Australian Sports Museum, MCG

There's more to the MCG than cricket and footy, so a while back we popped in to the Melbourne Sports Museum to see what else the iconic stadium had to offer.

                                        

We wandered around different areas, with displays dedicated to various sports, starting with the 1956 Olympic Games, held right here in our Melbourne town.

Howzat! Backyard cricket has to be one of the most popular Aussie pastimes.

I recognised a few of these faces from when I was a kid. Our country town only got decent tv signals on two stations, 9 and 2. The amount of times I turned on Channel 9 during the summer school holidays, hoping for some kid friendly viewing - only to find these guys playing matches that seemed to go on for years. 

The racing gallery was, at the time, home to Carbine's skeleton. 

Soccer  and AFL were popular exhibits with my sports loving husband and son...

... and they couldn't believe their eyes to see a legend from their beloved Tigers, Kevin Bartlett, making an appearance on the day of our visit!

I can't guarantee you'll see KB at the recently renovated Australian Sports Museum, but you can see his bronze statue outside the 'G. 

Australian Sports Museum

Gate 3, MCG

Chinese Museum

Melbourne's Chinatown has been a vibrant part of our city for many years, with festivities, restaurants and shops luring us in to visit by day and night.

The Chinese Museum sits right in the heart of the precinct and is a great place to visit when you're in the area.

After spending a lot of time in Victoria's Goldfields towns, I was particularly interested in the Finding Gold exhibition, which featured a replica mine camp among the many items on display.

Ancient artefacts and informative displays featured ancient times in Chinese culture, such as the Han Dynasty. 

Exiting via the long ramp down to street level, I tiptoed past the sleeping Dai Loong Dragon, his sequins and mirrors sparkling in the dim light.  He slumbers in between annual parades, where 200 community volunteers help him dance for Chinese New Year, Moomba and other festivals. 

A couple of hours well spent - now, dumpling time. 

Chinese Museum

22 Cohen St

Melbourne

Open daily 10-4

Tasmania Travels - Beaconsfield Mine

2006. For almost 2 weeks, we were glued to the tv. Watching, waiting, wanting to hear some kind of news about the miners trapped underneath Beaconsfield Mine. Todd Russell. Brant Webb. Larry Knight.
The miraculous news that followed - Brant and Todd were alive and rescued.
The tragic news - Larry Knight did not survive.

The mine has since closed down and has been turned into a museum and heritage centre. 

We wandered around the site for a few hours, exploring the interactive exhibits and recreations of the mine disaster.

The workings of a mine are fascinating and I have visited a few over the years, but Beaconsfield is the most modern mine I have seen. 

The views from the 'Monkey Cage' were amazing. 

The historic buildings and relics provided a glimpse into the past, when the mines were an even tougher place to work. 

A quick game of Shafts and Ladders and our visit was complete.

Outside, a plaque sits, paying respects to the many people in the community who helped make Todd and Brant's rescue a success and honouring the memory of Larry. 

























Across the road, in the rose garden where news crews huddled for 2 weeks, another plaque commemorates journalist Richard Carleton, who passed away during the event. 

Beaconsfield Mine was the last attraction for us to visit on our Tassie road trip and it added a poignant ending to our journey. 
Onward to Devonport for a night before we set sail in the morning.

Tasmania Travels - Port Arthur

Early morning departure on the Convict Trail self-drive route, for the Tasman Peninsula and Port Arthur, about 70 mins from Hobart. We stopped enroute at the Tessellated Pavement, a natural formation of what looks like neatly laid tiles on the shoreline. 

Crossing over the narrow strip of Eaglehawk Neck, we stopped at the Blowhole, Devil's Kitchen and Tasman Arch - all with stunning views of the windswept coastline. Pretty wildflowers bloomed amongst the hardy shrubbery. 

An eco boat popped into view under the arch, bobbing about in the rough waters of what looks like a fantastic coastal cruise. 

 

Arriving at Port Arthur around midday, we booked in for the next harbour cruise. 
The 25 minute ride was a great introduction to the site and gave a different perspective from the water. 



Views from the water were spectacular, as we cruised past the tiny Isle of the Dead, where convicts were buried in unmarked graves and military graves with tall headstones could be seen. 

Back on dry land, we walked around the historic site. Some buildings remain fairly intact, others were just facades, propped up by steel beams on the other side.

 

Remember the 3 nuns from Hobart? We saw them again! 

On the hour, church bells would peal, adding a poignant touch to the ambience of the place. The sun shone brightly in the cloudless blue sky. The convicts lives must have been a living hell and I imagine this place must have a different atmosphere on a cold winter's day. 

The site of the Port Arthur tragedy brought a tear to my eye, just thinking of that horrific day and the lives taken. We sat in silence by the reflection pool in the memorial garden and hugged our kids.

The weather played nice and we had a wonderful visit to Port Arthur. We missed seeing the Coal Mines Historic Site a little further down the road, but we had to leave something for next time...

Tasmania travels - Bruny Island

An easy drive from Hobart to the Bruny Island Ferry at Kettering, then a quick trip over the calm water and we were on the island, heading for  South Bruny.

Our first stop was Allonah. There was an Historical Society adjoining the Post Office, so we popped in for a peek to see if there was any information on my great-great-great grandfathers, who both settled here in the 1800's. The staff member at the PO couldn't help us with the historical stuff, but mentioned there was an old cemetery out the back that might be worth a look.
A lovely old cemetery it was, overlooking the water. And there, smack bang in the middle, was g-g-g-grandfather #1 and his wife. He was a Portuguese man who apparently jumped off an American whaling ship and set up home in this gorgeous little island of Tasmania, working on a ferry service.

As far South as we could go, was the Bruny Island Lighthouse. Standing tall and proud, overlooking the rugged cliffs of Cape Bruny where a lone albatross surveyed its domain.

We meandered around South Bruny, had lunch by the water and inhaled every breath of that fresh, salty air. We still had some sights to see, so we headed North to The Neck, the strip of land that divides the two section of Bruny. A wooden boardwalk and steps led to a viewing deck, Truganinin Lookout,  that looked down upon the magnificent scenery below.

Back up to North Bruny, to Dennes Point, named after my other G-G-G-grandfather, A.S. Denne, who arrived on a boat from England in 1821 and settled on Bruny.  

We tried to visit another old cemetery at Barnes Bay, but a pesky tiger snake stopped us in our tracks on the driveway.  

Apart from the snake, the only other wildlife we saw was this brown falcon (I think), who was trying to steal eggs or ducklings from ducks in a dam. I hope Mama Duck managed to keep those fluffy lil guys safe, and Mr Falcon found something else to eat that day.

The drive back to Hobart was nice, with lavender fields adding a purple pop to the green landscape. 

We also managed to find A.S. Denne's grave in the back of a church near Kingston and ticked it off the find-my-ancestors list. 

We got to see a lot of Bruny on our day visit, but we hope to visit again and stay on the island next time, giving us more time to really explore the place.