Potato Point is halfway between two very different towns. Narooma is on the coast, a hilly town with views far to the north, and an inlet dominated by Gulaga. Moruya is on the banks of the Deua: there you look along the river to the mountains of the Great Divide. I shop in both places, and explore them erratically. In Moruya I'm often at a loose end for a few hours while the car is being serviced, so I head off in a different direction each time.
Last week I decide to visit the cemetery. I walk across a very pleasant golf course which even provides shelters from flying golf balls; through the show ground where my quiche won first prize at the annual show before it went mouldy; past the high school where I was a casual teacher and my eldest daughter broke every rule and protocol, usually with impunity.
Graveyards are like rubbish tips. They are always located in splendid places with views that are wasted on their denizens: this one is no exception. I look beyond the markers of death to rolling hills, surprisingly green for this time of year.
The temperature is rising and I welcome benches under old trees as I ramble amongst well-known local names, and cogitate on the changing fashions in tombstones. Older ones showcase the style of the local funeral mason and sport generic words of propriety and piety. Moruya granite features in a few. There are simple wooden crosses; a few markers that have obviously been added by family later: and some that are very individual, even idiosyncratic – a freshly painted purple fence; a photo surrounded by attribute adjectives; a curved female shape, a tiny house complete with gables.
Moruya offers more than a graveyard. For the living, there are pleasant buildings, some with wrought iron verandahs, and a communion of churches.
Thirteen wooden sculptures are scattered around the town. They gleam brown and warm against the traffic and the sky representing many aspects of the town including the annual jazz festival, gold mining, wild life, motherhood, the air base in WW2, the Aboriginal presence and of course football.
Perhaps Moruya's greatest claim to fame is what came out of the ground along the river road towards the airport. The park at the roundabout at the southern end of town has a monument made of polished granite celebrating the men, miners and masons from thirteen different countries, who cut, dressed and numbered granite blocks ready to send to Sydney to build the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Interesting places to wander, so many stories and scenarios can be thought of in cemeteries. When the camera is your companion it is amazing the amount of detail you can find. I do like the purple fence and also the way the flowers have been colour coordinated..
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love wandering around graveyards too – and I’m with you, I enjoy the hodge podge of styles though I definitely prefer the older, more dignified ones.
LikeLike
I resist dignity in death, maybe because it would misrepresent my life!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cemeteries can be very entertaining, I walk the dogs in ours and there’s always something new. There seems to be a growing trend in things like solar lights. I’ve even seen groups of young people celebrate the birthday of a lost friend with booze flowing and music playing!
I like the wooden sculptures, and I’m always thrilled to see a mermaid β€
LikeLike
An annual wake’s not a bad idea, although being alive is a much better one. I’m a bit partial to graveyards – they often tell interesting stories and harbour huge old trees, and maybe even rare orchids and big echidnas. Once I saw young people filming a Goth movie (that was in Sydney) and now I’ll keep a lookout for dog-walkers.
LikeLike
It’s a right hodge podge of a cemetery, isn’t it? I like your wooden sculptures better. They do seem to have personality π How far are you from Sydney, Meg? I suppose I should know these but I’m wearing my clueless brain this week. Remind me when the family arrive? Have a fabulous time if we don’t speak before.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t realise you northern hemisphereans were so committed to order! I LOVE hodge podge. I’m between 340 and 400 km south of Sydnety, depending on which of three routes I follow. The Australian family arrive 21/22: the Polish mob hit Brisbane first on 14th January and then mosey south.
You have a wonderful Christmas too. It sounds as if your preparations are more arduous than mine. I might have a Christmas tree – my 34 yo son is keen to go bush with his father and niece and nephew to find a wild cherry to decorate, as he did as a child. Otherwise it’s mainly stacking all my junk out of sight. I don’t even know whether the mob will be with me or my daughter-in-law’s family on 25th. But we stopped making an event of Christmas probably 20 years ago.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Will I ever get to be as wise as you? I very much doubt it! A wild cherry sounds perfect. Hopping mad might be fun too! π Some of our Polish family arrive on 4th January for a few days so I’ve got to nurture our tree until then. Have a simply splended time, Meg. Hugs! π
LikeLike
You have very eclectic tastes. Life is interesting! Re the native cherry, this link might be of interest to other bloggers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exocarpos_cupressiformis
Read down to the end and you will note that early settlers used to cut off branches to serve as Christmas trees. So H is following a very traditional practice. I had never heard of it before now. I hope H finds this tree.
Christmas greetings to you all.
LikeLike
Work has aborted this plan. He doesn’t knock off till five on Christmas Eve, and he’s been working full on all this week. J will be interested that he picked up on a settler tradition.
LikeLike
An intriguing visit, Meg. I see what you mean about the dead have the best view. The sculptures are very characterful. Good to celebrate the citizenry.
LikeLike
Odd how the camera and a blog-in-waiting sharpens and shapes what the eye sees. This one’s been in the pipeline for probably three car services – I had to send the photos back to iPad from storage on the pc, and I don’t transfer often.
Best wishes to you for the encroaching season, in case it slips my mind when the family arrive. Thank you for blog-companionship.
LikeLiked by 1 person
encroachin is definitely the word, Meg. And yes it’s been lovely following all your doings and seeings this year. A happy festive season to you and yours. And yes, it’s as well to say these things now, before encroachment becomes total. Yikes!
LikeLike
How nice for you to have somewhere to wander whilst your car is being serviced, with camera of course π I agree with you about cemeteries always being in the best location, the land they are on must be worth a fortune to a developer! I’m not so keen on some of the modern headstones etc. are there no rules in Australia? I’m sure a purple fence would be frowned upon here. And what’s with the solar light-sticks?
LikeLike
Rules? Didn’t occur to me that there would be: you’d end up with a housing estate! The purple one was one of my favourites. I like the individuality. I didn’t even notice the solar light-sticks – thank you for your devoted scrutiny.
LikeLiked by 1 person