From a lookout near Palmer, South Australia
Farming land and wheat silos near Palmer, South Australia
Palmer is a small town about 20 minutes’ drive north of where I live. The main crop in the district is wheat which accounts for the storage silos shown in the photo above. After being stored here for a while, the grain is then transported to flour mills like the one in nearby Murray Bridge, to other mills elsewhere or to Port Adelaide for export.
Palmer is only a short distance from the River Murray town of Mannum, a centre for the river boat trade in a bygone era and now a top tourist destination. It doesn’t show up in the photo above, being slightly to the right of the frame.
The area around the lookout is quite rocky, as shown in the photo below.
From a lookout near Palmer, South Australia
Farm ruins near Palmer, South Australia
Farm ruins near Palmer, South Australia
For a good proportion of the nearly 175 year history of the state of South Australia, agriculture has been predominant. In the last few decades manufacturing and mining have taken over as our leading economic arenas.
Because of this history of settlement on the land in the early days, farms were established in many parts of the state, including many which didn’t last all that long. Travelling in the rural areas of our state reveals many formerly fine homes and farm sheds now in a poor state; most are buildings slowly becoming ruins, mere shadows of the dreams of their optimistic builders.
The buildings shown on this post can be found near the road from Palmer to Tungkillo, east of Adelaide.
Farm ruins near Palmer, South Australia
Rock formations near Palmer, South Australia
Birds near the Barossa Reservoir, South Austalia
Australian Magpie, Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
On our short holiday on Yorke Peninsula last week we stopped briefly at the Barossa Reservoir for lunch. We had enough time for me to take a few photos of the dam and some of the birds seen in the picnic grounds and on the reservoir. I probably heard far more birds than I saw, and certainly didn’t have time to search out more birds.
The Australian Magpie in the photo above sat in the tree above us and sang to us but we didn’t give it a treat from our lunch as it probably expected. The Rock Dove in the photo below was one of several inhabiting the installation halfway around the dam wall. The last photo shows a large group of Eurasian Coots feeding in the shallows of the reservoir near where we had lunch. For a more comprehensive list of birds seen, go to Trevor’s Birding.
Rock Dove, Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
Eurasian Coot, Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
The Whispering Wall, Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
Whispering Wall at the Barossa Reservoir in South Australia
On our way to the Yorke Peninsula during our holiday last week we stopped for lunch in the picnic area of the Barossa Reservoir. This dam is between the towns of Williamstown and Gawler in the Barossa Valley wine region. This is a delightful spot to picnic and very popular with tourists and locals alike.
The dam wall was constructed between 1899 and 1902 in the shape of a parabola. After construction it was discovered that the dam had a unique acoustic effect, leading to its common name of “The Whispering Wall.” A visitor can stand at one side of the dam, speak softly towards the wall and can be heard quite clearly across the other side, about 140 metres away.
Barossa Reservoir in South Australia
Whispering Wall at the Barossa Reservoir in South Australia
Barossa Reservoir in South Australia
Flowers in a friend’s garden part 3
No Comments »5th April, 2010; Category: Adelaide Hills, Mt Lofty Ranges, Parks and Gardens, Photos, Plants
Flowers in a friend's garden
Over recent days I’ve shared some photos of flowering Australian plants. These photos were all taken in the native garden of friends of ours who live near Adelaide in the Mt Lofty Ranges. They enjoy collecting and planting native Australian plants as do we. Many of the plants found in Australia are very colourful, as illustrated by the photos I have shared in this blog.
Related Articles:
- Flowers of the Canberra Botanic Gardens
- Australian National Botanic Gardens
- National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
- Australian Inland Botanic Gardens near Mildura
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
Flowers in a friend's garden
Flowers in a friend's garden