Unexpected history

This morning saw my little red Corolla parked in the busy main street of Ballina, a town only ten minutes drive away from where Colin and I are staying.. It is a lovely drive too, the road runs along the cliff tops overlooking the sea and the occasional sighting of the angry ocean was breath-taking. If anything the waves are more unsettled than they were yesterday with the white of the breakers stretching back almost to the start of the following wave. Unfortunately there was no where to pull over to take a photograph so it has to remain etched in my memory! Its a good job I can't show you what is kept there!

Ballina is both old and new.

The distinctive architecture of the Court House Offices has been a feature of Ballina since its earliest beginnings as a town – which by European standards is not long! Probably 1912.

Contrasting with the austere styling of the Court Offices is the very modern looking Library. This building is not the only modern styled one in the town. This indicates a vibrant and progressive community and council, one that is both modern an believes in preserving the good things of the past.

You may notice the difference in the sky between the first and second photograph. When we arrived there were patches of blue sky and we were hopeful of doing plenty of exploring. It is less than a hundred metres from the Court House to the Library and in that time the blue had almost vanished. We rounded the corner to enter the building next door – the Information Office – and almost as soon as we closed the door it was raining.

A very helpful young man advised us on places to visit and gave us a couple of maps that will be very useful. Our plan was to take a look through the Naval Museum just across the road but for that we needed the big umbrella and big strides! The rain was pelting down! Off we splashed and laughingly made our soggy entrance.

What an amazing collection! I am not really a museum enthusiast but what was kept in this building really sparked enthusiasm. There were dozens and dozens of the most incredibly detailed models of ships from both the first and the second world wars. Wonderful large scale models – some made wholly from copper and brass – (sails as well, made from copper sheet)

The most amazing exhibit is La Balsa. The raft that was used by an intrepid explorer to traverse between South America and Australia.

Balina itself has quite a nautical history, the volunteer at the entry told me that the river was once one of the busiest ports on the east coast, rivalling the port of Sydney. There is a mural on one of the walls of the museum that depicts that time. Can you see the Court Office building?

A sailor at the wheel is at the entrance to the area that contains the second world war maritime history.

In this second part of the museum are many more model ships of ships from Japanese, English, American and German navies as well as Australian. Plus there are little dioramas that give an insight to life on board a war vessel.

Leaving this fascinating place was as difficult as getting into it. The rain was even heavier and the road and pavements were awash with water. That decided us to return to the dry comfort of our unit and wait until the weather calmed a bit before venturing out again!

AJ