From gold and dusted to old and busted: this abandoned gold mine in northeastern Australia is returning its vital elements to the ground from which they came.

Anvil Aurous

We may be in the “Land of Oz” but not all yellow brick roads lead to fame and fortune – Elton John excluded. In fact, about the only thing L. Frank Baum’s well-loved classic and this long-deserted gold mine near Brisbane have in common is rust… ain’t that right, Tin Man?

Cart Blanched

While gold mining is as old as the hills, so to speak, mining the prized heavy metal has become more sophisticated as the easy plays are cleaned out. We’ll assume whomever mined this nameless claim applied the available technology (such as the above ore cart straight outta Temple of Doom) so effectively, modern miners haven’t given the site a second glance.

Boss Moss

To say this old gold mine has been out of commission for a while would be an understatement. If the pervasive rust on any exposed metal doesn’t date it, how ’bout the moss growing on the rust? Think about that for a moment: moss growing on rusted metal gears. Now that’s some badass moss!

Just Ducky

This quartet of rusty rock-crushing heads were duck-faced before it was cool. They still sport the much-maligned selfie pose now, when it’s anything BUT cool. At least they’re not quacked up, which is more than we can say about the gold-bearing rocks they once smashed to gold-bearing sand.

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Gilt Trip An Abandoned Australian Gold Mine

Chain store competition is creaming Milk Bars across Australia, leaving independent store owners, desperate smokers and the odd lost droog thirsting for more.

Milked Dry

Milk bars have a curiously convoluted history dating back almost a century: the first so-named establishment opened in India back in 1930. The concept of an alcohol-free pub catering to the younger set with healthy, dairy-based fresh and frozen comestibles then took off in the UK, and by 1940 had spread to the United States.

In Australia, milk bars evolved into proto-convenience stores selling cigarettes, newspapers and sundries alongside trademark tasty treats. Our lead images of the abandoned Oak Milk Bar in Kangaroo Point, NSW were taken in 2003 by Flickr member Geoff Eastwood though by that time, the quintessentially Sixties structure had already been long-abandoned.

Nixed Business

The sign says “Mixed… Business” but to the average Aussie, that meant a milk bar with the aforementioned odds & ends sold within. One would hope the floor within this abandoned milk bar in Fitzroy (a suburb of Melbourne) was more level than the street outside but if not, any spilt milk would run off instead of forming a puddle. Call it a feature, not a bug. Flickr member Susan Fitzgerald snapped the tipsy ex-establishment in July of 2006.

Petered Out

They do things a little differently in the Antipodes… care for some “Tea of Flavor”, fer instance? You’ll find it – at least you COULD, before the shop went (down) under, sold along with Peter’s ice cream at this unnamed former milk bar in Annandale, Sydney. Aussies also take their milk barrista-ing seriously: none other than Mrs. R.V. Craig, “Reg. Milk Vendor”, served up the cow juice with fresh or frozen att-teat-tude! Flickr member Navin (no, not Navin R Johnson) posted the above pic early in 2010.

Heavy Medal

The weight of time is apparent when gazing at the now-demolished Olympia Milk Bar in Stanmore, Sydney. Flickr member Newtown grafitti recalls a movie house just next door, the closing of which likely decimated business at the Olympia. Too bad – a scoop or two of Street’s Ice Cream would have made a notoriously hot Sydney summer evening a tad less hellish.

Never On Sundae

From the serene blue-tiled facade to the homely (in a good way) rose-patterned window curtains, this nameless former milk bar in Murrayville, Victoria just oozes cooling replenishment of the dairy persuasion. One wonders, did anybody ever actually “insist” on being served a “delightfully refreshing” Holten’s aerated drink? We sure wish we could do so but alas, Flickr member Matt‘s photo above plainly and painfully points out the milk bar’s CLOSED status as of January 2010.

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Dairy Err 10 Closed Abandoned Australian Milk Bars

In Australia, a new ribbon-inspired bridge mimicking natural bushland will offer recreational opportunities for people as well as habitat and a safe crossing for wildlife. Designed by CX Landscape for the city of Canberra as part of the Remaking Lost Connections design competition, “Ribbons of Life” stretches across Lake Griffin, creating a “forest shell” over the top of an existing road bridge.

Appropriately fluid and organic in shape, the bridge flows from one side of the water to the other, dipping down in some areas to touch the surface. Without affecting the traffic passing below, the new bridge also connects two parks on the north and south ends of the lake so animals have a safe way to get across. The landscaping recreates indigenous bushland, including windbreak forests on both sides, rocky areas, wetlands and a nectar meadow.

Concrete pedestrian paths wind through the park, distinct from the wildlife corridor, and include integrated solar panels to power lights, possible future transportation and the projection of Aboriginal art onto bridge surfaces. The park also includes a bird observation tower, plaza with water views, access to the water and a water life observation channel.

“Our wildlife corridor and the linear park have set an example for the future Garden City Plan action,” says CX Landscape. “It gives a new direction for sustainable city development, which raises the awareness of environmental threats, and correct the misconceptions of ‘Green represents Ecology’ and ‘Parks means Ecology.’ In respect of nature and local history, reflecting the spirit of the place, our design has established the future direction of sustainable urban development.”

‘Sculpture by the Sea’ returns to Sydney‘s beautiful Bondi Beach, featuring awesome open-air art exhibits by over 130 artists from 21 countries.

Now celebrating its 22nd year on the brilliant white sands of Bondi Beach, “Sculpture by the Sea” still has the power to bemuse, bewilder and beguile beach-goers Down Under.

It’s not just that some of the exhibits are larger than life. Pieces like “Cool Shit” (above) by notorious and provocative modern artist Damian Hirst are guaranteed to trigger a wide range of emotions that may differ between individuals – even between different viewings.

Art of the Surreal

Sculpture by the Sea began as a volunteer initiative in 1997 and over the years has grown to a three-week event drawing large and appreciative crowds to beautiful Bondi Beach. Remaining true to its roots, Sculpture by the Sea is a not-for-profit organization though it does receive just under 20% of its revenue via government funding.

That’s Just How He Rolls

The event’s popularity has surged over its 22-year run and not only visitors are impressed – artists from beyond Australia have taken notice. This year, the roughly 70 participating Australian sculptors have been joined by eight Chinese artists from Beijing’s prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts. One of the Chinese contingent’s more er, notorious exhibits is “Bank” (above), by Mu Boyan. Does this beach backdrop make me look fat?

Wheel Be Seeing You

Flickr member Ian Sanderson (iansand) visited Sydney in October of 2018 and came back with a wealth of brilliant photos, and probably a lousy t-shirt to boot. Sanderson’s images of Sculpture by the Sea, posted under an international Creative Commons license, benefit from the famously clear and sunny weather of a typical New South Wales spring. Weather of not, though, artist Cao Hui’s sculpture titled “A Bicycle Covered by Snow” was designed to be cool no matter how hot it got.

Oh Say Cairn You See

Italian-Australian artist Alessandra Rossi created “Cairn” as an homage to ancient megalithic sites found worldwide which evoke a certain common humanity displayed by our species dating back to prehistoric times. “The abstraction and simplification of form contains the light and colors of the landscape in which it is placed,” explains Rossi, “exposing the hidden and the imaginary, in a balancing act between fragility and impermanence.”

Layers Not Lawyers

The 2018 edition of Sculpture by the Sea ends today (November 4th) so consider yourself lucky if you’ve been able to enjoy the many sculptures spread along over a mile of Bondi Beach’s exquisite white sand coastline. Besides the artworks themselves, the event featured guided tours, free artist talks, an indoor sculpture exhibition in case of inclement weather, and last but not least a “sculpture conference” at the Sydney Opera House. The somewhat disturbingly organic sculpture above, by the way, is “Layers” by artist Charlie Trivers.

Making Great Strides

Artists who participate in Sculpture by the Sea do so for a variety of reasons, one being the Aqualand Sculpture Award presented to the “winner” near the end of the event. As art’s appeal varies depending on the beholder, who can really state which artwork is best? Nevertheless, every year one artist walks off with a cash prize of A$70,000 (just over $50,000) while their sculpture is gifted to the Harbour Trust and displayed permanently at George Head in Headland Park. Wei Wang’s “Walking” (above) won’t step up to claim the prize but the artist (and his sculpture) can still stand tall regardless.

Unlike Australia’s wildlife, the weird and wondrous ‘Big Things’ scattered across the Land Down Under aren’t deadly… unless one falls on you.

Some say the Big Things – which began to sprout up in the early 1960s – were inspired by similarly supersized sights in the U S of A. Don’t suggest that to a red-blooded Aussie, however: the Big Things have become points of national pride. Take “The Big Lobster”, a 56×49×43 ft (17×15×13 m) replica of a spiny lobster located in Kingston, South Australia.

“Larry”, as the sculpted crustacean is popularly known, was built in 1979 and wasn’t supposed to be that big. It seems that designer Paul Kelly thought the original plans were denoted in meters when they actually specified measurements in feet, resulting in a monster-lobster over three times the size originally called for. Heh, and you thought that sort of thing only happened in movies like This Is Spinal Tap. Kudos to Flickr member Fiona Thompson (faithmonsoon) for posting these photos of Larry in early 2009. Oh, and that guy with the van is totally NOT a MARTA bus driver on vacation.

Oh Craps

OK, so the Big Dice located just off the Barrier Highway between Yunta and Mannahill in South Australia aren’t all that big but you’ve gotta admit, they’re way, WAY bigger than actual dice. Also, seeing Snake Eyes in Australia is usually a bad thing – or at least, the LAST thing you’ll ever see.

The painted concrete dice are rather roughly cast and wouldn’t make very good dice even if someone was big or strong enough to roll them. No matter, the Big Dice are a legitimate roadside attraction and besides, there’s not much else to see between Yunta and Mannahill.

Roo The Day

The Big Kangaroo stands 16.4 ft (5 m) tall at Border Village, on the border between South Australia and West Australia. Named “Rooey II“, the papier-mache and fiberglass statue was built in 1986 to capitalize on traffic going west to Perth where the America’s Cup yacht race was being held. Been a tad quiet since then.

Rooey II sports a more natural reddish-brown makeover in the second photo dating from April of 2017 yet still holds a beer (or is that a jar of Vegemite?) tightly in his outstretched left paw. So much for being natural… then again, this is Australia.

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Oversized Down Under Australias 10 Oddest Big Things