Exploring again

Once the morning showers had passed we loaded the picnic box in the car and headed South to Ballina. Our first stop was at the Ballina Manor, we had been recommended to take a look at this historic building by our son, Steven. The building itself is timber and not particularly remarkable.

It was built in 1925 as a Wesley Girls School and has been through a few transformations – but in 2000 it was purchased, Heritage Listed and restoration was undertaken – additions to the building removed and painting undertaken using the colours of the era, furnishings used between 1925 and 1931 (the year the school closed) were purchased and later that same year the refurbished Manor House was opened with great pomp and ceremony.

We were given a guided tour through the building calling in to see the rooms (they are hotel rooms with en-suite bathrooms) and given a description of how the room was originally used.

This picture is a small part of the dining room (it was originally the dining room for the girls). I found the décor very attractive and we both found the story of the building really interesting.

Leaving Ballina behind us we made our way to Thursday Plantation, a Tee-tree plantation, once again we enjoyed a free tour, this time of the gardens and rainforest. Throughout the garden and rainforest are sculptures.

There used to be an annual sculpture competition at which there would be an acquisition prize – but apparently some of the sculptures just never went home even if they had not been awarded the acquisition prize! Being a gardener I was very interested in all the varieties of ginger and herbs that were growing there. The young gardener came over and talked to us and he responded enthusiastically to all my queries. I even had the temerity to beg a little piece of root of one of the gingers! Yep! I have some to see if I can get it growing!!! One of the rather unusual flowers we saw there was a “bat flower” what a wonderful thing it is.

No! I didn't ask for a bit of it!

Our next interesting stop was Victoria Park. That is a pocket of unspoiled natural timber – a tiny patch that had never been logged by the timber getters in the early days of white settlement. Originally it had contained a massive fig tree that could be seen from miles away – it had been spotted from out at see by Captain Cook as he sailed up the east coast of Australia in 1770. However that tree is long gone. It was struck by lightning many years ago.

I took many photographs in the rainforest but I will not include any here. . . . because the little town of Alstonville might be more interesting to show here.

The town is attractive, small and popular. It has a country market that draws people from far and wide. Here we are on a Wednesday and the pub is humming with the voices of the many patrons which proves that the town is popular everyday, not just on market days.

My eye was caught by an obelisk standing near the war memorial.

The young man who was awarded the VC was killed in Ypres at the age of 20 in September 1917.

AJ