MUDGINBERRI

Posted on by
Reply

IMGP5725

MEATWORKS SUNRISE

This, now defunct, little abattoir within Kakadu National Park was the catalyst for a huge change in the Australian Union movement. In 1985, the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union were forced to pay 1.5 million dollars to the owners of  Mudginberri Meatworks to compensate  for costs and lost earnings due to Union picket lines halting production.

This led the ACTU to call three National strikes. The press turned the  AMIEU into public enemy number one. Ian Mclachlan, (president of the National Farmers Federation) said at the time that Mudginberri  “changed the nature of industrial relations in Australia”

The Barrister acting for Mudginberri at the time was Peter Costello.

So, this little slaughterhouse was the beginning of the end of union power in Australia. It’s demise was brought about by the refusal of meat inspectors to cross the picket line. In a sense, the meatworks became the sacrificial lamb to cripple  union power

IMGP5722

IMGP5733

Feral water buffalo entered through a door at one end of this room and exited frozen and packed in small cardboard boxes at the other end.

IMGP5737

The Buffalo would enter through the door, lower right and be dispatched by the slaughter-man. The white steel petition would be lifted and the carcass hoisted from the grate beyond, to be conveyed through the processing room

IMGP5740

IMGP5741

25 years after the demise of Mudginberri, a pile of buffalo horns lie beaten and bleaching in the sun where a picket line once stood.

NORTHERN TERRITORY ARCHITECTURE

Posted on by
Reply

The Northern Territory has its own unique style of architecture created to cope with  the hot tropical climate. Some of the most important examples of pre WWII N T architecture are the Burnett Houses.

Beni Burnett was born in Mongolia, raised in China and worked in Singapore, Japan and China. His Northern Territory buildings are influenced by the Colonial architecture of Malaysia and Singapore.

He employed a system of screened asbestos cement louvers to allow for cross ventilation, no matter which way the breeze was blowing. Open eaves, ventilated roof ridging and open topped internal walls provided easy evacuation of warm air. Steep pitched roofs and two story construction also aid in keeping the building cool.

IMGP5602

“K Type” Burnett House – 1939

IMGP5605

“E Type”  Burnett House – 1939

IMGP5372

Parliament house in Darwin echoes the colonial windows and louvers of the traditional Burnett House

IMGP5448

This is the toilet block at the old Fanny Bay Gaol  Darwin. From waist height, external walls are timber stud frame with fly wire mesh attached. The internal walls also stop at waist height. Great for ventilation, not so good for privacy. I have a sneaking suspicion that this may have had an influence on Burnett’s designs. I’d like to think so. The Burnett houses were originally designed for high ranking public servants. I’d like to think they lived in houses influenced by a prison toilet block.

.

.

SKETCHES

materials2

Embroidery mesh was used to press geometric squares into the colonial windows. White Gouache was also used in the sketches.

burnett 2

burnett house

burnett 1

.

.

One of my favourite examples of NT architecture is the Glenn Murcutt “Bowali Visitors Centre” in Kakadu National Park. Built of  formed, tinted concrete, corrugated iron, steel and timber. Its colours and textures look to have come directly from the ground it sits on. The building feels big and open and natural, inspired by one of the rock art galleries in the Park

IMGP5677

IMGP5665

IMGP5680

Information signs are made of 1/4″ steel plate, laser cut and left to rust. Here they are suspended by wire in front of an off the form concrete wall panel Tinted with natural ochre.

DARWIN

Posted on by
2

darwinmap

Darwin

  • Largest city in the NT
  • Smallest capital city in Australia (121,000)
  • Closer to 5 foreign capitals than to Canberra
  • Main income from mining and tourism
  • Re built after WWII air-raids and after Cyclone Tracy
  • 130kph on open road
  • Smoking still allowed in pubs
  • Weather is either hot and dry or hot and humid

IMGP5374

Parliament House – called the wedding cake – highly decorated on the outside, full of nuts on the inside

IMGP5398

Fanny Bay- great sailing and fishing but not too much swimming – too many crocs and box jellyfish

IMGP5484

Some interesting vessels moored in the harbour, some look like refugee boats from Indonesia.

IMGP5501

Cliffs along Fanny Bay

IMGP5487

Spectacular sunsets – the smoke haze of the dry season gives the sky a warm glow as the sun gets lower

IMGP5521

IMGP5469

Enjoying the relaxed, top end lifestyle

IMGP5564

Darwin has a rich Chinese history dating back to the start of the Pine Creek Goldrush. This is the Darwin Chinese Temple where Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are practiced simultaneously?

IMGP5554

IMGP5594

Doctors Gully, where tourists pay $11 per head to feed bread to fish so the fish will come back and more tourists can pe $11 a head to do the same. The formula has worked for 50 years.

IMGP5381

Weddings, like most things in Darwin, tend to be big – the bigger the better

IMGP5383

At this wedding, the bride arrived in a road train

IMGP5371

…and if you want to buy a gun in Darwin, you may as well make it a big one

SAMA SAJA

Posted on by
2

IMGP5416

The Darwin Museum has a fantastic display of Indonesian boats sailed to Australia by refugees. This little boat the “Sama Jasa” is only 5 meters long. It sailed across the sea with 6 people on board, landed on Bathurst Island, just off Darwin, in 1986. The crew were detained by customs, taken with the boat to Darwin and held in detention as illegal immigrants. How frustrating, after surviving a trip like that.

IMGP5414

Most of the boat is unpainted timber, the cabin is held together with rusty steel nails. The rigging is made from fencing wire. Below the waterline is coated with bitumen and lime.

IMGP5411

The Australian artist, Ian Fairweather, tells of a similar journey in his autobiography. In Darwin during the war, Fairweather built a raft out of aeroplane fuel tanks and drifted out of Darwin harbour late one night. After drifting for a week or so he washed up on an Indonesian beach where he was arrested by the authorities and sent straight back to Darwin.

WATERCOLOR WINDMILL

Posted on by
10

batchelor map

Outside the town of Batchelor, we camped under a huge old Southern Cross windmill. The kind that turn and creak at the slightest breath of wind.

IMGP5323x

I started to sketch it but every time I looked up the wind had changed and it looked completely different. I decided to ignore what it looked like from where I sat and draw it square on from in front.

Once it had shifted around a few times I had enough information to disregard perspective and make the drawing flat and mechanical.

IMGP5324

The initial drawing was done with Charcoal pencil, then washes of indigo and Burnt Sienna were put in fairly loosley with a 1″ and 1/4″ flat brush. The windmill was old and coated with rust and grease. I wanted the sketch to give the impression of reliability while indicating the wear and tear of a hard life.

Burnt Sienna ink lines were added then the drawing was broken up slightly with washes and splashes of White  Gouache.

windmill detail

This detail shows the Burnt Sienna ink lines, some left hard and sharp, others sprayed and softened with a mist of water. You can also see lines of white charcoal pencil adding to the detail and loose splashes of White Gouache.

These mechanical subjects are a lot of fun to paint. You can fill them with atmosphere and character, saying more about their life and function than their actual appearance.

SNAKE IN THE GRASS

Posted on by
2

ADELAIDE RIVER

map adel riv

We decided to camp at the Adelaide River Race Track before heading up to Darwin. The sun was setting and a few whispy clouds were catching the last bit of light.

IMGP5306

I climbed the judges tower to take some photographs. When I climbed down there was a snake  at the foot of the tower, arched up and snapping at me. I jumped back and he dissapeared into the grass. I couldn’t believe it – after hours of carefully picking my way through spinifex and speargrass the day before and not seeing a snake, to be bailed up by one here  was amazing.

IMGP5314

I snapped a blurry shot of him in the fading light with a wide angle lens as he slithered into the grass.

IMGP5313

Four furlong bend from the top of the tower.

.

.

IMGP5317

Last light as the sun went down

.

.IMGP5319

Next morning I walked over to the railway yard and couldn’t believe my luck. Someone had parked a yellow steam roller next to a purple railway carriage!

IMGP5318

PUBS – 2

Posted on by
2

GROVE HILL HOTEL

grove hill map

Whipping along the Stuart Highway north of Pine Creek, we saw a sign pointing to Grove Hill Hotel. We figured it must be a pretty impressive pub – the sign said “HISTORICAL” so off we went along a twisting dirt road to Grove Hill.

IMGP5273

At first sight the pub didn’t look that impressive. The garden was struggling, paint peeling and “New Ownership” sign, badly faded, but we went in anyway.

IMGP5274

The foyer was an elegant mixture of art deco and Territorian casual. We made our way through to the bar and ordered some drinks before wandering through the rest of the pub.

IMGP5275

The bar served a variety of beers in either cans or stubbies.

IMGP5283

The dining room – simple and tastefully decorated.

IMGP5284

Each table displayed a magnificent arrangement of artifical flowers.

IMGP5288

The bedrooms were comfortable and inviting.

remington

Keeping everything running smoothly required some fairly sophisticated, high-tech equipment.

.

IMGP5280

A piano accordian on the sideboard looked to have provided hours and hours years and years of first rate entertainment.

IMGP5290

Out the back, the matinence shed contained all the necessary tools to keep everything in ship shape condition.

IMGP5291

There was even a ride on mower to keep the grounds immaculate.

The car park is always a good indicator of the quality of a hotel. Looking at Grove Hill’s car park, it appears a lot of patrons arrive, park their car and never leave – and who could blame them.

IMGP5268

.

.

IMGP5270

.

.

IMGP5271

.

.

IMGP5272

So next time you happen to be whipping along the Stuart Highway north of  Pine Creek, take the detour to Grove Hill Hotel.

accomm

They even offer camping and budget accommodation.