A long road snakes its way up to a majestic structure sitting atop a small hill. The building facade is well lit with incredible uplighting, but even its beauty is overshadowed by the eeriness of its history and the stories of its past occupants. A cold, damp evening along with a pitch black winter sky further accentuates the freakish feeling that surrounds the property.
Ararat wasn't always a sleepy little town. There was a time, albeit a long time ago, when its streets bustled with activity. The discovery of gold in 1857 transformed this city into a boomtown, and the structure I was there to visit wasn't even built yet. Another eight years would pass before the ground was disturbed to build the structure that now draws people to this sleepy town. The structure known as Aradale, which is now Australia’s largest abandoned lunatic asylum-their words, not mine. At its height, Aradale consisted of 68 buildings and was home to over 2000 patients and staff, making it a self sufficient town. The building hosted more than ten thousand people described as “lunatics” and “imbeciles” during its 100+ years of existence. It was closed as an asylum in 1998, and has since been sold to the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE to establish a campus of the Australian College of Wine on the site. The building and its history draws tourists in search of the paranormal and a good scare, which is the reason I was in town.
The tour kicked off at 8pm, and the winter sky was already pitch black. Roughly thirty people arrived for this particular tour. A young man dressed in period clothing guided our group through a myriad of buildings. We paused at various locations along the way to hear stories about the history of the building, a particular room, and its residents. What a gruesome place this was! The entire tour took about two hours to complete, but it was well worth the trip and the adventure. I have met some loony tunes in my life, but I wouldn't send any of them to this place! Well, maybe a couple of them…
Up to now I have only explored the greater Melbourne area, and I have had a great time doing it. I realize that there are many more places to see and experience while in Australia, and I am committed to experience as many of them as possible while I am here. That said, I can’t forget that I am here to accomplish a job. Electronic Arts believed enough in me to spend tens of thousands of dollars to send me to Australia and complete a mission of sorts. I will complete that mission, and I will do everything that I can to ensure that its done completely and better than expected. To be honest, I am not sure if the decision makers at Electronic Arts will ever understand how much they have impacted my life for the better. It is really strange the way life works out. I know that I am rambling now, but writing this entry brings a recent conversation to memory. The conversation was with the bartender downstairs (shocker), and he was telling me how he worries about the future and what it holds for him.
The bartender's name is Marcus, and he is here from Brazil. Anyway, his story begins when he moved here from Brazil to attend university. Once in OZ, Marcus had to choose a field of study, find and keep a job, and now figure out a way to become a permanent resident of Australia. I listened to Marcus' story and then offered him a piece of unsolicited advice. My advice was, “Don’t worry too much about what the future will bring. Work hard and do your best at whatever it is that you are doing at that moment. Never stop learning, be it from structured education or just plain observation, and know that life will unfold and provide you with experiences that you never imagined possible. It is likely that you will not be where you thought you would be twenty years from now, but where you are twenty years from now is exactly where you should be. As long as you keep pressing forward without giving up or getting lazy, life will reward you. It may not be the reward you thought you wanted, but it will be the reward that you really wanted and needed.”
The bartender's name is Marcus, and he is here from Brazil. Anyway, his story begins when he moved here from Brazil to attend university. Once in OZ, Marcus had to choose a field of study, find and keep a job, and now figure out a way to become a permanent resident of Australia. I listened to Marcus' story and then offered him a piece of unsolicited advice. My advice was, “Don’t worry too much about what the future will bring. Work hard and do your best at whatever it is that you are doing at that moment. Never stop learning, be it from structured education or just plain observation, and know that life will unfold and provide you with experiences that you never imagined possible. It is likely that you will not be where you thought you would be twenty years from now, but where you are twenty years from now is exactly where you should be. As long as you keep pressing forward without giving up or getting lazy, life will reward you. It may not be the reward you thought you wanted, but it will be the reward that you really wanted and needed.”
I am not sure if my advice to Marcus was meant for him, or if it was really me just talking to myself. My life looks nothing like I thought it would twenty, or even ten years ago. That said, I wouldn't change a thing. As far as I am concerned, I am the luckiest man alive. I have the worlds best partner, a job that I truly love, a loving family, and incredible friends. Now that I think about it, I got exactly what I wanted!
Since it has been a while, HERE is a hodgepodge video of my last couple weeks in Australia. You’ll see a few clips of the Aradale Asylum in the video as well! Additional pics below…
God Bless….
PS-I love you Chris & Moomy!
your inner journey is delightful
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