An Aussie Pub Crawl

Australians have, in my view, mastered the art of the corner pub.

In virtually every town across the country, you'll find corners punctuated with a grand architectural statement.

Some towns are blessed with multiple pubs and almost to the last, they're grand and ornate.

The Provincial Hotel above, is a beauty I photographed in the old old gold mining town of Ballarat - a city blessed with superb architecture - much of it built during the wealthy gold mining era.

In Kyneton, a small town about 90 minutes north of Melbourne just off the Calder Highway, I spotted these two beauties from a later period. Top is the Newmarket Hotel and the bottom image is the Shamrock Hotel, both in the main street of town, a few steps apart.

Back in Ballarat, I stepped inside The Grand Hotel, lured in my its etched glass windows that reflect back the other side of the historic street.

And also in Ballarat, The George Hotel, a stately beauty with elaborate verandahs.

Bendigo, another city with a wealth of hefty and ornate architecture from the gold mining era, delivered this corner beauty near the Arts Quarter.

And this old treasure clings to a backstreet corner in Kyneton.

Little Trentham - half way between Woodend and Daylesford, about an hour north of Melbourne, is home to the old Cosmopolitan (above), which still operates a popular restaurant and beer garden; and the sturdy bulk of an old main street hotel (upper image), which has long-since ceased operation as a pub and is now an antique shop filled with terrific furniture and a quirky selection of taxidermy animals and an old ride-on Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.

I've written about Australian pubs on this blog before. Just click on The Australian Crawl and Aussie Pubs in the label line below if you'd like to see more.

Sightseeing in Australia - 7

When gold was discovered towards Bendigo and ballarat in the 1850s, Woodend became the main throughfare through the Black Forest. It sits half way between Melbourne and Bendigo and today has a population of around 3,200. Like many Victorian towns, it has some lovely historic buildings - this is one of my favourites - the gigantic Catholic Church that overlooks the rest of the town from a small rise. Woodend is a popular commuting town and every morning the train from Bendigo to Melbourne is filled with hundreds of Woodend residents, who work in the city. I took a shine to Castlemaine the very first time I visited. I was on a drive to Bendigo - on a day that hit 40 degrees and left me and exhausted melting, wreck - but I hit Castlemaine early, just as the shops were opening at 9am, before the heat reached its peak. Established in 1851 around 40km south of Bendigo, it quickly became a gold boom town. Today it has a population of around 7,000 and is home to the oldest continuously operating theatre in mainland Australia - the Theatre Royal (1856). I found an amazing household secondhand store here - more of a barn really - with the biggest collection of tools and light fittings I've ever seen.

Whenever I'm in Australia, I grab a car and head for the countryside. As much as I adore Australia's big cities, I also love discovering little towns and settlements that spread out from the larger centres. I can spend whole days just driving and stopping at will to take photographs. This was one stop I made at a tiny settlement called Greendale - little more than a pub, a general store, a speckling of farm houses and these old grain houses (?), which were for sale. I quite like the idea of a snazzy conversion but at 81km north west of Melbourne (in the shire of Moorabool) and a population of just 400 or so, I thought it might be stretching romanticism a little too far.

And speaking of Melbourne, this is the bright green entry to Ezard design store. I've walked the streets of Melbourne photographing for hours on end, more times than I can count and I never tire of it. Everything from the architecture, the people, street scenes, cafes and restaurants, signage, shop fronts, street art - you name and I'll probably have a photo of it. I fantasise about spending several months in Melbourne doing nothing more than this - and finally, later in 2011, I'll be one step closer to just that.

Sightseeing in Australia - 2

Interior: The Eulo Queen, Eulo, Outback, Southwest Queensland, 2008.

One of my best Aussie adventures yet, took me to the Outback region of Southwest Queensland - ten days of unbridled madness and fun. Outback life is raw, rugged and rough - a fantastic place where people pitch together in their battle against the trying forces of nature. Snake-handler. Kyneton, Victoria, 2008. For New Zealanders, there is a wonderful familiarity about a lot of Australia, yet that's always offset by significant differences - like snakes for instance! I took this shot at the annual Kyneton Country Fair, the equivalent of our A&P Shows I expect.

Bendigo, Victoria, 2009 I drove up to Bendigo one day when I was staying just north of Melbourne. It was - or is normally - a two-hour trip but I stopped at every little town and village I passed along the way. And the closer I got to Bendigo, the hotter it got, so that when I finally arrived around midday, it was 39-degrees and I was sweltering. But I adored Bendigo. It was one of Australia's richest cities during the gold rush and that early wealth is reflected in much of the astonishing architecture.

Adelaide Hills, Adelaide, South Australia, 2007.

I flew over to Adelaide with a photographer in 2007, on a writing mission for Air New Zealand's magazine, Kia Ora. It was a brilliant 5-6 days spent exploring the city, nearby Adelaide Hills and the magnificent Fleurieu Peninsula. I'd heard a great deal about Adelaide in the year's prior, mostly that the city was designed by the same urban planner who designed the layout for Christchurch; and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. I'd move there in a heartbeat.

In-Spired

Bendigo. 2007. Ajr.

I’ve got a bit of a thing about photographing church architecture and this is one beauty I snapped in the provincial Australian city of Bendigo last year – a city rich in fabulous architecture, thanks largely to gold rush wealth. This is Sacred Heart Cathedral, one of Australia’s largest churches – and at 87 metres it’s second tallest in fact, after St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. It was also the last Gothic Revival style cathedral built anywhere in the world; and its construction was a drawn out affair too. Designed in 1895 by Melbourne architect William Tappin, work began in 1897. It ceased in 1901 due to a lack of funds and resumed again in the 1950s. It was finally completed in 1977. I might revisit it later this year to photograph the amazing interior columns.

Cool Cars - 7

One blue 1970-71, 2-door modified Falcon Convertible - Spotted at Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.