Sunday 10 January 2016

Who'll Come a Waltzing Matilda with me?







I love ‘outback’ Australia.
In summer it is dry, hot, parched and dusty
with a raw beauty
that has found a special place in my heart.

In my twenties I lived and worked 
in both Sydney and Melbourne

I preferred Melbourne.




Maldon where our son lives 
is an historic mining town from the
goldrush days of the 1800's.

It is made up of gold miners cottages
an interesting array of shops worth perusing and
footpaths shaded by wide corrugated iron verandahs.
There are deep gutters
to cope with flooding when the rains come.

Any new buildings are governed by strict building codes

and must be within keeping of existing.



Two styles of early Australian houses in Maldon.
I was surprised how lovely some of the gardens look
considering the dry climate.
Roses seemed to do very well
and hedging using native plants were lovely.



There were interesting shops to peruse
and I bought several bits in 'Much Ado'.





How about some dinkum Aussie country music
Waltzing Matilda






We enjoyed our week in Maldon
soaking up the Australian landscape, fauna and flora!

I'm joining Judith for Mosaic Monday

Take care and
be kind to one another

à bientôt



Shane









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45 comments:

  1. Thank you for the lovely pictures of Maldon.Must go there soon!

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  2. Dear Shane - I really enjoyed coming for a waltz with you through a part of Australia that I have never seen or am likely to experience. It looks as if there is a gentle pace of life in the 'outback' together with some lovely little shops and I suspect cafes too.

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  3. If I had the opportunity I would go back to Australia and try to see a bit more of the countryside around Sydney.

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  4. Such a beautiful and interesting post, dear Shane!
    We learned "Waltzing Matilda" at school, and I have always found it fascinating, a little bit sad but very beautiful.
    Now... from the Australian summer back to the Finnish winter. It's -25 degrees Celsius outside. :)
    Have a lovely week ahead! xx

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  5. Sounds beautiful! Love the great photos too! I think it would be a cool place to visit! Happy Sunday!

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  6. HI Shane! I loved your tour. It looks like a great place to visit. It reminds me of our old American West. Funny how a location can be so far away, yet seem so familiar. Thanks for sharing these great photos! Hugs, Sue

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  7. Shane I would love to do a Waltzing Matilda, with you in your country, love to see towns and nature, ,and as can`t think of how I would ever be able doing so, it is wonderful visiting you here. Love your photoes, from your visiting your son, in his town.
    Hugs, Dorthe

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  8. What a beautiful place! Australia has always been a place my hubby has wanted to visit, maybe some day....maybe!

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  9. The town of Msldon looks charming.

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  10. Shane I just loved the pictures of the old town where your son lives. Great photos. I have always like the song Waltzing Matilda. It was good to hear it once again. Have a blessed day. Madeline

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  11. I fear that Australia is one of the countries I will never get to -- and it is one I would love dearly to see, that and New Zealand. Anyone I know who has ever traveled there has wanted to pack up and move!

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  12. I would love to return to Australia and visit both Melbourne and Maldon which looks like a fabulous historic country town. I loved hearing the story of 'Matilda', and am very familiar with 'boiling the billy' (complete with swinging it!) as our friend did just that on a picnic when we visited Brisbane!

    Glad you found some treasures in the shops Shane - that's always a fun thing when traveling.
    Hope 2016 has come in with fair weather and fun times, and much HOPE for a fabulous year ahead for you and your lovely family. Don't work too hard this year - and hopefully you'll be out on that boat again soon!

    With love - Mary x

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  13. Happy day to you, precious friend :) I am so glad your trip to Australia went well and thank you ever so much for taking us along by showing us your wonderful pictures. One day I would love to visit just like I want to visit New Zealand {{smies}} Maybe someday....

    Wishing you a joyous week. Much love to you!

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  14. What a nostalgic looking town with sort of old desert west look, at least for me since I live in Arizona. So charming. Thank you for taking us there. xoxo Su

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  15. Just exactly as you want and hope that rural and historic Australia will be! I love the line in Waltzing Matilda about "under the shade of a coolibah tree" that just fits to me with the pictures of the area where your son lives! I can almost imagine the billy can boiling, the damper cooking and a kookaburra calling! I SO enjoyed this post. Thank you! xx

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  16. Thanks for the tour Shane. Maldon looks delightful. I love Melbourne but couldn't cope with the climate full time. I have a granddaughter who lives there and a step-daughter near Bowral in N.S.W. which is another delightful area.

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  17. I hope to be able to travel to the outback in Australia before I am too old. We have already been to New Zealand. Beautiful photos of Maldon town and I enjoyed Waltzing Mathilde, well I listened to it two times....

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  18. Oh great, the second one was from Johny Cash.

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  19. Lovely and interesting pictures; thanks for sharing, Shane,
    xx

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  20. I would love to visit Australia … right after New Zealand!

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  21. Just some lov,why photos, Shane, made even better because your son lives there. I always find it amazing how well some plants survive in such heat.
    Sending you some Thai sunshine and love.
    Xo
    Dagmar

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  22. It looks like a fun place to explore. Reminds me a little of Arizona. What does the phrase "within keeping of existing" mean? I have my guesses, but could be incorrect.

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  23. I had to visit after seeing the title of your post. My mother said that when I was very young I would weep (not just cry, but weep) whenever that song came on. I have no idea why. I listened to it again. It does have a poignancy to it, but who knows . . . ? Would love to visit Australia and new Zealand some day. Thanks for taking us along in your travels!

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  24. Maldon reminds me of the old mining town photos I've seen from our province's past. They are probably about the same vintage. The hot dry sun sounds very appealing just now as we are heading into a week of cold rain.
    Beautiful sunlight in your photos, Shane. I'm glad you had a good time in Australia.

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  25. Happy New Year Shane!
    Maldon is a place I visited several years ago and I still have memories of the beautiful old buildings lining the main street. So typical are those buildings of outback Australia and yes very often dry for much of the year unless you are living near the coast like here. At the moment there is total green everywhere you look from recent rains!
    Thanks for sharing these and I hope you enjoyed visiting where you son has moved to in Australia!
    I was curious as to the type of employment he has taken up in that area.
    Hugs from the far south coast!
    Suzy♥

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  26. Thank you for the tour of Maldon which has preserved that old fashioned feel. I love the ironwork canopies and detail on the balconies along the street. Our grandson has returned from staying with his cousin in Melbourne. He spent some time north of the city (I'm not sure where) and worked at beekeeping. It was a good experience for him and now he's working in landscape gardening in England.

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  27. Hello, what a cute town. I like the cute houses and the gardens. Thanks for sharing your visit, the photos are wonderful. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

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  28. I love your photos and the music! :))

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  29. I've never visited Australia, but my husband has close relatives there that we plan on visiting one day when our kids are a little older. I love looking at photos of places I plan to eventually visit.
    Thanks for dropping my blog earlier. Have a great day!

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  30. What a peaceful spot....lovely!

    Donna@GardensEyeView
    and LivingFromHappiness

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  31. Sounds and looks like such a lovely area. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos!

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  32. So rustic and quaint looking. I loved your photos, it made me feel that I would like to visit Maldon.Maybe one day:-)

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  33. Dearest Shane,
    That was for sure a lovely time with your son and also fond memories of your younger years.
    We've never been there but what I do remember when I visited with my first cousin Elizabeth the Melbourne Botanical Gardens that the roses there were stunning.
    Probably is the soil quality that good that they can breach a drought!
    Here it is and dry/hot and all that with very poor soil...
    Lovely history too!
    Sending you hugs and blessings.
    Mariette

    PS Loved the video as background...

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  34. Shane, I enjoyed seeing these views from Maldon, and wonder what the beautiful place's economic basis might be? I live in NYC where lots of tourists help to keep the economy going, along with the productivity of residents like myself.

    Is Maldon a farming area, or are there lots of computer programmers or other small business entrepreneurs?

    Happy 2016! xo

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  35. I just love this. I love that song. It brings back fond memories.

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  36. Beautiful photos. It looks so lovely there. Thank you for sharing.
    Happy New Year!

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  37. Oh this place just calls out to me. Lovely photos (and now you have me humming Waltzing Matilda - likely for the rest of the day ;-) )

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  38. My darling Shane,
    I know so little about Australia that every post talking about it is such a wonderful surprise to me, and I thank you most sincerely for this wonderful last one of yours !
    I'd love to have a trip there, even short ...
    Wishing you a most beautiful remainder of your week, I'm sending love and hugs with deep gratitude and esteem
    xo
    Dany

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  39. Hi Shane, I really enjoyed this post and your previous one of your trip to Maldon and area. It looks so beautiful and quaint there. Really lovely posts. Hugs. Pam

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  40. I always enjoy the landscape of Australia especially when a kangaroo or two is included. Hopefully you are not affected by the fires that Jill mentioned in her post?
    Glad you had a good visit with your son Shane.

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  41. It looks quite beautiful! I would love visiting here.

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  42. What wonderful pictures. It is always nice to see other places in the world. Reminded me of the old west here in the states.

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  43. How lovely, Shane. I've not had the pleasure of visiting Australia, but have often heard of its beauty. Decades ago, a friend of mine did a teacher exchange and adored her year in Australia.

    Karen

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  44. I'd love to live in that little yellow house (in the 3rd picture). It looks so cozy and welcoming.

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  45. I'd love to visit sometime! Just watched "Wentworth" on Netflix and enjoyed this Australian program and its language.

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