TRAVEL TUESDAY 437 - STORY BRIDGE, BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

"Sometimes you get the best light from a burning bridge." -  Don Henley

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The Story Bridge is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Brisbane River that carries vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the northern and the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is the longest cantilever bridge in Australia. The bridge is part of Bradfield Highway and connects Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point.

It is named for John Douglas Story (7 August 1869, Edinburgh, Scotland — 2 February 1966, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia). Story was a prominent Queensland public servant who entered the Queensland Public Service and was Under-Secretary for the Department of Education between 1906 and 1920. He was the Public Service Commissioner from 1920 to 1939. Story worked for the establishment of the University of Queensland and was a government representative on the University senate.

Before the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932 the Government of Queensland asked John Bradfield to design a new bridge in Brisbane. The Queensland Government appointed John Bradfield on 15 December 1933 as consulting engineer to the Bureau of Industry who were in charge of the construction of the bridge. In June 1934 Bradfield's recommendation of a steel cantilever bridge was approved. The design for the bridge was based heavily on that of the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal, completed in 1930.

On 30 April 1935 a consortium of two Queensland companies, Evans Deakin and Hornibrook Constructions, won the tender with a bid of ₤1,150,000. Construction on the bridge began on 24 May 1935, with the first sod being turned by the then Premier of Queensland, William Forgan Smith. Until it was completed the bridge was known as the Jubilee Bridge in honour of King George V. It was opened on 6 July 1940 by Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, Governor of Queensland and named for John Douglas Story, a senior and influential public servant who had advocated strongly for the bridge's construction.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 415 - BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

"I might grow old in Brisbane, but I would never grow up."-  David Malouf

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Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of approximately 2.5 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3 million. The Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, approximately 23 km from its mouth at Moreton Bay.

The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River valley between the bay and the Great Dividing Range. While the metropolitan area is governed by several municipalities, a large portion of central Brisbane is governed by the Brisbane City Council, which is by far Australia's largest Local Government Area by population.

Brisbane is named after the river on which it sits, which, in turn, was named after Scotsman Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825. The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres north of the Brisbane central business district, in 1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825. Free settlers were permitted from 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859.

The round temple-like building in the front centre is the Anzac Shrine.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 406 - BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

“The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which to burn.” - David Russell

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

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Brisbane is the port and the capital city of Queensland, Australia, and Australia’s third largest city. It lies astride the Brisbane River on the southern slopes of the Taylor Range, 19 km above the river’s mouth at Moreton Bay. The site, first explored in 1823 by John Oxley, was occupied in 1824 by a penal colony, which had moved from Redcliffe 35 km northeast.

The name of the City honours Sir Thomas Brisbane, former governor of New South Wales, when the convict settlement was declared a town in 1834. Proclaimed a municipality in 1859, it became the capital of newly independent Queensland that same year. Gazetted a city in 1902, it was joined during the 1920s with South Brisbane to form the City of Greater Brisbane. Its municipal government, headed by a lord mayor, holds very broad powers. The Brisbane statistical division, including the cities of Ipswich and Redcliffe, has close economic and social ties to the city.

The Story Bridge is a heritage-listed steel cantilever bridge spanning the Brisbane River that carries vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the northern and the southern suburbs of Brisbane. It is the longest cantilever bridge in Australia. The road across the bridge is named Bradfield Highway. The bridge connects Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point. The Story Bridge opened in 1940 and was tolled until 1947. It is named after prominent public servant John Douglas Story.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY #76 - ANZAC SHRINE, BRISBANE

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.” - Laurence Binyon

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The Shrine of Remembrance is located in ANZAC Square, between Ann Street and Adelaide Street, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. With its 'Eternal Flame', the Shrine is a war memorial dedicated to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs).

The Shrine of Remembrance is a major Brisbane landmark of cultural, architectural and historic importance and is a key component of the Queensland Heritage listed square and annually hosts ceremonies for ANZAC Day and Armistice Day (now referred to as Remembrance Day). A service marking Singapore Day (The Fall of Singapore, 15 February 1942) is held annually on the closest Sunday to the 15th, in remembrance of the losses of the 8th Division during World War 2.

Funds were raised by public subscription for a memorial to fallen soldiers in World War I and in 1928 a competition was held for its design. The competition was won by Sydney architects Buchanan and Cowper who proposed a Greek Revival structure. The Shrine took two years to build and was dedicated on Armistice Day 11 November 1930 by Governor John Goodwin with a dedication plaque.

Designed in the Greek Classic Revival style, the columns of the Shrine of Remembrance are built of Helidon sandstone, and the Eternal Flame is kept in a brass urn within the Shrine. The steps leading to the Shrine of Remembrance from ANZAC Square are made of Queensland granite. The 18 columns of the Shrine symbolise the year 1918, when hostilities ceased.

There is a crypt in the lower section of the Shrine of Remembrance which contains the World War I and World War II Shrine of Memories, which contains memorial plaques to numerous Australian regiments who fought during these campaigns. There is also a World War I memorial sculpture on the Shrine of Memories external wall.

Each year, on ANZAC Day, on 25 April, a Dawn memorial service is held at the Shrine of Remembrance, with wreaths being laid around the 'Eternal Flame' in memory of those who died in conflict. There is also a memorial service held each year on Remembrance Day, 11 November and wreaths are again laid at the 'Eternal Flame'.

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OUR "INTERESTING" TIMES

“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.” - Dante Alighieri

We live in interesting times… Interesting as in the old Chinese curse: “May you live during interesting times”! Everywhere one looks there is something “interesting” going on, as for example the activities of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) or ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) if you prefer; the Ukraine crisis; climate change; the Ebola virus epidemic; almost daily terrorist attacks; African warfare and Asian warfare… And the list goes on with famines, rapes, murders, cannibalism, religious fanaticism, random shootings, abductions, kidnappings, etc, etc.

Granted that some of these events are local and have always occurred in the background right throughout human history, and the only way they achieve notoriety now is because of the internet and the ready dissemination of information (and misinformation!). However, one cannot deny that there is a constant escalation of all sorts of critical events around the world, each one of which could possibly have global consequences. The Ebola virus outbreak in Africa in one example, and we have already seen imported cases of the disease in Western countries, which rang alarm bells around the world.

The G20 summit is about to begin in Brisbane, Australia. Just in case you’ve just come out of a coma and you don’t know what G20 (Group of 20) is, it is a forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies, including 19 individual countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States; and the European Union (EU). The EU is represented by the European Commission and by the ECB.

The Brisbane G20 agenda outlines that action on tax avoidance, free trade, economic growth, tax avoidance and other economic issues will be discussed. There is growing scepticism that G20 meetings fail to achieve tangible outcomes and simply deteriorate into talkfests and a host of junket type activities for attendees (brothels in Brisbane are expecting a roaring trade).

In 2008 when the global economy was in crisis, the G20 was in panic mode, trying to find solutions. In the six intervening years since then it has become better known for the protests it attracts than the progress it has made on its central goals of promoting growth and strengthening international economic institutions. The leaders meeting in Brisbane this weekend will be under pressure to achieve something real and achievable for the gathering to prove its relevance, in times when the G20 risks losing focus. Climate change may be raised, but to its shame Australia wishes to avoid this thorny issue.

More importantly, the G20 summit has to shed its elitist, paternalistic and capitalistic image. There is a strong perception that the G20 is there to make the rich of the world richer and develop continuing economic well-being in Western type countries. That major banks are involved is reason enough for many people to doubt the intentions of the group as “global do-gooders” for all people in the world. Scandalously high annual salaries ($2 to $4 million) for top bankers and obscene “golden handshakes” on retirement find little sympathy amongst the common people who struggle with mortgages (if they are lucky enough to be buying a house), or even worse, those who are trying to scratch out a living in famine-ridden lands.

How much will be discussed in relation to developing countries in this G20 summit? Precious little, I should think. The G20 nations wish to preserve their supremacy, the bankers wish to grow their profits even more, the world leaders wish to strengthen capitalism, grow big business further and maintain the status quo in terms of the worker ants milling about slaving away and busily making the rich of the world richer. The G20 is indeed pursuing its interests wearing a set of prodigious blinkers that amplify the tunnel vision that characterises their activities.

Meanwhile, up in the heavens we’ve landed on a comet. On November 12, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft and Philae lander made history. The lander successfully made it to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Scientists confirmed the landing at a little bit after 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT). A huge technological and scientific step for humankind, but one has to wonder on its broader significance and its impact on the millions dying of famine, in wars, due to economic hardship, as a result of terrorism?

BRISBANE GREETINGS

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” - Susan Sontag
 
Brisbane is the port and the capital city of Queensland, Australia, and Australia’s third largest city. It lies astride the Brisbane River on the southern slopes of the Taylor Range, 19 km above the river’s mouth at Moreton Bay. The site, first explored in 1823 by John Oxley, was occupied in 1824 by a penal colony, which had moved from Redcliffe 35 km northeast. The name honours Sir Thomas Brisbane, former governor of New South Wales, when the convict settlement was declared a town in 1834. Proclaimed a municipality in 1859, it became the capital of newly independent Queensland that same year. Gazetted a city in 1902, it was joined during the 1920s with South Brisbane to form the City of Greater Brisbane. Its municipal government, headed by a lord mayor, holds very broad powers. The Brisbane statistical division, including the cities of Ipswich and Redcliffe, has close economic and social ties to the city.
 
Brisbane is the hub of many rail lines and highways, which bring produce from a vast agricultural hinterland stretching west to the Eastern Highlands, the Darling Downs, and beyond. The city’s port, which can accommodate ships of 34,000 tons, exports wool, grains, dairy products, meat, sugar, preserved foods, and mineral sands. The metropolitan area, also industrialised with more than half of the state’s manufacturing capacity, has heavy and light engineering works, food-processing plants, shipyards, oil refineries, sawmills, and factories producing rubber goods, automobiles, cement, and fertiliser. The city, the halves of which are connected by several bridges and ferries, is the site of the University of Queensland at St. Lucia (1909), Griffith University (1971), Parliament House (1869), the state museum (1855) and art gallery (1895), Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals, and many parks and gardens. Water is supplied from Lake Manchester, the Mount Crosby Weir, and the Somerset Dam. Oil is piped from wells at Moonie (west) and at Roma (northwest), which also supplies natural gas. Pop. (1996) city, 848,741; Brisbane Statistical Division, 1,488,900; (2001) Brisbane Statistical Division, 1,627,535.

POSTCARD FROM BRISBANE

“Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.” - Colleen C. Barrett
 
I am in Brisbane for work and it has been good to enjoy some very pleasant Northern Australian autumn weather with lovely sunshine, warmth (27˚C maximum today), and not a whisper of a wind. Meanwhile back in Melbourne there was windy, cool conditions (18˚C) and definitely not as pleasant as in Brisbane. Not that I got to enjoy the weather much, but at least it was to be able to walk out at lunchtime in between meetings and of course in the afternoon and evening.
 
Brisbane is a port and the capital of Queensland, Australia, and the nation's third largest city. It lies astride the Brisbane River on the southern slopes of the Taylor Range, 19 km above the river’s mouth at Moreton Bay. The site, first explored in 1823 by John Oxley, was occupied in 1824 by a penal colony, which had moved from Redcliffe (35 km northeast). The early name, Edenglassie, was changed to honour Sir Thomas Brisbane, former governor of New South Wales, when the convict settlement was declared a town in 1834. Officially, freemen could not settle within 80 km of the colony until its penal function was abandoned in 1839, but this ban proved ineffective.
 
A short-lived rivalry for eminence with the town of Cleveland was ended when the latter’s wharves burned in 1854, allowing Brisbane to become the leading port. Proclaimed a municipality in 1859, it became the capital of newly independent Queensland that same year. Gazetted a city in 1902, it was joined during the 1920s with South Brisbane to form the City of Greater Brisbane. Its municipal government, headed by a lord mayor, holds very broad powers. The Brisbane statistical division, including the cities of Ipswich and Redcliffe, has close economic and social ties to the city.
 
Brisbane is the hub of many rail lines and highways, which bring produce from a vast agricultural hinterland stretching west to the Eastern Highlands, the Darling Downs, and beyond. The city’s port, which can accommodate ships of 34,000 tons, exports wool, grains, dairy products, meat, sugar, preserved foods, and mineral sands. The metropolitan area, also industrialised with more than half of the state’s manufacturing capacity, has heavy and light engineering works, food-processing plants, shipyards, oil refineries, sawmills, and factories producing rubber goods, automobiles, cement, and fertiliser.
 
The city, the halves of which are connected by several bridges and ferries, is the site of the University of Queensland at St. Lucia (1909), Griffith University (1971), Parliament House (1869), the state museum (1855) and art gallery (1895), Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals, and many parks and gardens. Water is supplied from Lake Manchester, the Mount Crosby Weir, and the Somerset Dam. Oil is piped from wells at Moonie (West) and at Roma (Northwest), which also supplies natural gas. The population of the greater Brisbane area is currently just over two million people.

GREETINGS FROM GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

“Freedom of inquiry, freedom of discussion, and freedom of teaching - without these a university cannot exist” - Robert Maynard Hutchins 

The weather in Brisbane has been glorious. Sunny, warm and fine with at least some opportunity in between meetings to walk around a little and enjoy the sunshine. This is the benefit of a subtropical Brisbane winter compared to our cold, wet and gray Melbourne one. However, it is quite nice for a week or two but I still prefer the definite Winter weather and the distinction of the seasons we get in the more Southern latitudes of Melbourne.

I have been extremely busy with work and with the visits to various campuses of Universities here in Brisbane. At least, the meetings have been interesting and I have met with some very intelligent academics and have had some useful discussions. All is going very well...

Griffith University is where I am spending most of my time, and this is a public research university in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current total enrollment is approximately 43,000 with 4,000 full-time equivalent staff. Griffith University offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees across ten discipline areas including Arts, Education, Business, Health, Law, Engineering, Information Technology, Environment, Music and Visual Arts.

In 1965, 174 hectares of natural bushland at Nathan were set aside for a new University campus. Initially the site was to be part of the University of Queensland which was experiencing strong demand in humanities and social sciences. However, by 1970, a new institution was being suggested, this to be independent of the University of Queensland. The university was formally founded in 1971 and opened its doors in 1975 to 451 students in four schools: Australian Environmental Studies, Humanities, Modern Asian Studies and Science.

The University started with its Nathan campus, and several of its campuses are distinctive for their nature-based settings within large urban agglomerations. Buildings were designed to fit into the environment by following the slope of the land and by using architectural means of cooling. The library building was designed by Robin Gibson and won the first national award for library design. The clusters of buildings, sports facilities, bushland reserves and recreational areas are connected by integrated networks of walking paths.

The university was distinguished by its “problem-based” rather than disciplinary approach to course design and research. The University is named after the former Premier of Queensland, and High Court of Australia justice, Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, who was also the principal author of the Australian constitution. The QS World University Rankings places Griffith in the 291st place amongst universities in the world.

TRAVELLING TO BRISBANE

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” - Marcel

I am travelling to Brisbane for the rest of the week for work and have been very busily trying to get as much done as I can before I leave. It is always difficult to fit travel into an already busy schedule, especially if it turns out to be more than a day trip, as it is in this case. The only thing that I look forward to is that Brisbane is enjoying much better weather than Melbourne at the moment, with predicted top temperatures in the low twenties, as opposed to the low to mid-teens in Melbourne! I doubt whether I will time to enjoy the weather or sunbathe, but nevertheless it may be very pleasant to try and walk in the sun for a little while if it can be managed!

POSTCARD FROM BRISBANE

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.” - Oscar Wilde

I’ve had another busy day at work in Brisbane at our Academic Professional Development workshop. It is a rather difficult task to be organising everything, ensuring that all is running to schedule, moderating sessions and then also presenting two of them. Nevertheless, it was all worth it and another successful day concluded this evening. All of the attendees were most complimentary and gave positive feedback. One more day tomorrow and then flying back home tomorrow evening.

Tonight I decided to have a quiet evening and after eating something I went for a long walk. It was a quiet night and rather warm so it was pleasant to walk in the street and look at the houses lit by the street lights, catch snatches of music behind closed shutters, laughter from balconies and disjointed conversations wafting in the air and dissipating as I walked on by. The heady, heavily aromatic smell of night-blooming Jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum) hard to ignore, as it made the air redolent with its perfume. The large white trumpet blooms of the thorn apple (Datura stramonium) also sweet smelling, shone out in the darkness, while the more refined, delicate scent of the stocks although distinctive gave no indication of where exactly the blooms were.

I think I met all of two other people walking in the street and it was quite pleasant to say “good evening” and have them reply back with an equally cheerful greeting. There must be many other places in the world where in a city of Brisbane’s size one would not dare venture out in the street after dark, much less greet strangers in this way. How sad! Such is urbanisation and civilisation, then…

I walked back to the hotel and lay down in bed putting some music on and relaxing. It was quite a restful, peaceful time that I devoted to me and my thoughts. The darkened room, one corner lit by a bedside lamp which cast its yellow light dimly around it, and the soft strains of the second movement of Bach’s Concerto In C Minor For Oboe & Violin allowing my mind to trace endless spirals while it followed the mellifluous melody in its wanderings.

Almost time to sleep now, but here is an offering for Word Thursday:

redolent |ˈredl-ənt| adjective
1 [ predic. ] (redolent of/with) strongly reminiscent or suggestive of (something): Names redolent of history and tradition.
• literary strongly smelling of something: The church was old, dark, and redolent of incense.
2 archaic or literary fragrant or sweet-smelling: A rich, inky, redolent wine.
DERIVATIVES
redolence noun,
redolently adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘fragrant’): from Old French, or from Latin redolent- ‘giving out a strong smell,’ from re(d)- ‘back, again’ + olere ‘to smell.’

MALE BONDING IN BRISBANE

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one” - C.S. Lewis

I am in Brisbane for work currently and after arriving late for my morning meeting, because of the airline strike disruptions, we got off to rollicking start as the group was really primed up and ready for a good dialogue. There were several presentations, and this being an executive team, discussion was at fairly high level and of strategic importance to the organisation as a whole. It was a gruelling meeting that went from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (including a working lunch) but much was accomplished and the team worked well through some challenging and confronting issues. My presentation went well and I kept within the allotted time, surprising for me, as I usually tend to go over time. However, I think in my maturity I have learnt the importance of succinctness and usually manage to keep within the recommended time frames by being epigrammatic and suggestive, rather than painfully explicit and using many examples. Short, punchy delivery with the use of analogy seems to work well and certainly helps me keep to strictly applied time constraints.

After the meeting we went to our hotel for a bit of a freshening up before reconvening for dinner at Moda Restaurant at 12 Edward St in Brisbane City. This is a great place to relax in and have a good meal, attended by excellent waiting staff. The menu is eclectic and multiculturally modern Australian. Although there were no outstanding dishes, the fare was good quality, fresh, well cooked and served impeccably by experienced staff, who were not pushy, but attentive.

I had a seared scallop entrée followed by sirloin steak and Spanish crème caramel for dessert. By Melbourne standards this was an average meal, however, for Brisbane it was very good and as I said earlier enhanced by the attitude of the staff, who seemed to hover around and respond to our requests immediately, but at the same time were never pushy or overbearing – quite a rare thing nowadays.

After the meal, three of us decided to walk the 1.5 km back to our hotel, but on the way back stopped at a pub to have a nightcap. The three of us have a good working relationship and we usually manage to get together at these national meetings. Although we usually have teleconferences and operate collaboratively quite effectively across the country, these face-to-face get-togethers allow us to cement our connection on a deeper level and take it a step above the purely professional work relationship.

Tonight’s get-together after the meal consisted of drinking a couple of drinks together at a pub, which we stopped at on the way back to the hotel. We sat down, chatted casually about all sorts of things, joked, talked about a few work matters, about sport, about some family matters, photography and about the day’s session. It was a relaxed, de-stressing, unwinding session where we “male-bonded” and shared some experiences. We laughed, talked freely, confident in divulging our feelings and thoughts, but at the same time respectful of each other’s privacy and commonly agreed boundaries. There was not a single swear-word uttered, quite a lot of intellectual repartee was exchanged and a good time was had by all.

In the context of relationships, male bonding describes friendship between men, or the way in which men befriend each other, in an interaction described as camaraderie, or to use the Australian vernacular “mateship”. These friendships amongst men are typically based on shared activities, instead of emotional sharing (which is more common in women’s friendships). Male bonding usually involves playing video games, musical instruments, shopping, sporting activities, fishing, hunting, camping, gambling, social drinking, or working with tools. The first widely-noticed use of the term was in Men in Groups (1969) by anthropologist Lionel Tiger.

This special relationship is a very satisfying one as it allows men to come together in a “safe” environment where competition and rivalry are brushed aside and each man finds something that he shares with another man. It matters not that men in such relationships are very different and their interests are quite varied, their personalities often quite disparate and even their social classes widely apart. It is enough that the men share one single common interest, which can serve as powerful unifying force to create a special link that will allow quite a strong and special relationship to develop, despite the huge number of differences.

Aristotle’s classical description of friendship is often taken to be the prototype of male bonding or “bromance”. He wrote around 300 BC: “It is those who desire the good of their friends for the friends’ sake that are most truly friends, because each loves the other for what he is, and not for any incidental quality.” It should be noted that these relationships are not at all sexual and the bonding that occurs is of a “homosocial” type rather than a “homoerotic” type. This type of relationship adds a marvellous depth to social interactions and allows men to develop a richer, powerful emotional dimension to their personality.

ART SUNDAY - SURREALISM AT GoMA

“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’” - George Bernard Shaw

While in Brisbane I managed to get to the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), which is hosting a major new exhibition of Dali, Magritte, Miró, Picasso, Man Ray and other surrealists in an exhibition titled: “Surrealism: The Poetry of Dreams”. This exhibition highlights Europe’s most extensive collection of surrealist works from the Musée National d’ Art Moderne at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The GoMA, which opened in December 2006, is part of the Queensland Art Gallery building and is found at Kurilpa Point only 150 metres from the Queensland Art Gallery building. The GoMA focusses on the art of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The Musée National d’Art Moderne, in Paris’s Centre Pompidou, is one of the world’s best museum collections of modern and contemporary art. Its Surrealism collections are the finest in Europe. It is form here that key surrealist works have been selected to stage the GoMA exhibition which presents more than 180 works by 56 artists, including paintings, sculptures, ‘surrealist objects’, films, photographs, drawings and collages. The exhibition is an excellent opportunity to see important art works that rarely leave Paris, and gain a fascinating and comprehensive overview of an  important artistic movement.

A historical record of Surrealism is charted by the art in this exhibition, beginning with the Dada experiments in painting, photography and film, through the metaphysical questioning and exploration of the subconscious in the paintings of Giorgio De Chirico and Max Ernst; to the readymade objects of Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray’s photographs. Gaining ascendency in the early 1920s, the movement’s development is recorded by the writings of Surrealism’s founder André Breton and key early works by André Masson. Paintings and sculptures by surrealists Salvador Dalí, Rene Magritte, Victor Brauner, Joan Miró, Alberto Giacometti, Max Ernst, Fernand Léger and Paul Delvaux are all included.

Film and photography are also represented throughout the exhibition, including films by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, René Clair and Man Ray. Important photographic works by Hans Bellmer, Brassaï, Claude Cahun, Dora Maar, Eli Lotar and Jacques-André Boiffard also feature. The exhibition is rounded out with late works that show the breadth of Surrealism’s influence, and includes major works by Jackson Pollock, Arshile Gorky and Joseph Cornell. “Surrealism: The Poetry of Dreams” is accompanied by an innovative Children’s Art Centre program, a range of public programs, including talks, discussions and performances, and a full-colour exhibition catalogue.

The Queensland GoMA was closed immediately after the Brisbane floods of January 2011, but reopened in March. In July 2002, Sydney-based company Architectus was commissioned by the Queensland Government following an Architect Selection Competition, to design the Gallery. A main theme of Architectus’s design is a pavilion in the landscape, one which assumes its position as both hub and anchor for this important civic precinct. Critical to this is the building’s response to the site, its natural topography, existing patterns of urban generation, and the river.

The image above is by René Magritte and is titled “Les marches de l’été” (The Steps of Summer) - 1938. It typifies surrealist works, in that incongruous images are superimposed to create a dream-like atmosphere of ambiguous and confronting reality. Magritte’s fascination with fractured mountainous landscapes in which some human elements are placed is shown in this painting, with its cube sky and neatly excavated trench. The female torso on the ledge challenges with its colour and texture. It looks like a classical statue but it its flesh-like upper half and its clay-like bottom half disorient the viewer. Even the title of the work is challenging and mystifies, rather than being explanatory. But such is surrealism: It highlights the creative potential of the unconscious mind by the irrational juxtaposition of often realistically rendered images.

POSTCARD FROM BRISBANE

“Reverie is not a mind vacuum. It is rather the gift of an hour, which knows the plenitude of the soul.” - Gaston Bachelard

I am in Brisbane for work for a couple of days, attending a conference. I took the early flight up this morning, meaning that I had to get up at 3:30 a.m. so that I could have a leisurely start to the long day with a good, slow breakfast and then catch a taxi to the airport all in good time for my flight at 6:00 a.m. All went well and the flight was pleasant enough, although the Melbourne to Brisbane stretch is now about two-and-a-half hours with all the delays and holding patterns that one has to endure.

At least, it has been an interesting day with some good speakers, but especially so an excellent speaker in the face of Michael Pascoe (http://www.celebrityspeakers.com.au/economic-speakers/michael-pascoe/). I must admit that I have been a long-time fan of his as he has always been a good journalist and TV personality, giving incisive reports and commentary, as well as good financial and political analyses. He was an informative and entertaining speaker, making even the dull economical reportage interesting and engaging.

There was quite a great deal of networking at the conference and I caught up with many people I knew, as well as making some new contacts. There was a cocktail function in the evening, affording even more networking opportunities, but from what I could see from the other conference delegates some serious drinking opportunities also. A colleague and I stayed for a little while and then went off and had a pub dinner.

After coming back to the hotel for an early night, I suddenly felt the urge to go out for a walk. The air was warm and the night still and calm. I walked out and found my way to the Story Bridge. The river below was reflecting the lights of the City with boats and ferries still going up and down its length. After the hectic day it was relaxing to sit and watch the thousands of lights coruscating in the distance, their reflections scattered by the slow flowing water of the river. A thousand thoughts flitted in and out of my mind and the meditation of the sparkling lights seemed to have a calming, peace-giving effect.

My reverie was interrupted by a few fellow walkers, young men, who walked by noisily conversing, laughing and generally horsing around. I watched them walking on by and smiled, remembering my youth and similar excursions into the exciting nightlife of the big city. I felt sleepy then and came back to the hotel, thankful a little perhaps that I wasn’t a youth any more! Another early start tomorrow.

reverie |ˈrevərē| noun
A state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts; a daydream: A knock on the door broke her reverie | I slipped into reverie.
• Music an instrumental piece suggesting a dreamy or musing state.
• archaic a fanciful or impractical idea or theory.
ORIGIN early 17th century: From obsolete French resverie, from Old French reverie ‘rejoicing, revelry,’ from rever ‘be delirious,’ of unknown ultimate origin.

POSTCARD FROM BRISBANE

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

I was in Brisbane for work today and it made for a long day considering I was on an early flight going there and a late flight coming back. Commuting about 1500 km a day can be rather tiring, but more than anything it is getting to and from the airport and on/off the plane that really piles on the hours. The actual flight time is the least time-consuming… Nevertheless, I got much done and the main purpose of the visit which was regulatory was successful.

The weather in Brisbane was gorgeous after a cold morning. Sunny, clear blue skies and a temperature in the low 20s. Back in Melbourne it was a gray, cold winter’s day with a top of 13˚C. I can certainly see why many elderly people choose to retire to Queensland. Mild winters and lots of sunshine! I even had the opportunity to enjoy some of the sunshine as a couple of the meetings I had were at an external venue.

For Poetry Wednesday today, a “travel” poem by Hilaire Belloc. The rhythm of this poem is wonderful and the descriptive title says it all. Despite the jocular beginning and the driving rhythm, the poem towards the end pauses and descends into introspective and nostalgic resignation with the doom-laden words: “Never more”…

Tarantella

Do you remember an Inn,
Miranda?
Do you remember an Inn?
And the tedding and the spreading
Of the straw for a bedding,
And the fleas that tease in the High Pyrenees,
And the wine that tasted of tar?
And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers
(Under the vine of the dark verandah)?
Do you remember an Inn, Miranda,
Do you remember an Inn?
And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteeers
Who hadn’t got a penny,
And who weren’t paying any,
And the hammer at the doors and the Din?
And the Hip! Hop! Hap!
Of the clap
Of the hands to the twirl and the swirl
Of the girl gone chancing,
Glancing,
Dancing,
Backing and advancing,
Snapping of a clapper to the spin
Out and in –
And the Ting, Tong, Tang, of the Guitar.
Do you remember an Inn,
Miranda?
Do you remember an Inn?
Never more;
Miranda,
Never more.
Only the high peaks hoar:
And Aragon a torrent at the door.
No sound
In the walls of the Halls where falls
The tread
Of the feet of the dead to the ground
No sound:
But the boom
Of the far Waterfall like Doom.

Hilaire Belloc 1870-1953

NON-MOVIE MONDAY FROM BRISBANE

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” - G.K. Chesterton

I am in Brisbane for work today, and catching the early morning flight leaving at 6:00 a.m. is always a bit of a challenge, even for an early bird like me. It generally means having to get up at about 3:45 a.m. so as to get ready by 4:45 am, to then catch a taxi to the airport and finally to reach Brisbane at about 8:30 a.m. ready for a full day’s work. As I always try and have day trips away rather than spending the night away from home, it means a late night as well when I come back home. However, I get to sleep in my own bed!

The day was perfect in the morning, with fine, warm and sunny conditions in Brisbane. I got great enjoyment during the walk from the train station to the Campus, after I alighted from the Airport train (an excellent service, although a tad expensive). Then it was work, work, work at the Campus until it was time to go my appointment at the Department of Education. I enjoyed the glorious weather some more, and as the Department of Education is in the centre of the City, the hustle and bustle of the CBD reminded how Brisbane is becoming a large, populous, cosmopolitan urban area in Australia’s north.

Brisbane is a major port and the capital of Queensland. It is Australia’s third largest city. It lies astride the Brisbane River on the southern slopes of the Taylor Range, 19 km above the river’s mouth at Moreton Bay. The site was first explored in 1823 by John Oxley and the next year was occupied by a penal colony, which had moved from Redcliffe 35 km northeast. The early name of the settlement, Edenglassie, was changed to honour Sir Thomas Brisbane, former governor of New South Wales, when the convict settlement was declared a town in 1834.

Officially, freemen could not settle within 80 km of the colony until its penal function was abandoned in 1839, but this ban proved ineffective. A short-lived rivalry for eminence with the town of Cleveland was ended when the latter’s wharves burned in 1854, allowing Brisbane to become the leading port. Proclaimed a municipality in 1859, it became the capital of newly independent Queensland that same year. Gazetted a city in 1902, it was joined during the 1920s with South Brisbane to form the City of Greater Brisbane. Its municipal government, headed by a lord mayor, holds very broad powers. The Brisbane statistical division, including the cities of Ipswich and Redcliffe, has close economic and social ties to the city.

Brisbane is the hub of many rail lines and highways, which bring produce from a vast agricultural hinterland stretching west to the Eastern Highlands, the Darling Downs, and beyond. The city’s port, which can accommodate ships of 34,000 tons, exports wool, grains, dairy products, meat, sugar, preserved foods, and mineral sands. The metropolitan area, also industrialised with more than half of the state’s manufacturing capacity, has heavy and light engineering works, food-processing plants, shipyards, oil refineries, sawmills, and factories producing rubber goods, automobiles, cement, and fertiliser.

The city is bisected by the meandering Brisbane River and its halves are connected by several bridges and ferries. The city is home to the University of Queensland at St. Lucia (1909), Griffith University (1971), Parliament House (1869), the state museum (1855) and art gallery (1895), Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals, and many parks and gardens. Water is supplied from Lake Manchester, the Mount Crosby Weir, and the Somerset Dam. Oil is piped from wells at Moonie (west) and at Roma (northwest), which also supplies natural gas. The population of the greater Brisbane is now in excess of two million people.

Now, as it is Movie Monday, I cannot neglect mentioning something to do with movies, even though I shall forego the customary review. Inflight movies and other programs are shown on board the planes of the long hauls, however, for the life of me I cannot watch these on the small and poor quality screens with the all-pervasive noise on board the plane. I have tried ineffectually on a number of occasions, but even if I have suffered the whole length of the program, it has been a bit of a torture and I then have to watch the movie again “properly” at home (if it looked as though it was an interesting one). So there! This is the Movie Monday without a movie as I did not watch it on board!

LUNCH IN BRISBANE

“No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee’s frothy goodness.” - Sheik Abd-al-Qadir Gilani

I was in Brisbane for the day, for work, my day starting at 4:00 am to catch a 6:00 am flight. It was a day of non-stop meetings, which left me little time to even think, but at least it was a day of achievement as many things got done and some projects finalised. My flight back to Melbourne this evening was greatly delayed and that meant I didn’t get home until close to midnight. That makes for a very long working day. At least, the weekend is up ahead and this will be a useful time to recharge the batteries and not even think of doing any work…

Lunch today was on the run, provided by the café on the campus, which is a franchised outlet of Merlo Coffee. They do make good coffees, but also have a variety of foods, many of which are healthful and wholesome. Their blurb states: “BarMerlo stores are Italian-style espresso bars. Merlo Coffee Private blend is served – exclusive to BarMerlo espresso bars – delivered fresh-roasted daily, directly from the Merlo Coffee Torrefazione. We also have a range of freshly prepared food items, delivered daily from the team of chefs at Merlo Kitchen.”

“Torrefazione” is an Italian word for “coffee roasting house”. At the five Merlo Torrefazioni one can buy everything one needs to make the perfect coffee at home, from the beans to machines! Coffee is  roasted daily, and custom ground to the customer’s requirements to help make the best coffee at home. They also run “Coffee Appreciation sessions”, which are quite popular and will initiate the novice to the art and science of making perfect coffee in the Italian style!

We had delicious cheese and fruit platters for lunch, with several different kinds of imported and local cheeses, including leidsekaas, brie, cheddar, tasty and chèvre. There were grapes, strawberries, melon, pineapple, passionfruit and watermelon. Accompanying this feast were gourmet crackers and lavosh, breadsticks and grissini. Needless to say there was also great, freshly made coffee. The working lunch was well received.

ON BECOMING STRONGER

“Sometimes in tragedy we find our life’s purpose - the eye sheds a tear to find its focus.” - Robert Brault

It is nearly three weeks into the New Year, and although as with every New Year, we expected that 2011 would come to us bearing promises of success, happiness and prosperity, instead it gave us some immediate misfortunes: The bushfires in Western Australia, the flood tragedy in Queensland and Brisbane’s inundation, quickly followed by the Victorian floods, which tested the best amongst us. Although our College campuses in Queensland were spared, many of our staff and students were victims of the disaster and we are experiencing some difficulties in returning to normal operations. The effects on our College and its community are considerably less than what the State of Queensland and the City of Brisbane will face in the near future. Northwestern Victoria is also reeling from flood-caused devastation. Longer-term repercussions of the disaster will affect us as a nation, as a community, as a financial entity in the international scene.

It is important in times like these to remember that within our own small community we are a microcosm, a reflection of the Nation at large, and also the whole world. We are reeling within our communities as we come to terms with our colleagues’ and students’ loss of loved ones and property. We are trying to maintain normality and our routine operations, even as several key areas of our infrastructure are suffering. To this end we are sticking together, gaining strength from each other and providing support where it is needed most. This is what is happening in Brisbane, in Queensland, in Victoria, nationwide, in fact.

The volunteer efforts in Queensland have been remarkable in the face of the flood tragedy, and similarly within our community we are seeing offers for help and support amongst our staff and student body. On the Melbourne Campus we already started a donation drive and many of our staff have made generous personal donations to the flood relief appeal. More fund-raising activities will follow. Strong leadership by the Queensland premier, Anna Bligh, has meant that flood-affected Queenslanders have been assured of open communication channels, good support, comfort and encouragement in their misfortune. Within our College, the leadership of our CEO has meant that we have also been able to overcome this crisis through her efforts.

A sense of perspective needs to temper our emotional response to tragedies such as those recently experienced by Australia. Immediately the Queensland floods and the Brisbane deluge started to claim lives and property, news broke of the terrible calamity in the Brazil floods and mudslides that claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed whole towns and villages. Our own catastrophe seemed to be easier to cope with, knowing that other people in the world were suffering in a similar way, and on a much greater scale. One’s own personal cross is harder to bear, of course, and it is little consolation that other people have to bear heavier crosses. Nevertheless, we should be consoled somewhat in the knowledge that we shall be able to overcome the crisis easier than other, harder hit communities.

Our college campuses survived intact, however, other institutions in Brisbane were flooded, and of course many residential properties were completely inundated. We are dealing with some post-flooding issues within our College, but this seems to be a small price to pay, with our staff and students showing a great deal of patience and understanding. By sticking together, helping each out as much as we can, providing support and encouragement where needed and acknowledging people’s best efforts during a stressful and difficult time we can overcome this crisis and look forward to better days.

In Japan, when an object is mended, the damaged part is highlighted by decorating it with precious metal. The presence of the flaw highlights the history of the object, with its value and beauty perceived as being greater than before. We too shall repair ourselves and wear proudly our scars, as if we are adorned with gold. We shall be whole again; stronger and more beautiful than before.

SATURDAY CHORES

“I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade.  It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.” - D.H. Lawrence

A routine Saturday at home – and how much I appreciated that! The ordinary things in life, the routine, the tiresome little nothings, the chores, the things that we do many times grudgingly, we tend to brush under the carpet and we so often bemoan them. However, it is only in adversity, when we lose them that we really appreciate them. All of these sweet little nothings make our everyday life what it is and it is those little routines, which can irritate us, that are the richness of which we are robbed when disaster strikes.

As Brisbane and Queensland take stock of the damage and clean up, I am sure they would rather have had a routine Saturday like me, full its little annoying chores and everyday tasks, the nothings that make us feel at home.

Here is a beautiful Adagio by Greek Composer Eleni Karaïndrou, well known for many of the wonderful film scores she has composed.

BRISBANE FLOODS - CLEAN-UP BEGINS

“Adversity is like a strong wind.  It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.” - Arthur Golden

The situation in Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba is simply heartbreaking. The images and stories that are coming through are sad, distressing, moving, dismal. The plight of thousands of people who have lost everything is devastating. As most of these people have no flood insurance (most insurance companies not offering this type of cover for their properties – or having premiums that are exorbitant), they have literally lost everything. There are stories of people escaping with their lives and the clothes on their back, fullstop… All else was lost.

However, these are the fortunate ones. The official death toll now stands at 15 with 61 people still unaccounted for. There are grave fears held for the 12 people who were washed out of their homes when they were hit by a wall of water in the Lockyer Valley. This is a massive natural disaster and unfortunately, the death toll will climb further as the flood waters recede. A long and arduous clean-up and recovery process will take months, if not years. About 60,000 homes across southeast Queensland are still without power, and an emergency shelter has been set up in the RNA Stadium in Brisbane for people who have had to leave their homes because of the flood.

I am aware of three of our staff who have lost their homes to flood waters, and no doubt as communication channels are re-established there will be more sad stories from our extended family at my workplace. We already had the first donation round at our Melbourne campus where people put money in an envelope for an immediate donation. I am sure that other staff, similar to myself, have made personal donations also. We are also considering a fund raising event for February, which should raise some tens of thousands of dollars, as we raised for the Victorian Bushfire appeal.

As if all that weren’t enough, the Brazilian floods are another tragic occurrence that has claimed hundreds of lives and has caused massive devastation in Rio and São Paulo. Sri Lanka is also experiencing severe flooding and I have just heard on the news that flash flooding is also occurring in the northeastern part of our state, Victoria. It seems that there is “…water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink”! I say that because as the floodwaters recede, a filthy, sewage contaminated sludge is left behind. This not only stinks to high heaven, but also carries billions of bacteria and other pathogens that could cause serious disease in individuals or even the break out of epidemics.

The community spirit and the unity that has been shown buy Queenslanders has been extraordinary and in this they are being ably led by Anna Bligh, the Queensland Premier. Ms Bligh has shown tremendous leadership during the adverse times that her state is going through and with her coal-face approach, good communication strategy, genuine concern and empathy for the tragedy her fellow-Queenslanders are suffering, she is winning friends and providing much-needed support for all those who are going through some very tough times.

Word for the day today is:
adversity |adˈvərsitē| noun ( pl. -ties)
Difficulties; misfortune: Resilience in the face of adversity | She overcame many adversities.
ORIGIN Middle English: From Old French adversite, from Latin adversitas, from advertere ‘turn toward.’

THE WATERY GRAVE

“Are you upset little friend? Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don’t worry... I’m here. The floodwaters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you.” - Charlie Brown to Snoopy

The flood situation in Brisbane is getting worse and most of today I spent communicating with our staff there, organising and strategising, developing all sorts of contingency plans, ensuring staff were contactable through alternative emails and personal phone numbers. Also,  overseeing our Melbourne staff to see that they were coping with our Brisbane phone calls and enquiries, as all of the phone lines from Brisbane had been routed to Melbourne from earlier this morning.

Fortunately it all went well, but unfortunately, the worse is yet to come. The flood waters are expected to peak in Brisbane by tomorrow afternoon and many more people will have to abandon their homes and possessions. I only hope that we do not have any more deaths. The graphic images of people stranded on top of cars and being swept away by floodwaters is enough to haunt even the most hardened amongst us.

The Watery Grave

And as the clouds gathered,
And as the lightning flashed,
As thunder roared,
The rains came…

The watery curtains cascaded down,
The rivers flowed and overflowed,
Became torrents; creeks turned to rivers
And the floods came…

And as the waters rushed,
And as the dams gushed,
The deluge broke the barriers
And the spate came…

The water covered all
In dirty brown slough;
Making lake of land
But the rains still came…

The might of surging waters
Overwhelmed man and beast,
Dragged down buildings, destroyed;
And death came…

Now as the waters still swell,
As displaced people shiver
From shock, fear, frustration,
Grim realisation came…

Silent, sunken, submerged,
What once was dry land and
Homes, cars, gardens, dreams,
All lie under a watery grave.

My thoughts and prayers with the people of Brisbane tonight, while here we are privileged enough to enjoy a warm dry bed.

Please help if you can: Donate your time, some spare much-needed goods or some money…
http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html