Monday 10 August 2015
Sometime during the early hours of the morning gale force winds came through the valley. Not a lot of sleep was had once the winds whipped up as it was blowing hard against the tarp. The cold wind has been with us all day. We were on the road just after 8.00am as it was warmer in the cab of the truck than outside. The bakery in Burra was bombarded with most of the trackers wanting a warm drink and snack. We were driving into a head wind all the way and it was pretty hard going for the truck with all the wind resistance.
Burra is an old copper mining town with lots of historical buildings. Once again many businesses are closed down. I think my mum spent part of her youth in this area - my sisters may have some more information on this for me. We drove around the town and up to the scenic lookouts before heading out of town towards tonight's camp at Terowie. This town has a population of around 70 people but in the early years the population was around 2,000. It used to be a busy rail town where freight was offloaded from one train to another because of the change in the gauge. Now there is no rail line and the town is struggling to survive. Those people that remain are trying to attract tourists to stop and spend time in their town. Signage has been set up to show the history of the town as a railway junction and also ás a military staging post for the transfer of freight from one gauge to another during WWII. Once again most of the businesses are closed and the buildings are very run down. Bob the railway dog used to ride the trains and was quite infamous here. The local ladies spoilt us with afternoon tea and home baked cakes. Tonight they have invited the local community to join us for a BBQ dinner which they are preparing.
No comments:
Post a Comment