It was supposed to be 'C' for Cooper's Creek but it had been graded and was a quagmire. So then it was going to be 'C' for Chinese Gardens but as I drove through Walhalla, I found the North Gardens Reserve and I was a very happy camper! I did check out the Chinese Gardens a little further along the road, they charge a small fee but have toilets and a shower (but who needs showers?). There were toilets at North Gardens, free barbecues, fire pits and water with wrigglers in it. What more could you want?
Walhalla, one of Victoria's Gold Rush towns, prospered into the 1900s. Now a drowsy tourist hamlet with several remaining buildings, strung beside the creek which runs along the narrow valley but...
- Once land was at such a premium they had to build the fire station over the creek.
- The hills were so denuded by the demands of mining and steam generated machinery, a flood once left six feet (almost 2 metres) of silt along the main street..an early environmental disaster.
- Walhalla was the first country town in Victoria to have electricity, generated by steam, but the kingpins thought it was a just a fad and it was turned off.
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| Right to left: Bandstand, Star Hotel, Oddfellows Hall. |
The museum and post office are both worth a visit. The former because of the large photos of the town during its heyday and the latter because it is in original condition. The spinster (aint that a lovely word) daughter of the last owners lived there until the end of last century. It is furnished just as she left it. You may also enjoy a ride on the restored train; a piece of infrastructure that came too late to the town to make a difference to its decline. The cemetery is fascinating, commemorating the short lives of many and the mapping the outbreaks of scarlet fever.
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| I swear the rug in the living room of the old post office residence was the same as one we had at home when I was a child! |
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| Every room in the residence had different wallpaper. |
Why I loved it so much!
Firstly, there was a music group who welcomed other campers into their midst and played long into the night. It was so joyous and felt somehow pagan.
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| Fiddling in the dark. |
The second reason I enjoyed my visit were the satin bowerbirds. The nervous, shimmering midnight-blue males and the braver, beautifully patterned women with dark sapphire eyes. (In the picture they look purple but they weren't). They were quite brazen, even helping themselves to food from my kitchen and leaving pooey footprints everywhere.
The third reason was Bob. But I will tell you about him in the next post.
