el's posterous

Curious nautical facts ... fun times at the Australian National Maritime Museum

Yesterday Elias and I were on location at the Australian National Maritime Museum to document some of the rare and amazing objects in their collection. 

Most notably we were treated to a trip on the Commonwealth Light Ship 4 (CLS 4) aka The Carpentaria. This bright red light ship was designed by a Scotsman and brother of Robert Louis Stevenson (author of Treasure Island); commissioned in 1917 along with 3 others just like it; constructed at Cockatoo Island and then made its way up to the Gulf of Carpentaria where it served as a warning beacon in the high seas for many years. The light ships were completely unmanned and served in areas where there was no suitable ground to build a light house. 

The Carpentaria has a mini light house on board and an incredible warning bell that is activated by 4 hammers as the ship rolled with the tide. Now docked at the Museum, the hammers are usually tied up as the neighbours in the harbour are not fond of the all the noise. However, we were lucy enough to capture some audio of tolling bell yesterday, which we will share with you in our finished video later this year. It is a very haunting sound, almost like a death knoll ... I could only imagine the panic it might induce in a crew travelling in stormy waters.

The Carpentaria was decommissioned in the 80s and made its way to the Maritime Museum wharf to be part of their collection. Its counterpart CLS 2 was also decommissioned around the same time and found a home at the Queensland Maritime Museum, where it lived in the dry dock. Unfortunately it met with some trouble during the devastating Queensland floods and was sunk. 

Speaking with the fleet manager at the ANMM, I was interested to know what had replaced the light ships in the gulf, and was informed that with the developments of satellite navigation and GPS technology the light ships and light houses have become unnecessary. There are a few well documented cases where sat nav has failed, both here in Australia and overseas, so I remain a touch skeptical and bemoan the loss a good lighthouse walk.

The Carpentaria is off to the dry dock for repairs as of this Friday, so we said our good byes for now. The ship will be losing its bell for reconstruction, but it will be gaining a new coat of paint and some TLC. 

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A change of scenery and one stop too many

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I left my house at 6.50am this morning, and arrived at Casula train station at 8.40am. It takes a while by train to get from Marrickville to Casula, but I was not blessed with great connecting trains and I also gave myself an unexpected detour to Glendfield by not paying attention to the indicator board while on my mobile. You live and learn... 

Anyway - thought I would share some Disposable Hipsta prints from my journey to give you an idea of the new whereabouts of the Curious folk. 

Stories of love and hate: episode 4 - the final instalment

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And so it is, we have only have one office day left in Randle now, and I am still fighting off feelings of nostalgia with the realities of this God forsaken building and the fact that I still haven't packed anything beyond one book shelf. 

I still have one grant application to get out before the end of the day, so need to get that finished by lunch so I can pack up my desk in the afternoon.    

Something that I am very happy to be leaving behind is the frustratingly deceptive uneven floor in the office space. When I first arrived at CuriousWorks just over 2 years ago, I was all like "Whoa, you guys don't have ergonomic chairs ..." and Shakthi and Elias where all like "Whoa, what the hell does that even mean." So I went and did what seemed like endless research to get some 3 leaver typist chairs (on wheels) and they made sitting at my desk out in the main studio a pleasure. Then we moved into the smaller office ... which made my ergonomic chair purchase a bit of a dud, as the wonderful free movement on the even floor in the main room gave way to the daily struggle of keeping my chair (and myself) at my desk. Sometimes when I get up from my desk, my chair will just roll out from under me and launch a stealth attack on Vaike or Elias from behind. While moderately comedic, I am looking forward to finding new ways to keep myself entertained at my new desk.

What I am truly sad to be leaving behind is the incredible view from our studio. You could stand at the window for hours just looking outside and watching the bussle of Central station. Sometimes we have been lucky enough to have cockatoos, rosellas and kookaburras pay us a visit by perching on the roof of the building opposite. I will miss it all greatly, but am looking forward to the new surroundings and wildlife in by the river at Casula.

See you later Surry! 

Stories of love and hate: Surry Hills episode 3 and a half

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Keeping to a blogline is hard, so apologies for being late, as I know you were all just dying to hear my next installment of love and hate ... last week's hate karma has caught up with me and conspired to make my life hell yet again. The lift of terror has broken down again and postponed crucial demolition work at Randle ... but i guess thems the breaks when you reside in a cool old warehouse that leaks like sieve ...

Hate - the stupid way in which this warehouse leaks even though we are not on the top floor ... 

Love - Ding Dong Dangs ... because its a beacon of awesome and always open for Curious late night after parties when you just have to bust out a Britney or Madona tune in the comfort of a private suite and impress/embarras out of town visitors. 

The lift is now working again, so please channel all your happy thoughts into keeping to working at least until Monday 30th!

Stories of love and hate: Surry Hills episode 2

For economic reasons, I am listing both love and hate this week in the one post - as I am fast running out of time to document ... 

2 things that have greatly characterised my 2 years at Randle have been the wonderful Gallery Cafe, and the far from wonder Randle Street lift.

Love: Gallery Cafe, run by Mark and Pearl has been a Surry Hills institution for as long as I can remember and is conveniently located about 20 steps away from the office and central train station. Their coffee and chai is some of the best around and their winter soups are like a warm blanket on a cold day (I burned my mouth plenty of times not being patient enough to let it cool properly before eating!). Sometimes if you are lucky and you go in early for lunch, you will also get a card trick while you wait, as the family all used to be circus performers before entering the hospitality business. I will miss them greatly!

Hate: The Randle Street Lift is a bizarre piece of machinery that started out life with white walls and graffiti, and was brutally repainted enmal letter box red by someone on level 5 who took exception to said graffiti. He was the only one who cared and we all had to suffer the horrifying colour and smell for months after it was painted. It now breaks down more than it works, and it has often broken down on bin day, or furniture more day ... so I am just hoping it holds out till April 30. Hating the lift is probably too much of a strong feeling for the carrier of my weight to level 4 everyday, rather I should probably cast my evil stare to the route cause - the poor maintenance or lack of love it has received by our building's owner ...

14 more days of love and hate ... 14 more great coffees and journeys in the lift of terror.

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a curious move ... saying goodbye to Randle

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It's official, CuriousWorks are leaving Randle after 4 awesome years of being artful change makers centrally located in Surry Hills. 

We are moving out west as much of our current work is happening in the bustling outer suburbs of Sydney, and secretly there are many things I am happy to be leaving behind.

Don't get me wrong ... there are many things I am sad to be losing; the amazing food, good coffee, beautiful parks, amazing view from our kitchen and bathroom windows ... but to be quite frank, this place is also falling apart.

So I am starting a different list of sorts as a record of my time here in Surry Hills: Why I love/hate Randle.

Today begins with hate ... as it often does. The stupid security door makes me so angry every morning as it just won't open! I spend a good five minutes wrestling with the key in the lock every single morning. Kicking, shaking and swearing - the seamstresses next door think I am a psychopath! It's only at the moment of utter dispair and I start texting someone to vent my anger, that I try it one last time and it opens like a dream. I believe the door is possessed!

Anyway, hopefully there will be some love tomorrow, as I will endeavour not to be the first one in the office, I will leave that honour for Elias.

Also - we are having an event to say goodbye - so please come and join us to celebrate in Randle one last time. 

Some light reading

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I received some great advice last week from a colleague:

"Eleanor, these blog posts shouldn't be time consuming. You know when you reposted that other person's video ... that was great."

So, in light of this feedback, I have decided to share a great post by my friends at Symple Creative who made a beautiful poetry and moss installation at the Paddington Reservoir. You can catch it in real-life too throughout March.

Version 1.0's Table of Knowledge ... good theatre, bad governance

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Back in the day when I was a young person ... there was a time when I was chair of a local government youth council. A friend of mine used to joke that I was the mini major ... a distant memory that I now I recall with an involuntary shudder. 

My time on the youth council gave me great insight into the workings of local government; the layer cake of bureaucracy, red tape and reports, contrast with the lavish lunches and cushy chairs of the council chambers. An education that has put me in good stead for my career as community development worker.

Some local governments are great - I have worked with many - but where there is power, corruption is sure to follow, and the events leading up to the sacking of Wollongong City Council in 2008 is indeed a tale of absolute power corrupting absolutely.  

Much of the performance's script is taken verbatim from those interviewed in the ICAC investigation into the corruption allegations (developers, council staff and councillors); the mind boggles by just how hilariously stupid and brash these people were in their quest for money and a towering Woolongong skyline.

As alway, Version 1.0's performances are insightful, witty and emotive; the Table of Knowledge is no exception. As an audience member, you become an unwitting participant in the development application process and a witness to the trail that rips apart of web of lies and misconduct.

At 105 minutes, I would question the need for an interval. I felt it broke the intensity of the performance and I was almost thrown off by how quickly the show played out after the break. It did however give me a chance to hunt down a much needed snack to refocus. I would probably admit to anything when put on the stand while hungry!

If you have ever had any dealings with local government, love the tune "We built this city" or enjoy highbrow, cleverly crafted contemporary performance, I recommend exploring philanthropic opportunities through a local developer to procure a ticket or two.

The Table of Knowledge is on @Carriageworks till March 24. For more details visit:

Award winning interactive documentary site: Goa Hippy Tribe

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The Goa Hippy Tribe project is about people who shared a common space and time on the shores of Goa, India during the 70’s ‘hippy revolution’ and are now re-uniting after more than 30 years via Facebook.

Along with throngs of other western baby boomers’ offspring, Australian filmmaker Darius Devas travelled to Anjuna Beach in 2010. The boomers themselves had been there in the late sixties, when the infamous Goa hippie movement was founded in the Indian beach paradise. A milestone in their self-development, with a lot of rock ‘n’ roll, alcohol, drugs and free love.

Forty years later – and half a life older – they meet again, thanks to the Goa community on Facebook. How do they look back on their hippie parties? What has become of their dreams? Why did they want to be reunited with the Goa family one last time? Georgette (57) and Raymond (65) seem to have hung on to their hedonistic ways, but Monica (56) left Goa a drug addict and Steve (60) claims that the rise of techno music killed the true hippie feeling.

Initially, Devas posted his video portraits on Facebook, but encouraged by the large demand he decided to create a stand-alone web documentary, supplemented with all sorts of goodies, like factsheets, photo galleries and background videos on such typical Goa subjects as drugs and spirituality. And while most of the former hippies claim to want little to do with Facebook, the physical reunion would never have happened without the virtual one.