On the day that was set aside for sight seeing as a group
what does the weather do? Oh yes! There was a thunderstorm through the night
and it was not exactly “wild” but it certainly wasn’t sunny when the coach
pulled up to the front door of the Country club. (The Country Club is where the
Convention is being held.) A row of umbrellas between the front door and the
coach door amused me – why stand in the rain and then have to struggle to put
down the umbrella before entering the coach when the distance between the two
entrances is only six paces?
Off we went with the wet raincoats contributing to the steam
that built up and made looking through the windows impossible! Realising our
plight the driver instructed everyone on how to open the top window vent to let
some cool air in!
Our first port of call was the National Film and Sound
archives where we were ushered into the theatre.
Entering the imposing entrance
We had three presentations. They were SO interesting!
The three individuals who gave us the presentations are so
passionate about what they are doing that you could not help but be fascinated
by their talks. We were told about the actual preservation of film and shown
several examples of before restoration and after as well as watching a very
amusing clip of the running of the first Melbourne Cup – without actually
seeing the race except as a diversion in the background!
We were told about glass slides that were one of the first
moving picture shows and shown how they worked. A short film showing a few of
them working had sound effects and music added and that really gave them an
extra dimension! Good fun!
Fortunately the rain had stopped when we walked from the
Film and Sound Archives to the Museum because it was almost a kilometer between
the two buildings.
Young at heart and fit as fiddles!
The people unable to walk that distance were taken by car.
There were only about five of them.
What an unusual and dramatically shaped building is the
Museum! The main entry took my breath away!
The foyer of the museum
It was past lunch time so everyone made a beeline for the
cafeteria to recharge the batteries! Me included! Not interested in stuffed
animals or relics from past civilizations I found the camera and information
about Frank Hurley and more examples of glass positives more to my taste.
A glass positive - a light is behind the glass
After the walk through the museum we were taken on an
interesting drive around Capital Hill having landmarks and buildings pointed
out to us as we went. We drove around several of the foreign embassies but saw
no one of any importance – in fact we saw no person at all!
Up Red Hill lookout we drove but didn’t stop, instead we
moved on to Ainslie Lookout where everyone dismounted and swung their cameras
into action – the clouds were breaking up and the city below us was beginning
to glisten.
Telstra tower in the background.
Shots were taken of all the landmarks including yet another
of ANZAC Parade. It certainly looks impressive from up here.
ANZAC Parade from War Memorial to the Old and the New Parliament Houses
The day was rounded off with a splendid meal – the
“Convention Dinner” and an entertaining talk by a retired Public Servant – I am
still smiling. His talk was about hobbies and totally not what I was expecting
after the introduction! He knew how to hold an audience’s attention! I wish I
was as skilled.
AJ
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