Tony with his surfing instructor on Terrigal Beach. There are a row of surfboards and Tony is lying on one of them.Tony practising positioning himself on the surfboard. He is using his arms to raise himself up on to his knees.Tony with his instructor on the beach.Tony practising standing on the board.Still on the beach with Tony practising on the surfboard.Tony crouching on the surfboard. View along long sandy Terrigal Beach behind.Tony standing on the board with his instructor in front. The board is still on the beach.Tony in a wet suit on Terrigal Beach, Central Coast, ready to go surfing.Tony stood in front of a van at Terrigal Beach, Central Coast.Tony touching a taxidermied baby hammerhead shark at the Central Coast Marine Discovery Centre, Terrigal, New South Wales.Tony next to the jawbone of a baleen whale displayed at the Central Coast Marine Discovery Centre.Tony touching a hawksbill sea turtle shell at the Central Coast Marine Discovery Centre.
Blue Mountains, New South Wales
The Blue Mountains are a mountainous region and mountain range in New South Wales, Australia. The region begins immediately inland of Sydney, the state capital. The area is known for its dramatic scenery including lush forest filled valleys, unusual rock formations and towering sandstone cliffs.
Wednesday, 14th September 2022
A spectacular view into the densely wooded Jamison Valley from a viewing platform with Tony and Tatiana in the foreground. The viewing platform is part of Scenic World, a tourist site, located in the town of Katoomba, at the north end of the Jamison Valley. High rocky cliffs can be seen emerging from the vegetation along the north-east side of the valley. At the top, away in the middle distance, three distinctive pinnacles of rock are visible. These pinnacles are known as the Three Sisters. They were formed by volcanic eruptions around 200 million years ago. Originally they would have been surrounded by softer sedimentary rock, which has since eroded away. The pinnacles have the following names: Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo.Another view of Tony and Tatiana on the viewing platform with the Jamison Valley and the Three Sisters behind. The valley is about 6.2 miles (10 km) wide and 2.5 miles (4 km) long and is 400 metres (1,300 ft) in depth. The Jamison Valley was named by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in honour of Sir John Jamison (1776-1844), a prominent landowner and physician who visited the Blue Mountains with the governor in 1815. The Aboriginal Gundungurra people are estimated to have lived in the region in and around the valley for 40,000 years.Again Tony and Tatiana on the viewing platform with an expansive view across the Jamison Valley.Tony and Tatiana in front of a bronze statue of a miner. The site where Scenic World now stands was once used for coal and oil shale mining. The mine opened in the 1880s and closed in 1945. A cable railway still operating on the site was originally constructed for the mine.Another view of Tony and Tatiana alongside the coal miner statue. The bearded man depicted is quite short, similar in height to Tony.Tony and Tatiana sitting back in an old railway cart. This perhaps dates from when the site was a coal mine.Tony sitting on a small bronze pit pony, which is carrying a rope and pulling a small truck of coal. Pit ponies were once commonly used in coal mines to pull wagons.View from inside the Scenic Skyway, a cable-car that crosses the gorge above the Katoomba Falls. The 72-person cabins are elevated up to 270 metres (886 feet) above the valley floor. The side of the gorge can be seen, with small trees and bushes clinging to the steep sides, among areas of sheer bare rock.A station at one end of the Scenic Skyway. The temperate rainforest vegetation can be seen below, including tree ferns.A pair of children in front filming the impressive view on their phones, while looking through one of the glass sides of the Scenic Skyway.The top of the Katoomba Falls seen from the Scenic Skyway. The Kedumba River can be seen emerging from the forest and flowing over the sheer cliff at the top of the gorge.Dramatic view of the Katoomba Falls. The waterfall can be seen crashing down the side of the gorge in a series of segments. There are three main vertical segments or steps with a total height of around 244 metres (800 feet).Another view from the Scenic Skyway. Towering cliffs with dense forest vegetation at the top and bottom.Tony on an elevated boardwalk through the ancient temperate rainforest. This is part of the Scenic Walkway where many species of native flora and fauna can be seen. The boardwalk allows the forest to be seen without visitors causing damage by eroding the trails.
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital of Queensland and is located on Australia’s east coast in a central position. It is the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania with a population of approximately 2.6 million.
Wednesday, 21st September 2022
Tony, Tatiana and Ann, their Brisbane ‘Greeters’ free walking tour guide, in the entrance hall of Brisbane City Hall at the foot of the main marble staircase. The City Hall was built between 1920 and 1930 and is considered one of Brisbane’s finest buildings. Its design is based on a combination of the Roman Pantheon and St Mark’s Campanile in Venice.Tony feeling the large marble balustrades at the bottom of the staircase inside Brisbane City Hall.Tony and Tatiana stood next to a bronze lion sculpture in King George Square directly outside Brisbane City Hall. The lion is on top of a low plinth in a sitting position. It is one of a pair and was originally part of a memorial to King George V unveiled in 1938.Tony and Tatiana touching the Petrie Tableau in King George Square in front of the City Hall. This bronze sculpture commemorates the early settlers of Brisbane including the pioneering Petrie family. It was unveiled in 1988.Tatiana and Tony feeling one of a pair of bronze kangaroos standing at the base of the Petrie Tableau in King George Square. The top of the tableau, which is only part visible in the photo, depicts the departure of Andrew Petrie for an inland expedition from the Moreton Bay Settlement in 1842. Petrie’s wife Mary is handing him a drinking bottle as their daughter Isabella watches. Young Tom Petrie plays on the river bank with two of his Aboriginal friends.Another shot of Tony and Tatiana feeling the bronze kangaroos, which are part of the Petrie Tableau.A plaque recognising The Stolen Generation in King George Square. The Stolen Generation refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families by the government and church missions between approximately 1869 and 1969. The memorial includes the text of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s national apology to Indigenous Australians made in 2008.Tony and Tatiana standing amongst a trio of bronze statues at ‘Speakers Corner’ in King George Square, near Adelaide Street. The statues are of author Steele Rudd (1868–1935), pioneer trade union organiser and suffragist, Emma Miller (1839–1917), and Sir Charles Lilley (1830–1897), 4th Premier of Queensland and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who had an influential impact on state education. Steele Rudd is depicted holding a pile of books under one arm; Emma Miller is depicted holding an umbrella aloft; and Sir Charles Lilley is wearing a top hat, has a bushy beard, and is pointing forward.Tony and Tatiana inside the Brisbane Arcade. This heritage-listed shopping arcade runs from 160 Queen Street through to Adelaide Street and was built in 1924. The photo is taken on the upper level, with shops down the sides and roof windows providing light from above.Tony and Tatiana in front of a memorial sculpture in ANZAC Square. This public square, located between Ann Street and Adelaide Street, is a state memorial to all Australian men and women who have participated in overseas armed service. It is named in honour of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The bronze sculpture in view commemorates Australians who served and died during the South West Pacific Campaign (1942-1945) during World War Two. It depicts a wounded Australian soldier being led to safety down a trail by a Papua New Guinean man and a fresh soldier resolutely heading the other way.Tatiana and Tony in front of a memorial wall in ANZAC Square. The relief carving depicts soldiers marching beside horses. It remembers those killed during World War One.Tony and Tatiana walking past a World War One memorial in ANZAC Square. The bronze sculpture depicts a nurse tending to a wounded soldier.Tony and Tatiana next to a group of memorial plaques in the ANZAC Square Memorial Galleries. The central plaque is headed ’15th Battalion’ and remembers those killed during World War One in Gallipoli, France and Belgium.Tony stood close to a pedestrian crossing near ANZAC Square. A utility box next to the crossing has been colourfully painted with a sunny scene including a palm tree, flower and pineapple.Tony and Tatiana outside St. Stephen’s Catholic Cathedral. They are stood at the side of the gothic revival cathedral which was consecrated in 1874. Buttresses protrude from the sandstone wall with a side entrance further along. The heritage-listed cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane.Tatiana and Tony stood beneath a statue of the Virgin Mary inside St. Stephen’s Catholic Cathedral.
Friday, 23rd September 2022
The bottom of a cinnamon tree growing at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha. The cinnamon spice is derived from the bark of the tree.
Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha are located 4.3 miles (7 km) from the centre of Brisbane at the foot of Brisbane’s tallest mountain, Mount Coot-tha. The gardens were established by Brisbane City Council in 1970 and cover 52 hectares (130 acres).
A winding path at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha. There are a variety of plants growing in beds at the sides of the path.Pink Geraniums blooming at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha.Rosemary growing at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha. Rosemary is an aromatic shrub with smallish needle-like leaves. Another shrub with pink flowers is growing to the right of the photo. This might be a different variety of rosemary. Rosemary is used in cooking and perfumes.A hive of stingless native Australian bees in a hollow of a tree stump. There are over 1,700 species of native bees in Australia of which 11 species are stingless and live in hives.A medium-sized Australian lizard emerging from foliage in a flower bed. It is camouflaged with predominantly green-brown markings and stripes down its back. This is probably an Australian water dragon.Inside the Tropical Display Dome at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha. The domed greenhouse is 28 metres in diameter and 9 metres high. It opened in December 1977. The photo shows the dome and some of the tropical trees and plants within.
Saturday, 24th September 2022
Tony holding a koala at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary near Brisbane.
Sunday, 25th September 2022
General Douglas MacArthur’s GHQ Office in Brisbane. The photo shows a large desk with items including a telephone, pen holder and in-tray. The office was established in July 1942 on the eighth floor of the AMP building when American General Douglas MacArthur was ordered to move to Australia by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. MacArthur was commander of the United States Army Forces in the Far East overseeing the United States and allied countries’ fight against Japan and the axis countries in the Asia–Pacific War of World War Two. The office is today part of the MacArthur Museum Brisbane.A large Japanese flag with Japanese writing on it. Taken at the MacArthur Museum Brisbane. Possibly given to MacArthur at, or after, the Japanese surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay, 2nd September 1945.The Shrine of Remembrance at ANZAC Square in Brisbane. This is a war memorial remembering Australian soldiers killed in all conflicts. The Shrine of Remembrance was completed in 1930. It is a circular structure, built in Greek Classic Revival style, with 18 supporting columns. The 18 columns symbolise the year 1918 when the hostilities of World War One ceased. A brass urn in the centre contains an ‘eternal flame’.A view of ANZAC Square from the Shrine of Remembrance with a memorial to Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women visible below. This bronze memorial was unveiled in 2022. It is a sculpture depicting five life-sized figures standing on a ‘Journey Stone’. The figures represent members of the Navy, Army and Air Force with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander warriors and dancers. It was designed by Wakka Wakka artist, John Smith Gumbula, and sculptor, Liam Hardy.The front facade of St. John’s Anglican Cathedral in Brisbane. At the sides there are two bell towers topped with spires rising to 49.7 metres (163 ft) in height. The cathedral was completed in stages over a period of more than one hundred years between 1901 and 2009. It is Gothic Revival in style.The high altar inside St. John’s Anglican Cathedral. The free-standing altar is topped with a golden cross and a pair of candlesticks. The altar is lit from behind by colourful stained glass windows.Looking down the nave towards the main entrance inside St. John’s Anglican Cathedral. There are rows of seats and, towards the sides, high stone columns supporting arches.Close-up shot of Tony leaving St. John’s Anglican Cathedral.The main entrance to St. John’s Anglican Cathedral. Steps lead up to the entrance porch supported by three Gothic arches. A pair of large wooden doors are in the centre.
