In Honour of Pioneer Women

In the Botanic Gardens this morning we came upon, once again, the hedged Women's Pioneer Garden. In a slight valley, surrounded by other trees and gardens, this garden was still in its morning dew. The protection of the hedge and the early morning, my friend said, created a still moment where the freshness of the dawn still lay. Breathing in the air was like a tonic, cool, light and befitting the character of "woman", that some men envy, cool in the shade. Dedicated as a shrine to women in 1934, this peaceful place has a blue tiled grotto, with a bronze statue of a woman in her natural beauty. Above her is a bronze lion's mouth, spouting water into the pool that surrounds her. She luxuriates among the ferns on her little island. Someone had placed a tea candle in her upreaching hand, no doubt for a dare, as she is in the middle of a rectangular pond, that comes into a circle around the grotto where she is sheltered. New flowers had been planted in preparation for Spring. The earth smelled good, and a bird came to have a morning bath in the four petal shaped white fountain. This is a solid place, paying tribute to the many women who faced the unknown in building a city, with respectable paths to walk and green lawns, old cypress pines and a sundial monument. The many women who applied their skills to charity, community, hospitality, struggles, and pushed for social change, had been recognized for their works. The early settlers had faced many hardships and had to make what they could out of the foreign land they had called home. It was interesting to note the woman was young in the bronze casting, ever-young, and I think this pays tribute to the spirit behind these works. A young spirit can do things, even in a body that feels old. Seeing the garden, caught in the morning dew, reminded me that time can stand still, and the moments can be caught, if we remain young enough at heart to experience them. (For my Mum who is currently becoming young again.)