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Hi all,
After the previous evenings excitement (freak storm) my first task this morning was to secure our awning and arms so we could continue our trip. By drilling some holes through what remained of the busted awning brackets I was able to wire every thing roughly in position and all was honky dory (well sort of). The worst damaged arm was in bits and I was confused as how it all went back together, it eventually dawned on me that part of the arm was missing, I found it 10 metres away on the far side of the van!!
Our first stop was at the lovely town of Coolamon. The New Coolamon Hotel, the Railway Station and Post Office were all opened in 1881.
This building became one of the hi-lights of our trip.
As we walked past, I opened the door to take a squiz inside and “Wow”, talk about being taken back in time. I called the girls back and for nearly the next hour we had the best time browsing through this incredible building. When you first enter this is what you see.
What I found to be of particular interest was what is called the Lamson Cash Railway System. It is the World’s only known Ball-Style Cash Railway System that is still in its original location (and operational) and is a significant piece of retail history. It was installed in the Coolamon Up-to-Date Store shortly after it was built in 1909.
The rails were made of hardwood and lined with narrow strips of leather to make the system quieter. The balls were originally made of boxwood cut and shaped from one block.
The cash/paperwork/reciepts were put in the hollow wooden balls and then conveyed along a pair of inclined tracks. The top track slopes down from the sales point to a cashier in a locked and secure room, the bottom track slopes the other way returning it to the point of sale.
We were given a personal spiel and demonstration on how it worked, and was told that at this store there were three different sized balls, the cashier could tell by the slight size differences, from which part of the store each ball came.
As you walked further into the building through a number of openings, different displays would greet you. Now you would think that this first one would be just for the ladies but I could appreciate the work and skill that went into it, It was called the Mavis Furner Collection.
It had over 200 crochet garments, accessories and photographs that showed the life and experiences of Mavis and her work in the community of Coolamon. There were many drawers full of her work and a number of open visual displays.
There were all sorts of farming/rural bits and pieces to remind us of the history and story of how things have changed over the years.
This buggy was unique.
Read a bit of the spiel on this magnificent wagon, the workmanship that went into it is absolutely amazing.
All of the carriages and farming memorabilia were part of what is known as the Garth Jones Collection.
There was so much more I could have shown you from the building, but we have to move on.
We stopped at Barellan to see a tennis racquet, not just any racquet but a very special one.
Their hotel had a bit of character about it as well.
Evonne Goolagong-Cawley MBE AO (a Wirajuri woman) was born in Griffith, however she was raised and spent most of her early life in Barellan. It was here that her interest in tennis was noticed and then nurtured. One of 8 children, the local community supported her endeavours physically and financially, at a time when Aboriginal people faced widespread discrimination throughout Australia.
The Racquet is an exact replica of her favourite Dunlop one that she used for many years, although this was slightly larger than the original Ha!!
It was the biggest one any of us had ever seen!! at 13.8 metres it is in fact the biggest one in the world. Evonne won 7 grand slams, (3 without losing a set) she was an absolute great, both on and off the court.
We now headed north to Weethalle, this is a destination that many now head for, I liked their RSL and memorial garden.
I liked their Royal Hotel (corner pub).
I also liked their Railway Station.
I liked what was once the towns bank, now museum.
I even liked what they used for a seat in front of the museum.
Now all that was pretty special and I’d reckon you’ve already put this place on your must visit list, but the real thing I liked about this place, was their Silo!!
Completed in June 2017, it was the first silo to be painted in NSW.
Our next stop was at Ungarie, when I started to plan this trip Ungarie was the reason we took the route we did, it was the reason we were touring this part of the state. There are a few different things to see there, the main one for us on this trip I’ll show you last.
There are some murals in town, and as they have been a bit of a feature during this trip so far I thought I would show you these!
They are a bit faded and certainly seen better days, but they were painted nearly 20 years ago. Along the main street there are a number of unique buildings and even an old truck to see.
There is also a lovely park featuring the second biggest football I have ever seen!! at 800 kilos it was certainly the heaviest.
Now for our northern friends you may think thats a funny type of football and who in the hell are the Danihers. Well let me tell you that they are one of the more famous football families to ever grace our (Australia’s) great game. No matter what sport you follow, to have four brothers from the same family reach the pinnacle in their chosen sport/field, is certainly quite an achievement, especially when they come from such a place as Ungarie.
They also played for one of the greatest teams as well, the mighty, magnificent, sensational fantastic Essendon Football club!
Another thing that takes their endeavours to the next level is that for a very short time they all played together which is quite unique.
Although Neale played the least amount of games it could be argued that he may have been the best. At the age of 22 he was made captain but sadly injury cut his career short at an early age, he did however go on to coach at the highest level.
He is now having the fight of his life, having being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
Neale has inspired so many through his efforts to raise awareness of this rare and debilitating disease, raising funds (so far he has raised over $30 million, nearly $12 million this year alone) to help find a cure for others, truly an Aussie great.
Well all that I have shown you from Ungarie is pretty spiff you would have to say, but none of it was why we came to it this time.
Simon White is a wonderful artist from Loch Sport here in Vic, he has painted a number of murals around the state which now has his name being compared to the best the country has produced. Last year he was commissioned to paint some murals at the towns War Memorial Park, to show the work and sacrifices that have been and continue to be paid by our men and women of our services.
This is some of what he painted this year, completing the work just prior to Anzac day, nothing more needs to be said other that they are brilliant and were quite moving.
And these are just a few pics from a continuos mural along both sides of the Memorial Park.
It was Simon’s longest and he said, "the most important mural I have ever painted" It covers conflicts from the Boer War right through to today’s conflicts. It is over 60 metres long and has roughly 50 different types of images, it is really something very special.
We called stumps on the banks of the Lachlan River, a chilly night was forecast but we knew how to combat that.
And that was the end of day two, as well as this report.
More soon,
Col, Jen and Kristie.
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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 2)
