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Monday 23 August 2010

HMAS Sydney Memorial











Monday, 23 August

A very cold start to the day, but at least it wasn’t raining. Mainlanders have a strange idea that Tasmania is extremely cold – all the time! – and refuse to believe that Hobart’s minimum temperature is usually higher than Perth’s. The day didn’t warm up very much, with high cloud cover and a rather nasty wind. Someone even donned his jeans, shoes and socks today, definitely under sufferance! We took the opportunity this morning to retrieve our warm clothes from under the bed and store the majority of our tropical gear (don’t think we’ll be needing them again).

This morning we visited the HMAS Sydney Memorial – a truly moving location. Situated on top of a hill, the memorial to the 645 men who died consists of a black granite memorial wall, a dome on seven pillars over the actual memorial, a stele of the ship’s bow and an amazing sculpture of a woman waiting. The dome consisted of 645 silver gulls, each touching another, to symbolise the souls of the lost seamen as they fly to another realm.

Today the shops were open and we were able to stock the frig and cupboards again. Diesel is becoming cheaper as we get closer to Perth, as well.

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