Looking at the Evidence Before us.

Looking at the Evidence Before us….

G'day Anzacs....

here I am in the Avenue of Honour in Bacchus Marsh.

Shane in the Avenue of Honour Bacchus Marsh

Not because it was near Anzac day and that this avenue of Elms is a beautiful memorial to those locals who perished in WW1 but to look at the house behind me .

Bacchus Marsh Early house

As one of the earliest substantial houses in the area it's being restored by its owners for permanent habitation after years of being derelict.

Around 160 years old it's coming to an age when we Australians perhaps are now beginning to note that we of the White settlement have a small history to preserve and that "progress" can sometimes mean not putting up another high-rise for short term profit.

The land this house has been sentinal to is this...

Market Garden Bacchus Marsh

...rich river flat soil forty feet deep before clay... a source for some of the best produce in Victoria and is in itself, something to be protected from innapropriate development ( like Coal-Mines) and council and state taxes which force the farmers off the land and into the hands of developers as has happened recently in Werribee which has similar soil.

archaeology bits

 Wandering around the house with the owner I was shown some the archaeology being found that tells its story like the low-fired bricks on the right, twisted, gnarled and soft at their 850-900C firing.. or the Cordial bottle from Ballan, a rather rare object I would think.

Ballan Cordial bottle

Cordial from Ballan's mineral springs was prized in Melbourne in the C19th though I  suspect that this bottle dates from the 20's or 30's....

...the house was added to in the 30's as you can see in the wall section on the left

Add caption

but there is still C19th glass in some of the original windows and a poignant reminder of the location of the Avenue and its purpose.

Avenue of Honour Plaque

Another local building to be restored is the Half-Church in Greendale that I

Half Church, Greendale

 photographed in the early 90's. It was deteriorating badly and it was on the verge of disappearing until sold to a couple who decided to restore it.

Half Church, Greendale

Thus keeping alive the story of Captain Moonlight and magistrate Shuter by its solid existence.

Half Church, Greendale

There's still much to be done so pop in and have a chat with Kathie Hollis who will be only too pleased to fill you in on the history of this little gem and the area.

Half-Church Greendale benefactor Kathie Hollis

One of the inspirations for this post was the place Mrs Wombat and I stayed in France.

In Charitie-sur-Loire we  found this delightful accomodation.

This was the stairway to the apartment

Le Meneau Suite La Charitie-sur-Loire

Note the rope as banister... building was built before Colombas reached the Americas....

the floors were C15th terra cotta tiles..it's also a lesson in practical preservation....

for more details....

www.la-charite-sur-loire.com

and as it is close to Anzac Day a memorial from France of the same conflict

A La memoire des Parossiens de Notre Dame morts pour le France

 This was in the Church of Notre Dame in Dijon and noted the dead of the its Parish.

I dont know how many parishes there may have been in Dijon in 1914-19 but there would have been more than one and on this plaque are around 400 names.... sobering stuff eh, Petals?

Wombat Droppings

Anzac day has been and gone to much hype, hoopla and earnestly meaningful homilies about “THE AUSTRALIAN SOUL-CHARACTER-WAY-OF-LIFE-MATESHIP-ALL-FOR-ONENESS-COURAGE-FORTITUDE-RESLIENCE-BRAVERY-HUMOUR AND FIGHTING SPIRIT.”

Ta-Daaaaaaaaa, Ta-Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Which was earnestly and movingly terrific until an old WW2 female veteran pointed out that every country subscribes to these qualities and that we’re really no different.

Balloon pricked!

I was going to attend a Dawn Service (I’ve never been before) but changed my mind when the brewery inspired “Raise-a-Glass” advertising campaign turned it into a guilt trip based upon boozy past practices (as if Oz doesn’t have enough problems with its’ excessive drinking culture) and as I never feel the need in a histrionic manner, to wrap myself in an Australian flag and paint an Australian flag tattoo on my face to feel “Australian”:  it all begins to sound and look more like Synthetic Patriotism or Disney-fied Nascent Bogan Nationalism to me. 

Hmmm, Evidence.

Clive (Titanic) Palmer (another BIG Miner) has not only resurrected the Titanic he’s now having a go at the United Australia Party (1931-45 under “Ming” Menzies, aka permanent patron Saint for “Little Johnny” Howard) which became the Liarbril Party.

“Titanic” Palmer thinks that the States who create the wealth should keep it……..hmmm… now there’s a progressive bit of social and economic thinking…as a former supporter of largesse to the LNP, "Titanics'"media umbridge at conventional pollies seems more like sour grapes than sound thinking.

What with Katter’s Cabal and the One-Notion lot and The Dyslexic Labor Partly and Born-Agains for Fairy’s all headed by the Liarbrils there are so many “Right-Wings” flying in this election, is it inevitable that they’ll veer to the left or just fly in circles like the Vultures they are?

Evidence.

The Business Council of Australia thinks “Nuclear-is-Good” as does a Jeffery Frankel (allegedly a professor of capital formation and growth from Harvard University) who also thinks “fracking’ is good too and that both are “Green !” 

That destructive technologies like these being touted as “Green” by business types only lets you know that they are the ones who are really FRACKED!

Perhaps both would like to camp for a week or three at Fukushima or Chernobyl and then drink water from streams contaminated with Methane, Sulphur and other “goodies” from fracking….. I’m sure the profits from their business ventures will provide them with adequate private medical services.

Evidence.

Toby Ralph (alleged Liarbril “strategist”) kicks “own goal” by misinterpreting Jonathon Swift’s C18th satirical essay “A Modest Proposal” about culling the poor to balance the economy… as Lawry Mahon and Mike Puleston said similarly in response ”…. from what we’ve seen so far of Abbott….. it’s likely to become a policy document”.

Evidence

Ralph said it was a joke…. like Alexander (Fish-Net) Downer’s “Things that Batter” was a joke that was not meant to insult victims of domestic violence …just a pun on the Liberal’s slogan "The Things that Matter".
 Humour...Nah...policy...Nah.
Electable..?

And here’s another piece of evidence.
"The contact last evening was initiated by Dr Roberts and in no way reflects on the individual concerned or the organisation he represents," Mr Abbott said in a statement. Dr Roberts had on Friday morning apologised to Australian Indigenous Education Foundation chief Andrew Penfold, after The Australian's political columnist Peter van Onselen posted his version of the events on Twitter. Mr van Onselen claimed the staffer told Mr Penfold (CEO of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF).) he would "cut his throat" …of the AIEF budget. when the coalition won government.
But Mr Abbott denied that particular phrase was used during what he described as an "unfortunate exchange" that was out of character. …."The contact last evening was initiated by Dr Roberts and in no way reflects on the individual concerned or the organisation he represents," Mr Abbott said in a statement…
...after review, Mr Abbott said the behaviour was "completely unacceptable" and that Dr Roberts had been demoted as director of policy - a role he had held for two years. Mr van Onselen also said the staffer had asked him to keep quiet, in return for information from inside Mr Abbott's office.

Would the “Real” Tony (the Rabbott) Abbott please stand up!

Evidence.

I saw a cardboard cut-out on “7:30 Report” t’other night…had as much content as cardboard too.  

Evidence.

Tardis (Where-All-Goes-Backward) State, Police Chief Commissioner, Ken (I-Know-Nuffin-Eivver) Lay reluctantly (it seemed) announced that Geoff (Fiddles) Shaw has finally been interviewed by police over the rorting of his taxpayer funded car and fuel card only five months after the alleged events. 
Lay seemed happier announcing that Julia Gillards’ time at Slater and Gordon (twenty years ago) was still under investigation. 
He has still yet to announce the disciplinary matters concerning the direction of one of his officers to use private citizen’s cars as barricades to halt a drugged, unlicensed driver under pursuit …. and we have yet to hear who was responsible for the wild-life slaughter a couple of weeks ago….and the police don’t ever bully their own ..so there!

Evidence.
Mis-Planning Minister, Matty (What’s-A-Green-Wedge?) Guy has announced a new rezoning of green wedge land. Probably to announce that as there’s none left it can now be called Concrete Wedge!

Cheers, Possums
Shane

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