained a large presence there over the years. A Theological College and Conference Centre grew there in time. The town would not be the same without that cluster, the trees and the simple, open, green setting.

The tallest tree is a Bunya Pine. Out of town, large old colonial houses very often grew one of these in the garden. Was it making a statement? The trees can be seen from a distance across the paddocks. Another photo of the tree is on the right 'sidebar'.

Jets football and South Korea. Currently from the Art Gallery of NSW, the above is (a small section of the screen) The ten symbols of longevity (Shipjangseng-do) from 1800s.

Traditional motifs are drawn from the four kingdoms: celestial, earthly, animal and vegetable and such works are often mounted on screens (folding and several meters high). Long life, health happiness and peace were the ideals of the time. Korean Dreams Paintings & screens of the Joseon Dynasty. The Lee Ufan Collection in the Musee Guimet, Paris. Below is a nice little screen souvenir from a Korean museum.

Now to important matters. The Newcastle United Jets play Ulsan in South Korea tonight in the Asian Championships and a win or draw is vital. Local ABC radio is on location and all will be revealed on air.
News of the Jets and their achievments are part and parcel of the local scene rather than that of me as a female looking at males or, rather, at a group of footballer males, at others - maybe.

Betty Boop, animated cartoon character, by Max Fleischer, had her beginnings in the 1930s and is an unusual addition to the display in this shop window.

After a long time the words of a song, Dance me to the end of Love, were found on ABC radio.
Leonard Cohen, recently in Australia, wrote the song and has explained how its meaning goes beyond the wedding song I though it was and Wikipedia explains this. He has a touch of genius.
The song rings with timelessness and renewal and, for a young couple, makes for a very emotive interlude in a Wedding celebration (if it accords with their taste and even more so if the wedding day is in fact the beginning of the marriage, as it seems to be in some societies).

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin....
Dance me to the end of love....
Oh let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone....
Show me slowly what I only know the limits of
Dance me to the end of love....
Dance me to the children who are asking to be born
Dance me through the curtains...
Raise a tent of shelter now, thought every thread is torn
Dance me to the end of love..

Dance me to the end of love Leonard Cohen
www. azlyrics.com reveal more
Flowers for a local church wedding

Looking skywards from the lower level to the central dome in the QVB Sydney as well as to other features.

In the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, it is possible Umberto Eco could ponder on mystery and post-modernism in this escallating maze worthy of his book The Name of the Rose. And there is more trivia.
Another work by Eco is Foucault's Pendulum. An apparatus, with the same name, is used to demonstrate the rotation of the earth and one such apparatus was installed from the central dome in this same building. A bob or weight was allowed to swing suspended by wire from the top right down to the floor thru the galleries. (Leon Faucault first demonstrated this at the Pantheon in Paris according to Wikipedia.)

Which way is up? Ubiquitous but illusive Cafe.
Scones, Jam and Cream, are still, at times, known as a Devonshire Tea.
Butter and cream win the taste test but they are 'bad' fats yet other 'more healthy' spreads are full of additives. Butter, which is cream minus water, pure from the dairy, was the food of my ancestors. McDonalds Cafe even serve scones, jam and cream - now that's a worry.
Whether it is true or not, it has been said that all those oils (in spreads), except for olive oil, may cause Macular degeneration which results in severe partial blindness, rightly or wrongly, no matter what, a high fat diet, high cholesterol and hypertension are associated with that condition as well as all-round degeneration.
Moderation with an occasional treat is a start in the right direction....I suppose....one of these days....

There are nearly a quarter of a million Peace Poles in 180 countries. They serve as a constant reminder to work for peace.

more words.....
....Words of life, words of hope....
Ancient words ever true,
changing me and changing you;
We have come with open hearts,
O, let the ancient words impart.
Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world,
They resound with creator's own heart.
O, let the ancient words impart:
Ancient words ever true....

by Lynn Desha

Ella Kazoo is an outlandish lass with wonderful unruly hair and simply refuses to do anything with it. In this likeable story the words She and Her are repeated in the way that is found in children's books which have a clever agenda that stress certain words.
A little child who hasn't sorted out the words she and her would often say: Her is playing with her doll. Or so I've noticed.

A look at this story book shows how much we take for granted and how it is not easy to sort out all the words we use. The clues must be scarce for a child....eg

Ella Kazoo will not brush her locks
She stashes the brush in the draw with her socks
....She yells and she stomps and she gets in a tizz....
...her mother has called her a cunning wee fox....

However, a child doesn't need lessons and, I understand, they learn to speak automatically provided they are stimulated by hearing others speak. Chomsky has provided theories to explain the underlying magic. Reading and speech are not one and the same but these picture books must be good at enriching the learning experience.

One day when the child is old they may discover that she and he are subject pronouns while her and his are object or possessive prounouns or possessive determiners and some other points that can't be explained.

Ella Kazoo will not brush her hair. Lothian Books. Published by Hatchette Livre Australia P/L. 2006.

Princess!
A nylon dress with fine handworked stitching is unbelievable nowdays.

Woman in a Rodeo, in the horse capital, Scone, last Saturday.
Rodeo as in Row-day-o is what old folks used to say (instead of road-ee-o).

Animal carer.
Mothers Day 2009