18th to 19th April - Goulburn

We headed off to Goulburn, we’ve crossed the NSW border yet again.  We’re off to catch up with Mel’s mate Wally Bush and his pooch Nugget.   Wonder how he got that name???   He wasn’t hard to find, we set up tent in front yard and had a few quiet drinks.  Next day we went out to “Do Goulburn”, have a look around

At the visitor centre in their amenties facility four walls are covered in blues artists signatures.

Every February they have a Blues Festival here and they have had the artists for a number of years put their monicker on the toilet wall.  Note for those who know them Chrome Daddies bottom centre.  A few of us girls followed the Chrome Daddies from their Sunday sess at the Cleveland Sands pub down to Tamworth Music festival one year......that was a BIG week.

We paid a visit to the giant Merino Sheep and did the Heritage walk around town.   We went up to the lookout tower, a WWI memorial.   Then back to town, I’m cooking roast tonight so need to get supplies.    We did have a drink at the Hibernian (Hibo) Hotel built 1850. 

The first Merino Sheep put foot on Australian soils in 1788 when they arrived aboard the first fleet.   Today Australia is one of the world's largest producers of wool.  The Australian Merino grazes a quarter of the Australian landscape and produces half a billion kilograms of fleece, worth around 2.8 billion dollars per year.    You can walk through a history display and up a stairwell to the eyes of the Merino.  Can't see a lot from up there.

We were doing the heritage walk around town, though this wasn't one of the listed buildings, I thought it was pretty cute, a "terrace house" florist.  However the florist has moved shopped but I still liked the gardens out front overgrowing the footpath.

The grand residence of the Brethren beside the Cathedral

There a quite a lot of the old heritage buildings still standing, some have been renovated some have not, a lot of the old facades remain on more modern buildings.   But what was special about a couple of the old buildings was these statue like figures set high on the roofs.  We haven't seen anything like this before.  

Some fast facts about Goulburn:-

1. Queen Victoria established the Anglican Diocese of Goulburn on the 14/03/1863 making Goulburn Australia’s first inland city.
2. Goulburn hosted Australia’s first Motorcycle Grand Prix in 1924 and Motor Car Grand Prix in 1927
3. When Australia’s wealth “rode upon the sheep’s back” in the 1800’s, Goulburn as a centre for fine wool prospered, giving rise to much of its grand architecture.
4. Population 28,349 (approx 22,000 in city of Goulburn) 32^nd out of 151 local government areas in NSW for fastest growth and 60^th for largest growth.
5. Wally’s has been collecting his firewood from the same property for 15 years and his back yard is just about full of wood……

The view overlooking town from the lookout on Rocky Hill.

Darl paying his respects to past heros at the WWI monument.   Check this building, hundreds of thousands of stones, cemented together and not moving anywhere.    This tower was planned before the end of WWI to commemorate "Those Who Served int the Great War 1914-1918.

Now Wally is a bit of a pro when it comes to chopping logs for his fireplace.   He has a special steel handle log splitter, which he reckoned my Darl wouldn't be able to handle.  Well my Darl being my Darl loves a challenge of any kind, I was inside when I heard some wood chopping going on and looking out to see my Darl getting right into it..... Wally didn't miss the opportunity and lined up a few of the harder logs for him to split.    Nice pose Darl!! 

Nugget!    A little Jack Russell, wanted to play but he is a cunning pooch, it's harder than you think to get the ball off him AND it's all covered in slobber, nice one Nugget.....