Saturday 31 March 2018

Creative Clunes

We arranged to have the tyres on the van replaced, so decided it would be a good time to relocate to try another free/donation camp at Burrumbeet Lake. We dropped the van at Tyre Power, and couldn't be happier with the service. We then headed 36 km north to Clunes and the closest dump point – still can't believe Ballarat doesn't have a public dump point. (The Eureka Caravan Park will allow travellers to use the dump at a cost of $10). Our choice was to drive to Clunes, and we are so glad we did. What a surprise Clunes was, just picture perfect. Clunes has become a hub for books, writing and creativity. There are only about 20 international booktowns in the world, and Clunes is one. A two day festival is held every May with the largest collection of books for sale in Australia. Workshops and talks are a feature of the festival. The town is so interesting and also 'lost in time' with many of the buildings dating back to 1800's. Our first stop was the dump point, which is located outside the old school house. The school house is now a private residence and houses a collection of about 6,000 rare bottles. It is open a different times during the week.
Many movies have been filmed in Clunes including Heath Ledger's Ned Kelly, when the main street was meant to be Jerilderie and Euroa and also Mad Max. There are some quirky shops and creative artsy shops. There are also a few cafe's in the village. We stopped at Widow Twankey's Ice Cream Palour and Cafe, which also is attached to an old fashioned lolly shop.
The first 'official' gold claim in the Victorian Goldfields was made in 1851 in Creswick Creek, near Clunes by James Esmond, but in fact small amounts of gold had been found the year before by W. Campbell on the property of Donald Cameron at Clunes. This was kept quiet, and soon other miners started digging when they noticed indications of the services of gold analyst Dr George Bruhn being utilized. These became known as the Clunes Diggings.
After picking up the van we headed to Lake Burrumbeet. This is the second of the three free / donation camps close to Ballarat, and we stayed two nights. There is a lot of camping around the lake and we chose a section with a view across the lake to a wind farm. There are a lot of wind farms in this part of Victoria. Lake Burrumbeet is the largest of the 4 shallow lakes in the Ballarat region and is approximately 24 square km.
Being a long weekend in Victoria there were a lot of jet skiers and speed boats about. We didn't mind the noise and it was interesting to watch those who were obviously learning to ski. The lake is good for boating, swimming and fishing, but we didn't see anyone catch any fish. There are some Aboriginal camp sites on the northern banks of the lake, and the name Burrumbeet comes from the Aboriginal word 'burrumbidj' meaning muddy water, and it was. It was a beautiful free camp and one must be fully self-contained and take all rubbish with one. The first European settlers in the area came in 1838, when Thomas Learmouth and his brother took up a squatter run on the north side of the lake. The run was called Ercildown, and it was once the largest sheep run in Australia. We were impressed there was no rubbish anywhere. We had a lovely couple of days ...
... and even saw the sunrise coming up over the lake one morning.

Friday 30 March 2018

Ballarat and the Victorian Gold Rush

As we were staying a few nights at Smythesdale we drove into Ballarat to have a look around. Gold was first discovered in Australia in 1823 near Bathurst, New South Wales. The first 'official' gold claim in the Victorian Goldfields was made in 1850 near Clunes by James Esmond. We did visit Clunes, so will talk more about that in future posts. It was the discovery of gold in Ballarat in 1851 resulted in the rushes to the gold fields and the richest alluvial goldfield in the world. Late 1851 saw a discovery at Castlemaine, and 1852 finds in Bendigo. 1853 there were discoveries at Daylesford, Creswick, Maryborough and Maldon. Late 1850's saw strikes at St Arnaud, Ararat, Stawell, Rutherglen, and Chiltern. Early 1860's saw discoveries at Beechworth, Jamieson, and Walhalla. Along with these discoveries came an influx of migrants, particularly Chinese, to work in the gold fields. Many miners resented the Chinese presence, however the Chinese contributed a lot to the gold rushes in Australia. It was often the Chinese who provided food for the miners with their market gardens. For a number of years the Victorian gold fields output was only second to that of the Californian fields. As alluvial gold dwindled, mining for gold expanded. We won't be visiting all these towns this trip, but will be coming back again another time to explore some more.
Ballarat saw many miners joining forces, as the Chinese had already done, to form syndicates. This proved particularly beneficial after alluvial gold was dwindling and mining was becoming more common. However, it also led to conflicts that resulted in the Eureka Stockade Rebellion in 1854, and mining rights. I must admit I know little about the Eureka Stockade. It is my understanding that the government of the day imposed a tax on all diggers and miners of a licence fee of 30 shillings a month to 12 pounds a year, with severe penalties for not having a licence. Many of the miners could not afford this, so the grievances grew and riots took place at Beechworth and Castlemaine. Ballarat, with its large mining population was usually peaceful, that was until October 1854 when a Scottish miner named James Scobie was killed at the Eureka Hotel, and the publican Bently was accused of the murder. This is where my uncle's family came into play, although I am still in the early stages of researching. Adam Loftus Lynn was the first solicitor in Ballarat, and he was the solicitor for the Scobie family in the first court case – a lead up to the Eureka Stockade. Lynn's Chambers was originally built in 1870, as a one story dwelling and office and some time after Adam Loftus Lynn died in 1878, a second story was added.
See https://www.realcommercial.com.au/news/ballarat-office-comes-with-unique-gold-rush-history
for more information and photos.
Bentley was discharged and the miners felt that Bentley had paid off officials, so a meeting was called and a demand for a new prosecution was made. The meeting was orderly and towards the end of the meeting police tried to disperse the miners. The miners became angry and pushed back at the police. As a result there was much property damage and three men were arrested as ringleaders and they were imprisoned for three, four and six months. Of course the miners were not happy and events escalated leading to the rebellion and the formation of the iconic blue and white Eureka Flag. There are so many twists and turns in this rebellion that I still don't fully understand it. More reading I guess. Evidence of the gold rush in Ballarat can be seen in the beautiful and varied architecture along the main streets. I was surprised that there was very little – if any – mention of the Chinese in the goldfields. We didn't go to Sovereign Hill recreation village (at a cost of $55 each it was way out of our budget for the three of us), there may have been mention there of the Chinese. So we did the next best thing. After having a lovely lunch at Lake Wendouree, we went to the old Ballarat Cemetery to search for something Chinese, and of course the burial site of Adam Loftus Lynn.
There is so much to see in Ballarat that one would need weeks, if not months to see it all. The information centre had some pamphlets with only brief information, however information plaques and boards are available at most historic buildings. I suggest online research to find out more. The information centre is located in the historic town hall, and well worth visit just to see the building. This building is the third town hall on the site and was opened in 1872. There is limited parking for caravans in the town, so I suggest one of the three donation camp sites close by, or one of the many caravan parks.

Sunday 25 March 2018

Victorian Goldfields.

Jonnie wanted to go to Ballarat, so that is where we headed. I also found out while in Kioloa that Uncle Brian's family came from the gold fields areas, so I did some family research, and sure enough I have them in many places in the gold fields.
Leaving Gippsland we drove through Melbourne, rather easier than previous trips – guess we are getting use to it. While driving down the highway on the way to Melbourne, we had a blowout with one of the van tyres, so had to pull over to change the tyre. That put a big dent in our budget.
The Recreational Reserve campsite at Smythesdale is large with some level spots. We found a really good one, despite there already being a number of vans there. There are toilets, a camp kitchen and a playground, and it is only 17km from Ballarat. On the down side, Ballarat and surrounds have no public dump point. The closest one is at Clunes, some 35 kms north of Ballarat.
Smythesdale is only a short walk from the camp grounds and is named after John Smythe who took up a pastoral lease there in 1849. His name is also found in Smythes Creek and his property name, Nentinball, can be found closer to Ballarat. Gold was discovered in the area soon after in 1853, and the town quickly grew. Originally known as Smythes Creek, it was renamed in 1864. It had its largest population in the 1860's, and many of the buildings are still there today. There is a short signposted historical walk in the village, and once a month there is a small market of local produce. The local historical society also have the historic lock-up, stables and court house open.

Wednesday 21 March 2018

From Gold Fields to Ski Fields

The day before we were all leaving, we all decided to do a road trip to Mt Baw Baw, via Walhalla to Baw Baw and via Tanjil Bren, home – all places we have been before and so interesting.
I think Walhalla, along with Gulgong NSW, are two of the most interesting towns. Both were established around gold discovery, and both still look the same as they did 100 years ago. Walhalla is located in the Gippsland Alpine region. It once had over 4000 gold miners during the 50 odd years of gold mining, but today has only about 20 residents, and many weekender / holiday homes. The main street is full of heritage buildings, and gold is still believed to be in Stringers Creek, now mostly a small creek. Gold was first found in Victoria in 1850, and found in Walhalla in 1862. The town was originally named Stringers and was re- named Walhalla when it was surveyed after the largest gold mine. The mine was named after a German hall of fame from Norse legend. 4 men found gold in the area in December 1862, one a convict named Edward Stringer, also has the creek named after him. He sadly died less than a year later. A few years later a large quartz outcrop was found just above the river, and was named Cohen's Reef after a storekeeper in a close by town. Cohen's Reef became the largest single reef of gold in Victoria. The huge cost of mining gold lead to many individuals or small groups giving up, leaving it to the large companies, like the Long Tunnel Mining Company, which today runs tours of the mine. The mine was worked from 1865 to 1914. In the peak period the town had over a dozen hotels, an carbonated water factory, a Bank of Victoria anda Bank of Australia, as well as many traders, shopkeepers and other support services. A church, police station and court house soon followed. Part of the lock up can still bee seen on the main street. The first road from Moe was completed in 1879, and this saw daily coach services.
Today it is mainly a tourist town with a mixture of original and re-created buildings. Many of the original buildings have been destroyed by fire over the years. There is a cafe near the large parking area, and another two near the park parking area (and toilets). The free/donation camping area has been re-located from the old Chinese market gardens area to a much safer and level area, not far away. This was the start of our Victorian Gold Rush part of our trip.Leaving Walhalla we headed along a dirt track to Mt Baw Baw. Mt Baw Baw is the closest downhill snow field to Melbourne – 2.5 hrs - and is 1,567 metres high. Mt Baw Baw is the home to the worlds tallest flowering plant – Eucalyptus Regnans. The resort offers downhill skiing, cross country ski trails in winter and walking tracks and downhill mountain bike tracks in summer. 
It is very expensive to park there during the ski season, but in off season it is free. The resort offers a cafe with reasonable prices, and a spectacular view. Well worth a visit. We then drove a short distance along a different road back home, to Tanjil Benji to have lunch. Karen, (SIL) had made a lovely lunch of sandwiches, biscuits, water and soft drinks. Tanjil Bren is about 10 km from Mt Baw Baw, nestled on the Tanjil River, and is another gold town. Not much remains open in the town, although during skiing season I expect there would be more open, especially accommodation. In the 'gold' times Tanjil Bren had cafes, shops, garage – still there with old petrol pump – a school and a post office. The name comes from the 1844 Tangel pastoral run, and the word Bren, which comes from the saying 'speed of Bren gun' referring to the speed the milling industry operation took over the area. The town was completely destroyed by fires in the Black Friday bush fires of January 1939 and was rebuilt to become a busy saw milling town. Today it is surrounded by eucalyptus trees. There is a bush fire escape safety mound built in the cleared picnic area. The picnic area has covered tables and seats as well as free bbq's. There is also another stone building with fireplaces each end for the snow season. It is a great place to stop for lunch.

Sunday 18 March 2018

Road Trip Week Two into Three

We love the beautiful south coast NSW beaches, and each time we pass them we wish we had more time to stay. Maybe next year we will do the trip north and have the time to explore. We left Kioloa early afternoon and stopped for lunch at Tuross Heads. We didn't expect to find this fish and chips cafe on the water front. Great lunch.
We headed for the Victorian border and a place we have stayed at before, Genoa. Genoa is a donation camp site with toilets and bbq's. There is an historic bridge at the end of the park and a river which has a few ponds of water to cool off in if it is hot. We got there later than we would like and there were already many vans there. We still found a good spot close to the toilet block.The next day we had lunch at Lakes Entrance before our next overnight stop at Golden Beach Community Centre RV stop over. Another spot we have stayed at previously. This is a donation camp and provides long individual camp sites. It is a short walk to the beach and this time it had a community herb and vege garden – no mint for my mojito though! It would be great to stay longer, but as always heading to Victoria we are on a time frame, so one night it is.
It was then a short trip to the Latrobe Valley in Gippsland and the reason for this trip. We have already visited many places around the Latrobe Valley and beyond, so this time it was good to not plan anything but enjoy the company of family. The rest of the week and the next were spent chatting about old times. It was an enjoyable week.

Wednesday 14 March 2018

2018 Road Trip 2 Week One

On the road again, our second road trip for 2018 saw us heading south to visit family and then to see where the road takes us. First stop was Billinudgal, and the patrons only camp out the back of the pub. It was pleasing to see that the area was not as crowded and certainly not as much little 'campers litter' (squashed cans, cigarette butts, little wrappers etc.). We checked with the bar staff before parking, and were advised it is now only for 55's and over. Makes a big difference. We had a wonderful dinner, way too much food, so it did us for lunch the next day as well.
Day 2 we had planned to stay around Coffs Harbour, however Peter decided to keep going. We did stop at Sawtell for lunch, with an ocean view,
and ended up at Coopernook behind the hotel, in our usual spot. This is also a patrons only camp. Peter and Jonnie had a few drinks, well Jonnie had a lemonade, and Peter had a few beers.
Next stop and day 3 was Tea Gardens Country Club. We joined the club January 2017 as social members and this gives us two nights with power in their car park. We used it twice last year, so renewed our membership again for this year. Really good value, and the people at the club are great and so is the food. It is a shame that some people take advantage of the rules. One of the rules is to be fully self-contained and not to let any water run onto the car park. The van next to us, not only allowed their grey water to run freely on the car park, but actually ran their washing machine, so soapy grey water. Sadly this why some places are stopping over night self-contained travellers. Anyway, we unhitched and went for drive around Hawks Nest as Jonnie has never been here.
We had not planned to stay in Sydney, so decided to drive straight through the middle, which was surprisingly easy this trip. We got to where we had planned to stay and decided to keep going to Kioloa. We did stop for lunch at Sublime Lookout, which was absolutely sublime!
At Kioloa we stayed four nights with my Auntie. We had a morning trip to Ulladulla for grocery shopping, and on the way home we had a drive around Willinga Park at Bawley Point. There was an event on the weekend, but they let us in to have a look around, and it is beautiful. The park is all about horses, and appears to be growing all the time. 
Kioloa is a place we have been to many times over the years, I think our first visit was 1991, when we were living in the Australian Capital Territory. Kioloa is on the south coast of New South Wales and has heaps of kangaroos. Kangaroos are considered a pest there as they eat gardens and break fences, but we loved seeing them as they as they are a novelty to us. There are so many kangaroos in this area at all times of the day. There are aboriginal middens at Racecourse Beach and evidence of axe and spear grindings at Pretty Beach. We visited 'Poppy's Rock' where my uncle would go to fish, just so pretty. We had a lovely visit with my Auntie, and I enjoyed sitting in her sewing room sewing together. We look forward to the next visit. This is my drinking view from Auntie Margaret's verandah.
Let the adventure continue.....