Quirky Towns

When we were in Port Arthur, we began to pick up the idea that some towns are a bit quirkier than others. Then on Monday, when we went to Cradle Mountain, we were introduced to several others, and in order to remember them, I am writing about them. Near Port Arthur, we drove through Doo Town, where Eric Round, a Hobart architect, started a trend by naming his home a name Doo I. Then came Doo Me, Doo Us, Dr. Doolittle, In Doo Time, Make Doo, Dooing Nothing, How do you Doo? . . . you get the idea. I think if we lived there, we would have to name our house Doo Dah!

Then we went to Sheffield, the city of murals where they have a competition for muralists. They also have murals on many buildings, some which were stunning. One of the best, I thought, was this one, where, from far away, it truly looks three-dimensional.

Doesn't it look like you could walk right through that door? The one next to the above one is this one of a woman in car driving out of town to Cradle Mountain.

Each year a competition is held for murals on approximately 8' x 16' panels. Every year the theme changes, and at the end of the year, the winner is chosen to remain in the permanent exhibit and the others are sold. There are at least 20 years of murals in the park + the ones for this year and a few extras. Below are a few of my favorites from the competitions:

The symbolism of the current man who is who he is because of the men before him really grabbed me.

I so envy those with artistic talent, and these are just a few examples of a talent I really do not have. Finally, Railton is the town of topiary trees. Many of them had not been shaped in awhile, but we saw some really fun ones. A town of topiaries is just pretty cool!

Apparently there are many other quirky towns like these, but we did not visit them. It would be fun to return, however, and find them!