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
