'A Catchup over Coffee.'
This is my entry for the @beautifulsunday and @sublimesunday challenges hosted by @ace108 and @c0ff33a
So, what makes your Sunday Sublime and Beautiful? For me it can be a combination of many things but high on my list are; beautiful surroundings, the briny scent of the sea, time spent with special people, listening to my favourite music, curled up with a good book in front of a fire, attending a great movie. And the list goes on. But when you add a superb cup of coffee into the mix, then that takes my sublime and beautiful experiences up a notch.
Needless to say; I didn't hesitate to accept the opportunity to catch up with an artist friend of mine over a cup of coffee at Deception Bay in Queensland, Australia...........an ideal way to spend a couple of hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
The name 'Deception Bay' has negative overtones but this area has a lot going for it. Not the least of which, is the sea view and safe swimming area for families.
The suburb of Deception Bay is situated in the Moreton Bay Region in Queensland. It is about 32 kilometres north of Brisbane and sits between the Redcliffe Peninsula and Bribie Island.
The eastern side of Deception Bay overlooks Moreton Bay. Pumicestone Passage is south of Deception Bay and to the north is Beachmere and this is where the Caboolture River and Burpengary Creek meet the ocean.
This was our view from the cafe.
Deception Bay was named in 1823 by Lt John Oxley. He originally thought the bay was a river and because of his mistake and the deceptive shallowness of the water, named it Pumice Stone River, but later on changed it to Deception Bay.
Locals often refer to Deception Bay as D-Bay. Part of its negative reputation was due to crime and high unemployment rates during the 1980s and 1990s. This area was also one of the most concentrated social housing areas in Queensland by the government of the day.
Since then, community problems have eased somewhat due to development and population growth in the area. This hasn’t changed the desire of many residents, to see the name changed to avoid any negative perceptions.
I had to take a photo of this sign, probably because I happen to agree with it. But this is not the time nor the place to dwell on the subject of aging.
The cafe is named, 'Mermaids by the Sea,' and although this was my first visit, I soon understood why this place was popular. Their coffee was great and my friend gave their food a positive thumbs up from previous visits but the waterfront views were their best feature as far as I was concerned, even though the tide was out.
Another lovely feature was this huge mermaid mosaic which was obviously comissioned for this cafe.
After a leisurely chat, we decided to have a look around. This is the view of the cafe from across the road.
The local library is situated across the road from a picturesque park.
I caught a glimpse of a monument and needed to take a closer look.
It gave information about the Deception Bay Heritage Trail whilst comemorating The Second World War.
In 1942, the pace of life changed in the quiet seaside village of Deception Bay. Soldiers of the 2nd/1st machine gun battalion arrived for retraining on their way from the middle east and Europe to the war in the Pacific.
Local houses were commissioned for the use of the Army as the soldiers established a temporary camp. In 1942, city schools were closed for four months and Deception Bay became a favoured destination for holidays because of petrol rationing.
Clifton and Nellie Lovekin were kept busy supplying the holiday makers and troops with sandwiches and troops from their shop.
Military defences were built all along the coastline in case Australia was invaded. Gun emplacements were established along the Deception Bay foreshore and one was located just here below the viewing platform.
The soldiers of the 1st/2nd Military Gun Battallion had used the water-cooled Vickers mahine gun in Europe and retrained here on the Bren gun.
The walk to the foreshore was indeed a pleasant one.
Pink grevilleas were in full bloom, adding a splash of colour in the garden and attracting birds, bees and butterflies to their sweet nectar.
I'll have to come back when the tide is in to show you what it looks like then.
My catch up with coffee turned out to be a most enjoyable and informative one. It's amazing what one discovers when they take time to stop and smell the grevilleas.
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THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
