Lets light a candle

After almost 122 years the light at Eddystone Point in Northeast Tasmania was switched off in February, replaced by a balcony mounted plastic beacon.

Eddystone was the last 1st-order working light in Tasmania and was a key part of Tasmania’s maritime heritage.

Two main issues were used to justify the downgrading - custodians of the site, the Aboriginal Lands Council were concerned that short-tailed shearwaters (mutton-birds) were striking the light, and if opened for guided tours. The lense which sits on a bed of mercury presents a health issue. (though other lights with mercury troughs have operated tours for many years).

Eddystone was one of six remaining lighthouses in Australia still operating on mercury troughs - Cape Byron, Cape Leeuwin, Cape Naturaliste, Rottnest Island, & Cape Schanck.

The role of the lights as main navigational aids is diminishing and in some cases gone, but just wait till we have an electro-magnetic pulse which wipes out all navigation aids, or Patrick Tilley’s Fadeout scenario comes true, then we’ll wish for a candle!

Lilliputian libraries

Miniature books first came into fashion back in 1475, when the tiny tomes were produced as novelties, then printers began producing the small volumes to show off their skills.

It took a great deal of technical knowledge and talent to produce these perfectly printed books in such a minuscule size. Books are generally considered “miniature” if they do not exceed 100 mm in height, width or thickness, they all contain perfectly legible print just like their full-size counterparts and some even contain surprisingly detailed pictures.

Miniature books can come in all types of subjects from art to politics, to cookery and everything in between. Some also come with unusual covers made of china, carved wood or tooled leather.

More information and photos @ Weburbanist

Ararat in Lake Mungo

The DVD Lake Mungo (http://www.lakemungo.com/) is an enigmatic ghost story, a family drama, and a teenage girl with secrets.The story is a mocumentary with sequences of interviews and real time footage, it attempts to explore the unexplained paranormal activity (strange noises and apparitions).

Made in 2008 on a small budget, the mocumentary style looks authentic, with ordinary people recalling their experience to a documentary filmmaker.They even allowed the WinTV news crew to film the search newsreel (with real SES & police divers) as if it were a real normal segment.

The film-makers searched Victoria for the most appropriate locations and chose Ararat for the “beautiful and haunted-looking landscapes in the Grampians region…Lake Mungo couldn’t have been made anywhere else both aesthetically and practically”.

Mount Langi Ghiran is a star of the film, you see its brooding shape in many scenes. Was waiting to see when and how Lake Mungo would be introduced into the storyline. (oohh Y-Gen and their mobile phone cameras – a good reason to ban them).

People mention a resemblance to Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks (‘Palmer’ not withstanding) yes, there are similarities, only it doesn’t descend to the same level of weirdness. The story has an original slant and builds an eerie atmospheric sensation,

The neighbour bit came as a bit of a surprise, and it might be fiction, but still wouldn’t want to purchase those houses in Ararat. And glad I’ve already been to and enjoyed Lake Mungo with an open mind, going there with this particular baggage would spoil the experience.

The Sister Rocks also get a mention.

The plotline has Alice drowning in a local dam. With a verdict of accidental death, her grieving family bury her and try to return to a normal life, but a series of strange and inexplicable events lead the Palmers seek the help of a psychic who reveals that Alice led a secret life.