In May 2009 we set off across Australia in our 30 year old Ford Cortina Ghia, which packed a big 4.1 litre six under the hood. "Big Tina" came through, but not without a few anxious moments! In eleven days of motoring, we drove for 55 hours, covered 4,525 kilometres and burnt 540 lites of 98RON petrol. Tina might be old, but with only 126,000km on the clock, air conditioning, cruise control, central locking, engine immobiliser, and a CD/AM/FM sound system, she's got what it takes. And when it matters, she’s quick!

The pictures in this collection feature the five kilometre stretch of the Victorian West Coast between Aireys Inlet and Eastern View. This has been a favorite holiday spot for my family for decades – both before and after the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfire. These were made over a two week holiday after Christmas 2003 using a Nikon E5000 compact with a 28mm lens.

Further down the Great Ocean Road a seven kilometre beach stretches from Skenes Creek through Apollo Bay to Marengo, after which the road leaves the coast and climbs inland through the Otway’s before regaining stunning ocean views near the Twelve Apostles. The “Bay” is a farming and fishing community that has been overwhelmed by holiday makers. Nevertheless, the surrounding country remains devoted to farming and offers some of the loveliest scenery in Victoria. These pictures were made within a seven kilometre radius of the “Bay” during a family holiday in February 2005 using a Nikon E5000 compact with a 28mm lens.

Some lunchtimes I wander around town with my little GX100 under my coat, especially in winter when the Plane trees reveal more of the buildings. Australia's premier city until the terrible depression of the 1890's, and seat of the Commonwealth Government for its first 25 years, "Marvelous Melbourne" is a good place to live.

This collection of seven pictures documents the recovery of a 40 foot container which had fallen from a semi-trailer or road train and was lying beside the Great Northern Highway between Bindoon and New Norcia on New Years Eve, 2007. Such occurrences are not uncommon, as the roads are not really engineered for triple trailer road trains, B-Doubles and 22 wheeler semi-trailers barreling along at 110 kph!

An old Monastery and Mission straddling the Great Northern Highway, about an hour and a half's drive north of Perth, New Norcia is unique in Australia and well worth a visit. All pictures were taken on 31st December 2007.

Western Australia was founded in 1829, before Victoria and South Australia, but the colony did not thrive until gold was discovered at Coolgardie in 1891. The population nearly quadrupled in the decade before Federation, but by 1901 the new State of Western Australia, covering a third of the continent, contained only 193,000 settlers, in addition to the aborigines. Perth was a city of only 70,000 and was quite separate from its port at Fremantle, just 18 kilometres away, until post WWII growth filled the gap with houses. The first Narrows Bridge was opened in 1959, opening up development south of the river. So much of Perth today is young and prosperous, as the West rides yet another minerals boom.

The Super Pit at Kalgoorlie-Boulder is the largest open cut gold mine in Australia. Commenced in 1989 on the site of much older underground workings, it is 3.5 km long, 1.5 km wide and 360 m deep, but getting bigger by the day. It is located right at the end of the Burt Street, the main street of Boulder.

Sydney is a city of superlatives. At its worst it is the pits, but at its best it is magnificent. The best of the best is the Harbour, which is graced with Australia’s two greatest manmade landmarks – the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. These pictures were made one sunny winter afternoon, the 16th July 2004.