All over down under
Well, thats it, our down under sojourn is over, we’re en route to Singapore for a quick gin sling at the Raffles Hotel, then on to Hong Kong for a look at whats been happening since the Brits left back in 1997.
The few days that we spent in Perth were very enjoyable, meeting cousins that we’d never seen before and taking a good look around the city, the Swan River basin and downstream to Fremantle. We were really impressed by Perth and environs, the outlying suburbs on the seaward side included some very desirable new housing areas, with house styles appropriate to the sunny climate and yard areas reflecting the Aussie predilection with outdoor living and entertaining. The new housing that lines the river frontage is particularly impressive (and very expensive!), but as you might expect, the egalitarian Aussie outlook has ensured that houses are set back from the water and that cycle paths and tree-shaded walkways follow the river edge all the way down to Fremantle.
My last visit to Fremantle was as a returning migrant, homeward bound to England on board the Orient Line SS Otranto. This was the same vessel that had carried the Hipkin team to Australia way back in 1951, my mother was so impressed that she insisted on going home in the same style. Click this link to read an extract from my draft autobiography covering this period – please excuse typos or grammatical howlers (but tell me about them). The Fremantle outlook has changed dramatically over the last fifty-three years – the drab warehouses and wharves replaced by dock and marina areas full of expensive boats and eateries designed to appeal to all levels of taste and depth of pocket.
Check out the photo set from Perth, see if you are as impressed as we were.
It’s a bit early for me to fully comment on my feelings about the Australia part of the trip – I need some thinking time to process the information – and I will post another more detailed blog in due course – watch this space.