Text as Art

A brief montage

What is Text as Art?

The Text as Art is a curated short term outdoor exhibition that celebrates the written word. 10 writers have been commissioned to create short written works in response to 10 locations in Bourbong Street which is the main street of Bundaberg.

10 visual artists have been commissioned to produce short term artworks in response to these written works. The result adds a vibrant festival vibe to Bundaberg’s CBD and throughout the Crush Festival, which is a 10-day program of arts and cultural experiences.

Family and friends

It just so happens that we are here in Bundaberg visiting Michelle's sister once again and waiting for the CMCA's annual rally (Australia wide motorhome club). What a delight to find that it coincides with the Crush Festival.

I mentioned that these artworks are linked to writers. Well we were blessed to meet one of these writers on our travels, Kat Apel. She is a published poet with one of her books, Bully on the Bus,  being used in Qld schools to help stem the tide of bullying. This chance meeting has herald the start of a friendship and I sent her a message that I was in Bundy and we arranged to view the Text as Art together.

A fun morning looking around.

We had a great morning together viewing all 10 exhibits and the corresponding stories/poetry. I must have taken 50 or so photos, (who's counting). So rather than bore you with all of them I will just present the best of the 10 writings along with their artistic representations.

It all starts at The National Bank on the corner of Maryborough St & Bourbong St

Text as Art

We'll start with #1 of course and it just happens to be the one inspired by my friend Kat and her poem about the piggy bank.

This tardis is part of #10 too! I had to put it in esp for my friend Joh!

Hurry up and get here!

Do get to Bundaberg as soon as possible to view them in person if you are close enough. For the rest of us there is these photos. Click on the images and you will get a larger image which you can read or see more details.

Copyright ownership

The subject - the writer then the artist

1. National Australia Bank – Kat Apel & Adrienne Williams
2. School of Arts – Lonnie Toy & Marlies Oakley
3. Brick wall adjacent to School of Arts/driveway – Sam Ephraims & Jay Feather
4. Bundaberg Regional Council – Jake Thompson & Taylor Klassen
5. Civic Centre fronting Buss Park – Jo Williams & Judith Bohm-Parr
6. Tree located in nature strip in front of Buss Park – Jassy Watson & Lynda Vertigan
7. Burnett Mary Regional Group – Annette Tyson & Paul Perry
8. Moncrieff Entertainment Centre – Wendy Davis & Michelle Pacey
9. Civic Arcade floor (157 Bourbong St) – Cheryl Ratcliffe & Jeremy Kiraly
10. Telstra Exchange – Jenny Gilbertson & Julie Hylands

Post Script

Kat took some photos of me during the morning. Sometimes this is what I have to do to give you a decent shot! LOL

What I have to do to get a good photo for my friends!!!

Bush Camping at Deepwater

A nice spot for a bit of R&R

After time in Bundaberg with my sister, we headed north towards 1770 and Agnes Waters right next to the Deepwater National Park.

Eric, Marion & Rob sit around the campfire every evening

When we free camped or rather bush camped at Victoria Lake, we met this lovely couple, Barry and Lyn and they invited us to camp on their private property near 1770 at Deepwater when we were in the area. We took them up on the offer. The property has a couple of sheds and caravans with lean-to type sheds on it for various family members as their extended family come and go frequently using the property too. It is an open forest with a big clearing, ideal for camping. They gave us limited access to tank water, a toilet and some electricity for the lights in the large undercover area with a table around which to sit, socialize and craft. There's a nearby camp fire area and there's lots of firewood to be scrounged from the surrounding bushland.

A visiting wallaby gets curious. And yes a tiny little bit of rain fell during our stay.

It was a very quiet spot with wallabies and lots of birds visiting. The property is also alongside a swampy river which you can see but really couldn't get into at all. I certainly wouldn't want to swim in it but it might be good for fishing. We didn't try.

Marion and I stroll along Wreck Bay

We really appreciated this offer and we stayed at Deepwater for a week with a blessed nothing to do except relax and craft. Thankfully for Rob, who doesn't like to sit and do absolutely nothing, his brother, Eric and his wife were on their way home after spending a month or so caravanning further north. They came and stayed 5 days with us. It was wonderful to catch up with them and hopefully now that Eric has retired we may have a few more trips together.

During their time with us, we did a day trip up to 1770. As the crow flies, it is not far but one can't drive directly from their place to 1770, instead you have to go about 70km in a round trip. We visited many of the lovely beaches in this area where Captain Cook was possibly the first white man to ever land in this area.

Michelle and Rob at Agnes Waters

We also did a few short drives to look at the local area - Baffle Creek, Rules Beach and a very short drive on the beach before deciding it was a bit too soft sand. We had a night out at only place in the area - bistro at Baffle Creek tavern. It was a freezing cold evening that night and with the poor service and the food taking so long to arrive, we decided to move inside the bar. We said goodbye to Eric and Marion and enjoyed a few more days before Rob was itching to move on again. I'd love to go back there again in another trip to this area!

Family time at Bundaberg

Rob and I had a week spent in Bundaberg with family. There's nothing exciting really to report. We have been here many times and since this was principally to catch up with family and be of assistance to my brother in law as he recovers from hip surgery, we stayed home mostly.

I enjoy spending time with my niece. She's a gorgeous 7 year old. Though not actually shy, she is a quiet one who loves reading and watching the TV. She's happy playing outside once she gets it into her head that technology is off limits for a while. I had a go showing her how to make a tied fleecy blanket and she did about half the fringe with me. I think this may be the beginning of craft time together! Her bike skills and road sense needs working on so we frequently went around the neighbourhood with her riding and me walking. It was great to watch her interact at her school carnival. She did very well in her first race.

My niece and her blanket she helped make.

Oh well after about 10 days we were ready to move on (The best way to remain friends with family is not to stay too long in one go! LOL

We are travelling with a loose plan. We had already decided that we were not going to do a lot of travelling this winter. Just sticking within a smaller area closer to the coast with Gladstone as our northern most town with Biloela and Tara being as west as we planned. ie 550 x 300km sq or 340m x 190miles sq)

We enjoy winging it as we go. We have a general idea where to go but are more than willing to change course as we meet people and listen to what they have to recommend. We are quite happy with this loose planing and it has worked out exceptionally well this winter with some unexpected invitations thrown in. It has certainly has worked out well with no regrets.

The Robbiebago on the road through a forest

The Robbiebago motorhome has performed magnificently with no real dramas which we really appreciate.

Free camping at Calliope

Free camping at Calliope Rest area is wonderful. There are places on both sides of the river with most being reasonably level and grassy with toilet blocks on both sides.

Campers on the southern bank

There is a 48 hour maximum stay. We missed the turn off on the northern side. As it turned out, we are glad as we preferred the southern bank, not that we knew that at the time. That was just a happy coincidence. The southern side gives easier access to the boat ramp and swimming too if that's important to you.

A closer view

There is plenty of room for large rigs as well as caravans, and often plenty of sites but it was rather busy with the north side being almost crowded during our winter time stop. The temperatures are very warm this year, so much so, that some braver people than I were swimming. I guess there is fishing. It would be an ideal place for canoeing and kayaking too.

A boat ramp on the southern bank for water sports and fishing

There is an old bridge that has be closed to road traffic but you can walk from one side to the other. Being so close to Gladstone, it is a popular spot on weekends.

Michelle standing on the old bridge with the new one in the background

We took a walk to the north bank which is much higher above the river thus looking down. It is also more bitumen with grassy verge for parking but it is much more crowded. It is also closer to the museum and little takeaway shop which we enjoyed our chips there. We intend to come back another time for the museum when the markets are on as well.

Low cost camping at Dululu

Our stay in Dululu (pronounced Do Loo Loo!) was not planned however our stay at Lake Victoria was cut short due to heavy cloud cover heralding rain. 

The campsite at Dululu is OK. We have stayed here back in 2012 and not much has changed since. It is a flat area with some concrete pads but mostly it is grassed except on the tracks or heavy camped spots. Powered sites are available for an extra cost. There is a portable building serving as a shower unit but it is cold water only, the hot water appears not to be working anymore. It is a clean site and there is a good covered BBQ with tables and nearby is a well serviced and clean toilet block. It is a 48 hour stop.

Sunset at Dululu

The pub is within walking distance but was closed at the time of our visit due to a fire in 2015 that gutted a lot of it. One of the locals tells me it is under new ownership who hopes to have it up and running again within 12 months. Extensive renovations is obviously needed there, so maybe next year.

Morning Mist at Dululu

Sadly the town is dying especially without the pub as it's social hub nor are there any other shops in town. No work, people can't afford to stay.

One of the campers entertained himself by building this miniature model camp site and then setting the perimeter alight. I love the caravan with the solar panels on the roof and the portable ones on the ground!

Close up of the miniature model caravan with its solar panels

The murals of Biloela

We stopped in Biloela principally to do some shopping.

A couple of lovely things fell into place for us here. First off was the happy coincidence of friends, Peter and Sue driving through and they recognized our bus and rang up to see where we were. As we were in the shops having lunch, they happily joined us as we spent a good hour or so chatting. Pity they had to keep on rolling further south, but still it was good to see them. They used to live in Wollongong too but moved up the coast many years back. We had happily met up with them in Rockhampton around this time last year too!

Since we had stopped longer having caught up with Peter and Sue, we decided to stay over at the Federation Park RV Stop. It is not a free camp but the low cost included admittance to the museums on site. I can not say that I enjoyed the museums in fact The first one was so crappy in my opinion that I didn't even bother with the engine one. Still we made our own fun. Another great aspect of our staying over was that we met up with some Highway Wanderer friends from the Monto rally. Of course we  enjoyed another Happy Hour with them.

Some of our HHW buddies

On our way out we decided to pop past the murals were painted on the big water tank depicting principally the stories of women from two cultures from before white man invasion until the present time.