Bathurst to Tamworth

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It was just as well we took our photos of Mount Panorama yesterday afternoon because this morning it was foggy. Not to mention that the temperature fell to -2°C overnight. Brrr, it was cold!

After re-packing the truck we headed into town to visit the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum. Housed in the old public school buildings that date to 1874 the museum permanently houses the fossils and minerals collected by Warren Somerville AM. After spending a lifetime amassing the collection he donated it to the museum in 2002 so that it could be preserved for future generations to enjoy. Now I am quite familiar with the Melbourne Museum’s Dynamic Earth Gallery and I have to say that the collection here in Bathurst is as good or better than that. Not bad for a regional museum!

The Fossil Gallery includes specimens from every major stage of life on Earth and includes several dinosaur skeletons, a large collection of fossils in amber and some unique Australian opalised fossils. The specimens in the Mineral Gallery come from mine sites around the world. The items are historically significant and many are irreplaceable. The minerals displayed are diverse and of exceptional quality and … they are really pretty!

Before leaving Bathurst behind us we visited Abercrombie House just a couple of kilometres out of town. Originally called ‘The Mount’ James Horne Stewart built the house in about 1870 in the Victorian Tudor style. It was built using granite with sandstone dressing to the quoins and window surrounds. The house remained in the Stewart Family until James Stewart’s great grandson sold it in 1968 to Rex Morgan. A condition of the sale was that the name of the house be changed which is why it is now known as Abercrombie House.

As we made our way around the house the current owner, Christopher Morgan, came in and introduced himself. He told us that he has lived there since just before he turned six years old. He didn’t divulge how hold he is now, but told us that he now has the distinction of having lived in the house longer than anyone else throughout its history!

Because the Morgan Family actually live in the house it is an eclectic mix of old and new. In the dining room much is made of the fact that a sideboard that was sold by the Stewarts in the 1920s was able to be purchased by Rex Morgan and returned to the house. In another room, period furniture is juxtaposed with the family’s flatscreen TV!!

While Abercrombie House is a fascinating example of the sort of home the landed gentry of NSW were building in the 19^th century it is all rather tired. The whole place gave the impression that the proper upkeep of the house is beyond the means of the Morgan Family. It could be amazing, but I think it needs the injection of many hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore it to the condition of its heyday. If the home is Christopher’s inheritance it strikes us as being somewhat of a poisoned chalice?

Leaving Bathurst behind us we headed east towards Lithgow on the Great Western Highway until we reached the Castlereagh Highway where we turned left to travel to north-west towards Mudgee. As we arrived in Mudgee Bernie was directed to the side of the road to participate in some random breath testing. Fortunately he was able to produce his license upon request and, better still, he didn’t blow over .05.

We continued into the town centre and parked the car. Rear to curb is not getting any easier yet!! We were able to find some freshly made salad sandwiches again today for lunch. After eating we took a quick stroll along Church Street to take a few photos to prove we had been in Mudgee. Bernie had seen a photo of the clocktower with a church behind it so was on a mission to find said clocktower and church.

We found the clocktower easily in the roundabout at the intersection of Church and Market Streets. The church turns out to be St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. Mudgee is filled with beautiful old buildings so quite a few photographs were taken in a short amount of time.

And then commenced our magical mystery tour from Mudgee to Tamworth on roads that I would never have suggested that we travel on if I had been navigating! Bernie is more than happy to put his trust in Apple Maps and go wherever Syri tells him to. From Mudgee we drove along Ulan Road to the Golden Highway. After only a couple of Ks on the Golden Highway we turned north again on Vinegaroy Road to Coolah. From Coolah we drove over the Warrumbungle Range on the Black Stump Road as far as the Premer turnoff where we started heading east on the Coonabarabran Road towards Quirindi.

After Spring Ridge we took the turn-off for Werris Creek. After another brief dog-leg onto the Kamilaroi Highway we were on our final approach to Tamworth along the Werris Creek Road … in the dark! It was very nerve wracking worrying about wildlife jumping out onto the road in front of us. To make matters even worse when we turned onto Spains Lane, on which the Stockman’s Motel is located, we found ourselves on a gravel road! Phew, it was a relief to pull into the car park at the motel where we will be spending the night. We did see a handful of animals on/near the road – two foxes, a wild pig and a wallaby – but avoided contact with all of them. Thank goodness.

The Stockman’s is a bit out of town again so we ate at the in-house restaurant for the second night in a row – tonight at ‘Carmen’s, A Little Taste of Italy’. The restaurant was packed on a Saturday night and not just with motel guests. It seems that the restaurant is very popular with the locals which is always a good sign. We weren’t disappointed with our casarecce pasta marina (Bernie) and pappardelle meatballs (Tracey). The service was much more efficient than last night.



Steps: 8,143 (5.70kms)

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