Disappearing farms

Because of Cleveland’s rich red soil, it was once the bread basket of Brisbane. When we past through on our way to Cleveland Spit, there were farms on both sides of the road. Neatly ploughed rows of luscious volcanic soil were home to a variety of vegetables.

To market to market

Queen Victoria Markets on the north side of Melbourne city, extended a couple of blocks. When I stepped through the main entrance, the smell of meats had me steering away to the specialized sections of cheeses and even a store that sold crocodile and kangaroo meats.

Almost surrounded by sea

It’s not only Brisbane’s over thirty degree summers that has everyone reach for a cool drink, but the soaring humidity. That was why Cleveland was another coastal location my parents flocked to during summer.

Through university grounds

Melbourne University is ranked as Australia’s best. It lies north on the outskirts of the city centre with buildings a mixture of modern and old. Nearly 50 000 students attend the university many coming from over 130 different countries.

Place of the magpie lark

Not far from the ruckus of Brisbane’s Carindale Shopping Centre, I hiked a trail through Tillack Park lined with paper bark trees. The pathway mirrored Bulimba Creek; an Aboriginal word meaning place of the magpie lark. While this was a common bird with a musical call, I only spotted a pigeon.

Remembering the fallen

After the British invaded Australia in 1788, thousands of Aboriginal peoples died from violent clashes over land; from starvation; from European diseases that were often deliberately thrust on to Australia’s original inhabitants.

A childhood haunt

Wynnum’s wading pool brings back memories from my childhood when my parents drove my sister and I to Wynnum  to cool off on Brisbane’s sweltering summer days. Salt water from Moreton Bay filled the enclosure at high tide to about sixty centimetres, making it safe for children.