March 12, 2024

Day 21: Walk in Lorne and Art in Ballarat

The day started a fair bit cooler and it was overcast in Lorne today. When I set out for my morning walk it was 16 C . The sky hinted at rain but luckily it held off during my walk. No matter the temperature or the skycover, it was wonderful to sit on a nearly deserted beach and enjoy my coffee. 

After some breakfast,  we did a late morning walk on the St George River Trek. The trail is part of the Great Otaway National Park. The trek was 2.7 km on a dirt trail that followed the St George River as it made its way to the ocean. It is a fairly flat trail, however you do ascend in some parts. There are also sections of the track with exposed rocks, and caution was required. The trail takes you through lush forest with a variety of vegetation, including gum and eucalyptus trees. A wide variety of ferns line the trail and you criss cross the river a few times. As we started early, we were the only ones on this trail. We took our time, and enjoyed the hike. This trail is also used for the annual , Mountain to Surf run , an 8 km run that takes place in January.









On return to Ballarat, my original plan was to tour the Mechanics Institute Building and Library, but I had forgotten to make a reservation. Down the road from the library is the Art Gallery of Ballarat. Entry is free and the gallery had been recommended.  The gallery was established in 1884 and remained a private institution until the mid 1970s when it was taken over by the city of Ballarat. The gallery has over 11000 pieces in its permanent collection and has temporary exhibits as well. 

One of the temporary exhibits was entitled Onemda, which means Love in the Woiwurrung language. The artist, Georgia Maguire, is a first nations artist who employs "natural" elements  and materials in her work. It is quite remarkable work. Her work uses feathers, shells, echinda quills, paperbark to create simple, but very interesting works of art.




The upper floor houses the permanent collection. Most of the works are Australian and many artists were from Ballarat, or the town was their subject matter. The painting of Lake Wendouree is particualryt interesting as it depicts the lake before colonization. 


Another of my favourite is the depiction of Ajax and Cassandra. This depiction of the story from the Aeneid, caught my eye. It was one of the first acquisition of the gallery. 


Finally, the gallery has two rooms dedicated to the works of local Ballarat youth. These works were submitted by schools, and many were very impressive. The variety of works displays the creativity of todays youth and the desire of the gallery to provide a forum for these youth to exhibit their works.



I spent close to two hours working my way through the gallery . The gallery is considered one of the best regional galleries in Australia and I would concur. It was well worth the visit.





Tomorrow we plan to visit Sovereign Hill to explore the reason Ballarat is here.. GOLD!






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