Friday, 1 November 2024
Once again today we did not take the most direct route between Gilgandra and Narrandera which would have been the Newell Highway. However, unlike yesterday, today’s detours were on the itinerary. The spreadsheet said ‘Enroute Weethalle – Silo Art, Barellan – BIG Tennis Raquet’ so the SatNavs were programmed for Narrandera via those two destinations.
We headed south on the Newell Highway until we reached Eumungerie where we turned off towards Coolbaggie and then on to Narromine. In the heartland of wheat growing country the theme for the morning was wheat, wheat, wheat and more wheat. We saw fields of gold, we saw fields of stubble, we saw wheat being harvested, we saw trucks carrying wheat and we saw grain collection centres! In between we saw an occasional paddock of sheep and cattle but mostly it was WHEAT.
From Narromine we took the McGrane Way towards Tullamore. We had our eyes peeled for the public toilet signs in Tullamore but didn’t spot them until we were nearly out the other side of town. We pulled up under some lovely shady trees and looked across the grassy park to three toilets. Oh, no, temporary fencing was preventing access to the Men’s and Ladies toilets and there were men in hi-viz in the third toilet. We ambled over to find out if we were going to be able to use the facilities. Sure, the guys said as long as you don’t mind stepping around our tools. Not a problem, needs must and all that!
Cathy went first and reported an additional problem – no toilet paper. One of the guys obligingly let me into the Mens to grab some paper to take into the disabled loo with me. He told me that there are other public toilets at the other end of town. I apologised for being in their way and said we had come from the other end of town and hadn’t seen any signs for other public amenities. He apologised and said the existing loos have plumbing problems and they are just finishing off the disabled loo that we were using then admitted that he and his colleague are not locals and he’s not entirely clear on where the other toilets are. Eventually all four of us were relieved and we left the guys to their work!
Since we’re travelling more than 500 kilometres today, we swapped drivers for the Tullamore to Condobolin leg. My stint behind the wheel was entirely uneventful until I had to park rear-to-curb in Condobolin! I chose a section where there was a lot of space, and no lines marked so that I could back the truck in without worrying about being inside the lines or navigating around/between other vehicles. I was probably taking up enough space for three vehicles, but I was parked!
We ate an early lunch at the Café Roma and then walked along Bathurst Street to look at some of the lovely old buildings in Condolobin. After our break from travelling we piled back into the vehicles still heading for Weethalle. But, before we could get properly underway we happened upon the Visitor Information Centre on the southern end of town and the art display ‘Utes in the Paddock’.
We pulled in to check out this unique and quirky exhibition. Having travelled Route 66 in 2012 Bernie and I were both reminded of the ‘Cadillac Ranch’ installation near Amarillo in Texas. Googling now has revealed that ‘Cadillac Ranch’ in the US of A was indeed the inspiration for Graham Pickles to create something similar in Australia but with a uniquely Aussie spin – the classic ute. I had seen an artwork at John Murray’s gallery featuring the utes at Condolobin but hadn’t realised that we would be passing through. For some reason, despite its popularity, the utes didn’t come up in pre-holiday searches for places to go, things to see. Luckily we chanced upon it.
From Condolobin we zig-zagged our way west towards Lake Cargelligo before heading south through Tullibigeal and Kikoira where we picked up Dundas Road. Arriving at the intersection with the Mid Western Highway (Route B64) we finally found ourselves at Weethalle where we made our way to the silo art. Weethalle’s Silo Art Project was painted by artist Heesco Khosnaran (from an image supplied by Millie Brown) in June 2017. The beautiful mural is a moving tribute to the rich agricultural heritage of the district and features a grain farmer and a shearer and some merino sheep watching from a balcony.
Back on the road, Kolkibertoo Road to be precise, to travel 50 kilometres to Barellan, home of the Big Tennis Racquet. Local farmer, David Irwin, was the driving force behind the construction of the 13.8 metre long Big Tennis Racquet which stands on the main street. The racquet was made to celebrate the 100th year of Barellan (2009) and its proud association with Evonne Goolagong-Cawley MBE AO. Evonne, a Wirajuri woman was born in the Riverina and grew up in Barellan. The racquet is an exact 20:1 scale model of Evonne’s signature wooden Dunlop racquet.
The final leg of our journey today was on the Barellan Road to Narrandera. On arrival we drove through town to the Shell Servo to fill up, so we’ll be ready to set out for home in the morning. Driving into town we noticed a sign for the water tower art trail, so we made our way up to Watermain Street to check it out. As we drove up, we were feeling a little bit of déjà vu and when we arrived the art did seem familiar, but we couldn’t recall the interpretative boards.
A search for Narrandera on my phone revealed that we HAVE visited before on the 3rd of August 2019 at 1.27pm! That was just three months after the water tower was painted by Apparition Media in May 2019. Reasonable to imagine that the interpretative boards have been installed since our last visit? The tower features icons of the Narrandera Shire – koalas, the Eastern Bearded Dragon, a Tiger Moth Biplane designed in the 1930s, the PS
