busselton

Busselton is a neat and tidy seaside town on the fertile valley of the Vasse Rive and was one of the earliest settlements in Western Australia.

The early history of European exploration of the area focuses on the French expedition of 1801 which brought Nicholas Baudin, with his ships the Geographe and Naturaliste, to the coast of Western Australia. It was Baudin who named the bay, Geographe Bay, after his vessel and named the river Vasse after a sailor who was lost, believed drowned, in the area.

No one knows what happened to Vasse. He disappeared when one of the Geographe's boats capsized in the surf. However when the area was finally settled by Europeans there was a story told by the local Aborigines of a white man who had lived with the Aborigines until his death and who spent most of his life wandering the shores of Geographe Bay waiting for a ship to return.....poor chap.

The town was named after John Garrett Bussell whose family was one of the first to settle in the region. Bussell's description of the area depicted it as a kind of paradise:

'Here was a spot that the creative fancy of a Greek would have peopled with Dryad and Naiad and all the beautiful phantoms and wild imagery of his sylvan mythology. Wide waving lawns were sloping down to the water's edge. Trees thick and entangled were stooping over the banks.'

He sounds like a verbose and pompous old git who probably bored for England at dinner parties.

His mate George Layman settled in the area in 1837 and established a cattle station, but he was a nervous chap who was never comfortable with the local aboriginals who appeared rather aggrieved by his presence. He described how the area was so dangerous that in 1837 members of his family were afraid to leave the house because of the danger of being speared by the local Aborigines.

'We dare not leave our house to shoot anything. I have 12 head of cattle and I fear before the natives can be made peaceable some of them will be speared as I am forced to turn them out in the bush without anyone to mind them. The natives are very savage.'

On February 22nd 1841 Layman did eventually leave his house and was speared to death by a local Aborigine. Ho hum.

Anyway, Busselton's claim to fame these days is the second longest wooden jetty in the world at 1841 metres- the world's longest being Southend-on-Sea at 2410 metres!( Southend is in England, for those of you reading this in Texas).

From trek phase 4

It is undergoing extensive restoration and at the end there is an excellent underwater observatory which takes you 8 metres below sea level to watch the marine life.

From trek phase 4

From trek phase 4

From trek phase 4

We left Busselton this morning for Augusta where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet, but the weather is so windy and wet that we have camped out in a sheltered site and will see what the morning brings.

WA weather

For the last couple of days the storms have set in, and it is windy and wet especially on the coast. Our plans to take a whale watching cruise have been thwarted, although we did manage an hour on a boat looking at dolphins.

From trek phase 4

We have moved on to the Margaret River region the reasoning being that a fine thing to do when it is raining is visit vineyards. We should rename this blog 'alcohol and marine mammals' at this rate.

Vanessa did however insist that we take a detour from the coast to go to Dardanup where there is a roadside grotto which is home to over 1000 garden gnomes, complete with all the appalling gnome puns you could ever imagine....and then some. I rather liked the gnomo-sexuals, but thought that Assgnoma Bin Laden ( in a small cave ) was pushing it a bit!

I was reminded of my friend Jules ( now in Sydney ) and the time, many years ago,when we visited a gnome sanctuary in Devon which was equally dreadful and made worse by the eccentric lady who ran the place insisting that all visitors wore pixie hats. At least here headgear was discretionary.
We should have brought Norman, he is so alone in Mudgee.

From trek phase 4

It is supposedly a harbinger of bad luck if anyone should choose to destroy or steal a gnome, but I have to admit that when I saw the line-up below along the side of a small creek I recalled my mother's expression.....' the things you see when you haven't got a gun'. Target practice would have been so satisfying.

From trek phase 4

butter would not melt?

From trek phase 4

Appearances can be extremely deceptive- the above canine may look cute and appealing but 2 days ago when she elected to roll in a very large and very dead lizard and then proceeded to spread the stench ( and flesh) of reptile in advanced stages of decomposition all over the confined space of a campervan she was decidedly unpopular. Words cannot describe the smell.

fremantle

Fremantle just south of Perth started life as a port where convicts were landed and detained but is now an independent city built by convict labour. It is a trendy place with the mandatory antique shops, cafes and art galleries and the port is the busiest and biggest general cargo port in WA. Plans are underway to deepen the port to allow entry to bigger container ships.

A guided tour around the prison was highly entertaining due mainly to Brendan the extremely amusing Irish guide. The prison was only decommissioned as a maximum security gaol in 1991 so was used continuously as a place of incarceration for almost 140 years.

From trek phase 4

From trek phase 4

From trek phase 4

Many cells and areas of the prison depict prisoners' artwork, including that of the 19th-century forger James Walsh, whose artwork was hidden beneath layers of white-wash for decades.

From trek phase 4

From trek phase 4

The gallows room was the only legal place of execution in Western Australia between 1888 and 1984, with 43 men and one woman hanged in this period. Not an enjoyable room to visit, there was an aura of extreme unpleasantness.

From trek phase 4

kings park

Perth City is situated between the Darling Ranges and the Indian Ocean, and along the banks of the Swan River, 12 km from the ocean. The river is named after the famous black swans which can be found along the river. The city is bound by the river to the east and south.

To the west of the city is Kings Park, the world's largest inner city park with over 400 hectares of natural bush as well as walkways and botanical gardens overlooking the city. We could have spent days exploring the park alone- not only is it dog friendly but with free buses into the city centre it became the ideal base for sight-seeing.

From trek phase 4

From trek phase 4

From trek phase 4

The park's huge plant collection meant that Ness could spend hours taking plant photos and she now has a comprehensive collection of pics of every variety of kangaroo paw.

From trek phase 4

Geoffrey had to spend a day in dry dock having a 'house service' and repairs to a gas regulator and a smashed roof vent ( due to hitting an overhanging tree branch at speed). It is astounding just how many dead flies can accumulate in one air-conditioning unit.

We will probably be leaving Perth to head further south today, as the weather has taken a turn for the worse and we are experiencing torrential rain for the first time in weeks.It is a city we will definitely be returning to in the future- any city where you can sit by the rivermouth having a picnic while watching the boats being chased by dolphins has to rate highly.

From trek phase 4

From trek phase 4

Fortunately after a trip down the Swan Valley the cellars are well stocked with wine.

From trek phase 4

swan bells

The Bell Tower in Perth is a dramatic building.

Commemorating Australia's bicentenary in 1988, the twelve bells of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London as well as five specially cast bells were presented to the University of Western Australia, the City of Perth and to the people of Western Australia.

The London diocese of the Church of England and the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields gave authority for the project to proceed.

The additional bells cast in 1988 include two from the cities of London and Westminster, who each gifted one bell to the project, and a total of three bells bestowed by a consortium of British and Australian mining companies.

Completing the ring of eighteen bells, a sixth new bell was commissioned by the Western Australian Government to mark the second millennium

The Bell Tower situated on the Barrack Street jetty overlooking the Swan river was completed in 2001.

From trek phase 4

Climbing the tower offers great views of the city.

From trek phase 4

From trek phase 4

From trek phase 4

perth

Perth is a great city, and I promise to update this blog soon.

Meanwhile a pic of the red and green kangaroo paw- the state flower of WA....

From trek phase 4

...... and a Post Office in the centre of the city.

From trek phase 4