Archive for the ‘Australian Culture’ Category
Shocking – Melbourne Cup 2009 Winner
November 5, 2009G1 VRC Melbourne Cup 3200m 2009 Results
SHOCKING (b h 4y Street Cry (IRE) – Maria Di Castiglia (GB). Trainer: M A Kavanagh) 51 (C W Brown)
CRIME SCENE 53 (K Mc Evoy)
MOURILYAN 54.5 (G Schofield)
Master O’Reilly 55 (V Duric)
Harris Tweed 52.5 (C Newitt)
Alcopop 52.5 (D Tourneur)
Viewed 58 (B Rawiller)
C’est La Guerre (Nicholas Hall)
Kibbutz 52.5 (Chris Symons)
Newport 52.5 (Peter Wells)
Daffodil 51.5 (C Munce)
Munsef 53 (Z Purton)
Gallions Reach 52 (D Dunn)
Leica Ding 50.5 (Craig Williams)
Ista Kareem 53.5 (L Nolen)
Allez Wonder 50.5 (Ms Michelle Payne)
Capecover 51.5 (N G Harris)
Basaltico 51.5 (D Nikolic)
Zavite 53 (M Zahra)
Spin Around 52 (M R Du Plessis)
Roman Emperor 54 (J Bowman)
Fiumicino 55.5 (S R King)
Warringah 52.5 carr 53 (D Oliver) last.
Scr: Changingoftheguard.
3/4 len, 1-1/2 len. Time: 3:23.87. (Last 600m 36.60).
Most years I sit down and do a little study into the pedigrees of the horses running in the major Australian horseraces. I am not remotely interested in betting, but I do appreciate a good horse and get a lot of enjoyment linking history and horses. Thoroughbreds are of particular interest to me – and if you ever get a chance to see it, I do have a bookshelf devoted to tests the history of Thoroughbred, Arabian and Standardbred horses in Australia!
Unfortunately, this year I did not get a chance. Otherwise I might have taken more notice of the eventual winner, Australian-born Shocking (b h 2005 Street Cry (IRE) from Maria Di Castiglia (GB), by Danehill (USA)).
As I have to run out the door to do some errands, I cannot ponder too much longer on this; but I pose this question: what kind of impact have descendants of Danehill (USA 1986) had on the major Australian horseraces?
In restrospect it does not seem a huge surprise that a horse of Shocking’s calibre would take out Australia’s major horserace. A grandson of Danehill on his dam’s side, and a direct male line descendant of Native Dancer (USA gr h 1950), he carries some high quality bloodlines!
One thing that fascinates me is that every name in a horse’s pedigree is a tie to the history. Every one of those horses has been bred for a purpose, linked to people who perhaps tied their hopes and dreams into their animals, and many of these Thoroughbreds carry an impressive genealogy of major race winners with them. If only I had more time to explore these ideas, but more pressing priorities await!
References:
http://melbournecup.racingandsports.com.au/
http://www.studbook.org.au/Horse.aspx?hid=895792
http://www.studbook.org.au/Horse.aspx?hid=616135
http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/horseracing/2009/11/04/1257247659785.html
http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/native+dancer
Landcare Awards
August 10, 2009Here’s a random bit of Aussie information for you.
As I write this, voting is open for the Victorian LandCare Heroes Awards – with a people’s choice category. I have just jumped onto the site to vote for some people who own a property formerly owned by members of my family – the work these people have done to the land is astounding.
LandCare is an Australian land management system, in which volunteers seek to use sustainable and environmentally friendly land management practices where possible. Australians from many walks of life can be involved, many of whom are farmers and Indigenous Australians.
I encourage you to go and check out the nominees for the awards at http://vic.landcareheroes.com/nominees/victorian-landcare-awards-nominees, and consider voting for your favourite!
More information on what LandCare* can be found at http://www.landcareonline.com/.
*I am not personally involved in LandCare. Some of my extended family members are, and it’s amazing to see what they have done with their land. I was able to study LandCare during a unit on rural Australian sociology back in 2008, as part of my university studies;and was impressed with the way it fosters community development and participation, as well as encouraging farmers to develop sustainable practices.
370. Flowering gum
August 9, 2009
Felt tip marker on paper, March 2009.
Trying to capture something quintessentially Australian – gum trees!
Choo choo!
August 4, 2009
At the risk of sounding like I know what I’m talking about, there are three locomotives here… err something about rolling stock.
363. Mount Dandenong Bushwalk
June 20, 2009
Ferny Creek Leaves
Autumn Leaves, Ferny Creek
Kookaburra
Sherbrooke Falls
Photographs, May 2009.
On the last day of May, 2009 – which is also the last day of Autumn (Fall) for us – we took a wonderful bushwalk down to Sherbrooke Falls in the Mount Dandenong, Victoria area.
The wonderful mixture of the Autumn leaves on deciduous trees combined with the evergreen eucalyptus forests is a sight to behold. Most amazingly, we actually had the rare privilege of seeing a Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) in the wild. These unique birds are named for their lyre-like tails, and are known for their ability to mimick sounds to a surprising degree of perfection. We used to hear them all the time in the bushland near my childhood hometown: they would often imitate a bizarre mixture of chainsaws, truck engines, and other birds.
Links (accesssed 7 June 2009)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyrebird
Dandenong Ranges National Park – Information
My Photos are also available as art prints, mostly in the form of greeting cards. They can be viewed at my RedBubble Profile. The following links are to the same photos on my Bubblesite Gallery:
Art For Sale
June 6, 2009Some recent additions to my RedBubble Bubblesite and RedBubble Profile, where some of my illustrations and photographs are variously available for sale as greeting cards, art prints, posters, canvases, framed and matted prints and 100% cotton t-shirts in a selection of colours and styles.
My RedBubble Bubblesite Gallery is a simple storefront where people can view and purchase art and t-shirts. My RedBubble Profile provides a lot more information and detail, where other holders of RedBubble accounts can comment, favourite and purchase items. I am really enjoying RedBubble – if you are interested, sign up!
This is available at: http://flokot.redbubble.com/sets/65151/works/3025595-3-wave or http://www.redbubble.com/people/flokot/art/3025595-3-wave
See other Bass Coast Photos, available as greeting cards:
http://www.redbubble.com/people/flokot/art/3025547-3-cliffs or http://flokot.redbubble.com/works/3025547-3-cliffs
http://www.redbubble.com/people/flokot/art/3025567-3-horizon or http://flokot.redbubble.com/sets/65151/works/3025567-3-horizon
http://www.redbubble.com/people/flokot/art/3025546-3-rainy-day-clouds-bass-coast or http://flokot.redbubble.com/sets/65151/works/3025546-3-rainy-day-clouds-bass-coast
http://www.redbubble.com/people/flokot/art/3025536-3-rail-trail or http://flokot.redbubble.com/sets/45302/works/3025536-3-rail-trail
Photos from the Bass Coast, Victoria, Australia. Situated on the South East of the Australian mainland, the Bass Coast is a beautiful stretch of beaches and Marine National Parks. It is notable for its fossils of dinosaurs and bird life - as well as being a spectacularly clean place. I grew up in the area and while I don’t live there anymore, I love travelling there to photograph and sketch it, and to make sure my suburban-raised children grow up knowing what a clean, syringe-free beach is like! The Gippsland Tourism website has information for travellers to the area, see: http://www.gippslandtourism.com.au/South-Gippsland/ and http://www.gippslandtourism.com.au/Bass-Coast/. I am always happy to share info on travelling to the South Gippsland region, for any blog readers who are interested! The above photo was taken in Kilcunda, which is not far from Wonthaggi.
See http://flokot.redbubble.com/sets/65966/works/3049654-2-romantic-giraffes or http://www.redbubble.com/people/flokot/t-shirts/3049654-2-romantic-giraffes
Other Giraffe designs at http://flokot.redbubble.com/sets/65966/works
Romantic Giraffes! I’ve been amazed at the popularity of my giraffe designs. Turns out there’s a lot of fellow giraffe fanatics out there!
http://www.redbubble.com/people/flokot/t-shirts/2898300-1-inri-inspired-by-easter or http://flokot.redbubble.com/sets/30716/works/2898300-1-inri-inspired-by-easter
INRI – inspired by the Latinised abbreviation of “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” I’ve made this as both a t-shirt (available in cuts and colours other than the default shown here). While I’ve generally avoided representations of Christianity in my t-shirts, and I on’t want to succumb to cheesiness, I felt that this was a labour of love. The brilliance, uniqueness and wonder of the Gospel – that Jesus died and rose again – means that the vile execution device of the Ancient Romans becomes a symbol of hope for millions of believers linked across the ages. Wow. I can’t begin to describe what Jesus means to me.
Other recent t-shirt designs include a winged horse and hmm another winged horse!
341. Backyard Photo Blitz
May 20, 2009
My mum tells me that this is called a swan plant.
Some chalk art on the driveway, courtesy of the children.
Air vents on the side of the house.
A crack in the footpath.
Photography, April 2009.
Keeping the Children Busy
May 17, 2009A few snapshots from the April / Easter school holidays. I thought there might be something in this – “baby’s first SLR camera,” perhaps.
Grandparents take note: invest in a Nintendo Wii and be amazed at how often the grandchildren visit.
It’s my theory that every 4 year old is ready to learn how to operate a Digital SLR.
We’ll start her on the Nikon D40 before she graduates to the D90.
This photo entertained me. For some reason certain members of my husband’s family decided to strain the sausages out of the goo mix,
which resulted in a gruesome looking series of photos.
Go to a playground, hand a DSLR to a little kid, and enjoy the surprises that await when looking at the photos afterwards. Life is different when viewed from closer to the ground.
