Grey Ghosts

I was in Melbourne on Monday, and pointed out we’d just driven past a Grey Ghost, in this case a Council parking inspector/officer. And I mentioned the story behind this WebUrbanist post - Banksy vs. The Gray Ghost in New Orleans and how we were currently in the city which had painted over a Banksy artwork.

In 2008 the renowned British satirical street artist Banksy visited New Orleans leaving behind his particular brand of social and political commentary on Hurricane Katrina, its effects on New Orleans and issues in American culture.


Fred Radtke (The Gray Ghost) has made it his mission to erase every bit of graffiti in New Orleans with his paint roller in hand. The anti-street-art crusader passed quietly through each neighborhood, obliterating all traces of spray paint with his own signature splotches of gray – hence his nickname.


Some locals celebrated his dedication to keeping New Orleans clean, while others decried his assault against free expression.



The Gray Ghost himself became the subject of some of Banksy’s New Orleans work, depicted as a bent figure blotting out colur on the city’s walls. Where Banksy painted over huge swaths of Radtke’s gray paint, Radtke came back and painted over many of Banksy’s works of art.

Not all of the Banksy obliteration came courtesy of the Gray Ghost.

A man was actually photographed in the process of painting over ‘Boy on Life Preserver’.

Regardless of who covered them, all the New Orleans Banksy art is now gone except ‘Rain Girl’, thanks to its protective plexiglass.

In April the Melbourne City Council sent the cleaners into Hosier Lane on clean up the lane, but the over exuberant employees accidentally obliterated the Banksy stencil of a parachuting rat, unaware that it was a valuable piece of street art.

Word for the day

Heard an expression I hadn't been aware of the other day - Beating the bounds.
The City of Yarra Council and the Fitzroy History Society celebrated the 150th anniversary of the municipality of Fitzroy. Residents joined the mayor and councillors for a "Beating of the Bounds" walk on Saturday 29 August for a stroll around the suburb hearing the history of significant churches, hotels and historic local sites.


Beating the bounds comes from the old English expression, an ancient custom where the old members of the village would lead young men in a walk around the boundaries of the parish, (usually led by the parish priest and church officials) to share their knowledge and to pray for protection for the lands. Apparently they would "beat" the boys at strategic locations to aid their knowledge retention.

High & dry

The Pasha Bulker


My blog post on July 17, 2010 on Shipwrecks & sea disasters from http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/05/shipwrecks-sea-disasters.html included a photo of the Cherry Venture’s hull, and this set me to thinking about this and other Australian wrecks which didn’t sink.
Here are just a few:

On July 6th, 1973, the Cherry Venture was driven aground in a wild storm at Double Island Point on Noosa's North Shore. The 1600 ton Singapore owned cargo ship, manned by Malaysian, Filipino and Chinese crewmen, was bound for Brisbane from Auckland when it was caught in ‘the worst storm in living memory’ (22 ships fought the 40’ waves). The ship foundered in 12 meter waves and 140 kph winds, it ran aground after its anchor cable broke. It lay in n upright position on the beach.
RAAF helicopter crews safely winched all crewmen from the ship and shuttled them to nearby Tin Can Bay. Attempts were made to refloat the Cherry Venture by digging out sand from around it and filling the excavation with water, but it was not able to be pulled back out to sea and the idea was abandoned. Since then, the rusting red wreck of the Cherry Venture has become a tourism landmark on the Sunshine Coast. Sadly, she was broken up and removed from the beach in 2007.

HMVS Cerberus, the last flagship of the Victorian Colonial Navy was scuttled as a breakwater off Black Rock in 1926. In 1866, the Victorian government ordered a ship to supplement the shore-based fortifications of Port Philip Bay (part of the extensive fortifications at Queenscliff, Popes Eye, South Channel & Point Nepean) and to defend the colony in the event of a Russian attack.

The Cerberus served till 1924 when it was decommissioned. In 1993 there was a major structural collapse after rusting deck supports gave way, leaving only the deck beams to support the deck, turrets, and superstructure. To reduce the load placed on the deck the four 18-ton guns were removed and placed on the seabed next to the wreck. Now a 100 metre exclusion zone exists around the wreck. The Cerberus site, and Heritage Vic's flickr set and Gary Bell's OceanWideImages.

The Maheno was built in Scotland in 1904-05 and was the world’s first ever triple screw steamer. It was employed on trans-Tasman crossings for several years after she was launched. The Maheno was then used as a hospital ship in WW 1. In 1935 the Maheno was sold as scrap to be melted down in Japan, it was on this journey that the Maheno was hit by an unseasonal cyclone off the coast of Fraser Island. Attempts were made to refloat the Maheno unsuccessfully and eventually it was left abandoned on the 75-mile beach.

The Runic, a 13,587 ton (meat freighter) refrigerated cargo liner. Built in Belfast in 1950 it was 561 x 72 x 32 ft. and was wrecked, on Middleton Reef, Pacific Ocean, during a cyclone in February 1961, no lives were lost. At the time, it was the world’s largest refrigerated cargo liner. She was caught in a 1961 cyclone between Auckland and Brisbane and came to grief on Middleton Reef’s northwest side. She struck the reef at a speed of about 17 knots, riding over the sharp coral for about 25 metres before stopping, leaving almost three quarters of her length in deep water. It sits high and dry on the reef in a upright position. The whole stern section has completely broken away from the main structure and stands separate. The Runic is no longer the attraction that she once was. Charred with fire, the ship is now a broken relic, stripped of her valuable fittings Since the time of European settlement in Australia, many other unsuspecting ocean going vessels have fallen victim to this treacherous reef. Between 1806 and 1972, at least 32 vessels are known to have been wrecked on the reefs; 17 on Middleton Reef and 13 on Elizabeth Reef. Some authorities believe the real figure may be as high as 90 vessels, and includes the One and All a ketch which sank near Middleton Reef in 1971. Her crew of six constructed a wind driven generator on the wreck of the Runic while sheltering and awaiting rescue.

The Ethel, a three-masted iron barque of 711 tons was built in 1876. Bound from South African ports to Semaphore, S.A. The Ethel went ashore on Reef Head, close to Cape Spencer on 2nd January 1904. One member of the crew who attempted to swim ashore with a line lost his hold and was drowned, but the remainder of the crew reached safety. The wreck was first reported by SS Ferret when she arrived at Port Adelaide on 4th January. Attempts to free the Ethel failed and she became a total loss. Ironically, the Ferret was lost only a few metres away 17 years later and the hulk of the Ethel was used to secure a lifeline to rescue the crew of the Ferret. Her boiler protrudes from the sand just metres from the Ethel.

On 21 July 1991, the Greek tanker Kirki was off the Western Australian coast, about 125 miles north of Perth and 18 miles west of Cervantes. Its forepeak ballast tank had filled with sea water, efforts to pump out the tank were unsuccessful and serious structural damage had occurred to the forward hull. The weather was severe, force 8 winds from the west/south west, rough seas and heavy swells. The damaged bow section broke off causing the bulkhead to fracture and expose the cargo tanks to the sea. Cargo oil was spilled and fire broke out from the bow, the fire was extinguished by wave action. An estimated 2.9 million gallons of light crude oil (the Exxon Valdez spill was 10.9 million gallons). were dumped into the Indian Ocean, the oil slick was more than seven miles long and almost a mile wide The Kirki was sailing from Saudi Arabia to Fremantle. Helicopters rescued the 37 crew. Following the removal of oil the Kirki was towed to Singapore where she was broken up for scrap.

Burke & Wills & Camels

I recently set up a display to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Burke & Wills Victorian Exploring Expedition, probably the best known expedition in Australian history. Their story has been told in books, films, song, folklore, melodrama, and re-enactments.

On 20th August 1860, in an attempt to be the first party to cross the continent, Burke & Wills set out from Melbourne in a large well equipped expedition. While successfully reaching the Gulf of Carpentaria, Burke, Wills and Gray all died on the return journey.

The image of Burke and Wills perishing near the Dig Tree beside the Cooper Creek, is central to the Australian narrative (and who thought it would be linked to the Federal Election).

The Royal Society of Victoria organised the Expedition, and this year have organised a range of commemorative programs and activities to celebrate the 150th.

The Wimmera’s link to this famous expedition is that some of the remaining camels and camels used on the Relief Expeditions were retired to the Longerenong pastoral run, Charles Wilson was a member of the Royal Society, and offered to have the camels on his property in a drier climate rather than suffering in Melbourne’s damp conditions.

No humans allowed

The film District 9 plunges us into a world where the aliens have landed... only to be exiled to a slum on the fringes of Johannesburg. Now, one lone human discovers the mysterious secret of the extraterrestrial weapon technology. Hunted and hounded through the bizarre back alleys of an alien shantytown, he will discover what it means to be the ultimate outsider on your own planet.


Set in 2010, a weapons research corporation - Multi-National United is contracted to forcibly evict the alien population, placing Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) in charge of the operation. Told as snippets of interview footage (mock-umentary style), the story which led to the operation is told - in 1982, a massive spaceship appeared over Johannesburg and hovered there. When entry was forcibly gained it was found to contain a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed 'The Prawns', who were promptly segregrated in a compound outside the city. Now 28 years later, the refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarised slum ghetto named District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor.

This film takes the usual alien invasion theme and turns it on its head and makes it more believeable/realistic. Directed by Neill Blomkamp & produced by Peter Jackson, it couldn't have been made without the CGI technology when it comes to the the fast-paced action scenes. Sharlto Copley does a great job in the lead role.

"Wash me"

I was going to take the car to the car-wash later, but now I might not.

It’s easy to let your car go a while without having it washed, and some artists make it even easier, by creating beautiful works of art using only a brush and the dust coating your neglected vehicle. Some of this artwork is done on the fly by inspired art students, whereas some artists have become well known for their prowess with the dust medium.

More photos at the WebUrbanist site

Abandoned underground

This is one of my DVDs, Cities of the underworld peels away the layers of time to expose the incredible pasts lurking beneath cities such as Paris, New York, Rome and Shanghai. From long-submerged networks that once served crucial functions, eerie catacombs, ancient aqueducts to clandestine hideouts and underground societies. These episodes explore secret chambers and forbidden passages beneath city streets, unlocking mysteries of the past and discovering forgotten relics.
With each step below street level you travel back decades, even centuries, into the fascinating past of the world's great cities.
This History Channel series examines these mysterious realms, from the technological feats of their construction and the myths and lore that have cloaked these subterranean marvels for centuries. The first series set has 13 episodes on four discs (running for over 600 minutes): Scotland's Sin City, Hitler's Underground Lair, Rome's Hidden Empire, Catacombs of Death, City of Caves, New York, London's Lost Cities, Beneath Vesuvius, Freemason Underground, Dracula's Underground, Secret Pagan Underground, Underground Bootleggers, and Rome: the Rise.
Using computer animation to describe the layouts often superimposed on the current buildings assists the narration and gives you a vision of what it did look like.
Presenter Eric Geller is a bit over enthusiastic, and the bratwurst sausage episode was a bit crass, Don Wildman is better.

It mentions a few of the urban explorers who investigate the underworld - the Berliner Undergrounders, "Cataphiles" illegally tour the Paris catacombs (the series of underground tunnels that were formerly a network of stone mines).
The DVDs also helped place books I’d read – Vlad’s castle and chapel in The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, Hitler’s architectural dream in Fatherland by Robert Harris, and the Vesuvius eruption in Pompeii by Robert Harris. Oh, and of course, Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol. Even though these books are all fiction, what they are describing is based on fact.

Left in Antarctica

Antarctica – this huge, frozen continent is bitterly cold, inhospitable as Mars and as far from civilization as any place on the planet. Just getting there has been a struggle; staying there has been near impossible. bear mute testimony to mankind’s perseverance in mastering what is literally the last place on Earth. Here are some tangible relics of our presence.


Shackleton’s Hut, UK, Abandoned 1909
Sir Ernest Shackleton participated in a number of Antarctic exploration expeditions in the first two decades of the 20th century, including the 1907-09 ‘Nimrod’ Expedition. Arriving at McMurdo Sound, Shackleton selected a landing site about 20 miles away from Hut Point (established by rival explorer Robert Falcon Scott during the 1901-04 Discovery Expedition).

Though Shackleton pushed to within 97 miles of the South Pole, setting a record, he and his party were forced to turn back. When the expedition departed Antarctica in March of 1909, he left the fully stocked, pre-fab hut behind – where it still stands, not much the worse for wear, to this day

Video tour of Shackleton’s hut at Cape Royds

Scott’s Hut, UK, Abandoned 1913

The heroic yet ultimately doomed Terra Nova Expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott in 1911 was based at Hut Point, the original base set up by Scott when he first arrived in Antarctica. Though Scott and his 4 companions reached the South Pole on January 17th, 1912, to their great disappointment they found that Roald Amundsen of Norway had beat them by nearly a full month.

As history records, Scott and his team (Wilson, Oates, Bowers and Evans) did not survive the return from the Pole but their hut on Ross Island remains, preserved by frigid cold and low humidity.

Mawson Station, Australia, 1914

The 1911-14 Australian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) led by Sir Douglas Mawson set a number ofscientific goals including making the first flight over Antarctic territory. Unfortunately Mawson’s flying plans were scuttled when the Vickers Monoplane suffered damage to its wings in transit and was used, wingless, as an air tractor.

Mawson Station was abandoned in 1914 though Mawson returned for short visits in 1929 and 1931. Remains of the Vickers aircraft’s metal frame were discovered on January 2nd, 2010, by a team from the Mawson’s Huts Foundation. The original huts at Mawson’s base at Cape Denison can be seen below, nearly subsumed by decades of snow and ice.

Leningradskaya Base, Soviet Union, Abandoned 1991

The Soviet research station “Leningradskaya” located in Oates Land, was set up in 1971 and abandoned in 1991 in the wake of the fall of communism and the accompanying fiscal crisis that beset the country. The remnants of the station sits at the edge of 100-ft high stone cliff looking out to the desolate Oates Coast of Antarctica.

More abandoned bases at WebUrbanist.

Holidays

Off on holidays today, so no posts for a couple of weeks.