Happy Birthday Queenie, Part I

Australians celebrate Her Majesty's birthday by declaring a public holiday.  In most states it's held on the first weekend in June.

Many years ago we used to celebrate this weekend with bonfires and fireworks but when firework sales were banned (for safety reasons) and bonfires declared polluting, the practice has stopped. Except for those organised by large community groups and organisations, usually to raise funds for their individual causes by charging an entrance fee to their venues.

These too have died out because of rising cost for public liability insurance.

Our celebrations therefore have been reduced to a small bonfire (aka the brazier) and melting marshmallows on a stick over the flames.

This year we decided to visit VIVID in Sydney...simply because we couldn't resist.

So on two Sundays ago, we drove into Waverton, parked the car, walked to the Coal Loader before heading into St Leonards to have an early tea at Gilroy's Hotel . Then catching the train to Milson's Point and walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We wanted to make a day of it, so today's post is dedicated to what we found in Waverton.  

Even though I was born and raised in Sydney, there is still so much I haven't discovered!

The Coal Loader was a pleasant surprise and Mr H.P. and I will definitely be going back for further investigations and to complete the walk along the coast.

First off we found an art work installation called Urban Serpent by Anthony Whyte and constructed from street signs.

The wharf is in disrepair and cordoned off from the public.

There is talk that plans are afoot to restore the wharf.

Some of the historic remains on the site.

A tunnel links up to the walk along the coastline.

View over the water, HMAS Waterhen is nearby.

At the entrance you will find a sustainability centre and community garden.

Strawberry plants grow in vertical gardens.

Herbs also grow in vertical gardens and this water tank feeds water to other container-grown crops as well as supporting more produce growing in the tank.

Both Mr H.P. and I were inspired by the native bee hive!  The hive produces 500g of honey a year...the perfect amount for our household as we are not huge consumers of honey.

And what else would you find at the bottom of the garden besides a chicken coop?

I just hope that the person collecting the eggs has a steady gait, because literally, there were quite a few flights of stairs to negotiate to reach the coop.

And as we returned to our car, I came across this gorgeous yellow rose bobbing its head over a perfectly maintained picket fence. 



Apologies for the sloppiness of this post...google is not coming to party on this one!  I'm hoping for a better performance next time.  SP