Category: Places

Cycling, Places

Cycling 50km for a Beer

by NeilEnnis 25 October 2009 No Comments Shortlink
Riding on the Old Hornibrook Bridge

We rode from Lawnton to Redcliffe and back today. The round trip was about 50km and took us just over 90 minutes each way. Luckily the trip is mostly flat, so once you settle into a rhythm, it’s pretty effortless. (Honestly, it is!). I’m really impressed with the quality of bikeways along the way, and love the way that the old Hornibrook bridge is available for use by pedestrians and cyclists. It’s a beautiful old bridge, a little run down, but as you can see in this photo, it still has a bit of old charm.

Biking Brothers

Four of us rode: My mate Simon from next door, Isaac, Harrison and me. The good thing about cycling is that although it’s hard work at times, you get to have some good conversations with the people you’re riding with. Sometimes one or two people might go ahead for a while, but it was a team effort, so we all tried to stick together.

A hard earned thirst

Lunch at the Woody Point pub was a highlight for me. Cold beer tastes magic when you’ve ridden 25km in the heat beforehand. I’d love to do this ride again!
You can see where we went on the map below. Unfortunately the batteries on my phone ran out halfway on the way back, but we started and finished at the same point so it gives you an idea of the route.

Aboriginal Australia, History, Pine Rivers

Round-About on a Bora-Ring

by NeilEnnis 22 October 2009 3 Comments Shortlink

Nindur-NgineddoNindur-NgineddoNindur-Ngineddo

Nineteenth century aboriginal elder Dalaipi lived in what is now Petrie, north of Brisbane.

He was the custodian of several sacred sites in the district including a bora-ring called “Nindur-Ngineddo” (meaning “leech sitting down”).

Sadly, the bora ring today is under the round-about at Petrie, and no trace of it remains.

It does seem ironic that a modern circular traffic construction should be sitting on top of an ancient circular spiritual construction.

Perhaps the spirit of Dalaipi had something to do with that.

You’re supposed to treat a bora ring with respect and not just go blundering through it. The busy traffic makes it virtually impossible for anyone to casually blunder through the site at all. In fact I risked life and limb to just cross the road to get to it.

Although thousands of cars per day drive around it, I think it would be rare for someone to actually walk through it.

History, Pine Rivers, Places

Cobb & Co Horse Change at Petrie

by NeilEnnis 21 October 2009 1 Comment Shortlink

Cobb & Co Horse Change at PetrieCobb & Co Horse Change at PetrieCobb & Co Horse Change at Petrie
Cobb & Co operated a horse -drawn coach service between Brisbane and Gympie in the nineteenth century.

The coaches would stop at “Murrumba” – Tom Petrie’s homestead (now at the top of Armstrong Street, Petrie).

At Murrumba, they’d change the horses, freshen up, and continue the journey to Gympie along what today is known as “Old Gympie Road”.

Nothing remains of the homestead, but Tom’s grandson, Rollo, unveiled this memorial to the coach stop in 1987.

This is a beautiful spot. If you’re ever in Petrie and have a spare ten minutes, walk to the top of Armstrong Street in the grounds of the Catholic Church and Schools. If you’re still, you’ll hear the hoof-beats of the Cobb & Co coach coming up the road.

It’s magic.

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.