Suburb #62 Farrer

It was time for suburb number 62 Farrer. This one was likely to be injurious to my health given that it was named after William James Farrer, a wheat-breeding pioneer. Definitely not gluten free :p

Farrer migrated to Australia in 1870 to live in a warmer climate as he had tuberculosis. He is known as the father of the Australian wheat industry for developing the 'Federation' strain of wheat.

The streets here are rather logically named after agriculturalists, except for Lambrigg St which was actually the name of Farrer's property in Tharwa where he conducted his wheat experiments - after a failed attempt to establish a vineyard.

I don't think I even knew where Farrer was previously, but I had a really lovely walk around here on a perfect Canberra summers day - in fact, my adventures here were really what this project was all about.

I found this gorgeous path that weaves its way through the suburb between the houses...

The gardens and flowers here are amazing - I started to wonder if there are restrictions on people living here that don't have gardening skills! And I have never seen more agapanthus flowers in my life...(this flower never ceases to bring back memories of my school days at Woollahra public school)..

But most unexpected was the informal outdoor art gallery I seemed to stumble on when checking out the Christmas gnome I spotted out of the corner of my eye....I wish I knew who had created this space. Very cool.

And then around the other corner, I felt like I was out in the countryside...would love to go back and explore Farrer ridge more - there are some amazing views.

But perhaps the best surprise was the lovely Farrer local shops - exactly what my @thelocalshops group on stalk book is all about.

I had an amazing lunch at the new cafe here - the Fox and Bow. Its great to see locals bringing life back to the local shops via great food, community atmosphere and some colourful artwork. I can't wait to go back and try the ridge restaurant as well - GF vegie friendly yahoo :)

So thanks for having me Farrer - I agree with this guy, definitely a hidden gem :)

Suburb #61 Fisher

I decided to spend Friday visiting suburbs starting with F because I had been having that kind of a week. First off was Fisher.

This suburb is named after Andrew Fisher, who founded the federal Labor Party, and was subsequently, Prime Minister of Australia for three terms. Fisher started work at the age of 10 in a coal mine in Scotland, after which we would trek 4km to go to night school - our generation really should quit complaining shouldn't it... Anyway, he came to Australia in 1885, became president of the Gympie branch of the Labor Party in 1891 and then entered federal parliament in 1901. He gets kudos for arguing for more female representation in parliament. His government also established old age and disability pensions and workers compensation...and... oh yeah ....founded Canberra :)

The streets here are named after Australian mines and mining towns.

First stop was the local shops....while they have a very fancy silver sign...unfortunately the Fisher shops appear to have seen better days. Its kind of a bad sign when even the charity bins have been relocated to Coolemon Court! But there is a development sign up so hopefully a renaissance is on the way soon :)

After the somewhat forgotten shops and a series of lonely swings...

I was feeling a bit unsure of Fisher...but then I reached a fork in the road....

And the bush capital beauty eventually shone through :)

There are some amazing trees and flowers in this suburb...

I also climbed up a small hill and found the most unexpected and  beautiful view...although I think 'champion' may have been a bit of an overestimation of the physical effort required. It was a very small hill :p

There are no doubt some interesting architectural choices here...it is suburbia after all...

But in the end I enjoyed my morning walk around the streets of this mining town :p

Suburb #60 Parkes - part 2

So last weekend it was back to Parkes to explore the other side of the lake....

First stop was the National Police Memorial which I hadn't visited before near Aspen island. It pays tribute to 757 police men and women killed in the line of duty. I must admit I normally run a mile from this sort of thing, but it was actually well worth the visit and very moving. Plus with more violent incidents occurring every time you turn on the television these days - it was somehow all the more real and confronting.

We then wandered down the hill to definitely one of my favourite places in Canberra, Aspen Island - or for many - the island with the Carillon on it. I used to spend so much time down here in my early years in Canberra....having picnics, reading while strange boyfriends fished for carp in the lake, watching films at the open air cinema...I didn't realise how much I missed it til the weekend. I love the weeping willows....

The black swans even though the feeling is not mutual....

And of course the Carillon itself...50 metres tall and containing 55 bells....

It had also completely escaped me that Canberrans had got all romantic recently and have tried to turn the bridge to the island into a Parisian bridge of love :)

Before we left the island, as I have put my feet in most of the great oceans in the world, I decided it was time to test the waters of Lake Burley Griffin....

Then it was off further around the lake to visit Blundell's cottage, built in 1860, which is unfortunately shut at the moment. One day they will let me live here...won't they? I promise I will be good :)

Nearby another memorial caught my eye, at first it appear to be a memorial to EL2 job application selection criteria, but it turned out to be for emergency services staff...

We then went to the National Capital Authority Exhibition on the history of Canberra at Regatta Point. Rather embarrassingly for someone who has been in Canberra for 14 years and even an official human, I had never been here. Highly recommended. You can read about all those crazy names they wanted to give Canberra...some more crazy than others!

...try and find your house on the model of Canberra if you are a dag like me....

How cute does my apartment look from here? You can't see the stains on the roof at all :p

And engage in the usual heated debates as to why Canberra sucks (bad Bill Bryson :p) or doesn't suck...

Though we know it doesn't suck. Just ask the OECD or the new york times :p

Even if the history doesn't interest you, you can have a great lunch here with an amazing view.
A short stroll in each direction also leads to some interesting monuments...new and old...

That was basically it for Parkes on the northside of the lake because the fountain wasn't ejaculating :(

But before we got rained out AGAIN (jesus Canberra stop with the summer storms!), I was determined to head back to the other side of the lack and check out some of the bits we had missed the weekend before.

First stop was the rather landscape National Portrait Gallery. What can I say I love this place!
Just remember do not walk into the bookshop with a credit card it is too dangerous.

Make sure you catch the current In the Flesh exhibition on at the moment. I wouldn't exactly say you will necessary 'enjoy' it, but this exhibition is very powerful and there are some stunning works included. The NGA website describes it as 'enthralling and immersive'. I think that works

Before we finished our second Big Day Out in Parkes, we also wandered down to the lake for the last thing on my list - to see the new part of the NGA down near the lake dedicated to contemporary artists. Its a small space, but I think they have done a really great job. I can get a bit 'meh' about some contemporary art, but they have some really interesting and powerful works on display in this gallery. Plus I just loved this picture called 'I am a genius' by Dale Frank (I could only photograph a small portion of it).

But once again Canberra's weather told us it was time to call it a day...in fact it was clearly really trying to get our attention, because while we were in the gallery the whole of Lake BG appeared to disappear....though some intrepid tourists were not to be deterred...

Eventually a Canberra re-appeared though and thankfully a much cooler one as well!

So it was time to head home through the reflective puddles pondering our uber day out...Thank you Parkes, I had a blast. Can't wait to see you all dressed up for Enlighten :)