First posted on January 3, 2013
This trip came about because I was invited to Joseph’s 50th birthday party in Canberra. In planning to take a meandering route, my first thought was Canowindra. Why there? I can’t remember what film or TV show it was, but I was surprised it wasn’t filmed on a film set but in a country town, one that was still so well preserved as an example of “the olden days”. There’s something to be said for reading all the credits as they roll! So it was Canberra and Canowindra. Didn’t take long for the corny idea of staying only in places starting with C to take hold – scouring the map was fun!
And after all that, there I was, wandering about, seeing the sights of Canowindra this morning! It’s not perfectly preserved, of course. I think the thing that makes the biggest difference is the keeping of the original verandahs and verandah posts. They were the things most noticeably missing in Blayney when I passed through there this afternoon. Some verandahs were not just awnings but upstairs balconies of two-storied buildings. One missing verandah was a bit startling: a balcony had been removed and replaced with a shelter style verandah – hoping no one actually steps out the door there!
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| Don't step out the upstairs door! |
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| Canowindra - Main Street |
But I was to discover much better examples of preserved old towns this afternoon: Millthorpe and Carcour. In fact, Carcour was so perfect it could have been one of those reconstructed towns such as at Sovereign Hill. But it wasn’t! It was the real thing. Its publicity says it’s the town time forgot – spot on! Neither would be as easy to work with for filming, I think, as Canowindra. The latter has a flat main street with a bend in it giving a few easy options. Millthorpe was a bit hilly and Carcoar like the Big Dipper!
Millthorpe
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| Millthorpe |
Carcour
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| Carcour |
Back to the morning, after Canowindra it was off to Orange, heading north. A lovely drive through relatively hilly countryside, the very edge of the Great Divide I guess. En route I went to the top of Mt Canobolas – the highest point in the line between Sydney and Perth it said on a sign there, giving some great views. The netting covering groves of fruit trees look like factory roofs when looking down on them. Having sworn never to drive on unsealed roads again after my “tyre incident” the far side of Broken Hill, halfway up this hill, with no turning space and definitely no warning on the map I was using – gravel! I gritted my teeth and made it, hoping there’s no slow leak puncture I’m going to discover in the morning!!
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| At the top of Mt Canobolas |
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| Views from Mt Conobolas |
Orange proved to be the biggest town (city really, probably a bit bigger than Ballarat or Bendigo) I’ve been to. All the usual shops and chains from home which didn’t inspire me. A smattering of old buildings. I wonder if the locals were aghast when “developers” got their hands on the Wellington Inn of 1871? In the 1930s they turned it into the art deco Royal Hotel!
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| Main Street, Orange |
Instead I enjoyed walking through Cook Gardens, National Trust listed apparently.
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| Cook Gardens, Orange |
I bought lunch and ate it in another green space, Robertson Gardens, across from the civic centre complex.
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| Robertson Gardens, Orange |
After lunch I crossed the road and had a quick look at the library (well patronised) and the art gallery. Three rooms at the gallery: OK stuff, modern 3-dimensional junk, a series of block paintings that suggested the artist might need some help with his obsession.
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| Orange library and art gallery complex |
I was really really glad that a visit to Bathurst got scrubbed in the early planning stages. Time-wise it wouldn’t have worked but more than that, I didn’t need to see another city.
Then it was time to turn southwards again, Millthorpe and Carcour, as above, with Blayney in between. Not as hilly as in the morning, instead pleasantly undulating. The main drag at Blayney was exceptionally wide. I don’t think it was a visual trick because the verandahs had been shorn off most of the shop-fronts. There was one interesting building though – the Catholic Church: it looks like a cinema!!
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| Blayney Catholic Church |
And one more unexpected sight: a wind farm. The viewing point turned out to be at the edge of a lake where people were camping, fishing and water skiing. It looked just the place for it if that’s your thing.
Finally, Cowra. The one motel I’d pre-paid, the one place (apart from with Alison & James in Canberra) I’m staying two nights – and it’s the tiniest motel room I’ve ever seen!! There’s a double bed – pushed up against the wall. There’s a sofa-bed – but goodness knows where you could fold it out. Basically it’s a room and bathroom for one … with nowhere, perhaps fortuitously!, to spread my junk. This was the one place I wanted to wash a shirt that’s had a wear too many. I did – in a basin that’s A4 size and two inches deep! To rinse it I waved it under the shower!!
I arrived in town at tea time, at the local RSL again. I’ve decided these clubs are like Maccas for grown-ups: all the same predictable fare, nothing exciting but it’s not going to kill you, all the same décor, a step up from a pub. I don’t go near the poker machines. I was queueing to sign in tonight when one pokie desperado pushed in to get change for his machine. I couldn’t be miffed at his rudeness, his losses were subsidising my meal. Sad really.
Back to a bakery for breakfast in the morning before exploring the “Cowra Breakout” history.
