Randwick Town Hall, decorated for Christmas

As it’s Christmas Eve I thought I’d post some of the Christmas photos I’ve taken near where I live. Randwick comes alive at this time of year, with lots of houses and businesses putting up decorations and it’s a lot of fun walking around and seeing what’s new. These are some of my favourites from this year.

Most of the houses are from Frederick Street, which is known for its Christmas displays and has won awards in the past; there are a few photos from Bondi Junction as well which I took while shopping. There are about 20 photos so I’ve split them after the jump; you can click on any of them to see larger versions as well.

I’m just finishing my annual Christmas song now as well… will have it posted sometime tomorrow. This year’s is an Aussie version of “Deck the Halls”. Should be fun!

Blue Santa lights on a house in Oberon Street, Randwick.

A surfing Santa and other decorations outside a house in Oberon Street.

A flat in Frederick Street, getting into the festive spirit.

Christmas lights and decorations in Frederick Street. This was one of the more brightly lit houses.

Christmas signs. This was the same house where I took this photo as well.

Christmas lights and a colourful tree in Frederick Street.

Another surfing Santa. Guess they must be in fashion this year?

Reindeer and thong lights, with Santa gnomes nearby.

Panorama in Frederick Street. The kids there seemed to love this one; they kept coming back to look at it.

Nativity scene in Frederick Street.

Snowman and star lights, with a guitar-playing Santa below.

Reindeer lights and a spiral tree in Frederick Street.

Rudolph decoration in Frederick Street.

Another house getting into the Christmas spirit.

Reindeer above the entrance to a house in Frederick Street.

A house in Frederick Street, covered in Christmas lights. This was my favourite overall.

A shrub, covered in Christmas lights.

Santa with Dale the Emu. Dale is a bit of a local celebrity as he keeps being stolen, only to turn up again in some unusual places.

Snowman sitting on a balcony.

Lights and decorations at Papaya homewares in Bondi Junction.

Christmas trees outside the entrance to David Jones, Bondi Junction.

Tree decoration outside The Coffee Club in Westfield, Bondi Junction.

Christmas tree in Oxford Street Mall, Bondi Junction.

Ray White real estate office in Randwick, decorated for the holidays.

Antonas real estate office in Randwick, decorated for the holidays.

Christmas tree in the window of Taylors real estate office in Randwick.

I took this photo a few days ago. Living in a block of flats we don’t really have much of a garden, just a small communal flowerbed that’s usually dead and neglected, but a few days ago we noticed this growing in it, an arum lily. Apparently one of our neighbours has been growing them and tidying up the flowerbed. This is the first one to bloom so far.

One of the interesting things about arum lilies is that they’re often used for weddings and other events because of their appearance but they’re actually poisonous and are seen as a weed in many parts of Australia. I’ve always found that dichotomy interesting, how something that looks so pure and angelic can actually be so deadly. Maybe that’s part of its allure?

Photo and haiku © CJ Levinson 2011

This is my first post in a while. I haven’t been feeling well and to make things worse I’ve been having computer problems as well. I can barely use my computer at the moment; it makes a constant grinding noise and just crashes without warning. I even lost some of my work yesterday when it crashed. No backups. Ouch. I’ve been putting it off but I’ll have to get it looked at later this week. Hopefully it won’t be too expensive to fix.

I’ve got a pile of emails and comments in my inbox I haven’t been able to get to yet (sorry!) but one good thing is it’s given me more time to write. I’ve finally been able to develop a few ideas further and I also started an early draft of a new story which is going well so far.

One of the stories I’ve been working on is based on an older idea, about a man who wakes from a coma only to find that the world he knew is gone. I haven’t had much time to work on it previously but I’ve always liked the idea and wanted to develop it further. At its heart it’s about exploring our world through the eyes of a stranger and it’s still only in the early stages but already it feels quite different to anything I’ve written before. I could see it being a novel one day.

I’ve been doing some research for the story (when my computer’s been working anyway), looking at how different trends change over time, and The Commons on Flickr has been an excellent resource. If you don’t use Flickr, The Commons is a photographic archive from different institutions around the world and it’s been fascinating looking at the collections, seeing how things like architecture, fashion and hairstyles have evolved over time.

The Powerhouse Museum and the NSW State Library are both part of The Commons and some of the images of Sydney are incredible; they date back to the beginning of the 20th century, some to even earlier when the colony was still forming. Most of the buildings don’t exist anymore and it’s an incredible insight into what life was really like back then.

The photo above is one of my favourites. It dates back to around 1920 and is of Marie-Celeste de Villentroy, the daughter of a photographer in Sydney at the time. It’s a beautiful portrait, hand-coloured. It’s also one of the few times I’ve seen the Red Ensign flag used so noticeably.

I spent Australia Day looking through The Commons last week and as I haven’t posted in a while, I thought it’d be fun to post some of my favourites photos. To share a little history. Most are of common landmarks in Sydney and should be familiar to people overseas.

There are quite a few photos, so I’ve posted more after the break. Enjoy.

This photo is of Market Street in the CBD, around 1875. The buildings were made of weatherboard and sanitation was a notorious problem in the area. You can see how the plague spread so rapidly a few years later. Rent was 21 shillings.

A view of Sydney from the old General Post Office in Martin Place (1900), in the central CBD. Many of these buildings were knocked down for development during the 1900s. The GPO was privatised in 1996 and now houses shops and cafes.

Martin Place, circa 1900. Martin Place was originally Moore Street and has changed a lot in 100 years but much of it is still recognisable. It was closed to traffic in 1971 and is now a pedestrian mall.

Queen Victoria Markets (1900), now the Queen Victoria Building. The QVB is one of my favourite buildings in Sydney; it’s mostly untouched and the inside has been carefully restored with many of its original features.

A gathering in Hyde Park while a band performs (1900). You can just see the Australian Museum and the Captain Cook statue in the background, which are still there today. The clothing seems formal even for the time; perhaps it was a special event?

Coogee Beach (1900). Most of the landscape has changed now, with shops and traffic coming right up to the esplanade. But the beach is still much the same. The building on the far right is the Coogee Palace, now the Beach Palace Hotel; it was restored in the 1980s.

July 1900, as the Bubonic Plague spread through Sydney. It killed 550 people in Australia, most in Sydney where it originated. Scenes like this were common throughout the city as people tried to keep their homes clean and disinfected.

A Sydney kitchen in George Street (1900). This was taken during the outbreak of plague and it looks like a fairly typical kitcken, particularly for the poorer houses in the city. Where the house was is now Sydney Central Station.

The Royal Arcade (1892). The Royal Arcade was one of five beautiful Victorian arcades in Sydney and was over 90 metres long. Of the five arcades only the Strand survives; the Royal Arcade was pulled down for the Hilton Hotel in the 1970s.

Four women going about their day in George Street in 1890. The GPO is behind them and the old David Jones building to the right. They were photographed without their knowledge; the fashion seems more casual than in many posed portraits from the time.

A telephone exchange at Anthony Hordern & Sons (1933). The store, part of the enormous Palace Emporium, was the largest department store in Sydney before it closed in 1970. The building was subsequently demolished for the World Square Shopping Centre.

January 1st, 1901. Federation. Citizens watch the procession down Macquarie Street as Australia became the Commonwealth of Australia and took its first steps as a separate nation – becoming the first country of the 20th century.

The first Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and the first Federal Ministry, meeting at Government House in 1901. Sir Edmund Barton, Australia’s first Prime Minister, is seated on the left.

January 26, 1938. The Aboriginal Day of Mourning. Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the colonisation of Australia, it was the first time Aborigines protested their treatment and demanded full Australian citizenship. They didn’t receive it until 1967.

Schoolchildren at Belmore North Public School receive a free bowl of soup and a slice of bread during the Depression (1934). Over 300 bowls of soup would be served to children of the unemployed each day and warm clothing was distributed in winter.

Construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, May 1930. The photographer, Ted Hood, leant upside down over the crane with another worker holding onto his legs to take the shot. They were 130 metres above the ground.

March 19, 1932. The opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, as the first cars pay the tolls. The original opening of the Bridge was famously upstaged by Francis de Groot, who cut the ribbon before the NSW Premier. Tollbooths weren’t added until sometime later.

Randwick Racecourse (1863). The racecourse was originally known as Sandy Course and dates back to 1833. It seated a crowd of 6000; now it has a capacity of 90,000. It’s often used when the Pope or other dignitaries visit Sydney as well. We live about five minutes away.

A troopship with the 6th Division departs Sydney for the Middle East and World War II (January 1940). The 6th Division would go on to serve in North Africa, Greece and on the Kokoda Track in some of the toughest fighting of the war.

Firemen show their latest gasmasks to the public outside the Castlereagh Street headquarters in 1927. Apparently demonstrations like this were common and were often put on for the public on Wednesday afternoons.

All photos from the Powerhouse Museum, the NSW State Records Office and The NSW State Library collections.

For me Australia Day holds a slightly different meaning. I am proudly Australian but my parents were originally English; they lived in Australia for more than 15 years before becoming Australian citizens themselves. Witnessing their citizenship ceremony was one of the proudest moments of my life. But perhaps because of that I have always preferred a quieter observation; while other people attend festivals I prefer to take time thinking about what Australia means to me, how far we’ve come and still have to go.

Something I always do around this time is to look back through some of our old photographs and I found this one earlier. I can’t believe it but it must be almost 20 years old now; I still remember some of that day, near the harbour and the botanic gardens. We had ice cream afterwards. And yes, that is me in the picture. I was 4 years old. Ugly little bugger, wasn’t I?

Of all the photographs we have this is one of my favourites, not just because it captures the memories I still have of that day but also because it’s like a snapshot of how I see Australia. To me Australia isn’t a nation in the sense that America is; we’re much younger and don’t have the same history and culture behind us. We’re still growing and finding our identity and culture. That’s what I see in the photo: that I would grow, and Australia would as well.

Over the last 20 years Australia has changed a lot and it has been interesting watching those changes unfold. To be frank some of them have disturbed me, particularly as our civil liberties have unravelled, but we’ve also made progress. The apology to Indigenous Australians last year was a watershed moment in our development as a nation and raises the real possibility for reconciliation one day. That indigenous leader Mick Dodson was named Australian of the Year this year is another step towards that.

But we’re not there yet. There are still a lot of obstacles in the way and Australia Day itself is one of them. Some people think the date should be changed from January 26 so it includes all Australians and I agree; many Aboriginal Australians consider it to be “Invasion Day” and to have a national day which isn’t inclusive of the first Australians seems culturally insensitive to me and always has. Federation Day, January 1st, 1901, seems more suitable, the day we gained interdependence from Britain.

But when I think of all we’ve achieved as a young country, though – from the biggest townships to the smallest farms, from the beaches of Gallipoli to the villages of East Timor -, it makes me extremely proud. We’re a country that came about partially by accident; under other circumstances we could have been a Dutch or French settlement and if not for the American Revolution the events of our colonisation by Britain would’ve been very different. As the descendants of convicts, we’ve developed a stable democracy and are slowly moving towards becoming a republic. That is not a bad start for any country.

Today the thing I find myself thinking about the most is our landscape. That’s what I noticed most looking at that photograph, how after 20 years the harbour is still the same… the water the same brilliant blue. I think it’s something a lot of us take for granted; for many of us Australia is just there but how many of us have really seen it, have seen Kakadu or Kings Canyon? I know I hope to at some stage, to see Uluru at sunset and the ancient art in the Abrakurrie caves. I think it’s our landscape which defines our identity and it’s what I’m most grateful for.

There’s one song that always comes to mind when I think of Australia. It’s Icehouse’s Great Southern Land. I couldn’t hope for a better song to post on Australia Day. Hope you enjoy it.

Wherever you are in the world I wish you peace, hope and a Happy Australia Day. Here’s hoping one day it’ll be Happy Republic Day – a day we can all celebrate as one.

5 things found in your bag (I’ll use my messenger bag)

• Sunglasses
• iPod and headphones
• Notepad and pen
• Latest book I’m reading (The Road by Cormac McCarthy)
• Chewing gum (or mints)

5 favourite things in your room

• Bookcases & books
  I had these custom made a few years ago; the carpenters loved them so much they’re using the design. Should I get a commission?

• LCD TV
  I bought this when my insomnia started so I could watch DVDs. I love it; it’s a Panasonic 26″ and it’s like having my own home cinema.

• Writing desk
  I found this secondhand and grabbed it; it’s a rolltop desk, something I’ve always wanted. It’s where I do all my writing; poetry, letters, blog posts… isn’t it a beautiful colour?

• Statues & figures
  I love old myths and I’ve been collecting these statues for a few years. These Egyptian ones are made from cold cast resin; the detail is stunning. I also have a collection of pewter statues.

• King Arthur Tapestry
  This is my favourite piece. It’s based on a William Morris tapestry; the knights have left their shields in the woods, searching for the unicorn.

5 things you have always wanted to do

• Open a bookshop
  This is something I’d love to do, open a secondhand bookshop with a cafe and author readings… books are what I know best, so I couldn’t think of a better way to make a living. CJ’s Classics sounds good, eh?

• Have a novel published
  This is an obvious one. I haven’t written anything that I’d send away yet, but maybe it’ll happen. I’m very happy with Sleepless and The Galleon; they’re very different to anything I’ve written before.

• Finish Atlas Shrugged
  I tried reading Rand’s novel in school but couldn’t finish it. It’s something I really should read, so I’ll have to have another go.

• See more of the world
  I haven’t travelled much beyond Europe. I’d love to see the US and Egypt, especially the Pyramids… I’d love to see Wimbledon live as well.

• Think of the perfect comeback
  You know when someone insults you and you wish you had the perfect retort? I always think of it later; just once I’d love to say it right back.

5 things you are currently into

• Cut Copy
  Cut Copy are like a cross between INXS, The Bee Gees and Daft Punk. It sounds odd but they’re actually very good. Their new album is excellent.

• Indiana Jones
  I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers for Indy 4 for months and I loved the trailer. Don’t know if it’ll be like the others but it looks like fun!

• Tetris
  I loved Tetris when I was younger and I’ve been playing it again for the last few weeks. Now I’m addicted. It’s so simple but a lot of fun.

• Audiobooks
  I’ve liked audiobooks for years but I’ve really got into them recently. I just bought Steve Martin’s The Pleasure of My Company and it’s narrated by Martin as well, which is an added bonus.

• Natalie Portman
  Because she’s Natalie Portman. Do I need another reason?

5 people you want to tag
And if you don’t feel like taking part, that’s fine. No pressure.

• Bharat
• Sanjida
• Maribeth
• Dya
• Lynn