Spring has almost sprung as Canberra’s renowned Floriade gets into action on 13 September (until 12 October) with this year’s theme, Art in Bloom, highlights including artistic horticultural displays, live entertainment, markets and workshops. Located in its usual spot of Commonwealth Park daily 9.30am-5.30pm. entry is free. And a Nightfest (2-5 October), will be offering after-dark entertainment and illuminations. … Read more.
Category: Travel Page 2 of 6
Content about places worth visiting
For Canberrans (and others) making their way along the Hume Highway, Michael McGirr’s Bypass: The Story of a Road, is not only very informative, but also entertaining. Former teacher, and academic, essayist and former Jesuit priest, Michael has outlined his experience and that of his partner, Jenny, in cycling from Sydney to Melbourne some 20 years’ ago. … Read more.
The undulating hills around the delightful NSW village, Millthorpe, in the Blayney Shire (on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people), will resonate this Easter with the sounds of opera. The former artistic director of Opera Australia and opera baritone, Lyndon Terracini, and his wife, Swiss soprano Noemi Nadelmann, are hosting the inaugural Handa Opera at the Millthorpe festival. … Read more.
Canberra is surrounded by many delightful places including towns and villages in the Yass Valley on the lands of the Ngunnawal people. Roughly an hour’s drive from Canberra along the Barton Highway, the small town of Yass boasts a number of attractions: art galleries, well-kept parks and picnic spots, various accommodation options, great cafes and eateries, boutiques, home décor shops, supermarkets, pharmacies and a newsagent. … Read more.
It seems de rigueur to hate banks. But there are some good ones. A former NSW State Bank in Moss Vale in the New South Wales southern highlands (Gundungurra and Dharawal lands) is now the delightful Flour Bar eatery, resplendent with light-grey walls, chic décor and modern fittings. Contrasting with a previous more sombre-looking self, it offers great coffee, cake and other sumptuous food while patrons can relax and watch the world go by through large picture windows. … Read more.
A very worth-seeing current exhibition at Canberra’s National Gallery presents the works of Ethel Carrick (1872-1952) and Anne Dangar (1885-1951), the former a gifted painter and colourist, and the latter, a painter and potter. Focusing on Dangar’s pottery and Carrick’s paintings, this retrospective exemplifies the diverse strands of artistic practice in the first half of the 20th century. … Read more.
Opening at Canberra’s National Portrait Gallery on 30 November (until 2 March 2025), Carol Jerrems: Portraits, features the works of one of Australia’s most influential photographers, the late Carol Jerrems. Comprised of more than 140 photographs, it includes photographs of leading Australian cultural figures such as: the late Roberta (Bobbi) Sykes, author and poet, indigenous rights campaigner and human and women’s rights activist; former World No 1 tennis player, Evonne Goolagong; writer, columnist, leading feminist and editor and publisher, Anne Summers; fashion designer, Linda Jackson; musician and television and radio personality, Red Symons; the late Shirley Strachan, singer, songwriter, radio and television presenter. … Read more.
This week, former ABC journalist Alex Sloan, will be in conversation with author Helen Ennis about Ennis’s latest book, Max Dupain: A Portrait, at the National Library of Australia. A highly-renowned Australian modernist photographer, Dupain (1911-1992) was born in Sydney, initially becoming interested in photography as a 13-year-old, later completing various studies and tertiary degrees and opening his own Sydney studio in 1934. … Read more.
A recent highlight among National Library of Australia author talks was that of Christabel Blackman, focusing on her book, Charles & Barbara Blackman: A decade of art and love, about her late parents, Barbara, the highly-regarded artist, broadcaster, essayist, librettist, poet and patron of the arts, and highly-renowned artist, Charles Blackman. … Read more.
For travellers venturing along the Hume Highway between Canberra and Melbourne there’s many delightful country towns and villages to visit, including Bookham, Jugiong, Gundagai, Holbrook, Tarcutta, set on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Wiradjuri people. They’re great for a food, drink and pit stop. Five hours’ further along from Canberra (two hours from Melbourne), Euroa in the Strathbogie Shire (much of which is on the lands of the Taungurung people), is replete with good accommodation and hotels, and delightful eateries, shops, galleries, markets, parks, and historic places. … Read more.