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Hi all,
We had camped the previous two nights on the Lachlan River near the Kidman Way.
On the road again, our first stop was at the site of the Willanthrey Hotel which was established in 1862 on the local Cobb and Co route.
All that stands there today is this old shed, part of the original complex. Pretty sure not a lot would be original (a little bit like your grandfathers original axe, the handle replaced 3 or 4 times and the head only twice?)
Another interesting letter box we came across on our way to Hillston.
John Oxley the first explorer to make his way into this area in 1817 wrote in his journal: "country uninhabitable and useless for all purposes of civilised man” (that turned out to be not quite right!)
The first person to make their way out there to take up land was William Hovell of Hume and Hovell fame, he did that in 1839
The town of Hillston was founded in 1862, it isn’t big (pop around 1500) but it is a lovely town with a number of things to see.
It had some murals which had been a bit of a theme on this trip.
It even had painted Emus which not many other towns can boast of having.
The detail of birds and other wildlife painted on them was so well done.
Just behind them was this swing bridge over the Lachlan River.
Our next destination was one that I had been to on a number of occasions but a first for the girls,
Willandra National Park. It was proclaimed in 1972 but the European history of the area goes way back to the 1870s when the then owners started an extensive programme of fencing and constructing buildings, dams etc creating Willandra Station.
It was huge spanning from near Hillston and stretching all the way to Mossgiel, roughly 100ks it had an area of 1,550 sq ks or 155,500 hectares. It became known as Big Willandra Station a renowned sheep property with the quality of it’s Merino wool winning many awards. At one stage they had well over 100,000 sheep, in 1931 their books state that 97,000 sheep were shawn.
The original shed had 83 stands, sadly it burnt down and was replaced with the 12 stand one you see today’
A few hundred metres from the shearing shed is the shearers quarters, kitchen etc.
The shearers quarters.
They had it pretty tough, the property was a long way from anywhere but Willandra was one of the better stations for what they provided their workers. Their rooms may look a bit spartan compared to todays standards, but they did have a bed and bench of sorts!!
Adjacent to the mens quarters was the kitchen and mess room.
The meat house and the head cooks private cottage.
No place for modesty when it was shower time.
The head shearers quarters (overseer) and outhouse, even though it rewarded his status it created a bit of angst amongst the men as it created a us and them feeling which occasionally boiled over creating serious issues for management.
The station developed a breeding programme that was way ahead of it’s time, one of the reasons for the success of the wool they produced.
They built a shed that housed the best Rams, they then would service the best Ewes in a set up that at the time was unheard of.
The 26-room weatherboard homestead was built in 1918, it replaced a ramshackle building that had fallen into disrepair and didn’t reflect the new prosperity of the station.
It was built in a U-shape around a central courtyard.
The whole building is furnished with period furniture and decor that just adds to the experience as you stroll from room to room.
Right beside the main building was the stations school room.
I think Kristie was pleased she was born in current times seeing the size of the “school” and it’s isolation.
On the side of a nearby building there was an interesting piece of art!!
From there we headed south; along the way we spied some trees so that was our lunch spot. After that we entered the Hay Plains, one of the flattest regions on earth.
Late that day we pulled up at the Sandy Point Reserve on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River at Hay. Clear skies with not a breath of wind created these scenes which we were lucky to witness before we settled in for the evening.
Another very cold night but once again we were all pretty toasty!!
Our trips last report coming soon.
Col & Jen.
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The worst day above ground, is a whole lot better than the best one under it. Live life to the fullest while you can.
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Topic: My Latest Trip (Part 4)
