Onslow, Western Australia

Back on the bumpy dirt road we travelled just under an hour from Old Onslow back to the Onslow Road, and up to Onslow township now. As we left earlier than we had planned, due to the pending rain - that never came - we arrived before checkin in the caravan park, so we had a walk around town. 

Not a lot to see. The caravan park managers told us about two places for coffee, and Peter and Jonnie (hot chocolate), tried them both. Peter like the Beach Resort coffee (and beer) better.

It is a small town, but bigger than I thought it would be. We were so early, that even the information centre was still closed. Adjoining the info centre is a museum, so we had a look from the street.

The mural painted on the wall of one of the displays was very good, and told the history of the town.

Still a lot of history here.

We had booked into the Ocean View Caravan Park ($40 plus $10 extra person) for one night to see the Stairway to to the Moon, but ended staying an extra night. The park is lovely, good amenities, small but ample sites, and on the water front. The roadways between the sites was large enough to maneuver even a large van. We particularly liked the artificial grass on the site. We had asked for a water front site, but they were all booked out. In hindsight it was better as it was windy both nights we were there. We did have water views.

After checking in to the park, we went back to the now open Information Centre. It is housed in the National Heritage listed Goods Shed. It also houses a museum with some artifacts from old Onslow. However, the lady in the info centre, when I asked if it was an original building, said it was purpose built for displaying the memorabilia. Well I was surprised, especially as the building was heritage listed, so I did a little research. The first Goods Shed was built at Old Onslow as a warehouse and store in 1885/6 near the old jetty. In 1904 the building burnt down and was replaced and connected to the jetty via a tramway. A lookout tower was added in 1910, and in 1925 the town was disbanded. The building was dismantled and moved by camel to its present location. The building has since been extended and now houses much memorabilia for Old Onslow and the early days of the area. So in fact the Goods Shed is an original building from 1904, and that is why it is listed on the National Heritage Register.

Onslow is a tiny holiday village well known for fishing. It is approximately 80km from the North-West Coastal Highway. We had planned on staying the one night to view the Stairway to the Moon, but it was too cloudy the first night and that is why we booked the second night. The weather was cooler now, so we didn't need the air-con, but it was nice to have power cooking for cooking a roast in the electric frypan, and catching up on laundry. The Stairway to the Moon is a natural phenomena that only occurs in the north-west of Australia - or so they say (I've seen photos that my friend has taken on the east coast of Queensland that almost show that phenomena, so I'm on the lookout 😀), with the dramatic tidal changes between March and October during the full moon.

We were surprised to see another salt mining company on the way into town, so spent the afternoon driving around the salt farm down to 4 Mile Creek.

The salt farm is not as big as the one in Port Hedland, but it is still pretty impressive. Started in 1999, Onslow Salt began shipping in 2001 and produces over 2.7 million tonnes per year. It is classed as a solar operation as the weather helps with evaporation to produce the salt.

Also impressive is the 1.3km jetty and conveyor belt.

Most of the employees and their families live in Onslow. The farm includes a salt washing plant, and a stockpile area. A natural gas-fired power station, which we could see from old Onslow, was established to support the salt farm.

There is a stopping area to see the jetty, and a smaller viewing area to see the salt being conveyed along the jetty to a container ship.

We continued along the dirt road as far as we could, to 4 Mile Creek boat ramp along the Cooke Creek. That too was impressive with a large boat ramp and lovely picnic areas. Made us wish we had packed a lunch.

On the way back to town we stopped at a park to walk down to the beach. There are many little pull-ins to park near the beach, so we understand why this is a great holiday / fishing town.

This park near the jetty also had bbq's and a picnic area. I slipped here walking up a small step, and badly bruised my leg that took weeks and weeks to heal.

It is amazing how much one can get done if starting the day early! Next stop was the Onslow Memorial Park. What a beautiful park.

The arc was designed to look like the sun on a Diggers badge,

 and was placed so the sun rises in the background on ANZAC Day.

It was a small but truly moving place to be, with a lovely view of the vast Indian Ocean.

It is also the start of a 1.2km coastal boardwalk that tells the history of the area, ending at Sunset Beach, and a view of the Salt Jetty.

One of the information boards along the walk mentioned bombs that fell on Onslow from two Japanese planes on 15 September 1943, as part of the Japanese intimidation of the Australian Forces. Luckily there was no damage or casualities. We have learnt so much about the involvement of Australia in the Second World War on our own shores. Another info board told about the British Atomic Bomb testing in 1952. Never knew about that either! We knew about the Woomera base abut thought all the bombs were dropped there. The bombing of the Monte Bello Archipelago on 3 October 1952, named Operation Hurricane, was the first test of a plutonium implosion device and made Britain the third nuclear power behind the Soviet Union and the USA. The info boards told both the ancient history, modern history and the natural history.... and the views were spectacular.

With the cloud cover, we were not able to see the Stairway to the Moon, and as we had done a lot the first day, there was little to do on the second day, other than wait for the moon. Peter was going to go fishing, but changed his mind, so it was a relaxing day. In the morning Peter went for a walk and came back with a bottle of Moscato for me - guess he had a coffee at the Beach Resort! We walked down to the 'dog statues'

The Paparazzi Dogs statues are replicas of Gillie and Marc's statues and are placed facing the sunrise, and the Stairway to the Moon - when it happens. Made of bronze, replicas can be seen all over the world in different places. I don't know where the originals are.

Named Joel, Charlie, Rocky, and Samuel, the statues depict the constant paparazzi dogging famous people.

Peter, aka the chef 😊, cooked a roast pork for dinner, and while it was cooking we went down to the beach front at 6pm to wait and see if any clouds cleared so we could see the Stairway to the Moon - reason we stayed here - but they didn't, and we didn't.

However, it was lovely to sit on the beach and watch the sun set and talk to others who had also come down to the beach to see the phenomenon.

There are a lot of walks along the foreshore and a few drives to great picnic/fishing spots, and even some more interesting sculptures and artifacts to see along the way. Glad we came. 

See PetalliTravellers Old Onslow and Onslow on YouTube.