Judy & Brian Tour Oz: Forbes NSW 15 July 2019

Forbes NSW

Finally at last, escape from the Canberra winter which seems to have been colder than I remember. But away at last in the bright sunshine and looking good for a nice run out through Yass, Boorowa, Cowra and on to Forbes. The sunshine lasted as far as Yass and then the clouds came over and the wind picked up. We stopped at Boorowa, as has become our habit when travelling this way, for a coffee. My resolve to avoid sticky buns and muffins melted at the sight of my all-time favourite: a rock cake.

We went for a bit up and down the Main Street, and were surprised at just how many more shops and businesses were closed and gone. It seems such a perfect place for a rural-change from city life I can't see why it seems to be dying. I have to say however that the frigid freezing wind and sleet that drove us back to our car was less than pleasant - about as pleasant as finding yourself almost parked in by two other traveller people. The goose in front, with his big rig and super off-road camper tent-on-wheels had backed up to within a foot of our car. What were they thinking? There is miles of space all over the town and they have to go and park you in, and block someone's driveway for good measure. Fortunately the van that was edging up behind us stopped long enough for us to back up and get out.

Anyhow we were back on the road and had a pleasant run along the Lachlan Valley Way all the way to Forbes, it's almost my ideal road. We cruised into the Big4 and set up before going for a cruise up into town to look for ghosts of Morgans past. Morgan was my mother's name and she was born in Forbes in 1921. We checked at the Info place, which is in the old railway station. Her grandfather had moved the family to Forbes from Sydney in 1890 to work on the railway which was heading west at the time. They sent us to the Museum, which happily was open, and I had a chat to the fellow camped over the 4 bar heater trying to stay warm. He was able to tell me that the Albion Hotel, behind which were stables that my grandfather had operated, had burnt down many years ago and he couldn't remember any thing about stables. He could however suggest that the Brave Heart Wine Saloon, which grandfather had also operated, and where my mother was born, had been on the corner of Flint Street and Bathurst Street when he was a child, but had since been demolished.

We had a lively chat about the difference between a Wine Saloon and a Wine Shanty, the former the more refined by dint of it having accomodation, the latter known as not much more than sly-grog shops.

Taking a break from the family stuff, we went searching for bird-snapping opportunities at the delightfully named Gum Swamp. Plenty of ducks and galahs but miles away from the shore. We contented ourself with taking snaps of the drowned gums and playing with the light.

On the way back I grabbed a couple of snaps of the derelict remains of ones man's folly in the 1970s, what was meant to be a living Historic Village and gold mining town, a la Sovereign Hill. Alas it failed over time, but not before they had imported the old homestead from Nelungaloo Station, south of Parkes, which is where my grandmother was once a domestic.

We went back to the van park after a slow cruise up and down William Street, where the family lived before they moved to the Wine Saloon, and Wombat (yes W A M B A T) street, which is where Mrs E A Turner lived, the house in which my grandparents were married, and the family which adopted great-aunt Grace after great-grandfather died.

So many 'old friends' floating around, yet nothing of any solid nature to add to my knowledge of the family history.