Ayr, Queensland

Ayr is a lovely town with all the shops one would need.  The main street in long with shops either side.  There are not shopping complexes as in all under one roof.
Ayr is in the tropic on the eastern side of Australia and we had to go this far north to get warm in winter last year.
Ayr has a population of about 8,738 people and is the centre of the sugarcane-growing area.

The Post Office below was opened in 1883.

A place to sit in the shade and have a picnic in the main street in Ayr.

The town clock in the middle of a round a bout and below the shopping area and main street.
There is shelter in the middle of the road for cars and people.  I chose to take the photos on a Sunday because there wasn't anyone about.

To Devonport, Tasmania

Holiday back in March in Tasmania - We left Wynyard travelled to Devonport another city in Tasmania.  On the way we went the scenic drive around near Penguin.
Here we have the 3 sisters and the railway line which isn't used much, then went through Ulverstone and managed to take the clock as we drove along.

A nice City.

On dark dingy wet winter day last year when on holiday in winter we headed to Maryborough in Queensland to see what was there.  Rather surprised by all the older buildings so beautifully maintained. Many of these photos were taken from the vehicle as there wasn't anywhere to park! Yes, on a Sunday.
Maryborough is not that far from Hervey Bay where we were staying.

The town/city is approximately 255 kilometers (160 mi) north of the state capital Brisbane.

A Caravan Park down by the Mary River.

Ayr. Queensland.

Whilst we stayed in Ary for a few nights we ventured to the town which was only a few minutes from the Caravan Park.  We liked Ayr and stayed again on the way down south....but of course we are still heading north when these photos were taken.

Ayr was named after the Scottish town Ayr, the birthplace of a past Queensland Premier.
The town established in 1882. The Post Office opened in 1883.
Ayr is sugar cane country and it's not far from Home Hill another sugar cane growing area..

 Taken in the main street.

The above photo was taken in the main street.  I'm not fond of water being smooth, for me it looks too artificial so hence this one isn't very smooth.

The town clock, typical in most towns in Australia.

A house which is a bit different.

The Roman Catholic Church in Ayr.  Sacred Heart Church.

Sugar Mill close to Ayr.

Launceston buildings.

Launceston Post Office and Clock.

After the Launceston General Post Office was built in 1889, a group of residents formed The Launceston Clock and Chimes Committee in 1906 to raise funds to extend the tower's height, and install the clock and chimes

The Post Office has moved to various locations over the years, it's now back  in the original Post Office.

The Town Hall which was build in the mid 1800's.

The town Library.  Outside one can sit and look at the Town Clock, use the internet for 'free' with a limit of 500mb per 24 hour period.

Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

Rockhampton experiences over 300 days of sunshine each year, which lends itself to tourism activities all year round and an abundance of outdoor activities.
The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) from the river mouth, and some 600 kilometres (370 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane
The Capricorn district is the traditional home of the Darumbal Aboriginal people^.
The European history of the area began in 1853, when the area that would become Rockhampton was visited by the Archer brothers Charles and William, who were seeking grazing lands. They were acting on information from earlier expeditions by Ludwig Leichhardt and Thomas Mitchell, who had explored the area in 1844 and 1846 and noted suitable land for grazing then.

A significant gold deposit at Mount Morgan to the southwest was discovered in the 1880s, and Rockhampton became the main port through which the wealth of Mount Morgan gold was channelled. Due to the wealth of Mount Morgan, Rockhampton weathered the severe economic depression of the 1890s and many of the town's substantial brick and stone public buildings date from this period. The historic streetscape of Quay Street still displays a number of substantial historic buildings, built when Rockhampton was envisaged as being capital of a state of North Queensland. Most prominent of these is the sandstone Customs House (1900), which today houses an information centre. Other important nineteenth century buildings include the Post Office (1892), the Supreme Court House (1888), and St Joseph's Cathedral (1892)

We stayed there for about a week in 2008 and it's a very long way from Tasmania, Australia.

These photos were done in HDR - something different.

The Roundabout

The clock on the Post Office

Rockhampton Post Office

Fitzroy River

If taking a stroll along the banks of the Fitzroy River we can see this sign.

Sunshine Plaza!

Found the Sunshine Plaza a pleasant place to shop.  Not too large just comfortable to walk to two story shopping.  Myer, Kmart, Target, food = Coles & Woolworths plus lots of clothing shops, shoes, handbags, men shops, children's shops, lolly shops, jewelery shops & so on.  So lucky there are few seats located along the way for my husband can't walk too far before he needs to sit down, some days he is better than other days.
Always I buy 'things' when I travel to the Sunshine Coast, this year I bought 3 leather handbags along with earrings, shoes & a few clothes.
The great thing about shopping at the Plaza, the parking is free!

I zoomed in with the camera from the bridge

Mainly went shopping inside and didn't realize all this was outside :) until the day before we left.

Zoomed in again from the bridge to see the Big Top which is going to be redone or replaced at some stage, & that is another small shopping area.  The circus like tops x 4 is the shopping area.

Of course the clock at the Sunshine Plaza