andrewlighten.com

This weekend – today, in fact – marks 150 years since the Maryborough Fire Brigade came into being. They were one of the first fire brigades in Victoria and were formed when Freemason’s Hotel (the site of the current Albion Hotel) burnt to the ground. Today they’re part of the state-wide Country Fire Authority and vital part of the volunteer emergency service fabric of the state.

Last night the SES Controller and I had the pleasure of attending their formal dinner, and enjoyed good food and excellent company. We got to see and hear a lot of history relating to the brigade – some of which we knew, but a lot of was new to us.

Today the fire station had an open day with a BBQ, so the kids and I wandered down to say hello and have a look over the fire appliances.

New Year’s day in Maryborough has long been associated with the annual highland gathering. This year was the 150th celebration – and to mark the occasion, the Highland Society decided to hold a Scottish Tattoo.

The tattoo was preceded by a parade down the main road. Because I was behind the wheel of one of the SES rescue trucks I don’t have photos of the parade, but we certainly had fun being part of it. The kids lining the route loved seeing the trucks with flashing lights and blaring sirens.

Tattoo

The tattoo itself was fantastic. It kicked off with the Maryborough brass band playing a few introductions and was followed up by some re-enactment actors who played out a scene depicting the discovery of gold in Maryborough. Regular readers might recognise a few of the actors.

Next up was a ensemble of pipe and drum bands (something like 7 or 8 bands combined) that sounded fantastic. They played for 10 or 15 minutes and the crowd enjoyed every second of it.

Celine

Once the band left, a small stage was setup for Celine Toner, a Celtic singer. Her set of 5 songs were great and left a lasting impression on the girls. Because they shared a changing room with Celine they spent a bit of time with her and her band. We’ve got a personally signed CD and some great memories.

I’m afflicted

Peter, Diane and Terry (an acting friend of Peter’s) played a second set as a snake-oil salesman. They needed an audience plant who would be afflicted by some terrible disease and then miraculously cured. Cue Big Girl:

Marching Girls

No highland event would be complete without marching girls and sword dancing. There were two groups of marching girls – one group called The Originals who was made up of older women who have been marching girls at earlier highland gatherings. They weren’t as mobile as they used to be, but you could tell they were having a great time marching in front of a crowd again.

Next up were the modern day marching and sword dancing girls. There were four different groups and they all did pretty well – they were another crowd favourite.

The Windy Kilts

An actor played the role of audience warm up and MC early in the event. Later, he slipped into his role as leader of The Windy Kilts. They were great – very funny stuff. Completely unsophisticated slapstick humour, but I loved every minute of it.

Finale

The event closed with the whole arena filled with the Maryborough brass band, the massed pipe and drum bands, the marching girls and the actors. The bands played a few final songs including Auld Lang Syne (it is New Year, after all) and finished the only way the possible could with Scotland The Brave.

Next year

I’ve been told that if this year’s tattoo was a success they’ll make it a regular part of the new year’s event. I haven’t yet heard whether they’ve made a decision (it’s a little early to know) but given that Princes Park was full of people who loved every minute of what went on, I can’t see how it could be considered anything other than a success.

Bonus photos

A few more random shots from yesterday…

Today is National Tree Day. The Maryborough guides went into Paddy’s Ranges and planted 350 trees at Waterloo Flat. Everyone had a great time digging holes, planting trees, falling in the mud and finishing off with a BBQ.

Yesterday was ANZAC day. The nation pretty much stops on this day to remember those who have fought and fallen in the service of their country.

Our big girl had the honour of being in the wreath party for the Girl Guides this year.

I was stupid enough to declare that if we saw donations of $2000 before 18:00 on Friday then I’d do a midnight lap wearing my mankini. Sadly, we didn’t quite get there.

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our Relay for Life team this year. With the additional donations that will come in early next week we’ll probably top this $2000, but sadly, not in time to bring the mankini out.

Special thanks to Doug Schache who made a huge donation to bring us so close.

The whole event was much bigger than anyone expected. The committee was hoping for 20 teams and $5000 in donations. In the end, we got 37 teams, 760 individual walkers and raised $51,000.

Donations that were 10 times what anyone hoped for plus the participation of nearly 10% of the community as walkers, let alone supporters, is a huge success and clearly indicates that the community really liked this event. It was great to be part of.

Next year’s event is the 1st and 2nd of April, and you can bet that the SES will be part of that. Those who were in this year’s event – although very footsore and weary – enjoyed it so much we’ll be back.

Having revisited my photos from last weekend’s photowalk through Maryborough I think these two are probably my favourites.

They’re vastly different, but they both capture the essence of the railway in Maryborough.

One tells the story of a grand old station that’s 120 years old this year. Mark Twain visited Maryborough in 1895 and remarked that it was “A railway station with a town attached”. The station is indeed a magnificent building. There are lots of local rumours and legends about why it’s such an ornate structure, and I’m not sure which I believe.

The other explores the idea of distance and a vast land tied together by rail. During wheat harvest season, rail still forms a vital link between farms and ports. Large parts of Victoria (particularly the Wimmera and The Mallee) are all about railway lines going to the horizon and every small town being dominated by silos.

A small group of us did a 3 hour photowalk through Maryborough today. Lisa, Karen, Nadine and I wandered the streets shooting majestic vistas and trivial details of the town.

We kicked off at the railway station, wandered down past Crameri’s hay store on Tuaggra Street, drifted up Nolan Street and dropped into Maggie’s Cafe for a short break.

We then kicked off again by heading down Alma Street and across into Phillips Gardens. We then wound our way back to the station via the old Flour Mill.

It would have been good to have a few more people turn up, but it was a good walk regardless.

As Lisa pointed out, one of the great things about a photowalk is being able to see the same subject matter shot by different people with a different perspective and interpretation.

I’ve posted a set to flickr, and so has Lisa.

Today – Sunday March 7th – is the annual Clean Up Australia Day. The Girl Guides got involved, as they always do, so big girl and I spent a couple of hours picking up rubbish and recyclables from the grassland around the bandstand in Princes Park.

Afterwards, there was a BBQ for the guides and then some ice blocking, which basically involves wetting down at tarp and having the kids slide down on blocks of ice. They all got terribly wet and muddy, but had a fabulous time.

I’m participating in the Relay For Life 2010.

Relay For Life is an overnight, community event where teams of 10 or more keep a baton moving in a relay-style walk or run to raise funds for the Cancer Council. The event brings the whole community together for a night of fun, entertainment, celebration and remembrance.

Every dollar raised at Relay For Life helps the Cancer Council to:

• Investigate new ways to prevent, detect and treat cancers
• Educate people in your community about ways they can reduce their cancer risk
• Advocate for cancer control
• Support people during their times of greatest need.

You can help support me by making a secure online donation using your credit card. Click on the link below and search for me:

https://secure.cancercouncilfundraising.org.au/registrant/StartUp.aspx?locationID=10927

For more information on how YOU can participate in Relay For Life 2010, please visit us at http://vic.relayforlife.org.au/ Thanks for your support!

You might remember that a month or so back I was whining about map quality and about the way Google maps showed a second cemetery where one didn’t exist? Well, Brad corrected me in a comment on that post, and I visited the place where he suggested I could find some indications of the cemetery.

The cemetery isn’t really visible from the top of the hill, but at the bottom there are some signs to indicate where it was.

Right at the centre of this picture, between the trees, you can just make out the left edge of Bristol Hill tower. I’ll do a separate shoot of the tower one day; it’s a nice spot. There’s a plaque in the stone monument off to the right. I’ve processed it in high contrast black and white to make the text easier to read.

As the text at the bottom says, there are at least 400 other people believe to be buried here. If you look at how small the hill is it’s almost hard to believe. There can’t be much space between the graves at all. It would be interesting to get Tony Robinson’s Time Team people to visit and do some ground radar work here.