Sunday, March 29, 2009

Working boats of Woy Woy

(Woy Woy and nearby anyways. The title looked way better without the nearby bit.)

Did not go walkies this week. Too much slaving over a hot keyboard and not enough exercise. I'll get fat. Anyways, here's some boats to look at. How'd yer be spending yer working week out on the water on one of these?

MV Rustbucket at Eulalia Wharf Davistown

Hard to tell with a boat this size if it's a commercial fishing boat or just belongs to a very keen amateur. Moored at Eulalia Wharf Davistown in 2007.


Working boat moored at Brick Wharf Road Woy Woy

This one is definitely a commercial fishing boat. Belinda K moored off Brick Wharf Road Woy Woy in 2007.


Empire Bay foreshore

Oyster farm boat moored at Empire Bay in 2006.


Barge and Pelican Island

Jetty building pontoons moored just off Woy Woy Wharf, along side Brisbane Water Drive. 2006.


MV Gladstone Gosford Wharf

MV Gladstone at Gosford Wharf in 2006. She appears to be a picker-up of flotsam and jetsam from Brisbane Water's traffic lanes.


Could not post yesterday. Bloody ISP had some sort of fit. Either that or the whole internets was down. Then I forgot it was Saturday. My brain is going soft. Thank fuck nothing else is. Fucking hours it's taken me to do this post today. Sunday brain. See yer next week.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Victory Parade

That's Victory Parade, a street on the water in Tascott, not the sort with marching bands. The one that's a street on the water in Tascott is less exciting but just as pleasant.

Victory Parade Point Clare

This lovely old house I've been trying to photograph for a year or more and every time I've had the chance to stop off there it's been pissing down or something. Got the bastard at last!

Architecturally speaking, it is a Federation Bungalow built circa 1890-c.1915. There's some lovely bungalows in Woy Woy and round Brisbane Water.


Victory Parade Point Clare

The house backs onto the water and has its own jetty and boatshed. There's a decent bit of garden as well and the house has a nice deep veranda for when it rains. Definitely on my list of favourite houses.


Victory Parade Point Clare

This photo is taken a few houses down. That hedge-y looking plant in the foreground is mangroves clipped low, thus maintaining the view whilst not getting expensive visits from the Council.

The street looks out across the water from Green Point (not the little one) on the eastern side of Brisbane Water, down past Yattalunga (just to the left of the tallest hill) and Saratoga (the tallest hill) to Pelican Island and Woy Woy at the south end, and even to Lion Island (locals & sharp-eyed readers will spot it behind the power boat) and then up the west side of the water to Koolewong and the main part of Tascott.

(Links go to posts on each suburb.)

Woy Woy is the white buildings on the right edge, behind the boat and in front of Lion Island, and those tall trees which are along Brick Wharf Road.


Victory Parade Tascott

That's Victory Parade marked in the red line up the left side of the big bit of water.

More maps

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Good luck for your life

Bloody guts are playing up something cruel. Couldn't possibly have anything to do with how wasted I got over Mardi Gras. Have spent most of the week stretched out on the sofa whimpering with a bucket handy.

Wanted to blog the march-through on Saturday by our boys and girls in bell-bottoms but tottered into Sydney too late. Did have an entertaining time though standing on a corner rating naval crumpet as it went into the pub.


50 million

Belmore Park demo March 2009
Peaceful demo in Belmore Park in Sydney on Saturday, English part says "Support 50 Million Who Have Quit the Chinese Communist Party"

50 million Chinese citizens have torn up their communist party membership, making it clear they do not support the current Chinese government.

This is a good thing.


Auschwitz in China
English part says "SuJaiTun: The Auschwitz in China"

It's also pretty risky, even when everyone else is doing it. The communist government is pretty fucking scary. People get disappeared or shipped off to "re-education" camps for some incredibly petty reasons. Under those circumstances, saying I don't want you to your government is brave.


Greens Senator in Belmore Park demo
A Greens senator supporting the demonstrators

To Chinese people, good luck for your life.

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Back

(Get to the pictures already!)

I'm officially back from my annual month off.

I was unofficially back on the 8th of Feb to blog the Victorian bushfires. And thank yer on Victoria's behalf to all those readers who clicked through to the donation sites from TIS.

A couple of days ago the tally for cash donations was $138 million. The donations in the first few days were mainly up around $100 a go, so a lot of that is from us 20 million Australians. But the rest of it came from outside Australia. Thank you, world.

Blood donation sign-up (for burns victims) or ring 13 14 95. Give money online to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal or at 1800 811 700.

If you missed the broadcast of the national day of mourning, go to ABC iView or YouTube.


Gosford walkies

Mann Street Gosford

A weekday morning in the heart of Bustling Downtown Gosford. Looking south along Mann Street from the footbridge that goes from the railway station to an arcade with a bookshop down the bottom and offices up the top.

The wee bit of grass you can see on the edge is the wee park outside the station and any sunny weekday will find half a dozen drunks there. The blokes in the green shirts are council workers not drunks.

The squat brown brick building at the end of the park is the tourist info thingo. You can get a nice map or three there.

That very tall pam looks like a Cabbage Tree Palm which is a local native plant.

Just before those matching tower blocks in the background is Jephson's Corner. (You can't actually see it here so don't strain yer eyes trying).

Also on Mann Street are the sturdy Hotel Gosford, the lovely Art Deco funeral parlour, the yummy little old sandstone church, and the pleasant war memorial across from the Blackett and overlooking the wharf.


Gosford & Woy Woy

Gosford is at the northern end of Brisbane Water.


Mann Street Gosford

Couple of old shops in the main street of Bustling Downtown Gosford. The one on the right is dated 1934.


Gosford Wharf Gosford

Gosford Wharf on a weekday morning. The ferry is the Lady Kendall II. It's the biggest ferry on the estuary. It does tours with a lunch thrown in. Popular with the tourists and a nice ride from what I hear.

The Lady Kendall II is not to be confused with the Lady Kendall, the wreck of which was raised at Koolewong in 2007.

That's Iguana Joe's on the left edge there, of Iguana-gate fame.


Footy* ferry

Ferries to Mariners games at Bluetongue.

Departs:

Empire Bay (on request) 6:15 pm

Davistown–Central Wharf 6:20 pm

Lintern St Wharf 6:30 pm

Saratoga– Veterans Hall 6:35 pm

Woy Woy (on request) 6:45 pm

Arrives Gosford Wharf app 7:15pm for a 8:00pm game.

Other ferries timetables

Lady Kendall II tours


Local linkage

Nice old local photos and stuff at the Mahony family history. Scroll to the bottom for more photo links.

Nicked the link off of Our Steve who got it off a bloke who read his local history piece in the local rag. (3 degrees of bloggfication.)


* Footy at the Ducktionary