Balranald- - Another River Town

Yes I know!   Another river town.    This time on the Murrumbidgee River, which flows through the Hay Plain.   According to my map the Lachlan River (our last stop) does flow into this river, but there are marshes involved as well.

Lots of water around here, with the Yanga National Park close by (wetlands), the Murray River not far away, and three rivers that flow into the Murray River, namely the Murrumbidgee, Edward and Wakool Rivers.

Water abounds, unless of course there is a drought and then everything dries up.    In December, 1982 we drove across the Hay Plains, on a very hot day, during a drought, and there was nothing but dust billowing around.   It was not a hospitable area.

It is difficult to reconcile that memory with the lush green countryside that we drove through from Hay to Balranald.    Flat ground.    But green and prosperous.    Plus plenty of cotton farms, and I suspect rice farms as well.    All feeding off the Murrumbidgee.   

There has been plenty of money spent in both Hay and Balranald, with both places trying to attract holiday makers.    And it is lovely to see run down outback towns being made into successful tourist spots.    We are definitely coming back this way again.    

Lovely reflections on the Murrumbidgee River, early this morning.    

This afternoon I took Piper across the river on the swing bridge, which neither of us enjoyed, but once there we had a lovely walk along the banks of the river.   

There must have been a fire here at some point as there were many old blackened trees.   The hollow tree in the photograph below was definitely dead.

A copse of lovely young trees.

The circular walk meant coming back along the main road, on a separate section of the bridge.    Every time one of those huge road trains went by, the bridge shuddered.    Not only Piper was scared!   I also

trembled somewhat.

                                                         

The entrance to the caravan park.    The framework for the old drawbridge, that once spanned the river.

The town is frog country, with frog sculptures everywhere.    The Growling Grass Frog lives in the wetlands but sadly they are rapidly being depleted in numbers.     Hopefully all the sculptures and frog ornaments in shops help raise awareness of their plight.

In the caravan park there are frog pictures on the ablution blocks.    I mixed the frogs up and used the men's toilet block (no urinals to warn me), luckily I did not encounter any men!     The lady frog had bright red lips, so not sure how I got that one wrong!

There is a new Visitor Centre, with historical display buildings, plus a cafe.    Very smart, and popular.

Apparently the local indigenous group donates money towards tourism in the town, as it used to rely on the pastoral income.    Much of the land around is now used for national parks or for indigenous use.   

Sheep sculptures!    On their way into the shearing shed.

The museum focuses on pastoral offices.

So many records!

The old school room, which used to be on a local property.    Very basic.

We have kept the maps and brochures as the whole area, ie Hillston, Hay, Balranald, Griffith, and towns further south, are part of the Riverina.   It must be the western Riverina  as we visited the eastern Riverina last year.   Hopefully they do not get a drought before we return, and the people here hope so too.

A few years ago we visited the edge of Mungo National Park, which is where Mungo Man and Woman were found.    The remains were more than 40,000 years old and gave much information about life in the area.   Thankfully they have been reburied in the park, which is where they belong.

Dogs are not allowed in National Parks in Australia, which means we miss out on quite a bit of countryside.    However, we enjoy having Piper with us, so there are benefits in other ways.

We will cross the Murray River on Saturday, not far from home.    It has been interesting and informative to learn about the rivers that flow into the Murray and the Great Arterial Basin which also contributes water to the rivers.   Plus the importance of managing those rivers, and allocating water for the various farming projects.   Quite a balancing act, and I am certain there are many people who do not care about what happens further along from their part of a river.

And the cotton and rice growers!   Mostly huge organisations.   I am not saying anymore!

Hillston, New South Wales

We are currently in Hillston, on the Lachlan River.    A small town, nothing of note about the place except that the land surrounding the town grows crops: oranges, almonds and of course, cotton.   All due to the Lachlan River and local groundwater sources.

The Lachlan River is the fourth longest river in Australia, and does not flow into the Murray.   It spans 1,448 kn through New South Wales and ends in a swamp, although when it floods the water finds its way into the Murrumbidgee River.   So I guess, indirectly, the water ends up in the Murray River.

Altogether we have travelled 868 km from Charleville to Hillston, almost in a straight line down.   Often we felt that the road had no bends in it.   We stopped in three towns, Cunnamulla, Bourke and Cobah, with nothing much in between, except for bush, and wild goats.

In Cobah we were on the same site as previously, some weeks back, a definite 'de ja vu' feeling , however we hoped Walter did not need to visit the Cobar hospital again.  

Before we left Bourke I took a photograph of two of the bottle trees there.   Magnificent specimens.

This one was hollow inside, but still very much alive.

I really liked the markings on this bottle tree.

Now back to Hillston, a great place for taking Piper for walks but not much of interest for Walter.

They had an Art Trail in town which we did not follow.    However I did manage to get some photos of the 'Emu Antics' created to welcome visitors.

                                                   

Two  more emus.   It is too late now to get the map and follow the art trail.   Such a pity.

The Hillston Ex-Servicemen & Citizens Club.   We had dinner there tonight, a very popular and noisy place, but the food was good.   Standard of dress for men appeared to be shorts and thongs (flip flops).

The swing bridge over the river, and onto the circular walk on the other side.

Lots of gum trees with this one in danger of falling into the river.

The council owns and runs the caravan park.   At the moment it is being renovated, with funds from both the Federal Government and the New South Wales Government.   Fantastic facilities, all freshly tiled and painted, a new shower block, great laundry with cheap washing machines and dryers, and no rules written everywhere.    Some caravan parks go overboard on them.  Plus at $37 a night it was cheap.   We paid $64 for the site at Cobar. 

It has been busy every night, mostly with people returning from the Mundi Mundi Bash in Broken Hill.    

As with all Council Caravan Parks there are sporting grounds or show grounds or a park next door.   At Hillston there is a sports field on one side and a park with a swimming pool, playground and plenty of grass and an empty lake on the other side.   The lake fills each September, with water from the Lachlan River, and then empties the following March.   The lake is used for canoeing and paddle boarding.     It must take some filling though!    A lot of river water.

This shop is now a thrift shop, run by one of the charities here.   Unfortunately it was not open, probably due to there being no volunteers.

Last night it rained heavily, and I slept with a sheet of plastic on the side of my bed.   Luckily it was a large bed so I still had plenty of room.    I am mostly on top of the leaks around the edge of the roof, but I did not cover a tiny section, and the water found its way in there.   I went to sleep with the sound of drips on the plastic.    Luckily it did not keep me awake.    Quite a tortuous sound, drip, drip, drip!

 

Back o' Bourke

Today it rained all day, mostly a heavy drizzle, but with showers as well.    I can see why the countryside is so green.   A busy afternoon, keeping on top of the two potential leaks on the front pop top ledge.  There was much changing of hand towels and rearranging the pieces of plastic.   The system works but it is a pain.     Every time I took Piper out for a walk I had to dry the mud and water off her legs and tummy afterwards.   She needed rubber boots.    A busy day.   Tomorrow will be sunny again.  

'Back o' Bourke' actually means an extremely remote, isolated or far-distance place similar to saying 'the 'middle of nowhere' or 'the back of beyond'.   It came from the colonial times when Bourke was seen as on the edge of civilisation.    And anything 'back of Bourke' meant going even further into the harsh, empty outback beyond an already remote outpost.

The Darling River looking extra lovely with its reflections on the water.

 Bourke is no longer an outpost, and even the land beyond it, is easily accessible.   However, Bourke is still a distance away from Sydney, and in the summer time it is a very hot and dry place. It is not a wealthy town, and there is a high level of socio economic disadvantage here.  Apparently youth crime has dropped considerably, due to programs and support.    There is also a rich indigenous history and a tight knit community and a definite feel of pride.

Sadly though, there is evidence of a high crime area, as shops are mostly behind metal shutters, and the drive through bottle shop had a metal frame in front of the doors.    Your order was taken through a space in the grate.   

These shops were closed up.

The main street with not many people around.       It is also not possible to go window shopping on this street.    We were impressed with the paving, and garden boxes filled with shrubs and flowers.   Plus lots of trees.

Piper having a great time catching the tennis ball.    Today she found a dead fish on the top of the hill, and could not resist rolling in it.   Luckily the fish was a recent death, otherwise she would have smelt dreadful, to us anyway.   

This is a town filled with dogs, mostly in front gardens, but a number of them roam the streets, so it is not possible to take Piper for a walk around the caravan park area. 

There are some grand old buildings here.    St Ignatius Parish Church and School.

                                         

A beautiful old building, but not sure what it is used for now.

The cotton balls, on their way to a 'gin' where seeds and debris are removed before the cotton is exported overseas.    Interestingly we passed a large cotton farm on the way to Louth.   It had a huge dam plus long canals.    I thought the government was clamping down on canals due to evaporation problems.    Also the wealth from that cotton farm does not end up in Bourke.    Just me on my 'soap box' again.

The Percy Hobson mural on the water tower.   Percy Hobson was the first Aboriginal person to win a Commonwealth Games medal.   He won the medal in the high jump in 1962.   It was also the record for high jump at the time.    Bourke is very proud of him.

We visited the 'Back o' Burke' exhibition at the Visitor Centre this morning.    Although we had been there four years ago it was great to see it again.

The first area showed a film about the people who lived here, for thousands of years, and who looked after the river and the surrounding area.     The film also told the story of how the river was made.    It was a beautifully made film.

We then went through the section which gave information about the first European explorers and property development in the area.   Plus a bit of history about the early days of Bourke.

Another section told stories and poems from various poets and writers who visited Bourke, including Henry Lawson who worked in Bourke for six months in 1892.

Information about the Darling River.

There were many stories from settlers, and people who made an impact on Bourke and the surrounding areas.  The renowned eye doctor, Fred Hollows, often worked in Bourke in his mobile eye clinic, treating indigenous people who had tracoma..   He is buried in the Bourke Historic Cemetery.

Tomorrow we leave Bourke, and travel on the Kidman Highway to Cobar for one night.    We will have completed a circle, Cobar, Dubbo, Lightening Ridge, St George, Roma, Charleville, Cunnemulla, Bourke, Cobar. 

We have also booked into the next two caravan parks as it will be very busy with people returning from the Mundi Mundi Bash, 35 km north west of Broken Hill.   15,000 tickets were sold, with most people in caravans or motor homes although some were in tents.    Unfortunately there was a massive storm this week and the site became so waterlogged and muddy that only 10,000 ticket holders made it onto the camping grounds.   The other 5000 remained in Broken Hill or at a nearby town of Silverton,   It was a shambles.   The festival finishes tomorrow night but already people are driving back home.   The caravan park here is full tonight, mainly with people driving home early.

A Short Trip to Louth

This morning we set out to drive 99 km to Louth, which is on the Darling River.    I have mentioned the Darling River many times, an important river that eventually connects to the Murray River, which of course ends up in Goolwa, not far from where we live.

So far we have visited most towns on the river; Walgett, Bourke, Wilcannia, Menindee Lakes, Pooncarie, and finally Wentworth where the river meets the Murray River.   We have not visited Brewarrina and Tilpa.   Quite good going really as the distance from Walgett to Wentworth is 1089 km.

Up until 1920 the river was a major transport system for moving wool and provisions for the towns.   Paddle steamers were used to transport goods, and often they were left stranded in pools of muddy water when the rivers dried up during droughts.

Information about the Darling River Run.   You may need to enlarge the photo to read the print.

                                         

Louth was established by Europeans in 1859 when an Irish immigrant, Thomas Andrew Matthews, named it after his home county in Ireland.    He built the original pub, now Shindy's Inn Louth.

We sat outside the pub and drank zero alcohol beer, and ate delicious bacon and egg rolls.

                                        

The fire waiting to be lit for the evening drinks at the pub.   I think they have quite a social gathering at night.   The road from Tilpa to Bourke is a popular road for 4WD vehicles.   I think it is quite muddy from Tilpa to Louth.   At this time of year they would have a constant stream of people visiting the pub.

The dead tree painted blue outside the pub.    A symbol of mental health, which started in Western Australia, and is now a world symbol, apparently.    Mental health issues can be quite a problem in the outback, with the constant worry about stock, prices, floods and droughts.

The substantial bridge over the Darling River.   There is a road 'track' on both sides of the river.  Dunlop Station is 14 km from Louth on the eastern side of the river.    The historic 1 million acre property became the first sheep station in the world to adopt mechanical shearing in 1888.

At its peak during the late 19th century, Louth supported three hotels, three bakeries, a cordial factory, a police station and a population of nearly 4000 people.

Now I think there are about 25 to 74 people (depending on the time of year) who live in Louth, with not many of the original buildings left there.    There is a small school.    Plus two small camping grounds.

This was once the local church, I think.

I am not sure what sort of domestic birds these are?   They were very keen for me to feed them, and Piper was very keen to chase after them.

Our car, parked in the shade, and in front of a small park, toilets and the Royal Flying Doctor Service building.    It was staffed today, perhaps they call in once a week so people can get health checks.   Walter forgot to ask, however they said they were based in Broken Hill.

This substantial house was once the post office, now a private residence.

The RFDS plane which brought the staff to Louth, waiting to be used to transport patients, or take the staff members back to Broken Hill.  A sealed runway too.

A lovely white sign, in front of a well kept cricket ground.   Their tennis courts were also well maintained as well.   

Once a year 5000 people visit for the annual race meeting.  We have realised on this trip that you need to check up on the local events, otherwise you can find yourself without a place to stay, no fuel, no bread and in Burke, no non alcoholic beer.   People travelling through to the Mundi Mundi bash in Broken Hill bought it all.

Wild goats everywhere.   They are very canny as you rarely see a dead goat on the road.   Some enterprising property owners have rounded them up, sent them to a specialised meat works who export the meat to the Middle East.

The road was sealed in some places and gravel on the rest, although the gravel was well graded and not too bumpy.

The countryside was very green, almost park like.    Obviously there has been a lot of rain this winter.

One more day in Bourke, and a visit to the 'Back o' Bourke' exhibition.   

A short trip to Eulo

We are now in Bourke, New South Wales, 260 km south of Cunnamulla, Queensland.    That was 260 km without fuel pumps, but we had filled up in Cunnamulla, so not a problem for us.    It is so important in Australia to make sure you have enough fuel before you travel anywhere in the country.    

We did not travel to Thargomindah, 200 km west of Cunnamulla.   Our original intention was to travel west to Quilpie from Charleville and then down to Thargomindah but we could see we were running out of time to attempt that loop.    However to travel 200 km to Thargomindah, stay the night, and then travel back to Cunnamulla seemed a bit wasteful of fuel.   

So we compromised and travelled 67 km west to Eulo, and spent a few hours there.   It is now a very small town, but with heaps of character.

It probably started off as a pastoral town, with a bit of opal mining as well.  It was also situated near a water hole on the Paroo River, and was on the road to far west Queensland.

The Diprotodon, not a real one thank goodness.   Diprotodons are giant wombat like marsupials and lived in Queensland about 1.6 million years ago.   Skulls and skeletons, plus hair and foot impressions have been found near Eulo.    They were donated to one of the museums in Australia.

The Paroo River, which in times of drought is a series of muddy pools of water.    Someone built a weir here so it looks like a very large muddy river.    This is the last river in west Queensland that runs into the Darling River.

The main street of Eulo, which was full of caravans and motor homes when we arrived there.

The old Post Office, which is now a store plus opal place.    I bought a bottle of locally produced honey.  There was also a leather shop in the town, so I purchased a leather belt, at great cost, I might add.   But it is a lovely belt.

An air raid shelter, about 83 years old.    Not that anyone during World War II expected the Japanese army to arrive in Eulo, however the town was underneath the flight path from Sydney to Darwin.

This high wheeled truck was used to travel across shallow rivers and was only recently replaced by a modern truck.

One of the original churches.

The old prison.

There were other places of note in the town.    The Eulo Queen Hotel which was named after a very fiesty woman who was one of the early owners of the hotel.   The hotel also runs the motel and caravan park next door.

There is an artesian mud bath establishment on the edge of the town, which is very popular and expensive, no doubt.

We drove for a few more kilometres until we came to an artesian mud spring.   This mud spring is one of the release valves for the Great Artesian Basin.   As the underground pressure grows, mud is forced up through fissures in the ground.   The mounds have jelly-like tops.    

The mud spring mounds lie on the edge of the Great Arterial Basin, which is much shallower than the centre of the basin.   

Some of the water on the edge of the basin also filters into rivers.    The deepest parts are in the centre of the basin, which is where the water is the hottest.    The water in the basin filters through sand and sandstone which purifies it, however it still smells of sulfur and can be salty.

On Sunday afternoon, I visited the old railway station, which showed a documentary film about the building and the running of the railway to Cunnamulla.   Passenger trains stopped running here in 1994 although freight trains continued until 2011.    The line ran from Brisbane, via Ipswich, Toowoomba, Roma, Charleville and terminated in Cunnamulla.     It was a crucial link for people living in here.

The railway station.

Metal sculptures depicting the local band which met the trains on important occasions.

The Paroo Progress Association organised the 'Cunnamulla off the rails 3D light and sound spectacular' through fund raising plus applications for funding from the Queensland Government.    A huge shed was built beside the railway station, which was fitted out with a very wide screen, and comfortable lay back armchairs.   It was quite an experience.

 One thing I will not miss, is the smell of sulphur every time I turn on the hot water tap, and sometimes even the cold water tap.