Mon, 30th November, 2015 Finley Beach, Tocumwal Regional Park, Vic side (sightseeing)

Lovely morning though still cool first up, 16 degrees at 7am. Beautiful clear blue sky this morning.

Lou rang about us sending passport type photos for the speedway insurance so we can get into the pits when we meet up with them at the end of December. Will be great to catch up.

Nice and quiet here as there aren’t many campers for all the vans and tents here. The locals get in early and set themselves up for the holidays even though you are only supposed to stay 6 weeks at a time. Plenty of room for us though. Will be interesting as we head further along and the school holidays start.

Back into the Info Centre, which is still closed. Went into the Newsagency and the lovely lady there gave me a map to find The Rocks and Chrystie’s Museum. She also gave us a local info booklet which said about ‘The Drop’. Unfortunately it was back near Barooga so we have missed seeing it. The Drop Hydro Power Station can be seen on the Mulwala Canal. It is the first hydro electricity scheme built on an irrigation channel. The project is now generating clean, renewable energy without affecting the water flow to the 2600 farms the canal supplies, which grow food for the nation. The 2.5 MW plant was constructed on site and began generating power in November 2000. The project now generates about 10,000MW of pollution free energy and avoids around 11,000 greenhouse emissions a year – the same as removing 2500 cars from the road.

She also said the dirt road to Barmah State Park, our next stop, was fine to take the van on. Steve found the ‘Tree of Knowledge” which is the oldest peppercorn tree on the Murray. Gnarly old thing.

The first pastoral runs in the region were established in the 1840s. Tocumwal township was notified as a village on the 18^th July, 1862. The Post Office opened on 1 August, 1868. Propr to Federation, Tocumwal was a customs point for goods crossing between the colonies of Victoria and NSW. We walked down the main street where there were plaques in the pavement, though there were heaps of them they were only of 4 main things.

The artist who did the mural we saw yesterday also decorated the front of the IGA store which is Hillson’s Building, established 1890. The new road bridge was named after a Hillson too. The artist is very good.

Across the road is the Tocumwal Hotel which was built in 1861.

Next door is another old building built in 1859.

In the beer garden of the Tattersall’s Hotel was a fountain made from the end of a Furphy Water Cart.

Drove out of town to find ‘the Blowhole’. Apparently when the Murray is low, the ‘Blowhole’ flows and bubbles. Some say the aborigines believed a giant Murray cod lived at the bottom, while others believe it is the mouth of an underground stream connecting to the Murray.

It is in a huge granite outcrop.

On the other edge of it they have cut the top layer of the granite to use around town.

Followed the track around up onto a bit of hill where a NSW Trig Station was.

Looks like they have taken granite from here too and there is another wet area. Maybe there is an underwater stream that links this to the blowhole and then to the Murray.

Heading back out we stopped to watch the harvester. We asked the lady who drove the tractor in what they were harvesting – wheat. After they take the top off they will then burn the stalks to put nutrients back into the soil. Now we know what all those dead looking fields were full of.

Back to the van for lunch. Another couple were having a swim so we decided it was warm enough to give it a go. It was 32 degrees in the van but the breeze was still cooling. Dug out my togs – haven’t been in them for over 15 months!! They didn’t fall apart and I walked out – it was a bit cold but very refreshing when you just fall back into it. Flowing fast past us so we got some exercise swimming against the current. Need more exercise!!

Now Steve’s turn for embarrassing photos!!

Feeling refreshed we headed back to Tocumwal to find Chrystie’s Museum near the aerodrome. Saw another plane taking a glider up. The aerodrome played a very significant role during WW2. There is much speculation around the Brisbane Line. An undocumented but much routed line between Melbourne and Brisbane that the government believed gave an area that they could defend against an invasion by the Japanese. All the North and West were to be given up!! Tocumwal was chosen as the place for a heavy bomber base for the US Army air force and in 16 weeks, McIntyre Field, was built with four runways, each a mile long and 450 buildings including giant hangers capable of housing the Liberator Bombers. They also managed to hide a 200 bed hospital in a stand of Murray Pines with the whole complex spread over 8 square miles. The Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 saw the advance of the Japanese halted and so under the orders of General George Kenny; “Mighty fine base – shift it 2000 miles closer to the enemy” the American based decamped almost overnight to Townsville. The RAAF then took over and operated Tocumwal as a multi-function aircraft depot and training base for bomber crews. Very interesting.

Around to the Museum where we met George Chrystie. He and his wife moved here from Kinglake a few years ago bringing all their collection and then collecting more. George used to drive sedans at Speedway and his grandson still does so Steve had a good chat. I found an old picture of a bullock team carrying wool along the Murray River in 1888.

So many different things to look out from old magazines, posters, anything in a mechanic would need, a big collection of axes, adzes etc and lots and lots of bottles, crockery and many different types of household appliances.

Of course there were cars – here’s another one for Dan. 1991 Toyota Soarer, quad cam, fuel injected, aluminium V8, traction control, air suspension, remote radio controls – all electric.

I liked the old Triumph.

George had a logging business at Kinglake.

1956 Zephyr MK2 – 20,000 miles, the only non-original part is the carpet on the floor. The car is fitted with early valve operated mobile phone. The phone is on the floor in the front with the bell and workings in the boot. The spare tyre was original and never been run.

Loved the cool bike with the best handlebars.

1922 Ford Model T – 4 cylinder 176 cubic inch with transmission of a 2 speed manual (sort of).

1930 caravan – it has early Buick wooden wheels – needs a bit of a tidy up.

Murray Moon caravan – built by George Davis in 1944-49. It was the first pop up caravan built in Australia (got the idea from an American magazine). It took him 5 years to complete. It spent a lot of time by the Murray, hence its name but also travelled to Cairns, Sydney and Adelaide. One feature is the jockey wheel on the front was originally used on a gun turret. A lot of people thought it belong to dwarves when it was in the down position. I reckon it was the forerunner of the new Kimberly Kampers.

Inside the dining table was held up by a rifle!!

More machinery and trucks etc outside.

A Calf dozer, rather than a Bull dozer!! Built in Britain after WW2. Powered by a single cylinder Dorman petrol motor.

An old grey Fergie – older than grandad’s Woodgate one.

Met the pet croc – made of tyres, hanging around the dunny.

Back to the van for a cuppa. The clouds are building up then a few drops of rain sprinkled on us. The wind has picked up. Got through the windy bit ok and the clouds moved on. Warmer night.