Canberra

This statue honors a man who used his donkey to carry wounded to safety.
He took one trip too many and was killed. Note the poppies.

Over dinner after our tour of the Wagga area, we decided that a visit to Canberra and the Australian War Memorial was in order. Linda and I skipped Canberra on our previous visit to Australia and we had been discussing Australia’s involvement in the various wars. We had also watched a documentary on the Kokoda campaign during World War II. This campaign lasted several weeks as the Japanese tried to reach Port Moresby on the island of New Guinea. This would have given them access to the Australian mainland putting the entire country at risk of invasion. A trail of sorts existed then and now across New Guinea up and down the hills and mountains of the island. Fighting was difficult over this terrain, but eventually the Japanese gave up the campaign and then had to continue the fight as they reversed direction and retreated off the island. Today, the trail is open to trekkers. Kerrie had made the trek with a group a few years earlier, so this campaign is of particular interest.

This view shows off the original plan.

Canberra, Australia’s capital city, was designed to be the capital in 1912 and built over the next several years. An international contest chose the design of American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. The original vision is still being fulfilled as they are now building a light rail system through the city. The design is a beautiful one that takes advantage of Canberra’s geography. A straight line was drawn between the city’s two high points with the War Memorial at one end and the Parliament building at the other. A lake crosses the line at about the halfway point between the two. The city’s main thoroughfares are designed in concentric circles around this center. Meanwhile the commercial part of town is off to the side so as not to impinge on the view of the two main buildings.

Business district in another direction

We started our tour of the area with a drive up the ANZAC Parade. This broad boulevard is lined with memorials for each of the wars Australia and New Zealand fought in. ANZAC is an acronym for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. On another visit we will take an hour or two to walk this street and get a closer look at these monuments.  The trees that line the street are native to Australia and the bushes in the center are from New Zealand, so there is lots of green.  

As we approached the War Memorial, we circled around to the back and up Remembrance Driveway to the top of the hill where we had a perfect view of Canberra’s design. Information plaques point out what we are seeing and show the original design elements along with some of the original plans and drawings. It is a great way to begin any tour of Canberra.

Uniform literally taken off the back of a soldier

The Memorial was started by Charles Bean, official World War I historian, while he was serving in France in 1916. He conceived the idea and began collecting artifacts. One of the more amazing artifacts he collected is the uniform of a soldier as he left the trenches after several days of fighting. The soldier was more than willing to trade his wet, moldy, flea-infested uniform for a new one. The display includes all the mud and grime from the uniform and his equipment with the exception of his gun. Someone cleaned the rifle before Bean could stop him. The Memorial also includes a large library of written documents and pictures. David found a picture of his father and had it printed as a keepsake for himself.

After returning down the hill and finding a parking place near the Memorial, we walked across the grounds to the entrance passing several statues and fountains along the way. We entered the Memorial itself just in time to take a guided tour of the building. The four of us were fortunate to be his only guests as we spent the next 90 minutes going through the World War I exhibit, the hall of Victoria Cross recipients, and the Memorial Wall. Most Victoria Cross plaques include their medals include the Victoria Cross. They hope to eventually have them all.

The Memorial Wall fills both sides of a reflecting pool with over 100,000 names of those killed in war. Over 60,000 of these are from World War I. Visitors have adorned the names with poppies. I remember poppies being sold on Veterans Day in the US when I was in elementary school, but that tradition seems to have disappeared at home. We saw poppies still in use in England when we visited there several years ago on Armistice Day. Poppies were first adopted by the American Legion in 1919 and soon the practice of using poppies to commemorate the war dead spread to Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The idea stems from the World war I poem, In Flanders Fields.

After our tour we watched some multimedia presentations. Two of them featured the Lancaster bomber runs. The Lancaster was the main bomber used by British forces during World War II. One of these actually puts visitors in the cockpit and concludes with its being shot down on its return to England. We also watched a short video on the Kokoda campaign. As usual with museums like this we did not have enough time.

Watching the ceremony. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier
is through the door at the back. 

Each day at the Memorial ends with a ceremony honoring one of the soldiers killed during World War I. One name is chosen from the 62,000 to honor. His story is told and wreaths are laid while bagpipes and trumpets play. One of the wreaths is laid by a family member or friend of the family. Others are laid by schoolchildren. Schoolchildren come from all over the country to visit the Memorial every day. They will usually choose one of the names from the wall to research and then the class will present the wreath during the ceremony. It only lasts about ten minutes and was quite moving.

The Old Parliament Building

Aboriginal protest has been her for years. The building in front is their Embassy.

Part of the Aboriginal protest

We finished our visit to Canberra with a drive around the old and new Parilament buildings and through the commercial area. Dinner on the way home was at the Shearing Shed, a roadside pub, where I had lamb shanks. Kerrie said I needed to try them. She loves them now, but while growing up on a sheep ranch, they were simply dog food so it took her a while to grow to love them as an adult. They are cooked so the meat falls off the bone. I was pleased.

We stopped here on our way to Canberra.

The dog waited for his master while he was drinking because he could not cross the swollen river.
The Dog on the Tuckerbox is now a song and this memorial.

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. 

Driving South from Sydney

After our days in Sydney, we picked up our car and headed south to Wagga Wagga. Rather than take the main road, we decided to head directly south along the coast. Our reward was a drive of beautiful curves through two forests and many miles of ocean views. Google maps did not want us to take this drive so it took come creative mapping to find the road as we left Sydney. To make the drive even more interesting, we missed the first turn as we left our hotel which forced us north across the Harbor Bridge before returning south through a tunnel we will probably result in bill from the car rental company for the tunnel toll. Fortunately, we avoided any accidents as I relearned driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road.

Otford Overlook in Royal National Park

After many miles of urban driving, we saw a sign for Royal National Park. I remembered our Wagga host David Bryan telling me that this is the second oldest national park in the world (after Yellowstone) so we took the chance and spent the next 15 miles curving down into the park and then curving back up through a dense rain forest. The road was so empty of cars we saw three times as many bicycles as we did cars. We skipped the turn that would have taken us to the beach, but thoroughly enjoyed the time in the forest.

When we finally emerged from the forest we were greeted with a pair of spectacular overlooks. The first, Otford Lookout, is also the beginning of a ten-mile trail hugging the coastline. The sign recommends making this a two-day trip. The sign also reminded those using the ‘natural’ beach to remember to dress before heading back up to the trail. The second, called Stanwell Tops, is also the takeoff point for hang gliders and para sailors. Over a dozen were there when we arrived. It reminded me of watching surfers waiting for the perfect wave. Sometimes I think it is more about the camaraderie than about the actually surfing.

We chatted with a few of them as they hung out waiting or preparing their machines. We also chatted with one young lady who paid the $200 for a piggy back ride. She was nervous, but excitedly looking forward to the adventure. Reminding ourselves of the time and distance yet to drive, we did not wait around to see her fly.

The point could easily have been called the Lawrence Hargrave Overlook and might have been if the road were not already named for this early experimenter. In the early part of the last century he spent many hours at this very spot using box kites to study the aerodynamics of flight making him one of the true pioneers of flight. His statue is prominently displayed overlooking the ocean.

The view includes a good look at Sea Cliff Bridge, built over a two year period to replace the road destroyed in an avalanche. The new bridge extends out over the rocks to avoid any further avalanche damage. Unlike most of the coast road, the bridge includes wide shoulders and a sidewalk on the ocean side of the road. This is also the area of the first coal mine in Australia. While the quality of the coal was less than exceptional, the convenience of the location was perfect and the mine operated for many years. A coke plant is still in operation.

After another hour along the coast we stopped for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the harbor in Wollongong. From there we headed inland over Macquarie Pass on another winding road through a forest. By the time we emerged from this forest, we realized that the leisurely portion of the drive was over. We needed to keep moving if we were going to make it to Wagga before dark and in time for dinner. We passed several interesting looking towns, but only took a quick detour through one. Several more had inviting signs announcing their historical importance, but we had miles to go before we slept, miles to go ...

Wollongong Harbor

Blue Mountains

 Our friends and fellow Stanfordites, Alan and Karen Mela, arranged a tour of the Blue Mountains for one of our days in Sydney. The Blue Mountains are an uplift west of Sydney part of the Great Dividing Range that separates the eastern coast from the rest of the continent. The Blues were an impasse to the west as the first explorers tried using the valleys as a route through. Unfortunately, they were stymied by the cliffs that make the region such a beautiful and magnificent natural area. It wasn’t until they tried following the ridges to the west that they found the route through. Today both trains and a highway link Sydney to its hinterland over these mountains.

While a park was first proposed in 1932, it was not until 1959 that it was declared a national park. In 1999, the UN designated the entire region a world heritage area. The region takes its name from the blue cast to the colors of the forest and the valleys. The park is popular with hardy hikers as well as those just looking for a pleasant place to spend a warm sunny day. Short, easy hikes are commonplace along with some real treks that take several days of difficult hiking. Climbers also enjoy the many fine climbing sites.

Peter

Our trip began with a train ride to Strathfield where we met Peter, our guide. A former teacher, Peter did a great job accommodating our wishes as we explored the region. His car took us into places no buses and few minibuses ever go making it a special tour for us. Our first stop was to see some Aboriginal rock art near his boyhood home in Faulconbridge. Totally unprotected, it is amazing that these ancient carvings are still in tact. Peter also talked about Banksia, a tree with an interesting seed style. The pods grow spines almost like velcro. Then when the pod dries out it becomes a hard cone with holes in that same shape. Round banksia pods are often made into decorative items for eucalyptus oils and sold as souvenirs.

An emu

Banksia

A few miles later we took a walk to Echo Point where we first saw why this area is so special. Steep, nearly impassable cliffs surround what appears to be an impenetrable forest on the valley floor. The blue cast to the view made clear the reason for its name. Peter explained that Aussies call “Kooooo-ey” when trying to find another person. His call echoed from the surrounding cliffs.

Another slightly longer walk took us to Pulpit Rock for more views. This site includes stairs down to three other more prominent viewpoints. Alan and I joined Peter in the climb to these spots with their even more spectacular views.

After lunch in an old bank building, we stopped at the Lost Bear Gallery. That visit and a stop at an antique shop in Heathcliff in the morning showed us two more reasons so many people regularly visit this area. The antique shop is in an old theater and decorated with an interesting mural showing of the local flora and fauna.

In the afternoon we made a short stop for pictures of the iconic Three Sisters. The story is that these three sisters were coveted by three brothers from a neighboring enemy tribe. To protect the young ladies, they were turned into these rock spires. Unfortunately, in the ensuing battles, the only person who could change them back was killed leaving them forever as a reminder of the follies of men.

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters

A path down Leura Cascades was another beautiful and restful walk. The path meanders about a mile alongside the stream. Following our walk here we made another stop at Wentworth Falls lake, another lovely picnic area where we watched a sulphur-crested cockatoo digging with his beak for something he thought was in the ground. We watched several minutes, but our lack of reward for the time spent was the same as that of the unsuccessful birds. He may have been successful later as his persistence clearly outlasted our patience.

Our final stop was down another dirt track to Lincoln’s Rock. Locally known as Flat Rock, it was largely unvisited except by locals until pictures began appearing on Instagram and other sites. Today it is usually busy with couples taking wedding pictures in the late afternoon sunsets. Only couple was there the day we visited, but even with the clouds obscuring the sunset, it was a beautiful end to our day. Peter also pointed out a cooking depression created by aboriginals and still being used today.

We finished the day with dinner at a Chinese restaurant above Sydney’s Fish Market. The market was long closed, but the restaurant was still busy even in this lonely part of the city.

Striped Honeyeater

The End of the Day