The Amalgamation

For anyone who’s concerned, here’s a quick video from a group of people seeking to protect native Australian rainforest from logging in the Gippsland region of Victoria.

Photograph (Nikon D40), May 2008.

Photograph (Nikon D40), June 2008.

Cropping and colour adjustments made in iPhoto.

Sunday 23 March 2008 - 2.30 pm

In Brighton, on the beach. After growing up in the country, I find these suburban beaches quite foreign. They’re neat, controlled, covered in signs, full of rich people with pedigree dogs, and massive houses overlooking the bay.

Photograph, colour 35 mm film, scanned and adjusted in iPhoto, 2002/2008.

This is the old house at Mathison Park, Churchill, Victoria, Australia. Having taken many a stroll on the walking track there, I had often wondered what this building was doing there. Eventually, the Churchill newspaper ran an article on the history of the local area, interviewing a lady who had once lived in the house.

More information:

Walking trails in the Latrobe Valley

Churchill on Wikipedia

Photograph, October 1999.

I took this photo on an old 35 mm film camera, I can’t remember what make it was. Sorry. It wasn’t a good, flashy one by any means. This was a sunset over my original home town, Leongatha. I would’ve been 17 years old at the time I took this. My photo collection goes back to when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I really enjoy taking snapshots of everyday life.

Well, winter’s coming up (for us Australians, that is!) and in the Victoria region, there are heaps of fresh fruits, vegetables and more available in June.

I have previously posted on this topic, with a seasonal vegetables in May list. The list is from the Market Fresh website, and I strongly encourage you to visit the site for yourself. It has seasonal availability search functions, plus links to recipes for most of the produce they sell. So, you won’t have an excuse because even the ‘exotic’ foods are described on their site!

For example, for a herb like basil, you can click on a link to the descriptive page regarding that plant, including the different varieties, their seasonal availability, plus the recipes on the site containing basil (see http://www.marketfresh.com.au/produce_guide/product.asp?ID=12).

One of the keys to successful vegetarianism is to eat a variety of plants. It’s not much good if you just eat 5 apples a day. There are a lot of fruits, vegetables and more out there for you to try, and they’re easily accessible.

June Seasonal Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs and Nuts - Victoria, Australia

Apple
Avocado (Avocado Pear)
Banana (sugar banana)
Black Sapote (Black persimmon, Chocolate Pudding Fruit)
Breadfruit (Sukun)
Buddha’s Hand (Fingered citron)
Carambola (Five corner, Star fruit)
Cherry
Coconut
Custard Apple (Atemoya, Bullocks Heart, Cherimoya, Netted Custard Apple, Sweetsop)
Date
Dragon Fruit (Pitahaya, strawberry pear)
Feijoa (Guavasteen, Pineapple guava)
Granadilla
Grape
Grapefruit
Guava (Apple guava, Gyayaba, Jambu batu)
Indian Apple
Jakfruit (Nangka Jaca)
Kiwifruit (Chinese gooseberry, Yangtao)
Lemon
Lime (makrut)
Mandarin
Melon
Miracle Fruit (Miraculous berry)
Nashi (Apple-Pear, Asian Pear, Crystal Pear, Oriental Pear, Sand Pear)
Olive
Orange
Passionfruit
Paw Paw (Papaw, Papaya)
Pear
Persimmon (Kaki)
Pineapple
Pomegranate
Pummelo (Pamplemouse, Shaddock)
Quince
Rhubarb
Soursop (Guanabana)
Star Apple (Caimito)
Strawberry
Tamarillo (Tree Tomato)
Tamarind (Arabic: tamr hindi (Indian date), Thai: makham, Vietnamese: me )
Tangelo
Amaranth (Bahasa: bayam, Chinese: een choi or edible amaranth, English: Chinese spinach, Greek: vlita (green variety), Thai: phak khom suan, Vietnamese: rau dên)
Artichoke
Asparagus
Bamboo Shoot (Chinese: chuk sun, Thai: nor mai, Vietnamese: măng)
Banana Blossom (Thai: hua pli)
Banana Leaf (Thai: bai tong)
Bean (flat bean, long bean, yard long bean)
Beetroot (Beet)
Bitter Melon (Bahasa: peria, Chinese: foo gwa, English: bitter gourd or balsam pear, Thai: mara)
Bitter Melon Leaf (Bahasa: daun peria, Chinese: foo gwa yip, English: bitter gourd leaves, Thai: bai mara)
Bok Choi (bok choy, pak choi, pak choy, shanghai chinese chard)
Broccoflower (A hybrid mix of cauliflower and broccoli.)
Broccoli (Chinese kale, White flowering broccoli , Gai Lan)
Brussel Sprout
Cabbage (Chinese Mustard Cabbage, leaf mustard, Napa Cabbage, Peking Cabbage, Swatow mustard cabbage, Wombok, Wong Bok)
Capsicum (Chilli, Paprika, Peppers)
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celeriac (Celery root)
Celery
Chilli Leaf (English: chilli leaves, Thai: bai prik )
Chinese Boxthorn (Chinese: gau gei choi, English: chinese wolfberry, Vietnamese: kâu ky)
Choi Sum (Chinese: choi sum, English: Chinese flowering cabbage, Thai: pak kwang tung )
Choko (Chayote)
Cucumber
Curry Leaf (Bahasa: daun kari, English: Indian curry leaves, Hindi: meetha neem, Sri Lanka: karapincha )
Drumstick (English: horseradish tree or ben oil tree, Thai: marum, Vietnamese: chum ngây)
Eggplant (Aubergine, Oriental eggplant)
Fennel
Hairy Melon (Chinese: tseet gwa (mo gwa), English: hairy gourd or fuzzy gourd, Thai: mafeng, Vietnamese: bí đao)
Horseradish
Jute/Jew Mallow (Arabic: melokhia, English: potherb jute or bush okra, Thai: po krachao, Vietnamese: rau đay)
Kale (Borecole, Collard, German Cabbage, Scotch Cabbage)
Kohlrabi (Turnip-rooted cabbage)
La Lot (, Bahasa: daun kadok, English: wild betel, Thai: bai chaplu , fish plant)
Leek
Lettuce (asparagus lettuce, woh sun, stem lettuce)
Long Melon (Fuzzy Melon, White Gourd, Winter Melon)
Lotus Root (Bahasa: ubi teratai, Chinese: lin or leen ngau or lianou, English: lotus root, Thai: rak bua)
Luffa (angled luffa, Chinese okra, loohfas, ridged gourd, ridged melon, smooth luffa, sponge gourd, vegetable/bonnet gourd)
Mache (Corn Salad, Lamb’s Lettuce)
Mushroom
Onion
Pandanus (Bahasa: daun pandan, English: pandan or fragrant screwpine, Thai: toei horm)
Parsnip
Paw Paw Blossom (Papaw Blossom, Papaya Blossom)
Pea Shelling
Pea Snow (Chinese: Hoh laan dau, English: sweet pea or Chinese pea, Thai: tua lan tau)
Pea Sugarsnap (Chinese: Hoh laan dau, English: sweet pea or Chinese pea, Thai: tua lan tau )
Pennywort (English: Indian pennywort, Thai: bua bok, Vietnamese: rau má)
Peperomia (English: peperomia or crab claw plant, Thai: phak krasang, Vietnamese: càng cua)
Potato
Pumpkin
Radish (Cheng loh baak, Daikon, Green oriental radish, Lo Baak, Long white radish, Red radish)
Shallot (Eschallot, Shallot)
Silverbeet (Swiss Chard)
Spinach (Malabar Spinach, Slippery Vegetable, English Spinach, Swamp Cabbage, True Spinach, Water Spinach)
Spring Onion (Bahasa: daun bawang, English: Eschallots or green onion, Thai: ton horm, Vietnamese: hành lá)
Sprout (Alfalfa, Bean Sprouts, Mung Bean Sprouts, Snow pea shoots)
Squash (Button Squash, Scallopini)
Sugar Cane (English: sugar cane, Thai: oi )
Swede
Sweet Corn (Corn)
Sweet Potato (Bahasa: ubi keledek, Chinese: Faan sue, English: sweet potato or sweetpotato or kumara, Thai: man thet, Vietnamese: khoai lang)
Sweet Potato Leaf (English: Sweet potato leaves, Vietnamese: Iá khoai lang )
Taro (Bahasa: ubi keladi, Chinese: woo tau, English: Taro or dasheen, Thai: peuak)
Taro Shoot (Chinese: woo hap, English: taro stems, Thai: born)
Tatsoi (Chinese: taai goo choi, English: rosette bok choi or Chinese flat cabbage, Japanese: tatsoi)
Tomato
Turnip
Vegetable Spaghetti (Spaghetti Marrow, Spaghetti Squash)
Vietnamese Balm (English: Vietnamese balm, Thai: phak leuan)
Watercress (Chinese: sai yeung choi, English: watercress, Thai: phakkat-nam, Vietnamese: xà lách son)
Winged Bean (Bahasa: kacang botol, Chinese: yi dou, English: asparagus bean or Goa bean, Thai: tua pu)
Witlof (Belgian Endive, Chicory, Witloof)
Yam (Bahasa: ubi kemali, Chinese: da shu or tai shue or shuyu, English: yam or water yam, Thai: man)
Yam Bean (Bahasa: bangkuang, Chinese: sa got, English: jicama or yam bean, Thai: man gaeo)
Zucchini (Courgette)
Almond Nut
Basil (sweet basil, thai basil)
Bitter Herb (Chinese: foo yip, English: bitter herb, Thai: phak kuang, Vietnamese: rau đăng)
Brazil Nut
Cashew Nut
Chervil
Chestnut
Chickpea
Chilli
Chive (Onion Chives)
Coriander (Chinese: Uen sai, English: coriander or cilantro, Thai: pak chee )
Dill
Fenugreek (Hindi: methi)
Galangal (Bahasa: lengkuas, Chinese: hang dou kou, English: Siamese ginger or galingale, Thai: kha)
Garlic (Bahasa: bawang putih, Chinese: da suan or suan tau, English: garlic, Thai: gratiem)
Ginger (Bahasa: halia, Chinese: geung, English: ginger, Thai: khing)
Hazelnut
Kaffir Lime Leaf (Kaffir Lime Leaves)
Lemon Grass (Bahasa: serai, Chinese: heong mau, English: lemon grass, Thai: takrai)
Macadamia Nut
Marjoram (Oregano, Sweet Marjoram)
Mint (common mint)
Oregano
Parsley
Peanut
Pecan Nut
Pepper
Perilla (Chinese: gee so or jen, English: beefsteak plant or shiso, Japanese: shiso (green) & aka shiso (red))
Pine Nut
Pistachio Nut
Rice Paddy Herb (English: Rice paddy herb or finger grass, Thai: phak kayaeng)
Rosemary
Tarragon
Thyme (Citrus Thyme)
Turmeric (Bahasa: kunyit, English: turmeric, Thai: khamin)

Walnut

Water Chestnut (Chinese: ma taai, English: Chinese water chestnut, Thai: haeo jin)

Leongatha, Looking East 1906 - image from Wikipedia.

Trapped in the suburbs can be a bit of a nightmare for an individual like myself - rural born-and-bred, love the country, miss the country, don’t enjoy hectic lifestyles… My creativity tends to become starved, too, when I want to paint or draw something beautiful, yet all I see out my window is houses, roads, the “garden” (weeds) of our rented home, and innumerable cables - electricity lines, phone lines, cable tv lines, tv aerials… How much tv do we need, anyway?

For the first 23 years of my life I lived in the little piece of Australia known as Gippsland. A beautiful place, it is marked by clean beaches, mountainous country, and tracts of temperate rainforest.

Map of the Gippsland region, from http://www.gippslandtourism.com.au/Maps/.

My particular hometown is in the South Gippsland region, in Leongatha; though I also spent a few years in Churchill (near Morwell). These days I’m far far away, and how sad it is!

I’m regularly telling people that they should check out South Gippsland.

Conversations have ranged from:

(1)

“We’re thinking of getting out of here and moving to the country. We just don’t know where to go.”

“South Gippsland.”

“You like it there?”

“I love that place! I just didn’t know how much I’d taken it for granted until I moved away.”

(2)

“We want to go on a holiday, but we’re a bit sick of going to the same places. You know anywhere with a nice beach?”

“Ah, you’ll want Inverloch (near Wonthaggi). It’s clean, sunny, and has a variety of beaches. I used to go there all the time when I was young. We were there most weekends during our childhood summers.”

(3)

“You know anywhere we can go for art / craft / gourmet food / food markets?” [Select most appropriate.]

“You want Gippsland. It’s farming country, so they have plenty of homegrown cheeses / foods. There’s a lot of artists down that way…”

You get the idea! I thought I’d share a few links about the Leongatha area, including tourist information, job opportunities, and historical bits and pieces. (All links believed correct at time of posting and accessed 10 April 2008.)

• South Gippsland (Gippsland Tourism)
• Leongatha Historical Society
• Jobs in Leongatha (MyCareer)
• Jobs in Leongatha (JSeeker)
• Houses for Sale - Leongatha area (RealEstate.Com.Au)
• Houses for Rent - Leongatha area (RealEstate.Com.Au)
• Hoses for Sale - Leongatha area (Domain)
• Combined Churches of Leongatha (Representing several Christian denominations)
• Leongatha information and attractions (Travel Victoria)
• Leongatha (Promaccom)
• Schools in Leongatha (Education Eye)
• Leongatha Town Map (TravelMate.Com.Au)
• Leongatha Theme e-cards (AustralianExplorer.Com)
• Public Toilets in Leongatha (Australian Government)
• Gippsland Shopping Directory (TotalTravel.Com)
• Leongatha Shopping Guide (CommunityGuide.Com.Au)
• Bunurong Marine National Park
• Wilson’s Promontory National Park
• Wilson’s Promontory Marine National Park
• Tarra-Bulga National Park
  
• Mount Worth State Park
• Gippsland Tourism
• Great Southern Rail Trail
• South Gippsland Tourist Railway
• South Gippsland Artists (TotalTravel / The Age)
• South Gippsland Shire Council Official Site
• The Lady of the Swamp - a bizarre true story and unsolved mystery of South Gippsland (Australian Dictionary of Biography)
• A book about the lady of the swamp - “The Lady of the Swamp: The eerie story of Margaret Clement and of her mysterious disappearance.”
• Galleries and Museums (South Gippsland Shire Council)
• Gippsland (Wikipedia)
• South Gippsland (Wikipedia)
• Leongatha (Wikipedia)
• Ruby Railway Station (Wikipedia)
• Leongatha historical photos (National Library of Australia)
• Leongatha Medieval Society
• Leongatha (Travel / Sydney Morning Herald)
• Stony Creek Racing Club
• Leongatha Post Office (Australian Heritage)
• History of Leongatha Football Club (FullPointsFooty.Net)
• Leongatha migration Information (Live In Victoria / State Government of Victoria)
• Leongatha Group On Flickr.Com
• Leongatha Tagged Photos On Flickr.Com

Sunday 3 February 2008 -

At the local National Park. NP’s are great ways of experiencing the Australian bushland.