Esperance pt IV (Esperance Stonehenge)

[moonvoice]

So here's some information about the Esperance Stonehenge:

* It is a full-size replica of the original Stonehenge in the UK, as it would have looked around 1950 BC

* 137 stones of Esperance pink granite quarried adjacent to the Beale's property have been used.

* The 10 Trilithon Stones in a horseshoe pattern weigh between 38-50 tonnes each, standing with the 19 tonne lintels to a height of 8 metres. Inside the Trilithon horseshoe stand another horseshoe of 19 Blue Stones. The Trilithon Stones are surrounded by a circle of 30 Sarsen stones weighing 28 tonnes each and standing almost 5 metres heigh, including 7 tonne lintels on top.

* The Altar Stone weighs 9 tonnes and lies in front of the tallest Trilithon stones.

* The structure is aligned with the Summer Solstice sunrise (Esperance, WA). The Station Stones are positioned on this line to allow the sun rays to pass through to the Altar. The sunset on the Winter Solstice is at the same line as the Summer Solstice Sunrise. It is built upon a ley line.







It amused me, when I posted about this on Facebook, the first thing my Grandmother did was slam it. Like, simply because it was a copy of something else. No, she's never been there, or experienced the energy of the place, she was just like 'nothing beats the original this is a gimmick.' And it's like. Okay... well, they're not trying to beat the original, Australia does love a good gimmick (giant banana, anyone?), but also, I sort of want to laugh at spiritual folk who think that the only good spiritual material has to be Old As Balls (TM). Like...no? I mean maybe for *some* - but to project that attitude onto all? Seriously.





























I quite liked it. The owners were lovely, down to earth and informative. Not only about this project, but about the region, and about a great deal more. We must have talked to the woman there for about thirty or forty minutes, just getting a whole lot of information on Esperance, the granite quarry, the Solstice rituals, etc. We had the whole place to ourselves, and standing within the Stonehenge itself muffled the wind and sound from outside, which was wonderful, since it was blowing a gale that day.

We ended up spending far longer here than we'd intended to. And I'm glad we did.

Comments

[alias_sqbr]

I'd never heard of it! How interesting!

[bunny_m]

Likewise, I had no idea this existed until moonvoice mentioned it on FB.

the first thing my Grandmother did was slam it. Like, simply because it was a copy of something else.

That's a shame. I admit my first thought on hearing of this was "Why would someone go to all that trouble and expense?", but my second thought was "Cool!"

It is built upon a ley line.

And now I'm curious as to how you find where ley lines are. (I should probably Google that.)

[elinox]

The fact that it was built with such meticulous care and attention to detail is amazing! It's beautiful!

[moonvoice]

Yeah, it hasn't been around for *too* long (maybe three or four years?), but not only that, it's just not marketed particularly well I think. It wasn't until I specifically looked up 'things to do in Esperance' that I'd even heard of it.

It was initially meant to be in Margaret River - and I'm sure if it was there, it'd be a lot more popular!

[moonvoice]

I love that so much care went into it. The first guy who started it said he 'wanted to make his mark on the world' (which is kind of awesome), but he ran out of funding (the granite blocks are very expensive), and so he sold the farm and some retiree cattle ranchers picked it up. And then they finished it. And now they want to move because you know - the Stonehenge has become a full-time job and they wanted to retire in the first place, lol.

[moonvoice]

That's a shame. I admit my first thought on hearing of this was "Why would someone go to all that trouble and expense?", but my second thought was "Cool!"

Pretty sure the dude who started it was a millionaire eccentric who - and I'm quoting the woman I talked to - wanted to 'leave his mark on the world.' And it's like well...a replica stonehenge is one way of doing that!

But the farmers who bought the property after him finished the project (he ran out of money, and it sat unfinished for a while) and took a lot more care with it, from what I understand the guy who owns the ranch is meticulous with stone placement etc.

[silverjackal]

This is spectacular! I love that someone took the time to do this with such care. Depending on record keeping efficiency it might also baffle archaeologists in the future! :D

I know your Grandmother's reaction is hurtful because you were sharing something wonderful and she completely discounted it, but her attitude is also very amusing. Does she grasp how many remarkable things are in fact copies of something else? Art, music, literature, architecture, spirituality, and convergent evolution -- there is nothing entirely new or original under the sun. I like to appreciate things for themselves, even while I credit that they might not be the first or best of their kind.

[leecetheartist]

When we were on Woody Island in 2012, a couple of very old ladies - sisters - who were driving around the Great Southern, got talking to us.

The younger sister, 80 or so asked us "Have you seen our Stonehenge?"

We said we intended to, once we got back to the mainland.

"You really must" she said, and laying a confiding hand on my arm "I don't hold with all that stuff, but there's quite a definite *vibe* about the place."

And there is!

I've been annoying people who are dismissive of our one by saying "Yes, but our one's not broken. And you can touch it."

[sidheblessed]

I had no idea this place existed, now I desperately want to go! It looks amazing.

[autumnalmonk]

This is absolutely awesome! Thank you for sharing it. I've never even heard of it and now I can't imagine visiting the region without seeing it.

[moonvoice]

Lol, my rejoinder to my grandmother was along those lines - that it would be a shame if people weren't allowed to create anything new and spiritual (knowing very well that she herself was involved in the making of a new stone circle and goes on and on about how profound and sacred it is), and that the only things with a right to sacredness is anything old (and frankly degraded - I would LOVE to see stonehenge, but it's not like you can walk around and touch the stones, or not be surrounded by hundreds of people - which I imagine doesn't detract from the experience for many people, just that I think there are pros and cons to...it now being such a commercialised tourist attraction).

[moonvoice]

"You really must" she said, and laying a confiding hand on my arm "I don't hold with all that stuff, but there's quite a definite *vibe* about the place."

That's adorable. Also seems to be the attitude of the owners, who aren't particularly spiritual, but over time have just kind of gone 'it's just got a nice *feeling* to it' hehehe.

And yes, you can touch it, and no lines!

[moonvoice]

It's very cool! And so randomly in the middle of nowhere!

[moonvoice]

Eeeee yes, hopefully it gets a bit more popular over time. Right now it's the 'I've never heard of it' state, even for a lot of Western Australians.

[silverjackal]

You can actually get a "Special Access Visit" to Stonehenge which will allow you to go in amongst the stones and touch them. These are limited to something like 25 people at a time, and are outside the regular opening hours (early morning and late evening). It's on my list for some time in the not so distant future...