HEY THERE

HEY THERE, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Tango, an Australian Stock Horse.

LANTERNS OF LIGHT

l, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Beautiful patterns of light were filtering through the glass from the sun and flickering all over the footpath.

PARALLEL WORLDS

PARALLEL WORLDS, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Reflection on reflection on reflection

AN INTERESTING VISIT

AN INTERESTING VISIT, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

This small town boasts this most interesting place to visit and to walk through the doors a wonderland awaits.
The owner is only a relatively young man who is quite different. He sometimes fires a cannon off at 2 am or gets into one of his many fire engines and lets the sirens go. He also has a telephone box in his front yard where he is hoping to do a quick change into superman. Thank goodness for those whose resounds to a different beat .

UUMMMM

UUMMMM, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES

ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

PENNY FARTHING

PENNY FARTHING, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

HORSES

HORSES, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

WOODEN CARVINGS

WOODEN CARVINGS, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Fantastic wood carvings...coffee tables carved from tree stumps and roots. The owners latest buying spree was in Indonesia so wonder at the size and height of the trees taken from these stumps

ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES

ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

A local antique and collectable shop in which one could spend hours.

HUNGRY EYES

FEMALE 3

FEMALE 3, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

A trick of the light.....or......very chilling when thinking of the poor souls imprisoned here. The building and aquisition of this area as a lunatic asylum was one of the first projects undertaken by the newly formed Queensland Government in 1865.

The building appears to be constructed of timber, tin, sandstone, and brick whether additions were added at later dates I have not discovered.

WOOGAROO

WOOGAROO ASYLUM, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

I read this was the worst unit of its kind in its un enlightened hey day in Australia.

Woogaroo Asylum housed the poor, destitue, alcoholic, demented together with the criminally insane which would have been the case around the world in the 1800 and the word "lunatic" would not have been applicable to the majority of the people detained within these walls. The authorities of the day thought they were acting in the best interests of everyone no doubt.
Human history has been brutal. No doubt the human race is moving forward with its attitude to the human condition of those less fortunate. Years ahead I would like to hope for the sake of the young people inhabiting this little planet the human race continues to become more enlightened.
Places like this should be a reminder to move forward.

WOOGAROO FEMALE 3

WOOGAROO FEMALE 3, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Our crumbling history......the record is not available and found in some instances conflicting as to what went on behind these walls, depending whether or not one was an inmate or warder/nurse/keeper.

The situation in those days long ago with axe murderers interned with dementia sufferers, young with old and the keepers acting within the knowledge and attitude of those times would have produced a nightmare for them and their actions and the suffering of some of the interned would be beyond the comprehension of most of us.
When I was young even though I lived in the far north of Queensland in the Gulf Country I was aware of the spectre of being "sent to Goodna" if I were naughty.
This building is high on the banks of the Brisbane River and to the right of the building looks over the River.

WELL...WELCOME LITTLIES

WELL...WELCOME LITTLIES, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

A little early....I do hope they survived the unseasonal bitterly cold weekend.......

THE OTHER NEIGHBOURS

THE OTHER NEIGHBOURS, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

The other neighbours...wonder how they decided who slept in the rig and who used the tents.......ah ha workers in the tents naturally and owners in the heated air conditioned comfort......their privalege.....I could have used one of the dinky tents

the neighbours

the neighbours, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Camping on the weekend...minus 4 degrees earlier this morning...hoses cracked from the ice and our mob under an open awning not like the neighbours who camped in their huge rigs.....

ME & EDDIE, A STANDARDBRED, PLAYING SILLY BUGGERS AT A PARADE

ME & EDDIE, A STANDARDBRED, PLAYING SILLY BUGGERS AT A PARADE, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

THE LIFEFORCE OF FRESH WATER

THE LIFEFORCE OF FRESH WATER, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

When it rains...

SMILING PANSIES

SMILING PANSIES, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Nearly that time of year again...Carnival of Flowers.

1974-THE FURY OF NUNGALINYA "Old Man Rock"

23rd December, 1974 was living in a house on the banks of the mighty MacArthur River in the Northern Territory. The beautiful red bluffs of the river were what greeted me each morning I opened my eyes.

I had not been off the Cattle Station for 20 months and things were getting a little desperate. I had one pair of thongs left with a broken big toe connection. My hair was down past my waist having not had a hair cut for years. My son four years of age had grown out of his clothes and had been running feral for the past two years. Riding about in helicopters, graders and living on the river with the aboriginal children. My son did not speak English. He spoke the local aboriginal language mixed with English. Visitors would listen to his earnest stories and go away shaking their respective heads "Someone should tell that woman that something is wrong with that kid".

I decided that was time to visit civilization and purchase some clothes shoes etc for my son and myself. The neighbors on MacArthur Station, Americans, Howensteins, dropped in when they heard I was off to the big smoke. "Would you like a lift we are taking the plane to Darwin and will drop you off". "OK, sounds good". My son, James and I an unlikely looking pair, bare footed and brown slipped on to the little plane at the MacArthur airstrip heading for Darwin. The plane set off into clear blue skies and we droned northwards. The pilot after about half an hour did a uuuey with the laconic explanation "Think we might go to Mt. Isa, the winds are getting up at Darwin". An understatement. The Cyclone warning was not issued until 12.30 on the 23rd December and we were in the air at 9.30. Luckily for my son and I the pilot was not gung ho as many were in those days. My father survived over 50 Jap raids on Darwin and perhaps I would not have been so lucky as did not have anywhere to stay, was going to sort that out when I arrived at Darwin. I narrowly missed the ferocious Tracey by the skin of my teeth.
At Mt. Isa found a few seats on a jet connecting to Brisbane and my son and I boarded the plane, both barefooted. I decided I would pretend that we had shoes and walked off that plane into the Brisbane Terminal with my head held high and learnt on Christmas afternoon from a friend at Katherine that Darwin was evacuating with streams of shell shocked motorists driving through Katherine not knowing where they were heading. The little matter of our lack of shoes paled into insignificance and I marvelled at the hands of fate.

PINK

PINK, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

DAYBREAK

DAYBREAK, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Daylight stealing across the landscape.....

Waterhole - S/E Queensland

Waterhole - S/E Queensland, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

THE BEAUTIFUL AUSTRALIANS

THE BEAUTIFUL AUSTRALIANS, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

WATER BALLET

WATER BALLET, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

The still of the morning

TENNESSEE MOON & SUPER NOVA

TENNESSEE MOON & SUPER NOVA, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

The boys who did the hard work and vetted through well.

KRISTIE

KRISTIE, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

My friends and I camped away on the weekend and took the horses with us and had the opportunity to see different aspects of the country via horseback.

Rode through deep gloomy forestry with huge sheets of tea coloured water. The reflections on the water was like a dark mirror. Looked like the images of the everglades in Florida USA. Unfortunately did not aquire the point and shoot to carry on the horse and was too tired to take decent photographs of the camp.

AUSTRALIAN BLACK SWAN

AUSTRALIAN BLACK SWAN, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMERS

The suns arrival reflected off the bright red beaks

CYGNUS ATRATUS

CYGNUS ATRATUS, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.