Veronika Wild

It's very cliched I know, but I've been up to visit the dolphins at Monkey Mia and seen a few interesting sights along the way. I took the route up through the Midlands which is mostly wheat country - small towns dominated by huge wheat storage facilities and a tiny railway line that runs alongside the road. There's more than one way to get gold from the ground here. That other Golden West Grain storage facilities like this dominate every small town, not at all like the tall silos I've seen elsewhere God's Little Acre - Had to rub my eyes and have a coffee when I saw this strange collection of animals appear out of the mist. Sign at Bootenall Tavern. How could I refuse? This rather Gothic Pub was once the Community Hall Interior of the Bootnall Tavern Now it's run by Roxanne, an ex -Melbournian and former art teacher who likes to bring in comedians and musicians Lonely Convict Hiring Station, Lynton was opened 1851 and closed in 1853 Dusk. This strange pink ...

At some future time when people have forgotten their history there will be stories of Gods who came to this remote salt lake in the Goldfields. These fifty –one figures created by British Sculptor, Antony Gormley as part of his Inside Australia installation, rise out of the lake like alien creatures, yet they are cast from x-rays of local inhabitants of the tiny town of Menzies, fifty-one kilometres to the east. The setting is truly inspired. Lake Ballard is a salt lake that recedes into infinity, deceiving the eyes into thinking that the strange ironstone islands are floating on water where none exits. Inspired setting Curiously, the footsteps of the visitors to these figures are etched into the salt crust and have become part of the installation. From a distance, it makes it look as if the figures are retreating. How the artist managed to hit upon this location is a mystery – there are many other salt lakes around, though not with such interesting topography or visual ef...

This sign just outside Leinster attests to the continued popularity of the Agnew Hotel. A 'skimpy' by the way, is an underdressed barmaid. I have seen so many ghost towns this last week that the mystery is no longer why so many places disappear, but why in fact, any survive. All that glitters is likely to be a beer can All that remains of Comet Vale In country only a geologist could love, (or maybe the odd artist -see next post), the rollcall of the dead includes Paynesville, Goanna Flat, Niagara, Comet Vale, Goongarrie, Siberia, and many more that I didn’t visit such as Linden, Bindah, Mt. Morgans, Lancefield, Beria, Murrin Murrin, Eulaminna, Yundamindra, Yerilla, Porphyry, Mt. Ida, Riverina, Mulline, Lennonville to name a few. Mostly relics of the 1890s gold rushes, there isn’t usually a lot to see.Niagara and Comet Vale are typical - just a clearing with bits of broken crockery, a few rusting sheets of tin, lots of broken bottles with the glass turning blue or purple ...