Monday, July 8th to Saturday, July 13th, 2024 - Country Towns - Gundagai, Hay and Narrandera

Dog on the Tucker Box, 'Nine Miles From Gundagai'

If you ever find yourself travelling he Hume Highway (between Sydney and Melbourne), it is worth a brief detour to stop at this iconic little statue, the 'Dog on the Tucker Box'. It's actually not nine miles away from Gundagai - more like five miles in reality, but a poem and song decided on nine miles!

Alwynne and Nadine, at The Tucker Box, January, 1959

Our family visited the statue in 1959 during one of our moves between the two cities. That's me half out of the photo. I'm amused that I was already showing the tendency back then to say.....Ooh, what's over there! Let's explore the next thing! Future traveler? Nadine did a great job of posing for the camera. The shop in the background is exactly the same today.

Bill Lamp in 1980

Then I had to show it to Bill when we visited Australia in 1980, before we were married. I was pleased to see that the fence has now been removed and the buildings behind are gone - it results in a much cleaner view.

This statue tells a story about a teamster, Bill the Bullocky, who ended up here, defeated after a rough day in the 1850's. His wagon had become bogged in a creek.  Then one of the bullocks broke the yoke and poked the eye out of the leaders eye. It was probably just the cap on an already rough day. Bill the Bullocky gave up and went to have his lunch, only to find that his dog was sitting (or worse, the sign says - perhaps they left off an 'h') on his tucker box. Apparently his teamster mates thought the whole thing quite amusing and there are a variety of poems telling his sorry tale. Here's a link to more about Bill the Bullocky and his dog. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_on_the_Tuckerbox

Hay Main Street

Hay is a town on the Murrumbidgee River, with a population just under 3,000 in 2021. The area was occupied by the Nari Nari and Wiradjuri Aborigines prior to white settlement in the late half of the 1800's. It was named after one of the early white settlers. It is now a prosperous and productive agricultural area, part of the Riverina and at the junction of three highways. Mid-way between Adelaide and Sydney it is relatively prosperous for such a small town.

Victorian Lacework

There were many lovely old buildings that were still being well maintained and I really enjoyed my wander down the wide main street, looking at the old architecture. Nadine said they made the streets wide enough for a team of bullocks to turn around. It results in lovely space today, with plenty of room for cars - however one must back into parking spots - Eeek!

Foodworks, Hay

Even a grocery store did a nice job of keeping the old and provided a lovely mural of the Murrumbidgee River with a bullock dray and boat.

Our 'Hotel' - Tom's Place of 'The Convent Boutique Accommodation', Hay

We were a little nonplussed when Google maps told us we had arrived at our accommodation, to find this rather forbidding fence. Rather than staying in hotels, we like the communal space provided by AirBNB type accommodation. When searching we had not found a great deal of non-hotel accommodation available, so when we found this we  thought a nice 'boutique' place associated with a convent might be nice!

At Least a Carport for Dry Unpacking

It was quite spare - I guess that's where the 'convent' likeness came in - but it was very clean and served us just fine. They had a great selection of tea bags! As it had been raining much of the afternoon, (the rain that had been causing problems in Mungo before it came here) so we were quite pleased to be able to pull under the carport. I call this architectural style, 'Australian Industrial'! Very basic, pragmatic and gets the job done!

Old Train Station and POW Museum

Local historians have done a good job of memorializing a World War II history of refugees and prisoners of war who were sent to Hay - probably a milder form of Guantanamo - to remove them far from the possibility of making trouble for the Allies in Europe. The POWs were Japanese, German and Italian.

Artifacts From the POW Camp

Some of the prisoners stayed in Hay, working in agriculture and enriching the cultural life of the town.

The Platform Where Foreigners Arrived

A video presentation described the great curiosity that arose when hundreds of foreign-speaking men arrived into the little town - the locals gathered to hear the sounds of foreign tongues and get a glimpse of people from lands far away. I was particularly touched by the story of the Dunera Boys, a group of  about 2,500 Jewish refugees who had sought safety in Britain, to escape European persecution. By 1940, the British decided they were enemy aliens, and sent them to this other side of the world. The flat and barren land must have been a shocker to these poor souls. The Dunera was the name of the ship they came on from England and the passengers were sent to a number of different regions of Australia. A local resident tearfully recounted that one of the Dunera men had told him that his journey on the train had been the first time in his life that he had felt treated as a human. It's an odd statement coming from a prisoner - either the sort of hype to make one feel less guilt, or a testament to how bad the conditions had been in Europe for the Jews. In case you're interested in more information, here's a link. https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/dunera-boys

Water Tower Art, Hay

Pride in their World War II history, was also evident in the water tower art in Hay. Created in 2020, it memorializes the town's role in both the First and Second World Wars. It displays the portraits of five local residents who served - but is also testament to the hundreds of people from this tiny community who observed the call to arms in distant lands.

 The 'Power of One', Outside Lands Office and Council Offices

My favorite discovery in Hay was a collection of charming sheep statues outside the Land's Office and Council offices, commemorating Mrs. McGrath, who was a bridge operator here in the 1920's and 30's.

It was installed in 2022.

Mrs. McGrath and Her Pet Sheep

It seems Mrs. McGrath went above and beyond in her duties as a bridge operator. When sheep drovers arrived with their large mobs, they had difficulty convincing the scared animals to cross the Murrumbidgee River on the strange surface. Mrs. McGrath had a flock of pet sheep who were confident on the bridge, so for a small fee, she would lead the drover's mob across the bridge into town, with her sheep as guides. I loved the sheep statue with the hat and the book reader shown in the previous photo. The one sitting down with the saddle was designed for children to ride on. If you could zoom into Mrs. McGrath's hand, you would see a tiny little bronze mouse curled up in it. Perhaps testament to her compassion? Don't know, but a nice touch.

 Royal  Mail Hotel,Narrandea, built 1888

On our way home, we stayed in Narrandera, another small town on the Murrumbidgee River, also in the Riverina. It has a slightly larger population than Hay with about 5,500 in the 2021 census. The area was occupied by the Wiradjuri Aborigines prior to white settlement in the early half of the 1800's. The name came from one of the tribes clans, called the 'Narrungdera', which means it was the place of a lizard. A bit worse than a Crow's Nest, I think! 

Walking its main street it seemed not quite as well kept as Hay had been, and was dominated by old hotel/pubs rather than public buildings. This one, the Royal Mail Hotel had 30 rooms. 

The Former Royal Hotel, Built 1862

The former Royal Hotel, built in 1862 is one of the earliest buildings in Narrandera. When first constructed, there was little else here, so it served as post office, court, church, and council premises. It was delicensed in 1938.

Narrandera Council Chambers, Opened 1930

The council chambers were a little more modern. A brochure we got from the Visitor's Center described it as an example of inter-war classicism.......so there you go!

National Australia Bank, Constructed 1884

This older Victorian style building has been operating as a bank for over 100 years. It was one of my favorites in town.

Royal Doulton Ceramic Fountain - the Hankinson Fountain

A source of pride for the town is this Royal Doulton ceramic fountain which was donated by a prominent citizen in 1922, to commemorate those who served in the First World War. It is unique to Australia - the only other Royal Doulton fountain known to exist is in Pakistan. It is sad to find out that it was vandalized and has only recently been re-built.

A Typical Bungalow

I could show you photos of many more pub/hotels, but instead you might be interested in seeing a couple of example of typical old-style country homes. The galvanized iron roof, with the curved overhand on the porch is common, as is the decorative mesh on the front doors. The designs lead to some protection from the summer heat with the shading provided  by the porch, which often extends around the house on all sides. My guess would be this could date from the 40's or 50's - but it's just a guess!

Typical Bungalow With Pull-Down Shades

In this bungalow, you can see the way the porch extends around the house. The shades can be used as needed seasonally to create more shade, to keep the house cooler.

A Grand Old House

This example is probably a little older - perhaps from 1920's or 30's. It would have been built by one of the more prosperous families in town. It reminded me of my grandmother's house in Hobart. The roof is tile - which would have been much more expensive due to the distance from city centers, but it also had verandahs around much of it. The vegetation would also have provided more shade. All these examples would have led to quite dark spaces inside - before the days of air conditioning, this equated to the chance of a little more coolness.

The Yard, Coffee Shop

Modern Narrandera looked as if it was bursting with color and quirkiness. We stopped at this coffee shop which was mostly outside. One was served from an old fashioned caravan.

A Table-Top Replica of the Caravan

I don't like my photos of the caravan, so instead I'm giving you this quirky table decoration, which was one of many within 'The Yard'. It was quite fun and very similar to the little old-fashioned caravan where food and drinks were made.

The Italian Barber - Cuts Hair Good

Not far from 'The Yard' I discovered this charming gentleman who had set up shop as a barber just a few months ago. He said he grew up in Narrandera, bought the building four years ago and has been renovating this space to look like an old-fashioned barber shop, with himself as the old-fashioned barber. I was pleased that he agreed to pose for me.

Window Decor at The Italian Barber

He had done a great job collecting all sorts of antiques which made the place a great deal of fun. I particularly liked this window display, along with an old-fashioned cash register that still worked.

A Modern Customer at The Italian Barber

I was quite thrilled when a customer came in and also agreed to let me take his photo. As you can tell, I was completely charmed by this place.

Water Tower Art, Narrandea

Not wanting to miss out on a trend, Narrandera also has a water tower that has ben painted. I love seeing art in public places - out of the museum - so for me as a traveler passing through, it makes art very accessible. This particular medium seems to be a new thing and there are many examples throughout Australian towns. I understand it is also happening in the US - water towers and silos. I liked the cheeriness of the artwork in Narrandera with the koala and other mages representing the local area. 

The Artwork

The process of painting these things must be pretty taxing on the body and brain - takes more than just a paint brush! I was surprised to read that it only took 11 days to create - but lots of supportive equipment. Not quite Sistine Chapel endurance!

Historic Star Lodge

I'm sorry, but I can't leave Narrandera without sharing one more photo of a former hotel/pub. This one, the Historic Star Lodge was built in 1916 and is said to be 'Federation' style architecture. It is now a Bed and Breakfast, with a restaurant. I liked the state of repair and style of the building, so had to stop and take a photo as we left town.

I was hoping to add additional photos from other small towns we stopped in briefly, but I think you've worked hard to get this far and need a break. I'll include a few of them in the next blog when we come back to Canberra.

Tuesday, July 9th to Thursday, July 11th, 2024 - Critters on the Mungo Trip

 There really is nothing more delightful than the sight of a mob of kangaroos enjoying the same space as oneself......

Not a Mob, But Just A Couple of 'Roos - Mungo Campground

.......like these two sweethearts who started at us long and hard in the long grass at the Mungo campground.

Mother and Her Joey, Aaaw, Cute!

It was a delight to watch mothers and their joeys. In the photo above you can see the joey's head and ears taking a look around. The young ones we saw rarely moved far away from the mother and upon being startled found their way back into her pouch with great speed and apparent ease! They hop in head first and can often be seen with only feet sticking out!

Joey Went in Head First! - See the Little Black Feet Sticking Out!

It seemed the mothers were a little slower about running off with the mob - perhaps the additional weight she carries leads her to think twice about being unnecessarily hasty.

Marsupials That Fly!

When one comes across a mob, they will stand and stare at you from a distance. Startle them, and off they bound with their graceful, balanced stride. (They can be dangerous when cornered - those large hind legs can rip into an enemy and do a great deal of damage!) I think it is a remarkable and beautiful movement to watch. While they are lovely to see from a distance, or at low speeds, kangaroos are a hazard when driving, as they hop across the roads in front of cars. Much like deer in the US, they can cause a great deal of damage in a short time. Kangaroo carcasses on the side of the road were not at all uncommon.

(As a side note, I hate to mention that they have very tasty meat – I had very delicious kangaroo skewers. It is a low fat, healthy, meat. I was a little sad to learn that they are not 'farmed' as such, but are harvested from the wild. I know the animal lovers hate it, but the culling does keep the populations down – their numbers are robust with all the pastureland now available.)

OK, Guys....Shall We go For it!

Emus are the other road hazard. Happily we were going slowly when we saw this mob. Clearly they were hesitant, too. We stopped.........

Birds That Run!

......... and they went for it. As you see, although they don't fly, although the feet of the front two are not touching the ground! We saw just a few emu carcasses - less than kangaroo.

Guinea Fowl at Mungo Lodge

These Guinea Fowl are not native to Australia, nevertheless, Nadine and I were entertained by encounters with them around the lodge. (They are native to South Africa.) We were told they are very good watch dogs and keep away the snakes, which I though was a great idea!

Fluffy Body, Reptilian Face

The fowl were like little grey rocks waddling around the place and sometimes perching on rails. They are related to pheasants and turkeys and have a rather primitive looking face. I read online that the females don't do a good job of looking after their young, so the males pick up a lot of the slack.  

Leetle Bird, Leetle (Brown) Bird!

This little bird was about the size of a large dove and was perched in a tree not far from our cabin. I have no idea what it is, but was pleased to capture this clear of an image.

 (Amelia Island Singers or Man of La Mancha fans will recognize the photo caption!)

Is it An 'Evil Eye', or Just Hungry?

The only other successful camera to bird encounter I had, was with this crow. He was perched on top of the picnic shelter at Vigar's Well on the Mungo loop road, looking intently for any scraps that might come his way, or being sure we got up to no mischief. I'm not sure which! On the other hand, maybe he's the 'crow' from Crows Nest checking in on me! LOL!

Other much more colorful bird life here was abundant, but the time and patience of this photographer was no match for their rapid movement. There were flocks of yellow Sulphur Crested Cockatoos swirling in flocks, along with pink and grey Galahs. Occasionally we spotted brightly colored Lorikeets. We saw them mostly when driving, so I was not successful at capturing photos of them.

So I leave you with just a brief glimpse of the (mostly Australian) critters we encountered on our journey to Mungo Lake. Next time, I'll give you some glimpses of the charming country towns we passed through on our trip.

Monday, July 8th to Saturday, July 13th, 2024 - Lake Mungo, Learning About 'Weather Dependent' Travel

Sunset at Mungo Lodge

When Nadine (my sister) and I conceived this trip, she immediately expressed concern because she knew that La Niña would be kicking up again while we were there and might make travel impossible due to increased chances of rain. I must admit, I didn't quite know how to process this information, but I can say that her prudence in planning around the weather was invaluable for the success of our trip. You see, it was all about water!

Map of The 13 Willandra Lakes

The water that had filled the Willandra Lake System lakes 60,000 years ago, had come from the  thawing of ice-age snow fields hundreds of miles to the north-east. The melt came down the Lachlan River and created lots of waterfront property which led to an easy life for the residents at that time. When the lakes dried up 17,000 thousand years ago, the times of plenty ended and the shapes of the lakes only became an echo, revealed by the lunettes, such as the ones we visited at Lake Mungo.

Treacherous Roads In the Morning Sun

Although the lakes dried up long ago, water in the form of rainfall was the tricky thing we had to keep constantly in mind - as did the Park Service. As you see from the photo above,  the roads were not paved and were a combination of a sandy substrate that was packed pretty well, with nasty spots of red clay that were rendered treacherous by the slightest bit of rain. There was no bitumen within 60 miles!

Sunset at Mungo Lodge

So we left Hay, (where we stayed the first night of our trip) earlier than we had planned, as Nadine saw that there was a prediction of 3 mm of rain that day. For my American friends, that's about one tenth of an inch! In Florida it would barely be noticed! Nadine's research revealed this could lead to road closings, especially as there had also been rain the previous day. To be sure things were not closed, we called the lodge where we were to stay. They said roads were still open, but suggested that the shortest route would be unsafe, especially as there were roadworks. They recommended that we drive another hour or two to approach from the larger nearby town to the west - Mildura! 

Not liking this idea, we stopped in the Police Station in the nearest small town, Balranald, where the young officer eyeballed us two grey-hairs, and immediately attempted to assess the likelihood that they  would end up pulling us out of the mud! 'Do you have a 4WD vehicle?' he asked. Thanks to Nadine's planning we had rented an all-wheel drive, so we passed that test. 'Do you have water?' was the next question. Again yes, we had also prepared for that. After we had reassured him we also had plenty of food and warm clothes, he suggested a third route - shorter than the long one recommended by the lodge. (He suggested that if we did get stuck, we should stay with our vehicle, as it can be days before a rescue is possible!)

Saltbush Along the Road

In trepidation, we followed his directions and were very fortunate that the road was good. Clearly there were ruts from other weather events, but the substrate seemed to be more of the sandy, solid base than the clay. Only near our final destination did it get slick and show muddy ruts, but with just a little sliding about, we got through fine.

The Next Morning Was Clear - The Birds Greeted the Day

How fortunate we were. There were no rain predictions on our first day, we set off in bright sunshine with only light winds.

Erosion on the Lunette

All the images in my previous blog were taken on our morning National Park tour with an aboriginal guide. The impact of water on the sand and clay is very obvious, as you see from the multiple signs of gullies and rivulets here. We left footprints, but after the next rain they will be wiped away. When there is substantial rain (more than 5mm), the park will close and the rangers will scour the landscape for any new artifacts the rains reveal. If any are discovered, they are photographed and documented, but left in place. Sometimes they may be covered with some natural materials like leaves or sticks to protect them from animal feet, but the hope is that erosion will scatter or re-bury it.

 Walls of China at Sunset

At the end of the day we returned to the same place - what a difference the low light made!

Walls of China at Sunset

In case you're wondering why it's called the Walls of China. The speculative explanation is that Southern Chinese building a nearby a woolshed thought it reminded them of the 'Walls' in their homeland......and the name stuck for this portion of the lunette.

Red Top Lunette

The next morning we were told that 3mm of rain was expected by mid-to late morning. In anticipation, tours had been cancelled and we were told that a loop road behind the lunette was closed. We set out relatively early, hoping to beat the rain and planning to just come to a part of the lunette called Red Top. It showed many of the same erosional features as the Walls of China.

The Formation of Residuals

You might have been wondering how those funny, bumpy shapes are created. Our sunset guide had told us they they all contain some type of vegetation that provides resistance to the winds and captures the blowing sand and silt. In the photo above, you can see different stages of formation - the ones right in front being the youngest.

Mixed Cloud Cover

Much to our surprise, we found that the 70 km loop road was not closed and we saw others taking off along it without worry. Emboldened, we set off on this one-way route, with a plan to just keep moving if/when the promised rain could mess up the road.

Mallee Tree at Vigar's Well

The drive was through lovely mallee scrub - a small eucalypt that has tuberous roots. This lone mallee tree was near a well that used to be a stopping place for the stagecoach company called Cobb and Co, which served remote communities between 1853 and 1924. I loved this old tree in particular - his gnarly arms and wild beard evoked a small 'Ent' in my mind.

Zanci Station

There was an old station (homestead) which was a soldier settlement block that had been settled by the Vigar family after 1922. It looked like it had been a hard life there. The family might have been happy to have it become part of the National Park in 1984. Here you can see a bed, the outhouse and an underground dugout which helped the family escape the blistering summer heat.

An Enchanting Sky

It was mid-afternoon and there still had been no sign of rain. There were a few drizzles around dinner time, but by the time I was in bed I was feeling smug about inaccurate weather predictions and had no concerns about driving out the next morning.......until I heard raindrops on the roof. It sounded heavy to me, my confidence rapidly disappeared and I stayed awake preparing myself for the probability that we would be spending another night at the lodge.

Our Cabin at Mungo Lodge

In all, around 3mm of water had fallen overnight. Fearing the worst, we approached the front desk upon waking and were not surprised to learn that the park was closed . They were waiting for the road closing updates, but the narratives of people who had been out driving already said that at least two of the roads were in bad shape, including the one that we had arrived on and hoped to use. As we stood there, a call came in with the news that the shortest road with roadworks was open, 'with caution'.

I was VERY willing to apply caution, so we moved quickly and got moving, out of fear that the road might be closed at any time, especially if more of the expected rain arrived.

Sticky Mud in The Wheel Wells

It took us two hours to drive the 60 miles. Much of the way it was OK, with occasional modest hydroplaning on the clay sections. Fortunately there was little traffic, so we could choose the firmest looking part of the road. We heaved a sigh of relief when we finally saw the bitumen in the distance. When we were three quarters of the way up the very slight last slope, I noticed that though the wheels were turning, we were going nowhere and the sensation of sliding started. 'Oh, No!, we thought! That Nice Young Policeman is going to have to rescue us after all! 

I was driving and thought I had chosen the firmest part of the road, however the clay had filled all the tread in the tires and we had no traction. The middle of the road looked as it there was deeper mud, having been disturbed by the road work. However, with the belief that what I was doing wasn't working, I turned the wheel toward the center of the road. Lo and behold, we started moving again and within seconds, were on the bitumen, heaving a great sigh of relief.

Note the Gap Between the Mud and The Tire

When we got out, we were astonished to see how much mud had collected in the wheel wells and on the bottom of the doors. Without our all-wheel drive vehicle, it would have been a different story.

The bottom line is that everyone watches the weather at Lake Mungo and good preparation is vital. It had really been very exciting!