A monumentous Ride

nev

Super Térrarist
Thursday - Melbourne to Narrandera

Started off at lunchtime on Thursday.
Up the Hume Hwy. Detour off at Beveridge for a few photos.
The Kelly House, where Ned was born.

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Wood carved Ned Kelly statue at the local Community centre

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Hume and Hovell plaque in a nearby park

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Stopped at a rest area on the Goulburn Valley Hwy near Nagambie, where this memorial to fallen servicemen stands. A local, Calder Woodburn, was killed in action in WWII. His father planted an avenue of trees in his memory. These trees now adjacent to the Fwy. The rest area has been named after him, but the memorial here is to all of the local servicemen and women who died in WWII.

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This rest area has some nice shaded spots for vehicles to park. (In Japan we found rest areas on freeways which had similar shelters but were for motorcycles only)

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Everywhere I go I keep seeing Sikh temples. This one is in Shepparton.

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The Big Strawberry in Koonoomoo

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A plaque at the location advises that this used to be the location of Koonoomoo state school for 100 years from 1892 - 1992

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School of the Arts Building in Finley.

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Narrandera was the home of a flying school during WWII. Pilots trained in Tiger Moth biplanes. There is now a Tiger Moth memorial in the park on the Newell Hwy.

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A perusal of the WWI memorial in the main street finds a common surname in Australia, but not common on Australian War memorials.

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They've run out of space in the centre median for war memorials. Must be a sign that we've been involved in enough wars.

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nev

Super Térrarist
Friday - Narrandera to Inglewood (QLD)

Up and at 'em early. On the road to Wyalong

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Every year Parkes hold an Elvis Pressley festival. This brick memorial stands in the town. The plaques on either side commemorate Australian musicians.

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On the Newell Hwy near the Parkes Major Mitchell's exploration through this area is commemorated.

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The Dubbo Gaol doesn't seem so bad nestled between shops in the shopping strip.

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A becentennial reminder in Yetman

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Crossed the QLD border just on sundown.

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nev

Super Térrarist
Saturday - Inglewood to Sunshine Coast to Gold Coast

Another early morning.

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The farms out here are huge. Some paddocks are so big you can't see a fence as far as the eye can see.

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Early stop by Dalby Moto. A massive bike shop out here in the bush

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In NSW and QLD there are lots of war memorials built as clock towers in small town main streets.

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This memorial to gold diggers in Gympie wouldn't have looked too out of place in the USSR

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nev

Super Térrarist
Sunday - Gold Coast to Brisbane to Glen Innes

After Saturday night visiting a mate on the Gold coast and Sunday morning visiting family in Brisbane I was back on the road.

Another main street clock in Kyogle

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19th centry Grafton resident Henry Volckers planted Jacaranda trees.

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They still line this street, and the local pub shares the name

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The Mann River at Jackadgery. I first stopped here to admire the view on a bike trip in 2002 and I have loved the place ever since.

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Lookout on the Gwydir Hwy where the completion of the highway is commemorated on this stone.

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Raspberry lookout.

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nev

Super Térrarist
Monday - Glen Innes to Gundagai

Back in 2006, on the road from Ebor to Guyra, the rack on the back of my bike snapped off. I hung it off a tree on this road. Three years later we passed here again, and I stopped and found the rack and moved it to a tree on the other side of the road. 5 years later and I'm back again. This time the rack is not hanging off the tree. I stop and look around. No sign of the rack at all. I had cabletied a bit of chipboard on to the bottom of it to stop the water spray hitting my rack bag. I find the chipboard but it's not attached to the rack. The cable ties have been cut. I stop looking.

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Back onto the New England Hwy and heading south. It's not raining, but the low cloud keeps things damp. I don't take the camera out again till I'm back onto the plains west of Tamworth

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I stop in Spring Ridge for breakfast - a can of tuna and crackers. My regular riding breakfast.

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Fields of freshly harvested cotton.

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A park in Coolah has a pine tree which is a direct descendant from the original "lone pine" (I presume in the war cemetery in Turkey). The plaque didn't elaborate, neither could google.

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This plaque commemorates the completion of the Coolah-Mudgee Road.

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Molong had some surprises

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Another site commemorating Major Mitchell's explorations through this area.

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A park in Cudal has this stone and plaque remembering a prominent local.

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Canowindra remembers one of it's city officals with these impressive park gates.

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There's something about parks in this neck of the woods. Koorawatha remembers one of it's own here.

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A bit further south, Crowther has a small park with war memorials

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Just before dark I'm in the Muttama area where I find this creation. I don't know what it means.

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nev

Super Térrarist
Niagara Cafe Gundagai.

I wandered up the main street of Gundagai looking for a place to eat. The Niagara Cafe was a fantastic place.

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Curved glass windows on the front

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Inside it was all booths.

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..and art deco fittings

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The Prime Minister stopped here for a feed on a cold winter's night 62 years ago, and noone has been allowed to forget about it since..

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The walls are a tribute to the owners hometown in Greece, and his racehorses, most of which were/are named after his hometown in Greece

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and the food !!!

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nev

Super Térrarist
Tuesday - Gundagai to Home

The forecast for Tuesday was for showers. My action plan was, head for the hills if it's fine, head down the Hume if it's not. It was fine. I headed out to Tumut and then Tumbarumba. Over the hills the clouds were low and thick, not raining, but still wet. At Tumbarumba I decided against the scenic route and headed for the Hume. It was fine down at Albury so I headed for the hills again. The hills were damp and cloudy again.

Just outside Beechworth.

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War memorial in Everton.

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A stop at the Milawa Cheese Factory to stock up on necessities

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Onto the Hume for the rest of the trip back from here, but off again at Longwood looking for a counter lunch.

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Nice looking pub here, but it's not open for lunch today.

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A local farmer ploughing his fields Amish style..

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Avenal had an impressive war memorial, but again, no pub open for lunch this early in the week.

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