Sunday Selections # 155



Welcome back to Sunday Selections!

This once-a- week-meme was originally begun by Kim of Frog Ponds Rock, as a way to showcase some of the many photos we all take, but don't get around to showing on our blogs.

The rules are very simple:-
1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title
2. link back to me, River, somewhere in your post
3. leave me a comment so that I know you've joined in and can come over and see what you've posted.
4. hop on over to TheElephant’s Child to see more of her wonderful photos.

Kath and Andrew often join in as well, although Kath has been quite busy lately and unable to join us.
There are several other participants now though:
Jackie K at WorkingThrough It

I usually go with a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week I'm continuing with some of the photos I took while in Port Pirie.

On my long walk past the old high school, along Wandearah Road, through Solomontown to the beach, I saw an interesting item just a little way past the old railway station. Not the one in Ellen Street, which is now a museum, but the one opposite the high school sports oval. 

I don't recall ever seeing this while I was living there, I think it was constructed as part of the sights to be seen by kids taking a ride along the miniature railway.

mini railway tracks, I'm guessing they loop around a little way further along.


I followed the tracks for a while and found this old stone water tank and windmill. Constructed to look as if it has been here for a hundred years or more, well, the water tank anyway. The windmill is quite obviously newer.

I like the stonework here. Many historic old homes in South Australia were built in just this manner. 

The windmill. I wonder if this is a working model? Perhaps it gets primed and pumps water during tourist season? While the mini railway is in operation?

there's a narrow well under the windmill which suggests there may be water down below.

I do like windmills

on the other side of the water tank is a trough....in olden days such a trough would have been for stock feeding, with water pumping into it whenever the wind blew the mill. 

The pump mechanism between the tank and trough looks newish as does the trough itself, being made of concrete, it wouldn't have been concrete if constructed a hundred or so years ago.









Comments

  1. Oooh. What a wonderful find. I do hope that it is in use in season.
    And, like you, I do like windmills. I was fascinated to learn that there is a 'language of windmills' too - much in the same way as our flags at 'half mast'.
    I love the stone work too. Thanks River.

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  2. Well that was a find.

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  3. I know of narrow gauge railway lines, but that really is narrow. What a great discovery. The tank is a piece of art.

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  4. I second EC, and the vote is in favor of your Sunday Selections.

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  5. Elephant's Child; finding this made me glad I'd decided to walk instead of waiting for a possibly-non-existent bus that day. I'd love a cottage built with that stonework....

    Delores; well worth walking and finding I'd say. To think I was going to catch a bus and miss it.

    Andrew; the tracks are for a miniature train, similar to what you see little kids riding on at carnivals and beach fairs. Did you see the one at Semaphore beach while you were here?

    Joanne; thank you, I'm really glad I chose to walk that day, I saw so many things.

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  6. Nice photos, River.
    I enjoy finding gems like this - so often missed by others, these links to the past. It's what I miss about travelling. Hubby and I don't do enough of it these days.
    I really like windmills too. There used to be one at each dam on the wheatbelt farm I worked on in my early twenties.
    Such an iconic image.

    This storage tank and windmill is in such a pretty setting too.
    The warm golden stone is just lovely.

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  7. The old stone tank is great and if they stored water in it, it would be cool and sweet.
    Merle.................

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  8. Beautiful photos. And an interesting local history as well, no doubt. I wonder why the trough was restored, it must still be in use? If they wanted to restore it purely for tourism you'd think they'd have used wood or iron as it would have been.

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  9. Vicki; I do like old stonework, tanks, wells, old homes and ruins.

    Merlesworld; I hope they do store water and use it for animals in the heat. They could use it to illustrate how the pioneers had to get their water too.

    Jackie K; I'm hoping it was restored to be used, would be a waste otherwise.

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  10. What lovely pictures! I'm a big windmill fan, myself and also like a good mini railway. :-)

    I must sort my photos so I can start playing Sunday Selections again!

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  11. What a wonderful find and thank you for sharing it with us. Trust you to investigate and I'm so glad you did. I too like windmills of all types but have never heard of a windmill language. I must check that one out.
    It seems to have been well planned and it would certainly be good if it indeed did 'work' during the time when the railway is in use. The stonework does make it look really old.

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  12. Cassandra; thank you, it would be nice to have you join in.

    Mimsie; I'm curious about windmill language too. I have heard the term and there's a vague memory of reading something, but too long ago. I'll search via google.

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  13. I came across a post about the language of windmills here. There is undoubtedly more information, but I found this fascinating.

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  14. Ooh a mystery ~ let us know if you find out what it is.

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  15. What a lovely setting for a mini railway. My guess is that it's probably run by a group of enthusiastic volunteers and open one or two weekends a month. I've taken my kids to the one at Millswood and they loved it.

    I also love windmills and used to watch for them when we drove through the south east on our way to holidays with gran at Pt Fairy. Those flashing steel blades turning in the wind were so comforting as we knew that the farm had water they could use. Those mallee farms always looked so dry - it was almost a comfort to go over the border into Victoria, where everything was suddenly so green. At least to our child's eye.

    Great Sunday Selection, River.

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  16. Lots of history in that site. The stone work is timeless. The fact that the windmill has newish repairs--does that mean someone is watching out for it?

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  17. Elephant's Child; thank you. I'll check that link as soon as I publish these replies.

    Carol in Cairns; no mystery, it's a water tank filled by a windmill, either historical or constructed to look that way, in a small town I visited recently. I'd grown up there and went back to visit my sister.

    Marie; I'd guess volunteers too. I did see the mini engine but didn't take a photo of it as a couple of men were doing some work on it and one scowled at me as I walked closer, so I turned and left.
    I love windmills, if only more places in South Australia had this method of getting water. We're so dry here.

    Susan Kane; my guess is the windmill was repaired or constructed as part of the mini railway. There's an engine probably with tiny carriages that goes along that track.

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