Australian Sojourn – May 2016

Part 11: Last Days in Australia

Above: A Poldark moment! . . . though in Australia not Cornwall,
and minus the eighteenth-century attire.

I find it hard to believe but it's been almost four months since I returned to the U.S. from my "Australian sojourn." High time, then, to wrap-up my series of posts documenting my time and experiences in the Great South Land. And so today I share the eleventh and final installment in this series, an installment that covers my last days in Australia at the beginning of June. (To start at the beginning of this series, click here.)

It was, without question, a very enjoyable and meaningful sojourn, one which I began after my May 6 arrival with a few days spent in Sydney and nearby Morpeth, before flying south to Melbourne (and the "mystic Mount Diogenes"). I then made my way north by train to Port Macquarie via Albury, Goulburn, Exeter, and (ever so briefly) Sydney. After a few days in Port Macquarie, I flew to Townsville, before returning to Port Macquarie and making my way to Sydney from where I returned to the U.S. on Monday, June 6. Throughout my time in Australia, I was reminded of how incredibly fortunate I am to have the family and friends that I do.

On Friday, June 3, my brother, sister-in-law, and youngest niece traveled from Morpeth to Port Macquarie to spend time with my parents and I before my departure back to the U.S. on June 6. Pictured with me above (from left) are my younger brother Tim, Dad and Mum.

Above: With my two beautiful nieces Layne and Sami, and Layne's boyfriend Jack – Friday, June 3, 2016.


Right: With my younger brother Tim. My older brother Chris lives in Melbourne. I visited him and his family earlier in my sojourn (see here and here).

Above and below: On Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie – Friday, June 3, 2016. (For another image from this particular walk along Lighthouse Beach, click here.)

Above: My sister-in-law snapped this photo of us after a lovely lunch at the Rivermark Café – Saturday, June 4, 2016. From left: Dad, Mum, Jack, my sister-in-law's parents Barbara and Bill, my nieces Layne and Sami, me, and Tim.

Above: A view from the Rivermark Cafe, Port Macquarie's "only café on the river," the Hastings River, that is.

Above: Town Beach, on my last day in Port Macquarie – Saturday, June 4, 2016. That night there were terrific storms all along the coast of New South Wales. My parents' house lost power in the night, and so saying goodbye to them in their cold and darkened house early on Sunday morning was kind of appropriate given our shared feelings of sadness.

Above and below: In Sydney my mood was lifted by being reunited with my friend Raphael. On Sunday night I joined him, his girlfriend Meera, and his sister Collette for a wonderful meal at a Thai restaurant.

Above: Meera, Raphael, and Collette.

Right: With Raph and Collette on my last night in Australia – Sunday, June 5, 2016.

Left: The plane that brought me back to the U.S. The long flight across the Pacific was made somewhat bearable by my watching of the BBC's recent adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace.

NEXT: Back in Minnesota

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 1 – Maroubra
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 2 – Morpeth
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 3 – Melbourne
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 4 – Hanging Rock
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 5 – Albury
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 6 – Goulburn
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 7 – Exeter
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 8 – Port Macquarie
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 9 – Gunnedah
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 10 – Townsville

Images: Michael J. Bayly.

Australian Sojourn – May 2016

Part 10: Townsville

Continuing with my series documenting my May visit to Australia, I share this evening a few images of my visit to the Queensland city of Townsville (above) to see my good friends Jeremiah and Kristy (pictured with me at right) and their two beautiful children. (To start at the beginning of this series, click here.)

Kristy once described me to someone as Jeremiah's "childhood, boyhood, manhood friend." I think that sums it up pretty well!

I've known Jeremiah since my teaching days in Goulburn, New South Wales, where his dad was the principal of Sts. Peter and Paul Primary School. I taught at Sts. Peter and Paul's for six years before moving to the U.S. in 1994. I was Jeremiah's 4th grade teacher in 1989, and his sister Tess's 5th grade teacher in 1992. In was in Tess's memory that another of her brothers, Raphael, cycled over 1900 kilometers in 2014 to raise awareness and funds for melanoma research and prevention. (For more about Raph's inspiring achievement, click here, here, and here.)

I've stayed good friends with all the members of the family ever since our time together in Goulburn, and I always try to catch up with as many of them as possible whenever I visit Australia from the U.S. I last saw Jeremiah and Kristy in 2012, when they were living for a time in Sydney. I last saw them in Townsville in 2006 (see here, here and here), not that long after they first moved there.

I flew to Townsville from Port Macquarie via Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland.

At left is a view of the central business district (CBD) of Brisbane that I snapped as we were coming in to land. This was the morning of Thursday, May 26, 2016.

Above: With Magnetic Island behind me.

Above: Jeremiah, showing us all how it's done!

Above: A view from the plane window as I flew back south. It was somewhat of a pain returning to Port Macquarie as I had to fly to Brisbane than overshoot Port to Sydney, where I then caught a third flight back up north to Port. Yes, it was a long day. But thankfully there were beautiful views like the one above to enjoy!

NEXT: Last Days in Australia

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Leichhardt (2012)
• Photo of the Day – May 13, 2012
• A Bushland Wedding (2011)
• Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast (2010)
• Newtown (2008)
• Return to Ellenborough Falls (2008)
• North Brother Mountain (2008)
• Travelin' North (2006)
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 1 – Maroubra
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 2 – Morpeth
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 3 – Melbourne
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 4 – Hanging Rock
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 5 – Albury
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 6 – Goulburn
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 7 – Exeter
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 8 – Port Macquarie
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 9 – Gunnedah

Images: Michael J. Bayly.

Australian Sojourn – May 2016

Part 9: Gunnedah

Continuing with my series of posts on my May visit to Australia, I share this evening a few images of my visit with my parents to our hometown of Gunnedah. (To start at the beginning of this series, click here.)

My parents have lived in Port Macquarie since 2002, and the drive from this town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales inland to the rural town of Gunnedah takes about four-and-a-half hours.

In traveling across the mountains from the coast to the New England Tablelands the towns and villages one passes through are Wauchope, Walcha, Bendemeer, and Moonbi, and the city of Tamworth.

Above right and left: My parents, Gordon and Margaret Bayly, and I at Gingers Creek, a rest stop and "bush resort" in the mountains between Wauchope and Walcha.

For many years logging was a dominant activity in the area around Wauchope and Walcha. The town of Wauchope, for instance, is the location of Timbertown, a popular heritage theme park inspired by the logging industry that formed the basis for the town's early economy and prosperity. Logging still goes on, though with a twist and some controversy. Beyond timber, Walcha is known as the "Pasture Wonderland" as the dominant industry in the area is livestock grazing, mainly Merino sheep but also stud and beef cattle.

Above: The town of Walcha, located in an area originally occupied by the Dunghutti Aborigines prior to European settlement. In 1818, John Oxley became the first white person to discover the area and the nearby falls which were later to be named Apsley Falls.

The Dunghutti people tell the story of how the Rainbow Serpent created the gorge at Apsley Falls in the Dreamtime. If one walks to one of the viewing platforms and may well see a rainbow in the mist of the falling water. The Rainbow Serpent is said to travel underground from the base of the falls to reappear at the mill hole near Walcha on the Apsley River, 20 kilometres (12 miles) upstream. The site is marked in Walcha by a mosaic made with the ideas and help of the local Dhungutti community.

Above: The post office of the rural city of Tamworth, Australia's "Country Music Capital." The city annually hosts the Tamworth Country Music Festival in late January; the second biggest country music festival in the world. Tamworth is also recognized as the "National Equine Capital of Australia" because of the high number of equine events held in the city and the construction of the world class Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre, the biggest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

Gunnedah is located in the Namoi River valley of north-western New South Wales and serves as the major service centre for the farming area known as the Liverpool Plains (above).

The town and its surrounding area were originally inhabited by indigenous Australians who spoke the Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay) language. The area now occupied by the town was settled by Europeans in 1833. Through my maternal grandmother’s family, the Millerds, my family can trace its connection to Gunnedah back to the town’s earliest days. For more about the town’s history and my family’s connection to it, see the previous Wild Reed posts, My “Bone Country” and Journey to Gunnedah.

Left: The dove that belonged to my maternal grandmother, Olive Sparkes (1906-1997). I'm thinking this dove must be at least 20 years old. Since Nanna Sparkes' death, the dove has been in the care of my Aunt Ruth, whom I stayed with when I was in Gunnedah. I'm glad this dove is still with us, as hearing it's beautiful and peaceful cooing in the morning is a lovely reminder of Nanna.

Right: A faded snap shot of my maternal grandparents Olive and Valentine Sparkes.

My grandfather, Valentine Sparkes (1890-1971), was a survivor of the First World War. He moved to Gunnedah in the 1930s from down south in Victoria. He married the widow Olive Louis (nee Millerd) and together they made a home in Little Conadilly Street in Gunnedah . Here they raised Olive's two children, Eric and Fay, from her first marriage, and had four children of their own: Margaret (my Mum), Catherine (who died in infancy), Michael, and Ruth.

Valentine was a writer and one of the last short stories he wrote was about the kinship that developed between me as a young child and one of his fowls – a white rooster. You can read this story here.

Above: Looking across the western edge of Gunnedah towards the Kelvin Hills, which I hiked in my youth – and most recently in 2000.

Above and below: Two views from Gunnedah's Porcupine Lookout of the Breeza Plains.

As I note elsewhere at The Wild Reed, part of the 2006 film Superman Returns was filmed on the plains near the village of Breeza, 25 miles south of Gunnedah.

Above and below: Some of the beautiful eucalyptus trees on Porcupine Hill that caught my eye! These photos were taken in the late afternoon of Tuesday, May 25, 2016.

Above and below: Later that evening my parents and I enjoyed dinner with relatives and friends at the Gunnedah Services and Bowling Club. This establishment has special significance for our family as my paternal grandmother, Belle Smith (1919-2005), worked here for many years as the Catering Manager. At that time it was known as the Gunnedah Servicemen's Club.

Pictured with me above are Jillian, Jo, and Noah.

Above: Mum (at left) with (from left) longtime family friend Gwen, mum's younger sister Ruth, and sister-in-law Valda.

I'm sorry to say that dear Aunty Val passed away quite unexpectedly just a few weeks after this photo was taken. She is missed by many, especially her beloved husband Michael, daughter Alicia, and three grandchildren. I had already returned to the U.S. when Val died and so was unable to attend her funeral in Gunnedah, My parents did, however, and, by all accounts, it was a very well-attended and loving tribute to a woman greatly respected and loved by her family and the community.

Above: Happy times with Aunty Val and Mum – May 25, 2016.

Above: Val's husband (and my uncle) Michael with longtime family friend John Sills.

Above: Family friends Gary, Peter, and John.



Right: My childhood friend Dianne and her partner.

Left: With another dear childhood (and neighborhood) friend, Louise.

Above: Dad with longtime family friends Gwen (right) and Wendy (one of Gwen's and her late husband Ray's three daughters).



Right: Gwen and Aunty Ruth catch up on the latest!

Left: Ruth's son (and my cousin) Greg with (from left) Sally, John, and Noah.

Above: When I heard that young Noah was especially looking forward to seeing me, I made sure to call into a bookstore as we passed through Tamworth earlier that day on our way to Gunnedah. Here I bought him a copy of the wonderful novel by Michael Ende, The Neverending Story. It's definitely one of my all-time favorite books. And I hope it becomes that for Noah too!

Above: Family friends (from left) Heather, Delores, and Wendy.


Right: My childhood friend (and next-door-neighbor) Jillian and her husband David.



NEXT: Townsville


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Australian Sojourn, March 2015: Part 12 – Gunnedah
• A Visit to Gunnedah (2014)
• Journey to Gunnedah (2011)
• This Corner of the Earth (2010)
• An Afternoon at the Gunnedah Convent of Mercy (2010)
• My "Bone Country" (2009)
• The White Rooster
• Remembering Nanna Smith
• One of These Boys is Not Like the Others
• Gunnedah (Part 1)
• Gunnedah (Part 2)
• Gunnedah (Part 3)
• Gunnedah (Part 4)
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 1 – Maroubra
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 2 – Morpeth
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 3 – Melbourne
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 4 – Hanging Rock
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 5 – Albury
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 6 – Goulburn
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 7 – Exeter
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 8 – Port Macquarie

Images: Michael J. Bayly.