It isn't usually misty like in this picture.

There are lots of native ferns and gum trees around the creek.

There are Platypuses in the creek but they are very shy and hide when us

kids come by.

ASH WEDNESDAY BUSHFIRE

There was a terrible bushfire in Upper Beaconsfield in 1983.

We didn't live here then. The fire burned right through the land on which

our house is now. We can still see the burn marks on some of the trees in

our garden. Lots of houses burnt down and lots of animals and some people

died too. We are all more careful now.

ELEPHANT ROCK

Elephant Rock is located on the Beaconsfield-Emerald Road . Kids paint it

in all sorts of colours. There is a good lookout from where you can see

Cardinia Dam. There are also good walking tracks there.

Waltzing Matilda

Waltzing Matilda is an Australian icon.

It is quite likely that more Australians know the words to this song than

the national anthem.

There is probably no other song that is more easily recognised by a

populace: young or old: ocker or a newly arrived immigrant.

|Once a jolly swagman camped by a |[pic] |Swagman - a drifter,|

|billabong, | |a hobo, an itinerant|

|Under the shade of a coolibah tree,| |shearer who carried |

| | |all his belongings |

|And he sang as he watched and | |wrapped up in a |

|waited 'til his billy boiled | |blanket or cloth |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | |called a swag. |

|with me?" | |Billabong - a |

| Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda| |waterhole near a |

| | |river |

|Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | |Coolibah - a |

|with me | |eucalyptus tree |

|And he sang as he watched and | |Billy- a tin can |

|waited 'til his billy boiled, | |with a wire handle |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | |used to boil water |

|with me?" | |in |

| |[pic] |Jumbuck - a sheep |

|Along came a jumbuck to drink at | |Tucker Bag - a bag |

|the billabong, | |for keeping food in |

|Up jumped the swagman and grabbed | | |

|him with glee, | | |

|And he sang as he stowed that | | |

|jumbuck in his tucker bag, | | |

|"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me". | | |

| | | |

|Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda | | |

|Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me | | |

|And he sang as he watched and | | |

|waited 'til his billy boiled, | | |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me?". | | |

| |[pic] |Squatter - a wealthy|

|Up rode the squatter, mounted on | |landowner. |

|his thoroughbred, | |Trooper - a |

|Down came the troopers, one, two, | |policeman, a mounted|

|three, | |militia-man. |

|"Whose is that jumbuck you've got | | |

|in your tucker bag?" | | |

|"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me". | | |

| | | |

|Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda | | |

|Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me | | |

|And he sang as he watched and | | |

|waited 'til his billy boiled, | | |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me?". | | |

| |[pic] | |

|Up jumped the swagman, leapt into | | |

|the billabong, | | |

|"You'll never catch me alive," said| | |

|he, | | |

|And his ghost may be heard as you | | |

|pass by the billabong, | | |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me". | | |

| | | |

|Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda | | |

|Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me | | |

|And he sang as he watched and | | |

|waited 'til his billy boiled, | | |

|"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, | | |

|with me?" | | |

What does Waltzing Matilda mean?

The phrase Waltzing Matilda is believed to have originated with German

immigrants who settled in Australia.

Waltzing is derived from the German term auf der walz which meant to travel

while learning a trade. Young apprentices in those days travelled the

country working under a master craftsman earning their living as they went

- sleeping where they could.

Matilda has Teutonic origins and means Mighty Battle Maiden. It is believed

to have been given to female camp followers who accompanied soldiers during

the Thirty Year wars in Europe. This came to mean "to be kept warm at

night" and later to mean the great army coats or blankets that soldiers

wrapped themselves with. These were rolled into a swag tossed over their

shoulder while marching.

So the phrase Waltzing Matilda came to mean: to travel from place to place

in search of work with all one's belongings on one's back wrapped in a

blanket or cloth. This is what Swagmen did in outback Australia.

How Did the Song Originate?

Andrew Barton (Banjo) Patterson [1864-1941] was a solicitor (lawyer) by

profession and lived and worked in Sydney, Australia.

In 1895 Banjo and his fiancee, Sarah Riley, visited the Dagworth Homestead

a station in outback Queensland. This station was owned by the family of

one of Sarah's school friends: Christina Macpherson. While at the station

Banjo heard Christina play a tune called the "Craigeelee" on an autoharp.

Banjo liked the "whimsicality and dreaminess" of the tune and thought it

would be nice to set some words to it.

During his stay Bob Macpherson took Banjo around the station where they

stopped at the Combo Waterhole where they found the skin of a newly killed

sheep. Obviously someone had made a meal of it. Bob Macpherson may also

have told Banjo of the sheep shearers strike of September 1894 when

shearers had set fire to the Dagworth woolshed killing over a hundred

sheep. Macpherson and three policeman had given chase and one of them, a

man named Hoffmeister, shot and killed himself rather than be captured.

So it appears that Banjo linked up all these events to conjure up "Waltzing

Matilda. Christina wrote up the score. It was first sung publicly at a

banquet for the Premier of Queensland and was an instant hit. The song was

then picked up by the "Billy Tea" company to advertise their product.

Paterson sold the rights to Waltzing Matilda and "some other pieces" to

Angus & Robertson Publishers for "five quid".

By World War 1 it was Australia's favorite song and has been ever since.

Some great poems by Banjo Patterson:

. Mulga's Bill's Bicycle Kids and adults alike will love it.

. The Man from Snowy River acclaimed as Australia's greatest poem.

Clancy of The Overflow a city folk's yearning for the wide open spaces

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital of the state of Victoria in Australia. It is the

second largest city in Australia.

It was voted the worlds' most livable city in 1994.

And the least polluted for a city of its size.

THE CITY

Melbourne is renowned for its parks, fickle weather, clanging trams, upside-

down river, football and its cosmopolitan outlook. It is also the financial

capital of Australia.

It is a relatively safe city with a very low crime rate.

About 3.2 million people live in the greater Melbourne area.

The people of Melbourne came from all over the world.

YARRA RIVER

The Yarra River flows right by the city. It is sometimes called "the river

that flows upside down" because of its muddy colour. The reason for this

colour is because mud particles stay suspended in the water and don't

settle to the bottom like in most rivers. It is a very clean river (now).

During the warmer months people like to walk along the river, visit the

parks and sunbathe (ouch) along the banks.

The Moomba festival also has a lot of events on the river. I love the

birdman competition where they try to see who can fly the furthest after

jumping off a bridge. Its very funny.

TRAMS

Melbourne loves its electric trams. It is the only city in Australia which

still has them as part of its public transport system. We paint some of

them with interesting designs and motifs. There is even a tram restaurant

where you can dine while trundling past interesting city sites. Trams have

right of way on our roads and also make us do unusual right hand turns at

city intersections.

ARTS CENTRE

The Arts Centre is a short walk across Princes Bridge on St Kilda Road and

is now a part of the larger Southgate entertainment complex.

It consists of the:

. National Gallery of Victoria with its large collection of works by

local and overseas artists.

. Melbourne Concert Hall which can seat 2600 people and has fantastic

acoustics.

. State Theaters home of the Australian Ballet and Opera Companies.

The Art Centre's lattice work spire glows a light purple colour at night

and can be seen from miles around.

The water wall at the museum is very popular with young kids.

BOTANICAL GARDENS

. Melbourne has many public parks and gardens within walking distance of

the city centre: Botanical Gardens was created in the English

landscape tradition and extends for 36 hectares along the Yarra River.

. Flagstaff Gardens the city's first public gardens.

. Fitzroy Gardens has Captain Cooks Cottage, the Fairy Tree carved with

tiny figures and a model Tudor village.

. Treasury Gardens is close to the state government offices.

. Carlton Gardens where the Exhibition Buildings are situated.

Kings Domain contains the Shrine of Remembrance, La Trobe's Cottage and the

Myer Music Bowl

GOVERNMENT HOUSE

Government House is the official residence of the Governor of Victoria. It

is located in the precincts of the Botanical Gardens. This is where the

Queen of England stays when she visits Melbourne.

It is said to be the grandest house in Victoria (some say even all of

Australia) It was built during the gold rush when Melbourne was flush with

money and was intent on outdoing everyone else.

LUNA PARK

Luna Park has lots of entertainment for kids and adults alike. It is

located in St Kilda not far from the city.

WESTGATE BRIDGE

The Westgate Bridge is the longest bridge in Australia. It is over 2.6 kms

long and soars over the Yarra River and the harbour. It offers a panoramic

view of the harbour and the city.

This is a view of Melbourne taken from across the bay at Williamstown. Yes

these Black Swans really do live there.

HISTORY OF MELBOURNE

Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman and a group of businessmen who

bought land from the local Aborigines for some trinkets.

It was named, in 1837, after the British Prime Minister at the time: Lord

Melbourne.

Sydney

THE CITY

Sydney is Australia's oldest and largest city. About 3.8 million people

live in the greater Sydney area. The defining symbols of Sydney are its

Opera House and "coat hanger bridge".

Sydney is the commercial capital of Australia.

The people of Sydney came from all over the world.

OPERA HOUSE

The Opera House, situated at Bennelong Point, is an absolutely exquisite

building. Its roof-line is meant to symbolise the bellowing "sails" of

sailing ships of a bygone era and the spinnakers of the racing yachts that

ply the harbour today.

The Sydney Opera House:

. Took 14 years to build and cost $102,000,0000 when completed in 1973.

. Was designed by the Danish architect Jorn Utzon.

. Covers 1.8 hectares (4.5 acres).

. Is 185 metres (611 feet) long, 120 metres (380 feet) wide and the tip

of its highest arch is 67 metres (221 feet) above sea level.

. Roofs are made up of 2,194 pre-cast concert sections held together by

350 kilometres (217 miles) of steel cable.

. Roofs are covered with over 1,056,000 tiles.

. Hosts over 3000 events each year with audiences of around 2 million

people.

. Has nearly 200,000 visitors on guided tours each year.

THE HARBOUR BRIDGE

The Sydney Harbour Bridge took seven years to build and was opened in 1932.

. The steel used for the bridge weights over 52,800 tonnes.

. There are over 6 million steel rivets in the bridge.

. It took till 1988 to finally pay off the cost of building the bridge.

. It takes 30,00 0 lifers of paint to paint the bridge.

HISTORY OF SYDNEY

The Aboriginal people lived around the area that is now Sydney for

thousands of years before the first european settlers arrived in the

1770's.

The area that is now Sydney was named Port Jackson by captain James Cook

when he visited the east coast of Australia in 1770. Port Jackson was

selected by Captain Arthur Phillip as the most suitable site for the first

european settlement in Australia in 1788. He named the place after the

British Prime Minister at the time: Lord Sydney.

The colony faced many hardships and near starvation trying to grow crops in

this new land. After the initial difficulties however the colony grew

rapidly as new migrates arrived in larger numbers.

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