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 Topic: The Outback, Then To Darwin. (Part 4)
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04/12/2019 at 4:45am
Location: Melbourne Australia
Outfit: Windsor Rapid Off Road Van + tents
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Hi everyone
Some morning shots as we pottered about our camp on the banks of the Old Police Station Waterhole in the Iytwelepenty/Davenport Range National Park.
A Pied Butcherbird thought soggy Nutri Grain wasn’t have bad.
On the opposite side of the waterhole were some ruins that we were keen to see, we did the walk early to beat the heat.
Early pastoralists made their way into this area in the late 1880s, conflict occurred pretty well straight away as they commandeered the waterholes for their cattle and tried to drive the local Aboriginals off their land. The Europeans numbers were small and so ultimately even though they inflicted many casualties (and atrocities) on the locals, sheer numbers against them meant they had to spend more time defending themselves from reprisals than tending their cattle and so in the early to mid 1890s they abandoned their so called runs.
These are the ruins of a police station that was built there in 1919, this was supposed to bring some sort of comfort to the few pastoralists that had started to come back into the area. Their numbers were so few and the era of conflict had settled down (the gun out powered the boomerang and spear) that the police station was abandoned once and for all in 1921.
We were both up early the next day as we intended to camp that night at Mataranka some 700 ks away plus we had 150 ks of dirt to negotiate to get back to the main highway. And what a stunning send off we were given.
Heading up the bitumen we stopped at Attack Creek, here you can see the old causeway and in the distance the main road crossing. So many power past this spot, not stopping at what is a very interesting and historical site.
It was here (at this now historical reserve) in 1860 that John MacDouall Stuart’s first attempt to cross the continent came to an end. When he arrived here his three man exploration party were running low on supplies, they all suffered from scurvy and their horses were in poor condition. Large numbers of hostile aboriginals blocked their path so he had no other option but to turn back.
This cairn and plaque remembers that event.
We stopped at Dunmarra for some fuel, there they had a couple of blank walls painted with some murals that captured the essence of the outback.
The Daly Waters Pub is quite unique and almost everyone that drives by stops to suss it out. It has been operating here from the 1880s but only licensed to do so from the 1930s!!
Across the road from the main pub is this, and a couple of interesting old cars that were parked outside.
We camped that night at the Mataranka Homestead Tourist Resort, we were taken by the murals painted on the side of one of their toilet blocks.
In the Mataranka region there are a number of Thermal Springs, the one at the resort is called the Rainbow Spring. During WW2 there were over a hundred Army units based around town, there was a hospital, ammunition dumps, abattoirs and a sawmill, all geared around keeping the war effort going.
It was during those war years that the army created the Thermal Pool area that we all enjoy today, to help keep the lads morale up as well as helping keep the “pong” down.
It’s not often you can say you had the whole pool complex to yourselves! usually it is packed, but we timed it well, (we only counted 5 other campers in the expansive camping grounds).
Just up from the main Pool the Rainbow Springs waters rise from a deep aquifer at the rate of 30.5 million litres per day and at a temperature of 34 degrees. It didn’t feel that hot to us as the air temperature was in the high 30s when we were there, still very nice though!!!
At Edith Falls (Nitmiluk National Park) their toilet block’s walls were adorned with aboriginal depictions of various native wildlife, here are just a few of the many that were there.
At the waterhole/plunge pool itself, there had been quite a transformation since I was last there roughly 6 years previous. During an exceptional wet season event, massive amounts of water had pummelled into the waterhole, gouging out even more sand, rocks and debris from deep underwater and depositing them in a pile near the far bank. This in a very short time had become vegetated creating an Island that previously had never been there.
The land you see in the middle is the new Island.
You are able to walk around it in the water which allows for some sensational swimming opportunities.
After a fabulous time we then drove into Darwin, most would have seen or been there before (Maybe not those in the UK) so I’ll not go over our time there in full depth, other than to show you some sights that may be new or for others may bring back memories.
I have a thing for historic buildings (old stuff) so here’s just a few we visited again.
The old Courthouse and Police Station.
The building at night.
Browns Mart was the first privately owned commercial building in Darwin to be constructed from local stone. Built in 1885 it was purchased by Victor Brown two years later and to this day it still carries his name, it is now used as a theatre by the Darwin Theatre Group.
Day and night.
This was my sixth visit to Darwin and although some things stay the same others such as the skyline are always changing. This Boab has been a centre piece to the CBD for a long time, the info panel near it shows how the buildings around it have changed considerably.
When we arrived in Darwin we noticed a lot of street art or murals around town that were new to us. At the time we didn’t realise how new, for only weeks before our arrival they had held their 2018 Outdoor Street Art Festival. This helps bring some vibrancy (and additional tourist traffic into the CBD) by painting murals on otherwise bland walls and buildings.
Here are just a few of the many we saw.
That last one had a modern Aboriginal flavour to it, and then along another side street we saw this.
Nine or ten stories high it really was an imposing figure, a few streets from that we were lucky to see this one. The fairly recently deceased famed Aboriginal singer song writer, Gurumul.
It was a real pity that crane was there, it was the weekend and they were taking advantage of an empty car park to do some lifting to a nearby building, still it was good to see.
And then these, we had no idea who the next painting was of probably some ladies who are famous or well known to a younger audience but to us old dudes?? The next one I knew but I guess the younger generation would be clueless to his identity, John MacDouall Stuart.
We have always liked the symbolism of Darwin’s Christ Church Anglican Cathedral. In 1900 the Diocese of Carpentaria came into existence, it included the Northern Territory, Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands it was the largest Anglican Diocese in the world at the time. In 1901 it was decided to build a church in Darwin and that was completed the following year. (No mucking about with permits etc way back then!!)
Additions were made in 1917 and all was sweet until the Japanese bombing in 1942, luckily the Church only suffered superficial damage (windows blown out, some shrapnel damage to the roof and walls)
Mother nature was to inflict far greater damage in 1974 when Cyclone Tracy all but destroyed the whole building, only part of the front wall and portico survived.
To symbolise the rebirth and resilient nature of the church, the section that withstood that almighty storm was incorporated into the new buildings structure/design.
Sunset on the evening of Jen and my arrival in Darwin.
Our daughter Kristie flew into Darwin at 12.30 am Saturday morning after flying from Melbourne after her teaching term had ended, she was to spend the next two weeks with us.
Saturday night Jen had booked a cruise on the harbour which included dinner and drinks. I expected it to be on a relaxing yacht similar to what we had previously been on but no!!! This time we were on a powerful jet boat, Whoo Hoo!!!!!! It did slow down to enable us to take a few pics and for us to consume our Barra and Chips and not to spill my coke and the girls wines!!!
That last pic was of the Naval Harbour any closer we were told, and we may have been in the poop! Our means of transport that night and then a night shot of the Convention Centre just outside our hotel.
Sunday night was spent at the Mindil Beach Market, their final one for 2018.
Just a couple of days in Darwin and that’s where this one ends, next morning we left on the next stage of our trip.
Regards, 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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via mobile 09/12/2019 at 4:29pm
