So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen

The last few weeks have seen us saying farewell to friends. Jo has got a teaching job in Vietnam and so began a busy time for her & Trevor as they prepared to go. Trev was the first to be farewelled as he headed back to work (offshore) a couple of weeks before Jo, Claire & Tom left. We will miss you all. A hello in there as well as Bett came to say hello & goodbye to her family. It was great to see her again on her whirlwind visit. Lunch at the Blue Room saw us catch up on all the latest news & Bill was able to say goodbye to everyone before he headed off for SA. I got to say bye again on Tuesday night at the Gee Bung Polo Club where we all met once more joining Karen, Loz & Brad for a final farewell bash.

The next goodbye was to Bill as he headed off for 2 weeks in China (and Rhossie's not talking!) for work. Everyone but me seems to be heading to warm - well very hot - climates. I have heard from Bill tonight, breathless after climbing part of the Great Wall. He's off to Shanghai tomorrow.

Back in Melbourne winter has truly arrived with a very cold spell. The fog on the last couple of mornings has been so thick that the city completely disappears from view and it's only a few blocks away.

So between farewelling the travellers and keeping out of the cold, not much else has been happening over the last couple of weeks. We have even had to watch footy from the lounge room as the last 2 games were a sellout and we were not able to buy tickets. Not half as much fun but definitely warmer.

And so today's sculpture is 'The Travellers' just right don't you think. The stainless steel sculptures are set on Sandridge Bridge, the old St Kilda to Port Melbourne railway bridge (now a pedestrian link from Queensbridge Square to Flinders St Station).

Each of the ten Travellers figures represents a period of migration to Australia.

1. Gayip – The Aboriginal Period. (Previously on Rhossietalk)

2. First Settler – The Convict Period (1788 – 1868).

3. Melbourne Beauty – The Gold Rushes (1850 – 1890).

4. Walker and his tucker bag – Assisted Migration (1830 – 1930).

5. Shelter – Displaced persons (1947 – 1953).

6. Urban Wheel – European Migration (1947 – 1983).

7. Running Couple – Refugees (1856 – 2005).

8. Butterfly Girl – Asian and middle east migration (1975 – 2005).

9. Technoman – Students and professionals (1975 – 2005).

10. Walking Sun – Australian Multiculturalism.

The Travellers move on individual bogeys at 1.5kmh. They move in & out along the bridge (morning, noon and night). The ‘journey’ out takes 15 minutes. More than 3.7 km of stainless steel (in 4455 pieces) was used to create the sculptures.

As you stand and watch them you can't help but wonder what all these people thought when they arrived in Australia, how different it was from the country they had come from. Will our travellers have these same thoughts as they arrive and settle into their new surroundings whether it be for a long or short stay.

And so as the song says "The sun.. has gone.. to bed - and so must I"

Until next time ..............