First road trip of 2018!

Our first road trip for the year started early January. We feel we didn't get away as much as we wanted last year, with a family wedding and other commitments. Last year we only managed 122 days away, compared with 198 in 2016. I wonder how many days we will be away this year?

As soon as we were able to get away we did. Our plan was to head to Parkes and the Parkes Elvis Festival, then head up to the Tamworth Country Music Festival. This will be our first Elvis Festival, and we are a bit excited.

Leaving home we headed through the Lockyer Valley to Heifer Creek. We have stayed here often, and know there is no phone or internet reception. We have to use the satellite TV, so we pulled up at Ma Ma to get the Vast TV System activated for this trip. We just happened to pull up in front of the Ma Ma Cemetery. Well, what is one to do, but have a walk around. I spoke with a local sexton who told me the church was built in 1912 and that a lot of the 'olden day' families still live in the area. It is thought the name Ma Ma came from European settlers. (The term Ma Ma or Mia Mia in Aboriginal is from Western Australia). The Post Office opened in 1884.

Driving a little further down the road we came to Heifer Creek camping. There were already a number of vans set up, some looked long term, but we settled into the same spot we always stay. Imagine our surprise to find the top drawer had fallen out again. The drawer latches on the Jayco vans are not as good as the older model we had.

My lovely teacup lost it's saucer, and a couple of small plates broke. Lucky we have Arcopal dishes. The camping is quiet and it is a great overnighter. The camp ground is located approximately half way between Gatton and Clifton. The road was built around the Second World War by the Theiss Brothers and there is a plaque at the camp ground.

Day 2, we decided to head to Texas via Inglewood. Last time we went via Stanthorpe, but we thought we would try a different way, because we can. Time wise it is the much the same, but the Stanthorpe way was more scenic. The first stop in Texas was the great butcher. Peter says this is the best butcher in Australia, and I must say that even I like the meat. This time we spent $37 and purchased enough meat for 4 meals for 2. Great meat. Many of the shops were closed for lunch, and after getting a few groceries we went to find a site beside the Dumaresq River. Again we ended up in the same site as last time. It was interesting to note that the river was a lot higher than it was last September. Being January, it was still very hot, luckily we were in the shade of the tree, and only staying one night.

You can read about the history of Texas here.

Day 3, we headed towards Moree and the Newell Highway. We had planned on staying the night at Bellata Golf Club, but as the temperature kept rising we came across a recreation ground at Gurley, not far north of Bellata, with power for $10 night. A great spot, quiet and away from the highway. We were the only ones there. There is a large firepit for winter, and toilets and showers. The caretakers were very helpful and told us about some local sites, that we don't have time to see this time, but we will another time. Gurley is located between Moree and Narribri and is very small and consists of the recreation ground, a pub, post office and a few houses. The railway, closed now, opened in 1897. The name Gurley came about in 1917.

Day 4, on the road again and again it is very hot. We planned another powered recreation ground the night at Eumungerie. $10 a night with power, and amenities. The live in caretaker was out to greet us as soon as we arrived, gave us a little advise about where to park, and went back to his van to watch cricket. We were thankful for the power to run the air-conditioner as the temperature got to 42 degrees, and it was a dry heat. This was the first place that we have run the air-conditioner all night, it was so hot.

Eumungerie has a school, a pub, a post office, the recreation ground and a few houses, much like Gurley. Settlers came to the area about 1872, and by 1874 a roadside inn was established, and the settlement grew. Originally named Coalbaggie after the inn. The railway came in 1901 and a timber mill opened soon after. The name was changed to Eumungerie in 1904, and is an Aboriginal word for Quandong, a native peach tree.

Day 5, and still heading south, we went the short distance to Parkes, where we are staying for a week for the Elvis Festival. We checked into the Spicer Park Caravan Park, and have an OK site – For $25 we are on the gravel, no power, no water, no amenities(cost more to use). I know it is expensive for 'nothing' but there is no where else near by to stay for the week, so here we are. The park is nice enough, a little to far to walk into town, it has a good camp kitchen. We would have liked power, but it was all booked out, being the Elvis Festival, most sites are booked out 12 months before. We went up to the info centre, which was small, however attached is the Henry Parkes Centre. We watched a short film about Henry Parkes. After collecting Elvis info we went for a short drive and then back to the van to start to plan our week. We were surprised to find an ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist) – Arthur, singing in the camp kitchen. He was pretty good too.

Parkes is in the centre of New South Wales and was explored by Europeans from 1813. Squatters came to the area from 1817 and it was not until 1848 that leases were taken out in the Parkes area. Parkes started as Currajong, named after the large number of kurrajong trees, in 1853. Gold was discovered in the Forbes area in 1861 and the following year, 1862 gold was discovered in the Currajong area and the town became known as Bushman's, after the local gold mine, Bushman's Lead. This brought many new settlers, and with the settlers came a post office and churches.

The first wheat crop in the area was grown in 1865 by Henry Harry Cooke and Joseph Harris. Henry Harry Cooke was a postmaster, storekeeper, farmer and became the first mayor of Parkes. Some descendants of the early settlers still live in the area.

In August 1873 Henry Parkes visited, and the name of the town was changed to Parkes. Parkes was officially proclaimed a town in 1885.

Road Trip 5, 2017.

Our next trip was a short trip via Fossickers Way to Tea Gardens to celebrate a family birthday. We left later than we had planned, but only had to drive about 100km to Heifer Creek at Fordsdale. This is a spot we have often driven past on the way to and from the Darling Downs. There were already a few vans there when we arrived, so we set up beside the creek on the right hand side. There is no phone or normal TV reception so I was glad we had satellite TV. It was a quiet and a place we would go back to.

The next day we decided to drive to Texas, on the Queensland / New South Wales border. We drove via Stanthorpe on a road less travelled, and we are glad we did. Texas is a lovely little town, and almost everyone we passed said hello or smiled. Our first stop was the information centre, and the lady there was very informative. We walked up one side of the street and down the other. The council has placed historic information boards outside the buildings in the main street. I wish all towns would do this as history is so important.

Texas is on the banks of the Dumaresq River, as is our camp, and the town is a RV friendly town. There are toilets and showers in the town, and a lovely area has been set aside for self-contained vehicles. It has no facilities, but is picturesque and is a donation camp. Texas is also the first official motor cycle friendly town in Australia.

The beginnings of Texas lie in the establishment of a station about 1840 by the McDougall Brothers. They left their land in the 1850's to try their luck in the goldfields, and when they returned their land had been taken over by another settler. A legal battle followed and it was some time before they could reclaim their land and the McDougalls named their property Texas after the similar dispute between Texas USA and Mexico (1836).

The original town of Texas was closer to the river, but after the floods of 1890 and 1921, the township was moved further up the bank to where it is now. A few of the original buildings remain on the original site, including the original Texas Station.

The primary industry is sheep and cattle grazing, but breeding and a variety of other industries are growing. Historically, tobacco was a main industry,as was rabbit processing. Although tobacco growing and processing no longer exists in the area, many tobacco drying barns can still be seen in the area. Also in Texas is a historical rabbit works. The factory was established in 1928 and employed many town folk during the depression. Rabbits were in plaque proportions in the early days and the rabbit works would send the dead rabbits to England. After the demand for rabbits declined in England, they were sold around Australia. In 1950's, the rabbit skins were sold to Akubra and other fur markets.

Our campsite was lovely and not too far from the river, so we decided to stay an extra night. We went back into town and had morning tea before going the lookout. As lookouts go, this one is not that good, so we headed back into town to see where the up coming country music festival will be held, and then back to town to get some meat from the local butcher. It was so good and tender, that even I – the non meat eater - enjoyed it, so we went back again the next day to stock up on some more. We were very fortunate to have met a lovely man at the council who told us a lot about the area, and the history. We were looking at the photo display in the art gallery, which is in the same building as the library and council offices, and when looking at the 2011 flood photos we wondered where the race course was and this lovely fellow left his desk and proceeded to show us where things were and tell us more of the history.

A lovely place, Texas. We will be back, and stay longer next time. Meals at the pub were great as was the wonderful meat from the butcher.