Discovering Country Towns – Day 2

Click on an image to see it full sized.

Our day started with a delicious breakfast.

The Man’s breakfast.

My breakfast

Jams and sauces made with produce from the garden.

School Bus waiting for kids to be dropped off.

I was on a bit of a mystery tour this trip but “The Fount of all Knowledge” knew where he was going, apparently to Porter Lagoon, a popular swimming place with a Boat Club and Tennis Club …… if you were here 100 years ago!

Since the 1920s the lagoon has been receiving less water.

Samphire or Sea Asparagus is becoming a trendy food.

Stuck in the mud.

Hard to imagine swimming and diving events being held here.

First class facilities.

We drove through Burra and out to World’s End Campground, a site with permanent water. Apparently the name came about because early settlers believed it would be very risky to venture further out into the arid country and the first leaseholder of the land built his station near here.

Transport to Worlds End Reserve, 1920s

Bridge built in 1892 so school children could cross the flowing river.

Remains of the old Swing Bridge beside the Worlds End Highway.

Lovely clear, fresh water.

Camping spots are scattered about.

After leaving the Worlds End we drove up the Hallelujah Hills and along the Rim Road which gives wonderful views of the land below. Windy Hill Radio Site was at the top of the highest hill – it’s not a road to take a caravan along.

A true survivor.

Hard to see any sign of “civilization”.

Ne neighbours in that direction either.

Robertstown was a little place I’d never heard of but it appealed to me straight away with its sculpture, memorial seats and great cartoons about the town.

A sculpture by Trent Stewart of a local character, Alby.

Outside the LIbrary – check out the Googler.

You can keep your chips!

The people are trustworthy in Robertstown.

Merv was serving in the shop.

Pepper Trees provided shade and were tough so seemed ideal to early settlers.

Kapunda gets a much bigger dot on the map than Robertstown and it was our last stop on the way home. Like so many towns in the mid-north it has lovely old buildings but what stands out for me are its murals.

A pub, of course.

Looks like a bank but it’s the Institute.

Something for us to keep in mind for the future.

Post Office

Depiction of the Copper mines and the Lord Palmerston Hotel.

Kapunda Rotary Club mural

Sir Sidney Kidman, The Cattle King.

One of the stable door murals at the back of the pub.

This little trip was a reminder that you don’t have to travel far, far away to find new and interesting places.

Discovering Country Towns – Day 1

Last week I wanted to deliver some historic papers in Clare and we decided to make an overnight stay. Having a dog meant we had to find a place where he’d be welcome and the best spot turned out to be a B&B at Farrell Flat, a place I’d never been. Driving across Adelaide midweek with roadworks and traffic slowing us down meant I was ready for a break when we reached Balaklava even though we’d only travelled about 110 kms!

Map of the mid-north area we visited.

Was the chimney an afterthought?

The Terminus Hotel -the pubs seem to be impressive buildings

Art Deco maybe? Fluoro jackets were in abundance.

Perfect country town image.

Next stop was a deserted farmhouse on Templeton Road, a backroad to Blyth.

Luxury home of numerous feral pigeons.

Room with a view.

Pioneers needed to be self reliant, it was a long way to a neighbour.

Blyth was where my dad was born, his family owned the Flour Mill at the time.

Looks like there could have been a Flour Mill here.

No sign of any old Mill.

A golfer will always find a lost ball somewhere!

Stylish pub – of course

Blyth main street on Thursday afternoon.

How much is that doggie in the window?

Next stop was Clare, unfortunately the online info I had was wrong and I wasn’t able to drop off my papers but we did enjoy some lunch and a walk around town.

Impressive use of natural resources and forward thinking.

National Bank

The Library seems to be the same design.

After Clare we were ready to discover the treasures of Farrell Flat. There are more houses in the town than we realized, most are on bigger blocks and there are plenty of trees and shrubs hiding houses. There is a Primary School in the town.

Our B&B

The Fruiterers

Our room – kitchen and bathroom through the door.

Lovely backyard garden.

Fantastic walled garden – walls built by our host.

Silo Art

The old railway station now a private residence.

Water Tower for the steam trains.

We took a drive to Mintaro, all I knew about it was that slate came from there but the whole town was like a trip back to the 1800s and is heritage listed. We didn’t go to the mansion, Martindale Hall, instead we walked around the street investigating the old buildings most have been restored and other are still undergoing work.

The Carpenter’s Workshop

Plaques like these are on all the buildings.

Magnificent old Fig Tree.

The Pub

Not far out of town, quarrying slate.

Back at our B&B we relaxed in the gardens until we became aware of TRAFFIC which we investigated. There were lots of utes and a big bus was stopped outside the Institute, it was a School Bus dropping off kids from Clare High School and parents had come in from the farms to collect them.