I think Australia Day was one of my favourite days this year so far. We had a semi-spontaneous lunch at Lanyon Homestead. David had seen that they had free entry to the homestead and were also having music in the gardens.
We grabbed meat and other goods on the way to pull together a great Ploughman's lunch. Then we sat in the gardens under trees and ate while the girls played. Nicholas had taken up an invitation to go to the water park with a friend for a day of swimming and slides.
Before leaving we took a walk around the vegetable gardens (and were inspired by the tomato trellis) and bought homemade ice-cream before heading home.
I think part of the reason I loved it so much is that Lanyon seems to be a backdrop for many memories I have over the years.
I have always loved history, and I remember distinctly that it was year 5 when I decided I wanted to be an historian. Visiting Lanyon I would dream of living a century earlier....
In high school I was part of a small team working on restoring a plough, which was donated to Lanyon Homestead and was displayed in their machinery shed with a picture of us.
When I was 15 I volunteered as a guide at Lanyon, my faithful dad driving me through the bush to front gate and then down the long drive. Now it seems impossible that you wouldn't drive through streets and down highways to get there in a matter of minutes.
I also did my year 10 work experience at the Sydney Nolan Gallery. David Dolan was the curator at the time and went on to curate in some of Australia's bigger museums (such as the Powerhouse Museum). During this work experience I helped hang Nolan's Kelly paintings. I remember being in awe of the work I was permitted to do, and even kept the white conservation gloves I was given for years!! The gallery was preparing for an Arthur Boyd expedition, and some months alter I received an invitation to the exhibition opening.
Many years later after my studies were completed and I was working in a different field, I remember writing to David and thanking him for the exposure he gave me to a field I loved so much. He replied and asked if he could use me as an example in a paper he was writing about the field and providing real opportunities to young people. I never saw the article he wrote, and he sadly passed away a few years ago, receiving acknowledgement in the Senate for his contribution to the field of heritage.
Then when I studied Cultural Heritage at university I completed a conservation report on the Lanyon Cemetery, which is located on private property, but still accessible on open days.
So Lanyon will always have a place in my heart, and it was so lovely just to be there on the public holiday this year. When I think about it, it is not the homestead that I get the most pleasure from, but the older out buildings - the stables, the kitchen, and thinking about the work that took place there.
