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Friday 22 August 2014

Wollombi Lower Hunter Valley, NSW Australia

Watercolour  38 x 28 cms
I used some Liquitex Fiber Texture Gel on the hut. An Interesting medium to use.
Wollombi New South Wales is a very small but picturesque and historic rural village in Australia's lower Hunter Valley . The establishment, development and significance of the township of Wollombi was directly connected with the construction of the Great Northern Road in the early 19th century.
The main road, the convict-built Great North Road forms one of the major legs of the Greater Blue Mountains Drive. Road construction commenced in 1826 carried out by nine chain gangs - up to 700 convicts -and was completed in 1831. Remnants such as stone culverts, bridges and retaining walls remain, particularly in the area between Wollombi and Wisemans Ferry, and are catalogued and cared for by the Convict Trail project.
The original inhabitants of the locality are believed to be the Aboriginal Darkinjung people, though the Awabakal and Wanaruah nations are also mentioned.
The town's name is an Aboriginal term said to mean 'meeting place of the waters' or simply 'meeting place'. It was apparently pronounced  'Wu-lum-bee', though today it is pronounced Wo (as in wok) - lum (as in thumb) - bi (as in buy).
There are a vast number of historic Aboriginal sites in the surrounding countryside which is thought to have been used as a ceremonial meeting place as people from hundreds of kilometres visited the area and made their way to Mount Yengo - a place of great significance for Aborigines.
There are rock engravings, sharpening grooves, hand stencils, tribal markings and other images in caves and outcrops, frequent evidence of camping sites along the Brook and it's tributary creeks, and two major mapping sites containing many engravings.
The area is home to an abundance of native birds, reptiles and other animals including kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos and wombats and is surrounded by imposing tree-lined mountains.
Wollombi General Store is a must to see.  It is like if the time has passed it by. It is a General Store, PostOffice with old wooden PostSlots across 2 walls, you name it, you will find it in the  General store, even discuss the pros and contras of the world over a cupper.

Thursday 7 August 2014

From Kulgera to Uluru_Simpson Desert, Central Australia

Watercolour with difference 38 x 28 cms
I combined several photos fm my recent Safari trip through Central Australia. Arid landscape, dead trees, red sand, salt bush...quite an amazing scenery and so difficult to capture.
I used glass beads medium hoping for occasional sparkle (a disappointing result as they are not visible), LangLang sand, rice glue and one coat of Liquitex....an experiment which I do not think I'll repeat.