Melbourne was pretty awesome. As well as the awesome espresso bar I wanted to visit (better than I thought!), I had a great time with Erin, Thomas and Jon-E, just hanging out and enjoying the sights.
The first day we went up to the Dandelong Mountains, driving through cute little towns, seeing the sights and enjoying the locals. Thomas and Erin had seen a DVD about this guy who sculpted about Aborigines (or something...)...which was... well, read what Thomas wrote;
"Today was spent in the mountains; back in the nineties I saw a travel show where Billy Connolly went to this Forest Sancutary near Melbourne where a recluse named William Rickett had spent sixty years carving our the most incredible statues depicting the struggle of the Australian aborigines and wildlife and their stuggle against colonialism.
The guy was a nutter. He was a genius, but also a nutter.
At the park we watched a documentary filmed in the early nineties (he died in 1993) where he aggressively asserts that his totem was the Lyre-bird. He even did a little senile dance to demonstrate that his totem was the bird. If he couldn't carve such incredible works, it is likely that he would have been locked up.
At one point in his life, the guy took many of his carvings and travelled 250km to the nearest Aboriginal settlement to greet his aboriginal "brothers" but unsurprisingly, they had no idea who this white nutcase was that had turned up and was trying to hug everyone. They eventually took him in, but I suspect it was out of pity, more than anything else.
It makes me wonder if genius is closely related to madness. No sane person would have spent so much of their lives in the forest carving stone. I guess he found his niche.
The carvings however were magnificent - the guy may have been nuts, but his work was amazing. Some of the best art that I have ever seen."
Pretty much sums it up. Interesting and i'm glad I went, he was very talented, but it was creepy.
The next day we travelled around, did some shopping visited cafes and tea shops before I headed back to Sydney. I cried a little leaving Erin.
Lucky to have such exciting adventures! So many more to come! I'm also totally on the verge of winning at making friends, so life is good.
The first day we went up to the Dandelong Mountains, driving through cute little towns, seeing the sights and enjoying the locals. Thomas and Erin had seen a DVD about this guy who sculpted about Aborigines (or something...)...which was... well, read what Thomas wrote;
"Today was spent in the mountains; back in the nineties I saw a travel show where Billy Connolly went to this Forest Sancutary near Melbourne where a recluse named William Rickett had spent sixty years carving our the most incredible statues depicting the struggle of the Australian aborigines and wildlife and their stuggle against colonialism.
The guy was a nutter. He was a genius, but also a nutter.
At the park we watched a documentary filmed in the early nineties (he died in 1993) where he aggressively asserts that his totem was the Lyre-bird. He even did a little senile dance to demonstrate that his totem was the bird. If he couldn't carve such incredible works, it is likely that he would have been locked up.
At one point in his life, the guy took many of his carvings and travelled 250km to the nearest Aboriginal settlement to greet his aboriginal "brothers" but unsurprisingly, they had no idea who this white nutcase was that had turned up and was trying to hug everyone. They eventually took him in, but I suspect it was out of pity, more than anything else.
It makes me wonder if genius is closely related to madness. No sane person would have spent so much of their lives in the forest carving stone. I guess he found his niche.
The carvings however were magnificent - the guy may have been nuts, but his work was amazing. Some of the best art that I have ever seen."
Pretty much sums it up. Interesting and i'm glad I went, he was very talented, but it was creepy.
The next day we travelled around, did some shopping visited cafes and tea shops before I headed back to Sydney. I cried a little leaving Erin.
Lucky to have such exciting adventures! So many more to come! I'm also totally on the verge of winning at making friends, so life is good.
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