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Civic pride

Court House, Argent Street, Broken Hill


For a wealthy inland city it is not surprising to find elegant civic buildings, but perhaps it is surprising to see pretty gardens and green lawn in this semi-desert landscape.  Water is piped from the Darling River, hundreds of kilometers away. Until the 1950s tankers of water were brought in by train.


Comments

  1. JulieSeptember 5, 2010 at 7:21 AM

    AArrrgggf!!! But but but ... they be Snapdragons! Firstly, English. Secondly, 1950s. They should visit Cranbourne Gardens south of Melbourne to see how to make sustainable civic gardens that are home-grown and now.

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  2. freefallingSeptember 5, 2010 at 8:38 AM

    And then they go and stick that dirty great tower in the middle of such a beautiful streetscape.

    Such beautiful, beautiful buildings.

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  3. Joan ElizabethSeptember 5, 2010 at 3:00 PM

    Letty, I agree ugly tower and beautiful buildings.

    Julie, I was looking forward to what you would say on these gardens. You need to think of the place in context ... firstly the city is plopped into the middle of hundreds of kilometres of "native desert garden" truly it's refreshing to have something different. Secondly it's a heritage building so why not heritage flowers. And before you mention the wisdom of grass I am going to mention the high lead content in the soil so the importance of getting solid ground cover down in as much of the city as possible. I understand that the big slag heap has been sprayed with something to stop it shedding dust. And oh yes, they have a very nice home grown desert botanic garden on the outskirts of the city and I''ll think twice before showing my snapdragons on Burnbrae Journal :-)

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  4. AnnSeptember 5, 2010 at 4:17 PM

    I like your angle on the post office. Mine of it are very boring.

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  5. ABSeptember 5, 2010 at 9:58 PM

    Interesting architecture. In Northern Europe we have lots of old red-bricked civic buildings, but none with such verandahs

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  6. ABSeptember 5, 2010 at 9:58 PM

    Interesting architecture. In Northern Europe we have lots of old red-bricked civic buildings, but none with such verandahs

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  7. UnknownSeptember 5, 2010 at 10:30 PM

    I really enjoy the bottom shot. Great composition!

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  8. JulieSeptember 6, 2010 at 7:35 AM

    Oooh .. okay. But the incongruity grates. It must take a lot of water to maintain gardens and lawns to that standard, most certainly if they are spread across the city. Wander through either Hyde or Centennial Parks when you have time. Yes we have a milder climate with more rain. However, look to see how the plantings are changing. More and more they are plants for arid regions.

    Except I note that at the moment ARchibald Fountain and the George VI fountain are swathed in poppies and petunias (the heritage flower you have when you dont have the imagination to simply whack in snapbloodydragons!) ...

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  9. Joan ElizabethSeptember 6, 2010 at 7:55 AM

    Actually the city doesn't give a sense of much grass, more mulch and dry soil.

    ReplyDelete

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