Year: 2009

Australia, Friends, Postcards

Margaret River

by NeilEnnis 19 October 2009 No Comments Shortlink

A postcard from friend Rachel who’s currently touring around Australia.

Rachel says at this time of year south-western Australia is warm during the day but still nice and cool at night. Ideal spring weather.

The Margaret River region of WA is one of Australia’s premier wine-making districts. It also has some fantastic beaches, and some significant sites of Early European settlement.

It is thought that Margaret River is named after Margaret Wyche, who was a cousin of the founder of nearby Busselton, John Garrett Bussel.

Australia, Friends, Postcards

Busselton

by NeilEnnis 19 October 2009 No Comments Shortlink

A postcard from friend Rachel who’s currently touring around Australia.

This has to be one of the longest wooden jetties in the world. In fact it IS the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere – so long that you need to catch a train to get to the end of it.

Busselton is a town in the south west region of Western Australia with a population of about 20,000.

Australia, Friends, Postcards

Cape Naturaliste

by NeilEnnis 19 October 2009 No Comments Shortlink

A postcard from friend Rachel who’s currently touring around Australia.

She’s currently worried about a leak in the van she’s driving, and doesn’t know where to look to fix it.

Pay someone else, Rach!

The French Vessel Naturaliste visited this cape in 1801. It was visited earlier by the Dutch vessel Leeuwin in 1627, but there are no records which remain today.

La Naturaliste, the ship, under Captain Hamelin was part of a French expedition led by Nicholas Baudin which explored Australian waters around 1801. She was a bomb-corvette which Baudin sent back to France in 1801 with numerous Australian natural specimens.

The headland itself is at the western edge of Geographe Bay, in the south-western region of Western Australia.

Family, Party

Happy 18th Birthday, Sam!

by NeilEnnis 18 October 2009 No Comments Shortlink

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Here’s some photos from the party we had on the deck this afternoon to celebrate Sam’s 18th. He turns 18 in 4 days, and is having a party with all his mates soon, but we thought we’d have one first with all the family. It was one of those rare occasions when we were all together so we were able to get a new group photo.

I cracked open my bottle of Johnny Walker Green Label and a lot of us tried drinking it from the Quaich – a pewter mug from Scotland that you pass around. I think it always tastes better that way!

It was a beautiful afternoon – the sunset was stunning, and it was lovely to have baby Chelsea there to share it with us too.

Congratulations on reaching 18 years, Sam. You’re a fine young man, and we’re proud of you!

Aboriginal Australia, History, Pine Rivers

Mandin

by NeilEnnis 17 October 2009 3 Comments Shortlink

In 1824, John Oxley wrote that he saw a weir in the North Pine River. The local Turrbal people called it “Mandin”. It was a pocket coming off the river into which they would drive fish, which would then be easily caught.

This is “Mandin” as it appears today, just west of the railway bridge over the North Pine River.

I stopped there today, and it was easy to imagine young Aborigine kids from 200 years ago splashing about in the water, chasing fish into this pocket.

I could almost hear it.