Then I remembered the painted window that says Service, Quality, Civility. I had photographed my girl friend Margaret in front of it and had that image as well, so I/she/we must have been there. The visit was part of a survey we made to Rutherglen and All Saints winery as part of (again) artist friend Michael Morgan's scheme. He arranged an advance to produce a book of his illustrations and my photographs of Victorian wineries and wine makers. I don't think they ever saw these images or any illustrations. I'll put some of those online as well because they're of historic interest now.

I doubt I would have considered the historic significance of the river town of Corowa at the time, of it's part in the planning of the Federation or how important it was as a State border Murray River crossing. The grander buildings suggest that past, but what I've photographed here had the feeling of an immaculately art directed film set, for a film that was much weirder. The pollarded trees, the 'aged' signage and the period cars must be props, surely. Or am I really that old?

I've dated this as Winter 1969 from a couple of images, that shop sign has 1969 scrawled roughly on it (a New Years Eve prank?), and the film posters on the Rex theatre are for the 1968 released Monkees movie Head. (The second feature is Jerry Lewis in 'The Big Mouth').   That cinema was significant in Mike Walsh's early childhood and he named one of his Mosman Sydney theatres after it (The Orpheum was my neighbour hood cinema when we lived in Sydney in 1994.)

Is Hopkins Cafe still there? The plumber? The bicycle in the rain? Added January 2006
 

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