Crowning Glory

A Touch Of Royalty In Outback Australia

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These shots were taken on 5 June this year, in the tiny Victorian town of Glenrowan. I had just pulled off the interstate Hume Highway, parked the car and was stretching my legs before looking for a hearty breakfast, when I spotted this window.

It's a colonial-era original - the crown signifying royalty and the letters VR signifying "Victoria Regina" which - if you know a bit of Latin, means "Victoria the Queen". Now that's going back more than a century, because Queen Victoria reigned from 1837-1901, if I remember my literature lectures clearly.

And, just for the record, here's a look at the old postbox near the sign.


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Arms And The Man

Ned Kelly, The Trigger-Happy Bushranger

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This figure of the infamous bushranger (that’s Aussie-speak for “outlaw”) Ned Kelly stands tall over the Victorian town of Glenrowan and is an integral part of local folklore. During a long interstate drive on Friday 5 June, I pulled off the Hume Highway and literally parked under the statue.

I quickly shot some silhouettes of the famous figure before heading to a local cafe for breakfast. About 45 minutes later, the sun had shifted to my advantage, but I still had to work the angles to get the statue against a patch of blue sky.

For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch HQ.

Open-Door Policy

We'll Drink To That

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

These might look like the bat-wing doors from some Wild West saloon, but this is actually the entrance of the Ettamogah Pub in New South Wales, just across the border from neighbouring Victoria.

Every time we drive down the Hume Highway, we make it a point to stop off here - which in turn means that regular readers of this blog would recall at least three or four pictorial posts on the unique pub that is a real-life depiction of Ken Maynard's cartoons in The Australasian Post.

A couple of weeks ago, I was on a two-day trip into the Outback, up the beautiful Riverina region of New South Wales. Yes, I had the GPS in the car with me, but I didn't plug it in, preferring to operate on the "turn left at the dead gum tree" school of navigation. (And no, I didn't get lost. Not once. Fair dinkum.)

I knew I had to turn onto the Olympic Highway just after the Ettamogah Pub, but it was one of those trips where photography held sway, not the clock. So of course I pulled off the Hume Highway to spend twenty minutes in a familiar part of the country. And yes, each time I photograph this amazing landmark, the light is different.

I had a yarn to Chrissy the barmaid while I was there, but there was one key question I forgot to ask her, regarding the front door. Next time we drop in, I'll ask her this: is it famous for being the easiest door to get in through but the most difficult to get out of?

I’d welcome any thoughts you might have …


For earlier posts in this series, check out The Doors Archive.

Woolly Nelson

Hopelessly Devoted To Ewe

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Picture this: here I am, scooting along the Olympic Highway. Going bush, we call it. Leaving the bright lights of the city far behind and heading for the wide open spaces, of which there are many in this wide brown land.

I’ve just turned off the busy Hume Highway between Melbourne and Sydney. I’ve put about 300 kilometres on the clock and I’ve followed instructions to "hang a left" just after Albury. I’m on the grandly-named Olympic Highway, but it’s really only two lanes, one in either direction.

There’s very little traffic, so I use my peripheral vision to check for possible stop-and-shoot spots where I can safely pull off the road, grab the camera, take a few shots and then drive on again. The road is long but the day is even longer. Easy pace. No need to hurry.

I drive round a gentle curve and there is a flock of sheep, grazing right near a perimeter fence. Above them is a dead, bare tree against a largely blue sky mottled with low white cloud to the west.


Brain says "perfect Outback scene" and then a split-second later it tells me "ideal Camera Critters shot". So I slow down, continue round the bend to where it is safe to see traffic in either direction. Nary a vehicle. So I do a clean, efficient U-turn and drive back to where I saw the sheep. One more deft U-turn and I am right beside the boundary fence.

I grab my camera and get out of the car. My heavy-duty hiking boots crunch on the shale. I am looking down to make sure I don’t trip on the uneven ground. The undergrowth is thick but steady. I negotiate about twenty metres of tricky but not dangerous ground.

Then I look up. The sheep, curse their tim'rous hearts, have scarpered. There is now 50 metres between us. So these shots were the best I could do.


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Fright Attendant

Here's The Lowdown - You're Too Low Down

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Okay, gentle readers, you can breathe easy. This is not a real plane crash. It's simply an example of good old Outback gallows humour. This mock "accident" is a well-known sight at the Ettamogah Pub, on the Hume Highway between Sydney and Melbourne.


Ground control to Major Tom - you're grounded. Literally and metaphorically, that is. Looks like this plane needs a nose job. Hmmmm, let's take a closer look ....


He must have been coming in on a wing and a prayer - and obviously neither the wing nor the prayer was strong enough.


Here's what the scene in the control tower looks like. The sign down the bottom that is partially obscured by the foliage says: "Air safety is our concern - Crash somewhere else."

And if you're wondering about "Coolanhotta Air Control", it's a play on the Australian habit of running words into each other, so "Coolanhotta" is actually "cool and hotter". It's also a pun on the name of the Gold Coast airport, which is called Coolangatta.

Mate, if ya have to crash, there's no better place in the entire Outback to crash than next to a pub.

For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch Friday.

Barrel Chested

Neat Diverson, In A Roundabout Way

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

We were heading back home down the Hume Highway from Sydney to Melbourne when I pulled into a service station to fill up. That's when I noticed this roundabout, roughly 50 metres away, on the road to Exeter. Not only were the colours striking, they were also a nice reminder to stay on the, er, straight and arrow.

Head Out On The Highway

Just Follow The Signs On The Hume

If you were wondering where there've been no posts for several hours on this blog, it's because we're interstate. We set out before dawn this morning, just to beat the long weekend rush and a thousand kilometres later, here we are in Sydney. The drive down the Hume Highway was beautiful as always, and it was interesting to note the difference between the scenery in Victoria and New South Wales. Even though the whole country's been hit by drought, New South Wales is lush and green after recent rain. Must stop and take lots of pictures on the way back. Stay tuned.