Qantas 747 Farewell Anniversary

Taken: 17 July 2020.

Canberra, Australia.

Notes: It snowed in Canberra today, but this time last year VH-OEJ sailed into YSCB on clear wintery skies. As the last remaining Boeing 747 in the Qantas fleet, Wunala, a 747-438ER, made its first revenue service in 2003. She was the 57th and last Boeing 747 delivered to Qantas.

The first 747 passenger flight was on January 22, 1970. Qantas first operated a Boeing 747-238B (VH-EBA, City of Canberra) in 1971. The aircraft revolutionised air travel - it had the capacity to carry more than double the number of passengers of previous passenger aircraft, bringing the price of travel down significantly. But with the arrival of newer, more-fuel efficient aircraft, Qantas phased the Queen of the Skies out with a final passenger trip from Canberra airport to the Snowy Mountains and back to Canberra with a pass over Lake Burley Griffin.

On board, the force of four General Electric GE CF6-80C2B5 engines pressed our backs against the seats. In the air, we watched the Snowy Mountains unfold under the heft of the left wing. We banked steeply for a clear view of Mt Kosciuszko. The earth peaked and flattened in impossible folds of detail and obscurity. Houses began to dot back into view and we tracked back across Canberra. Returning to land we were met with a water canon salute. Staff hugged each other tearfully, bidding Wunala farewell.

By the time it arrived at the Mojave boneyard, VH-OEJ had flown 77,441 hours with 7,145 cycles[1]. She rests with her sister ships, her exact fate still uncertain.

[1] Aussieairliners.org

Abandoned - Urbexing Jungle Park

Just over 50 years ago, a 12,000-meter square botanical park was opened towards the southern point of Izu Peninsula, west of Tokyo, Japan. Constructed in a chain of enormous greenhouses, Jungle Park housed thousands of species of local and introduced tropical plants. The theme park was an early success, though visitor numbers declined as the complex aged. The park eventually shuttered its doors 2003.

By 2016, the abandoned architecture was dense with wild plant life. Tendrils of flowering fuchsia, jasmine, lantana and bougainvillea laced through the tangled skeletons of expired shrubs, vines and trees. With little damage to the integrity of most of the greenhouses (some roofing had collapsed in areas), only the species most acclimated to the dense biome flourished in verdant waves of unchecked growth.

The sparse cages of since relocated monkeys and birds stood unused and unglamorous, the sunken remains of a meercat enclosure, once a main attraction, served as a dump for surplus plant pots. Specimen jars, pens, paperwork, stationary and other paraphernalia rested where they had been laid down years ago. Maps marking out the key features of the site kept vigil as quiet sentinels, navigating urbexers through the remains of displays, souvenir shops and cafes. Plant tags pointed to beds overtaken by roaming specimens. An elephant-shaped topiary raised its trunk high in defiance as it slowly disintegrated - probably succumbing in full with the site's demolition around 2018.

Looking at a recent satellite image of the Izu Peninsula, the demolished Jungle Park site (now a carpark and small visitor centre) is severe in contrast to the concentrated greenery of the former overgrown grounds. But having witnessed the scale of organic repossession in the urban landscape of the amusement park, I feel comforted by the fact that in our absence, nature adapts and thrives.

How to Naturally Dye Fabric With Instant Coffee

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Coffee is rich with layers of legend and history. Some anthropologists speculate that early Stone Age men may have chewed on the seeds, roots, bark and leaves of caffeine-yielding plants discovered in paleolithic times. An origin story sees a civet cat bearing the undigested seeds of the wild coffee plant from Africa to the Ethiopian mountains where the plant was cultivated and brought to Arabia by merchants. Another story concerns Kaldi, a 9th-century Ethiopian goatherd who was said to have discovered coffee when he noticed how perky his goats became after eating the beans from a coffee plant. Today, coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. But like many consumables, coffee has artistic properties too. Italian poet Gabriele d’Annunzio was known to try ageing the appearance of his garden statues with coffee and tea. Coffee has also featured in plenty of artworks by artists from Edgar Degas to Andy Warhol. But spill a mug of coffee on yourself and you'll quickly realise its potency to stain - which makes it a great natural dye for textiles too.

Natural dyeing involves working with dyes derived from naturally occuring sources. Nuts, roots, leaves (I wrote about Eco dyeing with eucalyptus leaves here), fungi and other organic materials can be used to infuse textiles with raw colour. As a coffee drinker, perhaps one of the most accessible dyes I've encountered is instant coffee. Coffee contains tannin, a chemical that can be found in a vast range of plant species. It's a protective chemical which discourages predation and produces the distinctive astringent flavours found in chocolate, tea and wine - all of which can inflict considerable stains to textile materials.

The tannins in coffee impart a rich, warm brown hue to fabric. I've been dyeing with coffee for a while, especially while working on my Sleep series. It's easy, cheap and non-toxic with no compulsory mordanting involved (although you can mordant if desired to maintain the colour of the coffee dye more effectively).

• 2 medium mixing bowls

• 1-3 heaped tablespoons of instant coffee (the more coffee, the darker the result)

• A kettle

• 2 cups of boiling water

• Fabric (for this recipe I'm using two pieces of a plain white cotton sheet that add up to be about 45 x 19 cm. You can use a larger amount of fabric, but the ingredient ratios may need to be tweaked to compensate).

• A stirring spoon

• 1 part vinegar mixed with four parts cold water (for fixative)

Keep in mind that in terms of fabric selection, some textiles hold colour more readily than others. I prefer a gentle light brown tone, so I'm happy using cotton sheet. Other fabrics like linen, bamboo or rayon will behave differently when coffee-dyed.

If dyeing with pre-used materials, it can be a good idea to launder the fabric before starting the dyeing process.

Coffee-dye on its own isn't colourfast, meaning it can fade in direct sunlight and after each successive wash. Avoiding exposing a coffee-dyed fabric to the sun for long periods and limiting washing will help maintain the life of the coffee-dye. Mordanting will also help.

Different coffee brands may produce different results. For my dye work I've been using Nescafe Blend 43 but if you aren't sure about the exact properties of the brand, make a few small test pieces first.

1. Put 2 cups of water in the kettle and put on to boil.

2. In a large bowl or container, soak the selected fabric in cold water for a minute

3. After a minute, drain the cold water, leaving the fabric in the bowl or container

4. Spoon 1-3 tablespoons of coffee onto the material and pour the 2 cups of boiling water on top

5. Use a spoon to sir the mixture until the coffee granules dissolve (alternatively, to create a more mottled coffee-dyed aesthetic, scatter raw coffee granules over the damp fabric and leave until the dye develops splotchy patterns.

6. Allow the mixture to stand, stirring every so often. The longer the fabric is left in the coffee mixture, the darker it will get. For a light effect, the fabric only needs to be submerged for a few minutes. For a darker result, leave the fabric to soak anywhere from an hour to overnight

1. Once the fabric has absorbed enough of the coffee colouring, lift the material out of the coffee mixture and rinse it lightly under cold running water for a few seconds and wring out.

2. To help set the coffee dye, fill a fresh bowl with a ratio of 1 part vinegar to four parts cold water.

3. Submerge the fabric in the mix of water and vinegar for 1-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, rinse the fabric under cold running water until the water runs clear.

4. Finally, hang the fabric out to dry. Be mindful that the colour of the fabric can lighten a little as it dries.

Fabric left in the coffee dyebath for about 3 minutes. The mottle is made by leaving coffee grounds to soak into the fabric unmixed

Fabric left in the coffee dyebath for approximately 10 minutes

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