Sinking Sophie

Judith Furphy was the younger sister of John Furphy who later gained renown as the maker of the Furphy water-cart. Their brother Joseph also wrote the great Australian novel 'Such is Life'.

Judith's passing was caused due to a chill which proved rapidly life threatening, she was transported to Melbourne for special treatment but it was unfortunately not fast enough and Judith tragically passed on the 17th of May, 1851.

Judith was buried the next day, on Sunday the 18th of May, 1851; and will forever be remembered as the cemetery's first ever interment.

The Kangaroo Ground Public Cemetery along what that of the Eltham-Yarra Glen Road is the oldest working cemetery outside of Melbourne. There's such an eerie yet peaceful atmosphere present as you wander through the resting place of countless people and families. 

My favourite Tombstone that I came across wasn't necessarily a tombstone at all, well not in the traditional sense anyway. The resting place of Albert Norton Jones is marked with a historic folding camera which has been planted up with a small succulent plant. The stunning photography device is propped up on a mental post which has an image of Norton Jones himself as well as epitaph that tells the story of his photography career. Albert Norton Jones was born in 1879, he owned a property called Golden Glen, located in Wattle Glen. He was a very busy photographer whom travelled all of the Diamond Valley Area recording every day events, street scenes as well as visiting homes to take family portraits. After he passed on March 9, 1956 his hundreds of glass negatives lay forgotten in the basement of Golden Glen, and it wasn't until the 1970's when the house was repurchased from Albert's widow that they were to be recovered once again. 

Some of Albert's recovered images are now complied in a book titled 'The Diamond Valley Story' by Dianne H. Edwards which can still be purchased online or in local book stores today.

The Kangaroo Ground Cemetery is located on Menzies Road in Kangaroo Ground and to this day is still being used as a resting place for many beloved mothers, fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons and friends. 

Thanks for viewing!

Few things make me happier than rummaging through countless isles of second hand garments in order to find the perfect low budget outfit!

Last week my local Opportunity Store Savers had a 50% off sale, meaning that all their already insanely low priced items were now half price, naturally I took full advantage of the special, spending hours searching for anything and everything to try on and in turn purchase.

My haul is as follows:

This stunning denim circle skirt from Valley Girl grabbed my attention immediately as I'd recently been wanting to splurge on an American Apparel garment in the same design. That was unneeded as soon I found this beauty though, it was a perfect fit for my waist and ended up a steal at $2.50 AUD. That's an entire skirt for less than the cost of a candy bar!

The next item I purchased happily were these funky patterned shorts. I love pairing plain shirts with busier bottoms and these prove perfect with a white tank top. I picked these up brand new (they still had tags attached) for a measly $4 AUD.

 I have a rather large soft spot for velvet and so I'm very satisfied with this find. This gorgeous black top is as lovely to touch as it is to wear. It fits amazingly well and is tapered at the waist which proves to be incredibly flattering on, I fell in love with it and took it home for $5 AUD.

At first I was drawn in by the pretty tartan detail and decided to try it on (it was rather large for a shirt), in doing so however I was amazed with this slimming, cool fitting dress. It's a great summer staple which will look gorgeous dressed up or down with boots and accessories. I came away with it for $4 AUD.

I've discovered a new found love for fluffy coats and cardigans of late and this jumper demonstrated no exception. It's very comfortable and has such a cute 90s feel. I snatched up this gorgeous piece for $4 AUD.

Big baggy, daggy knit jumpers are an absolute must for winter and as it's fast approaching I've been searching for some colder weather gear just like this lovely blue coloured knit cardigan. It's quite over sized and will be great for layering. I can't wait to have an excuse to wear it, I purchased it joyfully for $4 AUD.

I always find that you can never really have have enough sweet little cardigans and this grey beauty has such darling lace detail with adorable buttons to match! It's made of lovely cotton blends and was too cheap to pass up at $4 AUD.

This angelic item was possibly my favourite find of the day! I'm not much of a vintage sweater type of gal but this delicate baby pink stunner melted my heart into a pulp. From it's sweet fabric to its white lace detail and pearl like buttons I literally fell in love, I simply could not pass this beauty up especially for $6.50 AUD.

My final delightful find was that of this incredible Guess branded black dress. I must say I do have a tenancy of taking the saying 'you can never have enough little black dresses' a little too seriously but this item was so beautifully kept I simply could not help myself. It screams high quality and fits like a dream. It has the ability of being both demure and provocative with it's extremely flattering fit and delicate spaghetti straps. I allowed myself this delight for $15 AUD.

I'm always happy with what I come away with when thrift shopping and there's never any guilt involved as spending too much is next to impossible. My entire haul of the day came to a total of $49 AUD. That's nine pieces for under $50! I must say I'm more than pleased with the result as the Guess Dress was worth more than $100 alone.

I hope you enjoyed my items of choice and maybe even feel inspired enough to go on a thrifting spree for yourself!
Much love and thanks for viewing!