Ballarat, Victoria

As there was SO much going on in Geelong...there were no accommodations to be had for the weekend. There was a huge cruise liner docked at the port...separate preparations (along with aircrews) were ongoing for the Air Show next weekend and there was the Pako (Packington) Fest in full swing. We could only stay Friday night...we did get to meet Dijanne for a very nice dinner at a downtown Tapas restaurant.

So...we shifted up to Ballarat, an old goldmining town with a history that is very similar to the N. California gold towns, gold having been discovered about the same time in both places.

This second photo is a very common house..and one of my favorite designs. I'm thinking it's called Federal...but surely someone will correct me. I'm shocked by how much I've forgotten since we were last visiting here. Names of plants and birds are slowing returning...architecture, not so fast.

Ballarat Art Gallery is well known for fine quality. However, on our visit there was a performance being held in the upper galleries so we had to be satisfied with a student show. We were not unhappy. Partly because the student show was very interesting and, secondly, we had been so thrilled with the gorgeous Sidney Nolan Gallipoli exhibit at the Geelong Art Gallery was so good.

We could take photos without flash...and I did. I really liked this assemblage of small, beautifully defined linocuts.