Bark Picture Gallery

This old red gum caught my eye last week. It stands beside the Torrumbarry Weir on the Murray River, having so far escaped the axe and chain saw. On later, closer appraisal of the photograph, I started seeing pictures in the bark. For example, a dog of the hound variety, an under-the-weather Kingsford Smith in his leather pilot’s helmet, Meryl Streep hiding behind a tree and so on. What do you reckon? Am I barking up the wrong tree!

Holden on to History

Today marks the sad end of Australia’s production of cars. Goodbye to the Holden car.

Last week, while exploring the Murray River, my good friends Pat and Jeff suggested we visit Echuca’s Holden Museum. This museum has a very large collection of Holden cars, the car that has travelled our roads for almost seventy years. The visit brought back wonderful memories.

Most Australian families have had some association with Holdens. As a child, our third family car was a Holden. My own family’s first car was a Holden station waggon.

My father bought me a Holden Dinky toy and I spent hours playing with that little car. We recreated the Redex car trials of the fifties. We pushed our cars along the dirt tracks we made, simulating the imagined conditions of ‘outback’ travel. I even gave my car a new paint job.

So, hold on to your hat and your Holden memories!

Winds of change are blowing.