Henry Lawson

Wednesday, 18 June 2014

 

Sun shining and fog disappearing

Stunning War Memorial

Street scene from the War Memorial

"Knock off" poppit head

Stamper

A much shorter distance travelled today – only 300 kms.  What we saw of Young looked very nice – especially the multitude of cherry orchards in the district.  However, the overnight temperature left a little to be desired, with the thermometer sitting on 1 degree at 9.00 pm.  This morning, it was impossible to see much further than 100 metres owing to the thick fog.  How can mainlanders possibly say that Tasmanians are used to the cold – it never gets this cold in Hobart!!!

Our drive to Gulgong was through some beautiful farm lands – what we could see through the fog looked very prosperous – and many hills and windy roads.  We came across a number of road works, all of which were desperately needed.  The fog eventually lifted after a couple of hours on the road and we were treated to some beautiful sunshine for the remainder of the day.

We arrived at Gulgong about 12.45 pm and had the misfortune of disturbing the caravan park owner during his lunch break.  We are staying overnight at the Henry Lawson Caravan Park, which is a small, average country town caravan park with a number of permanents.  However, we have a large sunny, grassy site with a small slab and not exactly crowded by neighbours.

After lunch, sitting outside and taking advantage of the sun, we set out to explore the childhood town of Henry Lawson.  Unlike every country town in Australia, Gulgong’s main street is one lane wide and apart from the obvious Australian architecture, it was just like driving through an English village.  We spent some time at the Henry Lawson Museum and learnt much about his life, especially his early years at Gulgong.  He had such a sad life, it was quite depressing.  What a pity his contribution to Australian literature was not acknowledged until after his death.  A drive to Red Hill, with some gold mining machinery, concluded our tour of the town.