Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia
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The rail crossing over the Ovens River is elevated to accommodate frequent flooding. You can see recent high flood water-marks left by mud stains on the concrete pilings of the rail bridge.
Identified as "stone arrangements" in Australia, these large stones were placed by the Aboriginal people to trap fish in the ponds formed by them. In this stretch of the Ovens, there are a series of these "arrangements", two of which can be seen here.
The rising sun is just beginning to touch this scene and as I was taking these photos, the raucous laugh of a Kookaburra was greeting another day.
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church
A departure from the rest of the photos in this gallery, I was attracted to the beautiful architecture and stonework of this building. Catholic migrants from Ireland played a big part in settling the state of Victoria in the mid eighteen hundreds and built the first part of this church in 1869 of locally quarried granite. The second stage (the dominant front section) was completed in 1905, built of brown Glenrowan stone and included the spire .
These rapids are likely caused by "stone arrangements" set in place by Australian Aboriginals.
The graffiti on the bridge structure reads in its entirety, OVENS RIVER GANG ~ the stuff of a good yarn.
This photo was taken from the vantage of a footbridge that crosses the river. Here you can see the gum trees that line the banks gaining their sustenance from the river water. It's a symbiotic relationship. The trees thrive, but eventually the river undermines their root system causing them to fall onto the river providing a perfect aquatic environment for fish and platypus.
At this point, the Ovens River makes a 90 degree turn which results in a large pond-like setting. The water barely seems to be moving here.
Rail Bridge over the Ovens River
The Wangaratta rail line runs to a number of country- Victoria towns culminating in Melbourne.
This beautiful stained glass window is located at the front of St Patrick's Church (or at the rear of the church sanctuary). The light it casts in the sanctuary is a warm red and yellow hue.