A PRISON then MALLACOOTA to WALHALLA

27^th October, 2014

We’re finally on our way and a toss of the coin has us heading south into the alpine region.  The weather was fine as we were packing up but a southerly change has arrived and the wind is picking up.  We stop outside a Woolworths in Cooma for some grocery shopping and while putting said items away in the van notice that we have pulled up beside a museum – and not just any old museum.  This is a Corrective Services Museum … ??

Parked outside the Corrective Services Museum in Cooma

Of course, curiosity got the better of us and we just had to investigate.  As we walked along the street side of the museum there was a mural with information panels telling us that the museum was a history of the Corrective Services beginning in 1788 when the First Fleet arrived.  As soon as the first convict set foot on Australian soil the soldiers in charge became the fledgling beginnings of the Corrective Services.  We rounded the corner of the museum and to our surprise found that the museum was attached to a fully operational prison.

Cooma Prison Entrance

While we were admiring the architecture of the prison a guard approached us and asked if we wished to see inside the museum.  When we told him ‘yes’ he said that normally the museum was closed on Mondays (and yes – it was Monday) but he had just had a pre-arranged bus load of tourists go through and he would keep the museum open for another half hour for us to have a look through.  What a nice guy!  The museum occupied part of one of the original prison buildings and although small was crammed with information and displays.  At the rear of the building a small workshop was in operation with trustees from the prison making craft items to sell in the shop attached to the museum.  The guard told us that Cooma prison is one of the oldest operating prisons in New South Wales and 167 inmates were incarcerated behind its walls.  The prison was certainly a surprise to stumble upon.  Not something one would expect to find only a stone’s throw from the main shopping precinct.

Back on the road again – well sort of.  The wind was blowing us all over the road and it was becoming quite hairy.  Forty kilometres further on we pulled into Nimmitabel and took refuge behind a hedge in the little shire operated caravan park.  It was early afternoon but we decided to play safe and stay put for the night.  There were only two permanent caravans other than us in the park and a sign said that the caretaker would come around to collect fees at the end of the day.  The wind blew and blew and blew – it must have blown the caretaker away as we never saw hide nor hair of him before we left the next day.  At least the wild weather had moved on and the drive over the mountains and down to the coast was pleasant and scenic.  By midday we were checking into the foreshore caravan park at Mallacoota – in the north eastern corner of Victoria. 

Wok is pumping up the tyres on our bikes - ready to ride in Mallacoota

Over the next four days we enjoyed the sunny weather and did some sight-seeing, walking, bike riding and just lazed around.

Wok checks out the boats while the pelicans take a break along the Mallacoota foreshore

Looking out over the estuary at Mallacoota

Pied Cormorants at Mallacoota

We’ve done it again!  The morning was fine while we were packing up but within half an hour of being on the road a change has occurred with wind and rain buffeting the car and van.  We pull over in a rest area and have an early lunch – hoping that the weather will improve.  After two hours there seems to be a break in the weather so we hit the road again.  The lull in the wind and rain only lasts a short while and we decide that enough is enough and pull into a little campground in Bruthen for the night.  By morning the worst is over and before we check out of the campground phone ahead to see if there is a site in the caravan park at Rawson.   We don’t normally have to do this but we have only just realized that it is the weekend before the Melbourne Cup and in Victoria this is an extra long weekend for some people with the public holiday for the Melbourne Cup being on the Tuesday.  We are in luck!  The Rawson Caravan Park was booked out but a camper has had enough of the wet weather and checked out early.  As we want to stay three nights they will hold the site for us.  We arrive at midday and are soon set up on site amidst the tall timber.

Our campsite among the trees in Rawson

Rawson was a purpose-built town to provide accommodation for workers on the Thomson Dam.  The workers have long since moved on but its setting amid the bush makes it a good base for bushwalking, four wheel driving, mountain biking and trout fishing.  The following morning we hop in Mitzi and take the short drive to Walhalla.  In 1862 gold was found in the valley and by 1880 a vibrant mining community was in full swing with a population of over 3,000 people.  There were 10 hotels, 7 churches, several dance halls, a hospital, a school with more than 500 students, sporting clubs and over 50 shops.  During the gold era over 70 tonnes of gold was removed from the valley.  In 1910 the railway finally arrived, but it was too late.  Gold yields were falling and the major mines had all closed by 1914.  Walhalla was then effectively abandoned as people moved away to find work elsewhere.  Most of the houses and buildings were pulled down and shipped to other towns while others were simply abandoned.  The structures that remained were mostly destroyed by fire and Walhalla was virtually a ghost town.  In the 1990’s following a renewed interest in Australia’s heritage many of the homes and shops began to be rebuilt and now boasts a permanent population of 20 residents. In 1998 Walhalla became the last town in Victoria to be connected to electricity. This once forgotten gold mining town is now a popular tourist destination. 

Walhalla

At the southern entrance to the town is the Walhalla Goldfields Railway – a narrow gauge train that winds its way down the gorge to the Thomson River.  The railway was never a success with the line closing in 1944 but it has now been reopened by enthusiasts who have lovingly restored this section of the line.  Along with the cemetery that clings to the side of the hill at a 45 degree angle are cottages built on narrow ledges cut into the steep hillsides.  On the hillside above the town lies the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine.  Over 13 tonnes of gold was removed from this mine making it one of the most successful in Victoria.  The mine has long since ceased operations but guided tours can be taken to relive what it was like for the miners of the day.  We stroll around the town enjoying a pleasant day and our step-back-in-time.

The Rotunda in Walhalla - Masonic Lodge on hill behind

The Mechanics Institute

The Post Office and Residence

The Fire Station is built over the creek

Vintage cars on a rally parked outside the Star Hotel

St Luke's Church perched on the hillside

It’s another day and we hop in Mitzi to take a drive to the Thomson Dam.  Work was commenced on the dam in the 1960’s with many of the workers coming from the Snow Mountains Hydro Scheme.  Completed in 1984, the dam is home to half of Melbourne’s drinking water.  At 165 metres high it is the biggest earth and rockfill dam in the southern hemisphere.  Photos do not do this dam any justice – there is no way to convey the massive rock wall that has been constructed to hold back the water.

The massive rock wall of Thomson Dam

On our way back to the campground we do a bit of off road sight-seeing winding our way through ancient Myrtle Beech forests

Driving in the national park near Mt Erica

before stopping to take a walk to Mushroom Rocks.

Mushroom Rocks

Back at camp we relax and listen to the sounds around us.  Children playing, families gathered around campfires, someone chopping wood for those campfires, the distant sound of a guitar – and in the background the myriad sounds of bird calls.

A holiday weekend in the Australian bush …… priceless !