15th June
We had a lazy start to the morning and after getting some washing done and packing some lunch we took off for our tour of the area. First stop was Cue. This is a lovely town full of historic buildings. We enjoyed a walk around town reading about some of these sites. My favourite building was the old Masonic Lodge which was built in 1899 of timber and corrugated iron, with a pressed tin interior. Very few buildings of this type remain in Australia. Murchison Lodge was consecrated on 21 April, 1897 and held regular meetings until 1979 when they were cancelled due to dwindling numbers. Other buildings of interest were the Shire Hall, Fire Station, Railway Station and the Rotunda in the centre of the Main Street.
Cue was named after Tom Cue, an early prospector, who became a major figure in the towns development. It is thought that gold was first found in 1892 by Michael Fitzgerald when he pegged a lease on what is known as Kintore Reef and a week later found a nugget weighing 7 kg, just near the Main Street. Tom Cue also dug up nuggets of his own. Within days over 400 men had rushed to the area, a year later the town of Cue was officially proclaimed.
After leaving town we drove out to Walga Rock which is located on Austin Downs Station, 48 k west of Cue. This is suppose to be the second largest monolith in Australia. At Walga Rock we could view a large gallery of Aboriginal rock paintings. Walga Rock was a meeting place for Aboriginal people. Over thousands of years paintings representing snakes, goannas, spears and a sailing ship were painted before people moved on. The paintings were done using ochre from nearby ochre mines which are considered to be tens of thousands of years old.
The origin of the mysterious sailing ship is unknown. One theory says that it has been made by a Dutch sailor shipwrecked on the coast and looked after by Aborigines, another is that it was made by an Afghan Camel guide.
After a drive around the rock we head back down the road and into Big Bell Ghost Town. We would consider this a modern day ghost town as it operated from 1936–1955. It was established to house the influx of workers for the Big Bell Mine. During the Second World War production was suspended to free up man power for the armed services and for the production of munitions and food. The number of employees fell from 417 in 1941 to 15 in 1944. When the war ended the mine returned to full capacity and operated until 1955. Houses soon sold for as little a £60, whilst the Big Bell Hotel sold for £3500. During the 14 years of operation the mine produced 726,298 fine ounces of gold worth nearly £9,000,000.
16th June
Leaving Nallan Station today we are headed down the road to Mount Magnet. Again Mount Magnet has a lovely Main Street. It’s such a shame they are dying out and most shops are closed. The butcher remains open and we called in. Even though we don’t need any meat Philip had to buy some beef ribs. A change of plans for dinner tonight. Inside, the butcher had a lovely old 1910 cash register still in working order. He was quite happy for me to go behind the counter and take a photo of it. Next stop was the visitors centre and Mining and Pastoral Museum. This museum houses a diverse collection of artefacts and relics from a bygone era.
(P) Fresh beef ribs from the butcher (and a character he was) and straight into our 12v Oven to slow cook as we drive South down the Great Northern Highway to this evening destination ( unknown at this stage). At 4pm in went the potatoes to roast and at 5 a steamer pot of veggies- at 6.30 pm we are treated to an awesome 12 volt meal!
Last evening I receive a txt from my Son suggesting Gumtree Tasmania was in financial trouble due my absence! Today the subject of improved bank account balances (and negative comments about Gumtree) whilst we are travelling was raised again. I am starting to feel victimised! The response from my wife when I suggested I would have an accumulated budget to spend when I return home best not be repeated! Poor Ole Phil!)
17 th June
Today as we drive towards Perth we go from gold fields and scrub to wheat and canola paddocks, cattle and sheep and then vineyards. Makes a change from all the miles of red dirt, dry plains, mining operations etc that we have seen over the last few weeks.
Our main stop today was at New Norcia, Australia’s only monastic town. An historical and spiritual treasure in the Australian bush, so the brochure says. I must admit it was quite unexpected to see such interesting architecture out here. The Monastery is home to a community of Benedictine Monks since 1847. There are colleges and old convent, a monastery guest house and Olive House which is still used today, a blacksmiths workshop and more. Very interesting to wander around and read the history of the buildings.
Continuing down towards Perth we stop at the quaint little town of Bindoon where we pull into the sports ground for the night. Philip got talking to a couple parked next to us and discovered they knew the same people from Tasmania and Manjimup. We had a great time talking to them and hearing about their travels over many years.
We arrived to Perth Caravan Park just before lunch and set up and sorted washing etc so it’s all done before we fly home tomorrow.
Later this afternoon we are catching up with Margaret and Cameron for a coffee before they start to head north on their travels and we head south to Tasmania for a few days.
So this will be the end of part one of our trip. We will catch you when we return to WA.
(P) for all those super concerned about our well-being, returning to supposedly “Cold Tasmania” . I wouldn’t be too concerned! It was down to Zero degrees the last couple of mornings! And max’d out at 15-16 thru the days!
Tassie Travellers 