|
We last visited Warrnambool in November 2018 and loved it so much we wanted to stay permanently. It was lovely to return and still have the same feeling for this rugged seaside town oozing with maritime history and a vibrant gourmet food and artistic scene, which reminds us very much of Albany in Western Australia. We met new local James, at the Grape and Barley, a craft beer aficionado now living in Warrnambool with his Mum after being priced out of the competitive rental market in Melbourne, and Simone and Richard also from Melbourne who had stopped over in Warrnambool on their way to see family near Robe in South Australia.
  Warrnambool Art Gallery (WAG)Exhibition: "There's no place like home" curated by Serena Wong "looks at both the good and the bad as equal threads in the story of this nation."
Exhibition: Local artist Rachel Robb uses oil to create slow, small-scale paintings that merge the mundane with the sublime in a traditional still-life format
Exhibition: "Structures of Feelings" aligns the work of two ground-breaking Australian artists from different generations, Paul Yore (1987-) and Albert Tucker (1914-1999) to interrogate the response by each artist to their socio-political surroundings. "By aligning the practices of Tucker and Yore, the exhibition draws attention to the incredible power that cultural regimes wield in shaping belief systems."
   Little East BeachKnown as Port Fairy's safest dog beach because it is a protected cove with little to no surf and it didn't disappoint. We left Cherry at the end of Griffiths Street and walked along the beach towards Battery Hill, then into town.
Battery HillThe concrete fortifications at Battery Hill originally known as Flagstaff Hill, the Harbour Master’s signal point for shipping, were completed in 1887 in response to a perceived invasion threat by Russian after the Crimean War, which was won by a British and France alliance. Each year in January on Sunday morning the cannon is fired to celebrate the New Year and share the history of this quaint seaside town.
 Around town
Tower Hill and KoroitA wildlife reserve managed by the Worn Gundidj Aboriginal Cooperation is home to emus, koalas, echidnas, turtles, possums and kangaroos who can be seen around the crater lake and rugged bushland. The Natural History Centre, currently under renovation, was designed in 1962 by Australian architect Robin Boyd, cylindrical in shape echoes the form of this now inactive volcano. The reserve is a no dog zone so we could only drive around the circuit track but it was still very impressive, and the crater loop track would make for an exciting walk.
Located near Tower Hill, with rich volcanic soil, Koroit is a historic Irish farming settlement dating back to the 1840s, which is said to boast Australia’s most “complete examples” of early Irish architecture.
Timboon to Curdie Rail Trail Return Walk
 
Timboon Fine Ice Cream & Schulz Organic Dairy Scones
Curdie Trestle Bridge The rail bridge over Curdies River was constructed in 1892 to facilitate the Timboon-Camperdown Line and provided access to the coastal town of Port Campbell and helped local creamery and butter produces access markets to sell their products. The bridge was constructed of local Heytesbury forest timber and displays both utilitarian bridge and wharf building techniques. The rail line was closed in 1986 and the bridge was restored to form part of the Timboon-Camperdown Rail Tail. The bridge is one of the few surviving railway structures of this type in Victoria.
 It's about a 285-kilometer journey from Bendigo in Central Victoria to Warrnambool on the south-west coast. We stopped at Beaufort the halfway point for lunch each way and also checked out a vintage secondhand store, which I can never resist and always want to buy everything in the store, thankfully the Shovel is there to bring me back to reality... I do tend to pendulum between uncluttered minimalist and maximalist hoarder... Beaufort This area was called “Peerick” by the Jajowarrung First People. Thomas Mitchell was the first European in the region before gold was discovered in 1852. Although unsubstantiated, the town was named after Rear Admiral Francis Beaufort who devised the Beaufort scale for measuring wind velocity. Gumby had a lovely chat to Jim in the local Newsagency regarding the importance of carrying physical cash, of which Gumby does not, as she paid for the Frankie magazine by tapping her phone against the EFT device…
 Shepparton Art Museum (SAM)
Elmore
Campaspe Run Tourist Attraction
I went into the Information Centre at Elmore looking to purchase local honey and left, without honey, but with knowledge I never knew I needed. The welcoming Information Centre volunteer invited the three of us to view the interactive museum display which taught us the suburb of Sunshine in Melbourne was named after the HV McKay "Sunshine" Combine Harvester where the factory was located.
Train StationLegend has it or so it was told to us by Gumby's Step Dad that the train station in Maryborough, Victoria should have been construction in Maryborough, Queensland. Upon completion the station boasted the longest platform in Victoria and remains one of the most impressive examples of Queen Ann architecture with stucco trimmings and Dutch-Anglo influences; For a town with a population of under 8,000 the station is quite unique.
 School of MinesThe Maryborough School of Mines was established in 1888 and opened in 1889. The Maryborough area was known as the "great alluvial field" and remains a popular mining district for amateur prospectors.
Around townWe visited Maryborough on a day trip from Bendigo a distance of approximately 70kms in a south west direction to see the birth place of Gumby's Step Dad. The town is adorned with a fantastic array of mid to late nineteen century gold boom architecture and is a fascinating place to stroll around on a Sunday afternoon.
According to Britannia "the town was founded in 1854 during a gold rush. It was renamed after the Irish birthplace of the local police commissioner and was proclaimed a municipality in 1857."
This was the first time Shovel and Gumby had flown together since meeting in 2016. Over land is how we'd previously travelled until a trip to Geelong to celebrate Gumby's step dad's 70th Birthday had us flying south. The view leaving Mount Isa following the recent heavy rains was spectacular and we felt grateful for the opportunity to witness this from the air. Shovel loves planes and flying and was completely in his element sitting by the window.
Museum of Play and Art (MoPA)
We crossed over the Victoria - South Australia border today on our journey from Warrnambool to Mount Gambier. The trip today of only 185 kilometres took just under three hours to complete with a lunch stop at Heywood, just north of Portland on the A1 Highway. We even gained half an hour crossing the border and were again grateful for a level caravan site at the Pine Country Caravan Park that just happen to be drive through. The set up definitely had us jumping for joy.
|
The JourneyChoose Curiosity The Catalogue
November 2023
The Tags
All
|
RSS Feed
