Last Saturday we welcomed our lovely granddaughter from Gawler in South Australia to stay with us for a few days. Next month Jessica will be off to Vanuatu to work as a teacher on one of the more remote islands of that country. She will be away for some five months and we thought it a good idea to have her with us prior to her departure. She has a wonderful time ahead of her and having lived and worked for years in Papua New Guinea ourselves, we are just delighted that she will be working among similar people.
Jess' time here is pretty full on, yet also very relaxing. Like yesterday. Together with Uncle Graeme and Cousin Gemma, we went to that old favourite haunt of ours, the shack at Saltwater River. Grandma came along as well, and it was like old times to share a day at Salem Bay. Yes, that is what the bay in front of the shack is called. Salem, another name for Shalom!! And truly, it is a haven of peace. The moment one arrives is the moment one relaxes.
On our way, we found the Saltwater River Bridge gone and we had to divert.
We couldn't resist a photo take, plus the lovely scene that we feasted our eyes on:
Then, as we arrived at the shack, these scenes met our eyes:
Graeme had the place painted out not long ago and it looks great. After cleaning the windows we were almost (I said ALMOST) ready to move in for a couple of weeks. Memories came flooding back and I was interested to read Gemma's blog of a couple of weeks ago when she and Graeme had been there for a day. The responses to that blog told us how much we enjoyed this peaceful haven and how many delightful experiences we can recount. Speaking of memories, we checked the Holt Room, Mi-N-Dad (for those who are cricket addicts will associate with that name) room, Herbie's corner, the Bio-loo and Roly's Paw. It was just so good to show Jess where her father spent quite a few moments as part of the family.
The kitchen floor deserved a pic as Carol slaved over this bit of artistry 25 years ago:
We found an old hat that son in law Dale gave to Carol as 'Deputy Head Pleb', and both Gemma and Carol needed to try that one on again (not quite sure where Carol's eyes are):
A visit to the Coal Mines Reserve also brought many memories back. But how things have changed. One now walks a predetermined route and enters through the 'time tunnel' (well, that is what I call it):
This Title tells its own story. There were lots of these plaques and we enjoyed reading them as they brought the place alive:
Exploring the cells underneath the military barracks deserved close attention:
Grandma Carol was keen to give that little extra by way of explanation of what we learned over the many years of visiting Saltwater River:
The next pic is of the Chapel, also used as a schoolroom.
The whole setting is idyllic, but oh so cruel to the people who lived there:
The cruelty was probably worst in the underground cells that Jess is looking at in the next pic.
Prisoners never saw the light of day during their confinement, being blindfolded before being taken out to the mineshaft and let down into the mine and then put to work. We understand that blindfolding them was in part to protect their eyes to sudden daylight and then to have this shut out again. Here are a couple of glimpses of underground conditions:
Taking in the lovely setting of this place was certainly no punishment for us.
Another view towards Plunket Point where coal ships used to come to collect their cargoes of second grade coal. But it burned, as was very evident in the late 19th century during severe fires in the area. But that is another story.
By way of contrast, a wonderful sign at the boat ramp near the shack - a shark sanctuary, though they are totally harmless:
But we did have a whale of a time:
And finally, on our way home the sun set in the sky and as we looked up, we could not but to praise and thank God for a wonderful day together.
1 comment:
that last picture is awesome! what a great sky! I think my earliest memory is "helping" bannar to lay the tiles in the laundry.
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