Is that a Coolibah tree beside the abandoned house? Every Australian knows about Coolibah trees because the bush ballad Waltzing Matilda is nigh on our unoffical national anthem but most of us live nowhere near the inland where they grow. Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, Under the shade of a Coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me. Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
"To muse, to creep, to halt at will, to gaze ... such sweet wayfaring"
William Wordsworth
Drool!
ReplyDeleteThese two are priceless! They are so eloquent about the state of the bush at the moment.
Tha house brings back floods of images from my childhood. Just about every kid I knew lived in something incredibly similar. The walled in sleep-out with cooper-louvres.
I've only come recently to appreciate the beauty of the silky oak. What a beautiful tree and hanging in there dry year after dry year!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of "cooper" louvres before - but what ever happened to louvres? they make so much sense.
bit like those little side windows in cars.
I love the one in Clarrie - it provides fantastic natural air-conditioning.
The buildings look starkly functional.
ReplyDeleteCooper Louvres: After a quick search, it would appear that the company that cornered the market in the UK was called Cooper and I guess that is the type that was sold into NSW. I think Glenn Murrcutt (?sp) uses them in his designs.
ReplyDeleteIs Ulan an aboriginal word? The only Ulan I know is the capital of Mongolia (Ulan Bator) and I believe it's far from being the origin... :-)
ReplyDeleteJM had the same thought as me: Ulan Bator??
ReplyDeleteJulie is always confusing me these days, ;-) "walled in sleep-out with cooper-louvres" ... aha ... I guess this is nothing we have in Germany ... ;-) (sleeping outside but walled in with some ... eh .. yes).
I like the tree's colours in the first photo.
JM -- can't find any history on the name Ulan. Other than that is it also a boys name in Africa. We also call the product Oil of Olay, Oil of Ulan here in Australia for some reason.
ReplyDeleteMartina -- Timms was and Australian Tea and Coffee merchant (didn't realise it was an Australian brand until I looked if up in wiki
A sleepout is a built-in verandah done to create a space to sleep -- usually for children as the family grew larger. In warmer climates people would sleep on the verandah without the need for walls ... when I visited my parents home for family gatherings I often ended up on the bed on the verandah (no walls).
Louvre a window made up on horizontal slats. I also had not heard of cooper louvres but as Julie says it's a brand name.
Letty and Julie, I like louvres in warmer climates but in colder climates a bit too much air seems to get through the cracks even when closed. I know because my parents house had louvres in parts of the house and it was freezing in the winter.
Thanks very much for your explanations -- it's really really hard for me to read this when even in Summer no one around here would think about sleeping on the veranda (I did many times, but ... it's not the usual thing to do, :-)).
ReplyDeleteDid I ever say how I dislike the cold? Did I? :-(
Sleeping out on the verandah as children sounds great ...
Julie, ha - now I know everything about sleepouts and louvres!
*chuckle*
ReplyDeleteTwo things I have learnt: I thought the product was a cooper louvre only to find the product is louvre; I also thought Timms was an English company.
But I also thought, until I was well an adult, that any carpet-beating machine was a hoover. Otherwise, how did the verb "to hoover" get into the language.
Those pesky English folk have a lot to answer for!