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Published: June 23rd 2014
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We had a more relaxed day today with a slow start (although I did go and watch the sunrise – very pretty) and then a visit to Kangaroo Hill, which is just a few kilometres away from Lorne Station, right on the edge of Lightning Ridge. It is owned by Gwen and Athol Jenkins and Gwen gives a tour of their collection, herself, complete with wonderful stories of her great grandmother, who first came to Australia during the gold rush days, and her own early days.
There are several display “rooms” behind glass which hold items (like a glass domed group of stuffed birds amongst grass), clothes (notably a long black dress) and furniture (including a table made of cedar from Gippsland) that used to belong to her great grandmother. Gwen explained that she was given by relatives, as a dowry on her marriage, the use of a ship for 3 years which was packed full of goods and chattels that would be needed by the miners on the goldfields.
When she arrived in Australia, her husband was delayed and she was supposed to wait for him. This hardy woman decided she didn’t want to waste the months so
Kangaroo Hill, Lightning Ridge
Gwen beside the "room" filled with her great grandmother's personal effects, including the black dress shown here. she bought a bullock wagon and 16 bullocks and hired a Ticket of Leave man (a convict who has served his time) to drive them and she headed out to Bendigo. She soon discovered that Ballarat had much richer pickings so she set off on the trip. Along the way, she had to stop to give birth to her baby but, after only 3 days, she continued her journey. She found the wagon was too bumpy for the baby so she walked behind it. The journey from Bendigo to Ballarat took 7 weeks.
On arrival in Ballarat with her bullock team all healthy, she was approached to sell them. Thinking she wouldn’t need them anymore, she did so for a handsome profit but was horrified to later find out that the animals had been eaten not used for haulage. Supplies on the goldfields were very basic and often miners existed on damper (a kind of scone/bread) and whatever they could catch in the bush. Beef was a real luxury!
She did very well for herself with the trading, especially the tea. She sold it for 3 shillings a 1/3 measure (about a tablespoonful!) along with a recipe for
Gem Collection at Kangaroo Hill, Lightning Ridge
These are some of the wonderful gemstones Gwen has acquired for her collection. making tea into a cordial to dilute. With only 2 teaspoons of tea leaves and some sugar, you boil it until the brew is dark and very strong. This is then tipped into a bottle and kept cool. A cup of tea could be made with just a teaspoon of the liquid! Sounds yuk.
Gwen also has a collection of gems and fossils she has been acquiring since she was a young woman, and then decided to begin polishing and carving stones to sell. She and her husband have travelled all over the world looking for stones to dig up or to buy. One item in her collection appealed to me the most – a tiny 1cm carved opal kangaroo, with detail, that she was given by someone whose dog she’d saved. Gorgeous! I want it but it’s not for sale!
They have an opal claim, too, and you can fossick for an hour in the mullock heap of you wish. She supplies a small bottle, complete with an opal chip in to get you started, for $2.50. I’ve been wanting to have a go but you can’t just take from anywhere as that would be stealing (or
Sculpture at Kangaroo Hill, Lightning Ridge
A 1 cm kangaroo carved in opal given to Gwen as a thank you for helping to save the sculptor's sick dog. This was my favourite piece of the collection. Ratting, as it’s known here). We managed to find enough small pieces of potch with some colour to fill the bottle so I went and bought another. It was great fun coming across the glittering colours, tiny though they were!
We then went back to the van for a late lunch and Barry decided to shave. He spotted an emu in the mirror, foraging through the scrub at the back of the caravan park. We went looking for him soon after but he’d vanished. We did see a small group of White-winged Fairy Wrens, though. They look like Melbourne’s Blue Fairy Wren but have a distinctive white patch on the top of the wing (I couldn’t get close enough for a photo, unfortunately). Very cute.
We were too late to do any of the others things on the list so we tried our luck in another mullock heap outside the Tourist Information Centre. Nothing this time, I’m afraid. We had a quick look in Gem Park, next door, and saw a small group of Double-barred Finches twittering away in the bushes. The sun went down in a blaze of red over the bush, just as we were leaving.
Fossicking in Lightning Ridge
We didn't have much luck on this mullock heap outside the Tourist Information Centre. We did better at Kangaroo Hill, with just a few chips of colour. Pizza for tea, with loads of chicken on it, delicious. (It was meant to be an $8 Senior’s meal from the Bowling Club but we’d read the sign wrong and it didn’t start until the 26
th June- we were a week early). We then watched the last 2 episodes of Warehouse 13 which were a disappointment. Then bed.
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