Wagga Wagga

On our first day in Wagga (Aussies drop the repetition) David took us on a drive around the area. We began with a stop in town along the Murrumbidgee River. It’s a lovely spot that could easily be developed into a nice park, but so far the council is just leaving it as a heavily rutted area suitable only for four-wheel drive vehicles.

The Murrambidgee River

Our first stop was at a Roundhouse Museum which was still closed in the morning. It is still a working roundhouse along with being a museum. From there we stopped in Junee. Junee is a small town that used to be a major railroad hub and is developing an area for rail businesses in the hopes of rekindling some of that economic vitality. For the time being it has several old hotel buildings, a beautiful train station/hotel with 40 rooms that could be available again in the future. They were originally built to house railroad workers. It did seem as if there had been a hotel on every corner.

The Old Railway Station still houses a restaurant

Our main reason for visiting Junee was to see the chocolate and licorice factory. Windows allow visitors to see the operation while trying samples of the chocolate and licorice or having a chocolate drink or coffee. The chocolates are mostly covered fruits and nuts created in round tubs. Licorice begins as an ugly mess of whatever drops into a hopper where it is heated and squeezed into logs which are then cut into 2” segments for sale. I think this was some sort of raspberry flavor, but I’m not a fan of licorice anyway so it was hard for me to tell. They also make something called smash-cakes. These are made of a hard chocolate decorated for celebrations. Kerrie told us they actually had to use a hammer to break into one they purchased. For a fee, you can even decorate your own.

The Chocolate/Licorice Factory

A Junee street corner filled with hotels

From Junee, we drove past field after field of canola oil plants. Beautiful yellow hillsides contrasted nicely with the greens and browns of the grain fields or fallow areas. In Coolamon we stopped at the “Up-To-Date” Store. And yes, that is its name. The name was its advertising slogan when it opened in 1909. It closed in 1932, but the building remained as it was over the years and is now a museum.

The Cash Railway

A Crocheted Purse

And a Hat

The store is huge as it needed to be if it was to meet its goal of supplying every need. The highlight is the still operating cash rail line. Purchase money was placed in a ball which was raised to the rail line where gravity carried it to the office where change was made and a receipt written to be returned on the opposite line. The balls were of different sizes so they would drop off at the correct counter. Pictures of this store and similar ones lined the walls as did original ads for the various products. Some of the specialized rooms even had sample products. Linda loved the millinery room with its video of a woman who crocheted garments of all types. In the back rooms, the museum had a wide variety of farm tools and equipment.

Thanks from the Community

Another Example

Next door was the ubiquitous war memorial museum. Australia’s military history is something that still resonates strongly throughout the country. This one was particularly interesting because it included plaques with the names of soldiers from many of the surrounding communities. Most of these were from communities that had lost their community building as populations changed and moved. Fortunately, this museum was there to preserve them. They also had several thank you plaques created by communities for the returning soldiers. These were amazingly ornate as you can see from the pictures.   

Downtown Coolamon

The Cheese Factory

Before leaving town we stopped at the local cheese factory where we met the cheesemaker and tasted several of the excellent cheeses he makes. Production was finished for the day; otherwise we could have watched some of the process through the windows. This was really only a taste or what this remarkable town has to offer. We missed the recommended antique shop and the Fire Museum in the old fire station. Unlike many small towns around the world, Coolamon has built a reputation and become a tourist stop by focusing on its history and artisan products.

Our final stop was to taste some wine at the college winery. We had tasted these award-winning wines on our first visit to Wagga 20 years ago in a different building. In the intervening years, the winery first grew and has now contracted as the college has changed its emphasis and determined that the winery needed to show a profit even as it charged 25% for overhead. Not many businesses could survive that. Nevertheless, the program is still in operation. As they have scaled back, they are now focusing on alumni grapes and wine makers. As we enjoyed the fine wines, we were also entertained by the winemaker himself and the server who has been with the winery for over a decade and was full of stories.

Murrambidgee River

For dinner David and Kerrie fed us a traditional lamb roast with mint jelly and root vegetables. Pie ala mode came for dessert. An excellent way to end the day.

Next to the Chocolate/Licorice Factory

One of a dozen old cars on a rally.