Garden Fundraiser & Historic Village

Apr 06

The day was spent experiencing two very different activities and both were exceptional.

I picked up this postcard from the Visitor Center and just knew it was meant to be. "The Braes is opening for one day only in autumn to raise funds for the Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital and Greystanes Disability Services in Leura."
This special place boasts over 200 varieties of trees, shrubs and perennials, on over 220,660 ft² of restored Sorensen heritage gardens. For those unfamiliar with a Sorensen garden, Paul Sorensen (1890 – 1983) was a landscape gardener born and trained in Denmark. He had experience working in gardens in Denmark, Germany, France and Switzerland, some of which were in large estates with extensive grounds. He arrived in Australia in 1915 and settled in the Blue Mountains in 1917. He was celebrated for his distinctive designs and his mastery of the use of the dry stone wall technique combined with a skill in managing dramatic changes of levels in gardens. He is reported as being extremely versatile with skills in design, propagation, planting and the building and maintenance of gardens of a wide range of size and style. He designed many notable and now-heritage listed gardens in New South Wales and here we were in one of them. Who would have thought?!
We were greeted and informed by Margot Egan the hostess/owner. She was an absolute delight and I wish we could have hung out with her all day.
She owns one of the largest private gardens in Leura. It features two flowing creeks and distant escarpment vistas, and provides an example of a European inspired landscape wedged between urban, semi-rural and wild native bushland.





Margot apologized for her garden not being more colorful. "If you could wait two weeks you wouldn't recognize it!" We were not disappointed with the show Mother Nature offered today.
This is a new trick on Steve's phone. He says you'll tire of it but for now, I am loving it. It grabs one's attention!






We concluded our morning with coffee in the garden. What joy!
"A garden must combine the poetic
and the mysterious
with a feeling of serenity and joy."
- Luis Barragán
Lunch was at a surprisingly wonderful roadside café where the food was plentiful and the waitstaff was adorable! Australians are so kind and enthusiastic.

We have seen some amazing vintage vehicles out for drives in the sunshine. Wow.
Our final stop of the day was at the Hartley Historic Village. It is of national historical significance as a substantial early nineteenth-century settlement. It tells modern visitors a great deal about the expansion of European development in inland Australia and the beautiful old buildings illustrate the changing role and fortunes of Hartley from first settlement of the inland, to a way to the goldfields, to the beginning of tourism through the motor transport era.
Hartley was formerly a judicial and administrative center that had a busy courthouse. The courthouse was built in 1837 and was designed by prominent New South Wales Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis. It contains a well-preserved Courtroom and fascinating lockups where early convicts, bushrangers and cattle thieves scratched their names, their sentences and their crimes into the timber-lined walls. It operated for over fifty years dealing with a constant stream of bad guys.

This was a stopping point for tourists since the late 1800s. Some things never change.
We had to visit Corneys Garage. Built in the 1940s, this unique building is a beautifully restored mechanic's garage that offers an authentic taste of a bygone era. If I had a bigger suitcase, the antiques here would have been taken home. What a treasure trove of wonderfulness. WOW.





How about the Shamrock Inn? Now a ruin with an old tin roof and a log watering trough outside, it was built in 1841 for Patrick Phillips but by 1856, it had become an inn specifically to cater for the miners who were travelling through Hartley on their way to the goldfields at Turon.
St Bernard's Church (1848) was built from pale sandstone and hand sawn local timber. The church, with a strong Gothic style, is characterized by a distinctive French influence. It is believed one of the early priests was an admirer of French religious architecture. The stone bricks were cut by different stonemasons (they have distinctive styles) but it is mostly credited to Alexander Binning. The church was used until 1963 and is still consecrated.

The Post Office was the 8th in all of Australia. At the time of its closure, it was the longest serving post office in Australia... 137 years. Wild stuff.

One more day of new discoveries here in the Blue Mountains. We're slowing down a bit but savoring it just as thoroughly!

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Haircut, History, & Hikes

Apr 05

Since I've gone too long without a proper haircut, Steve threatened to repair the damage my self styling has done to my bangs. Instead, I booked an 8:30 AM appointment. This was the first time I have ever treated myself to any kind of beauty treatment while on vacation and I was delighted by the entire experience.

"Platinum Concept Hair & Beauty is a bespoke salon where we aspire to help meet your inspiration hair & beauty goals. We are a small business run by  highly skilled, professional, passionate senior stylists and senior beauticians with creativity and a modern journey that ensures our clients look and feel their absolute best."
I don't know how 'senior' 28 year-old stylist Brooke was but she was so much fun to be with and she really listened to my demands. She had so many questions about America. I loved it all. Onward to discover!
When we passed this opulent and intriguing building, we had to U-turn and explore. Covering over ½ of a mile of hilltop, it was built by the retail magnate Mark Foy. The Medlow Bath Hydro opened in 1904 as a hydropathic sanitorium and health resort, offering visitors the opportunity to “take the waters” in European style while enjoying superb views over the Blue Mountains. However, in the absence of natural mineral springs, foul-tasting mineral waters were imported from Germany. When the appeal of the health resort waned (only 2 years later), the hotel was re-branded as the Hydro Majestic and promoted as a luxury getaway.
The project was an ambitious one, involving the employment of 200 to 300 workmen for more than a year. The impressive dome was imported from Chicago, transported to the mountains by bullock cart and reassembled on site.  Mr. Foy was even successful in having the name of his hotel’s location changed from Medlow to Medlow Bath.

As well as around 100 bedrooms, the resort included a ballroom, billiard room, lawn tennis courts, a bowling green, a cricket ground and a “swimming bath”.
We got lost in its vastness. The Hydro is unexplainable in its WOW-factor.
Over the years the hotel attracted many famous guests, including Australia’s first Prime Minister, Sir Edmund Barton, who actually died there in 1920. The Hydro Majestic was extensively damaged by fire in August 1922 but reopened in time for Christmas that year. Rebuilding took some 14 years, but for some decades the hotel remained a favorite destination for a luxurious holiday. By the 1990s, the glory had faded. The hotel was acquired by the Escarpment Group in 2008 and a lengthy process of restoration and renovation has returned it to luxury status.
Peacock feathers adorn all of the heavy velvet drapery. Former luxury status indeed!
The walls were lined with amazing artwork done by Swiss artist Arnold Alois Zimmerman (1897-1985). He came to Australia in 1923 and was a painter, designer, architect, and pictorial artist. In the 1930s, he oversaw the redesign of the interior of the Ballroom, now known as the Casino. He was also commissioned to paint the animal paintings which were in the specially designated spaces that surrounded the walls of the Ballroom, mounted just below the ceiling. They are truly museum quality.
And the views... Masterpieces!

We ended our explore, after meandering for 1 km, in the Pavilion for coffee and more history.
Visitors to the world-famous historic hotel can discover the heritage of original owner Mark Foy’s Palace in the Wilderness through interpretive displays and multimedia screening areas. See historic collections of ice skates, cutlery and crockery, porters’ uniforms and the original Casino Lobby stage. Look up to see Hydro Majestic chairs through the eras. Glance at the screens to see photos of celebrities..." This was definitely a surprise find and so completely worth the detour.



Upon exiting, we stumbled upon a group of guys with some really cool rides.

We were impressed with this Lele by ISO Rivolta, a unknown-to-us Italian car and motorbike manufacturer active in the motor vehicle sector since 1938.
Next was a trip to Blackheath for attaining more of our back-to-nature goals.


After yesterday's strenuous day, we were looking for an easy dose of Vitamin N. We found it beginning at Evans Lookout. A brilliant introduction to the wonders of Blue Mountains National Park, this lookout offers breathtaking views towards Grose Valley, with the sandstone cliff walls.






A visit, to ogle and briefly visit, was a must at the Grand Canyon.


Confession: I did not take this photo but had I been quicker, I would have. What a beautiful burst of color hidden within the hues of the bush. Wild.

Lunch was at Blackheath's delicious and delightful Victory Theatre Café.
I had the most amazing chickpea pancake and Steve's ragu was perfect.
After lunch, we stalked these characters for a photo. They were heading to a Titanic party celebration (remembrance). There were quite a few of them.
This was just one of the many gorgeous vehicles in which they arrived. Style!
Our last dose of nature's beauty came at Govetts Leap Lookout. The view includes sandstone escarpments, sheer cliff walls, the deep canyons of the Grose Valley, and tall waterfalls. It was the ideal conclusion of our day.


"Bring nothing but silence.
Show nothing but grace.
Seek nothing but shelter
from the great human race.
Take nothing but pictures.
Kill nothing but time.
Leave nothing but footprints
to show you came by."
-John Kay

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