In the early-mid fifties we arrived at Station Pier in Port Melbourne after five weeks at sea, to start a new life in "down-under".
It was the heyday of migration and many of the newcomers were large Dutch families. They left behind the ravages of war, but also a country that slowly got on its feet again and with better times looming ahead. People left their homelands for many different reasons, one of them was the threat of communism from behind the iron-curtain. We left for economic and climatic motives, as well to be reunited with family who had gone before us. The decision to migrate was simplified by the generous assisted passage scheme, a 10-pounds one-way ticket. Well we found our feet and in this gallery you'll be able to catch a glimpse of the past fifty years. A lot of the images are of average or low quality, but we had other things on our mind than nifty camera work.
Irene bought an (192 pages) exercise book at the local newsagency, when she started her new school year in grade 2. It's dog-eared and a little worse for wear, but it's filled with great memories of a happy time at school and home. I devoted this gallery to her snippets of wisdom, funny sayings, together with some more images of her doings.
The Springvale Cemetery hopes its history and gardens will attract more than the bereaved.
According to Denise Gadd in The Age of February 15,2012 THE first legal cremation in Victoria was a rudimentary affair. It was held at Springvale Botanical Cemetery in 1905 when the body of Edward Davies, a retired customs officer, was laid on a pile of wood, doused with kerosene and then set alight. The service was presided over by a Church of England priest.
A rock in the cemetery (called the Necropolis, meaning ''the city of the dead'', until 2006) marks the site of his cremation, which was made possible in 1903 after the state government of the day passed the Cremation Act.
Davies' remains were interred near the grave of seven-month-old Clarence Reardon, who died of whooping cough and whose burial was the first at Springvale on March 20, 1902, a year after the cemetery was laid out in the shape of the Union Jack in a show of patriotism for Federation and the death that year of Queen Victoria.
Springvale was the only Victorian cemetery to have a dedicated railway line and station that was used to transport coffins, passengers and staff from Melbourne to the cemetery. Mortuary and visitors' trains were a regular sight from 1904 but the line was closed in 1951. A rock with a commemorative plaque marks the site.
I spent most of my life pushing a pen under fluorescent lights, inhaling stale office air and listen to the clatter of typewriters and ringing of phones.
My last seventeen years of working life were exchanged for a spade and lawnmower, the scent of roses, the sight and sounds of birds and ever changing skies at this local cemetery.
Have been back many times to visit my mother, step-father, family and friends, but this time I took my camera to show a glimpse of the beauty of our local cemetery.
In case you will recognize a grave and don't want to see it published,
just leave a message in my guest book and I will delete the picture.
My mother's ancestors came from the east of The Netherlands, an area called Twente, close to the German border. They were farmers, shopkeepers and tradesmen and came from the surroundings of Haaksbergen, a small village close to the city of Enschede. The Leferink's were 'honkvast' stayed at home, contrary to the wandering Bosmans clan.
I'm very grateful to my relatives and in particular the late Wim Wissink, for the enormous support and findings I was able to collect for my family tree.
Graffiti (singular: graffito, slang: graf) hasexisted since prehistoric man scribbled on his cave walls, proclaiming to the world, "I exist" (Wechsler v). Indeed, "Graffiti represent man's desire to communicate" (Wechsler vi). Until recently, graffiti have consisted of political, sexual, social, and other commentary, usually presented in the form of written words. Since the late-1960s, graffiti, especially in urban areas, have taken on an entirely different form.
Although graffiti may be illegal, beauty is nevertheless still in the eye of he beholder. Many people enjoy the colorful artwork, and think of it as positive:
"The graffiti 'artist' whose work brightens a drab area and adds colour to the mind-dulling blandness of the inner city, whose designs enliven the sterile concrete jungles, is considered by some to be upgrading his environment: . . . the graffiti 'artist,' so the argument goes,is a public benefactor" (Abel 139).
Have you ever been inspired by the flush of wildflowers across the red heart of Australia? Have you ever dreamed of rain on a dry riverbed; heard water flowing next to sandstone escarpments; or watched the light shimmering through gum leaves?
It was my first visit to this magnificent place in Cranbourne and was captivated by the sight.
The new Australian Garden, is a place where you can discover the beauty and diversity of Australian flora and landscapes.
Hope that my modest effort with my Fuji F31 and Panny FZ30, has somehow revealed the beauty I found in those few hours of exploring.
Thirteen months later, another Spring and I'm back to immerse myself again in the Australian flora and landscape, this time with my Nikon D40 and D5100
How does rust work?
Rust is the common name for a very common compound, iron oxide. Iron oxide, the chemical Fe2O3,is common because iron combines very readily with oxygen -- so readily,in fact, that pure iron is only rarely found in nature. Iron (or steel)rusting is an example of corrosion -- an electrochemicalprocess involving an anode (a piece of metal that readily gives upelectrons), an electrolyte (a liquid that helps electrons move) and acathode (a piece of metal that readily accepts electrons). When a pieceof metal corrodes, the electrolyte helps provide oxygen to the anode.As oxygen combines with the metal, electrons are liberated. When theyflow through the electrolyte to the cathode, the metal of the anodedisappears, swept away by the electrical flow or converted into metalcations in a form such as rust.For iron to become iron oxide, three things are required: iron,water and oxygen. Here's what happens when the three get together:
When a drop of water hits an iron object, two things begin to happenalmost immediately. First, the water, a good electrolyte, combines withcarbon dioxide in the air to form a weak carbonic acid, an even betterelectrolyte. As the acid is formed and the iron dissolved, some of thewater will begin to break down into its component pieces -- hydrogenand oxygen. The free oxygen and dissolved iron bond into iron oxide, inthe process freeing electrons. The electrons liberated from the anodeportion of the iron flow to the cathode, which may be a piece of ametal less electrically reactive than iron, or another point on thepiece of iron itself.
The chemical compounds found in liquids like acid rain, seawater andthe salt-loaded spray from snow-belt roads make them betterelectrolytes than pure water, allowing their presence to speed theprocess of rusting on iron and other forms of corrosion on other metals.
Cacti, cultivated by people worldwide, are a familiar sight as potted plants, houseplants or in ornamental gardens in warmer climates. They often form part of xeriphytic (dry) gardens in arid regions, or raised rockeries. Some countries, such as Australia, have water restrictions in many cities, so drought-resistant plants are increasing in popularity. (from-Wikipedia)