Mt Macedon bushfire memorial

I took a trip to Macedon with my parents who were visiting from Canberra and were heading to see a friends garden in Macedon. We drove from Brunswick out the Calder freeway to Macedon, visited the garden, went to a cafe for lunch, the drove up Mt Macedon past the large estate gardens and then state forest to an Ash Wednesday bushfire memorial on the top of Mt. Macedon. I had no control over events, I merely went to document the experience.  

The most striking thing about the drive is the monotony of it. There is very little on the highway to spark conversation. You tend to stare at the other cars going by and the occupants. Sometimes they are of interest as with the classic car group we passed that I guessed were heading out to Castlemaine, the 'Hotrod Capital of Australia'. Apart from that, once the spreading suburbs are gone there are a few suburban style houses with ornamental gardens, very few working farm houses, some orchards especially around Sunbury. The occasional hill gives a break to the horizon and some sense of location.

It is a very different experience for driver and passenger. The driver of course needs to concentrate on the immediate job of driving and cant be too distracted by the surroundings. But if the highway is too monotonous there is an equal chance of being distracted by the monotony. Marker points are important to keep a driver aware of the distance they have driven, the time the have been driving for and where they are in relation to where they have come from and where they're heading too.

The motorist as a captive audience. They are in a state akin to meditation and I there is a great opportunity to tap in to that receptiveness, the need for markers (other than McDonalds roadhouses) and the desire for points of conversational interest.

The lookout struck me as interesting place with liminal qualities. It is a non-place where you look back to survey the surrounding area. It may be used somewhat ritualistically. The push and motorcyclists especially seemed to make and event of it. For the bicyclist especially there is great physical effort in reaching the place, a uniform worn that strips the usual social indications and a comraderie achieved by exerting such effort for a common goal.