Australia and Tasmania: The Cemetery wooOOOOooo!
January 8, 2011 Filed under Curious
Today’s excursion: The Melbourne General Cemetery.
Today’s excursion: The Melbourne General Cemetery.
There’s a good chunk of history here.
There’s a good chunk of history here. … As well as a good chunk of creepy!
… As well as a good chunk of creepy!
One Halloween, when I was a kid, I was given a maze to color in at school. It was a graveyard in the woods, with the tombstones leaning crazily around, and ghosts and skeletons capering. I decided I would draw my own version of the maze, by tracing shapes out of it, one at a time, onto a new piece of paper. As I went I became enthralled with the idea of a graveyard maze that stretched to infinity – an endless recombination of the same few elements, and the real trick was, it was a three-dimensional place, and if you stood in any spot and took a flat photograph of what you saw, the photograph would make a two-dimensional maze, with an entrance and an exit. Walking around here brought back that memory, and that idea.
One Halloween, when I was a kid, I was given a maze to color in at school. It was a graveyard in the woods, with the tombstones leaning crazily around, and ghosts and skeletons capering. I decided I would draw my own version of the maze, by tracing shapes out of it, one at a time, onto a new piece of paper. As I went I became enthralled with the idea of a graveyard maze that stretched to infinity – an endless recombination of the same few elements, and the real trick was, it was a three-dimensional place, and if you stood in any spot and took a flat photograph of what you saw, the photograph would make a two-dimensional maze, with an entrance and an exit.
Walking around here brought back that memory, and that idea.
"The Werewolf", by Angela Carter, describes graveyards as "those bleak and touching townships of the dead."
“The Werewolf”, by Angela Carter, describes graveyards as “those bleak and touching townships of the dead.”
Spiders are SRS BSNS here, too.
Spiders are SRS BSNS here, too.
I don’t know what happened to Tom Askew or his parents, but I suspect they were lost at sea.
I don’t know what happened to Tom Askew or his parents, but I suspect they were lost at sea.
The Jewish quarter.
The Jewish quarter.
Buried here, we find three of the four people who headed the first Western expedition to cross the continent of Australia.
Buried here, we find three of the four people who headed the first Western expedition to cross the continent of Australia.
Walter Lindrum was the founder and first president of the Sportsmen’s Association of Australia. The grave is cleverly designed – the pockets in the "pool table" have tiny holes in them so the table doesn’t fill with water.
Walter Lindrum was the founder and first president of the Sportsmen’s Association of Australia. The grave is cleverly designed – the pockets in the “pool table” have tiny holes in them so the table doesn’t fill with water.
A closer look…
One more look at that super-creepy statue…
As part of my Australia adventure, I decided to eat as the Australians eat. I decided that this meant eating lots of fish and chips. Sea Salt served their fish thickly battered, and made the chips nice and crispy for me, even though soggy chips are more traditional.
As part of my Australia adventure, I decided to eat as the Australians eat. I decided that this meant eating lots of fish and chips. “Sea Salt” served their fish thickly battered, and made the chips nice and crispy for me, even though soggy chips are more traditional.
(I decided I had to stop being vegan in November, when my symptoms were extremely bad. I’ve still strongly de-emphasized dairy, and I don’t like milk. My symptoms have improved in the last month. I may try for vegan again at some point, since I suspect the improvement was for unrelated reasons.)
I’m a bike nerd, and I thought this bike was nifty, so here you go!
I’m a bike nerd, and I thought this bike was nifty, so here you go!