Discovery.. ....

Last Saturday had a day out with my father to the Museum...the last time he was here he remembered it to be the working Tasmanian Railways.. there were freight trains and passenger trains all still engaged in the capacity they were built for..moving freight and passengers from the North to the South and coast to coast.....so this truly was a trip down memory lane for him and an awakening for us as we looked at the change through his eyes....

The thick spokes of the penny farthing bicycle in the sports museum.... mmm so heavy and difficult to ride.... how did they stay up there on that uncomfortable seat let alone ride and race them

wonderful hand crafted boats suspended there above us so high up there ...

the sparkling of solid silver trophies ...the hours the years of training...the injuries...the heart ache ....the spent energy....then the euphoria of the win...all worth it!!!!!

Dad remembered going to the Royal Launceston Show when it was in Olive Street and watching Harry Paulsens Touring Boxing rings and seeing some of the boxing shows...before it was illegal to do so....

We set off across the outside yard where there is loads of activities for energetic young people ... the versatility of corrugated iron as it houses exhibits...knowing they have adapted to this roll from being workshops of a different long gone era....

open air activities to enjoy out here....things that test your mind..you fine motor skills and build on your knowledge.......

Into the dark cavernous building that once was the repair workshops for the Railways when it was a Workshop with furnaces burning red hot through the winter and the summer alike... how wonderful that you do not even have to imagine the sounds of steel clashing on steel and the other sounds that would emanate from that interior... they are recorded for you....

How big is this bolt??????

as big round as the top of your (and mine is fairly big i assure you)

I imagined that in the summer these doors would be swung wide open to ventilate this huge heat box ..the furnaces would heat the corrugated iron interior to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit....sweat box plus!!!!

Dad was so into telling "himself" (seen here wheeling him through) all about the pieces of machinery within sight and explaining what they were all used for ......he was enjoying it all...

Prehistoric Creatures ...dad said he was meeting some of his relatives in here.... he he

Well check out that eye will you??????

And i think 'himself" gave up very quickly when he tried this little experiment ... (you had to try and keep a poly styrene ball aloft on a stream of air.... lots of laughs as i chased that ball across the floor..just as well there weren't many people about because we tried out lots of the experiments....


Even if you are a little person there is always something to enjoy....

Yes he did enjoy the day...never stopped talking about it to his wonderful nursing staff at the home ....and today it is his 83rd birthday...so Happy Birthday Dad.... and lets hope we will experience may more adventures with you over the next few years....