That's a Wrap...Finally, Reporting of the East End Gallery's Winter Sundowner!

I am writing this post, comfortably snug inside Will at the Yalgoo Caravan Park. Nine days ago, the joint was jumping with the East End Gallery's June Sundowner. And what a night to remember.

Winter arrived in two surges in April (most unseasonable) and then again towards the end of May. As we prepared for our Escape From The Cold, I worried about all sorts of circumstances. Did we have enough firewood for our volunteers in the Gallery? Another tonne was duly procured. Was the catalogue edited, proofread and printed? Finally finished two days before we departed. Tea, coffee, sugar, milk, chocolates and biscuits. All restocked. What about the loo and basin in the Hovel? Cleaned to the best of my ability. A tidy of Michael's workshop? That was a Bridge Too Far!

No amount of cold could dampen the spirit of our beloved East End Gallery. Once more, the Gallery is charged with a bounty of eclectic, elegant, edgy and ethereal art pieces. There are items just for fun and frivolity. There is nourishment for your skin and health. There is art that provokes discussion. There are others that take your breath away. We continue to promote and support new Wheatbelt artists and those who have a connection to the Wheatbelt or a connection to us. We were welcoming new artists and new works up until our last day in the Gallery before we departed.

The Sundowner dawned without the bucketing rain we had endured over the recent days. We set the fire roaring from mid morning in an effort to move the warmth into the Gallery. We were delighted to receive two new meerkat residents for the Meerkat Mansion project. Many thanks to the ladies who returned to Heavenly Beverley to deliver them personally to us.

We dawdled towards the late afternoon. I espoused the delights of our Sundowner to all and sundry. As the day drew to a close and the evening arrived, Michael and I knew we were on the cusp of a special night. As guests and musos filled the Gallery, some attendees spilled onto the street, in spite of the cold, coming back in to thaw out from time to time. And inside, the Gallery was alive!

How lucky are we to have such a bunch of talented people freely give up a Saturday night and play music in our Gallery. For passion, for love, for joy. "Bring a plate and a bottle to share" had been followed with generosity by everybody. There was conversation and laughter. There were photo opportunities galore. And then there was the music.

If I try and thank all our musicians, singers and fantastic guests individually, I am bound to forget one of you. Instead, I tried to photograph as many of you all as possible, attempting the capture an absolute gem of a Sundowner.

We would love you all to return for our Spring Sundowner on Saturday 23 September from about 5,30 pm. You all know the drill...We can repeat the magic.

 

 

First were our Meerkat Deliveries!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dillydallying in Dalwallinu...

We spent two very pleasant nights in Dalwallinu. We have stayed before, but only ever overnight, which means we hadn't really experienced the ambiance of the town. Our "Slow Boat to China" itinerary is proving to be quite to our taste, thus far. We are travelling in bites of only a couple of hundred kilometres, with few "pack-up and push-offs" the next morning.

Dalwallinu was founded in 1910 on the Great Northern Highway. A spacious town, similar in population to Beverley, Dalwallinu boasts of wheat and wattle. Broadacre farming is definitely the order of the day, the wildflower season attracts legions of tourists, but there are also substantial light industry areas. About a third of the population is employed by these enterprises, with much of the goods heading for the minesites further north.

The main drag is very attractive with gardens, banners, shade, BBQs, play equipment and a myriad of different shops and services. We ate last night in the pub, where the dining room was empty except for us, but the bar was jumping. Today, we visited the Dally Cafe for lunch which was typical country food, but tasty enough with a pleasant atmosphere. 

We spent quite some time at the Visitors' Centre, chatting to Jo, who is retiring next week. This was well worth the visit - very interesting  with plenty of brochures, displays and information. I also bought a few items at the local Foodworks and hardware. We cruised around town later in the afternoon and spent about an hour walking the cemetery. We both agreed that we learnt a great deal about the early pioneers from reading and contemplating the headstones.

The weather was truly glorious all day. Sun and blue skies with warmer temperatures meant only two layers of clothing instead of four. I even resorted to wearing my hat on a stroll from the caravan park into town, to protect my useless British skin from developing any more skin cancers!

The Dalwallinu caravan park has also proved to be an excellent choice. We stayed away from the main road, so the noise was lessened. The shower had ample hot water with spacious single cubicles, hooks and a bench. The loos were also roomy and clean. High season has yet to commence so only one set of ablutions were open, which was absolutely fine as the park was sparsely populated. The camp kitchen also had copious hot water and all the basics, more than enough for our needs.

We move on tomorrow to Yalgoo, where we intend to fossick in the old tip just out of town. And relax some more. Like in Dalwallinu, the caravan park there is a familiar friend and we look forward to making its acquaintance once more. 

Until next time.

 

 

Entry statement...

 

 

the historic pub...

 

 

Everlastings...

 

 

Town park...

 

 

Streetscape...

 

 

Park residents...

 

 

 

 

Now the town hall...

 

 

Visitors' centre...

 

 

Local information...

 

 

More locals - mallee fowl

 

 

 

 

Wedge tailed eagle.

 

Now We Know Nungarin!

Today is Thursday, day 3 of our Slow Boat to China. We woke to a magnificent blue sky, a warming sun, no wind and lots of internal condensation. Will leaks like a sieve around his perimeter, but we were as snug as bugs in rugs under two thick quilts. Our custom made mattress has proved to be worthy of the price we paid, as being aged beings, we are delighted to rise without much pain from our arthritic joints!

The Nungarin Caravan Park, which is being redeveloped, borders what we assume is the sewerage treatment ponds. Apart from its high earth walls giving its function away, there were no unseemly sights or smells emanating from the structure. The new facilities are not quite finished so we have been using the toilets and showers in the adjacent sports centre. Hence, we parked Will and Lily as close to the entry point as we could. However, the Caravan Park promises to be lovely, with extensive landscaping and a military vehicle on a jaunty angle at the entry.

At first, Nungarin puzzled us as the town (which is pretty tiny in terms of population) was very spread out. The main drag was at one end of town and the houses were dawdling in varying directions with no apparent pattern. That mystery was solved upon learning the history of the town. During the Second World War, inland settlements were designated as army depots, transport hubs and service centres. The Nungarin Heritage Machinery and Army Museum tells the story of that purpose. 

Do yourselves a favour and spend a morning or afternoon or both in the Museum, speak to the knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers (thank you to Gary and Cass) and wander through the exhibits, which include vehicles of all kinds, collections of tractors, generators, machinery and domestic goddess appliances, a recreation of the soldiers camp, a workman's room and a blacksmith's shop (under construction). The loos were divinely clean and luxurious. There is also a homely and spotless kitchen for making tea and coffee and enjoying scones, mini muffins and biscuits. Being akin to a huge warehouse, we dressed warmly for the conditions.

Now, I am not normally a fan of most war museums. The exception, until now, was the museum in Cairns. The Nungarin museum is up there, possibly even better, without the entry price tag and with with only minimal merchandise. The six minute video tells the informative and fascinating story of thousands of personnel stationed in Nungarin, particularly in 1944, when the threat of invasion by Japan was deemed imminent by the military boffins. I had no idea that this scenario had even been considered.

Hence, the area required for the base was huge. Vast swathes of bush have overgrown the site, which was decommissioned in the 1960s, the infrastructure moved, sold off or dismantled. The town swimming pool, I suspect was the base's pool, hence being somewhat detached from Nungarin's centre. The museum is housed in the only remaining structure and was also home to the shire's works depot. That facility has now been moved to a new site, allowing the museum to expand to its full size.

We also dropped into  artist Natalie Veal's Studio on the main street, and spent a very agreeable hour admiring her works. Then to the Visitors' Centre, with Diana manning that establishment. We had lunch at the town's cafe and convenience store (yum) and met other residents such as Tracey, who seemed to be volunteering in every enterprise Nungarin offers.  In fact, the entirety of Nungarin's population appears to be volunteering in one form or another.

An attraction we missed was a walk on Nungarin's heritage Walk trail, which will be absolutely stunning, come the wildflowers. We have also not experienced the local markets yet, held on the first Sunday of each month. We did take a drive past the extraordinary remnants of the giant army storehouses, a series of massive brick walls left untouched in the surrounding wheat fields. Alas, the pub was closed, due to ill health, but that was the only minor disappointment.

So, in closing, we fell in love with this speck of a community forty kilometres north of Merredin. Embarking on a slow expedition is allowing us to stop and take in the ambiance of places like Nungarin that we might have previously zoomed past in our haste to chase the sun. We hope to stop on the way back and take in some stunning farming scenery and experience the beginning of the Wheatbelt's wildflower season. We just need to remember to dress accordingly!

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode...and do visit Nungarin!

 

 

My darling Dad would have loved this replica cannon!

 

 

Some sort of engine gizmo...

 

 

Domestic goddess appliance roll call...

 

 

Fancy a ride in this?

 

 

Search light...

 

 

One story of one prisoner-of-war...

 

 

Natalie Veal's painting of volunteers at work...

 

 

Herself with a friend...

 

 

Depiction of a blacksmiths' camp...

 

 

Frock installation...

 

 

Steampunk inspired painting...

 

 

 Her sign and the garden...

 

 

Military relic at the caravan park entry...

 

 

Nungarin information...

Kate and Michael's Slow Boat To China

Hello everybody! I am so bloody excited that you could cut me off at the knees and call me Shorty. We are at the end of the first day of our nine week epic adventure to infinity and beyond (east of Marble Bar) before we begin the long voyage home (apologies to Stark Trek).

We have driven all the way to Nungarin in the Wheatbelt (about 200 kilometres from Heavenly Beverley) as we wish to check out the Military Museum there and undertake some investigation of the feasibility of metal art welding with some of the locals. Having never been to Nungarin before, the draw of a new location to explore was irresistible. 

The drive along the Goldfields Road and the Great Eastern Highway was pretty and pleasant. We drove the distance in three hours very easily. Even so, we were tired when we arrived at the Nungarin Shire office to book into the caravan park and were looking forward to setting up Will for the first time on this trip. Less than ideal was the pub being closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. We have had to resort to cooking on our first evening out. Probably just as well, as Michael had difficulty working out how to disengage Will our caravan from Lily the car...A job for the morning.

Pity about the weather. The temperature is positively frigid with Antarctic winds and freezing rain. We are the only residents of the local caravan park which is adjacent to the sports centre.We have parked as close to the loos as possible and are grateful for power. Our trusty fan heater has been running  at full blast since we retreated out of the cold before five o'clock. The watery late afternoon sun did nothing to warm the van even though I opened all the curtains to absorb as much sunshine as possible.

Michael is already missing Stella immensely but we know she will be well looked after by the divine Miss Paula Frankling. Recently, Stella has turned into a traitoress, wooed by Paula's bed and the promise of being wrapped up in a fluffy blanket like a sausage roll. Even Chop the black and white fiendish feline has taken to traipsing into Paula's room, acknowledging her as the supreme being in our family. We are so fortunate to have Paula as the ultimate house-sitter and animal companion extraordinaire. And later this year, we hope to have another doggy addition to our quirky family.

We are taking a month to wend our way to Onslow in the Pilbara. We plan a route through Dalwallinu, Yalgoo, Cue, Mount Augustus, Gascoyne Junction, the Kennedy Ranges, Carnarvon and then onto Onslow. Once there, we intend to soak up the Northwest sun and regain our mojo over ten days. Then, Millstream, Karijini, onto Marble Bar and further, Upper Carawine Gorge, Nullagine, Newman, Wiluna, Leonora, Menzies, Mount Palmer and home. We are not hurrying; we are pausing what has been our frenetic lifestyle this year, so we can return refreshed and full of vim, vigour and vitality. That is the plan...

Till next post.

 

 

Will outside Station House in Heavenly Beverley...

 

 

On the move...outside the front door!

 

 

Not today...

 

 

That's more like the weather...

 

 

Coming to Nungarin...

 

 

Certainly a pretty place on first impressions...

 

 

Yep - that's how empty the caravan park was this afternoon.