Fashion and History woven together in one ride!
If you have seen the Australian movie "The Dressmaker" and admired the costumes and dresses featured in the film, then here is the chance to see them in the flesh as well as an excuse for a ride. The setting for the exhibition is a National Trust homestead just north of Winchelsea.
Barwon Park was built in 1871 by pioneer pastoralist and horse breeder Thomas Austin. Originally set in 29,000 acres, Barwon Park contains an imposing bluestone 42-room Italianate-style mansion with lavish interiors that are virtually intact from its Victorian era origin.
Our return route back to Melbourne totals about 250kms. It won't surprise any of you that we may bump into a few interesting old bridges along the way. The finalised route will be posted soon.
This event coincides with the club's Geelong chapter monthly breakfast, so its an opportunity for us to meet some of our southern Vespa friends at Winchelsea for lunch around 12 noon before heading off to the Dressmaker exhibition. The direct route from Geelong to Winchelsea is just 40kms.
Ride departs from BP Service Station, 737 Geelong Road, Brooklyn.
Meet at 8:30am for a 9:00am start.
Fill your tank here as our next fuel stop is 150kms away.
Homework for the ride: See the movie "The Dressmaker."
Entry fees to the historic mansion and the exhibition:
Adult- $20.00
Concession- $18.00
Child- $9.00
Family- $50.00
Of Historical Interest:
Thomas Austin was a member of the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria. It seems the Society's mission wasn't to acclimatise settlers to the reality of the Australian environment, but rather to acclimatise Australia to English tastes for Austin is credited with introducing many exotic species onto his estate as game for shooting parties - hares, blackbirds, thrushes, partridges and those notorious 12 pairs of breeding rabbits. While his efforts were praised at the time, he has borne the brunt of blame for introducing this environmental catastrophe to Australia.
Thomas Austin died just six months after the mansion was completed but his wife, Elizabeth, lived at Barwon Park for many years and became a noted philanthropist. Elizabeth was credited with many charitable works, including the establishment of the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg and Austin Hall and Terraces in South Geelong, which was a home for "educated women in reduced circumstances". It is reported that a moving light can sometimes be seen coming from the window of the bedroom in which Elizabeth Austin died in 1901.
Below: The Duke of Edinburgh shooting rabbits at Barwon Park, 1867
Comments
Looks like a small intimate ride on Sunday. Plenty of room for more if you are at a loose end this Sunday. If you are scared of looking at fabulous dresses, or bumping into Mrs Austin's ghost at Barwon Park mansion, then don't be. Aside from the exhibition and a collection of interesting historic bridges, there is grand riding to be had in some out-of-the-way places. We'll sneak up behind Mt Anakie and her three volcanic siblings, there are some dramatic geological descents and ascents into various river valleys. We may even bump into the Shelford Duck Race Festival while passing through this town. We will pay homage to Lawson's Tree in Inverleigh and who could resist riding roads called Friend In Hand or Lovely Banks? Lunch will be at Cafe La Hoot in Winchelsea. We'll pat the dog rocks and if we are running to schedule, we'll sip a wine or beer in the gardens of the Batesford Hotel on the way back home while admiring the splendid 1859 bluestone bridge over the Moorabool River. I'll be taking an auto scooter to keep the speed up a bit on this longish ride.
So true David, people see places they would never dream of visiting on their own or in a car even...lol... Over and under this bridge how devilishly thrilling....
Yes Greg, we'll be riding under and over it. How naughty can one get? Wow, thanks for that splendid old pic of it's construction. You join this club to ride but you learn more and more about our wonderful state with every event.
What David more bridges....really...well we would hate to miss out on another bridge photo opportunity...LOL...
Thanks Julie. Hopefully we can persuade some Geelong members to join us. As you would expect, I have a devious non-sensical route planned to our destination, but if you want to sleep in, you could leave much later and dash down the highway to meet us in Winchelsea. A good option if you've had enough of bridges ha, ha.
I have heard this is excellent David... looking forward to this one as I loved the movie. Is this going to tie in with Tufan's Mystery ride after the breakfast? Although we have a double party the night before looks like we will just have to be old farts and have an early night...LOL
Ride departs from BP Service Station, 737 Geelong Road, Brooklyn