GUNDAGAI

2^nd December, 2014

The further north we go the hotter it gets so we detour east to take the road less travelled.  The Snowy Way climbs up into the western foothills of the Great Dividing Range and with altitude comes cooler temperatures – at least that is what we are hoping.  We stop for an overnight freecamp on the New South Wales side of the Murray River five kilometres from Corryong and the following day drive up into the mountains.  Near Tumbarumba (at an altitude of 750 metres) we pull into a freecamp area at Burra Creek beside the Hume and Hovell walking track. 

The temperature is a much more reasonable 24 degrees – better than the 34 degrees of the past few days.  We find a spot beside the creek and soon have the van set up on site.

Campsite beside Burra Creek

While waiting for lunch to miraculously appear from the depths of the van Wok keeps watch for any movement in the creek.

Wok waiting for a fish to swim by

With no fish making their presence known we go for a walk along the track beside the creek.  Explorers Hume and Hovell passed this way on their journey south and on the 400 kilometre long stretch between Yass and Albury there are eleven trackheads where hikers can enter or exit.  We are camped at Henry Angel Trackhead – named after a convict who was assigned to the explorers.  In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s the creek was also the scene for gold mining and the landscape became scarred with tailings.  Evidence of the mining can still be seen beside the track and along the creek bank.  We also kept finding wombat holes all over the place.  Some had not been used for quite some time but others were obviously still occupied.

Wombat holes at Burra Creek

 

We kept an eye out that night in case a wombat came waddling by but the only wombat we saw was one that was taking a nap in the middle of the road the next day.  We continued north along the Snowy Way to Tumut and then followed the Murrumbidgee River to Gundagai where we decided to stop for a few days and take in the sights.

Gundagai - caravan park on river between the two bridges (left hand corner of photo)

We had just set up on site in the River Caravan Park when a line of thunder storms rolled through.  Luckily for us the main part of the damaging winds and hail passed to the west and east of Gundagai.  When the storm had passed the river looked rather eerie as mist rose above the water.

Mist rising from the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai

Most Australians are familiar with the iconic country ballad ‘Road to Gundagai’ and the ‘Dog on the Tuckerbox’ – so our first port of call was to visit the memorial to the ‘Dog on the Tuckerbox’ five miles from Gundagai.

At least now there is an information board beside the memorial telling visitors the story behind the sculpture.

On our way back into town we take a detour to the cemetery to visit the resting place of bushranger Andrew George Scott – better known as Captain Moonlite.

Unlike most bushrangers Andrew Scott was well educated and even trained as an engineer before travelling with his parents and brother to New Zealand.  After serving in the military in New Zealand he made his way to Australia where he trained as a lay preacher.  It is a mystery as to why he committed his first bank robbery but by the time his bushranging days ended in 1879 the legend of ‘Captain Moonlite’ was forever written in Australian colonial history.

We stop at the Information Centre in Gundagai to have a look at something we had been told about.  Displayed in a back room is a marble masterpiece made by Rusconi (the sculptor of the ‘Dog on the Tuckerbox’)

Rusconi's Marble Masterpiece

Rusconi spent over 28 years painstakingly making this over a metre tall model with small pieces of coloured marble obtained from different areas of Australia.  It is a beautiful piece of workmanship and something you would expect to see in a major gallery.

In the park beside the Information Centre is another sculpture that once stood five miles from Gundagai near the ‘Dog on the Tuckerbox’

Dad, Dave, Mum and Mabel (all decked out for Christmas)

Before television - (Yes there was a time before TV) – we remember listening to ‘Dad and Dave’ on the radio.  Our guess is that 'our generation' will be the last to really know what it was like to gather around the radio each evening to listen to favourite radio serials.

We take a walk along the main street in Gundagai and pass a couple of hotels dating back to the late eighteen hundreds.

 

At the far end of the main street and just around the corner is the local museum housed in the old Bank of New South Wales building.

Gundagai Museum

We go in for a quick look around only to discover that we have entered the Tardis of museums.  Everything and anything was on display and more importantly there were information notes and boards explaining what the article was.  Oodles of photos of the town, the farms and the people adorned the walls.  A whole section is devoted to the devastating flood of 1852 when the fledgling town was completely destroyed and 89 people died – many survivors owing their lives to four aboriginals who rescued people from roofs and trees in bark canoes.  There was even a bark slab dunny on display in the backyard.

Privacy wasn't an issue - just pull the hessian bag across for a screen

Once upon a time there were two wooden trestle bridges across the river and floodplain – one for the railway and one for vehicular traffic.  In 1985 a new bridge was opened which diverted the highway to the west and around the town.  The two wooden bridges have now fallen into disrepair and are closed.

The old railway bridge at Gundagai

The old vehicular bridge at Gundagai has seen better days

Since 1979 the town has been trying to raise money to save the historical bridges but sadly the finances needed may be too astronomical for this small community.  One day the bridges may disappear and part of Gundagai’s history will be gone forever – but for now we can appreciate their special place in the building of this country town.