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| A view from Tathra beach to the burnt hills toward River View Estate |
Tathra
and Eden, sadly the last of NSW
Having left Jindy we headed out to Cooma where
after dealing with Dump Point and re-fueling we set off down the Cooma to Bega
road. This is a spectacular drive through highland plains and then down the escarpment
through the Wadbillinga National Park via the Snowy Mountains Highway passing
the Fred Piper Memorial Lookout to Bemboka. It is also very steep and in places
and a little scary when you have a van in tow particularly as you can see where
there has been black ice on the road earlier in the day. Anyhow we made it
safely to the famed Bemboka Bakery for a well deserved bakery lunch including
tea and coffee.
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The Fred Piper Memorial Lookout with bushfire
smoke in the background |
Following this we proceeded on to Bega where we
visited the Bega Heritage Cheese Museum. What a gem of a museum, well done
Bega. This Australian Icon is doing us proud, buying up Aussie brands to ensure
they continue to be Australian owned. All Australians should get behind Bega
and buy their diversified range of products including cheeses, peanut paste
etc. As well, they are buying up International milk processors, again to ensure
these basic Australian products remain Australian which at the same time
ensures our farmers have a reasonable income for their labours.
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| A Butter worker patented in 1886 |
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| The Bega milk Cart |
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| The Bega milk Cart |
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| An early milking machine |
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| The Ayrdale Cart |
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| Now this is stretching it, A Bega 3 boggie cow! |
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| Early Cheese making |
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| A cream machine |
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| The original Bega factory |
From Bega we drove on to Tathra and checked in
to the Big Four Caravan Park there. After setting up we walked to the beach
take a look at the surf. To get here we had to amble through the Beachside
Caravan Park and discovered that they were putting on a concert that night to
raise funds to support Australia’s drought stricken farmers. The concert
included Frankie J Holden and support groups plus they were cooking spuds for
supper! We had our evening meal ready to go so donated $5.00 to the much needed
cause!
On the Saturday we had a drive around and saw
first hand the aftermath of the devastating bushfires. As we drove through
Bemboka there was another bushfire again out of control which must have been a
high alert for the Tathra people.
Once settled in Tathra we visited the Pig and Whistle Fleet
Club Museum which is housed in the circa 1862 Tathra Wharf. The wharf was
originally built by local farmers so that the milk and cheeses of the Bega milk
processors could be shipped to Sydney. Records show that the average weekly
shipment from Tathra was 4 tons of cheese, 46 cases and 11 kegs of butter, 62
bags of corn, 88 bags of bark, 5 casks of tallow, 2 bales of skins, 4 cans of
cream and 82 pigs. The regular shipment of pigs and the frequent use of the
whistle led to the passenger service being known as the “Pig and Whistle” Line.
In 1954 the SS Bergalia became the last steamer to leave the wharf.
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| The Tathra wharf today |
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The first Tathra SLSC surf boat, possibly the oldest surviving
surf boat in Australia |
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| Stella Maris a vintage Tathra fishing boat |
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| The Wharf is 150 years old! |
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| A model of an early steam paddle wheeler that worked out of Tathra |
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| An early photo of the wharf at work |
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| Some of the Aboriginal collection in the Pig and Whistle museum |
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| Looking into the Tathra Wharf Museums collection |
In 1977 The Tathra Wharf Trust, made up of Tathra Wharf Action
Committee, National Trust and Bega and Imlay Councils gained a lease to occupy
and restore the wharf. Since then restoration has continued and the wharf now
houses the museum which has a great collection. The collection includes some incredible
indigenous tools and hunting implements. As well, it houses the first Tathra
SLSC Surf Boat. I believe this could be the oldest original surf boat in
Australia. “The Tathra surf boat is a wooden canvas covered double ended
surf craft. It is in the collection of the Pig and Whistle Line Museum at Tathra
and on display at their historic Tathra Wharf location. It may have been built
as early as 1910 and 1920 and is a rare
surviving craft of its type and construction. It will remain on display and form
part of the interpretation of the early period of surfing at Tathra and the
Tathra Surf Life Saving Club, which was established in 1910”. Other parts of
the collection can be seen in attached photos.
Next day we drove out to the Wallagoot Lake and
National Park, just south of Tathra to walk out to the lake and beach walk. Apart
from a great downpour of rain and strong winds it was a very interesting walk. We
decided this deserved a glass of wine at the old Tathra Hotel where we looked
for whales on the horizon whilst enjoying a nice Sav Blanc.
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| Walking through the forest to the mouth of Wallagaloot Lake |
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| One of the beach coves |
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| A kangaroo on the shores of Wallagaloot Lake |
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| A Sea Eagle watches over the lake |
Next morning we packed
up and moved on to Eden. What another South Coast of NSW gem! Old Hughie did not let us down it rained
heavily all day and although for the first time in ages we were allowed to have
a camp fire it was just too wet. So, we decided to go to the Eden Killer Whale
Museum. First off we viewed a very informative film about the history of whaling
in the region as well as the story of the Killer Whale Old Tom, which was a
member of a pod of Orcas which worked side by side with human whalers to hunt
baleen whales. An incredible story.
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| The Eden Killer Whale Museum |
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| The head of the whale old Tom |
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| The full body of old Tom |
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A map showing how the killer whales herded the other
whales into Twofold Bay |
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| Part of the Aboriginal story in the Museum |
Apart from the well preserved skeleton of Old
Tom one of the great collection items was the Norwegian Scow complete with a
typical punt bow and rocker/sping keel. This scow reinforces recent findings of
similar craft in Norway by Garry Kerr that indicate that the Tasmanian Piners
Punt design, although influenced by Irish convicts, could have originated from
Norway. The Vikings invaded many celtic areas and their boats possibly
influenced celtic boat designs. My record of the Norwegian Scow in the Eden
Collection;
The following are rough dimensions as I did not have a rule, but do
trust my paces.
1.
LOD 6000
2.
Beam 1600
3.
Keel to Gunwale 500 (the vessel has no shear)
4.
6 planks per side
5.
Batten Seam Construction – battens approx. 40mm X 15mm
6.
Ribs approximately 140mm apart with many having been
sister-ed. Approx. 25mm X 12mm
7.
She has a large inner keelson measuring 150mm X 25mm
running almost the length of the keel.
8.
3 thwarts 2 with 1 large grown knee whilst the centre
thwart has 2 large grown knees.
Broadwater is on the Pambula lakes and not to be confused with the Nth.
NSW Broadwater.
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| The Norwegian Scow |
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| inside the bow looking at the tuck bow construction |
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| A typical Punt bow on the Norwegian Scow |
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| Aft looking fwd in the Norwegian Scow |
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| The structure of the stern and keelson in the Norwegian Scow |
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| Another shot looking fwd. Note the keelson |
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| The keel on the Norwegian Scow |
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| The lower stern and keel of the Norwegian Scow |
Ben
Boyd, migrated from the UK and was an early settler and pastoralist in the Eden district where he built Boydtown and undertook whaling. The following is an excerpt about Boyd,in the mid 1800’s Benjamin
Boyd, also owner of the SS’s Seahorse,
Juno, Velociity and Cornubia all from
the UK to set up is empire in Australia. His coastal steamships concentrated on
the southern route to Twofold Bay and Hobart Town, and by May 1844 he had
become one of the largest landholders and graziers in the colony. His fourteen
stations in the Monaro and four in the Port Phillip District included 426,000
acres (172,398 ha); the pastoral rights to most of this land were bought from
their former holders, and according to Gipps the stations were 'well-watered,
and in the best parts of the Colony'. By 1844 he had 20,000 sheep and 10,000
cattle in the Monaro. In Eden in 1847 he had built Boyd’s Tower from elaborate
sandstone cut and shipped from Sydney. Boyd's plan was for the tower to become a
lighthouse but the NSW Government never gave permission for the same. Boyd
subsequently used the tower for his whalers to spot whales, another part of his
empire in Australia".
Our visit to the tower identified it as Boyd’s folly,
however, it was probably also the Governments folly for not accepting the tower
as a lighthouse. Structurally it is still in good condition albeit in need of TLC. Boyd also started Boydtown just south of Eden and built his
Boydtown Inn named Seahorse after his steamship, on the shores of Twofold Bay.
Today it is a grand looking building but soon after Boyd completed Seahorse Inn
he was declared bankrupt and Boydtown went into rack and ruin to be later
restored by another early Eden entreprenuer. Following this we visited the
Davidson Whaling Station on the shores of Twofold Bay. The Davidson family ran
it as a whaling station from 1857 till 1929 making it the longest operating
shore based whaling station in Australia. The Cottage Loch Garra circa 1896, above the whaling station built and owned by
the Davidsons until some of the Boyd family took it over, it was then restored
by NSW Parks and Gardens is an absolute gem. The garden is also in impeccable condition
thanks again to NSW Parks and Gardens.
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| The Seahorse Inn today |
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| Boyd's Tower |
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| The Cottage Loch Garra |
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| The Cottage Loch Garra |
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| The workings of the whaling Station |
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The winch used to winch the whales
up the beach below |
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| Whaling Station interpretation boards |
From the Loch Garra we decided to travel through the Ben Boyd National Park to
the Greencape Lighthouse. This lighthouse was built in 1883, some years after
Boyd wanted his 1847 Tower to be a lighthouse and was the first cast concrete
tower 29mts tall. It was a good drive through the NP except for one idiot
exceeding the 40k speed limit. The seacape at the lighthouse is just
magnificent.
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| At the lighthouse we were greeted by a Wombat |
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The first Australian cast concrete
Lighthouse at Greencape NSW |
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| The Lighthouse keepers homes |
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An inscription, VRS in the concrete of the lighthouse,
is it Vigilance, Respect and Service? |
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| The sea scape at the foot of the lighthouse cliffs |
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| The Rainbow Lorikeets in the Eden Foreshore Caravan Park |
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The Rainbow Lorikeets in the Eden Foreshore Caravan Park
on Dallas arm! |
From Eden we drove on to Malacoota on the following day. A beautiful
drive and a beach I have been trying to get to all of my life. We were not let
down when we checked into the Malacoota Beachfront Caravan Park, just beautiful!
However, Dallas was suffering pain in her right leg which was quite excruciating,
This is a problem that had re-curred several times since her flight to Perth.
So, we went to a Dr in Malacoota who gave us two options. You need to go back
to Bega or on to Bairnsdale where there are hospitals that can better diagnose
the problem. We chose Bairnsdale and went back to the park, explaining that we
had to depart for which they refunded our fees and we drove straight on to the
Bairnsdale Hospital. The ultra sound found no DVT but she was treated for the
severe pain in her right leg.
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| Looking to the lake from our van site |
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| Our van sites boat mooring! |
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