Our Own Backyard

 

Students in year 8, are studying a contempory Australian artist, by the name of Howard Arkley. His work is featured in art galleries and on Australian postage stamps.  Arkley wanted to portray a contemporary Austalian landscape. Prior to his time, Australian artists tended to show outback Australia.Instead, Arkley used the suburbs, where ordinary people live, as his inspiration - a far more relevant portrayal in his eyes. Many of his works feature suburban houses, their features and facades.

Students were asked to look at the house they live in and paint it. Many of them take their homes for granted and were forced to look at it through different eyes. Features such as gardens, verandahs were to be shown. Enjoy some of the year 8 homes through their eyes.

We have just moved onto a dairy farm and our family loves to milk cows. See our farm and our dairy in action.

Download Video: Posted by murch at TeacherTube.com.

We had our hottest day for 2007 on the eve of the New Year, 31st January, 2007. In the shade of our verandah at home we measured 43 degrees. It was opportune, or just plain bad luck, that it was my rostered day for swimming pool duty! Hawkesdale has a wonderful community swimming pool, that opens over the summer period. Solar heating and blankets ensure that the water is kept warmer during cooler days.

Volunteers operate the small kiosk and collect money from the public who come for a swim. Lifeguards are used to ensure all personnel are kept safe. So yesterday, at 1pm I proceeded to the pool and discovered that the water was 25 degrees - a very pleasant swimming temperature. Various people took pity on me at times and looked after the kiosk so that I could take a quick dip in the cool waters and maintain a far more effective body temperature. By 6 pm, I was ready to cease my duties as it had been a busy day selling ice confections, drinks, chips and lollies.

After a quick evening meal, it was on to Warrnambool to babysit our dear little grandson. We went for a delightful walk in the balmy air, watched people still swimming at 9pm at night in both the river and the surf and joined the throngs of other walkers along the famous Warrnambool boardwalk.

It is nearly Christmas in our backyard. Some of our students from prep to grade 5 have been interviewed to see what they want for Christmas and what it means to them. The images reflect some of the activities that occur in our school and the general presence of Christmas around Hawkesdale itself.

Download Video: Posted by murch at TeacherTube.com.

Farms around Hawkesdale are typically 800-1000 acres, with mixed farming pursuits. Sheep farming primarily for prime lamb production and/or wool is the usual pursuit. After world war 2, large grazing areas were split into smaller soldier settlers blocks to allow returning soldiers find an occupation on the land. Since that time, holdings have been consolidated once more to allow a reasonable income to be produced. For the first time, in grazing history by caucasians, our fertile Western District was declared a drought area.
One of our students has produced a story on his farm for us to share.

Download Video: Posted by murch at TeacherTube.com.

Hi! I am Patch and I am a webkinz toy. I have come to live with the grades 3 and 4 students at Hawkesdale College. I will go to school with them, play in the school yard, learn the same things that they do and will also go home with a student for a night to visit their backyard.

As I come with a computer code, I am a special toy. When my code is entered into the web site, the students can  build a virtual home and world for me. Webkinz are big hits in Canada and the USA but have only just come to Australia. So my kids are lucky to have me.

I love my kids and they have been very good to me. They have bought me a chair and a bed in my virtual home and have fed me, played with and put me to sleep. I have played boot ball with them today, and learned lots in literacy and had a go at playing on the  computer. Lots of photos will be taken and these will be put on a special global project blog that will be shared with other schools and webkinz in USA and Canada.

Through the eyes of grades 3 and 4, I will tell you lots about my experiences as time goes by.

Hello I am Patch and I am a Webkinz toy. I have come from ebay (as we could not find any shops in Australia that sell my yet). I will be joining grades 3 and 4 at school and going home to visit them in their backyards on the weekends. My journeys will be documented on a blog which is part of a global project by a teacher in Canada. I am the only Australian webkinz to be involved so far. My kids have already been very good to me and they can play in a virtual world with me on my website.
Bye for now!

My backyard was once the Hawkesdale Railway station which closed down in the 1970’s. It is about 5 km north east of Hawkesdale township by road. We live in the former railway cottage which we have extended and renovated. My wife grew up in this house as her parents ran the station and maintained the local part of the railway line.

 The railway line now only has remnants of past railway existence left but the land has been kept for a proposed native corridor. From our place the line is covered in lush green grass and weed at present, with pockets of native trees mainly wattle and occasional big swamp or manna gum. A  railway store shed and siding remain as proof of a former life.

There are rows of old radiated pine which were planted many years ago as wind breaks. Some pines have self seeded. Protecting the front of my property are huge old cypress pines which my children used to love climbing and building cubbies in when they were a bit younger.My family owns a goat, Walter, whose sole purpose in life is to assist with the grass mowing thus helping to prevent a fire hazard during the summer.

From the railway line on a clear day you can see Mt Rouse our local extinct or some say dormant volcano. 

Surrounding our house and the railway line are sheep and cattle. My neighbour’s sheep come to also help graze the railway land to keep the area safe.Our backyard is visited by several Kookaburras, the occasional wallaby and even echidna. Possums are always competing with us over our garden. The call of all the birdlife of my backyard is a far cry from the city in which I spent the first 28 years of my life.

I just love our school grounds. Our students are so lucky to be in large rural grounds. There are vast and expansive green areas for play. Adjoining the school fences are paddocks with sheep and cattle. There is very little concrete. Most of our students come to school by bus from Koroit, Port Fairy, Penshurst and Macarthur.

 Anyway, I have just experimented with a slideshow to show some of the features of our wonderful yard. So hope you enjoy looking at them.
See slideshow

 Hi I am 13 years old and I live on a farm. This is my house - a World War I soldier settlers place, which is just outside Hawkesdale in a little place called Willatook. People have to drive down a dirt road to reach our property which  is called Riverside. The name of the property came about because we are on the ‘Riverside’ of the Moyne River which flows through our paddocks to Port Fairy. My Pompa planted a tree outside my house. But sadly he has gone. Now every time I look at that tree I think what pompa would be like because I never knew him.
Look at the beautiful sunset over my backyard. (see photo below). We had a severe drought this year. Our cows lost a lot of weight while the drought was on.   My dad was awfully busy trying to keep water and hay up to them  Since the downpour of rain, they are in much better condition.

 

We have a mountain in our backyard called Mt Buggery. It is really a volcanic tumulus and has 2 trees - a dead pine tree and a young pine tree on top. The following information has been taken from the booklet titled The True Pioneers (Settlers on Woodlands Station, 1920-1932) written in 1988 for the Back To Willatook Celebrations. 

“Legend has it that in pre-settlement days, a bullocky was traveling towards Hawkesdale.  After passing a prominent volcanic rise with a small pine tree on the top, the bullock team and wagon became bogged.  The bullocky made his way by foot to Hawkesdale and sought sympathy at the local hotel.  After telling of how he became bogged, he was asked for the exact location, his reply being “way back to buggery, near that mountain”.  Since that day Mt Buggery was established as a local landmark.”
Years later a local school teacher recalls a geography lesson at school, when the class was asked to name the closest mountain to Hawkesdale.  No doubt the teacher had in mind an answer like Mt Rouse or Mt. Napier.  However, the first child to reply gave his answer as ‘Mt Buggery’.

I interviewed my Pa and got some answers.  I asked him:-  

When were the two trees planted on the Mount?  

New tree: It was a cypress tree and it was planted in 1983          

Old dead tree: It was a pine tree and it was planted in 1930 both these trees were planted by Pa’s dad (My great Grandfather)  I call him Pompa.  

Did people sleep at the Mount?

A bullocky camped there. This was in the early days. He watered his cattle at the Nardoo Creek    

When was Pompas Willow tree planted?

 He planted it himself and it was 30 years ago.  

When was the house built and who by? 

We have made alterations from1994-1995And then the house without alterations it was first built 1924-1926 it was a first world war settlement house. 

For how many generations does the house go back?

Pompa was the first in his family to own the property. Tommy Bence owned it before him  and before him it was owned by a big station. Has the property always been called Riverside ? Yes, Since the we have  owned it  since 1928.  Has the road always been called Nardoo Road ? The road wasn’t where it is now, it was closer to the house as long as Pa can remember it has always been called Nardoo Road.