Mrs. Wong goes country!

Mrs. Wong and I headed towards North-West of Victoria, to the direction of Dimboola- population 1700. We went with the Houlihans (Paul, Sonya and my favourite man, Finn) on the 24th November, also the Election Day. We had brunch in Ararat, while Sonya and Paul ducked out to vote. We then stopped by Gum San Musuem, which commemorates the first Chinese settlers who founded Ararat when they found gold.

We arrived at Dimboola 2 hours later, passing by Horsham, known to me only because Ros comes from there. Dimboola reminds me of our Malaysian small town, and Sonya's parents home reminds me of our own small town houses- big yard, big roomy rooms, lots of homegrown plants, lots of family heirlooms, furnishing thats been around for years and an outside dunny! But like all small town home, you don't hear traffic, but instead you hear the cricket chirping, and the sound of silence. We went for a walk to the Ebenezer's Mission and then to Wimeera River during sunset. Ebenezer's Mission was a missionary station for the aborigine people but was closed down in the late 19th century. It's not big, or fancy but rather its' small size, simplicity and utter isolation, manages to evoke a sense of respect in the casual observer for its' original purpose. Its' ruins, surrounded by vast, and empty dry land, that evokes a feeling of a lost era. The graveyard next to the chapel, had gravestones of European missionaries, some alone and some with families. A little like the gravestones on St. Paul's Hill in Malacca- where life and death were marked and eternalized on these little headstones. What is remarkable however, is that these life and death are of people from a culture currently perceived to be oceans apart. The walk around the river was beautiful, marred only by the level of water in the river that barely reached waist high (my waist at that!). The extent of the Australian draught was no more starker than it is here. Despite that, there is just a beautiful serenity around town. It's such a stark difference being somewhere where you see more birds than people and cars. It does wonders for the soul.

Sonya's parents, Barney and Mary are the lovliest people. Mrs. Wong said Barney could make playing Santa Claus his profession- and she's right too. Amongst our memorable moments were when Barney played his button accordion to us, and Mrs. Wong getting excited picking oranges from the yard. We also visited Sonya's uncle who kept a small aviary (Major Mitchells are cockatoos and I heard a bird speak for the first time in my life!). Barney took us to his hobby farm and it reminded my of my grandpa. Like Ye Ye, Barney likes putting things together, makeshift huts, toilets, baths etc. In that moment, I missed Ye Ye very much.

We also went a Silo-Hunting. Barney took us to giant Silos, and explained to us how grains used to be stored in these huge (HUGE) cylindrical structures till they were carried away by trains. I like these Silos, again a pang of loss was evoked by these relics of a long-gone era.

Pictures do speak a thousand words:

Ebenezer's Mission