Another
beautiful morning with clear sky, light breeze, 16 degrees at 7.30am. Headed
off for the hour drive down to Chris and Diane’s for brunch. Passed the Protest
Statues near Dublin – just got them in the photos as we were on the highway.
They were built in reaction to the SA Government approving an application for
the construction of a landfill dump on the outskirts of Dublin in 1998.
Concerned about the impact a dump would have on the Gulf of St Vincent, and
appalled at the decision, residents of the town and surrounding areas formed a
protest group and rallied to voice their objection. Leading them was Steve
Jones, a quietly spoken local farmer who devised a unique way to protest
against the government’s decision. With the help of other members, Steve built
several imaginative sculptures, each with its own distinct message and
positioned them on private property dotted along Port Wakefield Road. Due to
the intensity of the lobbying at the height of the protest and fearing
discovery, the sculptures were assembled under the cover of darkness where
travellers would intermittently awaken to a new message proclaiming the groups’
opposition to the proposal. Despite losing the campaign, the sculptures
remained and have now become a familiar landmark on the Adelaide Plains.
The
Environmental Observer – built to indicate the absolute need for a transparent
Environmental Protection Authority, many felt they were betrayed by the agency,
and came at a time when the ‘peoples EPA’ was form.
Ned
Kelly – Built to highlight the dump was approved for political interests,
leaving residents with a toxic mess, while the government would simply ‘gallop’
away hiding behind their masks of office.
The
Rat – Indicating the general feeling that the local agriculture had been ‘sold
out’ as secondary to waste disposal.
The
Cockroach – Demonstrating concern at the increase in vermin, it holds a knife
and fork indicating how residents felt with government authorities – ‘they
knife and fork you’.
The
Tin Man – Built of discarded oil drums and emphasising the need for better
recycling of waste, rather than landfill.
The
Spaceship – ‘Lost in Waste’ suggesting the government of the day had lost its
way on the waste issue by siting a dump, as they termed it ‘in a remote area’ –
suggesting no people existed.
I
took a photo of The Giant Blowfly when we first came here – The residents and
protestors felt they had been ‘whacked’ on the head by a large fly swatter. The
letters EIS on the swatter stand for ‘Environmental Impact Statement’, with the
sign below directed at John Olsen – the State Premier at the time ‘Olsen power,
the fly who shagged us’.
Had
a wonderful time getting to know their children Anthea and two of her sons, Felix
and baby Phineas; David; Zoe’s husband, Scott (Zoe had to work) and their three
children, Aimee, Jack and Angus; Nick’s wife, Sandie and their daughter Sophie.
Diane cooked up a feast and we all had a great time chatting.
Headed
off to Bunnings to get some cheap chairs for the V8s. Then did the groceries.
Programmed ‘Kate’ and headed down to Mt Lofty to meet Leanne & Rick.
Mt
Lofty House is lovely. It was built between 1852 and 1858 by a pastoralist.
Sadly
it burnt down in 1983 in the Ash Wednesday Fires but has been rebuilt
beautifully.
Gorgeous
Giant Redwood (Californian Redwood).
Fabulous
views too.
Leanne
& Rick had a lovely room. Had a drink then headed up to Mt Lofty Summit to
watch the sun set. Nearly missed it.
Quick
photo over Piccadilly Valley.
View
over Adelaide in the twilight.
Spectacular
view as the sun sets over Gulf St Vincent – glad we had our jumpers as it is
freezing. It goes down so quickly.
The
fire tower is 34 metres high and commenced operations in 1982. It is the focal
point of all fire spotting in the Mt Lofty Ranges. The tower remained
operational throughout the Ash Wednesday fires on 16th February,
1983. 26 lives were lost that day.
Flinders
Column. A plaque says Mt Lofty Summit 710 metres (2329 feet) above sea level.
A
plane leaves its mark on the sky.
Headed
back down the steep range. Didn’t have my camera ready as we drove up so missed
getting a photo of the Toll House, est 1841, or the tunnel. Bit blurry taking
the photo at night.
Had
to detour around the closed off roads around the Clipsal race area. A V8
Supercars’ Clipsal Medical car parked beside us at the lights.
A
big Scotsman outside one of the hotels.
Back
home by 9.30pm. Will sort the groceries tomorrow!! New vans from Qld on either
side of us but all is quiet.
No comments:
Post a Comment