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Published: August 24th 2011
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Thursday 18th - Our journey today was to be a fairly short one so we weren’t in any rush to pack up. We did it very casually and were ready to hit the road at about 9:30am – quite late for us. We hadn’t determined exactly where we would be heading for but we knew it would be one of three places. The first was Ingham and we arrived there fairly early but realistically, it was always going to be unlikely that we stayed there even though we had identified a possible caravan park. It was only mid-morning when we arrived so we found a picnic area and stopped for our morning cuppa and cake. Innisfail was another place we considered and was the furthest of our three choices. It would have been easily manageable when compared to some of our recent long journeys, but today we settled for Cardwell which is mid-way between Ingham and Innisfail.
After our stop, progress was slow because of major road works but we still arrived soon after mid-day. Cardwell featured very prominently in the news earlier in the year because it was the town that suffered most damage during Cyclone Yasi in February.
The consequences of the cyclone were immediately apparent on arrival at Cardwell where many properties were undergoing major repair work whilst others appeared to be beyond repair and have been abandoned because of excessive damage or possibly the lack of insurance cover. We wondered if our chosen caravan park, Beachcomber, would have survived enough to offer facilities and we were pleasantly surprised to find them up and running enthusiastically. It wasn’t that they didn’t suffer any damage – the signs were obvious that they had. But they have made a tremendous effort to get the business back to something like normal although there is still a lot of repair work to be done. Many trees had been uprooted and those that survived had lost all their foliage. Several hundred meters of fencing were blown away and the bit that remained looked very unstable. A large area of the park was completely cordoned off but they were still able to offer us a pleasant site which we gratefully accepted although at first Graham wondered how he would get Sweetie into the narrow space between a wooden barrier and the concrete block. The chap from next door came out to offer advise
(he said he had spent about 20 minutes trying to park) but Graham had already worked out the best manoeuvre and within a couple of minutes Sweetie was parked in line with the block. It seemed slightly strange that our site was open to a road but the fencing still had to be replaced.
I suppose, in truth, we weren’t sure what we’d find to occupy us for three nights, two whole days, in a place like Cardwell but, as with almost everywhere we’ve been, we were actually spoilt for choice. A visit to the nearby Information Centre provided numerous opportunities with plenty of attractive possibilities within easy travelling distance. But for this evening we just enjoyed the outlook from the park across the Coral Sea towards Hinchinbrook Island.
On Friday we explored Cardwell with, first, a short drive along the road towards Port Hinchinbrook from where trips could be taken to the island. These have been drastically curtailed since the cyclone wreaked havoc but, hopefully, things will get back to normal soon. Again we spotted properties, many big, modern ones, which had suffered considerable damage. Then we made our way to the Post and Telegraph Office which
was built in 1870 and is one of the oldest buildings in North Queensland. It has survived many cyclones and termite attacks over the years and now is maintained as a museum for the area and has retained many of the old P&TO artefacts. With numerous old photos of buildings and characters from bygone times it was a fascinating place to pass an hour or so. There was lots of information on the struggles that took place to get a telegraph line to northern Australia to connect with the submarine cable to Java which ultimately went to England. The complex included a courthouse, a small lock-up”, a shire hall and also housed the local police station as well as having been a Post Office. As two former Post Office employees and in fact, ‘Postal and Telegraph Officers’ no less, we take more than a passing interest in most things ‘postal’ (especially pensions!!)! The mail bags with the towns of Geraldton and Banyan on intrigued as they are now Innisfail and Tully respectively. As usual, the volunteers who looked after the museum were very enthusiastic and were keen to answer any questions we might have. They told us a bit about
the terrible night of February 2nd when the cyclone hit – most of the people who lived in the town were evacuated which almost certainly saved many lives. Sadly the courthouse was damaged so is closed for the time being – funds will hopefully be forthcoming as time goes by to complete the repairs necessary. We went on to visit the local cemetery where many of the early dignitaries are buried with some fancy head stones. As with many of the cemeteries we have visited on this trip, the most noticeable aspect was how young many of the deceased were – they had no life at all in this rugged environment. Another feature in Cardwell is a Coral Sea War Memorial. It transpires that a major sea battle took place off the coast of Cardwell involving Australian and American ships against the Japanese. It is generally accepted that the successful defence of Australia at the Battle of The Coral Sea was the major factor which prevented any sort of invasion of Australia. A plaque remembered the crews of the American ships USS Neosho and USS Lexington, hundreds of whom died at the battle in May 1942.
So, including time
for a spot of lunch and a late-afternoon swim in the lovely pool, that was one very interesting day completed in our stay at Cardwell.
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