Up and about fairly early although it was overcast. Breakfast over and away I went for a bike ride. I kept around the town as I had attempted to do a couple of mornings ago until I lost gears on the bike. A fair amount of hill riding especially up to the lookout. It was all fogged in around the area so there was o scenic views around today.
After the ride, a shower and a few jobs to do around the Karavan. Then off to Herberton.
Herberton has a history of tin mining but there is a really good Historic Village which was the centre of my attention this day. I spend some hour perusing the village. There are so many itmes there it is impossible to describe them all. The area that really intrigued me was the old school. Inside there were blackboards with a lot of items that took me back to my primary school days. Questions relating to our old currency. Memories came flooding back.
There are a lot of good historic buildings that have been relocated by enthusiastic volunteers to the current site. Inside many of the buildings are items from the past. Some exhibits include clothing, saddlery, blacksmithing, photography, sewing, stationary engines, old homes and cottages and many other items. One special exhibit, to me, was the competitive wood chopping display. It has always been an onterest to me.
Eventually, it was time to leave and I chatted with the lady who manages the village. She had many interesting items of interest to discuss.
I returned back to the Caravan Park for lunch which was late. Following lunch, I went to another intersting display, Tablelands Heritage Centre. It has many varied items that relate to farming on the Atherton Tablelands. There are various machinery items. Many of them brought back memories of my farming past. However, the vast majority of exhibits are more related to different indiustries to what I was involved with but nonetheless very interesting. Some ot the familiar items included a TD 40 International crawler tractor, Bedford truck and a Case 600 harvester. There were many other familiar items like hay equipment, cultivators and pumps. It is certainly worthy of a visit.
On the way back I marvelled at the colour of the volcanic soil along with the crops that ere grown in the area. Some of the crops include corn, wheat, barley, sugar cane, potatoes and dairying as well as beef cattle. It appears to be easily worked soil and with the misty rain around, almost anything could grow in the area.
Early evening saw me join with the Gunnedah contingent for happy hour again. It is so nice to chat with people I know and share our experiences both current and past.
1 comment:
Hi Duncan,
It seems that Bob Katter may be onto something when he says that this region may support many more people with its fertile soil and rainfall. Trouble is, the rainfall is not always gentle, which may require harvesting of water on a grand scale.
Would that Bob Katter is both eloquent enough, and gets a chance to state this clearly and without fear of ridicule.
Post a Comment