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Van Trip 2007
Dubbo to Cobar
Days 5 to 8
300 km travelled today
After leaving Dubbo this morning we headed on to the Mitchell Highway for todays journey to Cobar.There are several interesting towns along the highway, including, Narromine, Trangie, Nevertire and Nyngan. We stopped at all of the towns for a look at their history and tourist attractions, and as it was ANZAC day we watched the parade through the streets in Trangie.
Narromine is located about 40 kilometres west of Dubbo. The town name comes from a pastoral property, which in turn came from an Aboriginal word for "honey person"
The area is popular for gliding and the growing of citrus fruits. The Macquarie River passes through the town. The main road from Dubbo to the west also passes through, this being the Mitchell Highway named after the early explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell. The town of Narromine has produced several success stories, most recently sports personalities Glen McGrath,(Cricket) Melinda Gainsford Taylor, (Athletics) Disney animator Adam Phillips and Justin Smith (Rugby League).
Trangie is a small country town on the Mitchell Highway 33 kilometres northwest of Narromine. At the 2006 census it had a population of 866. The tennis player Lesley Turner Bowrey was born there in 1942, as well as rugby league player Justin Carney.
Nevertire is a rural village about 30 kilometres west of Trangie. It is located at the junction of the Mitchell and Oxley Highways in the Warren Shire about 525 kilometres northwest of Sydney, It has a population of 331.Originally the village was known as Warren Pond, it was devastated by a cyclone on 28 December 1896.
The main building in Nevertire is the Nevertire hotel. This hotel serves as a bar, hotel, motel, post office and restaurant.
Nyngan is situated on the Bogan River between Narromine and Bourke, on the junction of the Mitchell and Barrier Highways,, 583 km north-west of Sydney. The Barrier Highway starts at Nyngan, and runs west to Cobar and on through Wilcannia and Broken Hill into South Australia.
About 70 kilometres south of the town a cairn has been erected to mark the geographical centre of New South Wales.
In April 1990, unusually heavy rains caused major flooding in the town, despite a massive effort by local people to build levee walls using sandbags. With the town almost completely flooded, all the residents had to be evacuated by helicopter from the railway station, the highest point of the town, which was not flooded. Army helicopters, TV news helicopters and private helicopters all co-operated in the airlift. The total damage amounted to $50 million. The airlift is commemorated by an Army helicopter placed outside of the Nyngan Railway Station. Ironically, the flood damage to railway tracks provided the justification to withdraw passenger railway services to Nyngan and the railway station is now a museum
After leaving Nyngan we turned onto the Barrier Highway and headed toward Cobar, a journey of 132 kilometres. We arrived at the Cobar Van Park in the late afternoon after travelling 300 kilometres for the day, and were able to pick our own sites. Needless to say we had excellent sites. After unhitching and setting up we enjoyed a barbecue at the camp kitchen with Leo and Maureen.
The following day we visited the Heritage Centre where Maureen was able to find useful information about her family history. Leo and Maureen also visited the cemetery to find Maureen's uncle's headstone.
A late lunch was enjoyed by all at a little side street cafe called the "Twisted Sisters".
In the evening we again had dinner in the camp kitchen, this time enjoying rissoles, spuds and salad.
The following morning we awoke to a wet day, it had been raining most of the night. Leo, Maureen and I went to the Meteorological Office very early to watch the weather balloon go up. We went to the Heritage Centre again, and Leo spoke to a genealogist, We also toured the old Cobar gaol and Open Cut mine.
Cobar is 712 km northwest of Sydney, and is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way (to Queensland) and Barrier Highway (to South Australia). The town is on the eastern edge of the Outback. In 2006 it had a population of 5,194.
The name Cobar is derived from the Aboriginal word Kuparr, Gubarr or Cuburra, meaning 'red earth' or 'burnt earth', the ochre used in making body paint for Corroborees. It has also been suggested, but it is less likely, that the name may represent an Aboriginal attempt to pronounce the word 'copper'.
Pastoralists began to settle the area in the mid-1860s. Copper was discovered in 1870, leading to settlements being founded with Australia's European and Asian gold rush immigrant arrivals. The Great Cobar Copper Mining Company Limited was established in 1878.
At its peak, Cobar had a population on 10,000 and its own Stock Exchange. However, copper mining operations ceased in 1920, and by the 1930s the town's population had dropped to little over 1,000, only to rise again and stabilise at around 3,500 through the 1970s and early 1980s. In the 1980s,Gold, Silver, Lead and Zinc were discovered in the area, which led to a further population increase.
We rated our stay in Cobar most enjoyable, we were very impressed with the town and its surroundings. We would very much like to pay a return visit sometime in the future.
Leo & Maureen were indebted to the staff at the Heritage Centre who went out of their way to help, including opening up the centre out of hours to assist them with their family history inquiries.
We spent the last afternoon preparing our Vans and vehicles for the next leg of our journey to Broken Hill. It was with a great deal of reluctance that we left the van park which had become our home base for 4 days.
Days 5 to 8
300 km travelled today
After leaving Dubbo this morning we headed on to the Mitchell Highway for todays journey to Cobar.There are several interesting towns along the highway, including, Narromine, Trangie, Nevertire and Nyngan. We stopped at all of the towns for a look at their history and tourist attractions, and as it was ANZAC day we watched the parade through the streets in Trangie.
Narromine is located about 40 kilometres west of Dubbo. The town name comes from a pastoral property, which in turn came from an Aboriginal word for "honey person"
The area is popular for gliding and the growing of citrus fruits. The Macquarie River passes through the town. The main road from Dubbo to the west also passes through, this being the Mitchell Highway named after the early explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell. The town of Narromine has produced several success stories, most recently sports personalities Glen McGrath,(Cricket) Melinda Gainsford Taylor, (Athletics) Disney animator Adam Phillips and Justin Smith (Rugby League).
Trangie is a small country town on the Mitchell Highway 33 kilometres northwest of Narromine. At the 2006 census it had a population of 866. The tennis player Lesley Turner Bowrey was born there in 1942, as well as rugby league player Justin Carney.
Nevertire is a rural village about 30 kilometres west of Trangie. It is located at the junction of the Mitchell and Oxley Highways in the Warren Shire about 525 kilometres northwest of Sydney, It has a population of 331.Originally the village was known as Warren Pond, it was devastated by a cyclone on 28 December 1896.
The main building in Nevertire is the Nevertire hotel. This hotel serves as a bar, hotel, motel, post office and restaurant.
Nyngan is situated on the Bogan River between Narromine and Bourke, on the junction of the Mitchell and Barrier Highways,, 583 km north-west of Sydney. The Barrier Highway starts at Nyngan, and runs west to Cobar and on through Wilcannia and Broken Hill into South Australia.
About 70 kilometres south of the town a cairn has been erected to mark the geographical centre of New South Wales.
In April 1990, unusually heavy rains caused major flooding in the town, despite a massive effort by local people to build levee walls using sandbags. With the town almost completely flooded, all the residents had to be evacuated by helicopter from the railway station, the highest point of the town, which was not flooded. Army helicopters, TV news helicopters and private helicopters all co-operated in the airlift. The total damage amounted to $50 million. The airlift is commemorated by an Army helicopter placed outside of the Nyngan Railway Station. Ironically, the flood damage to railway tracks provided the justification to withdraw passenger railway services to Nyngan and the railway station is now a museum
After leaving Nyngan we turned onto the Barrier Highway and headed toward Cobar, a journey of 132 kilometres. We arrived at the Cobar Van Park in the late afternoon after travelling 300 kilometres for the day, and were able to pick our own sites. Needless to say we had excellent sites. After unhitching and setting up we enjoyed a barbecue at the camp kitchen with Leo and Maureen.
The following day we visited the Heritage Centre where Maureen was able to find useful information about her family history. Leo and Maureen also visited the cemetery to find Maureen's uncle's headstone.
A late lunch was enjoyed by all at a little side street cafe called the "Twisted Sisters".
In the evening we again had dinner in the camp kitchen, this time enjoying rissoles, spuds and salad.
The following morning we awoke to a wet day, it had been raining most of the night. Leo, Maureen and I went to the Meteorological Office very early to watch the weather balloon go up. We went to the Heritage Centre again, and Leo spoke to a genealogist, We also toured the old Cobar gaol and Open Cut mine.
Cobar is 712 km northwest of Sydney, and is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way (to Queensland) and Barrier Highway (to South Australia). The town is on the eastern edge of the Outback. In 2006 it had a population of 5,194.
The name Cobar is derived from the Aboriginal word Kuparr, Gubarr or Cuburra, meaning 'red earth' or 'burnt earth', the ochre used in making body paint for Corroborees. It has also been suggested, but it is less likely, that the name may represent an Aboriginal attempt to pronounce the word 'copper'.
Pastoralists began to settle the area in the mid-1860s. Copper was discovered in 1870, leading to settlements being founded with Australia's European and Asian gold rush immigrant arrivals. The Great Cobar Copper Mining Company Limited was established in 1878.
At its peak, Cobar had a population on 10,000 and its own Stock Exchange. However, copper mining operations ceased in 1920, and by the 1930s the town's population had dropped to little over 1,000, only to rise again and stabilise at around 3,500 through the 1970s and early 1980s. In the 1980s,Gold, Silver, Lead and Zinc were discovered in the area, which led to a further population increase.
We rated our stay in Cobar most enjoyable, we were very impressed with the town and its surroundings. We would very much like to pay a return visit sometime in the future.
Leo & Maureen were indebted to the staff at the Heritage Centre who went out of their way to help, including opening up the centre out of hours to assist them with their family history inquiries.
We spent the last afternoon preparing our Vans and vehicles for the next leg of our journey to Broken Hill. It was with a great deal of reluctance that we left the van park which had become our home base for 4 days.
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