Week 5 - Still in Victoria Goldfields, Heading into Bushranger Country

We started week 5 of our trip in Glenlyon, not too far away from Haddon, and certainly less windy. The drive was only short, which gave us time to relax both in the morning before we left and when we arrived early afternoon. First stop was Daylesford Public Dump Point – remember Ballarat area has no public dump points - only 60 km away, then another 12 km to Glenlyon Recreation Reserve – a donation camp, with toilets, it is located on a paddock next to the oval. There was a lot of roo poo, but we didn't see any kangaroos the two nights we stayed. It was a little windy the first night, but not like the winds at Hadden. There is also a natural mineral water pump next to the oval. 

We did a circuit into Kyneton via historic Malmsbury. Originally a pastoral run (Coliban) in 1837, the area became a travellers stop in the 1850's on the way to Melbourne from the Castlemaine goldfields. The town soon developed with accommodation and food supplies, and itself became a gold field area. It also became famous for the supply of bluestone not only for the local area, but also for buildings in Melbourne. The Mansions was originally built as a wooden hotel named Junction Hotel in the 1850's. In 1872 after a fire it was re-built in bluestone. It has been a bank, boarding house and even a cannery over the years. Sadly it is in bad shape and no longer usable. The railway station was established in 1862, and is still used today. The Commerical Hotel, between the Mansions and the Railway Station (top right photo) was established in 1866 and closed in 1936. Malmsbury was also the site of a Caroline Chisholm Shelter Shed, to provide accommodation for travelers from the gold fields, especially the women and children. Caroline Chisholm wanted 16 sheds built along the 'goldfields' road, but settled for 10. They were situated approximately a day's walk from each other.

For a small village it has a lot of history. See here for PDF self guided walk.

Arriving in Kyneton we had a few hours before catching up with our niece and grand-niece in the afternoon. We walked up and down Piper Street and around the corner. Around the corner is the remains of the house that Caroline Chisholm lived in when she returned from England in the 1850's. We had a lovely lunch in cafe, got some groceries, and had a lovely visit with family.

While looking at the lovely old buildings in Piper Street, I wanted to go to the LQS that I had been to last June - sadly it was closed, only two days before. So when we got back to the van I got on their FB page and asked if they were going to be there and could I pop in. They said yes, so on our way to our next camp I popped in while Peter got a coffee, and got some more fabric - like I need more, but at $5 a metre, I did 😊.

Leaving Glenlyon we detoured again to Kyneton so I could visit a quilt shop that had closed, and then we had a lovely drive past the Macedon Ranges, close to Hanging Rock. Due to the weather we decided not to have a picnic at Hanging Rock, second time the weather has been a factor for our visit – next time!! We spent the night in a free camp across the Goulburn River from Seymour. We have stayed here before, and I think it was in the same spot. There are no toilets and vans need to be fully self-contained. There were a lot of trees down, but we had a quiet spot beside river. I could have stayed longer – I like the peacefulness of the free camps, but the boys wanted their amenities, so we left the next morning., no amenities, so Peter didn't want to stay another night. The next morning we went back across the river to the town of Seymour. We spent almost three hours in Seymour. We went to the Vietnam Memorial again. Jonnie had never been here so he was interested. The trees have grown a lot since the last time we were here.

At the end of the memorial, across the road, was a log cabin. I don't recall seeing that before, but it was apparently there for years! . It was the old gaol (jail) lockup, and still standing. It was built about 1853 on the banks of the Goulburn River, it was used right up until 1962. It was relocated to this site in 1994.

Just behind the Log Cabin Lockup is 'The Nursery Rhyme Mural', completed in 2006 – I don't know why I have not seen this before. Also in the same park is the old court house which is now the tourist information centre. Built in 1864, and used right up to 1973 when the new courthouse was opened. The building is heritage-listed. We also found a whole lot of Seymour we didn't know existed, if we had we probably would have spent another day here.

We did some shopping at Coles and then headed north on the Hume Hwy to Benalla. We were going to stay the night in the free camp on the Benalla Lake, but it is only available for 3 vans, and when we got there there were already 4, so we went to the show grounds. We met some lovely people there and happy hour was very happy. There are toilets, which suits the boys, and big flat open areas. The cost is $12 per night, no power, but water is available for topping up. One must be fully self contained. We actually enjoyed it here, so stayed three days. The limit is two but the lovely lady at the info centre phoned and asked if it was ok to stay for three – woo hoo.

We went to the airport where the Aviation Museum and, a surprise for us, the Benalla Migrant Camp that operated from 1947 to 1967. Only 9 buildings remain from the original camp, and it is estimated that 60,000 migrants came to call this their first home in Australia over the years.

We then ventured a little further out of town to Winton Raceway, and there were cars practicing. Peter and Jonnie had a walk around, I stayed in the quiet car doing a crossword.

Back in Benalla, we went to the information centre and the lady was so lovely there. We had a look at the Ned Kelly cell and the blood stained green silk scarf Ned always carried. There was also a War Room with history of 'Weary' Dunlop; and a 1930's era of fashion and accessories room. All museum areas are at a cost of $5 each. The information centre is well worth a visit.

Just outside the info centre is a mosaic mural. What a great art work. It has a lot of nooks and grannys to play in and it is so interesting to look at.

There is also a lot of street art in Benalla, they even have an annual festival for street art.

The last full day looked a bit gloomy, but we had planned a trip to Stringy Bark Creek, so off we went. Benalla was having a Craft Market, so we stopped to have a look. It was not so much a craft market, more a home produce market and it didn't take long to walk around it. The lady in the information centre said the site was well signposted at Tatong, so we headed the 26km to Tatong. Not a lot there, but an interesting Tudor looking pub – that has camping behind it – and a sign for the Kelly Tree and Stringy Bark Creek pointing 26kms further south … and no one said anything about the 20km of uphill gravel road. Once almost at the top of the range there is an historic grave site. Emma Heller was a local resident who had a farm nearby. She died in 1889 and is buried near her farm. The information boards tell of her life and why she is buried where she is. She may have known Ned Kelly and his gang. Next stop was Stringy Bark Creek Historic day area. What a great job has been done clearing a good pathway and signs explaining the history. This is where it was alleged that the Kelly Gang shot three policemen, Kennedy, Scanlon, and Longigan. There is a 760m walking loop that takes one past the Kelly Tree, which is suppose to mark the site of the shooting, but that was later proved incorrect as reports state the shooting took place the other side of the creek. However the tree was officially identified as having been marked by a stray bullet and stands as a memorial to the Kelly Gang. The loop then has a track leading off it to the actual shoot out at the police camp. Back on the loop the track goes past the gold diggings where the Kelly gang were gold panning to find gold to make bail for Ned's mother. A very interesting story, is that of Ned Kelly.

After leaving the picnic area, we went to have a look at the camping area. It is lovely big area with tables and permanent fireplaces, but I don't think we would tow the van up the narrow gravel road to get there. Maybe coming from south would be easier. Driving back down the range, it started to rain, and the rain got very heavy.

We went back to the van and had lunch, then Peter and I went to the Art Gallery in the Botanical Gardens. It was too rainy to walk in the gardens, but the art gallery was interesting. There was a 3D Milk Bar – Icon of Suburbia – display, along with an area to create your own icon and place it in the milk bar stock room. There was another room in the gallery that was dedicated to 'The Legends'. There is also a small cafe. We got take away coffee and hot chocolate as it was way too cold inside.

Homeward Bound

After spending time with our family, Day 16 of our trip saw us heading to the Macedon Ranges and the town of Kyneton, to visit some more family. We found the free camp, Mineral Springs, north of the town. It was lovely and situated in a park beside the Campaspe River. There are toilets and a dump point, although it was overflowing when we were there. It is only a short walk from one end of the park to the other, and there are two mineral spring pumps where one can fill up their drink bottles. We didn't, although I tasted the water and it tasted 'different'. There are limited RV parking sites, so one needs to get there early. We got there about 4pm and an hour later all the sites were taken.

The town of Kyneton is historic and was established in the 1830's as a traveller's stop, and came into prominence during the 1850's Gold Rush, as it is on the way to the gold fields at Castlemaine and Bendigo. Kyneton also became the center for agriculture with the establishment of many flour mills.

The next morning we left our lovely camp at Kyneton Mineral Springs and had a wonderful visit with family before heading north via Castlemaine. We didn't spend a lot of time walking around Kyneton, but will go back when it is warmer and spend more time there. There appears to be two main streets that are filled with many historic buildings. It is also not far from the famous Hanging Rock.

We only had a quick drive around Bendigo, and topped up with fuel. We had intended staying north of Bendigo, however when we arrived at Huntly Lion Park there was not a lot of room left, so we decided to drive a further 78 km to Echuca. At Echuca we stayed at the Rotary Park on the banks of the Campaspe River.

This is a donation park – suggested $5 – and has town water for filling up water tanks. It has a lot of historic buildings around the outside of the oval and plenty of self-contained caravan parking.

It was so lovely, and we had never been to Echuca before so we decided to stay an extra night and do some exploring.

Echuca is situated on the Murray River. The Murray is 2,560km long and forms much of the border between N.S.W. And Victoria. Echuca and Moama were founded by ex-convicts. In 1845 James Maiden established a punt crossing and inn on the northern side of the Murray. The area became known as Maiden's Punt. In 1851 the area became known as Moama, meaning 'place of the dead'. Henry Hopwood arrived on the southern side of the river in 1850 and set up a rival punt and inn in 1853. The area became known as Echuca, meaning 'meeting of the waters', in 1854. It was Hopwood who suggested a river port to aid river trade, and by 1891 Echuca was the largest inland port. A ship building industry was soon established and was supported by many sawmills. It was not until the establishment and expansion of the railways that the paddle-steamers started to decline.

Our first stop the next morning was to the historic wharf area. There was plenty of parking, and we had a look at the choice of paddle-steamer cruises and chose the PS Alexander Arbuthnot. The ship is named after the former owner of Arbuthnot Sawmills, where the ship was built, Alexander James Cooke Arbuthnot. It was built in 1916 and served as a barge, moving logs. In 1923 she was fitted with an engine, boiler and super structure and started life as a working steamer. She worked until the 1940's. Today she cruises daily and is only one of two original paddle steamers at Echuca. The cruise was good. We sat up the front, which we thought was the best place, as Peter chatted to the ship's captain. The commentary included the history of many of the paddle-steamers that were moored along the banks. What was really interesting with this cruise was the fact that one walks along the length of the original wharf and actually walk through a section of restored original wharf. The other cruises leave from jetty's further up stream. PS Arbuthnot was well worth the $25 ($22 for seniors).

Port of Echuca Discovery Centre is also well worth a visit. One can combine the PS Arbuthnot and PS Pevensey (used in the TV Series 'All the Rivers Run) cruises with entry to the Discovery Centre and safe about $4. There are interactive displays, a working steam engine, saw mill display, the old wharf and railway station. Guided tours are also available.

We walked along High St and marveled at the number of restored historic buildings. Most had information plaques attached to the buildings. This restoration and public information boards has made Echuca a tourist town today. Kelly's Fine Furniture started life as an office for J. Shacknell. Shacknell came to Echuca in 1863 and build this building in 1879. His company occupied the building until 1935. Shacknell proved a challenge for Hopwood's businesses and set up many opposition businesses. 

Next door, the lower floor was also built by Shacknell in 1866. It was used as a store. The upper floor was added in 1872. A Heritage Walk pamphlet can be obtained from the Visitor Information Centre, and information boards are attached to the historic buildings.

In the afternoon we drove to some free camps along the Victorian side of the river. The views were perfect, but we wouldn't take our van there. We would much rather pay the $5 a night at the Rotary Park. Echuca is a place we will come back to - probably many times.