Monday 4th November - Emerald
Not as hot today, according to the temperature, but out in the sun it's extremely hot. A high of 36.3 and overnight 20.0. Off to the information centre to get some maps and of course, another tea towel for me. It's another micro fibre one. We gave one to Deidre last trip and she loves it. Reckons it works well. At the back of the centre in the Centenary of Federation Mosaic Pathway. 100 years in 100 metres. This is a step by step snapshot of Emerald's history. These mosaics go through various stages of Creation, Aboriginals, Exploration, Massacres, Early Days, State Farm, Settlement, Gems, Post War, Fairbairn Dam, Coal Mining and The Future. Also in the park is the Big Easel. Vincent Van Gogh painted a series of seven 'sunflowers' in the late 1800s. Van Gogh saw sunflowers as a symbol of life and hope. Cameron Cross, the artist, developed a vision of a giant easel displaying a likeness to Van Gogh's 'sunflowers'. The Emerald Painting is the second project he has completed and the third one is in Kansas. He plans to do four more. The canvas is constructed of 24 sheets of plywood, laminated together to form four 7 by 10m panels. Each panel is coated with fibreglass and then sealed with gel coat. A total of fifty litres of paint was required to complete the artwork, which weighs approximately 4.5 tonnes. The easel stands 25m high and weighs approximately 13.6 tonnes and is anchored to the ground by 24, 1 metre anchor bolts. This painting is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. It is a symbol of the Central Highlands Region's reputation as a major Australian sunflower producer. This Van Gogh is a community funded project. The sun was just bearing down on us and there is no shade, so this was a very quick trip. We came back and put the aircon back on. It stared raining here about 5.30 with blustery winds and by 6.30 it was all over. Off to Rolleston tomorrow which is about two hours away. Fish and chips for tea from the shop in the van park. Lovely and fresh. All profits go to Care Flight, and they only do this on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.