Blogs from Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania

We got up at 9am, by which time a few of the others had left. We decided to have lazy day, although I did want to see the little Historic Museum just up the road. The Museum looks like an old house but there’s a lot more than you’d expect behind those doors! Inside most of the rooms are beautifully set up as if they are still lived in but with furniture and fittings from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. It is jam-packed with so many treasures that it’s hard to remember them all. Next to the kitchen was an old concrete boiler for the laundry (Barry’s Mum used to use a similar copper one when she was young in Brisbane – I’m glad I don’t have to do the washing like that nowadays!). ... read more

We left the capital today and set off towards Melbourne and our next stop– “Along the road to Gundagai” (sorry I couldn’t resist it! For the non-Aussies, that’s the title of a very well known Australian bush song originally sung by Jack O’Hagan.) There are quite a few songs about Gundagai – another popular one being “Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox, Five Miles from Gundagai”. There is a famous statue of a dog sitting on a tucker box (food box) that was set up in 1932 as a monument to the early Pioneers who often had a companion dog that would guard their possessions. It sits five miles North of Gundagai, unfortunately on the wrong side of the divided highway, so we didn’t see it this time, although we have before. The nearest thing ... read more

Well we got up nice and early Paul cooked a yummy breakfast on the BBQ. We set off happily leaving our camp site know it was safe and sound through to Tumut. I was delighted with this not so little town. We walked around and only to find the ideals man fishing shop where he purchased a fine rod and a few lurers his prized one was, "Bloody Ripper" As it was lunch time we brought some Subway for lunch and found a nice little spot down by the river, pulling out our camping chairs and awning, totally enjoy lunch and the scenery. After packing things away and a wander down to the waters edge, we thought we would visit The Dog on the Tuckerbox at Snake Gully just outside of Gundagai took some great shot ... read more

The Dog on the Tuckerbox. I think when people hear the name 'Gundagai', they straight away think of the Dog on the Tuckerbox. The Dog on the Tuckerbox Memorial was established based on the old legend of Bill the Bullocky who in 1850 was driving his bullock team when the wagon was stuck in mud. After an unsuccessful attempt to get the wagon out of the mud, he went to have his lunch where he found his dog sitting on the tuckerbox. This is the poem that is displayed at the Dog on the Tuckerbox memorial: As I was coming down Conroy's Gap, heard a maiden cry: 'There goes Bill the Bullocky, He's bound for Gundagai. A better poor old - Never earned an honest crust, A better poor old - Never drug a whip through ... read more

This is a land of contrasts in more ways than one - we’ve gone from crispy dry 37 degrees to windy damp 7 degrees in the space of three weeks. Deviating from the Newell Highway on our way down to Melbourne, we are now in Canberra, ACT (Australian Capital Territory - a state within a state). I wanted to see the famed city designed by Walter Burley Griffin and we were virtually next door - only three hours drive away. We had already detoured to visit the wine region of Mudgee, where Rhys blew the budget and we spent twice as much on wine as on food, then Bathurst where he wanted to scare the pants off me driving around the race track. This he achieved very successfully even though there is a speed limit ... read more