Australia Mission

Melbourne West Zone Conferences Part 1

We left for Melbourne on September 23rd on Qantas. We have learned that if you want a free snack you fly Qantas. Jet Star and Virgin Blue, the discount airlines charge for food. The flight was uneventful. We were met at the gate by President and Sister Lee. They are delightful Australians from Adelaide. We really love them. We had a great time together. We stayed at the mission home two nights before flying to Hobart for the Zone Conference there. We attended two Zone Conferences in Melbourne before leaving for Hobart on the evening of the 25th. Jay talked at all of the Zone Conferences and I was asked to bear my testimony at three of the four. We love being with the young missionaries and feeling their spirits.

President and Sister Lee.

Melbourne West Mission Home.

Merribee Chapel.

Melbourne West Zone Conferences Part 3

President and Sister Lee took a P-Day on Saturday after the Zone Conference on Friday. We all went to Ross and Richmond, two old towns in Tasmania that have very old bridges and quaint buildings. We had wonderful goodies from the bakery in Ross - carrot cake, vanilla slice, meat pies and quiche. In Richmond we took pictures of the old bridge with the view of the old Catholic church as seen through the arches of the bridge. The Church is the oldest Catholic church in Australia.

St. Johns School 1847

St. Johns School.

Ross Bridge.

Hobart sign on Ross Bridge.

Cool car.

Jay at Ross Bakery.

Ross Bakery.

Sales lady in Bakery.

Beautiful bush in bloom.

Ross Church.

Richmond Bridge with Catholic Church in background.

Richmond Bridge reflection.

Richmond Bridge from the church.

Oldest Catholic Church in Australia.

Elizabeth and Jay at the Richmond Bridge.

Melbourne West Zone Conferences Part 2

We flew to Hobart with President and Sister Lee on Thursday night September 25th. We stayed at the Salamanca Inn, a quiet nice hotel just off Salamanca Place where the Saturday Market is held. On Friday we attended the Zone Conference, then drove with the Lees to the top of Mt. Wellington. It was snowing when we got there. Afterwards we shopped for grandchildren's birthday presents, then went to dinner with the doctor in Hobart who takes care of the missionaries. His wife is a member; he is not.
Saturday morning we went to the Market. I met the Romneys first thing. She is the sister of my firt boyfriend, the one I left behind when we came to Australia. He was a missionary here while I was here. We had a great time reminising. On Sunday we spent two hours during Sunday School and Relief Society catching up 50 years.
We said farewell to the Lees after church. That afternoon we drove to Port Arthur, the convict settlement in Tasmania. It was too late to see anything when we got there but the drive was beautiful even though it rained most of the way down and back.
Monday morning I went on my run to Government House to take a picture. I decided to cut across the field and take the picture rather than walk up the hill to the main entrance. As I skirted the fence line I saw an opened gate so I went in and took pictures from every angle of the house. As I was taking my last photo in the front of the fountain and flowers, the guard, who was sitting in his car, spotted me and came up to me, told me I was trespassing and kicked me out.
You can see him coming towards me in the photo below.
We checked out of our hotel and drove to Launceston. That afternoon we visited the Platypus House, an hour north of Launceston at Beauty Point. Be sure and watch the Echidnas movies. They are really funny. Watch how they eat with their tongues.

Tasman Arch, Port Arthur, Tasmania.

Blow Hole, Port Arthur, Tasmania

Beautiful Sky on the road to Port Arthur.

Hobart Bridge over Derwent River.

Hobart Stake Center.

Huon Pine Table in High Council room at Hobart Stake Center.

Solid Huon Pine Table worth $50,000.

Mt. Wellington with snow.

Mt. Wellington on a warm day.

Top of Mt. Wellington

Government House, Hobart.

Government House. Note guard coming around the corner. He kicked me off the property.

Hotel Grand Chancellor, Hobart.

Rosny Chapel from the bridge

Hobart Harbour.

Visiting with Marian Ridges Romney and Sister Prebble, Stake President's wife at church on Sunday.

Eating Ice cream.

Dr. and Sister Sutherland.

President and Sister Lee eating Ice cream.

Marian Romney, Elizabeth, Miles Romney.

Salamanca Inn

Platypus.

Platypus House, Beauty Point, Tasmania

Echidnas.

Melbourne West Zone Conferences Part 4

Launceston is a beautiful city in the northern part of Tasmania. It is located on a river that empties into the sea between Australia and Tasmania. It is most noted for the Cataract Gorge that is easily accessible from the city. There is a big church on almost every corner of the town. The buildings are very old and beautiful. We spent the night at the Hotel Grand Chancelor, having gotten a great rate that included the buffet breakfast. We ate way too much. We visited the beautiful city park close to the hotel and saw the monkeys. Before we drove the hour to Devonport we took time to visit the Gorge. On the way to Devonport we drove through the village of Grindelwald, named after Grindelwald, Switzerland. It really is nothing more than a resort area in the mountains outside of Launceston with a golf course and Swiss style buildings.
We took the Spirit of Tasmania to Melbourne, reliving for me the trip I took with my father 50 years ago when we moved to Tasmania. We took the boat ride then. The ship has changed dramatically in 50 years. Now it is the size of a small cruise ship. It stills acts as a car ferry. Many people drove their cars onboard so that they would have them when they reached Melbourne. It takes overnight to get to Melbourne. The crossing was uneventful. We had a nice dinner, then saw the movie, Mad Money, before retiring. The sea was getting a bit rocky at 11 pm but we fell asleep and didn't notice a bump until morning. We docked at 7 am, took a taxi to the airport and waited until noon to board our flight to Sydney. Oddly enough, it didn't cost any more to take the ship and fly from Melbourne than it would have to fly from Hobart to Sydney.