42. 2021 F. NSW Clockwise Unwinding Tour. Trains, planes and plains.

Despite a population of 6,800 Cootamundra's most famous son was only three years old when he left town.  He must have made quite an impression in that time.  His name was Donald Bradman, alias, The Don, the world's greatest ever cricket batsman. 

Cootamundra also plays a key roll in the shipment of grain, which was so apparent from a railway overpass.  We toured this area in mid-April 2021

 

Grain trains as far as the eye can see at Cootamundra. 

Coloured metal flag (semaphore) signals at the Heritage Centre as they used to be; this one showing 14 different signals.

Cootamundra station stands apart from all other stations, with federation and turret added several years after construction in 1872
All stations should have a turret. 

The Don has been remembered in many ways throughout the town, with the winding cricket pitch through the park lined with cricket greats.  We are unsure whether any of these cricketers travelled overseas chasing big money during a pandemic, before commanding special exemption to be brought back to Australia. (In March 2021, 9,200 Australians travelled to India.)

The cricketer's Captain's Walk, sporting busts of various cricket captains over the years. 

David Gregory, Captain of Australia. Three  tests. 1877 - 1879

The bronze busts of cricketers contrast sharply with the drug busts of the NRL players. 

Don Bradman showing how it is done. 
These bails won't budge. 

Kookaburras dine on a variety of small reptiles and insects. 
This one was over the Captain's Walk looking for the occasional cricket.  
The Kookaburras is also the name of Australia's National Men's Hockey Team which uses a different type of stick. 

Temora for aviators is what Lake Macquarie is for sailors, with regular flying exhibition days and a housing estate fronting the airstrip, each house sporting a hangar in the backyard to taxi the plane straight into from the airstrip. 

We chanced one of the regular flying exhibition days, many featuring restored War Birds; somewhat wary of the danger of many of the stunts being performed overhead. 

We are open to suggestions as to the type of this plane!

Possible CAC Winjeel

1975 New Zealand CT-4A Airtrainer

Aerial ballet

Could this be the reason mobile phones were not carried in shirt pockets of pilots during WW2?

Under wing solar panels can be charged during this maneuver. 

Gee!! forces

CA-13 Boomerang

CA-13 Boomerang 

1946 C-16 Wirraway

Suzy Q (Quatro) turned 71 on June 3rd, 2021

1968 Cessna A-37B Dragonfly turbo jet looking serious. 

We always viewed Cessna aircraft as being somewhat tame until now. 

Impressive!

The more natural and graceful; and appearing a more controlled form of flying. 

The Temora YOUth Made Market is an opportunity for young folk to learn how to sell products they have made or services they provide. 

Each of the stall holder participants has been mentored by local business owners in financial literacy, marketing, sales, business strategy, production, and most importantly; coping with disappointment when things don't always go to plan. 

One young lady who had tried her hand at welding, was selling an array of innovative products made from recycled horseshoes.

Young musicians took turns at busking outside the market place. 
This young performer explaining how many strings he has in his bow. 

The recently closed Best and Less store was transformed into a hub of young entrepreneurs.
Even the decorative bunting was one of the products being manufactured and sold.  
The young entrepreneurs really gave their best and more; exhibiting great future prospects. 

This was such good value, we bought three bags and have them safely stored and fermenting under our bed in the caravan.

Male red-rumped parrot

Keeping a low profile and blending into the grass. 
The birds probably found it safer to be on the ground than in the air over Temora. 

Burning of paddocks once they had been harvested led to much smoke in the air, at the time giving smoke haze over Sydney 400 kms away. 

Controlled burn. 
Birds had a field day catching all the small animals and lizards fleeing the fire. 

Louts doing road burnouts would never be able to achieve such photographic lineal precision. 

Vertical components add another dimension. 

Strategically placed halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, the Junee Locomotive Depot was built in 1878, with a covered 42 road roundhouse added in 1947 to aid in the maintenance of multiple trains.  Following closure of the depot, the Junee Roundhouse Railway Museum was formed in 1994 and sports an array of both model and actual trains and carriages.  

Railway maintenance life revolved around the 30.5m (100 foot) turntable. 

Immaculately presented with overhead exhaust chimney for the steam engines.  
Looking good for 130 years old. 

Forward and rear angled mirrors out the side of the guard's van, allowing vision along both ways without a draft. 

Timberwork from a bygone era. 

The local mail sorting van from this region which operated between 1914 and 1950. 

Male sorters
This was no place for women!

Colours must have been added since the 1950 retirement of the van. 

Known as Tin Hares or 42 footers, 37 of the following rail cars served NSW from 1925 through to the mid 1980s. 

For the years 1968, 1969 and 1970, on Friday afternoons Don and two schoolmates would walk across the road from Whitebridge High School to Burwood Pit and catch one of the following rail cars, along with a few coal miners from Burwood and John Darling Collieries, on the railway line leading from Belmont, through the Fernley Tunnel to Newcastle to attend the YMCA. 

After the YMCA  finished for the evening, having spent our bus money, we would walk home to Charlestown. 

The railway track is now the Fernley Bicycle and Walking Track, and the Pit is now a housing estate. 

Bringing back memories of High School.
Along with his brothers, in school holidays, Don sometimes caught the motor rail from Kahibah station to Belmont station before the return trip later in the day.  

Miners and minors once shared the seats on our motor rail. 

Hours have been spent away from the TV screen. 

Scaled down rail turntable. 
Santa Claus would say Ho Ho Ho. (Hornby Ho scale)

No visit to Junee would be complete without a visit to the Chocolate and Licorice Factory in the disused 1934 Flour Mill. We learnt that:

• Chocolates are high in phenolics which are known for reducing the risk of heart disease. 
• In 1624, chocolate was claimed to be an inflamer of passions and urged monks to avoid it.
• The Mars bar was invented in 1932 and the Kit Kat in 1937

Multiple levels to help ward off effects of too much chocolate. 

Coolamon Fire Station has to be Australia's premier museum of all things fire fighting, despite being one man's private collection with museum entry by donation only. 

Over 2,000 artifacts are on display. 

The annual Coolamon Fire Engine Muster will be held on third of October 2021 and feature an array of historic fire engines, static displays and car clubs.  Something to add to the diary. 

 

Due to size of present day larger fire trucks, the current Coolamon fire station is a tin shed without the grace and trimmings of this old classic. 

Retired fire fighter and avid museum owner, Chris Berry.

Fire sale items

Helmets of old, looking too elaborate to fight fires.  

To avoid theft by making them less desirable, fire buckets of old had round or pointed bases meaning they needed to be hung (just like the bucket thieves). 

Neat carpentry made by Chris to showcase uniforms from around the world. 

Typical of the many uniforms from across the world. 

The architecture of Coolamon is typical of so many country towns, impeccably restored and featuring wide verandahs and wide streets.  Coolamon's main street is particularly wide and was designed to allow a wagon pulled by bullocks to turn around, giving much opportunity of exercise for shoppers.  

All towns need a Royal, Railway or Star Hotel. 

Dressed in ice-cream colours. 

We have seen a few different variations on this building theme in surrounding towns. 

The Up-To-Date Store is as it was in 1909, right down to the Lamson Cash Railway System which transported all money to the back strong room via an overhead railway system. 

Directly across the road from the Fire Station Museum. 

Fashion and poses which should still be in vogue. 

Can I have a bar of chocolate please?

The gravity fed overhead railway for the balls containing money and receipts. 

Two sets of tracks to and from the cashier in the strong room. 

A long basketball hoop design built to slow the rate of fall for the ball. 
The returning ball is raised onto the top track to be delivered by gravity on a sloped railway track.

The catching glove for the opening ball. 

A reminder of the days when book keeping was book keeping. 

A sample of The Mavis Furner Collection of crocheted fashion features in the store. 
For crocheters, this in itself is worth a visit to Coolamon. 

The Up-To-Date Store features all sorts of up to date transport as well. 
This John Bull wagon was the Rolls Royce of wagons, however, changing the large wheels single handed could be deadly due to the weight. 

The railway station at Coolamon dating back to 1881 does a roaring trade of two trains a week from Griffith to Sydney. 

Gentlemen evidently are classified as mails and must use the parcels room. 

A tandem ride through a largely off-road 8km bike and walking track around Coolamon highlighted many of the sights as well as the birds in the ensuing photo.  

Some progressive councils are doing their best to get people out exercising, and judging from several  people we spoke to who complete the track every day, it seems to be working. 

Bandits waiting in ambush for unsuspecting cyclists. 

We now steal away further down the roads as the weather cools. 

As Sir Henry Lauder once wrote (after his son was killed in WW1):

Keep right on to the end of the road

Keep right on to the end

Though the way be long, let your heart be strong

Keep right on to the end. 

Keep well and God Bless, 

Cheers, Don and Carrol. 

Published Sunday 6th June, 2021