ANZAC Day

Today, the 25th of April is Anzac Day. Ninety-six years ago today, Australian troops landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula.... It was dawn, Sunday the 25th April 1915 when they rushed from the beach up to Plugge's Plateau and into Australian military history, suffering many casualties on the way.
Troops from New Zealand landed at Gallipoli just after midday... Together the Australians and New Zealanders gave birth to the Anzac legend.


ANZAC TRIBUTE
I have put together a collection of original photoshots from the First World War, in honour of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who gave their yesterday for our tomorrow. Brave men who fought with courage, deternination and gave birth to the legend of the ANZACS. From them came the meaning of mateship and standing by your mates.

This tribute includes the first Anzac Day - the landing at Anzac Cove on Sunday 25th April 1915. Also included are shots of Passchendaele, Ypres, Voormezeele - names steeped in history - marches and photos taken by the soldiers.





The events on this first day set the course of the whole battle, and led to the evacuation of the Anzac troops in December 1915.

Our Diggers
The nickname "Digger" is said to be attributed to the number of ex-gold diggers in the early army units and to the trench digging activities of the Australian soldiers during World War I. The actual origin of the name has been lost in time but the Australian soldier is known affectionately around the world as the Digger.

Above: Anzacs

The legend of ANZAC was born on 25 April 1915, and was reaffirmed in eight months’ fighting on Gallipoli. Although there was no military victory, the Australians displayed great courage, endurance, initiative, discipline, and mateship. Such qualities came to be seen as the ANZAC spirit.

Many saw the ANZAC spirit as having been born of egalitarianism and mutual support. According to the stereotype, the ANZAC rejected unnecessary restrictions, possessed a sardonic sense of humour, was contemptuous of danger, and proved himself the equal of anyone on the battlefield.

Australians still invoke the ANZAC spirit in times of conflict, danger and hardship.

Above: The Last Anzac
Alexander William Campbell, known as Alec was our last surviving Anzac and our last living link with the Anzac landing at Gallipoli and the Aussies who began the Anzac legend. He died on 16th May, 2002 at the grand age of 103 years.

Alec, born in Launceston, Tassie on 26 February 1899, lied about his age when he was 16, so he could join the army without his parents permission. He was so young and hadn't even started shaving and the other men in his battalion knicknamed him "The Kid"

Today's quote: One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one ~ Agathe Christie

Easter Sunday

May this Easter bring you happiness, joy and love, and may you find new meaning in the world around you.

Above: The Resurrection
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.
Alleluia.

Above: Antique Easter cards

The History of the Easter Card
We send cards for different celebrations, but do you know when the first Easter card appeared? The tradition began in the 19th century. In 1898, the first Easter cards were postcards - mail requirements for postcards stated one side was for an address and the other side was for a greeting which left little space for a long message. Mail requirements eventually changed to the familiar postcard design we see today.
Rabbits, lambs, flowers and bunnies were some of the first images to appear on Easter cards. Today, these postcards are now larger and folded in half with a picture appearing on the front and a greeting on the inside with room for the sender to write a message.

Above: The Easter egg
The egg is a symbol of the start of new life, just as new life emerges from an egg when the chicken hatches out. And so we give an "Easter" egg at Easter. The Easter eggs of old which were hard-boiled eggs painted with coloured paints and decorated have now been replaced with chocolate eggs.










Today's quote: The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances ~ Robert Flatt

Reflection in a Mirror

Above: Floral Fantasy
On a recent trip, I wanted to photograph this floral arrangement at my accommodation place and received an unexpected result - me. I'd forgotten about the mirror.

Click here to see other weekend reflections.


Today's quote: I love mirrors, they let one pass through the surface of things ~ Claude Chabrol

Frogmore Road

Above: Frogmore Road

This oil ochre artwork on linen was created by Australian artist Mandy Martin in 2005 and hangs in the rooms of the RACV Club in Melbourne. It is composed of three panels and measures 183 x 406 cm.


About the artist:
Mandy was born in Adelaide in 1952 and studied at the SA School of Art from 1972 - 1975. A lecturer at the School of Art, Australian National University from 1978 to 2003, she was a Fellow of Australian National University from 2003 to 2007.

Mandy Martin is a practicing artist who has held numerous exhibitions in Australia, Mexico and the USA. She has exhibited widely in curated exhibitions in Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, USA, and Italy. Her works are in many public and private collections including the National Gallery of Australia and major state galleries and collections. In the USA she is represented in the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art and many private collections. She lives in the Cowra region, New South Wales, Australia.

You can find out more about Mandy here.

Today's quote: I dream of painting and then I paint my dream ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Mirrored Reflections

Above: The Maribyrnong
Another shot of the Afton Street pedestrian bridge over the Maribyrnong River.

Today's quote: Rivers are roads which move, and which carry us whither we desire to go ~Blaise Pascal



Go to San Fransisco Bay Daily Photo to see other Sunday Bridges around the world

Go to Newtown Area Photo to see other weekend reflections around the world

The Birds

Above: The Birds
You could be forgiven for thinking you have just stepped into an Alfred Hitchcock movie -
remember ..... "The Birds"?

What Is It?
This is actually part of the Scar Project which is located at Enterprize Park. Indigenous people would traditionally take pieces of bark from some trees to make canoes, shields or baby cradles and these 'scar trees' would serve as a signpost for other clans to let them know they had entered the land of another community. The "Scar Project" is representative of these scar trees and was constructed by Indigenous artists who used original wharf poles from Queens Bridge.


The Weekend In Black and White


Today's quote: Can I bring the lovebirds, Mitch? They haven't harmed anyone ~ Cathy Brenner.

Southern Cross Station, (Theme Day: Edges)

Above: Southern Cross Railway Station
I've chosen this photo because I like the wavy edges of the roofline. I was standing on the edge of the road when I took this shot. The station is in Spencer Street from the corner of Collins Street to Little Collins Street to Bourke Street - that's a lotta station and a lotta roofline.



Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Today's quote: A border, the perimeter of a single massive or stretched-out use of territory forms the edge of an area of 'ordinary' city. Often borders are thought of as passive objects, or matter-of-factly just as edges. However, a border exerts an active influence ~ Jane Jacobs