INVERELL, TINGHA AND HOME

22^nd November, 2016

We arrive in Inverell and by lunchtime have set up the vans in a caravan park. Inverell was settled in 1836 and today has a thriving beef, lamb and olive industry. It is a pretty town with heritage buildings and is situated on the banks of the Macintyre River. The town is known as The Sapphire City with the blue sapphire being the most prized. There are many fossicking parks in the surrounding area. The districts rich volcanic soils offer other gems and minerals. Diamonds, black tourmaline and quartz can be found along with tin. We take a drive to Copeton Dam which is 17 klms south of Inverell. It is a massive body of water and is 3 times the size of Sydney Harbour. Water skiing, sailing and kayaking are popular water sports and for the fishing enthusiasts, yellow belly, murray cod, catfish and silver perch can be caught. On the way to the dam we stop in at 'Olives of Beaulieu' for a taste test. Wayne was in olive heaven with lots of different flavours to try. There were also home made jams and pickles to taste. Needless to say we didn't come away empty handed. Of course with two guys in tow it was a no-brainer that we would pay a visit to the National Transport Museum. This museum has oodles of vintage, veteran and classic vehicles on display and the guys were suitably impressed. The following photos give a snapshot of what is on display.

Wayne and Wok are undecided as to where to begin their tour

Wayne loved the motorcycle exhibits

And Wok loved this little goggomobile

This double decker bus brought back fond memories

We leave Inverell and head south east, stopping at Gilgai to take a look at New England Woodturning Supplies.

This woodworks is the work of one man (Rob Day) and he has made a welcoming drive onto his property with carvings set into the trees.

Beside his workshop where Rob is happy to show you his current works in progress is a wonderful gallery filled with all things wooden.

Wok liked seeing how this clock worked

The surprise to see in the gallery was a display of didgeridoos. Rob explains that a few years ago he became interested in how didgeridoos were made. More importantly in how they sounded. So he started experimenting with different types of wood and in the process learned how to play. We were the only people in the place but he happily put on a demonstration for us – playing different didgeridoos and what he called 'oddgeridoos'.

Rob playing one of his 'oddgeridoos'

We have seen and heard many didgeridoo players in our travels and Rob Day is up there with the best. What we thought was going to be a usual 'run of the mill' woodworks turned out to be a highlight for us all. Before lunch we pull into the small caravan park at Tingha. Tin was first discovered here in the early 1870's and the small town developed to service the tin mining communities. We have arrived in time to visit the Wing Hing Long museum in town.

Wing Hing Long Museum at Tingha

This living museum is run by volunteers and only open for a few hours on certain days. Established as a general store in the 1880's the stock consisted of anything and everything. Between the opening of the store and 1915 five Chinese owners managed the store. After the second world war Mavis Pratt (a daughter of Chinese owner Jack Lowe who bought the store in 1915) took over management and ultimately ownership and continued running the store until her retirement at 81 years of age in 1998. The store and its contents were acquired by Guyra Shire Council for community management as a living museum. As we walk through the front doors we step back in time. The shelves and every nook and cranny are crammed full of leftovers from a bygone era. It is fun just wandering around finding things that we saw our parents and grandparents using as well as remembering using them ourselves. It is rare these days to find an operational money exchange trolley system and the boys had fun trying it out.

Wok - "I just pull this rope right?"
Wayne - "I have no idea.  Just pull it and see what happens!"

At the rear of the store was a residence and shed. The family lived in the upstairs residence and the Chinese employees were housed in the back of the shed where stock was stored.

Residence upstairs - Storeroom and employees rooms downstairs

This slice of history is a big undertaking for a very small community to try and keep running. We do hope that they manage to maintain this living museum for generations to come.

Well we have finally come to the end of our journey with Wayne. We head east to a freecamp at Guyra before parting company. Wayne turns north for home while we cross the Great Dividing Range to the coast and spend a few days relaxing at Iluka.

Wok takes in the sunset at Iluka

Then it is time to head back to the Sunshine Coast to help look after the menagerie of animals at Tina and Paul's while they take a week's cruise with the girls.

Wok feeds Pedro and Usher while the chooks get the leftovers

It will be a lot of fun this week.
Just us … the dog ... the cats … the budgerigars ... the goldfish … the alpacas … and the chooks.