rhon

Once the weather started to cool down, we started thinking about another trip in our camper. We are a mid sixties couple from Toowoomba and we travel in our soft floor camper trailer. We decided to head south through regional NSW and end up in Canberra for a few days with family. While not in a rush, we did need to be back to baby sit grandchildren in Brisbane. We came up with an itinerary, but rain, the delayed flooding in places as water moved down western rivers, some roads closed, the mice plague in some areas, more rain all influenced what we did. Over the years we have travelled through NSW to visit family and have been through or stayed in a lot of places, so this trip was to discover more.



At last, a few days after Easter we set out. After all the recent rain, the country was looking lovely. There was water in the creeks, rivers and dams, tall grass along the roads, and sorghum, corn, sunflowers and small crops. We travelled down through Leyburn, home of the Leyburn Sprints (for cars) and crossed the border at Texas.



Our first stop for two nights was the small town of WARIALDA. The caravan park is council run and you set up and the caretaker comes around late afternoon for the fees. Warialda is a pleasant small town with some nice old buildings such as the Court House, Council, an old department store with display windows with decorative glass, a hotel with lovely wrought iron verandah and, of course, an attractive bank. In the days to come, we were to see a lot of handsome buildings that were banks in more prosperous times. Dotted around the streets are black and white pencil cartoons on the sides of buildings. The cartoons are often related to the business eg the vet.



The next day we drove out to the Cranky Rock reserve. This was a nature reserve but government regulations were too difficult to comply with, so now it is a recreation reserve. There is a picnic area and a small caravan park, also council run. A short walk over a suspension bridge leads to the creek and a waterhole. It is quite impressive. A tumble of huge boulders, and I do mean huge, balance on top of each other and tower over the waterhole below. We then walked up to the viewing area to look down over the rocks to the creek. According to the information board, it is named after, and I quote, ‘ a cranky Chinaman ‘ who jumped to his death after murdering a local woman.



The nights were quite cool and after leaving Warialda we drove down through Bingara and Barraba, both places we have stayed in recent years. The country was lovely with hills on either side. A new addition on the edge of Barraba are the painted silos. There are three silos and each depict a water diviner at different stages of pursuing his craft. The warm dusty colours are perfect and I am full of admiration for these artists who create on this scale. Then down through Manilla which, for such a small town, has a wonderful array of buildings with ‘ iron lace ‘ on the verandahs.



The country flattened out after this as we headed for our next stop, GUNNEDAH. We liked Gunnedah. As a busy centre of agriculture and with its big wide streets, it reminded us a bit of Dalby where we lived in the nineties.



Dorothea Mackellar spent a lot of time here on her family’s property and she has a statue in her honour. She was a fine horse woman and is sitting side saddle on a horse which is bending down drinking. It is framed by a lovely gum tree. A little further up the hill is the painted water tower overlooking the town. It is now a museum and features two paintings taken from photos of the Vietnam war- one of the Long Tan memorial and the other of soldiers waiting for a helicopter. One of those soldiers is a local man. We then continued up to Porcupine lookout which gives great 360 degree views over the Liverpool and Breeza plains. The other lookout in town which has heritage sculptures was closed. Gunnedah also has a painted silo. It has a verse from “ My Country”, a young woman, and a country scene of wheat fields and horse drawn wagon loaded with wheat. It is painted in warm shades from cream through yellow, orange to dark brown. The main street is busy with shops and cafes and at one end has a statue of a miner. I had not realised there was much mining in this region.



Rather than one big day, we decided to have a short day to DUNEDOO which is on the busy Golden Highway. There is not a lot to Dunedoo which is a popular stop for truckies, but it also has a painted silo. This one has Winx and her trainer on one side and a waterhole with black swans on the other. It is painted in strong colours and well done, but it did not appeal as much as the previous ones.

rhon

The next day we drove down through Dubbo which was busy with some roadworks and the Newell highway was busy with lots of trucks and caravans heading north. We visited the Dish at Parkes a couple of years ago and continued on to FORBES. Forbes has some lovely old public buildings including the Post office, Town Hall, Court House and Police Station, and old bank buildings. There is also an attractive lake to walk around. Forbes is the starting point for Sculptures down the Lachlan which feature along the road to Condoblin. We had planned to go that way but weather changed our plans. Another time. We have seen the Utes in the Paddock at Condoblin. There are some sculptures in town, some more appealing than the others. On the outskirts of town at the wetlands is a magnificent statue of a goanna. It is made from pipes welded together and is huge, about 5m high and 15m long, and looks wonderful surrounded by the bush.



That afternoon we visited the Mc Feeter motor museum. This is a local man’s collection of over sixty cars and motor bikes from the early 20th century to more modern. The collection includes three Rolls, an ostentatious Japanese funeral car, beautifully restored vintage cars including some from France, and a little retro caravan. There are also some in original condition. They are well displayed and throughout the display are mannequins dressed in clothing reflecting the era of the cars. This really added to the appeal of the museum. He also has a small collection of children’s pedal cars and tractors. I am sure I recognised one similar to one we had as children. For someone who is not much interested in cars, I really enjoyed our visit.



We stayed three nights in Forbes and on the second day we went for a drive to GRENFELL. This was a lovely drive through beautiful Australian bush and farmland. Grenfell is the birth place of Henry Lawson and an old gold mining town. The main street is heritage listed and has some wonderful old shop facades, wrought iron railings, and two storey banks. The tops of a lot of the display windows have decorative tops- I hesitate to say stained glass. We stopped in at the art gallery which had an innovative and interesting exhibition of art and sculpture by an artist called Scott Carr. There was also a large, beautiful textile ‘quilt’ depicting the town and region made by local craft people using a variety of techniques. As a quilter I enjoyed hearing about it, but I could see P’s eyes glazing over!! So on to the painted silo. Once again it was painted in strong colours but we liked it more than Dunedoo. It is over three silos and shows sheep and cattle in canola fields with native birds flying above. We enjoyed our visit to Grenfell and may return for a longer stay.



Time to move on but only a short day again. We went back down almost to Grenfell before turning off. The country seemed drier here and we started seeing large paddocks where wheat is grown. There is none at the moment, just the stubble left behind, and this has been burnt in places. We passed through a little community, Quandialla, which is not marked on our map but has a hotel and a few houses. One house had a vast collection of signs- road signs, shop signs, product signs, old and new, all displayed on the fences and house. How do you acquire a Cheesecake Shop sign?!?



Our stop for one night was the 1920’s heritage village of ARIAH PARK. The campground was beside the footy field and we collected the key for the power box and amenities from the hotel. The hotel is a fine example of a beautiful Federation building, and inside is the most marvellous tiled floor and lovely staircase. In fact a drive around showed us lot of examples of Federation houses. The community is working to restore and maintain the old facades on the main street. There is very nice park lined with pepperina trees down the centre of the road. Ah, the smell of those leaves. At the end of the main street is a statue of The Wheat Lumper, a man with a bag of wheat on his shoulders. Apparently the bulk transport of wheat by train began here during WW1 because there were no fit, young men to ‘lump’ the bags of wheat. In the park are several walls with stencils of wool brands all over. There are hundreds. It certainly shows that Australia developed on the sheep’s back.

KayF

It's so nice to read about your travels. I love seeing the grand, graceful buildings built long ago. The enormous goanna statue sounds amazing, I'm going to add that to my 'to see' list. Please post more about your trip!

rhon

Our drive the next day took us through Narrandera which also has a painted water tower which we saw in passing. The country was still flat with large paddocks, but we also saw cattle, ewes and lots of lambs, a couple of dairy herds and some corrugated iron woolsheds.



Our next stop was FINLEY. Now Finley is not really a tourist destination, but it suited us as a base. We knew there was windy weather coming and we wanted to be set up before it started. The caravan park is beside the lake and we backed on to the lake, so a nice spot. The lake is fringed by reeds and willows and populated by lots of ducks and black swans. We walked around it in about half an hour and it is very popular with dog walkers. No painted silo/water tower here. Instead there are some attractive murals around town. We found the people very friendly. The postie saw us admiring the draught horse pulling a brewery wagon mural and told us about others. At the next one a lady told us about the others. Even the high school students walking around the lake greeted us. There are several nice parks in Finley. The memorial park is especially pleasant with a path lined with pine trees leading to the memorial, a memorial rose garden and a rotunda with a magnificent white gum. There is a good bakery and we bought some excellent lamb chops at the butchery.



In the afternoon we went up to JERILDEREE. Jeriilderee’s claim to fame is that Ned Kelly spent a weekend here after holding up the bank and post and telegraph office. He penned a letter, now known as the Jerilderee Letter, which he wanted published in the local paper. It was not published until years after he died. There is a heritage walk around town to see some Ned Kelly related sites. Jerideree also has a lake and park with a large windmill titled Silver Wings. That night was quite windy and not pleasant for a while.



It was very cold overnight but a much nicer day. We decided on a drive to a couple of nearby small towns. We had noticed that the hotels were different, often single storey and brick or rendered. However as we drove into TOCUMWAL, we saw the lovely Terminus hotel- two storeys with beautiful wrought iron and decorative balustrade. Opposite, the Info centre occupies what was the Terminus store with similar decorative top. A little further down is the old metal railway bridge which straddles the Murray. What a wonderful river is the Murray. We need to work to preserve it in all its glory. There are several ‘ beaches ‘ along the river here, and Tocumwal is a pretty little town. The giant Murray Cod sits beside the road and at this time, was framed by autumn toned trees. The IGA has large murals along the front featuring heritage country scenes. These little towns all have great bakeries which is not good news for my waistline. Just out of town are three WW2 aircraft hangars. Apparently, bomber pilots were trained at the aerodrome here during the war.



The next town was BAROOGA. Well, this is a golfer’s paradise with 36 hole course and golf resorts, and very popular it appeared to be as we drove in past the golf course. Barooga has attractive botanical gardens where several types of deciduous trees have been planted. At this time, autumn, the display was wonderful with the whole palette of autumn tones on show. I love the deep red wine of the ash trees. We do not get a lot of autumn colour at home, and we have been in France in autumn where the forests are glorious. But we were to see a lot of stunning colour in the days ahead. The park, maintained by volunteers, also has a water feature and a wooden sculpture of entwined native animals with human faces.



Over recent days we had been crossing quite a few irrigation channels. After we left Barooga we came to The Drop which is where the water from one channel flows down into another channel over a natural 7 metre drop. In doing so, when the water reaches a certain level, it automatically switches to flow through a small hydroelectric station thereby generating electricity. Quite ingenious.



Our next stop was in the town of BERRIGAN. Once again there are several heritage buildings along the main street- banks, the Post Office. As we passed some buildings there were bright mosaics on the walls. The attractive Federal hotel is long, on one level, rendered and painted cream and lovely salmon red. The colour reflected the colours of the trees alongside, and opposite is the equally appealing Soldiers memorial hall. It had been a very pleasant drive around these small towns. We have been really enjoying travelling through these small towns with their historic old buildings and more modern street art.



Next morning we went across to DENILIQUIN which is home to the Ute muster. We crossed a lot of irrigation channels and small paddocks of a crop. We did wonder if they were for rice as there is a rice mill in Deniliquin. We passed the Ute on a pole and parked near the info centre which is in the attractive old Public school building. Beside the centre is an ute sculpture from scrap metal and old parts. We saw a lot of scrap metal art, some very professional as this was. There was also a large sculpture of a half horse shoe which is part of a series of sculptures in several towns related to the Long Paddock. The centre of town is very tidy with wide footpaths and a park with water running through and some magnificent gum trees. A marble statue of the Three Muses dating from the 1800’s graces one end and at the entrance is an impressive war memorial. There is a pleasant walk past some billabongs which leads to the painted water tower. This one features two kookaburras and a campfire.

CounterClifton

Thank you for the report. The inland route sounds like a lovely and interesting alternative to the coastal route I figured to take to GC later this month. You have me thinking of trying some of this path as an alternative for the way back home or as a route to try when I go to Toowoomba next year.

rhon

It is always the case that you have to make a decision where to stay and where to leave for another time. Next morning we went back up through Jerilderee and turned off for URANA. There is a nice rest area and caravan park beside a billabong ( filed away for future consideration ), and instead of being painted, the water tower features a large spider sculpture on the side. Nearby is a large flock of sheep, two farmers and a horse all made from corrugated iron. On to BOREE CREEK where there is a scrap metal sculpture of a swagman and his dog Rusty. We saw an Australian story a couple of years ago which featured Tim Fischer returning by train to Boree Creek shortly before he died.There is a memorial park in his honour.



Our final destination was the small town of COOLAMON which we had not heard of until we began planning this trip. As we neared Coolamon we started seeing lots of grass blown up against the fences and piled in high stacks up into trees. Closer inspection showed this to be the fine tops of a grass that had come off and blown into these piles. It was not something we had seen before, but did see quite a bit in this region. The caravan park had great reviews which were certainly justified. It is a lovely park with the small supermarket next door and in walking distance to the main street of this charming small town. We settled in for four nights.



Next morning we headed into JUNEE. We passed through Junee several years ago and admired the old heritage buildings as we drove through. Our first stop was at the Junee Licorice and chocolate factory which is housed in the lovely old flour mill. In normal times you can do a tour of the factory, but we all know it is not normal at the moment. So we had to be satisfied with a stop at the shop for some treats for the grandchildren and licorice for us. Next we visited the Round House rail museum. The round house has 42 bays , half of which belong to the museum and the other half in private hands and still in use. There is a large collection of engines and carriages, some of which you can enter. These included a mail car where they actually sorted mail. It was very interesting and some carriages resembled the ones I used to travel in from boarding school in Rockhampton to Clermont in the sixties. Down town we admired the old hotels and the very gracious Railway precinct.



Coolamon itself is a lovely little place with an attractive main street of heritage buildings. One bank building is now a B&B. There are some interesting shops and an artisanal cheesemaker. They produce a large range of cheeses including two blues, several cheeses flavoured with native ingredients such as lemon myrtle, and a washed rind. We bought some washed rind which we love when we visit France. This was different – not as soft or pungent – but still very nice. Housed in the old fire station is a small museum of a local man’s extensive collection of fire fighting equipment etc. He has a collection of uniforms from around the world as well as a large collection of shiny fire helmets from all over the world. As well as old equipment such as leather buckets and hoses, there are lots of related bits and pieces. Little boys would love his extensive collection of toy fire engines. He showed us around and is very knowledgeable.



We woke the next morning to the strains of music from the Dawn service on the main street. It was a lovely sunny day so we set off for a drive around. Our first stop was the town of LOCKHART. On the way in you pass an area with a short walk which takes you past a series of sculptures, Pastoral Shadows of Brookong. These are again made from corrugated iron, metal and wood and depict pastoral scenes such as ploughing, sheep, horses, a wagon with passengers. Once in town we stopped at the painted water tower which is in the centre and beside a small park. It is painted with native birds and animals. Each year, Lockhart stages a Spirit of the Land festival and part of that is a sculpture competition. In the park beside the tower are some sculptures from previous years. There is a dog, horse, emu family and a cockatoo on a tree branch, all made of metal. They are wonderful creations highlighting the skills and ingenuity of the artists. The main street is wide and lined with old shops. On one corner is the most handsome dark brick bank building we had seen to date. Further down is a lagoon and more sculptures – pelicans, a group of kangaroos, a frog with a walking stick. It is an interesting little place.



We then moved on to THE ROCK, not really knowing what to expect. We had heard an emu farmer from The Rock on the radio a week or so earlier, and apparently the butcher sells emu steaks. Unfortunately, or not, as the case may be, he was closed. The country was very nice and we passed through a couple of very old communities, and the large hill after which the town is named. Our first view was of a pretty little church framed by pine trees and red autumn toned trees. It was lovely and just opposite was the war memorial laden with wreaths. The main street is again wide with a large park down the centre. There is a memorial avenue of, I think, bottle trees, and the centre piece of this park is an attractive Gallipoli panel comprised of rusted metal panels three deep to give the right effect of soldiers landing on a beach. It is surprising what you discover in these little places. It was an enjoyable morning out.



We had planned another drive next day, but it was a lovely day, and as we had been on the road for two weeks, we decided on a quiet day with a walk in town. A stop at the butcher for some rump steak for dinner and we were set. We really enjoyed our stay in Coolamon and may well return.



As we did not have far to our next destination, GUNDAGAI, rather than go the shortest route through Junee, we decided to take another way. This brought us to the edge of Wagga before turning off to take the back roads through Oura and Wantabadgery. Don’t you love some of these names? Once we left Wagga, the country changed from flat to small rolling hills – grassy with some trees and an occasional splash of autumn colour. There were sheep and glossy black Angus cattle, some grapevines and wineries. I had not realised there is a Gundagai wine region. We came into town past the Murrumbidgee river. It had been a lovely drive and were pleased we took the time to go that way.



After setting up and lunch we went up town. At the info centre you can see the marble masterpiece carved by a local man, Frank Rusconi. He trained in Europe, and spent 20 years working on this marble cathedral. He did it to showcase the marble of NSW and the variety of colours there are. The workmanship and precision is really quite amazing and it is breath taking. He also carved a replica of an altar from a church in France. Next to the centre are statues of Dad, Dave, Mum and Mabel because, of course, Gundagai is mentioned in the song. Nearby are statues of two Aboriginal heroes, Yarri and Jacky Jacky, who rescued people during the flood of 1852. The main street is very nice, all paved with light grey and charcoal pavers and rails of stainless steel. The courthouse is set high on a rise overlooking the street, and there is an old jail, historic hotels and a theatre.



Just out of town are some treasures in the form of two historic bridges. These are wooden road and rail bridges about 800 m long and falling into disrepair. The community is raising money to try to preserve them and open up access to six spans to make a viewing platform. It was a lovely scene with a hill behind and cattle grazing underneath. We then went up to where they begin to look along the wooden length. I hope they can preserve these irreplaceable parts of history.



The next day we drove down to TUMUT. We have not been there, and it was larger than we expected. The drive down was very scenic. Every now and then we came up over a rise for more lovely scenery and lots of autumn colour. Across from the info centre is a broom factory making traditional straw brooms. We stopped at Rotary park to see the Labrynth which is octagonal and based on the one in Reims France. We then drove out to Blowering dam on the Tumut river and part of the Snowy hydro electric scheme. The wall itself is huge and the view of the dam great from the top of the wall. Ken Warby set the world water speed record here in 1978 and it still stands. We stopped in at the Tumut River brewing company for lunch – a smoked trout pizza and one of the craft beers on tap. I am not a beer drinker but I did enjoy the pale ale and the pizza was fabulous. We will be trying that at home. We were sorry we did not have more time and will return and stay there to allow a visit to nearby Adelong and the area.

Next day we headed in to Canberra to stay with family for a few days. As everyone was at work and school, we took the scenic route. We made a quick stop at the Dog on the Tucker box outside Gundagai before turning off and stopping in COOTAMUNDRA. This is another attractive place, and we went for a walk down town and then stopped at the very nice Rotary Park. Here there is the Captains’ Walk which is a path lined with beautiful gum trees and the busts of every Australian cricket captain since the very beginning in Australia. Bradman’s birthplace is also here.

schnauzer

Talk about getting around!! What a fab trip.. I’d love to go to Tumut and back to Mt Beauty but I’ve missed the autumn boat.

rhon

Almost there.After a few days in Canberra which we have been visiting on and off since 1994 when our son moved there, we began the journey home. We knew there was rain coming so decided on a bigger day to get ahead. We stopped in NARROMINE the first night. We have been there before. This is Glenn Mc Grath’s home town and there is a statue in the park. The rain started around midnight and was still falling when we got up, so we booked in for another night. It is not fun packing up in the rain! It started clearing that afternoon. We had read about the mouse plague but had only had one in Dunedoo. In Narromine we had another inside which P managed to catch and dispose of, but packing up next morning, several ran out from under the floor, so we were lucky we had no more inside.



It was still overcast and there was a lot of water lying around the paddocks and sides of the road. The country was very lush and green. We passed two cotton gins and cotton growing, some of which had been harvested. This was the first time we had seen the cotton baled up in rounds and in plastic similar to how hay is baled. We had only seen the large pressed rectangles in other places. On arriving in COONAMBLE, we were able to choose our site which was good as it was very wet and some were not suitable at all. The next day was lovely and sunny. Coonamble is a small town. There were two serious fires over the years which damaged a lot of buildings in the main street, but there are still historic buildings. As you walk along the main street under the verandahs, looking up reveals what appears to be pressed metal or decorative plaster ceilings. Some TLC is needed. On the shop walls along the main street are caricatures of locals with their nicknames and humorous tales of how they acquired them. There are a lot of murals with aboriginal themes and painted in that style and they brighten up buildings in town. The water tower here is quite striking with a black background and galahs flying across with aboriginal art around the bottom. As we left next morning we passed a lovely little white painted wooden church and bell tower.



There was still a lot of water around next day as we drove towards Narrabri. The road was quite rough with lots of potholes. There were quite a few camped at the artesian baths at Pilliga. We called in there a couple of years ago, but the baths that day did not look especially clean . May have been an off day. As we neared Wee Waa we started seeing more cotton, this time pressed in the more familiar rectangles. Our last stop on the home leg was in MOREE for two nights.



We have been driving through Moree since 1994. The highway now bypasses the town but used to go through the main street. We were always in a hurry and never really paid much attention, but a walk down the main street revealed some wonderful old buildings. The architecture is an interesting mix of Art Deco and European influences. The Memorial Hall is impressive with columns and urns each side. The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney building is magnificent and is now the Moree Art Museum. Another attractive feature along the main street are the groups of columns supporting frames for ornamental grape vines which, because it is autumn, are deep red. These provide cover for seats and some tables and really add to the appeal of the street. There are also a couple of murals on the sides of buildings and several nice parks. There are lots of boutiques and interesting shops and adds to the impression of a prosperous agricultural centre.



All that was left was the drive from Moree to Toowoomba. The Gore highway from Goodiwindi to Toowoomba would have to be our least favourite road. It is rough with potholes, cracks, corrugations and lots of traffic. We were pleased to get home. It had been another great trip seeing new places and stopping in places we have only passed through before. We have enjoyed seeing some of our wonderful old country towns and it really is worth getting a little off the beaten track and stopping in them.



What to do next. We will think about that.



Happy travels.

marg

Hi Rhon,
Thanks for your great trip report. Like you, we decided to do a little jaunt around parts of Australia that either we hadn't visited or wanted to see again. Drove from Melbourne to Wangaratta and used that as a base to see around the area. We visited Myrtleford and Bright,. Then leisurely onto Holbrook and checked out the submarine. Had an overnight stop at Cootamundra. Wandered around Young and then Cowra and visited the Japanese gardens. Detoured to see the murals at Eugowra, then a couple of nights in Orange. Next stop Mudgee via Bathurst. Loved Mudgee, had lunch at a winery with fantastic views, visited Gulgong (the town on the $10 note). Headed south again via Lithgow for husband to see the Small Arms Museum, then time in the Blue Mountains before detouring around Sydney and home again down the Hume.

Now I'm ready to start planning the next trip.

rhon

We need a trip report Marg. We stayed on Canowindra in 2019 and Gulgong in 2017. We want to go down around Bright one day.

annhig

rhon - I had only the vaguest idea where you were [apart from in inland NSW] but my ears pricked up when I saw that you'd been to Glenn McGrath's home town and that he has a statue there! Brilliant. As a brit I will always be grateful to him for rolling his ankle over on that cricket ball just before the 2nd test in 2005 but he was a wonderful bowler and always comes over as a great guy. Terrific to see him being honoured like that.

rhon

Thank you for reading Annhig, especially as it is unfamiliar country for you. Narromine is very proud of their favourite son. A lot of towns have something such as a statue or a park honouring someone who has gone on to greater heights. He was a great bowler and still works hard for breast cancer which took the life of his first wife, Jane.

northie

You need to braoden your horizons,Ann -there"s more to Oz than cricket--LOL

rhon-I loved all the references to famous parts of Australia or rather the little things we dont know about .
So many famous things in the trip -The Dish, Dorothy Mc Kellar for a start.

annhig

<<You need to braoden your horizons,Ann -there"s more to Oz than cricket--LOL>>

i know that, Northie - on our one and only trip to Oz 5 ˝ years ago, out of our 3 weeks there we spent only 2 days at a cricket match. Not a bad %.

northie

well done