LCDR Pat Timmins

The unusual upper framing of this headstone at Crib Point Cemetery on the Mornington Peninsula intrigued me.
I wondered if it linked with the navy (associated with this grave) rather than the Catholic element.
Not sure if I have the answer.
In 1956-1972, Lieutenant Commander Patrick Timmins was one of several officers in charge of the shipwright and artisans training section in HMAS Nirimba, Quakers Hill, New South Wales.
More details HERE!
Back to the framing of the grave!
Does the design represent the craft and trade element of the navy?
And nearby Crib Point Cemetery is the major naval base HMAS Cerberus.
Did Pat have some association here too?


Messing with big boats
Part of naval history
A man of the sea

P.S. I am so grateful that a family member added a comment to this post.
TT's blog View from the Ballast has a post HERE describing growing up in the Timmins family.

Linking to:
Taphophile Tragics

Yellow Art on a Yellow Door

These beach symbols decorate a yellow door on a boat shed at Dromana beach


Yellow means a beach
Bucket, ball and umbrella
Golden summer signs





Linking to:
Mellow Yellow Monday

Peeking

Two kookaburras in late afternoon winter sunlight


We have been waiting
I wonder if she'll feed us
It's getting so late


Linking to:
Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Olympics Fever

Part of a display for the Olympics 2012 in my school library


Adrenalin rush
Olympic world connection
Intense time for sport


Linking to:
Weekend in Black and White

Waking Light

Winter sunrise in Dromana

Surge of puffy light
Lively talcum powder clouds
Like rushed dawn make up


Linking to:
SkyWatch Friday

Botanic Artist

Unexpected sign at the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens
I don't think that I have ever seen a sign concerning a botanic artist.
It even includes a reference to Ferdinand Bauer - not well known - who accompanied Matthew Flinders in his famous journey round Australia in the early 19th century.
There are many memorials on my peninsula to Matthew Flinders - he landed here in several places - but I don't recall any memorial to Bauer.


The art of detail
Historical glimpse of Nature
Fine accuracy



Linking to:

Signs, Signs

B is for Buildings

Buildings in central Melbourne

Whimsy of buildings
Like some tangible spirit
Urban fantasy

Linking to:
ABC Wednesday Round 11

Mystery Toussaint Grave

This humble grave is at Crib Point Cemetery on the Westernport Bay side of the Mornington Peninsula.
It is simply identified as Toussaint - with no dates.
The only small clue is the flag.


This is the flag of Malta.
It was not adopted till September 21, 1964 when Malta gained independence from Britain.
But the flag existed prior to that date.
King George VI of Great Britain awarded the George Cross, a military award for gallantry, to Malta in 1942, in recognition of Maltese heroism during the early years of World War II.
The left top corner of the flag features a King George Cross outlined in red and reads FOR GALLANTRY.

So here we have a French name connected to a military award connected to a national flag and all set in a small Australian cemetery in a humble grave marked with living plants.
Mystery!!!!!

Toussaints are artists
Toussaint is Haiti's hero
What Toussaint is here

NOTE:
Toussaint and Haiti 
- Francois Dominique Toussaint was leader of the Haitian independence movement during the French Revolution. He emancipated the slaves and briefly established Haiti as a black-governed French protectorate.
Toussaint and art 
- Christopher Toussaint is an award-winning documentary film and video producer/director, cameraman and editor. Currently he is owner of Free Spirit Productions in Santa Monica, California and the Director of Transvision, a spiritual society devoted to conscious media.
- Allen Toussaint - was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
- Chris Toussaint (Melbourne) - is a writer, editor and artist. He has published feature stories, interviews, reviews and editorials in newspapers, street press, magazines and trade journals. His commercial work has appeared in advertising and marketing. Chris has qualifications in Arts, Media, Communication and Literature. He is managing director of 21D, a literary and art magazine.

Linking to:
Taphophile Tragics

Yellow Watering Cans

These yellow watering cans are a feature at the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens


Bright watering cans
Like odd yellow bird houses
With an entry spout


Linking to:
Mellow Yellow Monday

Wall Whimsy

Whimsical feature
Tiny bits of fantasy
Weave into magic


Linking to:
Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Just watching...

Character at the Moonlit Sanctuary, Pearcedale


Welcome to my world
Take care not to disturb me
For I am watching you


Linking to:
Weekend in Black and White

In the waking hour...

In the waking hour
In a deep velvet dawning
Waits a morning wine


Linking to:
SkyWatch Friday

Mandela Day

Today
ANTI-apartheid hero
of South Africa 
Nelson Mandela
marks his 
94th birthday
 in "good" spirits 
in his home village of Qunu
with his close family 


Yesterday
67 years in politics
27 years in prison


One Day
Can we spare
67 minutes of one day
To give
At least a thought
A caring thought
To others?
Maybe
Many others?


I have spent nearly
27 minutes
Shaping
The clay in this post


Sighhhhhhh


Mandela was born on July 18, 1918  in Mvezo village southeastern South Africa.
His great-grandfather was a Thembu king.
His father was a counsellor to the Thembu royal family.

But his family lives in a thatched hut
And raises livestock.

But his father dies when Nelson is nine
And he becomes a ward of the royal household.


When winds of change blow
They may gust for a time
Till the next season


*27 minutes
Your time is now 
UP



Makhalima reads a book to an elderly woman in Qunu...Lutho Makhalima (R) reads a book to Nobantu Mbhokodi, an elderly woman, in Qunu, eastern cape, July 18, 2012. South Africans celebrated former president Nelson Mandela's 94th birthday on Wednesday with special events and charity work in what has become known as "Mandela Day".The former leader's birthday is used for a campaign that aims to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better by asking people to give 67 minutes of their time painting schools, planting trees, visiting orphanages and old age homes to honour Mandela's 67 years of political activism.
REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Linking to:
Real Toads Anniversary post ~ Bonus Open Link

Rows by the Pier

In a row:
*Bollards round the carpark area near Dromana pier
*Low growing plants on the right
*Fence posts in the background

Lined up by the sea
Man-made and Nature's beauty
Cohabitating


Linking to:
Thursday's Things in a Row 

A is for Artists

 

Street artists in Melbourne
The long instrument is a didgeridoo - traditional Aboriginal 

Artistical souls

Offer the gift of beauty

In creative ways

Linking to: 

ABC Wednesday Round 11

Hector John Sutherland

An unusual grave presentation for Hector John Sutherland at Crib Point Cemetery on the eastern side of the Mornington Peninsula.
To me, the seat seems older than the grave itself.
(Perhaps just old woods were used.)
But the wavy shape of the grave (no distinct border) seems to connect both seat and grave, inviting a sense of being together to whoever wishes to stay awhile.


And there are two layers of distinctly different stones??


But it was the cyclist image that really captured my interest (mainly because my son is riding South America's Andes Trail from the end of this month!)
In the 1950 Commonwealth Games cycling event in Auckland, New Zealand, Hector Sutherland won Australia's first gold medal in the individual 100km road race.
(Commonwealth Games cycling events were first held in 1934).

Spokes and turning wheels
Locked into history's gold
Forever riding


Linking to:
Taphophile Tragics

A Monk's Tale

One summer as dawn broke the night's faint chill, 
I greeted my cell with hesitant eyes. 
No coffee today before minds are still 
And souls appreciate prayerful skies. 
Could yesterday's peak hour be a far guise? 
So here I am tasting a monk's pure sight, 
Wondering if I can live in new dyes; 
If my darkest past can suffer new light.


Inspired by:
With Britain becoming an increasingly secular society, the number of people devoting themselves to the monastic life has been in freefall. But now several monasteries and convents are fighting against the trend by offering taster weekends in the hope of bringing fresh members into the fold.
- A monk's life...but just until Monday ~ BBC News ~ Saturday 10.2.09

NOTE - This is my first attempt at a Huitain.
It is a poem in a single Ballade stanza.
The verse form was most popular in the 16th century and was often used for epigrams in the 18th century. One source suggests the Huitain may have begun in Spain.
 The basic layout is:
Line length: 8 (French) or 10 (English) syllables
 Rhyme scheme: ababbcbc
Number of lines: 8

Linking to:
Real Toads ~ A Mini-Challenge for Sunday ~ A Monk's Tale ~ Huitain form
dVerse ~ Open Link Night ~ Anniversary Week

Yesterday Was Wrong

Yesterday's Dreams ~ Jack Vettriano


Waiting for
A funeral to unfold is
Hardly the time to feel
Romantic


But then
There are times when
Reason
Rocks
Protocol


Consciously
She gowned a black version of
Her dancing dress


The one she wore when
They shared 
One 
Split
Shaft of
Eye 
Fire
Across a room


The one she wore
Before
His marriage to
Her friend




Linking to:
Magpie Tales #126

Point Leo Shadows

Boundary fence line round a lookout at Point Leo overlooking Port Phillip Bay

Regular line marks
Like a shadowy ladder
Waiting for climbing



Based on Antonella's digi at Quilling, Art and Expression


Linking to:
Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Swimming

Swimming around at the Enchanted Maze Garden, Arthurs Seat

To swim with your thoughts
The luxury of time out
Without intruders

Linking to:
Weekend in Black and White

Bold Tiger Lily

No sun in my peninsula world at the moment.
So archived summer photos are in action.

A short lived flower
With dramatic stage presence
Like a pink leopard


Linking to:
Floral Friday

Waves of Dawn

Glowing waves of dawn
Like a moody sea on fire
Like breakers of light


Linking to:
SkyWatch Friday

Row of Symbolic Posts?

A view of a part of London Bridge Ocean Beach on the Mornington Peninsula.
I understand why the fence on the left exists - to help walking down steep steps to the beach.
But why the isolated, unconnected posts along the sands?
Like a symbolic warning of unstable sands?

Enigmatic posts
Stirring some careful answers
Like lost boundaries

Linking to:
Thursday's Things in a Row 

Dreaming of heat...

Walking the wintry London Bridge Ocean Beach, Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula


Basking in winter
Braving icy sea breezes
Dreaming of lost heat


Linking to:
Sensational Haiku Wednesday ~ Heat
Ruby Tuesday 2

Allison K. Bayne

Some weeks ago I mentioned that I would return to Crib Point Cemetery on the Mornington Peninsula.
It is now the Winter school holidays.
They began with lots of rain, but, at the first sign of sunlight, I returned to Crib Point.
This headstone attracted me immediately.
The setting of rain puddles - like mini wetlands - so suited the essence of this beautiful headstone.


The pelican, the kookaburra and the ring-tailed possum are all representative of our peninsula wildlife.


The frame of water and leaves captures this part of the peninsula so well.


I can't find details of her life.
All there seems to be is this presence of her beauty.

Kind loving lady
Mother Nature's messenger
In touch with her soul

Linking to:
Taphophile Tragics

Blue Machine

Travelling along the Nepean Highway near Rosebud yesterday, it was hard to miss the drama of blue on wheels!


Travelling in blue
Pocketful of sea and sky
Rolling Sunday wheels

Linking to:
Blue Monday

Shadowy Dragon

 

A dragon feature

Like yesterday's voice and soul

Bathing in old light

Linking to: 

Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Water Bowl

Shadowed reflections
The art of woods, shine and sun
A sense of stillness

Linking to:
Weekend in Black and White

Pink Morning Mist

This is a wintry early morning view of the Safety Beach area with Mount Martha in the background.
You would barely believe that there are houses down there.
For some reason, the mist highlights the trees.

Sweet pink morning mist
Like a painted sunrise sea
Like a cloud of foam



Linking to:
SkyWatch Friday

Row of Pylons

 

Nothing like a good solid row of pylons to hold a pier together.

This is Dromana pier on wintry Port Phillip Bay.

Pylons on pylons

Like some endless ladder rungs

Braving the sea moods

Linking to:

Thursday's Things in a Row

Pink Ladies Kiosk

The Pink Ladies (the women are dressed in palest pink) was founded as an auxiliary in 1941 to provide services for patients and visitors and to raise funds for Frankston Hospital on the Mornington Peninsula.
The first president, Edna Vincent, received an MBE in 1964.
She was president for an amazing 58years until she died in 1999.
These older women are a smiling delight, a ray of happiness in the kiosk near the entrance of Frankston Hospital.
There are now nearly 100 volunteers.
There is also a Pink Ladies group, further south on the peninsula, at Rosebud Hospital.
It began in 1988 and has 53 members.
The president there, Claire Duffus, received a Health Volunteer Award in 2009 for initiating an Op Shop at the hospital.

The Pink Ladies gift
When pain fractures the spirit
A smiling kind face

Linking to:
Signs, Signs

A frowning seascape...

A frowning seascape
A natural loneliness
Close to Earth's spirit

Linking to:
Sensational Haiku Wednesday ~ Natural

Fireworks

At New Year, Sydney Australia always puts on a great firework display on Sydney Harbour.
The Harbour Bridge is always a focal point.
Now I am in Melbourne, I can only take photos - like this one - from the TV!


Exploding surprise
A riddle of night colours
Passing ornaments


Linking to:
Tackle It Tuesday - Fireworks

Sydney George Branstone Crabb

At first, it was just the simple but creative framing of this headstone at Mornington Cemetery on Port Phillip Bay which attracted me.
But then I noticed that there was no birth date for Sydney Crabb.
There was no mention that Jan. 1st 1928 was a date of death.
Perhaps that explains the words beneath the date:
Still living 
Still loving 
Still ours
Trove revealed that Sydney George Branstone Crabb was a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy.
Rootsweb revealed that he was born in 1884 and was one of 6 children born to Charles and Maria Crabb in England.
He married Gertrude in England.
They married on 3rd December 1914 in Dover.
(On the marriage certificate, Sydney's father Charles George is listed as retired from the Royal Navy.)
They had two sons.
One was Gordon John Branstone Crabb C.B.E.  D.S.C.
He was born in 1917 in London but came to Australia in 1920.
(That means Sydney came to Australia in 1920.)
He attended Melbourne Grammar.
During World War II, he served on the HMAS Napier as a lieutenant.
In May 1941, this Australian destroyer was one of several ships which played a major role in the evacuation of Australian troops from Crete.
In 1973, Gordon was listed with the navy as Rear Admiral.
He was on the naval board as Chief of Naval Supply and Works.
More incredible details of his service record till he died in 2001 are HERE!
The other son, Charles MacVean Branstone Crabb, competed in the 1933 Head of the River for Melbourne Grammar.
I can't seem to find more on his life.
It seems that "all-things-water" are in the blood of this family.

I ache for tall ships
The lonely seas and the sky
Sea fever is mine
- with apologies to John Masefield

 
The framing of the grave seems old, but the headstone seems far more new.
Is there another story here?

Linking to:
Taphophile Tragics

She was Ophelia...

Ophelia by Odilon Redon



Mirage
Sleeping young face melting in 
Some oasis rain puddle
Alongside
Some random fallen leaves
And flowers


Soon
The relentless sun
Snuffs
The last light
Burns the cursed moment
Gone


 Linking to:
Magpie Tales #124
Poetry Pantry #105

NOTE: For those who think I have re-invented the Ophelia story, I have not.
Instead, I looked at Redon's image and thought he seemed to capture the shape of a rain puddle.
And that's where my idea began.
As if, like a mirage, (my opening word) the innocent face of Ophelia appears in the rain puddle.
Like a brief, legendary moment has surfaced, re-incarnating her final moments, until the sun dries up the puddle, and she is gone once again.
Ophelia's story remains intact.

Used to be yellow...

Two years ago, the Tourist Information Centre at Dromana used to glow with yellow.
Now the walls have been painted grey with yellow features.

Once a sunny world
Now a serious grey shade
With hints of yellow

Linking to:
Mellow Yellow Monday

A Touch of Koan

Autumn calls the leaf to fall
The leaf assumes the final dance of colour
Snug on a velvet chair a book waits to be loved
Some leaves turn to gold



Linking to:
Real Toads ~ A Mini-Challenge for Sunday ~ Koan

Warm Shadows

 

Some warming shadows

Like a bunch of sweet ideas

Waiting to colour

Linking to:  

Macro Monday  

Shadow Shot Sunday 2