WAITING...

Patiently for his master...

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

SUMMER HAIRCUT

"It was hot in Melbourne today, 37˚C, and I'm glad I had a haircut yesterday!"

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

LALOR CERAMIC MURALS

In late December 2015, the final two of four murals were installed as part of the Peter Lalor Walkway Redevelopment and Graffiti Mural Project, in Lalor (an outer Northern suburb). Entitled ‘Lalor Conversation’, the four ceramic panels celebrate the rich history and development of Lalor and cover an area in Peter Lalor Walkway that was routinely tagged with graffiti. The City of Whittlesea partnered with the Victorian Government’s Community Crime Prevention Unit and the Lalor Traders Association in an effort to prevent future graffiti and improve the appearance and amenity of Peter Lalor Walk.

Artist Bern Emmerichs was commissioned to design and produce a mural that celebrates the rich cultural history and development of the suburb of Lalor. Ms Emmerichs is an accomplished ceramic artist and painter who has exhibited widely throughout Australia and overseas. Her work is held in major State and National collections. This work now connects the two sections of the shopping precinct and enhances the community feel of the area.

Mural panel one pays respect to the Wurundjeri Willum Clan, the Traditional Owners and first peoples of this land. It portrays William Barak and his sister Annie Borat, their culture and people, and their important role in the history of this place.

Panel two celebrates Peter Lalor, after whom the walkway and suburb are named. It honours his achievements at the Eureka Stockade and his contribution to democracy in Australia.

The third mural panel represents the German immigrant families of the 1850s who settled the land and established the original farms in Westgarthtown - the area now known as Lalor and Thomastown.

The fourth and final panel represents those who settled in the area through the assistance of the Peter Lalor Homebuilding Cooperative Society and the culture and diversity of the contemporary Lalor community.

This public art will bring a sense of history and pride to the community and will hopefully keep the Walkway a safe and vibrant space for years to come. The arts are an important ingredient in developing community wellbeing, place making and economic prosperity. I for one certainly appreciate these wonderful pieces of art and local history documentation and always spend sometime admiring them when I pass by.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,

and also part of the Monday Murals meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Through my Lens meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 95 - WINDMILL PALM

Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan palm, windmill palm or Chinese windmill palm) is a palm native to central China (Hubei southwards), south to northern Burma and northern India, growing at altitudes of 100–2,400 m. It is a fan palm, placed in the family Arecaceae, subfamily Coryphoideae, tribe Trachycarpeae.

Trachycarpus fortunei grows to 12–20 m tall on a single stem the diameter of which is up to 15–30 centimetres. The trunk is very rough with the persistent leaf bases clasping the stem as layers of coarse fibrous material. It is a fan palm with the leaves with the long petiole bare except for two rows of small spines, terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets; each leaf is 140–190 centimetres long, with the petiole 60–100 centimetres long, and the leaflets up to 90 centimetres long.

It is a somewhat variable plant, especially as regards its general appearance and some specimens are to be seen with leaf segments having straight and others having drooping tips. The flowers are yellow (male) and greenish (female), about 2–4 millimetres ] across, borne in large branched panicles up to 1 metre long in spring; it is dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate trees. The fruit is a yellow to blue-black, reniform (kidney-shaped) drupe 10–12 millimetres long, ripening in mid autumn.

Trachycarpus fortunei has been cultivated in China and Japan for thousands of years, for its coarse but very strong leaf sheath fibre, used for making rope, sacks, and other coarse cloth where great strength is important. The extent of this cultivation means that the exact natural range of the species is uncertain.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MOSAICS AT LALOR PUBLIC LIBRARY

I have blogged before about the Lalor Public Library here. Inside the library there is a mural composed of butterflies that have been fashioned of mosaic work. They adorn a wall that leads towards the children's books area and are quite appropriate there.

This post is part of the Mural Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

LALOR PUBLIC LIBRARY

Lalor is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 kilometres north of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whittlesea. At the 2011 Census, Lalor had a population of 19,873. Lalor is named after Peter Lalor, leader of the Eureka Stockade rebellion and later member of the Victorian parliament.

Lalor Library is situated in the City of Whittlesea in May Road, Lalor.  With 37 public access computers, storytimes, teen nights, a seniors group and 8 different language collections (Croatian, Chinese, Greek, Italian, Polish, Serbian, Spanish, Vietnamese).  In 2006, 63.9% of the population in Lalor spoke a non-English language at home compared to 32.3% who spoke English only. The library is a welcoming community hub and the home of many community activities and cultural events.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.