On our way back to Perth from Kalgoorlie we made a quick stop at Westonia. Just a tiny town off the main highway with a population of under 300. This was a cute little place and I loved the way the people have made the most of the history there.
Established in 1911 by Alfred Weston after the discovery of gold was found in the area. By 1917 there was a population of 2,000. Westonia has won Tidy Towns twice in the last twenty years.
There is a caravan park, a good place for an overnight stay for the “Grey Nomads” travelling around Australia in their camper vans and caravans. Also there is a small gift shop/cafe and Post Office/Supermarket/Cafe.
A very well kept street, so neat and tidy
Where the old Fire and Ambulance Stations once stood
Front door to the Gift Shop
We hoped to have lunch here but unfortunately they were just closing, but the Post Mistress was there delivering their mail and she very kindly offered to make us some rolls at the Post Office. Country town hospitality at its best.
Individual images of the artwork at the entrance to Westonia
I’ve used this post to link up with Cee’s Photographing Public Art as I thought it fell quite well under this category!
We decided to do a three day trip just recently to visit some country towns in Western Australia. These towns were once thriving communities, established at the beginning of the twentieth century by early white settlers. Nowadays these towns rely on the historical landmarks to attract visitors.
Our first stop was to see the silo art which is located just outside of Northam. These incredible paintings were done by artists Phlegm and Hence. Try as I might I cannot find much about Phlegm, only that their paintings are all over the world. Hense is Alex Brewer, an American artist, originating in Atlanta, Georgia.
It is wonderful to see these grey drab buildings being brought to life and there are now many dotted around Australia.
After this we had a quick stop in Toodyay, with a population of approximately 1,500. Before European settlers came to these towns they were populated by the Noongar people.
Toodyay
Population – 1,500. Established in 1836.
Built in 1864 and last renovated in 2018
The Freemasons Hotel Built in 1860 and renovated in 1994
Built in 1910
Built in 1897 and renovated in 1970
Katrine
Next on out trail was a stop at Katrine, a tiny village just outside of Northam where I spotted a church.
St. Saviours ChurchKatrine
Northam
We finally got to Northam around 4.30 pm and checked into the Farmers Home Hotel. This is a 150 year old newly renovated building which has 16 rooms. It is a magnificent building, the only downside being no decent restaurant. The Dome coffee house is situated in the building and offers guests a dinner menu. I can’t say we were impressed with the menu. However we did have a fabulous room and in the distance you could see the Avon River. We managed a quick walk along the banks of the river before heading back to the bar.
Farmers Home HotelOur roomOur view on a very bleak day!
Inside the hotel
River Avon
Typical house
Sculptures made of old agricultural machinery parts
By Amok Island
Northam Flour Mill
With reflection
The next day we checked out and began the long drive to Kalgoorlie, this would take around 6 hours including stops. My dear hubby loves a good long drive so this was perfect for him.
I will be featuring more historical towns in my next post. I hope you can make the journey with me!
It was over a year since our last visit to Melbourne, longer for hubby, and it was the second planned trip this year! Anyway we finally took the risk of no lockdowns during our six day trip (although that has come back to bite us on the backside!) This visit was to catch up with Laurence and Maddy, a weekend on Philip Island and a short trip to Sydney.
We decided to stay near them so as to maximise our time together and chose The Hamptons on Chapel Street.
Arriving late on a Tuesday afternoon, we checked into a very nice one bedroom apartment and met with Laurence and Maddy for dinner just around the corner.
TulumTurkish Restaurant, Balaclava
This is one of my favourite restaurants in Melbourne, it has some very tasty tapas on the menu.
A delicious start to our stay in Melbourne
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Over the next couple of days we spent time walking the streets and soaking up the sights.
The street art around Melbourne is always so different and vibrant. I took photos of some fabulous murals on our walk around the city.
The above two murals are by Mike Maka from Melbourne (Australia) a painter who works in a variety of media, mainly on walls, canvas and illustration on paper. He has travelled and created work around the world, painting the Berlin Wall to the River Ganges. Source: Street-Artwork
The mural on the right was actually blocked off and I had to step on a small wall and balance on hubby’s back while lowering the net to snap it!
Painted by Heesco – a Mongolian Artist based in Melbourne
This brightly coloured mural was just outside our apartment block, such beautiful colours.
Painted by Heesco
Heesco – a Mongolian born artist based in Melbourne. Have a look at his website, he is by far the best artist I have seen. His silo murals are extraordinary.
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Chez Bob, Armadale
One night we had dinner in a cute French restaurant out in one of the suburbs east of Melbourne. A fabulous evening with great food and service. We ate snails, scallops, pate, beef tartare, rabbit pie, duck and beef. A gourmet feast.
G2 Korean BBQ, CBD
Maddy chose G2, one of her favourite restaurants in Melbourne for our last night here. This is a very authentic restaurant with a burner of coals on the table. The staff that night were truly run off their feet as they like to cook for you. Although we did pretty well on our own.
I ordered a delicious rice wine mango cocktail, although did not mean for a jug only a glass!
As always it was a lovely few days catching up with Laurence and Maddy. But we still had the weekend ahead on Philip Island.
On Saturday while out for a walk around Lake Claremont I came across a beautiful new mural from Friends of Lake Claremont. I thought it was absolutely stunning with so much detail. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
I love the way the tree keeps growing onto the roof. It blends in so well with the natural scenery.
Posted for Monday Mural hosted by Sami at ColourfulWorld.
Some wonderful murals from the Town of Sheffield, Tasmania. The mural capital of Australia.
Any Vacancies – Julian Bale
Spirited Horses – John Landis
In 1919 a severe electrical storm struck while men were working on the Cradle Mountain road. A bolt of lightning hit a nearby tree causing the horses to take fright and throw their riders, breaking the back of Ross Connell who died six weeks later in hospital.
The mural shows the mountains in the park, as well as the often extreme weather conditions. Source: Sheffield Visitor Information.
I was very excited to see this town, a whole place dedicated to murals. I find murals very intriguing as there is so much to see in them. Like an outside art gallery. It is the mural capital of Australia and it is modelled on a similar place in Canada.
As we were still driving towards our last destination of the day, Stanley, and it was getting late, we only had time for a very brief stop. I did managed to take quite a few though.
I tried to find out more about these murals, some have descriptions but some only have the artist’s name.
The titles mentioned are ones I have made up myself!
The featured image is of Cradle Mountain by John Landis
Friends and Strangers
Artist: Kerry Nicholson
Sports around the world
Artist: Kerry Nicholson
A day away from the city
Kerry and Malcolm Nicholson
The above murals were at the beginning of the road before entering the town itself, they didn’t seem to have much information on them.
There is so much colour and details in these murals, I think the above is my favourite, an afternoon quilting by the river.
There is a message in this one, I can only guess by the image of the old man on the left and what was inflicted on the indigenous people with the arrival of the explorers and convicts from England.
The end of the road
I did take more but am saving them for Monday Mural
Perth is certainly keeping up with Melbourne regarding street art, I snapped a few the other day while in town. I looked up some quotes to go with these images.
“As you climb your ladder of success, reach down and pull others along with you” – Frank Sonnenburg
“I have weathered the storm, I have beaten out my exile.” – Ezra Pound
Feathers appear when angels are near
“You don’t needs words to tell stories, just look into my eyes” – Madhusmita Behera
